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#BlackLivesMatter

#BlackLivesMatter Gets On The Legislative Agenda

December 18, 2015 Sarah Breitenbach, www.pewtrusts.org , , , ,
By Sarah Breitenbach for The Pew Charitable Trust - Advocates for policing reform are expected to return to statehouses next month pushing for increased scrutiny of officers, transparency in police department proceedings and improved crisis training across law enforcement ranks. Backed by increasingly vocal public criticism following reports of police shootings and allegations of brutality in places like Chicago and Minneapolis, many civil rights advocates will ask lawmakers to revisit measures abandoned earlier this year. Samuel Walker, a policing expert and professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said public dissatisfaction with police practices makes the upcoming legislative sessions ripe for action.

Hung Jury For Officer On Trial In Death Of Freddie Gray

December 17, 2015 Julia Craven, www.huffingtonpost.com , , , ,
By Julia Craven for The Huffington Post - The jury could not reach a verdict in the case of Officer William Porter, the Baltimore cop charged in the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. Porter, 26, is one of six officers who will stand trial in connection to the death of Gray, a black man who died after a “rough ride” in police custody in April. Porter was charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Protesters Calling For Mayor To Resign Arrested After Blocking Traffic

December 17, 2015 Tony Briscoe, www.chicagotribune.com , , , ,
By Tony Briscoe for The Chicago Tribune - Chicago police arrested 16 protesters who were calling for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's resignations as they impeded traffic by lying down on Congress Parkway in the Loop on Tuesday evening. The Chicago Light Brigade held its annual vigil for victims of violence in the city, after which organizers led a pop-up protest around 7 p.m. at Congress Parkway and Clark Street. Sixteen protesters formed a blockade spanning across Congress to represent the number of times 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was shot by police Officer Jason Van Dyke. Police said 16 people were eventually arrested.

Jury Hears Closing Arguments In Freddie Gray Trial

December 15, 2015 Stephen Janis, www.therealnews.com , , ,
By Stephen Janis for The Real News - This is Stephen Janis reporting from the Real News Network in Baltimore. We're outside Mitchell Courthouse where closing arguments in the case of William Porter, the first officer being tried in the death of Freddie Gray, have just concluded. Our reporter Jaisal Noor has been inside the courthouse during the arguments, and is here with an update. So give us a little bit of outline of what first the prosecution said in closing. JAISAL NOOR, TRNN: I'd say that the prosecution provided a much more compelling closing argument. Jan Bledsoe, who presented the closing argument, she had the seatbelt that Freddie Gray was not buckled in

Justice Department Probes Chicago Police For Civil Rights Violations

December 13, 2015 Kim Bellware, www.huffingtonpost.com , , ,
By Kim Bellware for The Huffington Post - The Justice Department will investigate the Chicago police for possible civil rights violations, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced Monday morning. Later Monday, NBC and CBS reported that Constantine "Dean" Andrews, the Chicago Police Department's chief of detectives, had resigned from his post. As the second largest force in the nation, Chicago's will be the biggest city department the Attorney General's office has ever investigated (Puerto Rico's was the largest one overall).

NYU Freshman Started Massive Protest From Her Dorm

December 11, 2015 Jason Silverstein, www.nydailynews.com , , ,
By Jason Silverstein for Daily News - The Chicago protesters who stormed the streets Wednesday calling for a city government overhaul were triggered by an unlikely source: A New York University freshman who made a fake Facebook page from her dorm. “I really didn’t think I’d have anything to do with this,” Rachel Brown, an 18-year-old film student, told the Daily News Thursday. “I’ve literally been in my dorm doing my homework this whole time.” Brown said she was battling laryngitis and stressing over finals earlier this week when she created a seemingly incendiary Facebook event.

Mass Walkout Of Schools & Work In Chicago Calls For Mayor To Resign

December 10, 2015 Staff, www.takepart.com , , , ,
By Staff of RT - Protests in downtown Chicago are growing, with more and more demonstrators calling for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s resignation and an investigation into his administration. Protestors are blocking traffic on Michigan Avenue and entrances to major stores. Mayor Emanuel delivered an address to Chicago city council Wednesday morning, vowing to fix Chicago police practices. In response, about 200 demonstrators gathered at City Hall and called for the mayor’s resignation, saying that one speech can’t fix decades of police corruption of the kind that culminated in 17-year-old Laquan McDonald’s death.

Fourth Precinct Protests Drew National Names, Ordinary People

December 7, 2015 Libor Jany, www.startribune.com , , ,
By Libor Jany for Star Tribune - There’s no room for protest anymore at the Fourth Precinct police station in Minneapolis. Concrete barricades topped with fences line the sidewalk, blocking the yard. Cars once again roll down Plymouth Avenue N. But for 18 days, it was the epicenter of demonstrations that sprouted from the fatal police shooting of Jamar Clark. With people coming and going at all hours of the day and night, it grew into a bustling tent city with hot food, portable toilets and something call the “Justice Hut.” Some people slept in shifts, going home only to shower and change clothes.

Black Lives Matter Makes Powerful Connection With Racist Drug War

December 7, 2015 Phillip Smith, www.alternet.org , ,
By Phillip Smith for AlterNet - The Black Lives Matter movement sprung out of the unjust killings of young black men (Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown), either at the hands of self-styled vigilantes or police. But as the movement blossomed and matured, BLM began turning its attention to a broader critique of the institutional racism behind police violence against the black population. While the war on drugs plays a central role in generating conflict between the black community and law enforcement, the critique of institutional racism in policing and the criminal justice system necessarily implicates the nation's drug policies.

US Cop Charged With Murder May Have Covered Up Another Killing

December 5, 2015 Staff, www.telesurtv.net , , ,
By Staff of Tele Sur - Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke is accused of helping his fellow cops avoid justice over the killing of a 23-year-old janitor. The white police officer charged with murder for shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald is also involved in a possible police cover-up in the brutal police killing of Emmanuel Lopez in 2005, court records reveal. Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke made no attempt to conduct an independent inquiry into the police killing of Lopez, reported the Chicago Tribune, citing records released as part of an ongoing court case against the city.

Loyola Protest Organizers Could Be Reprimanded For Mizzou Solidarity Rally

December 5, 2015 Tony Briscoe, www.chicagotribune.com , , ,
By Tony Briscoe for Chicago Tribune - Three Loyola University students who organized an unsanctioned protest in solidarity with a University of Missouri group last month could be reprimanded for violating the Chicago university's demonstration policy, according to a student group and a university spokesman. The students — Dominick Hall, Ryan Sorrell and Julian Marshall — identified themselves as organizers of a Nov. 12 protest focusing on campus inclusion for minority students held on Loyola's campus, and were contacted by leaders from the Division of Student Development the following week regarding their decision to not register the demonstration, according to university spokesman Steve Christensen.

Police Charged With Murder, Manslaughter Triples In 2015

December 5, 2015 Don Babwin, www.huffingtonpost.com , ,
By Don Babwin for Associated Press - CHICAGO (AP) -- The number of U.S. police officers charged with murder or manslaughter for on-duty shootings has tripled this year - a sharp increase that at least one expert says could be the result of more video evidence. In the past, the annual average was fewer than five officers charged. In the final weeks of 2015, that number has climbed to 15, with 10 of the cases involving video. "If you take the cases with the video away, you are left with what we would expect to see over the past 10 years - about five cases," said Philip Stinson, the Bowling Green State University criminologist who compiled the statistics from across the nation.

Mpls. Police Clear Out 4th Precinct Protest Site

December 5, 2015 Jon Collins, Tim Nelson, and Matt Sepic, www.mprnews.org , , , ,
By Jon Collins, Tim Nelson, and Matt Sepic for MPR News - Minneapolis police cleared a protest camp and arrested eight people outside the city's 4th Precinct station early Thursday morning. A few hundred protesters reacted by occupying the rotunda of Minneapolis City Hall for a couple of hours in the afternoon. The peaceful demonstration at City Hall moved into the street with around 100 marchers heading up Hennepin Avenue and across the river. Several groups of protesters including Black Lives Matter converged on a restaurant and bowling alley in northeast Minneapolis.

Baltimore Jury in Freddie Grey Trial Reflects Racial Makeup Of City

December 3, 2015 Julia Craven, www.huffingtonpost.com , , ,
By Julia Craven for The Huffington Post - BALTIMORE -- A majority black jury will ultimately decide if William Porter can be found guilty in the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, a black man who died after a “rough ride” in a police van in April. Court officials announced Wednesday that eight black and four white jurors will decide the fate of Porter, one of six Baltimore police officers charged in Gray’s death. Porter, who is black, has been charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. A lot is hinging on the outcome of the case. Legal experts claim an acquittal couldset the tone for the other five trials.

Protecting Killer Cops Is A Chicago Prosecutorial Tradition

December 3, 2015 Bruce A. Dixon, www.blackagendareport.com , , ,
By Bruce A. Dixon for Black Agenda Report - If there's any justice the political career of Cook County States Attorney Anita Alvarez will end with the November 2016 election. But we should remember that Chicagoans threw Cook County States Attorney Edward V. Hanrahan out of office over the 1969 assassination of Fred Hampton, and not much else changed. It will apparently take more than running candidates in elections to overthrow the Chicago tradition of prosecutors enabling and abetting its killer cops. The city of Chicago yesterday released a video it had held for 400 days of a police officer apparently murdering a young man with a knife walking away from him.
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