Police abuse

Bigoted, Unprofessional Police Chief Backed By Governor

October 13, 2017 William Boardman, www.readersupportednews.org Educate! Government, Michigan, Police, Police abuse

By William Boardman for Reader Supported News - This is an unsurprisingly nasty internet meme that was publicly shared by the director of the Michigan State Police on her Facebook page on Sunday, September 24. Director Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue apparently gave no thought to her pre-packaged, knee-jerk reaction to NFL players kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police treatment of African Americans in America. Col. Etue was apparently unprepared for the intense reaction to her casual castigation of fellow citizens, predominantly black athletes, acting on principle. A Michigan State Police spokesperson actually asserted that Col. Etue’s slanderous social media post was “not about race” — even though the issue wouldn’t exist without a racist justice system that allows cops (mostly white) to kill unarmed, innocent black people without suffering significant consequences. Roughly two days after the posting, Col. Etue issued a brief, substance-free non-apology apology for it, posted on the Michigan State Police website (not on Facebook): It was a mistake to share the message on Facebook and I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended. I will continue my focus on unity at the Michigan State Police and in communities across Michigan.

D.C. Police Threw More Than 70 Grenades At Inauguration Protesters

October 10, 2017 Baynard Woods, www.therealnews.com Resist! Inauguration, Police abuse, Protests, Repression, Trump Administration

By Baynard Woods for The Real News Network - MPD deployed the weapons during massive protests of Donald Trump’s inauguration. At some point around 10:00 a.m. on the morning of the inauguration some protesters began breaking windows of major corporations on 13th Street NW between Logan Circle and Franklin Square. The protesters who engaged in vandalism were dressed in all black as part of a so-called “black bloc.” In the statement of notice for an expert witness set to appear in the first trial related to the case, which begins on Nov. 20, the prosecutors argue that the “‘black bloc’ tactic involves participants dressing in all black clothing and concealing their faces with masks, bandanas, and other clothing items. This tactic makes it difficult for law enforcement to identify the individual perpetrators of violence or destruction within the larger group.” Shortly after the police encountered the group, they began to deploy weapons, spraying large amounts of pepper spray (I was covering the event and was hit with spray). Platoon 32, for instance, emptied four large MK46 canisters and seven smaller canisters of the irritant.

Over 300 Arrested in St. Louis: It’s About More Than Police Brutality

October 8, 2017 Jaisal Noor, therealnews.com Resist! killed by police, Police abuse, St. Louis

By Jaisal Noor for the Real News. Jason Stockley for killing 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011. 143 people were arrested on a highway protest on Tuesday alone, including two journalists with The Young Turks. In a police recording of the incident, Stockley can be heard saying he was going to kill the suspect. Smith was shot five times and pronounced dead on the scene. Now joining us to discuss this and the ongoing protests is Mustafa Abdullah. He's an organizer with the ACLU of Missouri. Thank you so much for joining us. M. ABDULLAH: I'm happy to be here. JAISAL NOOR: So, talk about what you've seen in the streets over the past two weeks plus. The police have said there have been criminal elements in the protests who have engaged in vandalism and rioting. M. ABDULLAH: So, I think that the organized protests are really a beautiful sort of demonstration of a community's response to what they see as systemic oppression and a lack of accountability and transparency when it comes to interactions with law enforcement and the investigations into police brutality and police killings. What I've seen is, I've seen protestors lead chants of, "Take one, take all." I've seen protestors who are referring to themselves as family and I think that these issues are particularly very personal to them. I think that the fact that there has been a few instances of windows being broken at businesses is more of a demonstration of people's anger and frustration and I think that I'm not, I think that those acts should be interpreted within that lens. And so when we're seeing things at protests that we may find disagreeable or that we don't understand, I think it's important for folks to remind themselves to take a step back and to really try to have empathy for why people are frustrated and why they're angry.

Second Wave of Journalist Arrests in St. Louis

October 7, 2017 Staff, rsf.org Resist! Media, Police abuse, Press Freedom, St. Louis

By Staff for Reporters WIthout Borders. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is alarmed to learn that at least six journalists have been arrested this week while covering protests in St. Louis, Missouri. RSF views the detention of reporters who are simply doing their job as a threat to press freedom and calls for all charges against them to be dropped. On the evening of October 3, 2017, while covering protests in St. Louis, Missouri, following the acquittal of a white former police officer who fatally shot a black man, at least six journalists were arrested and charged with misdemeanor trespassing. These detentions come just over two weeks after three journalists were arrested in St. Louis while covering similar demonstrations. One of them was citizen journalist and livestreamer Jon Ziegler, also known as “Rebelutionary Z”, who now faces two sets of charges from both this week’s and last month’s arrests.

Calls For Resignation Of St. Louis Police Chief

September 26, 2017 Riverfront Times Staff.www.riverfronttimes.com Resist! Police abuse, Police violence, Racism

By Riverfront Times Staff. Protesters marching through downtown St. Louis on September 25, 2017 focused on a matter ripped from the headlines — the treatment of black officers on the city's police force. Then they called for the resignation of Acting Police Chief Lawrence O'Toole. The group originally assembled at Market and 16th streets at 6 p.m., with participants given blue tape to cover their mouths. Then state Representative Bruce Franks Jr. (D-St. Louis) announced that they would be marching to police headquarters to discuss two high-profile cases involving black officers. The march was a silent one, with several hundred people following organizers in a long line through downtown streets. At the police headquarters, the protesters planned ten more minutes of silence — but after that, Franks warned, they would "turn it up."

Colin Kaepernick Won

September 24, 2017 Les Carpenter, www.theguardian.com Resist! Colin Kaepernick, Police abuse, Police violence, Racism

By Les Carpenter for The Guardian. All Colin Kaepernick ever asked was for his country to have a conversation about race. This, he warned, would not be easy. Such talks are awkward and often end in a flurry of spittle, pointed fingers and bruised feelings. But from the moment the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback first spoke about his decision to kneel or sit during the national anthem, he said was willing to give up his career to make the nation talk. In one speech on Friday night, Donald Trump gave Kaepernick exactly what he wanted.

Any White Cop Can Kill A Black Man..

September 24, 2017 Don Fitz, www.greensocialthought.org Resist! Police abuse, Police violence, St. Louis

By Don Fitz for Green Social Thought. Missouri - This is what has sparked protests by thousands in St. Louis from September 15 through today. In 2011, St. Louis cop Jason Stockley fired 5-7 shots at Anthony Lamar Smith, killing him. Stockley claimed that Smith was selling drugs and chased him at high speed and shot him to defend himself. The story was briefly reported as another drug deal gone bad, and it was just incidental that the cop was white and the victim was black. [See 2011 story HERE]. But the case turned out to be a lot more than that. His mother, Annie Smith, said that "They wouldn't let me kiss him or hug him goodbye."

Driver Speeds Through ‘Convict Stockley’ Protest in Kirkwood, Mo

September 17, 2017 Sarah Fenske, www.riverfronttimes.com Resist! Black Lives Matter (BLM), Police abuse, St. Louis

By Sarah Fenske for Riverfront Times. A protest in Kirkwood last night took a potentially ugly turn when an SUV barreled through the crowd, horn honking. The protesters had assembled in the St. Louis suburb to advocate for the conviction of former police officer Jason Stockley, who has been tried on a charge of a first-degree murder. The city is now in its fifth week of waiting for a verdict, a decision in the hands of a judge after Stockley waived his right to a jury. "Stand up! Fight back!" the protesters shouted, with some brandishing signs reading, "Black Lives Matter." The protest appeared to be well under control; the video shows police lights flashing nearby. But one driver in a white SUV got fed up with the chanting and took off into the crowd.

Police Arrest 32 In St Louis After Acquittal Of Police Officer Jason Stockley

September 17, 2017 Amanda Holpuch, www.theguardian.com Resist! killed by police, Police abuse, St. Louis

By Amanda Holpuch for the Guardian. Mostly peaceful demonstrations followed a not-guilty verdict in the murder trial of a white former police officer who shot and killed a black motorist St Louis police said 32 people had been arrested during demonstrations against the acquittal of a former police officer, who had been charged with murder in the 2011 fatal shooting of 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith. Ten law enforcement officers were injured in the mostly peaceful protests, which began after the not-guilty verdict was handed down by circuit judge Timothy Wilson on Friday morning. The demonstrations quieted early Saturday morning, having taken place in different parts of the city, including outside the home of mayor Lyda Krewson. At one point, the crowd around her home swelled to about 1,000 people, including some who pelted the home with red paint and broke at least two windows.

Kaepernick Supporters Protest At NFL Headquarters

August 25, 2017 Jesse J. Holland and Karen Matthews, www.sfgate.com Resist! Police abuse, Racism, Sports

By Jesse J. Holland and Karen Matthews for Associated Press. NEW YORK — Supporters of former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who chose not to stand for the national anthem to protest police brutality against blacks, showed their solidarity with him and his cause at a rally outside the headquarters of the NFL on Wednesday. More than 1,000 people, many wearing jerseys bearing Kaepernick’s name, crowded the steps outside the NFL’s midtown Manhattan offices. Kaepernick, who took the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII, opted out of his contract with the team in March and remains unsigned. Supporters say he is being blackballed for his advocacy, but some critics say he should not have sat or kneeled during the anthem or contend his lack of a job is more about his on-field talent.

NYPD, Prosecutor & NYC Conspired to Destroy Black and Brown Lives

August 25, 2017 Shaun King, www.medium.com Educate! NYPD, Police abuse, police brutality

By Shaun King for Medium. “Stop and frisk has been banned, but police in the 42nd precinct are actually doing something far worse. They are setting quotas and goals for the number of people each officer must arrest. If you don’t meet or exceed the quotas, you feel the wrath of your supervisors. Instead of rejecting the quotas, some officers are embracing them and rounding up people, particularly teenage children, for crimes they know good and well they didn’t commit — locking them away sometimes for days, weeks, months, or even years at a time — then simply dismissing the charges. This isn’t just a few rogue cops, but an entire precinct is doing this and they are partnering with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office to make it happen.

43 More Prosecutions Dropped In Baltimore

August 25, 2017 David Kravets, www.arstechnica.com Educate! Drug War, Police abuse

By David Kravets for Ars Technica. A Baltimore Police Department officer has "self-reported" a staged body cam video. This brings the number of fabricated body cam videos rocking the agency to at least three. In this most recent instance alone, 43 cases are being dropped or not prosecuted, the state's top prosecutor, Marilyn Mosby, said. In all, more than 100 cases have been dropped or will be. Dozens of additional cases are being investigated because of three body cam videos fabricated by the Baltimore Police Department. The first video was disclosed a month ago. Dozens of closed cases are also being re-examined, state prosecutors said. They said they are examining hundreds of cases involving officers connected to the videos.

Again, Body-Camera Footage Shows Officers Planting Drugs

August 2, 2017 Kevin Rector, www.baltimoresun.com Educate! Baltimore, Drugs, Police abuse

By Kevin Rector for The Baltimore Sun - For the second time in as many weeks, Baltimore police body-camera video has emerged showing what defense attorneys say is officers planting drugs on a criminal defendant. Josh Insley, a local defense attorney, released the footage Tuesday, a day after the Baltimore state’s attorney’s office dropped all charges against his client based on concerns raised by the video. Insley said he believes the video shows officers “engage in what appears to be a staged recovery of narcotics,” and that he will be pursuing legal action against the police department. The video, which represents the latest in a string of controversial incidents for a police department confronting historic violent crime, is under investigation, police said. Insley’s client, Shamere Collins, 35, was arrested on Nov. 29, 2016 after police stopped her vehicle after observing a passenger conducting what officers believed was a drug deal, according to case records. After stopping the vehicle, police said they smelled marijuana, searched the car, and recovered heroin and marijuana. Charges were filed against Collins and the passenger. “Those drugs were not in that car when we were pulled out, the state dismissed the case against me and my attorneys are reviewing the tapes to see what steps to take next,” Collins said in a statement.

Police Chiefs Criticize Trump Speech On Police Violence

July 30, 2017 Carla Herreria, www.huffingtonpost.com Resist! Donald Trump, Police abuse

By Carla Herreria for Huffington Post. Law enforcement officials from around the world released a statement in apparent response to President Donald Trump’s speech Friday to cops in New York in which he appeared to encourage police brutality. His comments elicited cheers from the audience of law enforcement, which included local lawmakers, officers from the Suffolk County Police Department, the Nassau County Police Department acting police commissioner Patrick Ryder, Suffolk County Sheriff Vincent DeMarco and deputies and jail guards from the Suffolk County Sheriff’s office, according to Newsday reporter Nicole Fuller. After his speech, the International Association of Chiefs of Police published a blog post that detailed its use-of-force policies and training, highlighting the need for officers to “ensure that any use of force is carefully applied and objectively reasonable.” The association explained that officers are trained to treat all individuals “with dignity and respect.” “This is the bedrock principle behind the concepts of procedural justice and police legitimacy,” the IACP wrote.

White Texas Cop Caught On Video Harassing Black Man For Mowing Grass

July 28, 2017 D.L. Chandler, www.hiphopwired.com Educate! Police, Police abuse, Racism, Texas

By D.L. Chandler for HIp Hip Wired - There have been conflicting reports about Gipson’s age and name, with some outlets reporting as both 18 and 19. The Houston Chronicle piece referenced above states Gipson is 21. Gipson’s video was published to YouTube Tuesday (July 25) and has since gone viral. The outlet did further digging and discovered that Gipson, who resides in Houston, had an outstanding charge from 2015, and two pending charges dating back to April related to offering false information to police. An attorney from Philadelphia flew into Houston this week to meet with Gipson and the family. In a YouCaring fundraising page description, Gipson explained the situation from his perspective. The crowdfunding campaign is aimed to help expand his lawn mowing business and has raised $6,500 thus far. The page also features images of Gipson and his brothers, along with bite marks from a K-9 unit he claimed was set to attack him inside his home.

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