Police abuse

Baltimore Police Agree To Tackle Deep, Systemic Failures

January 15, 2017 Juliet Linderman and Eric Tucker, www.AP.org Create! Baltimore, DOJ, killed by police, Police abuse, police brutality

By Juliet Linderman and Eric Tucker for Associated Press. Vanita Gupta, the head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, said the agreement will make the city safer for everyone, including officers. "The city and BPD will implement comprehensive reforms to end the legacy of Baltimore's zero-tolerance policing," she said. "And in its place, Baltimore is empowering officers to engage in proactive, community-oriented policing." The Justice Department agreement mandates changes in the most fundamental aspects of police work. Known as a consent decree, it is the culmination of months of negotiations and is meant to correct constitutional violations identified in the report released last year.

Video Shows NC Police Officer Slamming High School Girl To Ground

January 5, 2017 Monique Judge, www.theroot.com Resist! North Carolina, Police abuse, police brutality

By Monique Judge for The Root - A police officer in Rolesville, N.C., is on administrative leave after video posted to Twitter on Tuesday showed him picking up a female high school student and slamming her violently to the ground. The eight-second video shows a group of students at Rolesville High School crowded together, and then the officer slams the girl to the ground. After throwing her to the ground, the officer picks her up and leads her off with her hands behind her back. Police told WTVD/ABC11 that a fight occurred at the high school earlier that morning. A second video sent in to WTVD shows the fight that led up to the incident with the officer.

Historic Injustice Against Water Defenders In ND Courts

January 1, 2017 Barbara With and Rebecca Kemble, www.wcmcoop.com Resist! #NoDAPL, Courts, Due Proecess, Human Rights, Pipelines, Police abuse, Prosecutorial Abuse, Right to counsel, Water Protectors

By Barbara With and Rebecca Kemble for Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative. According to Angela Bibens, an attorney from Colorado and a member of the Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC), the conditions of North Dakota’s legal system at present are making it impossible for fair trials to take place due to several factors. The Morton County Sheriff’s department made the decision to take a hard-line, militarized position in its response to the nonviolent activities of unarmed water protectors. This includes the use of water cannons, flash bang canisters, rubber bullets, and mace, which resulted in hundreds of water protectors being injured at the front lines. As of August 19, 2016, there were just 28 DAPL-related arrests. By mid-December, 500 more people have been arrested and charged. This was a crisis of their own making, which has cost the state over $17 million in law enforcement fees.

CNN Protest Demands Fair and Accurate Reporting On Standing Rock

November 20, 2016 Alexandra Jacobo, www.nationofchange.org Resist! #NoDAPL, Mass Media, Police abuse

By Alexandra Jacobo for Nation of Change. Native American activists are protesting outside CNN’s office building in Hollywood demanding more coverage on the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. Native American activists are protesting outside CNN’s office building in Hollywood demanding more coverage on the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. The Indigenous Life Movement has covered the event via Facebook: The group can be heard singing and playing instruments in peaceful protest outside the building. They have to raise awareness about the bias or near-lack of coverage the mainstream news network is giving to the protests in North Dakota. CNN has barely covered the situation in North Dakota. On Thursday, when police showed up in full riot gear and used tear gas and pepper spray on the peaceful water protectors, the network finally ran a small story featured on their homepage with a headline that stated the protesters were starting fires. Although additional details were given when reading the actual report, CNN failed to report on any of injustices on the part of the police, including protestors being injured by shrapnel from concussion grenades and pepper spray to the face.

Does Jeff Sessions At DOJ Signal Death Of Police Reform?

November 20, 2016 Adeshina Emmanuel, www.inthesetimes.com Resist! Immigration, Jeff Sessions, killed by police, Police abuse, Police Brutrality

By Adeshina Emmanuel for In These Times. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Senator Jeff Sessions (R – AL), a longtime ally, to become his attorney general. Sessions is known as an immigration hard-liner with an alleged history of racist remarks and actions, sparking fears that his confirmation could mean major changes at the Department of Justice (DOJ)—especially as it relates to communities of color. “I would hope the folks who have been activists around police reform, who have built an important and effective movement, will see this as a moment where that movement needs to get bigger,” says Jonathan Smith, former DOJ official. Activists concur, but not just because of the potential shifts in the DOJ. Master notes that Trump’s presidency has emboldened proponents of white supremacy, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia and anti-Muslim sentiments in the U.S. She says that means activists from marginalized groups have to change their approach, bolster their bases and collaborate more with one another. “Trump’s regime … doesn’t stop our work,” says Samantha Miller, a Baltimore area organizer.. “It makes it more pressing.”

Man Shot At Anti-Trump Rally

November 13, 2016 Jim Ryan, www.oregonlive.com Resist! Free Speech and Assembly, Police abuse, Trump, Violence

By Jim Ryan of The Oregonian. Portland, OR - The fourth round of mass demonstrations in Portland against Donald Trump's election came to a violent end early Saturday morning when someone shot a protester on the Morrison Bridge. Police said the protester, who wasn't publicly identified, suffered injuries that weren't life threatening. The shooter left the area, likely in a car, Portland police said in a news release. The shooting appears to be the only one reported at an anti-Trump protest nationwide. More than 225 people have been arrested at demonstrations in various cities, the Washington Post reported. Most demonstrations across the country have remained peaceful, but some violence has been reported, the Post said. In Oakland, California, protesters reportedly threw rocks and fireworks at police officers, injuring three.

Amnesty International Sends Observers To North Dakota

October 30, 2016 Nathan Wellman, www.usuncut.com Resist! Amnesty International, Human Rights, Indigenous Rights, Police abuse, police brutality

By Nathan Wellman for US Uncut. Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) has sent a team of human rights observers to monitor law enforcement response to those protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The decision to send the team came in response to reports of militarized police deploying pepper spray, bean bags, and strip searches, as well as a case where improperly trained mercenaries allowed guard dogs to bite multiple protesters. The protesters – who prefer to be referred to as water protectors – have so far emphasized the importance of peaceful protesting tactics. Members of the media have also been arrested for covering the confrontations. “Our observers are here to ensure that everyone’s human rights are protected,” said Eric Ferrero, director of communications for AIUSA.

Open Data Projects Fuel Fight Against Police Misconduct

October 30, 2016 Alice Speri, www.theintercept.com Create! Criminal Justice System, Police abuse, Racism, Transparency

By Alice Speri for The Intercept. SAMANTHA SEDA’S CLIENT, a 16-year-old foster child from Far Rockaway, New York, had no criminal history when he was arrested in September, accused of having pulled out a gun and fired one shot in the air. Even though he had no priors and no relatives who could post bail, a judge set the amount at $100,000, and as he sat in jail for over a month, the boy lost his spot at the foster home where he had been living. Seda, a Legal Aid attorney representing adolescents charged as adults in Queens, thought the allegations against her client were dubious and was looking for a way to get him out on bail. That’s when she decided to look into the officers named in the complaint against him. What she discovered stunned her.

To The Four White Policemen Who Beat Me

October 23, 2016 Ali Afshar, www.hdp.press Educate! health, mental health, Police abuse

By Ali Afshar for Human Development Project. California - You may or may not know that the incidence and relapse rates of schizophrenia in African-Caribbean males in Western countries has been reported as being much higher than equivalent white male cohorts. This knowledge was forefront in my mind when I saw a man in his twenties muttering to himself, handcuffed and surrounded by 4 white male police officers on El Camino, in Northern California. As a physician, I have a duty (shit, I swore an actual oath) to preserve the health of all humans. There was no way I was going to drive past this situation without making sure that guy was going to be fine. As I pulled over to ask if the gentleman was OK, I was immediately threatened with a ticket for blocking traffic. I re-parked my car legally and returned. My exact words were “I want to help to make sure this guy is OK”. The officers were aggressive and angry, instantly.

The Police Killings No One Is Talking About

October 23, 2016 Stephanie Woodard, www.inthesetimes.com Organize! Indigenous Rights, Police abuse, Racism

By Stephanie Woodard for In These Times. SUQUAMISH TRIBE DESCENDANT JEANETTA RILEY, A 34-YEAR-OLD MOTHER OF FOUR, LAY FACEDOWN ON A SANDPOINT, IDAHO, STREET. One minute earlier, three police officers had arrived, summoned by staff at a nearby hospital. Her husband had sought help there because Riley—homeless, pregnant and with a history of mental illness—was threatening suicide. Riley had a knife in her right hand and was sitting in the couple’s parked van. Wearing body armor and armed with an assault rifle and Glock pistols, the officers quickly closed in on Riley—one moving down the sidewalk toward the van, the other two crossing the roadway. They shouted instructions at her—to walk toward them, show them her hands. Cursing them, she refused.

Dejuan Yourse Arrested For Sitting On His Porch

October 2, 2016 Carla Herreria, www.huffingtonpost.com Educate! Accountability, Criminal Justice, Police abuse, Racism

By Carla Herreria for Huffington Post. City council members in Greensboro, North Carolina voted this week to strip the law enforcement credentials of a police officer who is accused of violently arresting a man sitting on his porch after body camera footage of the arrest was made public. The council voted unanimously Monday to permanently sanction Officer Travis Cole for using excessive force during the June arrest. The body camera footage shows Cole roughly throwing Dejuan Yourse to the floor of the porch and punching him as Yourse waited for his mom to come home and let him into the house, according to local news WREG. The council pushed for criminal charges against Cole, but the district attorney refused, saying he wouldn’t “rehash the same evidence,” the Greensboro News & Record reported.

Erica Garner: Why We Can’t Let Cops Get Bonuses For Corruption

September 18, 2016 Erica Snipes-Garner, www.alternet.org Educate! Eric Garner, killed by police, Police abuse, Racism

By Erica Snipes-Garner for Alternet. NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo killed my father, Eric B. Garner, on July 17, 2014. The idea that Pantaleo receives a substantial increase in pay after murdering my father and no one noticed is silly. Someone knew about this. This was Mayor Bill de Blasio’s bonus for a job well done and de Blasio has put his political future on the line to defend this corrupt institution. This underscores why we need transparency, the Right To Know Act, and a permanent special prosecutor. This also underscores why de Blasio is fighting tooth and nail to hide the disciplinary records of this killer cop on payroll. He already knows what we do not. As long as police officers like Daniel Pantaleo and Michael Zak are on the force and reporting to work in the 120th precinct and getting bonuses for corruption, we can never be serious about healing and building relationships with the community.

Urban Shield Police Training Draws Protesters

September 11, 2016 Sarah Ravani, www.sfgate.com Resist! Militarized police, Police, Police abuse, Urban Shield

By Sarah Ravani for the San Francisco Chronicle. Protesters chained themselves together and blocked the main gates of the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton Friday morning to demonstrate their opposition to the Urban Shield police training and expo scheduled there this weekend. About 10 demonstrators chained themselves together and formed a line in front of the gates on Pleasanton Avenue, but police attending the expo and training exercises were able to get into the fairgrounds through other entrances. Twenty demonstrators were arrested and later booked at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on suspicion of blocking traffic and failing to disperse, said Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. He said all were expected to be released Friday evening.

Judge Hauls Dakota Access Into Court After Sacred Sites Bulldozed

September 7, 2016 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! Dakota Access Pipeline, Police abuse

By John Zangas for DC Media Group. U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg on Monday ordered parties involved in a standoff over the Dakota Access Pipeline to appear in court on September 6 to hear a motion for an emergency injunction. Tuesday’s hearing is expected to address the desecration of the burial sites which led to a dog attack incident. The same judge had declared at an August 24 hearing that he would issue a decision on a motion for a permanent injunction on work near the Reservation no later than September 9. “On Saturday, Dakota Access Pipeline and Energy Transfer Partners brazenly used bulldozers to destroy our burial sites, prayer sites and culturally significant artifacts,” said Dave Archambault II, Chairman Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, in a press release on Sunday. “They did this on a holiday weekend, one day after we filed court papers identifying these sacred sites. The desecration of these ancient places has already caused the Standing Rock Sioux irreparable harm. We’re asking the court to halt this path of destruction,” he said. The standoff escalated when a private security firm, contracted by Dakota Access Pipeline, LLC brought in a team of attack dogs to hold a line against water protectors.

‘Officer Slam’ Will Not Be Charged For Brutalizing Teenage Girl

September 5, 2016 Aviva Shen, www.thinkprogress.org Resist! Police abuse, Police Brutrality, Racism, Students, Youth

By Aviva Shen for Think Progress. A video of Security Resource Officer Ben Fields yanking a teenage girl from her desk and throwing her across the room shocked the internet and inspired investigations into South Carolina’s use of police in schools. But on Friday, after 11 months of investigating, prosecutors announced they would not be pursuing criminal charges against the officer. Fields was fired in October for his conduct, which the sheriff said at the time made him “want to throw up.” About 100 students at Spring Valley High protested his firing. Other students had reportedly nicknamed him “Officer Slam,” because he had a reputation for violence.

«1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 »

Daily movement news and resources