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police brutality

Report Shows That US Police Militarization Does Not Reduce Crime

September 20, 2018 Erik Schreiber, Wsws.org , , ,
“On average, militarized police units do not appear to provide the safety benefits that many police administrators claim,” said Jonathan Mummolo, Assistant Professor of Politics and Public Affairs at Princeton University, the study’s author. The results of Mummolo’s research may not seem surprising, but they directly contradict the assertions of law enforcement officials across the country, from the local to the federal level. After police responded to the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri with assault rifles and tanks, Col. John Belmar, the top police officer in the county, claimed that military equipment had kept civilians and officers safe during the protests.

Why The Chicago ‘68 Convention Matters Today

August 23, 2018 Andy Thayer, Counterpunch.org , , , ,
The events around the 1968 Democratic Convention were a sharp turning point in U.S. politics. In full view of news cameras, Mayor Richard J. Daley let his police crack the heads of anti-war protesters in the streets of Chicago, as well as cameramen, other journalists and passersby. Inside the convention, he showed brazen contempt for the popular will by engineering the selection of a pro-war candidate who hadn’t won a single primary. Such blatant contempt for democracy alone would be reason enough to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Democratic Convention. But the lessons to be learned from the events surrounding the 1968 convention and its aftermath are far more profound than that. For those who wanted wholesale change – from a society of greed and violence to one that values human beings – the Democratic Party’s actions were a gut-wrenching teachable moment.

Ending Police Brutality Starts With Firing Dangerous Cops

August 14, 2018 Chris Burbank, Huffingtonpost.com ,
This week is the fourth anniversary of the shooting death of Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson, Missouri, and the protests that spread across the nation after that tragedy. In the years since Ferguson placed police behavior under the national microscope, confidence in the police has risen and plummeted. Overall mistrust in some communities is a constant, especially among African-Americans. And recent incidents of white people calling the police on black people for simply living their lives haven’t helped the situation. Our nation is in the midst of a volatile moment, and it’s crucial ― literally a matter of life and death ― that we identify how we got here and how we can get out. I’m a former Salt Lake City police chief. I believe we should start with the officers. In the last four years, we’ve learned an undeniable truth: America’s police departments do not always hire and retain the best officers.

Black Progressive Pulls Off Upset Against Prosecutor Who Declined To Charge Cop For Killing Michael Brown

August 11, 2018 By Chris Sosa, AlterNet.org ,
Ferguson city council member Wesley Bell defeated 27-year incumbent Bob McCulloch in the Democratic primary for St. Louis County's prosecutor. Both candidates are notably the children of police officers. McCulloch gained infamy for his refusal to prosecute the officer who fatally shot unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown in 2014. The shooting inspired the national Black Lives Matter movement, now a powerful force in progressive politics. The incumbent prosecutor has never prosecuted a cop for killing an unarmed civilian in his seven-term history. Bell, who carried 57 percent of the primary vote according to the unofficial result, is now the presumptive winner of the general election because no Republicans are running for the seat.

4 Years After Eric Garner’s Death, We’re Still Waiting For Justice

July 20, 2018 Staff, Aclu.org , , ,
Four years ago today, Eric Garner was killed on Staten Island by police. The 43-year-old father died after he was put in a chokehold by New York Police Department Officer Daniel Pantaleo. His last words, “I can’t breathe” — repeated 11 times while half a dozen officers did nothing to intervene — helped fuel a movement for police accountability that continues today. Yesterday, the city announced that, after waiting more than three years for a federal investigation into Garner’s killing to conclude, it will move forward with its own inquiry into Garner’s death. In a letter to the Department of Justice, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Lawrence Byrne wrote that if the Justice Department does not publicly announce whether it will bring charges against Pantaleo by August 31, the city will serve Pantaleo with departmental charges and try him in an administrative trial in early 2019.

Protesters Block Expressway After Officer Who Shot Antwon Rose Granted Bail

June 30, 2018 Por Doha Madani, Huffingtonpost.com , , , ,
Protesters shut down a portion of the Tri-Boro Expressway outside Pittsburgh on Thursday after the officer who shot and killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose was released on bail. East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld shot Rose, who was unarmed, three times, including once in the back as the teen fled a traffic stop on June 19. Rosfeld, 30, was charged with criminal homicide and released on a $250,000 bail on Wednesday, despite opposition from prosecutors, according to The New York Times.  About 85 people blocked an area of the Tri-Boro Expressway, demanding Rosfeld’s bail be revoked, Allegheny County spokeswoman Amie Downs told HuffPost. “[The police] are allowing them to proceed right now, as they are peaceful in the area in they are in, as the police are able to divert traffic around them,” she said.

Officer In Antwon Rose Shooting Charged With Homicide

June 27, 2018   Hayley Miller and Sara Boboltz, Huffingtonpost.com.mx   , , ,
The suburban Pittsburgh police officer who fatally shot 17-year-old Antwon Rose was charged Wednesday with criminal homicide. East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld shot Rose, who was unarmed, three times, including once in the back, on June 19 as the teen fled a car that had been stopped by police, according to the criminal complaint filed against the officer. Rosfeld had been sworn into the police department just hours earlier. The officer surrendered Wednesday after the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office filed the charge against him, NBC News reported. He was released on bond, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. DA Stephen Zappala said at a news conference Wednesday that Rosfeld’s use of deadly force was unjustified because Rose was neither armed nor a fleeing felon.  “You can’t take somebody’s life under these circumstances,” Zappala said...

Bulletproof Warrior Training Manual Released

June 4, 2018 Staff, Unicornriot.ninja , ,
Bloomington, MN – Highly controversial ‘Bulletproof Warrior’ training manuals from the same session that Jeronimo Yanez, Philando Castile’s killer, attended in 2014 were released to the public by community organizers during a press conference at the Mall of America (MoA). MoA security hosted the Bulletproof training on May 16-17, 2018, in which an estimated twenty law enforcement officers were pulled from attending the contentious training course by their superiors over the negative public relations it would bring their departments. Bulletproof Warrior training, conducted by Calibre Press, became publicly scrutinized a couple years ago when local media revealed that former St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez attended the training two years before killing Philando Castile during a traffic stop.

#DianteYarber: California Cops Gun Down Father Of 3 In Hail Of Bullets. His Crime? Sitting In Walmart’s Parking Lot

April 19, 2018 Kirsten West Savali, Theroot.com ,
Barstow, Calif., police officers fired what sounded like more than 30 bullets into a car in Walmart’s parking lot, killing Diante “Butchie” Yarber, 26, and shooting two other passengers, including 23-year-old Marian Tafoya who was critically wounded. The incident occurred on the morning of April 5, when Yarber, the father of three girls, ages 9, 7, and 1, drove his cousin and friends to a local Walmart. Barstow police claim they were responding to a call about a “suspicious” vehicle in the parking lot, when they spotted Yarber waiting in a black Mustang for his passengers to return to the car. This, per usual, is where law enforcement’s account of events doesn’t appear to align with reality.

Not Charging The White Officers Who Killed Alton Sterling Is A Travesty

April 3, 2018 By Colleen Kane Gielskie, Aclu.org , ,
On March 27, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced that his office would not bring criminal charges against the two police officers who shot and killed Alton Sterling as he lay pinned by them to the ground in front of a convenience store in Baton Rouge. Attorney General Landry’s decision is two contradictory things: It is shocking, and it is unsurprising. The decision sends a clear message about policing in America today, and highlights the continuing crisis of accountability when it comes to unlawful use of excessive and deadly force by police. The failure to hold police accountable for the killings of Black men and boys is standard practice at both the local and federal level. Last year, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the nation’s so-called “top cop,” and his Department of Justice concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring federal civil rights charges against the officers involved in Sterling’s death.

Families Of Police Victims Create Community Amidst Tragedy

March 30, 2018 Staff, Unicornriot.ninja ,
Unicorn Riot was live for the Remembering Cordale Handy Memorial Banquet, which featured emotional speeches by mothers and families impacted by police violence, entertainment, a keynote speaker, community organizer speakers, dinner, dancing, giveaways, and more. The family members and mothers have created a community of solidarity for each other, and that love was on full display with Kim Handy-Jones and the others continually expressing gratitude towards the community that has opened their arms to them. After being welcomed by the evenings emcee, Dr. Nekima Levy-Pounds, Kim Handy-Jones opened by pointing out the “mother’s table” on the other side of the ballroom, where mothers, aunts, and wives of police killings were seated, she said, “I’m looking at some strong women right there at the mother’s table that are putting up the fight”.

Protests Shut Down Sacramento Kings Game, Freeways Over Stephon Clark’s Death

March 24, 2018 Carla Herreria, Huffingtonpost.com , ,
Black Lives Matter activists linked arms and blocked the Golden 1 Center while chanting: “Stephon Clark!” Outraged over the latest police shooting of an unarmed black man, hundreds of protesters flooded the streets of Sacramento, California, on Thursday, even forcing an events center into lockdown minutes before an NBA game.  The daylong demonstration was held in response to Sacramento police officers killing 22-year-old Stephon Clark in his grandparents’ backyard on Sunday night while responding to reports of car break-ins. The Sacramento Police Department said officers believed Clark had advanced toward them while holding a gun, though police only found a cellphone on him after an exhaustive search.

6 Elements Of Police Spin: An Object Lesson In Copspeak

February 1, 2018 Adam Johnson, Fair.org , ,
The addition of “involved” to these headlines adds nothing, obscures much and takes longer to read. The first ought to say, “Deputy Shoots Teen to Death in Franklin County Courtroom” (9 vs. 11 words); the second could have been written, “Mother of Teen Shot, Killed by Deputy Demanding Answers” (9 vs. 12 words). These headlines would be more efficient with the added bonus of explaining what actually occurred. The purpose of saying “officer-involved”—as others have noted before—is to obscure responsibility. A bizarre construction, it does not appear in other contexts. (Can one imagine the headline, “Man Dead After Gang Member–Involved Shooting”?) It’s a  thought-terminating cliche, a ready-made assemblage of words that does the thinking for the reader in service of a political end—in this case, protecting the police from bad PR.

Freedom Rider: Who Killed Erica Garner

January 4, 2018 By Margaret Kimberley, Blackagendareport.com , ,
Erica Garner was only 27-years old when she died on December 30, 2017. She was the mother of two children, one of whom was eight years old and the other just four months old. Ms. Garner became famous when father, Eric Garner, was murdered by New York City police on July 14, 2014. The killing was filmed and the world heard his last words, “I can’t breathe.” Most police murder victims die unknown and their deaths are rarely even investigated. Garner was killed when thousands of people mobilized in mass protest across the country over the issue of police homicides. Because of that pressure the City of New York went through the motions of prosecuting his killer, Daniel Pantaleo. But the grand jury in the conservative and mostly white borough of Staten Island refused to indict.

Ben Crump To Represent Family Of Teen Injured During Troy Arrest

January 1, 2018 By Anna Beahm, al.com , ,
Florida-based attorney Ben Crump, who has represented the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, will represent a teenager who was allegedly beaten by a Troy police officer during an arrest Saturday, according to a statement from attorneys issued today. Crump and and attorneys Dustin Fowler and Stephen Etheredge of Buntin, Etheredge and Fowler in Dothan will represent 17-year-old Ulysses KeAndre Wilkerson, the attorneys said in a statement Thursday. In the statement, the attorneys said they were retained by Wilkerson's family. "We will do everything in our power to seek justice for Ulysses Wilkerson, an African-American teenager who was brutally beaten at the hands of police in Troy, Alabama, on the night of Dec. 23," Crump and Fowler said in a statement.
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