Deaths and Injuries in Police Custody

[Andrea]

Officer who fatally shot East Pittsburgh teen Antwon Rose charged with criminal homicide

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/officer-who-fatally-shot-east-pittsburgh-teen-antwon-rose-charged-n886896

The suburban Pittsburgh police officer who fatally shot unarmed black teenager Antwon Rose has been criminally charged after prosecutors say that he was never threatened during the incident and acted with "no justification."

East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld turned himself in on Wednesday after being charged with one count of homicide, according to court records.

"You can't take somebody's life under these circumstances," District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. said during a news conference.

Rose, a rising 17-year-old senior and honor student at Woodlands High School, was shot three times, including in the back, on June 19 as he and another teen ran away from a vehicle during a traffic stop. The vehicle had matched the description of a car connected to a drive-by shooting earlier that night.

Zappala told reporters that the evidence supports a case for third-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison, but added that he believed prosecutors could argue first-degree murder, which would send Rosfeld to prison for life if convicted.

In a video posted on social media by a bystander in a nearby home, Rose and Zaijuan Hester, 17, are seen getting out of the passenger side of a silver Chevy Cruze. As they begin to run, shots are heard and the witness gasps and asks, "Why are they shooting at them?"

Earlier in the day, surveillance cameras captured a light-colored Chevy Cruze that was involved in a drive-by shooting, according to an affidavit. The video showed the rear passenger window rolled down before a handgun emerged and fired .40 caliber bullets. Casings from those bullets at the scene of the shooting were later positively identified as having come from a .40 caliber Glock found under the back portion of the Chevy's passenger's seat.

Detectives said that the person in the front passenger seat, where Rose had been sitting, did not fire any of the shots, the complaint said.

“Antwon Rose didn’t do anything except be in that vehicle,” Zappala said.

One person was struck by the gunfire and transported to a local hospital "where he was treated for a grazing gunshot wound to the abdomen," according to the affidavit.

After the traffic stop was made, the driver of the Chevy Cruze was ordered out of the car by the officers when Rose and the other male "bolted from the vehicle on foot," Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman McDonough later said.

McDonough said Rose was unarmed but that two semi-automatic handguns were found on the floor of the vehicle.

Rose was struck by bullets fired by Rosfeld in the arm, face and abdomen, according to the affidavit. A medical examiner determined the bullet to the abdomen hit Rose's heart and lungs, and was determined to be the fatal shot.

The driver of the vehicle was arrested and later released without charges. The driver told police he was operating as a jitney driver, McDonough said.

Hester was taken into custody late Monday night on a probation violation, according to NBC News affiliate WPXI. He was charged with attempted homicide Wednesday morning in relation to the drive-by shooting that caused the initial traffic stop, WPXI reported.

Zappala said that Hester has not cooperated with investigators.

Rosfeld, 30, had been sworn into the East Pittsburgh Police Department just hours prior to the shooting. He was an officer in other departments in the area, according to WPXI.

Immediately after the shooting, Rosfeld had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Zappala was deeply critical of the East Pittsburgh Police Department during Wednesday's news conference, saying he has concerns "about the lack of policies and procedures in East Pittsburgh" and that the city has "a lot of answering to do."

The City of Pittsburgh Fraternal Order of Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.

According to the affidavit, Rosfeld told investigators inconsistent stories about believing Rose had a weapon. Initially, he said, he thought he saw something dark that he perceived as a gun, but when asked to repeat his story, Rosfeld told detectives that he did not see a gun.

In regard to the inconsistency, Rosfeld told investigators he saw something in Rose's hand but was not sure what it was, according to the affidavit.

Rose died later that night on June 19 at a nearby hospital. His funeral was held on Monday.

After what appeared to be inaction by the district attorney's office, protests took place in Pittsburgh outside the Allegheny County Courthouse over the latest fatal shooting involving a white officer and an unarmed black male.

Rosfeld was arraigned Wednesday morning. His next court date is scheduled for July 6.

The officer was remorseful, Zappala said, adding, "You do not shoot someone in the back if they're not a threat to you."

Rosfeld's bail was set at $250,000, according to court documents. He was released from custody after posting unsecured bond, according to WPXI.

The prosecution, much less conviction, of on-duty police officers involved in fatal shootings is rare.

From 2005 to 2017, 82 officers across the United States have been charged with murder or manslaughter resulting from on-duty shootings, according to research by Philip Stinson, an associate professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. In the last 13 years, only one officer was convicted of intentional murder, according to Stinson.

[Andrea]

Shaun King shared a post.

This police officer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania should be fired immediately for what he did to this man. After he is fired, the District Attorney should immediately press charges for criminal assault.

What he did here is completely illegal.

This man was compliant, calm, unarmed, and non-violent.

Hundreds of people have been killed by police from Tasers electrocuting them to death.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=190039018320570&id=100019 434198312

[Andrea]

Man killed by Portland State police was Navy vet trying to break up fight, friends say

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/06/man_killed_by_portland_state_p.html

A Portland man fatally shot early Friday outside a sports bar near Portland State University by campus police officers was a U.S. postal worker and father of three daughters who served in the Navy and married his high school sweetheart, friends say.

They identified the man as Jason E. Washington, 45. Friend Alyssa LeCesne said Washington was also a grandfather to a 5-year-old girl who "hero worshipped the ground he walked on." She described him as a Franklin High School graduate and an upstanding man who was proud to have helped raise a household full of women.

Washington and his family came back from a trip to Mexico earlier this week, she said.

"There are a lot of people in Portland grieving right now," LeCesne said.

Police have not yet released Washington's name, nor any details of the circumstances that led to his death.

Two Portland State University police officers have been placed on paid administrative leave after at least one of them opened fire near The Cheerful Tortoise along Southwest Sixth Avenue around 1:30 a.m.

The officers have been identified as Officer Shawn McKenzie, who has been with the campus public safety office since 2002, and Officer James Dewey, who's been there since 2014. Both became armed sworn officers in 2016. The school's board of trustees voted to allow their campus officers to carry firearms two years earlier.

McKenzie and Dewey were near the bar at 1939 S.W. Sixth Avenue around 1:30 a.m. when they noticed a fight, Portland police said. At some point, at least one of the officers shot a man who was at the scene.

LeCesne and Mike Joseph, another friend and former co-worker of Washington's, said Washington wasn't involved in the fight and was trying to break it up.

A witness also told Oregon Public Broadcasting that the man wasn't fighting and was shot after a holstered handgun he was carrying fell onto the ground and he appeared to be trying to pick it up.

After the officers yelled that there was a gun, there was no apparent hesitation before the gunfire, the witness said.

The fight started because one man used racial slurs when speaking to another man, said the witness, who provided video of the altercation leading up to the shots being fired.

Mike Joseph, another friend and former co-worker of Washington's, said Washington was at the bar with friends, celebrating the Oregon State University baseball team winning the College World Series. He had a concealed carry permit for his handgun, Joseph said.

"I saw the video, and there is no way he should have been shot," Joseph said. "I wish he didn't have a gun on him, because this probably wouldn't have happened if he didn't."

Joseph said Washington was well-liked and everyone he's spoken to about the shooting is furious about his death, "especially after seeing the video."

"It's just a really unfortunate situation," said Donald Dietz, 25, an employee at the Cheerful Tortoise who witnessed the shooting. He had asked a co-worker to call the police when he saw a conflict inside the bar escalate and move outside. He was only a few feet away when the man was shot.

"The unfortunate situation is he was trying to help and break things up," Dietz said of the man who was shot.

Dietz recalled the man reaching for his gun after police told him three or four times not to.

"They warned him multiple times not to reach for it, but he did," Dietz said. "I don't want the message out there that the cops were trigger-happy." Dietz said employees at the Cheerful Tortoise did everything they could to stop the situation from escalating like it did. "It's just that people got drunk and stubborn," he added. "They had to do it," he said of the officers involved. "People think they were overzealous, but they had to do it."

Portland State University President Rahman Shoureshi said he's asked the campus public safety chief to have an internal review of the shooting, as well as the school's policy and procedures.

"Campus safety is our top priority at PSU," Shoureshi said in a statement. "As you know, we are an urban campus, and that presents challenges."

He said the school tries to provide a "safe and welcoming" environment on campus. The Portland Police Bureau is investigating the shooting.

The Portland State University Student Union said it was mourning the death of the man shot by police and noted the arming of campus officers occurred amid opposition from students. The group said Friday that it will continue to push for campus police to not carry guns.

[Andrea]

Sources ID Brooklyn cops who allegedly drove off without leaving car to check on dying victim

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-cops-who-drove-off-in-brooklyn-identified-20180702-story.html

Two Brooklyn cops who allegedly left a shooting victim to die when they failed to get out of their car and investigate a 911 call have been identified.

Officers Roberto Anton and Lisa Lavelle, both assigned to the 73rd Precinct in Brownsville, drove off without ever getting out of their cruiser, law enforcement officers said Monday. The cops have been suspended.

Anton and Lavelle answered a 911 call of a man shot on Decatur Ave. in Bushwick on Saturday, but they left the scene after staying in their car for three minutes. Robert Fason, 43, later died from his wounds.

Fason’s brother, Lee Fason, 47, on Monday repeated his call for the NYPD to boot the cops.

“Gross, it’s gross. They are supposed to be the Finest,” he said. “That’s not them being their finest. They never told us about that (cops leaving scene). My reaction? More hurt. I want them to catch these guys who did this. And these officers, they should lose their jobs.”

He added, “If it wasn’t for the Daily News, we would have never known that the police didn’t do their jobs. They never told us anything.”

Fason said he doesn’t understand why people who swore an oath to protect others would respond to a shooting and ignore a call about a victim. The sequence began with gunfire on Saturday night. A woman heard a faint cry for help and she called 911.

Anton and Lavelle arrived and then left. The woman called again, and more cops arrived, this time finding Fason dead in the yard.

“You can’t just look out the window and drive off,” Lee Fason said. “They needed to get out of the car and investigate. They should have talked to the person who called. They were supposed to do the job that they were supposed to do.”

He said his younger brother is one of five siblings. His wife, Alona Fason, and their five children, are devastated, he said.

“He’s been with her since he was 19. They’ve been together for over 20 years,” he said. “How would you feel if the person you spent half your life with is gone?”

A second injured man remains at Kings County Hospital.

“He got shot in the neck. He might be paralyzed,” Lee Fason said. “I want to know what happened.”

Neither Anton nor Lavelle would comment Monday. Stephen Worth, a lawyer for the officers, declined to comment.

[Andrea]

Viral video shows El Paso police officer pulling gun on cursing children

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/nation-now/viral-video-shows-el-paso-police-officer-pulling-gun-on-cursing-children/465-eb867cd4-c93b-4d5c-a4ea-81c977162972

EL PASO — A video showing an El Paso police officer pointing his gun at a group of children has gone viral, with more than 2.7 million views on Facebook.

The incident, which occurred Thursday and resulted in the officer being placed on desk duty, is being investigated, city officials said Saturday after the video surfaced and was reported by the media.

El Paso Deputy City Manager Dionne L. Mack and El Paso Police Department spokesman Sgt. Enrique Carrillo said at a news conference Saturday that an adult and a minor were arrested for interfering with the duties of a police officer. No injuries were reported.

"We have assigned additional resources to ensure the investigation can be completed expediently," Mack said. She did not provide a timeline for when the investigation would be completed.

The video, which was posted at about 7 p.m. Friday on Facebook by a person with the handle "Aj-King Stoner," begins in the middle of an altercation between a police officer and a boy who appears to be a teenager.

The El Paso Times has chosen not to share the video because of the graphic content.

The video is laden with curse words, mostly from children yelling at police officers. It shows an unidentified officer with his hand on the head of a boy who is sitting on the sidewalk by the Seville Recreation Center in a neighborhood north of Ascarate Park.

At least six young boys can be seen in the video yelling at the officer. The officer then pulls out his handgun, points it at the boys and yells “Back up! Back up (expletive).”

The boys curse back at the officer. The officer puts his weapon back into its holster after a few seconds.

The names of the officer, who has been with the department for four years, and the two people arrested have not been released.

The incident began when officers responded to a report of criminal trespassing at about 5:50 p.m. Thursday, Carrillo said.

“The officers arrived and were handling that when they encountered the suspect involved in the criminal trespass and from there the events you witnessed in this video unfolded and that is where we are at,” Carrillo said.

No further details were released on what happened before the recording started or after the video ended.

Mack said her office was notified about the incident Saturday morning after the video had gone viral. She added that, to her knowledge, no complaints had been filed against any of the officers involved in the altercation.

After holstering his gun, the officer in the video points to someone off camera and says, "You again?"

He calls for more officers to respond to the scene. “Get over here,” the officer is seen saying into his radio.

The children curse at the officer and his partner throughout the five-minute video, which has been shared more than 47,000 times and has received more than 25,000 comments.

About 30 seconds into the video, another officer runs into the scene. Both officers then pull the boy, who was being held down by the first officer, to the ground.

While the boy is being handcuffed, the officer who earlier pointed the gun at the children, extends a nightstick. He yells at the crowd, which has grown, to get back.

The boy recording the video says, “It is all good. We are going to put a report on these two fools. It’s all good.”

He is then grabbed by the police officer but hands his phone to someone else and is handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car with the boy who had already been handcuffed.

A woman can be heard yelling curse words at the officers. An officer then approaches the woman, who runs away from the officer. He tells her "I know where you live." The woman tells the officer she doesn't care using an expletive and says, "I'll move."

The officer later begins arguing with a young boy and tells the boy “do something.” The officer, who is several feet taller than the boy, stands over the boy and continues to stare at him.

The boy is then grabbed by the officer and put up against the police vehicle.

The woman who is recording yells, “Just because he is my son, he is going to take him in. What a (expletive).”

The video does not show if the boy was arrested.

The crowd continues to scream curse words as more officers arrive at the scene.

The video ends with an officer coming up to the woman recording the video and asking for her contact information.

Officials declined to provide details about the department’s policies on officers pulling out their handguns or batons during incidents. The policy was not released Saturday.

The Internal Affairs investigation will look at whether the officer violated any department policies, Mack said.

"The whole investigation process with IA (Internal Affairs) will determine whether the officer followed protocol, look at all of the related incidents that surrounded that, take an opportunity to (do) interviews," Mack said. "And go through that entire process, so all the facts and data are gathered before any conclusions are drawn."

[Andrea]

Detroit police officer suspended after video shows him repeatedly punching naked woman in a hospital

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/us/detroit-officer-suspended-punching-woman/index.html

A Detroit police officer has been suspended with pay after a bystander's video showed him punching a possibly mentally ill woman at least 10 times at a hospital, the police chief said.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig has called the video "very disturbing" and said a criminal investigation has been launched into the officer's use of force. But he also added the officer is entitled to due process. The department is not making any conclusions but observations, Craig said.

Craig did not publicly identify the officer in the video, and CNN has not been able to identify him or get comment from him or his attorney. CNN has reached out to the Detroit Police Officers Association for comment.
During a press conference Thursday, Craig detailed how the incident unfolded on Wednesday night.

The initial call

Craig said police responded to a "lewd and lascivious in progress" call around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday. The woman was walking around the neighborhood naked, according to a report from CNN affiliate, WXYZ.

The woman was not agitated but passive, Craig said.

The officers did not handcuff the woman and Craig said that was among his concerns.

"We know from our training and experience anytime we transport someone, particularly if they are suffering from mental illness for their safety and for the officers' safety and the community's safety that we handcuff," he said.
The officers gave the woman a robe to cover herself and placed her in the car. They then took her to Detroit Receiving Hospital.

The incident took a turn

When the woman -- who has not been named -- arrived at the hospital she became agitated and took off the robe, Craig said. She spat on hospital employees, bit a security staffer twice, and tried to bite the officer who later repeatedly punched her, Craig said.

The bystander video shows the officer, his partner and two security guards trying to control the woman.

According to the chief, the incident took a turn when the woman turned her back toward the officer who had hit her.

"At that point we have grave concerns for the officer's actions," he said.
Officers should not continue to use "hard hands" on someone who turns their back, Craig said.

The video shows the officer continued to swing at her at least 10 times. The woman was treated for minor injuries and had bruises, the chief said.

Investigations ongoing

Craig said officials are in the process of downloading body camera footage and that video "tells a little bit of a different story." When asked about the video, the chief said use of force "never looks good" to the public.

But he said the bystander's video was troubling because officers are taught to de-escalate, and there are parts of the recording where it appeared the officer did not do that.

The bystander video was provided to a Detroit television station, which gave the footage to police on Wednesday.

Neither the officer -- described only as an 18-year veteran -- nor the person who recorded the video have been interviewed. But Craig said that members of the hospital staff were interviewed and confirmed the woman became agitated and aggressive. The staff did not comment on the officer's use of force, he said.

The police chief also said the suspended officer has had six minor use of force incidents before, the most recent in 2015.

[Andrea]

Mom: 11-year-old handcuffed for bouncing basketball at JaxPAL gym

https://www.news4jax.com/news/mom-11-year-old-handcuffed-for-bouncing-basketball-at-jaxpal-gym

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A Jacksonville mom said an overzealous police officer trying to teach her son a lesson put the 11-year-old in handcuffs when he wouldn't stop bouncing a basketball after a JaxPAL game.

JaxPAL is the city's Police Athletic League, which sponsors a youth basketball league.

Bunmi Borisade said her son was dribbling a ball Saturday in the JaxPAL gym on West 33rd Street when an officer asked him repeatedly to stop.

She said she was in another part of the gym and didn't witness the incident.

“A little girl came up to me and said, 'Hey, excuse me. Your son is being arrested for dribbling a basketball.' I said, 'You can’t be serious,'” Borisade said.

Fatayi Jomoh, an honor roll student, was not arrested, but he now knows what it feels like to be in handcuffs.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office confirmed Borisade's complaint was received by Internal Affairs on Tuesday and that it is being reviewed.

Borisade told JSO in her complaint that she believes the officer acted forcefully because she wasn't by her son's side.

“The officer who handcuffed my son looked at me and said, 'He was being disrespectful,'” Borisade said. “I said, 'Well, why didn’t you come and tell me? I’m his mom.'”

She said she understands Fatayi might have been “acting out,” but he didn’t deserve to be handcuffed and is now afraid of police, which is the opposite of JaxPAL's mission statement.

The league claims its goal is to create “positive relationships between law enforcement officers and the youth of our community through educational, athletic and leadership programs.”

Borisade said her son's opinion of police officers is anything but positive now.

“It’s ruined (my image of police) as well. I’m not going to lie and put on a show for the news,” Borisade said.

In the meantime, Fatayi said he wishes the officer would have given him a second chance.

News4Jax requested comment from JaxPAL’s leadership staff, and we are waiting to hear back.

[Andrea]

76-year-old deaf woman sues Alameda County sheriff’s deputy for rough arrest

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/76-year-old-deaf-woman-sues-Alameda-County-13159009.php

A deaf 76-year-old woman accused an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office deputy of excessive force during an alleged jaywalking incident last year, claiming the deputy “violently threw” her to the ground and handcuffed her to an ambulance while she was unconscious.

Attorneys for plaintiff Hui Jie Jin laid out the allegations in a lawsuit filed late last week in Northern District of California. The suit claims Jin suffered a permanent brain injury, along with contusions and abrasions, as a result of what her attorneys called an unlawful arrest.

Defendants named in the suit include sheriff’s Deputy Phillip Corvello, Alameda County Sheriff Gregory Ahern, Alameda County and the city of Dublin. Corvello is contracted to work with the Dublin Police Department.

Nate Schmidt, a Dublin police captain, confirmed that the department conducted an internal investigation after the incident and found Corvello’s use of force to be within policy.

The department’s policy does not count jaywalking as an arrestable offense, Schmidt said, but “there was more than an arrest for jaywalking. Not obeying a lawful order is an arrestable offense, so that’s what we were looking at.”

Schmidt declined comment on the allegations in the civil suit but confirmed that Corvello is still employed by the agency.

Jin and Corvello encountered each other on the morning of July 21, 2017, when Jin was out shopping for groceries. The lawsuit claims that Corvello began yelling at Jin while she was allegedly jaywalking, but because Jin is “profoundly deaf” she couldn’t hear or understand his commands.

As Corvello moved closer to her, the suit alleges, Jin pointed to her ear with one hand and waved her hand back and forth with the other to signal that she was deaf.

“Despite recognizing that Mrs. Jin could not hear or understand him, Officer Corvello made no attempts to effectively communicate with Mrs. Jin at any point before or during her arrest,” the suit states.

More officers arrived on the scene and performed a search of Jin and her grocery bags, according to court documents, and during this time Jin emptied her pockets to hand Corvello her California identification card, disabled senior citizen bus pass, and a handwritten card with the name and phone number of Jin’s daughter for emergencies.

“Mrs. Jin was terrified, but at no point did she resist arrest or attempt to flee, nor could she due to her age and disabilities,” the complaint states. Jin prayed and repeatedly bowed in front of Corvello “in order to beg ... for mercy and not to hurt her.”

In response, the suit alleges, Corvello slammed the woman to the ground, placed a foot or knee behind her neck or back and handcuffed her. Jin passed out and was taken to the hospital via ambulance, according to the suit, which alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, negligence, and deprivation of Jin’s civil rights.

Jin was issued a citation for jaywalking and resisting arrest, but no paperwork exists and no charges were filed, the suit states.

Jin is seeking an unnamed amount in damages, as well as a training and policy overhaul on how the agencies handle people with hearing loss. A case management conference is scheduled for Nov. 26 at the Phillip Burton Federal Building in San Francisco.