Deaths and Injuries in Police Custody

[Andrea]

East Cleveland, Ohio, mayor: 2 officers fired, could face charges

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/29/us/east-cleveland-police-officers-fired/index.html

Two police officers in East Cleveland, Ohio, are out of a job after a robbery suspect alleged they beat him up and pushed him down a cliff after arresting him.

Police fired the officers, and the case has been referred to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Mayor Gary Norton said. He declined to provide details about the alleged misconduct but said the officers could face a range of charges, including police brutality, kidnapping and assault.

"We are not dealing with an issue of race," the mayor told CNN, noting that both the officers and the suspect are African-American. "We are dealing with what is in the minds of individuals that are empowered with a badge and a gun. It is a sickening thing to have to deal with as a mayor."

The accused officers could not be immediately reached for comment. They have not been charged.

East Cleveland is a suburb of Cleveland, where federal investigators found a pattern of police excessive force in 2014. But the cities have separate police departments.

In East Cleveland, Norton said the alleged incident began early Sunday after police arrested a robbery suspect accused of stealing an iPhone.

'A complete shock'

Suspect Jesse Nickerson made a complaint to a supervisor after his arrest, police Chief Michael Cardilli told CNN.

Attorney Heather McCullough, a public defender who's representing Nickerson, said he recounted his version of events to her in court Thursday.
"It was a complete shock. ... He told me they had taken him to the park, beaten him up and thrown him over a cliff," she said. "He had an obvious injury to his face. When he first came in to the courtroom, he stumbled a little bit and he was doubled over."

Nickerson showed "visible signs of an altercation" and sustained minor abrasions, the police chief said.

East Cleveland's police chief began an internal investigation after learning of the incident, suspending the officers without pay within 12 hours and firing them within 36 hours, the mayor said.

"Our police chief is committed to root out all of this stuff and prosecute all of those who engage in it," Norton said. "This is why people are afraid of the police, and we won't stand for it."

Now state authorities are investigating the two former officers for allegedly using excessive force, said Jill Del Greco, a spokeswoman for the Ohio attorney general's office. Investigators will turn their findings over to the country prosecutor, who will determine whether charges will be filed, she said.

Authorities have been tight-lipped about the investigation. But Cardilli released the names of the fired officers: Denayne Dixon, a full-time patrol officer who'd been working for the department since October 2014, and Gerald Spencer, a part-time patrol officer who'd been working for the department since May 2015.

CNN's efforts to reach Dixon and Spencer for comment have not been successful.

Cardilli described the allegations against the officers as "grotesque and vile," noting that the department's policies and procedures were not followed during the arrest. But in an interview with CNN, the police chief declined to provide further details on what he said was an ongoing investigation.

[Andrea]

Two Texas border police officers out of job after excessive force allegations

http://www.kvue.com/news/local/two-texas-border-police-officers-out-of-job-after-excessive-force-allegations/284646243

Two Texas border police officers are out of a job. They are accused of using excessive force against an alleged drunk driver.

It began with a traffic stop on May 13 around 1 a.m.

23-year-old Aaron Soto was pulled over on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

In a video released by police, Soto was seen losing his balance during a sobriety test before he’s handcuffed and placed inside the back seat of a McAllen police unit.

Arresting officer Luis Zuniga and Soto exchange insults. That’s when investigators said Soto spat in officer Zuniga’s face.

Soto was pulled out and thrown to the floor. A second officer, Ulysses Bautista, was seen kicking Soto while he’s handcuffed.

“He was seriously injured enough he was transferred to a San Antonio hospital,” said Soto’s attorney, Gregorio Trevino.

Trevino said his client suffered intracranial bleeding and cheekbone fractures. The incident prompts an internal investigation by McAllen police.

Two months later, City officials announced the firing of 7-year veteran officer Bautista and the resignation of officer Zuniga. They also released the investigation report, full-length videos, and Soto’s pictures in an effort to avoid a possible fallout.

“So they wanted to be transparent about what had happened and show the citizens that action would be taken against those folks that didn’t live up to the standards that we expect for those employees,” said McAllen city attorney, Kevin Pagan.

Pagan said the current environment across the country surrounding police violence and excessive force was one of the reasons the city decided to put the information out as quickly as possible. A decision Trevino and his client are praising.

“Since we’ve seen an increase in brutalities, in beatings, and in killings by police, this sends a very clear message that in McAllen, that’s not tolerated,” said Trevino.

Nevertheless, Soto and his attorney plan to file a lawsuit.

Meanwhile, officer Bautista intends to appeal the department’s decision to fire him.

[Andrea]

Deputies in San Francisco beating stole suspect's gold chain, took 'trophy' photo, lawsuit claims

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-alameda-san-francisco-beating-video-lawsuit-20160801-snap-story.html

A group of Alameda County sheriff’s deputies tackled a surrendering car thief suspect, beat him with batons, stole his gold chain then took a “trophy” photo of him bloodied on the ground, according to a federal lawsuit filed in Northern California on Monday.

In the suit, attorneys for Stanislav Petrov claim their client was hospitalized for 12 days, suffered a concussion, broken hands and facial fractures from his violent arrest Nov. 12 in a San Francisco alley, which came at the conclusion of a car chase that began in the East Bay.

The lawsuit claims that Petrov, who was being chased after police determined the car he was driving was reported stolen, ran down an alley then put his hands up to surrender. Deputy Paul Wieber tackled Petrov then he and Deputy Luis Santamaria unleashed a barrage of punches and baton blows to Petrov’s hands and head before other Alameda County sheriff’s deputies arrive and take him into custody.

Unbeknownst to the deputies at the time, a nearby business’ security camera captured the entire arrest on camera. The video apparently contradicts the initial report Wieber and Santamaria submitted about Petrov’s arrest and department commanders ordered them to rewrite it after the footage was posted on YouTube, the lawsuit claims.

The video shows one deputy walking off with a gold medallion Petrov wore around his neck, according to the lawsuit. The medallion was never booked into evidence and the deputy instead offered it to a transient who witnessed the beating in exchange for their silence, Petrov’s attorney claims.

One deputy used a cellphone to snap a picture of Petrov bruised and beaten on the ground as a “trophy,” the attorneys claim.

Both Santamaria and Wieber were charged in May with with assault under the color of authority, battery with serious bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon for Petrov’s arrest. They have pleaded not guilty and are free on $140,000 bail and due back in court this month.

Santamaria and Wieber’s attorneys were not immediately available to comment. Petrov was never charged with a crime in connection with the case. His suit seeks unspecified damages.

[Andrea]

SF man beaten by Alameda Co. deputies files civil rights suit

http://www.sfexaminer.com/sf-man-beaten-alameda-co-deputies-files-civil-rights-suit/

Attorneys for an accused criminal who was beaten by Alameda County sheriff’s deputies in San Francisco last November filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Monday against the deputies, Sheriff Gregory Ahern and the county.

The suit on behalf of 29-year-old Stanislav Petrov seeks unspecified compensatory, exemplary and punitive damages as well as an order barring the sheriff’s office from engaging in unconstitutional practices and prohibiting it from engaging in a “code of silence” about deputies who engage in misconduct.

Deputies were caught on camera beating Petrov after a high-speed chase that began in the early morning hours of Nov. 12 in unincorporated San Leandro, where Petrov had allegedly used a stolen car to ram two marked sheriff’s patrol cars, causing minor injuries to one deputy, before fleeing in a stolen car.

The pursuit ended at Stevenson and 14th streets in San Francisco’s Mission District, where Petrov ran out of gas and crashed the car. The alleged beating occurred a short distance away on Clinton Park.

Two of the deputies named in the suit are Deputy Luis Santamaria, a 14-year veteran of the department, and Deputy Paul Wieber, a three-year veteran, who were charged by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office in May with assault under color of authority, battery with serious bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors allege Santamaria and Wieber struck Petrov at least 30 times over the course of 40 seconds in the head and hands with their batons. Petrov suffered injuries including a concussion, broken bones in both hands, a mild traumatic brain injury and deep cuts to his head.

The suit also names deputies Shawn Osborne, Malizia Miller, Shelton Griffith and Sgt. Taylor, whose first name was not disclosed.

Sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt. Ray Kelly said Monday that Osborne no longer works for the department as the result of an internal affairs investigation into the matter and it’s possible that additional deputies may be disciplined when the investigation is completed.

Petrov’s suit, which was filed by Oakland attorney Michael Haddad, alleges that Osborne stole a valuable gold chain and money from Petrov after he was beaten.

The suit says the sheriff’s office recommended that Petrov be charged with 12 separate crimes for allegedly stealing the car and ramming the patrol cars, but the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office declined to charge him with any crime.

However, Petrov faces gun and drug charges in a federal case that followed a March 8 search of his apartment by the FBI.

The assault against Petrov came to light after the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office obtained surveillance camera video footage. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said investigators also made use of a second video taken from a body-worn camera that one of the deputies appears to have activated accidentally.

The suit, which was filed electronically and has been assigned to U.S. District Court Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers in Oakland, says that Petrov raised his hands in surrender when Santamaria and Wieber caught up to him in San Francisco but Wieber tackled him to the cement and repeatedly punched him in his head and neck areas.

The suit alleges that as Petrov lay prone on the ground with his hands out ready to be handcuffed, Santamaria and Wieber “began to viciously beat him with steel batons on his head, neck, back, hands and elsewhere on his body.”

The suit says Petrov wasn’t armed, never resisted after he had surrendered and never posed an immediate threat to anyone, but the deputies “brutally beat him without legal cause or purpose.”

In addition, the suit alleges that while Petrov lay in the alley with multiple fractures on both hands, suffering from a concussion and bleeding from multiple head lacerations, deputies stood around and exchanged “high fives” and took trophy photos of him.

The suit names Ahern as a defendant because it alleges that his department doesn’t properly train its deputies and tolerates the use of excessive force.

Kelly said he can’t comment on the suit yet because the department hasn’t yet seen it.

After Wieber and Santamaria were charged in May, Ahern said that following the November incident his department increased its training about the use of force and revised its body camera procedures to make it mandatory that deputies turn them

[Andrea]

Six shootings by Chicago cops weren't investigated, inspector general finds

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-police-missing-shootings-met-20160801-story.html

The agency responsible for reviewing all shootings by Chicago police officers has no record of having investigated six shootings in recent years, according to a critical report from the city's inspector general.

Inspector General Joseph Ferguson found that the Independent Police Review Authority had no record of looking into six shootings in which officers fired their guns but didn't hit anyone, according to the report obtained by the Tribune through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The inspector general wrote that it was unclear if the Police Department failed to notify IPRA of the shootings or IPRA's recordkeeping was to blame.

IPRA also had no documentation of 14 times when officers used Tasers between 2007 and 2014, records show.

In a report that castigated IPRA for deficiencies in tracking police use of force, Ferguson noted that more was at stake than a numerical discrepancy.

"During this historic moment of transformation of police oversight in Chicago, the city should recognize that use-of-force reporting is a crucial tool for meaningful transparency, accountability, and the fostering of public trust in the Police Department and the agency responsible for police oversight," he wrote.

In response, IPRA's head, Sharon Fairley, wrote that the Police Department should share blame for problems in reporting on the use of force. She held that IPRA had no records indicating that the department had notified her agency of the six shootings. The omissions took place between 2007 and 2011, years before Fairley was appointed to run IPRA.

Fairley acknowledged that IPRA previously had failed to assess whether the Police Department was providing comprehensive data on officers' use of force. She wrote that her agency was working to "ensure that we have the appropriate personnel and technological resources to address our data management and reporting needs going forward."

IPRA is now looking into the six missing shootings, agency spokeswoman Mia Sissac said. She said she could not provide details of the shootings, but IPRA's response indicated that three happened in 2007, another one in 2009 and two more in 2011.

Fairley also wrote that her agency had found several instances in which officers' reports on use of force were inaccurate, and she suggested in her response that the Police Department should be faulted for inaccurate reporting, rather than IPRA.

A Police Department spokesman declined to comment Monday, but a top aide to Mayor Rahm Emanuel wrote that the Police Department will start issuing public reports in September on use of force, a role that had previously fallen largely to IPRA.

The inspector general's report comes as Emanuel tries to deliver on reforms he promised amid the furor ignited in November by the court-ordered release of video showing a white officer shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times.

As the crisis deepened, the mayor installed Fairley, a former federal prosecutor, as IPRA's head in December. Months later, he announced plans to abolish the agency and replace it with a more effective department, though neither Emanuel nor his allies have given details on what will replace IPRA.

A recent Tribune investigation detailed IPRA's history of conducting superficial investigations, clearing police despite compelling evidence of misconduct and recommending light discipline. Fairley has acknowledged IPRA's shortcomings and — although the agency faces extinction — enacted reforms designed to improve investigations and stiffen recommendations for discipline. In the past two months, IPRA has ruled more police shootings unjustified than it had in the prior nine years.

The main players involved in the inspector general's report have history together. Fairley was Ferguson's top deputy before leaving for IPRA. Ferguson, meanwhile, served on the task force Emanuel appointed amid the burgeoning political crisis to examine policing and oversight. That task force in April called IPRA "badly broken" and recommended it be razed and replaced.

The IG's report criticized various aspects of IPRA's reporting on police use of force, concluding that — beyond the six shootings that weren't investigated — the figures IPRA provided in its regular reports on police shootings and uses of Tasers and pepper spray were generally inaccurate.

Ferguson also wrote that the city should provide greater detail on a wider range of uses of force and make sure police oversight officials have access to complete, detailed data on uses of force.

"This sort of inaccurate and incomplete reporting may erode public trust in the ability of a civilian oversight agency to hold police accountable," he wrote.

Fairley's response largely concurred with Ferguson's recommendations on reporting uses of force and said some reforms were already underway.

"We agree that there remains (an) opportunity for IPRA to bring increased transparency to the work of our office and the performance of CPD," she wrote.

[Andrea]

Deputy shoots and kills unarmed homeless man, prompting investigation

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-castic-deputy-shooting-20160803-snap-story.html

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy fatally shot an unarmed homeless man Tuesday night in Castaic after deputies tried to stop and question the man, authorities said.

William Bowers, 51, was riding a bicycle about 9 p.m. in the 31500 block of Castaic Road when deputies tried to stop him, according to sheriff’s Lt. Joe Mendoza.

Bowers dumped the bicycle and fled on foot from the deputies.

A deputy opened fire, striking him once in the upper torso. Bowers died at the scene.

Mendoza said Wednesday afternoon that investigators were still waiting to obtain the deputy’s explanation for why deadly force was used during the encounter.

“We don’t know why the deputy did what he did at this point because he has yet to be interviewed,” Mendoza told The Times. “No weapons were recovered at the shooting scene.”

Detectives, however, have interviewed several witnesses and most said Bowers had his hands near his waistband, according to Mendoza. Movement toward a waistband is often cited by police officers as a sign that person is reaching for a gun.

“We have a witness who says the man’s arms were at his sides. We have other witnesses who say his hands were in front of his waistband,” Mendoza said. “The deputy had the best view.”

Deputies initially tried to detain Bowers because they recognized him from previous interactions and knew he was on probation for a narcotics conviction, detectives said.

One witness told KTLA-TV Channel 5 that the man was running from deputies when he was shot.

“He jumped off his bike and started running, and the cop shot him,” the man told the news station.

Mendoza said that as part of their investigation, detectives are retrieving security camera footage from nearby buildings that may have captured some of the incident. The identity of the deputy involved in the shooting has not been publicly released.

The shooting, like all uses of potentially deadly force by deputies, is under investigation by the sheriff’s homicide and internal affairs bureaus, as well as the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

[Andrea]

Chicago police release video tied to shooting of unarmed man

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/05/us/chicago-police-shooting-video-release/index.html

A Chicago officer is seen opening fire on a black Jaguar as it races down a tree-lined street. The car crashes. The driver bolts. Officers chase him into an alleyway between brick houses. Then multiple shots are heard.

"Get down! Hands behind your back! You shot at us mother------!"

Moments later, officers curse at 18-year-old Paul O'Neal as they put him in handcuffs. Hands behind his back, his arms appear limp. The back of his shirt is covered in blood. An officer holds his foot on O'Neal's leg.
O'Neal died from his injuries.

The actual shooting, which occurred on July 28, isn't seen in the footage because the officer's body camera didn't record the moment he opened fire. However, police say the officer who shot O'Neal in the back violated policy.

This video footage, which was released on Friday, prompted Chicago police to warn of "civil unrest" and potential violence against cops.

Sharon Fairley, head of the police oversight board that released the video, described the footage as "shocking and disturbing."

The teen's family saw the footage before it was released to the public on Friday. Ja'mal Green, a spokesman for O'Neal's family, told CNN that relatives who watched the video immediately walked out of the room.

O'Neal led police on a chase through the South Side of Chicago. He had been suspected of stealing a car. The officer who fired the fatal shot was in a car that crashed with the Jaguar O'Neal was driving.

Whether the crash had an impact on the camera's ability to record is under investigation, according to police. Investigators are also looking into whether the officer had turned it on.

However, "as shocking and disturbing as it is," Fairley said the footage "is not the only evidence to be gathered and analyzed when conducting a fair and thorough assessment of the conduct of police officers in performing their duties."

O'Neal's family on Monday filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the officers, alleging that they fired at the teen "without lawful justification or excuse."

Andrea: Click link for video and rest of article

[Andrea]

A black woman called 911 because she was afraid of a police officer. A violent arrest followed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/08/05/social-worker-calls-911-because-shes-afraid-of-a-police-officer-he-then-violently-arrests-her/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.9f38d49a7274

Nervous and distraught, Earledreka White did the only thing she thought she could to allay her fears after being stopped by a police officer in Houston: She called 911 to report the traffic stop and asked for police backup.

White’s voice was so shaky that she stuttered when trying to give the emergency dispatcher their location, a medical plaza parking lot outside the Loop 610 near downtown Houston. Next to her stood an officer with Houston’s Metro Police Department, waiting while she made the call in the doorway of her sedan.

“He’s saying I crossed over a solid line and I did not,” White told the dispatcher. “I got out of the car to ask him what the offense was. He raised his voice at me and threatened to arrest me. So I’m really confused. And I would like another officer to come out here.

“My heart is racing. I’m really afraid.”

Less than two minutes later, the officer reached for his handcuffs, then for White’s left wrist.

Soon, the two began shouting as White begged him to stop.

After a violent struggle, the 28-year-old African American woman was arrested, sobbing.

The charge? Resisting arrest.

Video of the March 31 traffic stop has become another Rorschach test for people to calibrate their divided views on police practices in the United States.

Attorneys for White said the footage clearly shows the Houston police officer escalated the confrontation, unprompted. As the video spread online Thursday, some said the incident was yet another example of excessive police force being used against African Americans.

The Metro Police Department has cleared the officer of any wrongdoing and said his actions were valid. Still others criticized White for getting out of her vehicle in the first place.

White’s attorneys released video of the incident to the Houston Chronicle, which published the footage along with audio from the 911 call this week.

The newspaper described how the situation escalated after White was stopped:

White then tells the dispatcher she is being “harassed.” At that point, according to the combined audio and video, the officer grabs her and tries to pin her arms behind her back, unleashing a minutes-long struggle with White screaming for him to stop.

“This man is twisting my arm,” she tells the dispatcher. “Please get your hands off of me. What is wrong with you? … Why are you doing this? I haven’t done anything.”

She eventually can be heard breaking down into sobs.

“Oh my God, oh, my God,” she says. “Stop. Please, stop. Can you stop doing this?”

“I was shocked. I was absolutely shocked,” Zack Fertitta, an attorney who is handling White’s case pro bono, told The Washington Post on Thursday. “This is a clear violation.”

The officer, identified in records as Gentian Luca, is a three-year member of the force, according to the Metro Police Department. Fertitta said there was no reason for Luca to arrest White, who reportedly was stopped for crossing a double white line while driving.

“He’s the one that caused the confrontation and then he claims resisting arrest,” Fertitta said. “Yes, she did get out of her vehicle, which I would advise against anybody ever doing. However, it’s not a crime to get out of your vehicle at a traffic stop.

“It’s not as if she was on a roadside. She was in a parking lot. She had her hands clearly visible. There was nothing in her hands. There was no danger for this officer. And she immediately got back in her car.”

White spent two days in jail on a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest and was released on a $1,000 bail.

Less than a week after the traffic stop, White, of Houston, filed a formal complaint with Metro Police, alleging several counts of misconduct against Luca.

In the complaint, White said Luca “used excessive force, was rude and disrespectful when talking to her, threatened her with ‘I will Tazer your ass,’ ” and then arrested her “for no reason.”

White further alleged Luca had pulled her hair and wrestled her onto the car, causing her neck soreness and severe migraines afterward.

Over several weeks, an internal investigation reviewed all surveillance video, as well as written statements from four other law enforcement officials who arrived at the scene after White was taken into custody. On May 13, Metro police issued findings from its investigation and cleared Luca of all alleged violations.

Metro Police Chief Vera Bumpers said Luca was acting within the bounds of the law.

“The perception does look negative, but once you talk to the officer, once we reviewed everything … there were answers to what transpired,” she said.

During Luca’s three years as a Metro Police officer, he has never been disciplined, suspended or put on probation, department spokesman Jerome Gray said. Luca was not placed on leave during the investigation and remains on duty with Metro Police, according to Gray.

“I think he showed restraint and patience during the incident,” said Bumpers, the police chief. “I think he just really tried and allowed her to calm down. He waited … while she was on the 911 call three minutes, I think, and that’s a long time.”

All Metro Police officers go through mandatory annual training that includes “de-escalation and crisis intervention” techniques, Bumpers said.

This incident will be included in future training, the police chief told the Houston Chronicle.

The department is “just asking the public to ensure that they comply with law enforcement and be respectful,” she said. “Because at the end of the day our concern is for the safety of our community.”

Last month, the fatal police shootings of two black men several hours and 1,200 miles apart, in Baton Rouge, and Falcon Heights, Minn., reignited a heated national conversation about race and policing and also intensified a long-simmering debate over compliance, as one of the victims, a black school-cafeteria manager by the name of Philando Castile, was killed by an officer during a traffic stop.

“I always told him, ‘Whatever you do, when you get stopped by the police, comply, comply, comply, comply,’ ” his mother, Valerie Castile, told CNN on the morning after the fatal encounter. “Comply — that’s the key thing in order to try to survive being stopped by the police.”

She added: “My son was a law-abiding citizen and he did nothing wrong. I think he was just black in the wrong place.”

The two July shootings triggered demonstrations across the country, with protesters calling for an end to police brutality and for sweeping police reform.

The newly released video of White’s arrest in March is “just shocking,” said her attorney, Fertitta.

“I’m as pro-law-enforcement as they come, but that’s not good police conduct,” he told the Chronicle. “You can’t escalate a situation and then claim someone is ‘resisting arrest.’ That’s ridiculous.”

In an interview with The Post, he added: “This officer escalated the situation from a peaceful encounter over a traffic stop to this sort of confrontation that was completely unneeded. He should have just written her a traffic ticket. He never even started to write her a traffic ticket.”

Fertitta told The Post that he is working to get White’s charge dismissed so it does not affect her professional career.

According to her LinkedIn profile, White has a master’s degree in psychology. She previously taught sixth-grade math in the Houston Independent School District.

White did not immediately respond to a request through her attorney for comment.

Harris County District Attorney spokesman Jeff McShan confirmed Thursday that the prosecutor’s office had reached out to the officer to gather more information about the case and was reviewing the charge.

“They’re reviewing it,” McShan said. “That’s all we can say at this point.”

As news of White’s encounter spread, some likened the incident to the case of Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old Texas woman who was arrested after a minor traffic violation last year. Bland was found dead in her jail cell four days later, and her death — which authorities ruled a suicide — sparked protests around the country.

Ashton P. Woods, an organizer with Black Lives Matter in Houston, watched the video of White’s arrest on Wednesday and said the officer grabbing her wrist appeared to be “extremely problematic.”

“She was clearly fearing for her life because she was calling 911,” said Woods. “If she was in violation of something, they could have easily issued a citation. But when you’re pulling someone out of that car and clearly petrified … given everything that’s happened in the last two or three months, yeah, I feel for her.”

Woods said he planned to reach out to White.

“I thought about Sandra Bland,” Woods said. In his opinion, White’s case was not much different. “She just lived to talk about it, to be honest.”

[Andrea]

Police will be required to report officer-involved deaths under new US system

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/08/police-officer-related-deaths-department-of-justice?CMP=share_btn_tw

Police departments will be required to give the US justice department full details of deadly incidents involving their officers each quarter, under a new government system for counting killings by police that was influenced by the Guardian.

Announcing a new program for documenting all “arrest-related deaths”, federal officials said they would actively work to confirm fatal cases seen in media reports and other open sources rather than wait for departments to report them voluntarily.

The methodology of the new system, which aims to replace a discredited count by the FBI, mirrors that of The Counted, an ongoing Guardian effort to document every death caused by law enforcement officers in 2015 and 2016.

Writing in the Federal Register, Department of Justice officials said their new program should increase transparency around the use of force by police and improve accountability for the actions of individual officers.

“Accurate and comprehensive accounting of deaths that occur during the process of arrest is critical for law enforcement agencies to demonstrate responsiveness to the citizens and communities they serve,” their notice said.

The federal government has kept no comprehensive record of killings by police officers, even as a series of controversial deaths set off unrest in cities across the country over the past two years. An annual voluntary count by the FBI of fatal shootings by officers has recorded only about half the true number.

The new system is being overseen by the department’s bureau of justice statistics (BJS). It would, like the Guardian’s, document deaths caused by physical force, Taser shocks and some vehicle crashes caused by law enforcement in addition to fatal shootings by officers. A Washington Post tally counts fatal shootings by police.

In their Federal Register article, officials cited their authority under the death in custody reporting act – a law that states local departments must report all deaths in custody to the justice department or lose 10% of their federal funding. The law has been largely ignored since being reauthorized in December 2014.

The BJS carried out a trial of its new system that monitored deaths between 1 June and 31 August last year. Officials working on the pilot program cited The Counted as an influence on the initiative and a source for its information.

Officials estimate that this year there will be about 2,100 arrest-related deaths across the US involving 1,066 different police departments. The BJS criteria includes a wide range of deaths including suicides and natural causes. Last year the Guardian counted 1,146 deaths caused by police in narrower terms.

According to the announcement, police departments will be asked later this year to report once for all arrest-related deaths during 2016, before moving to the quarterly reporting process next year.

Under the new government program, all 19,450 American law enforcement agencies will be sent a form by the BJS that requires information on all the department’s arrest-related deaths in the past quarter of the year.

Deaths that were already noticed in media reports will be listed by the BJS for confirmation or correction by the local departments. Space will be included for the local department to list additional deaths that were not previously noticed. Departments that have seen no arrest-related deaths that quarter will be asked to return “an affirmative zero” saying so.

A second form seeking extensive information about the circumstances of each death will be sent to the local department responsible. It will require local officials to detail similar data to that logged by The Counted, such as demographic information on every person killed, how the deadly encounter began and whether the person was armed.

Other forms will be sent to the 685 medical examiner’s and coroner’s offices asking them to also confirm details of deaths that have been noticed in public sources. They, too, will be asked to return forms with details of any other deaths that went unnoticed.

The BJS ran a previous arrest-related deaths count that was shuttered in April 2014, four months before the issue of killings by police became a national controversy following the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, in Ferguson, Missouri.

Officials acknowledged in a review of the previous program that its census-style method led to an under-documenting of deaths. They argue that their new “hybrid approach” – proactively seeking out fatal cases using open sources such as news reports, while also asking police to alert them to unnoticed cases – will lead to more comprehensive data.

There will also be a two-month consultation period inviting comments on how it might work, particularly from law enforcement agencies and medical examiners who would be affected.

The FBI said at the end of last year that it planned to overhaul its discredited system for counting shootings by officers to include other uses of force and non-deadly incidents. The FBI program, however, is expected to remain voluntary.

[Andrea]

Justice Department report: Baltimore Police routinely violated civil rights

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-doj-report-20160809-story.html

Baltimore police routinely violated the constitutional rights of residents by conducting unlawful stops and using excessive force, according to two people familiar with the findings of a long-anticipated Justice Department probe expected to be released Wednesday.

The practices overwhelmingly fell on the shoulders of the city’s black residents in poor neighborhoods, according to the sources, who did not want to be identified prior to the report’s release.

Launched after the April 2015 death of Freddie Gray from injuries sustained while in police custody, the wide-ranging probe uncovered deep and systemic problems with how Baltimore officers do their jobs and how they are policed themselves, the people said.

Gray’s death, which triggered rioting captured on live television, was one of several recent killings nationwide of unarmed black men by police officers. The deaths have provoked a nationwide conversation about race, discrimination and police practices. It has also exposed deep rifts between police and the communities they serve.

The results of the Justice Department’s investigation are expected to be announced Wednesday in Baltimore at a press conference attended by high-ranking federal law enforcement officials and city leaders.

Among the findings: Baltimore police too often stopped, frisked and arrested residents without legal justification, and such activities fell disproportionately on black residents and drivers, the people said.

Officers also too frequently used excessive force in situations that did not call for aggressive measures, the people said, and were found to have routinely retaliated against residents for exercising their right to free speech and free assembly.

The investigation concluded that deeply entrenched problems were allowed to fester because the department did not properly oversee, train or hold accountable officers. For example, the people said, the department lacks systems to deter and detect improper conduct, and it fails to collect and analyze data that might root out abuses or abusers.

Andrea: Clink link for rest of article

[Andrea]

Harrisburg Police Shoot Bipolar Man In The Heart

https://thinkprogress.org/earl-pinckney-shooting-2218d903c256#.hykt3ypui

After police shot Earl “Shaleek” Pinckney in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Sunday, they said the 20-year-old was armed with a knife, threatening his mother, and refusing to follow their commands. But Kim Thomas says that her son wasn’t holding a knife when police shot him through a window, putting a bullet in Pinckney’s heart.

According to the police account offered on Monday, officers were responding to a call about a man endangering his mother. When they arrived, Pinckney was holding a knife to Thomas’ neck, but refused to put the weapon down. An unidentified officer shot the 20-year-old as his mother tried to get away.

But Thomas has since disputed the officers’ narrative, maintaining that Pinckney wasn’t holding a knife and was actually shot through a window.

Thomas said that cops were called earlier in the day about a family dispute, which picked up later in the evening before police arrived. Although her son, who was bipolar, had been arguing with his sister and a niece in his bedroom, Thomas was able to calm him down. Moments later, as Pinckney held her head, someone shined a light through his bedroom window and shot him in the heart.

“He didn’t have nothing in his hands,” Thomas said. “He was holding my head. They never came in.”

Andrea: Click link for rest of article

[Andrea]

Man shot to death by L.A. County deputy was not a carjacking suspect, officials say

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sheriff-shooting-20160809-snap-story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department acknowledged Tuesday that a man who was shot and killed by a deputy in Compton last month was not connected to a carjacking that led to the shooting, as it had reported earlier.

Donnell Thompson, 27, was fatally shot by a deputy on July 28 near the 800 block of West Stockwell Street during an intensive search for a carjacking suspect who had allegedly fired at deputies, striking their patrol cruiser. At the time, the Sheriff’s Department said Thompson matched the description of one of the carjacking suspects.

“We have determined that there is no evidence that Mr. Thompson was in the carjacked vehicle, nor that he was involved in the assault on the deputies,” the department said in the statement.

The announcement came hours before Thompson’s family called on Los Angeles County supervisors to hold the deputies involved in the shooting accountable. The family plans to file a federal civil rights claim against the county Wednesday, according to attorney Brian Dunn.

Deputies came across Thompson during the search when a neighbor reported finding a man lying in his yard, then called 911 around 5 a.m., the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

Sheriff’s homicide Capt. Steven Katz said deputies from the department’s Special Enforcement Bureau, which handles dangerous tactical situations, tried to use several less-lethal force options against Thompson after numerous attempts to communicate with him failed. Thompson was lying with his left hand under his head and his right hand under his mid-section, Katz said.

Deputies at the scene were concerned Thompson might have had a gun next to him or been involved in the carjacking, and they relayed that to the tactical officers, Sheriff’s homicide Lt. John Corina said. A flashbang was deployed, but had no effect, according to Katz, who said the tactical officers then fired three rubber bullets at Thompson.

Two of those rounds struck Thompson, who then stood up, looked around, and ran toward an armored sheriff’s vehicle. A deputy in that vehicle fired two rounds from an M4 rifle, striking Thompson twice in the upper torso.

“His concern was if he gets past me, then he’s in the community, can get into somebody’s house, then we have a barricaded suspect,” Katz said of the deputy’s decision to open fire.

Another suspect in the carjacking case, 24-year-old Robert Alexander, had been found hiding in another person’s home shortly before deputies came into contact with Thompson, Katz said. That suspect had yet to be officially identified as the carjacker, according to Katz.

The fact that deputies were still concerned that another carjacking suspect might be on the loose and that the one man already taken into custody had been found in a nearby home made the deputies who confronted Thompson more concerned about the danger he might pose if he got away, Katz said.

Alexander, who was charged with attempted murder and carjacking, has an extensive criminal record, Katz said. He was said to be wearing a dark-colored sleeveless vest and shorts. At the time of the shooting, Thompson was wearing what appeared to be a grey Kobe Bryant jersey and shorts.

While he declined to call the shooting a mistake, Katz said the incident had certainly raised questions.

“Knowing what we know now, do we wish it hadn’t happened?” he said. “It speaks for itself.”

No weapon was recovered.

Thompson’s relatives said Thursday morning that the 27-year-old — who was nicknamed “Lil’ Bo’ Peep” — had no criminal record and would never pose a threat to anyone. Thompson may have had an undiagnosed mental disability, according to his oldest sister, Matrice Stanley, who said he was taking classes for people with diminished mental capacities at El Camino College’s Compton Center.

”His age was 27, but mentally, he was not at that age,” she said. “Mentally, he was probably 16.”

Stanley and other relatives attended a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday morning to protest the shooting. Emotions ran high inside the meeting, as chants of “say his name!” and “Donnell Thompson” echoed throughout the chamber between brief speeches from the man’s relatives.

”When you killed my brother, you killed me,” Stanley said.

Relatives did not know why Thompson was on the street where the shooting took place, but believed he became startled when approached by deputies. Sheriff’s officials said they were also unsure why Thompson was there.

Dunn, the family’s attorney, said a federal civil rights claim will be filed against the county on Wednesday.

Donnell Thompson, 27, was fatally shot by a deputy on July 28 near the 800 block of West Stockwell Street during an intensive search for a carjacking suspect.

“Everything that we’ve learned up to this point has demonstrated that the SWAT officers or the deputies that responded, from the initial contact with Mr. Thompson up until the shooting, behaved in an aggressive manner and did not adopt a tactical attitude that would have de-escalated this encounter into a peaceful one,” Dunn said. “The result is that we have an unarmed individual, who had committed no crime, who once again has been the victim of a law enforcement homicide.”

Speaking to the county’s Board of Supervisors, relatives pointed out that Tuesday marked the two-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, Mo. They said they were horrified to see Thompson, who was black, become the latest name associated with the national controversy over how police use force, particularly against blacks.

Relatives described Thompson as a harmless, shy man who was a fan of Michael Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers. Danielle Moore, a 21-year-old former classmate, said Thompson could often be found playing the card game “Uno” at Compton Center, adding that he rarely lost unless his friends cheated at the game.

The youngest of four siblings, Thompson lived with his father in Compton and mostly kept to himself, relatives said.

”You had to be this close to hear him [speak],” said Thompson’s cousin, Larmar Avila, as he held his finger to his ear. “He’s soft-spoken. He was gentle. What was the threat?”

The Sheriff’s Department’s announcement came after a lengthy review, including a special session by the department’s Critical Incident Review Committee on Monday, to determine whether Thompson was involved in the carjacking and the alleged assault on the deputies.

The committee, which included assistant sheriffs, chiefs, commanders, personnel from risk management and training, the Executive Force Review Committee chair, county counsel, inspector general and sheriff’s constitutional policing advisers, reviewed gunshot testing residue, DNA evidence to determine if Thompson was in the carjacking vehicle, fingerprints and interviews with family, deputies and witnesses.

The deputy has been reassigned to non-field duties, though sheriff’s officials have not released his name. The investigation into the fatal shooting is continuing and findings will be presented to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

The Sheriff’s Department initially reported that Thompson was one of two carjacking suspects.

The events leading to the shooting began when Compton station deputies stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation near 134th Street and Alameda Avenue about 2:30 a.m. After running the plates, the deputies discovered the vehicle was stolen earlier that night in South Los Angeles. When the deputies called for backup, the driver sped away. That started a chase during which shots were fired at the pursuing deputies.

The carjacker drove through the schoolyard at Jefferson Elementary and crashed into multiple fences, according to Katz. The chase ended when the vehicle crashed into the curb in the 13400 block of Compton Avenue.

According to authorities, once the car stopped, one suspect exited the vehicle and there was an exchange of gunfire. Several shots struck the deputies’ cruiser but no deputies were injured.

Authorities said the gunman and another suspect escaped into a nearby neighborhood, so officials cordoned off several blocks and set up a perimeter.

At one point, the gunman forced his way into a home in the 2000 block of North Slater Avenue, where deputies found him hiding, Katz said. He was taken into custody and was found to match the description of one of the carjacking suspects.

At about 5 a.m., they were notified about Thompson, who was 200 to 300 feet from the initial gun battle with deputies.

At the Compton neighborhood Tuesday morning, neighbors were reluctant to talk.

Just feet away from Bandera Avenue and Stockwell Street, outside a light green stucco home, several votive candles and flowers were placed on the sidewalk. Some were lined up to form the letter "D."

"R.I.P bro/best friend" was written with a black marker on a red candle.

The troubling details of Thompson’s death come as the Sheriff’s Department is investigating two other recent shootings of unarmed men, and two years after another mistaken identity shooting rocked the agency.

In 2014, sheriff’s officials acknowledged that deputies mistakenly shot and killed an aspiring TV producer whom they thought was a stabbing suspect. John Winkler, 30, had gone to a neighbor's apartment in West Hollywood where a man was holding people hostage and tried to help. Winkler was shot when he rushed out of the apartment with another victim who had been trapped inside the apartment with a third victim and the suspect.

Deputies also shot an unarmed homeless man, 51-year-old William Bowers, in Castaic while trying to question him on Aug. 2. Bowers had jumped off a bike and attempted to flee when he was fatally shot in the upper torso, authorities said. Five days later, a deputy shot an unarmed suspect inside a residence in Inglewood. The suspect had fled into the home after a deputy attempted to stop him from spraying “gang graffiti” on a nearby wall, the department said in a statement.

The supervisors did not discuss the Thompson case after hearing from his relatives on Tuesday, but Supervisor Hilda Solis offered a brief statement of condolences to the family.

“There are members of the board who are sympathetic, and we care about you, and we care about your family and our neighborhoods,” she said.

[*Anya*]

The US government will track killings by police for the first time ever

By Tess Owen

August 9, 2016

The US Department of Justice, for the first time, will keep a comprehensive database of fatal officer-involved incidents, amid rising skepticism around police accountability.

It seems impossible to ignore that the announcement from the Federal Register came late on Monday, just one day before the two-year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown — the unarmed black teenager who was shot dead by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. His death triggered protests, sparked a national conversation about policing, and shone a spotlight on the systemic racism that pervades criminal justice in the US.

Until now, the FBI has maintained a dataset which includes information about fatal police shootings. Local law-enforcement agencies can voluntarily submit homicide statistics, including incidents involving police, to state police departments, which in turn send the data to the FBI. But since Brown's death, that system has been widely discredited.

An investigation by the Wall Street Journal found that the FBI dataset was missing more than 550 police killings between 2007 and 2012 from 105 of the country's largest police departments.

The new DOJ system is modeled after "The Counted" — a groundbreaking initiative by The Guardian which kept track of police killings since 2015 by relying on local media reports, and as a result has created a more complete picture of brutality by law enforcement in the US.

All law enforcement agencies — 19,450 in total — will be required to submit quarterly reports of all officer-involved deaths directly to the DOJ, including information about the location and time of the incident, manner of death, the victim's behavior during the incident, reason for initial contact, and the victim's race, age, gender, and so on. Failure to comply means they could lose 10 percent of their agency's funding.

Medical examiners and coroners will also be required to submit reports to the DOJ whenever they receive a body of someone who was killed by police.

Federal officials also say they will also work independently to verify fatal officer-involved incidents seen in local media reports and other sources, rather than waiting for police confirmation.

https://news.vice.com/article/the-us...rst-time-ever?

[Andrea]

LAPD officer charged in assault quietly avoids jail time under plea deal with prosecutors

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-lapd-plea-20160809-snap-story.html

The videotaped assault was so alarming, one Los Angeles police official called it “horrific.” The victim later said he was afraid he was going to die.

The LAPD and the civilian Police Commission came down hard on Officer Richard Garcia, saying he violated department policies when he kicked and punched Clinton Alford Jr. during an October 2014 arrest in South Los Angeles. The district attorney came down even harder, taking the rare step of filing a felony assault charge against an on-duty officer.

Garcia faced up to three years in jail if convicted.

Then the case quietly came to an end.

Under a plea agreement reached with prosecutors this spring, Garcia pleaded no contest to the felony charge as part of a deal with prosecutors that will see him avoid jail time if he completes community service and donates $500 to a charity by late May 2017. Under the agreement, Garcia would then be allowed to enter a new plea to a misdemeanor charge that would replace the felony and would be placed on two years of probation, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office said.

Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, whose office never publicly announced the plea, defended her office’s decision to settle the case without any jail time, saying she felt the agreement was appropriate.

She declined to detail the reasons for the plea, but said prosecutors generally look at a range of information including the seriousness of the victim’s injuries, whether the defendant has a prior record and the credibility of the witnesses. Video, she cautioned, “doesn’t tell the whole story sometimes.”

Lacey declined to say whether pending criminal charges filed against Alford influenced the decision. Court records showed Alford, 24, faces charges including pimping, rape and assault with a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody.

“I understand how in looking at the final result, someone may think that it wasn’t a just sentence,” she said. “But they simply don’t have all the information that we did when we made the final decision.”

Lacey said that she believed filing the felony charge against Garcia signaled to both police officers and residents that “people will be held accountable.”

“I do think it sends a strong message to any law enforcement officer who is thinking about violating the law,” she said. “If you talk to any officer about a felony on their record gotten in the course of their job, I don’t think anyone would see this as light at all.”

But others disagreed. Mac Shorty, the chair of the Watts Neighborhood Council, said the outcome was too lenient and another example of Lacey not holding police officers accountable during a time of increased scrutiny of how officers use force, particularly against African Americans.

“That’s not justice,” he said. “If I do something wrong, I face prison time. It’s not fair to the community that anybody coming into the community mistreats someone and gets a slap on the wrist.”

Caree Harper, an attorney representing Alford in a federal lawsuit he filed against the city, said that for nearly two years, her client and his family “have believed that Mr. Garcia would receive nothing more than a slap on the wrist and be back on the beat in no time.”

Garcia, who has been with the LAPD for about a decade, is awaiting what is known as a Board of Rights hearing, where a three-person panel decides disciplinary cases for officers who usually face termination or lengthy suspensions.

The officer’s lawyer defended his client’s actions, saying the LAPD and Lacey both overreacted to what he described as a reasonable level of force. Attorney Robert Rico said Garcia was “ready and willing to go to trial” but accepted a deal that he believed was in his best interest.

“This case was overcharged from the start. It never should have been filed,” Rico said. “The only reason it was filed was because of the ongoing, negative berating that law enforcement gets…. The D.A. and the chief politicized it.”

Alford’s arrest mirrored similar encounters with police across the country that have prompted criticism and concern: A black man, assaulted by a police officer, caught on tape. The video of the encounter — captured by a nearby security camera — was enough to raise alarm among police officials, but has not been made public.

In an earlier interview with The Times, Alford said he was riding his bicycle along Avalon Boulevard when a car pulled up and a man yelled at him to stop. Someone grabbed the back of his bike, he said, so he jumped off and ran.

Authorities later said police were investigating a robbery and that Alford matched the description of their suspect.

After a short chase, two police officers caught up to Alford. The video showed him getting on the ground and putting his hands behind his back, according to several police officials who saw the footage.

Seconds later, the sources said, a patrol car pulled up and a uniformed officer bailed out of the car, rushing toward Alford.

Garcia kicked, elbowed, punched and slapped Alford, according to a report from Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck made public last fall. The officer’s actions, the chief said in the report, were not reasonable “given Alford’s limited and unapparent resistance.”

“I was just praying to God that they wouldn’t kill me,” Alford told reporters. “I felt that I was going to die.”

Six months after the arrest, Lacey’s office announced that Garcia had been charged with felony assault under the color of authority. At the time, he was the third LAPD officer facing such a charge in connection with an on-duty incident caught on camera.

Jonathan Lai was charged in 2014 after prosecutors said he repeatedly struck a man — who was on his knees and had his hands on his head — with a police baton outside a restaurant near Staples Center. A jury acquitted him of two felony charges last year.

Mary O’Callaghan was convicted last year in connection with a deadly 2012 incident involving a woman arrested in South L.A. Patrol car footage showed the veteran officer kicking Alesia Thomas in the stomach and groin while the woman was in handcuffs and leg restraints. Thomas, a 35-year-old mother, lost consciousness in a police car and died later at a hospital.

But Lacey has faced criticism over her handling of other cases involving law enforcement officers, including her decision not to charge a California Highway Patrol officer who punched a woman along the 10 Freeway — another encounter caught on video.

Activists have also questioned why prosecutors have not yet said whether they will charge the LAPD officers who fatally shot Ezell Ford, a mentally ill black man, as he walked near his South L.A. home. Thursday marks the two-year anniversary of Ford’s death.

“She has hurt the community more than she’s helped us by not holding these people accountable,” Shorty, the Watts resident, said.

A judge approved the plea agreement with Garcia at a court hearing on May 26. News of the deal emerged this week, first reported by Jasmyne Cannick, a political consultant and commentator who also blogs about the LAPD.

Under the agreement, a D.A.’s spokeswoman said, Garcia must complete 300 hours of community service, stay away from Alford and follow all laws before his next hearing in May. If he violates those terms, the felony will stand and he will be placed on three years’ probation. If he doesn’t show up to court for the hearing, he could be sentenced to jail.

“I am confident you will be here,” Judge William N. Sterling told Garcia when the deal was finalized. “But if you do fail to appear … the court can then sentence you to the maximum.”

“Do you understand and agree?” the judge asked.

“Yes,” Garcia replied.

[Andrea]

Houston police officer off the streets after abc13 investigation

http://abc13.com/1466162/

In a newly obtained video, a Houston Police officer is seen balling his fist, punching a woman in the face and slamming her to the floor of a drunk-tank cell after she swung her elbow at the officer while questioning the no-refusal blood test. She is charged with felony assault. Until Ted Oberg Investigates asked questions, it wasn't apparent the officer's actions would even face strict review.

The incident and the video -- which Harris County District Attorney's Office said is now under review by civil rights prosecutors -- is the second to emerge from the Houston police lockup providing a look at officers physically reacting to suspects brought into the drunk tank.

Houston police brass have consistently refused to answer questions from abc13 about these incidents. Mayor Sylvester Turner declined comment on the first video uncovered by Ted Oberg Investigates, saying that incident took place in December 2014, during the administration of the previous mayor, Annise Parker.

This latest incident, involving 43-year-old Sharon Graves of Katy, took place March 30 -- nearly four months into Turner's term. He learned of this video after abc13 started asking questions about it and said this week he wants HPD to "scrutinize it very carefully to make sure police officers acted correctly."

"I expect a very thorough, very detailed review," Turner said early Wednesday.

By late Wednesday - hours after abc13 started promoting the story -- City Hall announced the officer was placed on administrative leave.

This incident comes as police departments across the country are coming under greater scrutiny for their actions with suspects in their custody and as Turner's team is conducting a nationwide search to replace the Houston police chief who retired six months ago.

Arrested for driving while intoxicated, Graves refused a breath sample so a judge issued Houston police a 'no-refusal' warrant to test her blood.

Once inside the testing room, Graves had questions about the paperwork

"The documentation didn't look right," Graves told abc13. "I was trying to get answers."

Her lawyer, Tyler Flood, said that Graves, who has many law enforcement friends, had legitimate questions about the warrant.

Then, "She stood up, showing physical objection to the legality of the process," Flood said.

Added Graves, "I was scared. I've never been in that situation."

The HPD surveillance video shows it unfold.

Graves is seen holding the warrant, examining it.

"I don't see my name on there," she tells the officer.

The officer explains her name is on the document. "It's signed by a judge," he adds.

"No, it's not," she replies.

See those straps right there," the officer tells Graves, pointing at a grey seat with harnesses where DWI suspects sit to have blood drawn. "I want you to act like a lady and have a seat." Graves does not. She instead moves to grab piece of paper and walk out of the blood testing area. Graves attempts to reach a cell phone in the back of her jeans pocket, as well.

The video clearly shows she did not obey the lawman's orders. Graves remains standing and swings her elbow, striking the officer on his cheek.

That's when the officer shoves her into the chair and then punches with his balled, yanking of Graves onto the floor.

But it wasn't over.

The officer put Graves' hands behind her back, slapped her with cuffs and shoved her back in the chair.

With Graves breathing heavily, slumped in the chair, other HPD staff came into the room.

"She clocked me," the officer exclaims to the staff. "Look at the video."

More breathing from Graves. "Yea, look at the [expletive] video," she gasps. "You know what? You're going to lose your job..."

The officer: "No I'm not."

HPD told abc13 that the use of force was reviewed.

The department did not allow him to talk about the case to Ted Oberg Investigates and abc13 is not naming him because he has not been charged with a crime.

Houston Police Officer Union President Ray Hunt described the officer's actions as proper police work.

"I honestly see nothing in there that disturbs me except (I'm) a little bit shocked the officer let her go for her cell phone in her back pocket and he didn't take her down at that point," he said.

He also believed the public's reaction would likely be mixed.

"Ten Houstonians who had never seen someone belligerent with a police officer? They'd probably say, 'Wow,'" Hunt said. "Ten Houstonians who have had to see officers subdue people who were were failing to respond? They would go, 'I'm good with that.'"

District Attorney Devon Anderson said today she did not want the video released publicly.

"The reason I won't comment on it and the reason we don't want it released is that it is a pending case and we don't want to influence potential jurors," Anderson said. "There was a use of force that needs to be investigated."

A DA spokesman added the office is looking at this case vigorously.

"We are far from running away from this," he said. "We serve the public. This case will very likely be taken to a grand jury so that 12 citizens can decide if the officer should be indicted or no-billed."

Graves had no criminal history before the arrest. She may now: a DWI misdemeanor charge from the initial arrest and a felony assault for allegedly purposefully injuring that officer with her elbow. She denies both charges.

Photos taken by the HPD that night allegedly show his injury. In the photos, his cheek appears red but no other injury is evident.

"They have to knowingly prove that she intentionally and knowingly assaulted this person and that's absolutely not what happened," Graves attorney Flood said.

Graves is in the process of filing a complaint with the police's Internal Affairs Division.

She lauds law enforcement officers who patrol the streets every day. She told abc13 that she questioned only this "one officer."

This is the second such video obtained by abc13 showing behavior in the Houston drunk tank that has raised eyebrows.

On August 1, Ted Oberg Investigates reported on the case of Reuben Williams, who was handcuffed in a cell surrounded by police officers after his arrest for alleged drunk driving.

Video shows Williams struggled with officers. And the officer said in a report that Williams also spit on him. The officer then said he pushed Williams away. Williams denies spitting on the officer.

Then the video shows William's head slamming against the jail door frame.

Seconds later, Williams drops to the floor with blood from his head smearing the wall and floor of that cell deep red.

Since that report aired aired, HPD said that Williams is being sought for arrest due to open warrants related to his December 2014 arrest.

[Andrea]

Cleveland woman punched by police officer while handcuffed suffers from mental illnesses, family says

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2016/08/cleveland_woman_punched_by_pol.html

The Cleveland woman punched in the face Thursday by a police officer suffers from mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, family members said.

Ciara Perez-Rodriguez, 21, suffered bruises and swelling on her face and arms in the altercation with police officers, according to her father, Louis Perez.

The altercation with an unnamed police officer during an arrest sweep on Cleveland's West Side was caught on video and quickly garnered widespread attention.

Officials have not identified the police officer who punched Perez-Rodriguez as she was handcuffed against a police cruiser. Court records identify several Cleveland police officers involved in the arrest, but do not directly identify the officer who hit Perez-Rodriguez.

The incident happened about 1 p.m. Thursday in the 1300 block of West 80th Street. Perez-Rodriguez's 14-year-old cousin, Andrew Perez, said he witnessed the incident.

Andrew Perez said he was with his grandmother when police descended on the neighborhood. The officers pointed guns at residents, including some children, he said.

Andrew Perez said his cousin told officers she didn't want to give them her name. She walked away from the officers, who then arrested her, he said.

Perez-Rodriguez spit on the officer to try to stop him from arresting her, Andrew Perez said. He said the officer hit her, put her in a chokehold and dragged her to the ground.

An arrest affidavit says Perez-Rodriguez threw a Pepsi can at several police officers. The officers told her she was under arrest. She spit at two Cleveland police officers, court records say.

Officers wrote that she continued to fight with officers while being handcuffed and kicked one officer in the shin. She spit at another officer and kicked an officer twice, including once in the groin, according to court records.

She kicked another officer in the shin as she was being put into the police cruiser. The officer grabbed her arm, causing heavy bruising, according to court records.

"You can't put that type of pressure on her," Louis Perez said Saturday. "Because right away, she'll lose control."

Perez-Rodriguez appeared Saturday in Cleveland Municipal Court, where she is charged with felony assault of a police officer. Cleveland Municipal Judge Marilyn Casssidy set Perez-Rodriguez's bond at $1,000.

Two others arrested during the sweep also made court appearances. Jorge Perez Montano, 19, is charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Court records say police arrested him with a .380-caliber handgun hidden in his fanny pack that also had crack cocaine in it.

A third man, Gary Morales, 22, is also charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Police reported Morales had a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun in a fanny pack under his shirt. Morales also had nine baggies of marijuana inside the pack, court records say.

The incident comes when Cleveland police are under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice meant to reform a department plagued with complaints about excessive use of force and how police officers handle residents suffering from mental illnesses.

A 2014 report from the Justice Department criticized the police department for, among other things, officers injuring citizens who were already handcuffed.

Cleveland police spokesman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia previously said officers were conducting a multi-agency operation. She did not give details or immediately return a call Saturday seeking comment.

Cleveland city spokesman Dan Ball said Friday he did not know if the officer who punched the woman is a Cleveland policeman.

"This has to stop," Andrew Perez said.

[Andrea]

Albany Officer Arrested, Accused of Slamming Teen Girl to the Ground

http://www.twcnews.com/nys/capital-region/news/2016/08/17/officers-allegedly-slam-st-anne-institute-resident-to-ground-albany.html

Speaking to the media Wednesday, Albany Police Chief Brendan Cox announced the arrest of officer Ervis Miftari, saying the officer;s actions with a 15-year-old girl was out of line.

"Our responsibilities are to protect the vulnerable," Cox said. "This was not protecting the vulnerable."

Police say on July 26, Miftari and his partner John Schueler responded to the St. Anne Institute for a female assaulting a staff member and breaking items. After arriving, the pair made a police report, then, per school protocol, placed the girl into a room with video surveillance.

"Officer Miftari enters the room and engages the 15-year-old female in a physical confrontation, grabbing her and pushing her," Cox said.

The chief says 30 seconds later, after leaving the room, Miftari is seen on video entering again when court documents say he grabbed her by the jaw, pushed her against the wall, then threw her against the ground.

"He holds her there for a time period of 30 seconds, then lets her get back up. They have a discussion and he leaves the room," Cox said.

This all occurred while Miftari's partner and three staff members watched. The chief says on August 4, the school notified police of the incident.

Miftari turned himself in and was arraigned Wednesday on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and second degree harassment.

"There was no reason for that use of force to happen," Cox said. "This was not during an arrest."

Schueler is currently placed on administrative duty, because the chief says he didn't stop Miftari.

"He did not commit a crime," Cox said. "I expect our officers to step in and stop something if they see something happening."

The girl, he says, is shaken up but is doing OK.

Both officers, the chief says, went against what police are trained to do.

"The officer has a good record here," Cox said. "He is certainly described as a fair officer, but this is unacceptable."

Cox added he will not be releasing the video, because he does not want to put the girl through any more trauma. Miftari is due back in court on September 14.

[Andrea]

SBI: Deaf driver killed in trooper-involved shooting

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/authorities-respond-to-reported-shooting-in-northeast-charlotte/426029600

A state trooper shot and killed a man Thursday night following a chase that began on Interstate 485 and ended in a northeast Charlotte neighborhood, the Highway Patrol confirmed to Channel 9.

The man that was shot and killed was hearing impaired, police said. The family confirmed to Channel 9 that he was deaf.

Family members told Channel 9 that the man is 29-year-old Daniel Harris.

Officials said that around 6:15 p.m., the trooper tried to pull over a Volvo that was speeding on the interstate near mile marker 30, but the 29-year-old driver would not stop.

The man then led authorities on a brief pursuit, exiting onto Rocky River Road and turning onto Seven Oaks Drive.

Harris must have seen the blue lights behind him as two troopers followed him for 6 miles on I-485, authorities said.

When they reached the off ramp at Rocky River Road, the SBI said troopers deliberately bumped his car trying to get him to stop, but Harris kept going.

The Highway Patrol said a confrontation followed, and that was when Trooper Jermaine Saunders fired the fatal shot.

Residents who saw Harris after the shooting said they did not see a weapon on or near him, and the State Bureau of Investigation confirmed Friday they had not recovered one.

Some residents in the neighborhood where the shooting happened think that Harris didn't stop right away because he was deaf.

The SBI said they are still collecting evidence from the scene, including video from the troopers in car cameras.

The Highway Patrol said Saunders is on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.

[Andrea]

Video shows LAPD officer kicking and punching in controversial South L.A. arrest

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lapd-video-20160822-snap-story.html

The video shows a Los Angeles police officer rushing toward the middle of the South L.A. street where two officers were holding a man on the ground.

Officer Richard Garcia swings his right leg and kicks the man hard near his head. Over the next 10 seconds, the video shows Garcia knee the man in the back, and elbow and punch him in the head.

As the other officers stand up and move away, Garcia presses his knee into the man’s back for more than two minutes, stopping only when other officers come to help pick up the handcuffed man and drag him toward a patrol car.

For nearly two years, the video of the October 2014 arrest has been repeatedly cited by L.A. Police Department officials and prosecutors as they denounced Garcia’s actions, sought discipline against him and charged him with felony assault. But the department refused to make the recording public, even after prosecutors agreed in May to a controversial plea deal that spared Garcia jail time.

The Times, however, obtained a three-minute recording of the arrest under an order from an L.A. County Superior Court judge. The video had been introduced as evidence in the criminal case against Garcia.

Clinton Alford Jr.’s arrest mirrored similar video-recorded encounters between African Americans and officers across the country that have prompted heated criticism. Whether to release such recordings has become a crucial issue amid the ongoing national debate over race and policing, particularly as departments add more cameras on officers’ uniforms and in their patrol cars as a way to build public trust.

The LAPD generally does not make those recordings public, a position that has been criticized as the department deploys thousands of body cameras to officers across the city. Chief Charlie Beck, who sharply condemned Garcia’s actions, has said releasing the videos outside of court could jeopardize criminal and disciplinary investigations, and could violate the privacy of people caught on camera.

The video of Alford’s arrest was captured by a security camera at a nearby factory and has been a key piece of evidence against Garcia.

The officer told LAPD investigators that he kicked Alford in the shoulder and used other force to help control him as he resisted police. His attorney also defended his client’s actions, saying he used a reasonable level of force and never should have been prosecuted.
From the get-go, Mr. Alford — you can see in the video — does not threaten the officers in any way, shape or form. — Deputy Dist. Atty. Oscar Plascencia

At a preliminary hearing in December, attorney Robert Rico argued that one of Alford’s hands was under his body and that he “still posed a threat” to the officers, according to court transcripts.

The prosecutor, however, disagreed.

“From the get-go, Mr. Alford — you can see in the video — does not threaten the officers in any way, shape or form,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Oscar Plascencia told the judge.

Alford’s hands are obscured during about half of the video by the two officers who held him down, including during the initial moments when Garcia strikes him. After the other officers move away, Alford barely moves his body as Garcia presses his knee into Alford’s back. At one point, the officer pushes his other knee on top of Alford near the man’s neck.

Garcia is the only officer seen on the video punching, elbowing or slamming into Alford. The recording shows another officer later kick at Alford’s legs to separate them, then stand on Alford’s ankles — a move Beck also criticized.

A woman who worked at the factory where the camera was mounted testified in court that she was alarmed by what she saw that day. Citlali Alvarado was inside the building, near a monitor showing the recording, when police lights caught her eye.

Alvarado said she watched as the officer kicked and elbowed the man on the ground.

“I didn’t think it was a proper action,” she said. “The victim was already held down.”

Soon after, a handful of officers came into the factory and asked whether there were any cameras, Alvarado testified. She led them to the monitor and showed them the video.

Two of the officers laughed as they watched, Alvarado said. The group then left.

Later, Alvarado said, another officer came to the business and asked her to play the recording. Alvarado obliged. At one point, she said, she glanced behind her and noticed the officer recording the video on his cellphone.

When asked who the officer was, Alvarado identified Garcia, who was sitting in court.

Garcia faced up to three years in jail if convicted of the felony assault charge. Earlier this year, prosecutors quietly agreed to a deal that allowed him to plead no contest and avoid jail time if he completes community service, follows all laws, stays away from Alford and donates $500 to a charity by late May 2017.

Under the agreement, Garcia, 35, would be allowed to enter a new plea to a misdemeanor charge that would replace the felony and would be placed on two years of probation. If he violates the plea terms, the felony will stand and he will be placed on three years of probation. If he doesn’t appear in court for the 2017 hearing, he could be sentenced to jail.

Some have criticized the move as too lenient. Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey defended the agreement, telling The Times earlier this month that she felt the deal was appropriate given the evidence examined by prosecutors. She declined to explain the reasons for the plea but cautioned that video “doesn’t tell the whole story sometimes.”

Lacey also declined to say whether pending criminal charges filed against Alford influenced her office’s decision. Court records show that Alford, 24, faces charges including pimping, rape and assault with a deadly weapon. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody.

Assault cases against on-duty law enforcement officers often prove difficult for prosecutors, not least because the law generally gives police wide latitude to use force. In December, a jury acquitted an LAPD officer accused of using excessive force when he repeatedly struck a man with a baton while detaining him near Staples Center in 2012.

But former LAPD Officer Mary O’Callaghan served about 7 ½ months in jail after a jury convicted her last year of assault under color of authority. Prosecutors accused her of kicking a woman in the crotch during an arrest in South L.A. The victim, whose assault was captured on a patrol car camera, later died.

Law enforcement officers charged with felony assault often avoided jail time when they negotiated plea deals with the district attorney’s office rather than risk a trial, according to a Times review of court and district attorney records.

In 2013, for example, Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew John Funicello was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to undergo counseling after he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of assault under color of authority. Funicello, who was originally charged with a felony, had been accused of punching a 19-year-old man several times in the face and body while taking him to a downtown jail.

Garcia, who has been with the department for about a decade, is awaiting what is known as a Board of Rights hearing, his attorney said earlier this month. During such hearings, a three-person panel decides disciplinary cases for officers who usually face termination or lengthy suspensions.

The events leading up to the assault charge against Garcia began shortly after noon on Oct. 16, 2014. In an earlier interview with The Times, Alford said he was riding his bicycle along Avalon Boulevard when a car pulled up and a man yelled at him to stop. Someone grabbed the back of his bike, he said, so he jumped off and ran.

Authorities later said police were investigating a robbery and that Alford matched the description of the suspect.

After a short chase, two police officers caught up to Alford. The video shows one officer swinging his baton at Alford, who ducks and moves to the ground. Alford gets on his stomach, spreads his arms out and starts to move them behind his back as the officers grab his hands to cuff them.

Then a police car rushes up. The video shows Garcia getting out of the driver’s seat and running directly toward Alford before delivering the blows.

Beck previously said he was shocked when he saw the video and personally contacted Lacey to seek criminal charges.

Garcia and another officer involved in the arrest told investigators that Alford refused their orders and resisted after he was on the ground, according to a report from Beck made public last fall. Garcia said he punched and elbowed Alford to “cause Alford discomfort” and later used his knee to hit him because he thought Alford was reaching toward his shorts for a weapon.

After viewing the video, Beck concluded the officer’s actions were not reasonable “given Alford’s limited and unapparent resistance,” his report said. The chief and the civilian Police Commission determined Garcia violated department rules during the arrest. Seven months later, prosecutors charged him with assault.

At the time, Beck told reporters that he understood the public interest in the video but insisted that releasing the recording could jeopardize the criminal case against Garcia. After the officer agreed to his plea deal with prosecutors, The Times requested a copy of the recording under the California Public Records Act.

Last week, the LAPD denied that petition, saying it considered the video an investigative record exempt from disclosure. A day later, Superior Court Judge William N. Sterling granted The Times’ request for the video.

[Andrea]

FIRST ON 7: Newark officers with guns chase young boy in mistaken identity case

http://abc7ny.com/1480080/

There is no denying that 10-year-old Legend Preston is big for his age. The shy fifth-grader who loves math was shaken to the core when Newark officers with their guns drawn allegedly chased him down an alley because they thought he was a suspect in an armed robbery.

"Some police started coming this way with guns pointed at me, and then I ran into the backyard," Legend says.

Just before that, Legend was shooting hoops at a basketball court when the ball rolled into the street. Legend ran after it, and thought the officers were chasing after him for running into the street without looking.

"I ran because they thought that I rolled the ball into the street on purpose, and they were just holding shot guns at me trying to shoot me," Legend adds.

The Newark Police say they did have their guns out but never pointed them at the 10-year-old while they were in the alley. Witnesses intervened, telling the officers the person they detained was a child.

"He's only 10 years old, how you all chasing him? He's only a kid. I'm like, 'that's messed up'," said Jackie Kelly.

Legend's mom was in the house when the incident happened, and knows the matter could have ended tragically. She posted a video of a 'petrified' Legend on her Facebook page.

"These policemen who had guns drawn on my child are still on these streets," said Patisha Preston.

Police say they caught 20-year-old Casey Joseph Robinson in the chase. Robinson was charged with armed robbery. There may be some similarities between the two, but there is no doubting legend is a kid.