Deaths and Injuries in Police Custody

[Andrea]

George Will: When a house is seized and it enriches police

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/12/23/george-will-when-a-house-is-seized-and-it-enriches-police/

PHILADELPHIA — For Christos and Markela Sourovelis, for whom the worst thing was losing their home, “Room 101” was Courtroom 478 in City Hall. This “courtroom’s” name is Orwellian: There was neither judge nor jury in it. There the city government enriched itself — more than $64 million in a recent 11-year span — by disregarding due process requirements to seize and sell the property of people who have not been accused, never mind convicted, of a crime.

The Sourovelises’ son, who lived at home, was arrested for selling a small amount of drugs away from home. Soon there was a knock on their door by police who said, “We’re here to take your house” and “You’re going to be living on the street” and “We do this every day.” The Sourovelises’ doors were locked with screws and their utilities were cut off. They had paid off the mortgage on their $350,000 home, making it a tempting target for policing for profit.

Nationwide, proceeds from sales of seized property (homes, cars, etc.) go to the seizers. And under a federal program, state and local law enforcement can partner with federal authorities in forfeiture and reap up to 80 percent of the proceeds. This is called — more Orwellian newspeak — “equitable sharing.”

No crime had been committed in the Sourovelises’ house, but the title of the case against them was the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. 12011 Ferndale St. Somehow, a crime had been committed by the house. In civil forfeiture, it suffices that property is suspected of having been involved in a crime. Once seized, the property’s owners bear the burden of proving their property’s innocence. “Sentence first — verdict afterwards,” says the queen in “Alice in Wonderland.”

In Courtroom 478, the prosecutors usually assured people seeking to reclaim their property that they would not need lawyers. The prosecutors practiced semi-extortion, suggesting how people could regain limited control of their property: They could sell it and give half the proceeds to the city. The “hearings” in Courtroom 478 were often protracted over months, and missing even one hearing could result in instant forfeiture.

The Sourovelises were allowed to return to their house only after waiving their rights to statutory or constitutional defenses in a future forfeiture action. Such action was forestalled when their case came to the attention of the Institute for Justice, public interest litigators who never received the “You can’t fight city hall” memo. It disentangled the Sourovelises from the forfeiture machine, shut down Courtroom 478, and now is seeking a court ruling to tether this machine to constitutional standards.

There might somewhere be a second prominent American who endorses today’s civil forfeiture practices, but one such person is “very unhappy” with criticisms of it. At a 2015 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on forfeiture abuses, one senator said “taking and seizing and forfeiting, through a government judicial process, illegal gains from criminal enterprises is not wrong,” and neither is law enforcement enriching itself from this.

In the manner of the man for whom he soon will work, this senator asserted an unverifiable number: “95 percent” of forfeitures involve people who have “done nothing in their lives but sell dope.” This senator said it should not be more difficult for “government to take money from a drug dealer than it is for a businessperson to defend themselves in a lawsuit.”

IJ’s Robert Everett Johnson notes that this senator missed a few salient points: In civil forfeiture there usually is no proper “judicial process.” There is no way of knowing how many forfeitures involve criminals because the government takes property without even charging anyone with a crime.

The government’s vast prosecutorial resources are one reason it properly bears the burden of proving criminal culpability “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

A sued businessperson does not have assets taken until he or she has lost in a trial, whereas civil forfeiture takes property without a trial and the property owner must wage a protracted, complex and expensive fight to get it returned. The Senate Judiciary Committee might want to discuss all this when considering the nominee to be the next attorney general, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions.

[Andrea]

NYPD suspends officer who posted Snapchat of Brooklyn family in handcuffs

http://abc7ny.com/news/family-nypd-raids-wrong-home-posts-snapchat-of-them-in-cuffs/1670637/

BROWNSVILLE, Brooklyn (WABC) --
A family in Brooklyn is outraged after NYPD officers raided their home, put everyone in handcuffs and then posted a picture of them on social media with the caption "Merry Christmas Its NYPD." The ordeal led to the suspension of an officer.

The Brownsville residents were so upset that not only did they file a report, but they also called 911.

"The worst part was the Snapchats," Kimberly Santiago said. "That's what really got to me."

The photo appeared in the "New York story" feed on Snapchat, which a public collection of photos and videos posted by users in NYC.

Here's a look at the snap:



The photo is under investigation by Internal Affairs, which late Friday said the officer who took the photo has been suspended without pay. The department also said the officers were at the correct address, and had a warrant to go inside the apartment. But they would not disclose why home was being investigated.

"The things that he wrote, it's like, this what you all do?" Santiago said. "If he did that to, picture how many other families he's done that to. And he was the only one standing there watching us."

She said the warrant squad showed up at her apartment around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, and they placed everyone inside the unit in handcuffs during the search.

"Ya'll know that when you came to this house, looking for the wrong person that we don't even know," she said.

She said the officers left after about three hours, and not only did they have the wrong address, but a second picture appeared on Snapchat with the caption "Warrant sweeps Its still a party smh."

"We thought he was texting on his phone," she said. "Because the whole three hours we were sitting here, he was the one standing there. We saw him on his phone, but we didn't think an officer would do that."

The NYPD has declined to name the officer or the squad to which he is assigned.

[*Anya*]

California man fights DUI charge for driving under influence of caffeine

Attorney for Joseph Schawb, charged with driving under the influence of a drug when his blood test showed only caffeine, calls the charge unheard of

Julia Carrie Wong in San Francisco Saturday 24 December 2016 Last modified on Saturday 24 December 2016 04.02 EST

Caffeine may be the “nootropic” brain drug of choice in Silicon Valley, but an hour’s drive north in Solano County, California, the stimulant could get you charged with driving under the influence.

That is according to defense attorney Stacey Barrett, speaking on behalf of her client, Joseph Schwab.

After being pulled over on 5 August 2015, Schwab was charged by the Solano County district attorney with misdemeanor driving under the influence of a drug.

Almost 18 months later, Schwab is preparing to go to trial. The only evidence the DA has provided of his intoxication is a blood test showing the presence of caffeine.

Shcwab was driving home from work when he was pulled over by an agent from the California department of alcoholic beverage control, who was driving an unmarked vehicle. The agent said Schwab had cut her off and was driving erratically.

The 36-year-old union glazier was given a breathalyzer test which showed a 0.00% blood alcohol level, his attorney said. He was booked into county jail and had his blood drawn, but the resulting toxicology report came back negative for benzodiazepines, cocaine, opiates, THC, carisoprodol (a muscle relaxant), methamphetamine/MDMA, oxycodone, and zolpidem.

The sample was screened a second time by a laboratory in Pennsylvania, according to documents provided to the Guardian, where the sole positive result was for caffeine – a substance likely coursing through the veins of many drivers on the road at any given time.

“I’ve never seen this before,” said Barrett. “I’ve never even heard of it.”

Barrett has filed a motion for the case to be dismissed because the charges were not brought until June 2016 – nearly 10 months after incident. If that motion is denied, Schwab will take his case to a jury on 11 January.

Sharon Henry, chief deputy district attorney for Solano County, said in a statement that her office was “conducting further investigation in this matter”.

“The charge of driving under the influence is not based upon the presence of caffeine in his system,” she added.

Barrett counters that if the prosecution has evidence of a different drug in her client’s system, it should have to provided that to her, based on the rules governing criminal procedings.

“I have not been provided with any evidence to support a theory of prosecution for a substance other than caffeine at this time,” she said. “Nor I have received any statements, reports, etc documenting any ongoing investigation since the [toxicology report] dated 18 November 2015.”

Henry declined to comment further, citing the right to a fair trial.

“It’s really stupid,” said Jeffrey Zehnder, a forensic toxicologist who frequently testifies in court cases. Over 41 years, Zehnder said, he had never seen a prosecution for driving under the influence of caffeine.

“If that’s the case, then they better come and arrest me,” he joked.

Zehnder was informed about the case by Barrett, but has not been contracted to testify on either side.

California vehicle code defines a “drug” as any substance besides alcohol that could affect a person in a manner that would “impair, to an appreciable degree” his ability to drive normally.

Making that case with caffeine would be difficult, Zehnder said, because the prosecutor would have to show that impaired driving was specifically caused by the caffeine and not any other circumstances.

“There are no studies that demonstrate that driving is impaired by caffeine, and they don’t do the studies, because no one cares about caffeine,” he said.

As for Schwab, he just wants this ordeal to be over. In a statement provided to the Guardian by his attorney, he said his reputation had been damaged.

“No one believed me that I only had caffeine in my system until I showed them the lab results,” he said. “I want the charges to be dismissed and my name to be cleared.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...-solano-county

[Andrea]

Video appears to show Fort Worth, Texas police shooting man as he walks away

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/david-collie-video-appears-to-show-fort-worth-texas-police-shooting-as-he-walks-away/

A police dashcam video appears to show a Texas officer shoot a black man as he’s walking away from the officer and not posing any immediate threat.

A lawyer for David Collie released a copy of the video showing the July encounter with a Fort Worth officer and a Tarrant County sheriff’s deputy. The officer and deputy were off-duty at the time and working a security detail together at an apartment complex, attorney Nate Washington said Wednesday.

He said Collie was shot in the back, leaving him paralyzed.

Police at the time were searching for two shirtless black men who they believed had committed a robbery near a gas station, Washington said. Authorities said in a news release they issued at the time that Collie pulled a box cutter from his pocket and pointed it at the officers.

Collie was charged with aggravated assault on a public servant but a grand jury declined to indict him.

Fort Worth police did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment on the incident.

Collie, 33, was walking from work to a friend’s apartment when the officers approached him in the patrol vehicle, Washington said. It was the Fort Worth officer who shot Collie, Washington said, and the video appears to show the officer firing his weapon about 10 seconds after exiting the vehicle and as Collie walked away.

The video was obtained about three weeks ago from the Tarrant County district attorney’s office through an open-records request, Washington said. The attorney said he released the video Tuesday at a news conference at Collie’s insistence because Collie was tired of comments made to his mother by people assuming he must have done something wrong.

Washington said Collie wanted to make clear he “didn’t do anything to threaten an officer.”

Release of the shooting video came just days after the Fort Worth police were in the spotlight over another incident. A cellphone video captured a white Fort Worth officer last week wrestling a black woman to the ground and then arresting her and her two daughters. The officer appeared to be argumentative and escalate the encounter with the woman, who had called police following an encounter between her son and a neighbor. The video has been viewed millions of times.

[Andrea]

Man shot by Minnesota officer identified as biology teacher

http://www.kcra.com/article/man-shot-by-minnesota-officer-identified-as-biology-teacher/8555162

MANKATO, Minn. —

A man who was fatally shot by a police officer in Minnesota during a struggle at a hotel was identified Monday as a biology teacher from the Minneapolis area.

Chase Tuseth, 33, was shot early Saturday after an officer was called to a disturbance at a motel in Mankato, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed Monday.

Tuseth was a 2008 graduate of Minnesota State University and taught at Tokata Learning Center, an alternative high school in the Shakopee School District. He previously taught for three years at Integrated Arts Academy in Chaska.

"He was an innovative teacher," Tokata Principal Eric Serbus told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "He was always looking for the next and best way to connect with students."

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigated the shooting, identified the officer as 30-year veteran Gary Schnorenberg of the Mankato Department of Public Safety. Schnorenberg is on standard administrative leave, the agency said.

Investigators said Schnorenberg was called to a Country Inn & Suites in Mankato about 4 a.m. Saturday on a report that Tuseth was behind the lobby counter and was throwing things. Schnorenberg encountered Tuseth in a hallway near the pool and, after successfully using a stun gun, was trying to handcuff Tuseth when Tuseth broke free and began hitting and kicking the officer. Schnorenberg fired, striking Tuseth, who died despite attempts to revive him at the scene. Schnorenberg was hurt during the altercation and treated at a hospital.

The Mankato Department of Public Safety does not use body cameras, the state agency noted. No weapons were found at the scene.

Tuseth's uncle, Mark Liptrap of Spokane, Washington, told The Free Press of Mankato that while he does not dispute the possibility that his nephew was intoxicated, he questions why police needed to use deadly force.

"Chase was just a great kid. He was quiet, just polite," Liptrap said.

Tuseth's car was found in downtown Mankato, miles from the motel. Liptrap said he suspects his nephew took a cab or got a ride with friends to the motel because he did not want to drive.

"In one sense, he was trying to be responsible," Liptrap said.

Tuseth's roommate, Luke Mikkola, was out of town when the shooting happened. Mikkola said Tuseth was not a violent person and owned "no weapons, no guns, no knife, no nothing."

[Andrea]

Video shows North Carolina police officer body-slamming a female high-school student

http://www.businessinsider.com/police-officer-body-slams-female-high-school-student-north-carolina-2017-1

[Andrea]

Philadelphia Police Investigating Video Of Officer’s Confrontation With Teen

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/01/03/philadelphia-police-investigating-videos-of-officer-fighting/

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A video of a police-involved physical altercation with a 16-year-old girl is making the rounds on social media.

Johnnaa Pendleton, 16, says she’s still wearing the scars from that day.

“It’s all right here,” Johnnaa said.

Police were responding to a huge brawl involving 30 to 40 people in the middle of South 54th Street in West Philadelphia on New Year’s Day when eyewitnesses captured the incident.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross says, “The whole incident was just ugly. Police work is not pretty, this would have been a perfect example.”

Ross spoke candidly about the disturbing video saying it doesn’t tell the whole story of what may have precipitated the incident.

“You cannot see the striking portion where the female admits that she struck the officer,” Ross said. “That is not shown or depicted in the video.”

Johnnaa says, “I feel sick. I have a bruise on my face”

Johnnaa claims she never hit the female officer in the face. She says she was backing away when she was violently thrown to the ground and punched.

“As you see in the video, she’s yanking my hair,” she said.

However, CBS 3’s Natasha Brown reports that Johnnaa told police that she did hit the officer.

Johnnaa says, “At the end of the day I’m still a minor and she’s a grown woman and a cop.”

The officer has been pulled from the streets upon an internal affairs investigation.

[Andrea]

Illinois cops surround and beat black man accused of stealing his own car in violent dash cam video

http://fusion.net/story/380291/police-footage-arrest-lawrence-crosby/?utm_campaign=ThisIsFusion&utm_source=Twitter&utm_ medium=social

Just more than a year after the violent—and ultimately wrongful—arrest of a black graduate student, the Evanston, Illinois, Police Department has released dash cam footage of the incident, which one local politician described as “outrageous.”

On October 10, 2015, Lawrence Crosby, a PhD candidate at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, was pulled over and arrested after he was accused of having stolen the car he was driving, the Daily Northwestern reported. The car, it turned out, belonged to Crosby himself.

In the footage released this week by the EPD, Crosby can be seen exiting his vehicle holding a phone in his upraised hands. When police instruct him to get down on the ground, Crosby begins moving to the front of his car to position himself in front of his own dashboard camera (which can be seen at certain points in the upper lefthand corner of the EPD footage). After not complying with their initial order to get down, Crosby is then grabbed by a group of at least five police officers, kneed until he drops, and—upon hitting the ground—is seen enduring a series of blows from one of the officers.

Officers can heard repeatedly telling Crosby to “stop resisting” while he is being tackled. As he is detained, Crosby tells the police they are on video, before calmly explaining who he is, and that the car belongs to him. He later begins arguing with the officers over whether his Fifth Amendment rights apply in this situation.

Off camera, the woman who initially called the police to report the possibly stolen vehicle is heard explaining her call.

“I feel really, I feel really, like, I didn’t mean to racial profile” she tells the officer, who replies that “he’s got a different issue going on right now.”

Speaking with CBS Chicago, Crosby’s attorney, Timothy J. Touhy, explained that his client was then taken to the police station and charged with “two criminal offenses, for which Lawrence had to stand trial and was acquitted.” Crosby is currently suing the city of Evanston, as well as the officers involved in his arrest, for false arrest and excessive force. EPD officials declined to comment on that lawsuit for the network, although CBS Chicago reports they are currently on full duty.

In a preamble to the dash cam footage, Evanston Police Department Sargent Dennis Leaks acknowledges that Crosby was given “some empty handed strikes to the heavy-muscle region” while on the ground, and that upon review by EPD officials, “it was determined that the force used in this incident was in compliance with our procedures as it pertains to this type of situation.”

Nevertheless, Crosby’s arrest has prompted a number of procedural changes within the department. In his introduction, Leaks went on to explain that “we will no longer require subjects to be proned [sic] during these types of stops.”

“We acknowledge and realize that there are some problematic issues that come with that,” Leaks continued. “Locations of the stop, weather conditions, and it gives a bad perception.”

Local alderman Brian Miller told CBS Chicago that the footage was “one of the most outrageous acts I’ve seen from our officers so far.”

“For two years, I’ve been talking about a pattern with the Evanston police officers not de-escalating minor incidents where it didn’t have to lead to arrest or (other charges),” Miller reportedly said during a city council meeting earlier this week. “If our police officers took a moment to step back and examine the circumstances and de-escalate situations we wouldn’t have these types of situations.”

According to the website Evanston Now, a number of changes to EPD policy and procedures are scheduled to be unveiled by city officials at an upcoming Evanston Human Services Committee meeting.

[Andrea]

Police probe: Veteran Lowell cop struck handcuffed student

http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_30724363/police-probe-veteran-lowell-cop-struck-handcuffed-student

LOWELL -- Patrolman David Pender, a 28-year veteran of the Lowell Police Department, will soon learn if he keeps his job after an internal investigation found the officer used unnecessary force in an altercation involving a 16-year-old student at the Lowell High School Career Academy.

The 87-page report, obtained through a public records request by The Sun, has been forwarded to City Manager Kevin Manager who will decide what disciplinary action should be taken against Pender.

The report details an incident that took place on Sept. 15, 2016 at the Career Academy on Smith Street, a grade 9-12 school for youths with behavioral problems.

Pender is said to have handcuffed a student behind his back and ordered the room cleared of any possible witnesses before grabbing the 16-year-old boy by the neck, striking him in the head, and threatening to spray him with Mace.

Lt. Greg Hudon, officer in charge of the Professional Standards Division, conducted the probe.

Pender, a school resource officer (SRO) at the Career Academy, will not be criminally charged, said a spokesman for Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.

Police Superintendent William Taylor apologized to the student and his family, on behalf of the city. Murphy called the incident "unfortunate and serious."

The incident unfolded during the mid-afternoon hours when the student was suspected of having a bag of marijuana in his pocket.

"Due to the fact that Officer Pender ordered the room cleared, this writer is left with only two witnesses, Officer Pender and (redacted). Officer Pender cannot offer any plausible explanation as to the origin of the marks and bruises," on the victim, Hudon wrote in his report.

"This fact, coupled with (redacted) statements and the additional medical records and photographs and text messages to his aunt, leaves this writer to draw the following conclusion: Based on all available information, this writer finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the allegation of misconduct is sustained, based on the following violation of the rules and regulations of the Lowell Police Department:"

* Prohibited conduct -- unnecessary force, "or the use of more physical force than that which is necessary to accomplish a proper police purpose."

The victim told police that when Pender "released his throat" he "slapped him on the side of his head" and threatened to spray him with Mace "if he didn't shut his mouth."

By all accounts, Hudon wrote, the youth was argumentative, challenged Pender's authority and at one point challenged the officer to arrest him.

"These words do not rise to the level of assaultive behavior or resisting arrest requiring the application of any additional force," Hudon wrote.

The report also includes Pender's account, taken from the officer's arrest report.

Pender wrote the student refused to empty his pockets and became "loud and confrontational." The officer said the student raised his hand to his chest and refused to put it hand down. Noting the student's "agitated state," Pender said he feared the student might assault him.

"I asked school staff to step out of the office area," Pender wrote in the arrest report. "He continued to be loud and disrespectful demanding me to arrest him."

Pender declined to comment through Officer Francisco Maldonado, president of the Lowell Police Association, the union that represents police officers. Pender is union vice president.

Sgt. David Peaslee, the officer in charge of all SROs, had warned SROs about conduct based on an September 2015 incident at a South Carolina school. A school resource officer in Columbia threw female student to the floor when she refused to stand and leave the classroom. A video went viral. The officer was fired.

In the Oct. 29, 2015 email, included in Hudon's report, Peaslee wrote:

"My take on this incident? We lose. A police officer, with his/her gun, spray, PR24 (baton), badge, etc., is always going to look bad on film whenever we attempt to arrest a juvenile student. Protect yourselves. Do not lose your career over a misdemeanor arrest. Act appropriately and attempt to de-escalate every situation. And above all, it is your decision to make an arrest. Not the principals' or house master decision. Summons is always our best option."

Peaslee told Hudon the practice of clearing a room arose as a result of the South Carolina school incident. The practice can be useful because the problem child will not "have an audience to play to."

Clearing a room does not include "clearing security officers or other personnel that would be in a position to help the officer," Hudon wrote. "Sergeant Peaslee expressed he would never want an officer to be in a position of being alone in a room with a student where a misconduct allegation could be made."

In a statement, Taylor said: "I am disappointed in the officer's actions during this incident. The student's behavior was a contributing factor in this event; however, once the student was placed under arrest without incident, the student was subjected to unnecessary force. The entire school community trusts the Lowell Police to care for all students professionally and appropriately. In this incident the officer violated that trust. The student was held accountable by the juvenile justice system; likewise action will be taken to hold our personnel accountable. As superintendent of the Lowell Police Department I have apologized to the parties impacted by the officer's misconduct."

Said Murphy: "This is a very unfortunate and serious situation and the city will take appropriate action." Murphy added he'll make a decision by the middle of next week.

Pender, who earns nearly $87,000 a year, was placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 11.

The Sun reported at the time that DA Ryan was conducting her own investigation. It's unclear precisely why Ryan chose not to pursue criminal charges, but DA spokesman Meghan Kelly said in an email: "While we do not speak to specific investigations when no criminal charges have been filed, there are many reasons why an investigation may not have led to charges. This includes, primarily, our assessment as to whether we have sufficient evidence to sustain our high burden of proof."

However, a Dec. 12 email from Katharine Folger, chief of the DA's Child Protection Unit, to Hudon, a copy of which was acquired by The Sun, said the boy's father "steadfastly maintained" he did not want to pursue criminal charges.

Pender was arrested by Lowell police on New Year's Day in 2013 at his Lowell residence on domestic assault and battery charges. He was immediately placed on paid administrative leave by Kenneth Lavallee, then police superintendent.

Pender's wife declined to press charges. City officials disciplined Pender with 10 punishment days, working for no pay.

Pender was also one of seven Lowell police officers who were accused of sexually harassing a female colleague during an off-duty bus trip to a political rally in Boston in October 1998. Then-City Manager Brian Martin suspended Pender for a year without pay. Pender appealed to the state Civil Service Commission and was successful in reducing his punishment to six months.

[Andrea]

Guard Arrested After Beating Of Handcuffed Prisoner Is Caught On Video

Guard Arrested After Beating Of Handcuffed Prisoner Is Caught On Video

A New Mexico corrections officer is facing criminal charges after authorities say he was caught on video beating a handcuffed prisoner at an Albuquerque jail.

The video appears to show an officer, identified as Christopher Facey, 26, attacking and repeatedly punching inmate Joe Garcia, 38.

The incident occurred in late November in a holding room at the Metropolitan Detention Center.

“The first reaction to the video was that the incident shouldn’t have happened to begin with,” Jail Administrator Thomas Ruiz told Albuquerque’s

According to court documents, the graphic video shows Facey lunge at Garcia, who is wearing handcuffs strapped to leg shackles, wrap his hand and arm around Garcia’s head and drive “Garcia’s body into the concrete floor.”

Facey, authorities said, can then be seen punching Garcia several times. When the prisoner falls to the floor, the officer continues the assault and kicks Garcia before dragging him into a room off-camera. Facey is accused of then kicking Garcia in the head.

“The kick was similar to how a person would make a run-up type kick to a soccer ball,” the court documents say.

The assault continued, authorities said, until other officers intervened.

The court documents claim Facey called Garcia a child molester prior to the assault. The inmate reportedly responded with racial slurs.

Joe Garcia was wearing handcuffs when he was assaulted, court documents say.

Bernalillo County Public Information Officer Nataura Powdrell-Moore told The Huffington Post that Garcia was in jail on charges of criminal damage to property and battery. The disposition of his case remains unclear.

Facey was booked Thursday on charges of kidnapping and aggravated battery. According to Albuquerque’s KOB 4 Eyewitness News, he was released from jail after posting $10,000 bond.

The officer is still employed by the Metropolitan Detention Center.

“Officer Facey is on paid administrative leave right now, pending the outcome of an investigation by the Office of Professional Standards,” Powdrell-Moore told HuffPost.

Facey has been employed by the Metropolitan Detention Center since September 2010. Powdrell-Moore said he received “force response to resistance” training from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office last year.

“We just regret that that has happened because we know it violates public trust, and we apologize for that,” Ruiz told KRQE News.

[*Anya*]

Police probe: Veteran Lowell cop struck handcuffed student

http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnew...cuffed-student

It's not bad enough that he did this to a kid in handcuffs but he also committed domestic violence against his wife and has a history with his cop buddies of sexually harassing a colleague.

What a prize for the police force.

I particularly like that he still has his job and is paid $87K a year while on administrative leave.

Ain't America great?

[Andrea]

St. Paul police officer charged with assault, accused of punching handcuffed 14-year-old

http://www.twincities.com/2017/01/23/st-paul-police-officer-charged-with-assault-accused-of-punching-handcuffed-14-year-old/

Prosecutors charged a St. Paul officer with assault Monday, saying he punched a 14-year-old girl twice in the face when she was handcuffed in the back of a squad car.

The teen had spit in Officer Michael Philip Soucheray II’s face, according to the criminal complaint charging him with a misdemeanor.

Officers were trying to get the girl from an emergency shelter to a hospital because she was reported to be suicidal but was refusing to go, the complaint said. After Soucheray struck the teen with a closed fist, causing her pain, he grabbed the girl “by the jaw and/or face/neck area,” the complaint said. He then called her a “(expletive) bitch,” the court document continued.

Police Chief Todd Axtell placed Soucheray, 38, on paid administrative leave Monday. A police spokesman said they can’t discuss the reason due to state law.

An internal affairs investigation was opened the day after the incident, and the police department asked the Dakota County sheriff’s office to conduct a criminal investigation.

The case was then referred to the Minneapolis city attorney’s office, to avoid a conflict of interest, and they charged Soucheray on Monday with fifth-degree assault.

Soucheray’s attorney, Peter Wold, said in a statement Monday that “this charge is based on a self-defense reaction to a screaming, threatening subject immediately after she had committed a felony assault on Officer Soucheray by intentionally spitting her saliva into his face. Officer Soucheray pushed her away by striking her with such little force that not even a mark appeared on her in the booking photo of her taken within an hour of the incident.

“Officer Soucheray reacted with reasonable force,” Wold continued. “Officer Soucheray regrets the attention this political reaction may bring to his fellow officers at the St. Paul Police Department and does assure them that he will defend himself vigorously against this unfortunate action.”

POLICE RESPONDED TO SHELTER FOR GIRLS

The incident occurred Dec. 1 when officers Chris Rhoades and Soucheray were called to a report of a 14-year-old girl who was possibly suicidal at an East Side shelter for girls, Brittany’s Place. Soucheray tried to talk to the teen, but she refused to answer, the complaint said.

Based on the girl’s behavior, she was going to be transported to a hospital, but she didn’t want to go and “became agitated,” the complaint said. A decision was made that the officers would take her “because she was refusing to go with an ambulance and because she was being uncooperative,” the complaint said.

When Soucheray told the girl that police would be taking her, the girl said she was not going and officers handcuffed her. They escorted her to a squad car, and the teen was screaming and crying.

The girl refused to get in the squad. Rhoades told the teen that if she didn’t, she would be dragged, and the girl went limp, the complaint said.

Soucheray went to the other side of the squad, pulled the girl by the arm into the vehicle and sat her up. The officers tried to put a seatbelt around the teen, but she was resisting, the complaint said. At one point, the girl stood up, turned toward Soucheray and spit in his face.

The location where the girl was coming from is an emergency shelter for girls 10- to 18-years-old who have been sexually exploited, said Dan Pfarr, president and CEO of 180 Degrees, of which Brittany’s Place is a program.

“We have a long working relationship at Brittany’s Place with the St. Paul police,” Pfarr said. “They’re very critical in us keeping the girls safe. The girls have a lot of trauma they’ve experienced, and there are problematic behaviors that occur. The police are well aware of it and are trained. … We do expect them to maintain their composure under stress, and they do, they have. We believe this is an isolated incident.”

When the incident was brought to Pfarr’s attention, he knew it needed to be reported immediately to the police chief.

“We felt we could go directly to Chief Axtell because we knew he would respond appropriately, and he has,” Pfarr said.

The case also came to the police department’s attention through their regular review of use of force, said Steve Linders, a St. Paul police spokesman.

Soucheray is summoned to appear in court March 16.

At the time of the incident, police arrested the girl on suspicion of fourth-degree assault on Soucheray, and she was brought to the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center. The day after her arrest, based upon the evidence presented by St. Paul police investigators, the Ramsey County attorney’s office said they declined to charge her.

Pfarr said Monday that the teen “was initially pretty upset and had some physical marks, but she is doing well.”

POLICE CHIEF EXPRESSES DISAPPOINTMENT

Axtell told the police department in an email Monday that it disappointed him an officer’s actions would lead to criminal charges, saying that “(a)s a department, we must hold ourselves to the highest standards.”

In a public statement, the police chief said: “The St. Paul Police Department is committed to serving the city of St. Paul with the highest levels of professionalism. As the department has demonstrated time and time again, when incidents occur that do not meet those standards, swift and decisive action is taken to hold ourselves accountable.”

The department is aware of the charge against Soucheray, Axtell said, but couldn’t comment on the allegations because of Minnesota employment laws.

“We understand the public’s interest in receiving timely, factual answers to questions about this matter, and the department will provide as much information as possible once state law allows us to do so,” Axtell said. “In the meantime, we will respect the legal process and let it play out before commenting further or taking any additional actions.”

After the police department opened the internal affairs investigation Dec. 2, Soucheray was assigned to an administrative role that didn’t include patrol, Linders said. Rhoades is not the subject of an internal affairs investigation, according to the police department.

There is squad video of the incident, but the police department considers it part of the criminal case and won’t be releasing it while the case is underway, Linders said.

Soucheray has been a St. Paul officer for seven years.

He’s been disciplined three times in the past. He received a written reprimand last year for a preventable squad crash; an oral reprimand for a preventable squad crash in 2014; and an oral reprimand in 2012 for failing to attend a scheduled court trial, according to police department records.

Dave Titus, St. Paul Police Federation president, said he suspects the department won’t proceed with the internal investigation until the criminal aspect is complete.

“We’re very disappointed that charges are moving forward,” Titus said. “Mike Soucheray is an outstanding officer with a very good reputation, and the East Side (where he was assigned to patrol) benefits from his work ethic.”

[Andrea]

Mpls. officer charged for firing at car

http://www.kare11.com/news/crime/mpls-officer-charged-for-firing-at-car/392183144

MINNEAPOLIS - A Minneapolis police officer has been charged following a November incident in which he allegedly shot at a car full of people after it accidentally struck his squad car.

Efrem Hamilton, 42, of Minneapolis, has been charged with second-degree assault and intentional discharge of a firearm.

According to the criminal complaint, Minneapolis police were called to a fight with shots fired near 408 Third Ave. N. around 2:15 a.m. on Nov. 19, 2016. The officers responding to the scene put out over the radio that a gray, four-door Cadillac may be involved and it was going the wrong way on Third Ave.

Officer Hamilton was off-duty, working at the PourHouse (10 S. Fifth St.) when he heard the shots fired call. He drove to the scene to assist, but never radioed that he was responding, according to the complaint.

As other officers were stopping the Cadillac, a woman driving a dark BMW was following the instructions of officers to back her car down Third Ave. While doing that, Officer Hamilton parked in the middle of Third Ave. The woman backed her vehicle into Hamilton's car.

The complaint states Hamilton jumped out of his car and, without giving verbal commands, fired a shot, striking the BMW. Six people were in the car. No one was injured.

"Police officers have a difficult job," said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. "Yet, in this case, Officer Hamilton fired a shot at a car full of people just three seconds after getting out of his car. This is unacceptable behavior by a police officer, endangering the lives of innocent people."

Hamilton's first court appearance has not yet been set.

Two people suffered gunshot wounds in the original shots-fired call. The incident was a result of 30-40 people fighting in the area of 400 Third Ave. N.

[Andrea]

Phoenix police release body-camera footage of man's death in custody; sister calls for justice

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/01/26/phoenix-police-release-body-cam-footage-mans-death-custody-sister-calls-justice-muhammad-abdul-muhaymin/97111164/?hootPostID=6ae2012e930da0ddf61697d99d1c7fce

Phoenix police on Thursday released body-camera footage that captured the moments before the in-custody death of a transient man earlier this month.

The release came as the sister of Muhammad Abdul Muhaymin and a handful of activists gathered at Phoenix police headquarters to call for justice in his death.

Muhaymin, 43, was pronounced dead at the hospital on Jan. 4, just after he had gone into “medical distress” after being restrained by officers at a west Phoenix community center.

The footage is raw; laced with profanity, shaky, and emotionally jarring to watch. But the video and other body-camera recordings are increasingly offering the public a window into critical police encounters only witnessed by bystanders in previous generations.

Phoenix police body-camera footage from Jan. 4, 2017, of the situation involving Muhammad Muhaymin at the Maryvale Community Center. azcentral.com

Police initially were called to Maryvale Community Center on a report that Muhaymin had been acting erratically. A caller to police said that Muhaymin had pushed an employee at the center, but later information revealed that the employee had blocked Muhaymin's way into the restroom and the two bumped into each other.

Officers are heard telling Muhaymin there was a warrant for his arrest, and ordering him to put down his small dog, which was in his arms. This appears to upset Muhaymin, and visuals become more difficult to follow as officers appear to wrestle him to the ground.

“Now you’re going to be going for a felony now, dumb---,” one officer remarks.

Muhaymin can be heard wailing and appears to be struggling as the officers attempt to restrain him.

“I cannot believe this,” Muhaymin says after he appears to have been carried out to a police car. It is at this point that more police arrive for backup.

On the day of Muhaymin's death, a police spokesman said officers were forced to use two sets of handcuffs to bind his arms behind his back. Still, he managed to bring his hands over his head so his arms were in front.

In the video, police continue to struggle with Muhaymin outside of the car until it becomes apparent that he is unresponsive. The officers then attempt to resuscitate him and call for an ambulance.

Video released as police investigation continues

In a written statement, Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams explained the decision to release the video.

“In keeping with the spirit of transparency and positive communication with our community and our employees, we are releasing the body worn camera footage obtained during our contact with Mr. Muhammad Muhaymin from January 4th.

“This investigation remains active. We have a duty to protect the integrity of the investigation, however, in this particular case, we do not believe the release of the body worn camera video will jeopardize our ability to complete a thorough and accurate investigation.

"As with any critical incident, we will always review and learn from what has transpired.”

As with other law-enforcement documents, the release of body-cam footage is often a tightrope walk between police transparency and protecting privacy and ongoing investigations.

Police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Howard said Phoenix police largely follow the guidance of written public-records policies, like redacting personal information such as an individual’s phone or Social Security number.

In the video, several of the witnesses’ faces are blurred, and personal information is muted.

Policy also allows a more subjective public-records exception for “information that by its very nature is so gross, demeaning, biased, or sensitive that it would do irreparable harm to innocent persons or their character if released.”

Police appear to have tapped into this portion of policy and redacted certain portions of footage when Muhaymin had vomited, shortly before his death.

'He was a good person, and this should never have happened'

Mussallina Muhaymin, Muhaymin’s sister and legal guardian, spoke to reporters about her brother Thursday morning outside of police headquarters in downtown Phoenix.

Mussallina Muhaymin, flanked by her attorney and civil-rights activists from Black Lives Matter Phoenix, called for justice for her brother.

“He was a person,” she said, stressing the word “person.” “A person that was well loved, and well established in the community of Maryvale. He was a good person, and this should never have happened.”

Mussallina Muhaymin’s attorney, David Chami, said the family is still seeking answers in the case and still considering legal options.

A Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office representative said the official cause and manner of death in Muhaymin’s case is still pending.

Chami said Muhaymin’s arrest warrant was for failure to appear in a Mesa case involving possession of drug paraphernalia.

10 officers involved in the confrontation

Phoenix police on Thursday released the names of the officers involved in the incident, in order of their moment of contact: Oswald Grenier, 17 years experience; Jason Hobel, 17 years experience; Ronaldo Canilao, 15 years experience; David Head, 21 years experience; Susan Heimbigner, 20 years experience; Kevin McGowan, 19 years experience; James Clark, 23 years experience; Dennis Leroux, 14 years experience; Ryan Nielsen, 12 years experience; Steven Wong, 16 years experience.

Criminal and internal investigations for all of the involved officers are ongoing, Howard said. All were placed on administrative leave and now are back on duty.

At least one of the officers has been accused of excessive force before.

McGowan was fired by then-Phoenix Police Chief Joe Yahner after an incident in which surveillance footage showed him stomping on a teenage suspect who had already surrendered. The incident knocked out three of the suspect’s teeth.

But in August 2015, four months after he was fired, McGowan was reinstated by the city’s Civil Service Board. He was reassigned to the patrol division the next day.

[Andrea]

FAMILY OF JARON THOMAS SEEKS ANSWERS IN HIS DEATH

http://goblackcentral.com/2017/01/family-of-jaron-thomas-seeks-answers-in-his-death/

On January 14, 2017, 36-year-old Jaron Thomas called for help, as he had done several times before by the advice of mental health professionals. Jaron had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and struggled with hallucinations. He was a gifted hip-hop lyricist, having at one point worked with well-known artist Bizzy-Bone. He knew that he needed help and had calmly asked for a medic on the 911 call obtained by the family. He expected to be admitted for treatment, in his home town of Columbus, Ohio, but the response he received instead was from officers with the Columbus Police Department. It is unclear what transpired, but the result was inexplicable injuries and brain damage.

Surrounded by his close-knit family and a host of loved ones and friends, this loving father of 3 fought for his life. He lost the battle on January 23rd, roughly one week after his brutal and tragic encounter with police. Click here for official press release from the family’s legal team Walton + Brown, LLP, who is also representing others looking for answers from CPD (including the families of Henry Green and Tyre King).

The family has set up a campaign to raise funds for an independent autopsy and to help support their private investigation into this matter. Local media and the police department have been absolutely silent, while the family has pushed hard on social media to get the word out.

According to experts and an article in The Washington Post, “Distraught People, Deadly Results,” officers often lack the training to approach the mentally unstable. “This a national crisis,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, an independent research organization devoted to improving policing. “We have to get American police to rethink how they handle encounters with the mentally ill. Training has to change.”

In addition to the lack of training, policies around how police report these incidents are loose and don’t paint an adequate picture of the widespread nature of this issue.

[*Anya*]

Mayor Cancels Reality Police TV Show As Footage Shows Rampant Racial Profiling

Matt Agorist February 13, 2017

Tulsa, OK — A new reality TV show following around cops has been canceled and kicked out of Tulsa after residents said they were too scared to leave their homes for fear of being caught on this show.

The new A&E show, with its unimaginative title and copycat premise, LIVE PD, claims that it “offer viewers unfettered and unfiltered live access inside the country’s busiest police forces and the communities they patrol in the new documentary series.”

According to the show’s own description, they planned to target poor communities using urban and rural police forces around the country. The police, obviously ecstatic about being able to harass people on TV, have made some busts but they’ve also been caught in ridiculous and infuriating moments of racial profiling.

Pandering to producers, the Tulsa police department reportedly took to the same neighborhood for every episode and harassed entirely innocent people. After being unnecessarily harassed to bolster ratings and promote the police state, residents finally had enough.

On Sunday, after a clip of the show epitomizing the rampant profiling went viral, the mayor responded by terminating the contract with A&E.

“Gt Bynum look at the comments here, please. Every week people post about how they can’t leave their homes for fear of being caught on this show. Please get A&E out of Tulsa,” one Facebook user wrote. To which the mayor responded, “I spoke with Chief Jordan about this last week and he confirmed our agreement with them has been terminated. I am not a fan.”

Just as the reality show COPS, which started in 1989, was used to bolster the police state and promote the immoral war on drugs, LIVE PD appears to have set out to do the same.

No one here is denying that police arrest criminals. However, using substances arbitrarily deemed illegal by the state, like cannabis, police officers lay waste to the rights of the citizens in their proactive shakedowns waging the drug war.
Below is a clip from the show that was posted to Facebook which epitomizes the center of this controversy. In the clip, a clean-cut middle-aged black man is openly harassed for wearing “gang clothing” because his polo shirt is blue.

While being harassed, the man explodes at the officer, who is apparently so used backlash from profiling and harassment that he doesn’t even bat an eye. The man was getting something out of his trunk and this officer decided it was grounds to question him.

While some may feel that the show being canceled is a good thing, unfortunately, it does nothing to stop the problem. The mayor’s move to cancel this show was likely done out of embarrassment as it seems has no plans to stop the harassment — off camera.

This harassment, although it is not on TV, takes place in poor communities across the country day in and day out. At least LIVE PD was showing Americans what it looked like.

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/may...WTxuwDALGrp.99

[Andrea]

Lawsuit: Woman died after being left unattended for hours in jail

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/lawsuit-woman-died-after-being-left-unattended-for-hours-in-jail/493832683

ATLANTA - A family said their loved one died in the Atlanta City Jail, where she was being held for a minor crime, and it took hours for anyone to find her.

Records show Wickie Bryant was booked into the Atlanta City Detention Center in Sept. 2015 after police arrested her for disorderly conduct. Bryant suffered from schizophrenia and diabetes, among other health issues.

Mildred Sims, Bryant’s sister, said Bryant was then moved into a jail cell in an area of the jail where lights had not been on for years.

“It's really, really painful,” Sims told Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne. “If it wasn't for our faith, we wouldn’t be able to get through this.”

“She was only in there for a misdemeanor,” attorney Stephen Fowler said.

Bryan left the jail almost exactly one month later on a covered stretcher. Now, that misdemeanor case has morphed into a federal suit alleging wrongful death.

“We want justice for her. I am speaking on behalf of her. I am her voice,” Sims told Winne.

The suit says, “Ms. Bryant died alone in an unlit cell, where her body remained for several hours before anyone even noticed that she died.”

“They found Ms. Bryant dead in a dark, unlit cell,” said attorney M.J. Blakely.

“Ultimately Ms. Bryant suffered from diabetic ketoacidosis, which essentially happens when a diabetic patient or individual does not receive the medications they need to survive,” Fowler said.

The suit alleges Bryant, “consistently declined treatment, but no mental health professional evaluated her decision-making capacity, and no one ever referred her to a physician.”

“Not once did she see a doctor,” Blakely said.

Bryant’s attorneys said written jail policy requires a doctor referral for an inmate who refuses medication twice.

“Does it say how that referral will happen?” Winne asked Fowler.

“It does not,” Fowler said.

The attorneys said the policy lacks clarity and checks and balances, and didn’t help Bryant, though she refused medication several times.

The suit alleges at one point, Bryant became agitated and an officer moved her to another cell “in an area where the lights had not functioned for years, making it extremely difficult to see detainees.”

“This is not the place you house anyone, especially somebody who's suffering from mental illness and whose health care condition is declining,” Blakely said.

An email from a city spokesperson said the city cannot comment on a case that is in litigation.

The city did, however, provide a copy of its investigation, including video, after our open records request.

The file shows disciplinary action against a number of people who were in jail for rules violations.

[Andrea]

Federal Judge: Cops Have Power to Make You Crap In Your Pants

http://www.ocweekly.com/news/federal-judge-cops-have-power-to-make-you-crap-in-your-pants-7900187

Did a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer violate a female motorist's constitutional rights by repeatedly blocking her access to an Orange County bathroom while she fought a losing battle against a rapid onslaught of diarrhea?

For Toni Antonellis, a well-respected San Diego food entrepreneur, and Aaron Rothberg, a CHP officer who once worked on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's protection detail, that question isn't hypothetical.

Fate placed Antonellis and Rothberg together before noon on the southbound 5 freeway near El Toro Road on June 18, 2014. Earlier that day, Antonellis attended a food vendors' event in Ventura County, then while driving through Costa Mesa, she began to feel severe gastric pain.

"I started having stomach cramps and thought something was off," she recalled in court proceedings. "I had eaten some food that I don't typically eat, as a courtesy to my fellow vendors, and I started breaking out in a sweat. I knew that I needed to use the bathroom."

However, traffic not only was moving below the speed limit, but also had formed a wall across lanes, blocking her from speeding ahead. Desperate to bypass the obstruction, she illegally entered the HOV lane, accomplished her plan, crossed over double yellow lines and re-entered normal traffic so she could exit at Alicia Parkway.

That's when Rothberg, who'd left an event teaching grade-school kids to respect law-enforcement officers, stopped her on the off-ramp after activating his vehicle's lights and siren. Antonellis said she was in an emergency situation and needed to immediately visit a nearby Wendy's restroom. According to a video recording of the encounter, she told the officer, "I'm going to shit my pants if you don't let me get into a bathroom right now."

Rothberg refused to believe her, though, in a later deposition, he conceded Antonellis had appeared frantic. CHP officers routinely hear half-baked stories designed to avoid citations and none tops a bathroom excuse for violating California's vehicle code, he testified. So, he treated her as a liar.

"I'm really sick," she reiterated. "I just need to go to the bathroom."

Though it obviously doesn't take paramedic assistance to empty one's bowels, the cop sarcastically asked Antonellis if he should summon an ambulance, a delay that would put her in additional misery. He then demanded to inspect her driver's license, registration and insurance paperwork. After she complied, the officer returned to his vehicle.

"Antonellis waited and waited and waited, silently suffering with an increase of cramping and intestinal distress," Keith H. Rutman, her attorney, told U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna. "Relief in the form of a nearby, clearly visible bathroom made matters worse. After she overheard dispatch verify that her license was valid and she was not subject to any warrants, she leaned her head out the window and told Rothberg, who still had all her documents, that she could not wait any longer without losing her bowels on the spot, that she was going to drive her car to the restroom and he could meet her there, where she would sign the citation and retrieve her documents."

On the verge of disaster, Antonellis drove toward Wendy's. The officer gave chase, ordered her out of her Lexus and, again, ignored her pleas. He claims he had to consider potential possibilities: Was this wealthy, attractive, middle-aged woman with a valid ID a dangerous killer fleeing a bloody crime scene? Or was she a Mexican-drug-cartel mule hauling weapons and cocaine? Allegedly fearing for his life, he placed her in handcuffs.

Now restrained and weeping, Antonellis' willpower gave way to a messy reality. She soiled herself. Rothberg then locked her in the back of his patrol car, where she experienced a second round of diarrhea. Her cries for help were ignored, she claims. She also says the officer mocked her distress. After nine minutes, Rothberg removed the handcuffs, handed her two $500 citations and told her to "have a nice day."

The feces-stained back seat of his cruiser cost taxpayers $150 to clean.

Driving back to San Diego wearing a towel, Antonellis—the co-owner of Green Bellies, a nutrition company specializing in providing healthy food for children, as well as a café at a San Diego museum—called a CHP supervisor to threaten legal action. Rothberg appeared at the Harbor Courthouse in Newport Beach 16 days later to dismiss both citations, but not as an act of kindness. He elevated the case to criminal, seeking charges that she'd resisted arrest and obstructed him from performing his duties. A judge issued an arrest warrant after a CHP internal investigation asserted that the agency was "unable to substantiate" the allegation that the officer "exhibited poor judgment."

According to Rutman, the tardy charge was brought "for the sole purpose of dissuading Antonellis from filing a civil lawsuit against officer Rothberg and retaliating against her for indicating an intent to do so, as CHP was on notice that was her intended course of action. . . . Rothberg fabricated a version of events to support his plan. The allegations in the reports he prepared and presented are false and untrue."

Tony Rackauckas' scandal-scarred Orange County district attorney's office (OCDA) sided with the officer and took the case to trial, hoping to put the defendant in jail over the bathroom fiasco. The jury was not impressed by the government's arguments. Eight of the 12 jurors voted for acquittal. Antonellis then filed a civil-rights lawsuit inside Santa Ana's Ronald Reagan Federal Courthouse in early 2015. She claimed she'd been humiliated, subjected to unreasonable seizure, denied due process and was a victim of excessive force.

In response, then-Attorney General Kamala Harris—now a U.S. Senator—defended Rothberg's conduct and claimed he deserved immunity for his conduct because he is a cop. "There is no body of clearly established law that would inform a law-enforcement official that he was violating a driver's constitutional rights if he did not release a driver who had committed a traffic violation simply because she said she needed to go to a bathroom," Harris' agency argued in November 2016 to support its contention the case should end before a jury could consider its merits.

Late last month, Selna—a 2003 President George W. Bush lifetime appointee to the federal bench—agreed with the AG's office, granting summary judgment in favor of the cop. "A jury could not find that officer Rothberg's actions, viewed in the light most favorable to Ms. Antonellis [my emphasis], were objectively unreasonable," Selna opined.

Rothberg told the Weekly his client hasn't decided whether or not to appeal the ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Meanwhile, Selna isn't alone in his outlook. In 2011, North Carolina police officer William Wright refused bathroom access to a detainee and encouraged her to "pee on herself," which she was forced to do twice. U.S. District Court Judge Graham C. Mullen, who won his judicial appointment thanks to the backing of Senator Jesse Helms, declined to see the incident as "egregious, arbitrary government conduct" because the nation's Founding Fathers didn't proclaim a specific constitutional right to use a bathroom while in police custody.

"While officer Wright certainly may be guilty of breaching the unwritten standards of human compassion and common decency," Mullen asserted, "he cannot be said to have breached a recognizable duty of care."

Ponder the implications of public servants not bound by even the lowest thresholds of honorable conduct.

[Andrea]

After officer charged, Amtrak shooting detailed: Cop 'assumed a crouched firing stance'

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-amtrak-shooting-charges-20170217-story.html

An Amtrak police officer just 18 months on the job was charged with first-degree murder for fatally shooting an unarmed man fleeing after being stopped over his suspected possession of marijuana, Cook County prosecutors said Friday.

The officer, LaRoyce Tankson, unholstered his service weapon, "assumed a crouched firing stance" and fired once as the victim was about 75 to 100 feet away and running at full speed, prosecutors said.

The victim, Chad Robertson, 25, was shot in the back of his shoulder, according to the medical examiner's office. He had been in Chicago for only about a half-hour Feb. 8 while on a stopover at Union Station waiting on a bus to Minneapolis.

Late Friday afternoon, Tankson, 31, was released from Cook County Jail on $250,000 bail and was shielded from reporters by uniformed officers as he ducked into an unmarked police vehicle and was driven away. Prosecutors had sought to hold him without bail.

The officer's lawyer, William Fahy, said Tankson opened fire "in defense of himself and others" after seeing Robertson reach his left hand toward his pocket while turning toward the officer as he ran away.

Tankson "really believed he was about to be shot," Fahy said. "That's not first-degree murder, judge."

Fahy said a small amount of marijuana was found on Robertson, a father of two who lived in Minneapolis.

Prosecutors said none of six witnesses to the shooting in the 300 block of South Canal Street saw Robertson gesture or turn toward the officer. In addition, Tankson's partner did not see a weapon or anything else in Robertson's hand and never opened fire himself, according to prosecutors. No weapon was found on Robertson, they said.

Chad Robertson, 25, shown with his family, was shot by an Amtrak police officer in Chicago on Feb. 8, 2017, near Union Station. Robertson died Feb. 15, 2017, according to a Chicago police spokesman. (Family photo)

After the bond hearing, Robertson's family, who have filed a federal lawsuit over his death, blasted the bond as far too low and said police too often falsely claim they feared for their lives in fatal shootings.

"How many times are they going to keep saying that that was why they're killing us?" Robertson's sister Nina told reporters at the Leighton Criminal Court Building. "It's unfair, it's unfair, and it's an injustice."

"They shouldn't be able to shoot people for running away," said Robertson's father, Leroy Martin. "They shouldn't be able to shoot people like that."

Another sister, Laniesha Taylor, questioned why Tankson didn't give chase instead of opening fire so soon.

"You didn't think to go after maybe your Taser or even chase him like cops used to do?" she said. "You didn't take a step to try to run, and that's what breaks my heart the most, that you didn't even try and without a thought in your mind killed my brother."

Fahy said Tankson is married to a Chicago firefighter and has three children. His mother, he said, is a "career law enforcement" officer. Before becoming an Amtrak cop 18 months ago, Tankson worked as a locomotive engineer for eight years, according to Fahy.

Following the shooting, Amtrak said the officers had been placed on administrative assignment, standard practice following a shooting. On Friday, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said that status remained unchanged after the filing of murder charges against Tankson. He could not say if Tankson continues to be paid by Amtrak.

The charges came little more than a week after the shooting, and the charges marked the second time in State's Attorney Kim Foxx's three months in office that a police officer has been charged with murder.

Veteran Chicago police Officer Lowell Houser was charged last month with first-degree murder in the shooting of an unarmed man with whom he had an ongoing feud during an off-duty incident Jan. 2. Fahy, who also represents Houser, said the officer acted in self-defense after the victim, Jose Nieves, threatened to shoot him and reached toward his waistband. In a decision criticized by many veteran lawyers, Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered Houser freed on bond on electronic monitoring without posting any money.

Prosecutors said Robertson arrived in Chicago on Feb. 8 on a bus from Memphis. The driver dropped him and two other passengers at Union Station at 8 p.m. so they could stay warm as they waited to catch another bus to Minneapolis.

About 8:30 p.m., Tankson and his partner were on patrol outside the station when they caught the three smoking marijuana, according to Assistant State's Attorney Ahmed Kosoko. The group stopped smoking at Tankson's request and Robertson apologized, Kosoko said.

The three were allowed to leave and walked to a nearby restaurant to wait for their 9:45 p.m. bus.

But moments later, the officers again approached and ordered the three to stand against the glass wall of an elevator shaft attached to a parking garage on Canal Street, Kosoko said. Prosecutors said Tankson had no reason to think the three had done anything wrong other than possess marijuana.

As Tankson began patting down Robertson, he took off running, prosecutors said.

Fahy told the judge that Tankson's partner had felt a "hard metallic object," possibly a gun, while patting down one of Robertson's companions. When the partner asked, "What's this?" Robertson ran, Fahy said.

Fahy said that "thousands of dollars" in cash were recovered in baggage that belonged to the group and that Robertson had been acting "suspiciously" and was resisting being patted down.

But the Robertson family lawsuit, filed in Chicago on Tuesday, alleged that Tankson and his partner illegally detained Robertson and his companions and began to conduct illegal searches of them.

Tankson was "very aggressive, disrespectful and again used a great deal of profanity during the illegal search," the suit said.

The suit alleged Robertson "feared for his life" and took off running.

According to the suit, Tankson "calmly dropped to one knee, removed his gloves, unsecured his weapon" and opened fire.

Tankson announced no commands, saying only, "It's a gun out. It's a gun out," according to the suit.

The officer handcuffed the collapsed Robertson as "he lay in the street clinging to life," the suit alleged.

The shooting left Robertson paralyzed, and he died a week later, at 11:20 p.m. Wednesday, according to the medical examiner's office.

At the courthouse, Robertson's family said Tankson opened fire without justification.

"He had dreams and aspirations," Nina Robertson said. "I'm devastated. I'm devastated that his life was taken."

[Andrea]

Cop filmed telling motorist he wanted to beat him, sic dog on him

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/02/cop-filmed-telling-motorist-he-wanted-to-beat-him-sic-dog-on-him/



A days-old viral Facebook video shows an angry New Jersey cop yelling at a young motorist. The police officer says he wants to knock the motorist "the fuck out" and sic his 90-pound police dog on him—in what appears to be retribution for the man filming the officer. Because of the video, taken by one of the two motorists pulled over in Atlantic City, the officer has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Following the publication of the 80-second video, which has more than 400,000 views, Atlantic City Police Chief Henry White called for an internal affairs investigation. The men involved in the traffic stop have been neither identified nor arrested. The incident is being investigated solely because it was recorded. This is another example of how the YouTube society—in which people are constantly filming each other and their surroundings with mobile phones—is altering the criminal justice system.

"Take that phone and stick it out of my face. I'm not gonna tell you again," the officer tells one of the motorists who is filming him. The officer then becomes enraged.

"Calm the fuck down," the officer yells at the two men, one of whom calmly replies "yes, sir."

"I guarantee you, that 90-pound dog is going to come out and rip the fuck out of you," the officer shouts. In response to one of the men filming the officer, the cop says: "Put your hand in my face and I'm going to knock you the fuck out."

The cop also says:

"We'll step out and bang. I got no fucking problem. You're under unlawful detention. You're not allowed to have your cell phone. You understand? You're not allowed to use it. You can turn yours off right now... "

The video ends.

The authorities declined to say why the men were pulled over. In a statement, the police agency said:

The Atlantic City Police Department is aware of a citizen-filmed video that is circulating on social media. Chief Henry White has ordered the Internal Affairs Section to begin an immediate investigation into the incident. The language and tone used by our officer in the video is concerning and is not condoned by this department. The officer involved was wearing a body-worn camera which will be reviewed by detectives.

The Atlantic City Police Department values our interactions with our residents and visitors. We have worked hard to gain the trust and confidence of the community by becoming part of the community with many of our programs such as Pizza with the Police and Coffee with the Cop. Our officers are involved in neighborhood walks and events that educate the community on the role of police officers with our Civilian Police Academy and Juvenile Police Academy.

Days before the video surfaced, meanwhile, another Atlantic City police officer was arrested on aggravated assault charges in connection to his girlfriend's beating.