Tag: police brutality

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Racial profiling

Black Woman Beaten and Arrested for Filming White Cops – Video

Her husband was getting arrested, so like anyone else with a cellphone, she turned on her camera and began recording the arrest when the two white officers in Jacksonville Florida, suddenly became afraid for their lives and decided to attack her and her cellphone to save their lives.

“I was beaten, and then falsely arrested, my phone was stolen, my car was taken. It was a traumatic experience,” Kelli Wilson said of her unintended encounter with the cops. “It was definitely an experience you never think you would be going through,” said Wilson.

Wilson said that when the officers demanded she put away her phone, she asked “why?” And that is when the police decided to escalate the situation with the citizen.

“He asked for it, he demanded it again, and I gave him the same, ‘Why do you want my phone? What do you need my phone for?’ He told me he would punch me in my face. I eventually got punched and beaten and the sergeant that was on the scene joined in the beating.”

Wilson said the police still have her phone. Her beating for recording an arrest was captured by a nearby surveillance camera. On the police report, the officers claimed they arrested Wilson because she was interfering with an arrest.

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Sports

Investigation – NYPD Used “Excessive Force” to “Arrest” Tennis Star James Blake

Buzzfeed is reporting that an independent investigation by the Civilian Complaint and Review Board found that the the New York Police Department officer who mistakenly arrested James Blake last month used excessive force during the takedown.

“I appreciate the efforts of the CCRB to advance this investigation,” Blake said in a statement.

The NYPD arrested Blake on Sep. 9, after a group of plainclothes officers mistook him for a suspect in a credit card fraud scheme. The violent arrest, in which an officer tackled the athlete without warning, was captured on video. It soon emerged neither Blake nor the suspect, both of whom are black, had any connection to the scheme.

“We have been made aware of the CCRB’s findings. The department’s internal review is still on-going,” the NYPD said in a statement.

Although Blake was not seriously injured, the incident unleashed a public relations crisis for the NYPD, which still struggles with allegations of racial profiling and excessive force. Both Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton issued rare public apologies to the athlete, who said he welcomed the apologies but insisted that the city take substantive steps to address the issues.

The CCRB’s finding opens the door for a departmental trial against Officer James Frascatore, who tackled Blake, and Detective Daniel Herzog, who was also involved in the arrest. The two officers will have an advocate who will contrast their side of the story with the CCRB’s finding. In the end, Commissioner Bratton will have the final say on whether the officers will be disciplined, and if so in what form.

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Politics

James Blake Says Officer Who Tackled And Arrested Him Should Be Fired

In an interview with the New York Daily News, the retired Tennis star James Blake, said that the officer who tackled him while he was standing outside a hotel waiting for a ride to the U.S Open, does not deserve to “have the same title as officers who are doing good work.”

“I want him to know what he did was wrong, and that in my opinion he doesn’t deserve to ever have a badge and a gun again, because he doesn’t know how to handle that responsibility effectively. He doesn’t deserve to have the same title as officers who are doing good work and are really helping keep the rest of the city safe.”

Blake was an apparent victim of “mistaken identity” by the New York police officer. He was tackled to the ground and arrested, then released after his identity was known. Blake is promising to use his celebrity status to bring to light a common police tactic of assuming that everyone is guilty and must prove their innocence.

The Mayor of New York and the Police Commissioner have issued formal apologies to James Blake.

“I’m lucky to be in the position I’m in, but I also talked to a lot of people the last few days that have had similar situations happen to them. Those are the people that deserve to be apologized to.”

James Blake is considering a lawsuit if changes aren’t implemented by the NYPD. Meanwhile, the officer, James Frascatore, who is white by the way, has been placed on desk duty.

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Racial profiling Racism

Freddie Gray’s Parents Awarded $6.4 Million in Freddie Gray’s Death

No award is going to bring back Freddie Gray, but $6.4 million is a step in the right direction.

The deal, announced Tuesday, appeared to be among the largest settlements in police death cases in recent years and happened just days before a judge is set to decide whether to move a trial for six officers charged in Gray’s death.

Gray’s spine was injured April 12 in the back of a prisoner transport van after he was arrested. Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died at the hospital a week later. In the aftermath, Gray became a symbol of the contentious relationship between the police and the public in Baltimore, as well as the treatment of black men by police in America.

The settlement still needs the approval of a board that oversees city spending. That board will meet Wednesday morning.

“The proposed settlement agreement going before the Board of Estimates should not be interpreted as a judgment on the guilt or innocence of the officers facing trial,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said in a news release. “This settlement is being proposed solely because it is in the best interest of the city, and avoids costly and protracted litigation that would only make it more difficult for our city to heal and potentially cost taxpayers many millions more in damages.”

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cops Politics

14 San Francisco Cops “Take Down” Man with 1 Leg – Video

Someone reported the man was waving sticks around, so San Francisco cops descended on the man with one leg and held him down for 30 minutes according to an eye witness.

The “sticks” turned out to be the man’s crutches.

At least 14 officers helped in the takedown earlier this month, said Chaedria LaBouvier, a journalist who filmed the incident. The officers held down the man, who appeared to be homeless, for at least 30 minutes, LaBouvier wrote in a Monday post on Medium. He lay on the ground half-naked, his pants slipping off as he struggled with cops, and repeatedly asked, “What are you doing this for?” Witnesses told her the officers were responding to call about someone waving sticks downtown.

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Domestic Policies Express Yourself Mike Brown Shooting News Politics Racial profiling Racism

Acting Stupidly Would be an Improvement

Remember the halcyon days of 2009, when the country was embroiled in the first racial controversy of the brand new Obama presidency? You know, when the Cambridge, Massachusetts police thought that the world-renowned Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was arrested for essentially breaking into his own house because the front door was stuck? 

Those were the good old days when it was possible to accuse the president of playing the race card (as if racism was ever a gentlemanly card game), when the Voting Rights Act of 1965 still had some teeth, and when accusing the policeman of “acting stupidly” made Obama the butt of jokes and the target of righteous anger because he didn’t support law enforcement. The best thing we can say about that epsiode?

At least nobody was shot dead.

Little did the country know that the innocuous “Beer Summit” would be the last time that civility entered the conversation. Conservatives, and even a few liberals, thought that Obama had breached the wall of silence too quickly in his term. That he had to tread lightly and be careful because as the nation’s first African-American president, he had to stay above the fray and not remind polite society that we have a bit of a complicated history when it comes to race. And guns. And law enforcement behavior. Seems quaint, yes?

I believe that police officers, perhaps more than any other public service job, have the most difficult environment in which to work. The police have to be correct almost 100% of the time. I support effective, proactive, respectful, sometimes forceful police work. Recent events have shown, however, that many police officers, and the criminal justice systems in towns and cities across this country, have not been held accountable for their actions or have lied about what’s actually happened at traffic stops and crime scenes. This must stop.

I’m hoping that the Republican candidates in this week’s debates will address the issue and that we’ll hear more from the Democrats as well. But this needs to be done rather quickly because the real issue is trust. Right now, that level is dangerously low.

For more, go to www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives or Twitter @rigrundfest

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BLM Gun Control Politics Racism shooting

Jeb Bush – White Lives Matter, but BlackLivesMatter is a “Political Slogan” – Video

Since Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley felt the need to apologize for saying “black lives matter, white lives matter, all lives matter” when confronted by a group from the “BlackLivesMatter” movement, his apology has caused much talk and headlines. Jeb Bush is just one of a few presidential candidates urged to emphasize that yes, white lives matter, but BlackLivesMatter is nothing more than a political slogan.

When a reporter asked him to respond to O’Malley’s apology, an apparent irate Jeb Bush is seen rolling his eyes before offering his response.

“We’re so uptight and so politically correct now that we apologize for saying ‘lives matter?'” asked Bush. “Life is precious. It’s a gift from God. I frankly think that it’s one of the most important values that we have. I know in the political context it’s a slogan, I guess. Should he have apologized? No. If he believes that white lives matter, which I hope he does, then he shouldn’t have apologized to a group that seemed to disagree with it. Gosh.”

The annoyed Jeb Bush still doesn’t get it! When week after week black lives are gunned down and beaten and killed by those entrusted with their protection, saying “all lives matter”, although true, minimizes the need to fix an obvious problem between the black or minority community and the police. Yes, we all know white lives matter, because those lives are not being hunted by police the way black ones are, but what’s wrong with admitting that black lives matter too and deserve the same protection as white lives?

Jeeze!

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dead Politics

Dash Cam Video of Sandra Bland’s Arrest Released – Video

She was pulled over for allegedly changing lanes without using her signals. She ended up dead in police custody a couple days later. Face with mounting pressure from the community, Texas police finally released the dashcam video showing the arrest of the 28-year-old, Sandra Bland.

Sandra Bland was arrested on July 10th and was found dead in her Waller County Jail cell in Texas with a plastic bag over her head. Police is calling her death a suicide.

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Politics Texas

This Black Woman Just Died in Police Custody – Video

Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old woman was pulled over by Texas police last Friday, July 10th and arrested. She was taken to jail and by Monday, she was found dead in her cell. Police is calling her death a suicide. Those who knew Sandra is finding that claim of suicide hard to believe.

“I just couldn’t imagine that someone would say that this woman, that was so strong, would take her own life. She wouldn’t have done that,” said Lanitra Dean, a friend.

KHOU reports below.

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Politics

NY Police Officer Caught in Street Brawl with Harlem Suspect – Video

The video below shows a police officer in Harlem attempting an arrest on a man because the man had what a witness called a “pen knife!”

The incident happened around 3:15 p.m. on Frederick Douglass Blvd. at W. 129th St. last week, when the officer spotted 30 year old Saykou George and stopped the man for having the knife. George is asked for his identification and when it was provided, the officer is seen putting the man’s identification in his pocket and pulling out the pair of handcuffs.

At that moment, George is heard asking why the officer took his i.d. The officer began approaching George to make the arrest and that is when all hell broke loose!

Things began to escalate real fast when George tried to walk away, still asking the officer for his id. The officer pushed George into a fence and threw a punch at the man. George then tried walking in the opposite direction with the officer following. Another punch was thrown by the officer and George retaliated and a street brawl ensued.

George was eventually arrested when a gang of officers showed up and took him to the ground. Before he was taken down, the officer connected on three punches. According to the police commissioner, Bill Bratton, the officer involved did nothing wrong.

“My preliminary review of that was I saw nothing inappropriate with the officer’s behavior,” Bratton said.

George was charged with resisting arrest, assault on a police officer, possession of a knife and disorderly conduct. The police officer’s conduct is being investigated by… the police department.

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Featured

Angry Citizens Stopped Cops from Arresting 14 Year Old Girl – Video

According to the recording, the two police officers suspected two teenage girls of “pushing a button.” It wasn’t explained what button was pushed, but at some street corners here in New York, people are allowed to push a button when crossing busy intersections.

What pissed off members of this community is the way the cops detained the girls for questioning. “He had no right putting his hand on you”, one woman is heard saying. “Call a female officer” another person said.

After the girls continued insisting they did nothing wrong, one officer, clearly irate by what was happening, grabbed the 14 year old again and attempted to manhandle her into handcuffs, but the people were not having that as the shouted at the cop, some getting between the cop and the girl, grabbing her and eventually succeeded in pulling her away from the forceful cop.

He and his partner got into an unmarked car and drove off without their prize as the crowd continued shouting.

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Categories
Racial profiling

Police Officers Charged in The Murder of Freddie Gray

Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore state's attorney, speaks during a media availability, Friday, May 1, 2015 in Baltimore. Mosby announced criminal charges against all six officers suspended after Freddie Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury while in police custody. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore state’s attorney, speaks during a media availability, Friday, May 1, 2015 in Baltimore. Mosby announced criminal charges against all six officers suspended after Freddie Gray suffered a fatal spinal injury while in police custody. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

This is not a win for anybody. This is just a starting point in holding those who use the badge to kill others accountable for their actions. In other words, this is justice. You kill someone, let a judge and jury decide the outcome, not the police union.

Baltimore’s State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced Friday morning that several officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray will face homicide charges.

“To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace.’ Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man,” she said.

Six Baltimore police officers have been criminally charged: Officer Caesar Goodson, Officer William Porter, Lt. Brian Rice, Officer Edward Nero, Officer Garrett Miller and Sgt. Alicia White.

The charges, which vary for each person, include second-degree murder, manslaughter, misconduct in office and false imprisonment.

Goodson faces second-degree depraved heart murder, which indicates a “callous disregard for the value of human life.”

“I hope that as we move forward with this case, everyone will respect due process and refrain from doing anything that will jeopardize our ability to seek justice,” Mosby said.

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