Amnesty International Releases New Ferguson Report Documenting Human Rights Abuses
"Following the initial protests in Ferguson, Missouri sparked by the
shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown, Amnesty
International USA dispatched a human rights delegation which included
observers to monitor the protests and police response. Today, the human
rights organization has released a new report, On the Streets of America: Human Rights Abuses in Ferguson,
documenting the human rights concerns witnessed first-hand by Amnesty
International while in Ferguson from August 14-22, 2014. The report also
outlines a series of recommendations that need to be implemented with
regards to the use of force by law enforcement officers and the policing
of protests."
View the Report
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Showing posts with label Police violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Police violence. Show all posts
DOJ Investigation Confirms: Albuquerque Police 'Executing' Citizens
Residents of Albuquerque, New Mexico are marching on the police
department Saturday to demand retribution against the city's mayor and
police chief for their role in the police force's documented "execution"
of citizens.
The march comes after the Department of Justice slammed the Albuquerque Police Department for their frequent use of excessive and lethal force in a damning report released on Thursday.
Though, according to advocates, abuse by local law enforcement has been systemic for years, calls for increased scrutiny of the APD were amplified following the police shooting death of James Boyd, a homeless man suffering from mental illness, on March 16.
Read on...
The march comes after the Department of Justice slammed the Albuquerque Police Department for their frequent use of excessive and lethal force in a damning report released on Thursday.
Though, according to advocates, abuse by local law enforcement has been systemic for years, calls for increased scrutiny of the APD were amplified following the police shooting death of James Boyd, a homeless man suffering from mental illness, on March 16.
Read on...
Cop Who Allegedly Said ‘We Don’t Have Time For This’ Before Shooting Schizophrenic Teen Dead Has Been Indicted
A police officer who allegedly yelled “we don’t have time for this” before shooting and killing a schizophrenic teen has been indicted on manslaughter charges.
Officer Bryon Vassey was one of three officers from different North Carolina precincts to respond to a call by the family of 18-year-old Keith Vidal last month. The teen, who suffered from schizophrenia and weighed just 90 pounds, had apparently picked up a small screwdriver and wasn’t putting it down. But his parents say the two other officers already had the scene under control when Vassey walked in. They say the third officer simply tased Vidal, then took out a firearm and shot him dead, saying “we don’t have time for this.”
Records show Vassey was at the Vidal residence for just 70 seconds before calling in that shots had been fired, reports the North Carolina Star News.
Read on...
Officer Bryon Vassey was one of three officers from different North Carolina precincts to respond to a call by the family of 18-year-old Keith Vidal last month. The teen, who suffered from schizophrenia and weighed just 90 pounds, had apparently picked up a small screwdriver and wasn’t putting it down. But his parents say the two other officers already had the scene under control when Vassey walked in. They say the third officer simply tased Vidal, then took out a firearm and shot him dead, saying “we don’t have time for this.”
Records show Vassey was at the Vidal residence for just 70 seconds before calling in that shots had been fired, reports the North Carolina Star News.
Read on...
Unarmed Man Charged With Assault Because Police Shot Bystanders When They Were Aiming For Him
The New York Police Department attracted yet more scrutiny in
September, when police opened fire on an unarmed and seemingly unstable
man who was weaving between cars in a busy Times Square intersection.
Police missed their target, but shot two women nearby. Now, the city is blaming the officers’ botched shootings on the unarmed man, Glenn Broadnax, who has been charged with assault.
The indictment released on Wednesday accused Broadnax of being “recklessly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death.” The two officers who actually pulled the trigger are still being investigated by the district attorney’s office. If he is convicted for the police shooting, Broadnax, 35, could be in prison for up to 25 years.
Broadnax’s attorney told the New York Times he cannot be held responsible for the officers’ actions, since he “never imagined his behavior would ever cause the police to shoot at him.” Indeed, at the time of the incident, many questioned if pulling a gun on an unarmed man in one of the busiest areas in the city was a necessary call. Nor was this the first time New York officers missed their target; in one high profile instance, police also shot nine bystanders while trying to take down a gunman outside the Empire State Building last year.
Read on...
The indictment released on Wednesday accused Broadnax of being “recklessly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death.” The two officers who actually pulled the trigger are still being investigated by the district attorney’s office. If he is convicted for the police shooting, Broadnax, 35, could be in prison for up to 25 years.
Broadnax’s attorney told the New York Times he cannot be held responsible for the officers’ actions, since he “never imagined his behavior would ever cause the police to shoot at him.” Indeed, at the time of the incident, many questioned if pulling a gun on an unarmed man in one of the busiest areas in the city was a necessary call. Nor was this the first time New York officers missed their target; in one high profile instance, police also shot nine bystanders while trying to take down a gunman outside the Empire State Building last year.
Read on...
4 Police Brutality Victims’ Families Share their Stories Before National Day of Protest
While police brutality is gaining national attention, the October 22 National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation will take place for its 17th year on Tuesday in nearly 50 cities across the country.
The protest was first organized in 1996, by a diverse coalition of groups and individuals who wanted to bring about resistance to police brutality on a national level.
Kathie Cheng, an organizer with the coalition, said that while national dialogue around police brutality declined after 9/11, there has since been a resurgence as more people are standing up and documentation has increased.
The coalition also works on the Stolen Lives Project, which monitors killings by law enforcement agents.
Cheng said the October 22 rally is important in reminding people that police are supposed to serve the people, not behave in a brutal fashion.
She said, “If there isn’t a very visible alternative to how people see police brutality, we’ll just accept that ‘Well, this is just what happens.’”
She added, “It’s also a platform for many families of those who have been killed by police to be able to have a voice. Very often in media they just go by the police report, and the victims’ names are just dragged through the mud. And so this is a chance for others to hear the truth about what’s going on.”
Read on...
The protest was first organized in 1996, by a diverse coalition of groups and individuals who wanted to bring about resistance to police brutality on a national level.
Kathie Cheng, an organizer with the coalition, said that while national dialogue around police brutality declined after 9/11, there has since been a resurgence as more people are standing up and documentation has increased.
The coalition also works on the Stolen Lives Project, which monitors killings by law enforcement agents.
Cheng said the October 22 rally is important in reminding people that police are supposed to serve the people, not behave in a brutal fashion.
She said, “If there isn’t a very visible alternative to how people see police brutality, we’ll just accept that ‘Well, this is just what happens.’”
She added, “It’s also a platform for many families of those who have been killed by police to be able to have a voice. Very often in media they just go by the police report, and the victims’ names are just dragged through the mud. And so this is a chance for others to hear the truth about what’s going on.”
Read on...
Matt Gurney: Edmonton’s police owe the public far better than this
Two months ago, an Edmonton Police Services constable, Jack Redlick, was handed a one-year demotion
(effectively a $15,000 penalty) for beating a suspect, George
Petropolous, he had arrested. Petropolous, a middle-aged man, had been
accused of striking his mother during a dispute about money. Redlick and
his partner arrested him, and while heading to the police station,
pulled off into a high school parking lot. Redlick took Petropolous out
of the cruiser, walked him to an isolated part of the schoolground, out
of sight of the cruiser, and beat him. During the assault, Petropolous
claims that Redlick boasted that this wasn’t the first time he’d
administered a little street justice on his own initiative. The charges
against Petropolous were later stayed.
None of the above is disputed. Redlick and his partner at first denied the whole thing, but Redlick later recanted and pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct under the Police Act. That included his admission to this conduct in an agreed statement of facts. (His partner is now facing discipline for the attempted coverup.) When handing down the sentence of the one-year demotion, the presiding officer noted that the incident was “extremely serious,” but that there were also several mitigating factors, including the fact that Redlick was suffering from depression (relating to a suspect he shot and killed, but more on that later) and that he had an exemplary service record.
Read on...
None of the above is disputed. Redlick and his partner at first denied the whole thing, but Redlick later recanted and pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct under the Police Act. That included his admission to this conduct in an agreed statement of facts. (His partner is now facing discipline for the attempted coverup.) When handing down the sentence of the one-year demotion, the presiding officer noted that the incident was “extremely serious,” but that there were also several mitigating factors, including the fact that Redlick was suffering from depression (relating to a suspect he shot and killed, but more on that later) and that he had an exemplary service record.
Read on...
Demonstrators Met With Riot Police, Arrests at Vigil for Brooklyn Teen Shot by Police
Heavy police presence, "media blockout" continue in days following shooting of Kimani Gray
Police
officers arrest a demonstrator during a march after a vigil held for
Kimani "Kiki" Gray in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn,
Wednesday, March 13, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Demonstrators gathered for a third night in a row in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn Wednesday night over the shooting of 16-year-old Kimani Gray by the NYPD over the weekend. Residents from the area who marked the evening with another protest and candlelight vigil were met once again by riot police—who arrested up to 50 protesters in the area including Gray’s sister.
Sophie Lewis at In These Times reports that the "whole of East Flatbush is becoming a so-called Frozen Zone: an unofficial NYPD tactic of totally excluding the media from an area."Lewis reports on the scene Wednesday night:
Read on....
Breaking Up Fight, Police Officer Pepper-Sprays Students at Narbonne High
The fight between two girls escalated and a female police officer used pepper spray when it couldn't be quelled, witnesses said
Several dozen students were treated for
respiratory and eye irritation after a police officer used pepper spray
to get through a crowd to a fight at a Harbor City high school,
according fire and school district officials.
A fire department spokesman and a Los
Angeles Unified School District spokeswoman both stated the
treatment took place after a school police officer used pepper spray at
about 10 a.m. Thursday at Narbonne High School.
In a statement issued at 3 p.m., LAUSD said a fight between two female students broke out during morning nutrition break:
"The fight attracted a large
crowd that surrounded the incident, preventing the Los Angeles School
Police Officer from coming to the aid of the fallen student. The crowd
did not heed commands to disperse by school staff or the officer.
Concerned for the safety of the fallen student and for the officer’s own
safety, the officer dispensed a short burst of pepper spray into the
air to disperse the crowd."
Riot Police Arrest Peaceful Protesters at Rally for Striking Walmart Workers
Hundreds of people gathered at a major Walmart distribution center
Monday in Elwood, Illinois to stand in solidarity with workers who have
been on strike since mid-September in response to unsafe working
conditions and unfair wages.
"No one should come to work and endure extreme temperatures, inhale dust and chemical residue, and lift thousands of boxes weighing up to 250lbs with no support. Workers never know how long the work day will be- sometimes its two hours, sometimes its 16 hours. Injuries are common, as is discrimination against women and illegal retaliation against workers who speak up for better treatment," Warehouse Workers for Justice states at its official website.
The discrimination aspect of this list of grievances includes widespread sexual harassment and intimidation of female warehouse workers, an epidemic largely ignored by the establishment media, even among individuals, such as the New York Times' Nicholas Kristof, known for focusing on female worker equality and empowerment in other countries.
"When I worked at the Walmart warehouse in Elwood, I was sexually harassed on a regular basis…I literally got locked inside a trailer because that's what the men thought I was there for…I reported it to my supervisor, but he didn't do anything about it," said Ulyonda Dickerson, a worker at the Walmart warehouse in Elwood, in a report released by Warehouse Workers for Justice.
Read on...
"No one should come to work and endure extreme temperatures, inhale dust and chemical residue, and lift thousands of boxes weighing up to 250lbs with no support. Workers never know how long the work day will be- sometimes its two hours, sometimes its 16 hours. Injuries are common, as is discrimination against women and illegal retaliation against workers who speak up for better treatment," Warehouse Workers for Justice states at its official website.
The discrimination aspect of this list of grievances includes widespread sexual harassment and intimidation of female warehouse workers, an epidemic largely ignored by the establishment media, even among individuals, such as the New York Times' Nicholas Kristof, known for focusing on female worker equality and empowerment in other countries.
"When I worked at the Walmart warehouse in Elwood, I was sexually harassed on a regular basis…I literally got locked inside a trailer because that's what the men thought I was there for…I reported it to my supervisor, but he didn't do anything about it," said Ulyonda Dickerson, a worker at the Walmart warehouse in Elwood, in a report released by Warehouse Workers for Justice.
Read on...
Philly Cop Punches Woman in Mouth
Who needs pepper spray or tasers if you are a cop in need of protection
yourself against a small Latino woman whom violently assaults you with
-- water (allegedly).
Tasers and pepper spray could bring unwarranted attention, at least from blogs and twitter. Better to take that water like an man and then go sucker punch the woman thug instead. Watch this video from the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Philly over the weekend. Please note the size of the woman in comparison to the size of the police officer who comes up from behind her and delivers the kind of "illegal blow" from his fist that the Marquis of Queensbury Rules don't permit in authorized matches between professional boxers:
Excessive force anyone? Just remember this. Next time you are at a parade, if you accidentally spill your soda on a cop, or god forbid, brush up against him or her in a tight space, even without any intent to do so, this could be you. Was the woman who "allegedly" tossed water at the cop behaving badly? Sure. Did the police officer really need to escalate the situation by punching her in the face from behind as she walked away causing her to bleed profusely, possibly giving her concussion? He was after all (to my eyes anyway) roughly twice her size, in weight class alone.
You tell me. You tell me.
Read on....
Follow the link for video. Tom
Tasers and pepper spray could bring unwarranted attention, at least from blogs and twitter. Better to take that water like an man and then go sucker punch the woman thug instead. Watch this video from the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Philly over the weekend. Please note the size of the woman in comparison to the size of the police officer who comes up from behind her and delivers the kind of "illegal blow" from his fist that the Marquis of Queensbury Rules don't permit in authorized matches between professional boxers:
Excessive force anyone? Just remember this. Next time you are at a parade, if you accidentally spill your soda on a cop, or god forbid, brush up against him or her in a tight space, even without any intent to do so, this could be you. Was the woman who "allegedly" tossed water at the cop behaving badly? Sure. Did the police officer really need to escalate the situation by punching her in the face from behind as she walked away causing her to bleed profusely, possibly giving her concussion? He was after all (to my eyes anyway) roughly twice her size, in weight class alone.
You tell me. You tell me.
Read on....
Follow the link for video. Tom
FBI Investigates Shooting Of Double-Amputee Brian Claunch By Houston Police Officer Matthew Marin
The FBI will help investigate what led a Houston police officer to
shoot and kill a wheelchair-bound double amputee who was agitated and
threatening police with what turned out to be a ballpoint pen, the
city's police chief said Monday.
Police Chief Charles McClelland also asked the community to "reserve judgment" on the officer and his actions this weekend at the Healing Hands group home for the mentally ill, and sought to reassure the public that all of the city's officers are trained to deal with people with mental problems.
Officer Matthew Marin shot 45-year-old Brian Claunch early Saturday after responding to a call that the one-armed, one-legged man was causing a disturbance inside the home. Police have said Claunch cornered and threatened Marin, who reportedly told investigators he didn't know the object in Claunch's hand was a pen.
"It is my desire to have everyone reserve judgment until all the facts and evidence in this investigation have been gathered," McClelland said in a statement.
Read on...
Police Chief Charles McClelland also asked the community to "reserve judgment" on the officer and his actions this weekend at the Healing Hands group home for the mentally ill, and sought to reassure the public that all of the city's officers are trained to deal with people with mental problems.
Officer Matthew Marin shot 45-year-old Brian Claunch early Saturday after responding to a call that the one-armed, one-legged man was causing a disturbance inside the home. Police have said Claunch cornered and threatened Marin, who reportedly told investigators he didn't know the object in Claunch's hand was a pen.
"It is my desire to have everyone reserve judgment until all the facts and evidence in this investigation have been gathered," McClelland said in a statement.
Read on...
One Year Since NYPD Officer Pepper Sprayed Occupy Wall Street Protesters
Screen shot from video of young female protesters screaming after being pepper sprayed
Chelsea Elliott, twenty-five year-old with long hair who was wearing a crop tank top, was one of the protesters pepper-sprayed. She told the Village Voice after the incident she “heard screams” near her. Officers had shoved a young girl to the ground. She had been yelling at them as they beat another person, and they put their hands on her and pushed her down onto the pavement. Elliott shouted, “Stop! Why are you doing this?” Bologna then walked up and sprayed the women.
“Not even one steady stream, more like you were spraying a plant — me and three or four other girls,” Elliott recounted. “I fell to the ground, and the girl behind me, this pretty, thin girl, a total hippie, with short hair and a gray tank top, they got her so bad! We were just lying on the ground, it was extremely painful.”
Elliott could not see for “fifteen minutes.” She could not breathe at first and was sobbing. It felt “like the worst sunburn of my life.” It was like “pouring a bottle of Tabasco all over your eyes and face.” Occupy medics poured milk into her eyes “for like 10 minutes, and apple cider vinegar” on her face.
Read on....
DiManno: As new allegations of G20 brutality surface, police raise their shields
By Rosie DiManno
Officer John Doe. Officer John Doe. Officer John Doe. Officer John Doe. Officer John Doe. Officer John Doe. Officer John Doe.
In the absence of actual names, these John Does could be any from among Toronto’s 5,000-plus uniformed police.
And that’s the unfortunate result of anonymity: A shadow of suspicion falling across everybody.
Dorian Barton claims he was viciously attacked by a half dozen cops during the police-initiated melee at the Queen’s Park G20 protests last June. He’s launched a $250,000 civil suit against both the Toronto Police Services Board and the as-yet unnamed officers, referenced in court documents as officers John Doe 1 through 7.
Officer Joe Doe 7 was not party to the alleged assault. This is the individual who later laid the charges — obstructing a peace officer and being involved in an unlawful protest — against Barton, although there appears to be no supporting paperwork. If such documentation existed, there would have to be a name for the arresting officer included. And that paperwork would presumably have led the Special Investigations Unit to identify him.
The police are always lamenting the lack of public co-operation at crime scenes. Except when they are the crime scene. Tom
DiManno: New tape backs up protester’s beating allegation
By Rosie DiManno
When he is finally allowed up off the ground after being stomped and pummeled by cops, Adam Nobody appears to have suffered no significant facial injuries — at least none that show.
There isn’t any blood, nary evidence of wounds, and the nose — which Nobody suspects was snapped during that pile-on melee — is exactly where it’s supposed to be.
The outward evidence is fairly clear on a piece of footage given to the Star this week.
Those images — a handcuffed Nobody being led out of camera range by uniformed officers, in the process of being arrested last June 26, not a drop of blood on him — support the 27-year-old’s formal complaint that he was immediately afterwards subjected to another vicious beating by a couple of plainclothes detectives behind two parked police vans.
After this second purported assault, Nobody’s face was left bloodied, he says, his cheekbone shattered.
Within a week, he would undergo surgery to repair the damage.
My Story - Help ID This Criminal! by: Wyndham Bettencourt-McCarthy
On the evening of Saturday, June 26th, I was live blogging the protest at South Queen's Park on assignment for the site Torontoist. When police began randomly charging the peaceful crowd, I attempted to extricate myself as I witnessed other individuals being seized and beaten to the ground, despite being unarmed and not resisting force. As I was running out of the park, I was struck from behind by a male officer. He beat me with a baton, causing welts and bruising across my right hip and abdomen. I was unarmed at the time and had not said anything to any officers or engaged in any chanting, taunting, or aggressive behaviour. I did not know until later that a photographer was present at the event and had photographed the moment when I was hit. I have attached the image to this email, although unfortunately I do not know who took the photograph as it appeared in an anonymous facebook collection of accumulated photos from the weekend. I documented my experience on Torontoist, and photos of my bruises are available below:
You have my full permission to publish my story, photos, and full name. I am currently attempting to identify the officer that struck me so I can add the information to my formal complaint.
Thank you,
Wyndham Bettencourt-McCarthy
Check out lots of stories from G20 at the www.g20justice.com website. Tom
DiManno: How long can Blair stay shackled?
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair addresses the media at a press conference held at the Empress hotel in Victoria, BC.
Anybody got the keys to Police Chief Bill Blair’s handcuffs?
Because Toronto’s top cop — indisputably the most powerful municipal law enforcement official in Canada — has got a bad case of the shackles.
Five officers identified by late Wednesday afternoon as cop-on-civilian combatants during the G20 Summit protests and there’s apparently precious little Blair can do about it.
Can’t fire ’em. Can’t suspend ’em without pay, pending a disciplinary hearing. Can’t compel them — if designated by the Special Investigations Unit as subject officers, which hasn’t happened yet with this quintet — to come forth for interviewing by the independent agency.
So what’s a chief for?
Toronto police chief will not resign, says officers identified in G20 beating case
JUSTINE HUNTER, ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY AND MARCUS GEE
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair says the police have identified five of the officers who are persons of interest in an alleged assault of a G20 protester.Chief Blair held a news conference in Victoria Wednesday amid growing calls for an inquiry into police conduct into the G20, and said he has no plans to resign.
“No I am not [resigning],” he said. “I am doing my job.”
Chief Blair said his department has identified and is disciplining 91 officers for failing to display their name tags. As well, five officers accused of misconduct have been identified from photographs published in the media. He said he did not personally identify the officers.
Beaten protester urges chief to seek out responsible officers
Ontario's Special Investigations Unit is trying to identify the man with the bicycle in this image from a video of police officers subduing Adam Nobody on June 26, 2010 during the G20 protests in Toronto.
by Jayme Poisson
Last week, a quirky G20 protester with the last name Nobody accepted an apology from Toronto’s top cop.
“Now that he’s apologized is he going to look for the people who did this?” said Adam Nobody, referring to Police Chief Bill Blair.
“Police officers will be held accountable where there is evidence of misconduct,” Blair had said earlier that day.
On the front page of the Star Tuesday, an officer’s face peeks through a raised visor. The image came from newly obtained video footage that shows the same officer repeatedly beating Nobody with a baton.
Toronto journalist witnessed ‘police brutality’ at Toronto G20
Broadcaster Steve Paikin appears before the House of Commons' public safety committee on Monday to discuss what he saw as police clashed with protesters at the G20 summit in Toronto.
A second look at G20 police assault
Rosie Dimanno
I see you, Mr. Policeman.
I see your mustachioed face, the visor so helpfully lifted up.
I see your arm — in short-sleeve uniform shirt — pumping back and forth, brutally beating.
I see the baton in that hand.
And do you, Police Chief Bill Blair, recognize this cop? Was he one of yours, pounding on Adam Nobody that awful day, June 26, 2010, when peaceful G20 protesters were assaulted by some law enforcement thugs at Queen’s Park?
If so, what do you intend to do about it now, sir?
The Toronto Star has come into possession of a new piece of videotape shot by a bystander that afternoon. It is 12 minutes and 20 seconds long — 23 seconds of which capture a vicious cop pile-on, officers pounding on Nobody, a stage designer who changed his name two years ago from Adam Trombetta for the pun value.
Follow the link. There is new video of the assault on Adam Nobody. Tom
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