Ongoing U.S Police Brutality and Corruption Discussion Thread

fwiw I can't think of a single case where a cop was actually convicted of criminal murder charges and served time, unless it was part of some larger corruption scandal (Rampart, CRASH, New Orleans, etc.) or a cop murdered his wife or some shit. Generally speaking this just does not happen.
many xp
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, August 26, 2014 4:03 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

and obviously any cop going to prison for murder of a civilian is probably gonna get shanked real quick
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, August 26, 2014 4:04 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I had forgotten, but one of Abner Louima's cop attackers is serving 30 years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_Louima#Criminal_trials
― son of a lewd monk (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, August 26, 2014 4:06 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

xp yea i looked it up briefly and the majority of cases seemed to be corruption charges
― marcos, Tuesday, August 26, 2014 4:07 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

and obviously any cop going to prison for murder of a civilian is probably gonna get shanked real quick
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, August 26, 2014 12:04 PM (2 minutes ago)

yeah this is true
― k3vin k., Tuesday, August 26, 2014 4:07 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I had forgotten, but one of Abner Louima's cop attackers is serving 30 years.
that wasn't murder tho. when a cop kills a person, all these other justifications are usually brought up for why, and those are leaned on very heavily by the defense. whereas there is no conceivable justification for sodomizing a suspect w a broomstick.
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, August 26, 2014 4:10 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/13/us/california-homeless-beating-verdict/

these guys went to trial and got acquitted so its not always cut and dry

i started this thread a long time ago but it kind of bricked

The most imprisoned people in history: rolling US criminal justice & law enforcement thread

can i suggest that the whole criminal justice pipeline be up for discussion here

go for it

can we make this play when the page loads:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjZW_F4iuqo

http://7online.com/archive/9440401/

"stop resisting"

some good news, at least

Best line is buried near the end: "...an investigation by Bloomfield PD's scandal plagued internal affairs division had found no wrongdoing by officers."

A coroner’s report obtained exclusively by NBC News directly contradicts the police version of how a 22-year-old black man died in the back seat of a Louisiana police cruiser earlier this year -- but still says the man, whose hands were cuffed behind his back, shot himself.

In a press release issued March 3, the day he died, the Louisiana State Police said Victor White III apparently shot himself in an Iberia Parish police car. According to the police statement, White had his hands cuffed behind his back when he shot himself in the back.

But according to the full final report of the Iberia Parish coroner, which was released nearly six months later and obtained exclusively by NBC News, White was shot in the front, not the back. The bullet entered his right chest and exited under his left armpit. White was left-handed, according to family members. According to the report, the forensic pathologist found gunshot residue in the wound, but not the sort of stippling that a close-range shot can sometimes produce. He also found abrasions on White’s face.

At least one person got irritated with me for declining to vote for deBlasio in the (sewn-up) general election for NYC mayor. Then he appointed old hand Bratton to be police commish, and then...

Commissioner Bill Bratton, Mayor de Blasio's choice to lead the NYPD to a new age of transparency and discipline, turned away 25% of police misconduct findings by the Civilian Complaint Review Board, opting to ignore their recommendations for disciplining misbehaving officers. This is around the same rejection rate that former commissioner Raymond Kelly maintained before leaving office at the beginning of the year.

"I suggest you come back in six months and see how we’re doing,” Bratton told the New York Times in a phone interview yesterday."Based on my eight months sitting in that chair, my sense was that CCRB was significantly overcharging and overpenalizing.”

http://gothamist.com/2014/08/27/bratton_ignored_25_of_police_miscon.php

http://www.theonion.com/articles/unpopular-police-officer-thinking-about-committing,36790/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=Pic:2:Default&recirc=area-man

http://rt.com/usa/183000-police-departments-lose-military-weaponry/

Already, the investigation has found that police departments in Arizona, California, Mississippi, Missouri, Georgia, and others have lost or cannot account for various types of weapons. This list includes M14 and M16 assault rifles, .45-caliber pistols, shotguns, and even vehicles.

I'm sure a search of a few police officer homes would turn them up, tanks included.

Reminds me of back in high school a buddy of mine got a job working at a gas station and used to hand out free packs of cigarettes to the cute girls and drug dealers who came in for a few months until he was caught and arrested. Bet there are some cute girls and drug dealers in Maricopa County with some military grade weaponry now.

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2014/08/27/minneapolis-cops-allegedly-taze-and-arrest-black-male-sitting-public-space

i never hear a reason on the video—just 'do what we say or else'

Uh oh:

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/273013851.html

I think we can expect a whole lot of shootings of people who were "charging" in the near run.

The earlier crime of vandalism appears to have been throwing rocks at cars

This whole thing of police either tasing or shooting people and then expecting them to "comply" and "cooperate" and "stop moving" is just . . . WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY????

“The guy charged at [the second officer], and he got about 5 feet away before the officer fired his weapon three times,” Toby said. “And the guy went down, and they got one cuff on him. They were yelling, ‘cooperate, cooperate; give me your hand, give me your hand,’ but he wouldn’t give the hand. He was kicking his legs. And I think, at that point, the guy passed away.”

*blam!* *blam!* *blam!* "cooperate! cooperate!"

Please hear me doing that in my most contemptuous imitation of a fuckwit that I can possibly muster.

Oh, I see you got to that point before me.

sorry no time to cooperate, busy dying

Oh the police lied again about a guy they shot you don't say how rare etc.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/26/video-shows-police-shot-ohio-man-on-sight-as-he-leaned-on-toy-gun-in-walmart-attorney-says/

jesus fuck.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/04/28/knoxville-cop-fired-immediately-after-photos-show-brutal-choking-of-student/

Usually, after charges of police brutality, police officials take their time reacting while they follow procedure to determine who did what. But this episode in Knoxville, Tenn., was so extreme and well-documented that the local sheriff fired the officer immediately. Also, it involved a white guy.

Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction too

busy night for these guys.

they did not shoot anybody here tho:

http://www.startribune.com/local/272992321.html

(that chase screamed by right in front of my building fyi)

well i guess it doesn't say they didn't shoot him

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/08/28/police-shoot-and-kill-man-in-ramsey

Uh what the hell is going on - this is a different story than earlier today

cops twitchy, journalists on the lookout

Well except cops killing people would be reported in this town whenever and that makes 2 today and I don't remember the last time one happened

Preliminary search says three people killed by cops this month, 2 dogs no people last month, none in the rest of 2014. So yeah

http://gawker.com/man-tased-by-police-while-picking-up-kids-the-problem-1628148261

http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2014/08/27/minneapolis-cops-allegedly-taze-and-arrest-black-male-sitting-public-space

i never hear a reason on the video—just 'do what we say or else'

― j., Thursday, August 28, 2014 9:40 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

http://ktla.com/2014/08/26/producer-in-beverly-hills-for-emmy-pre-party-mistaken-for-bank-robber-held-6-hours/

Twitter/Tumblr's been really good at unearthing stories of Things White People Can Do To Cops And Live To Tell About

From last year:

http://www.katu.com/news/local/Police-shooting-Beaverton-City-Hall-high-mushrooms-217458381.html

fuck, one of my friends is in that article about the shooting in St Paul, she was working at the coffee shop nearby.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/attorney-east-point-police-used-taser-against-man-/ng9RG/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/30/daniel-holtzclaw-cop-rape_n_5740714.html

the cops here are open-minded enough to kill white people too:
http://host.madison.com/news/local/crime_and_courts/newly-released-police-records-shed-additional-light-on-paul-heenan/article_315e18ac-82e0-11e2-b277-0019bb2963f4.html

this was a couple years back, but it was a block and a half from my house, lots of my friends knew the victim (he was a musician), etc.

the cop was cleared of any wrongdoing for the shooting but fired for other reasons (yeah, ok), but i believe that external investigations into police shootings are now required in WI due to the efforts of his friends & family.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/die-hard-director-john-mctiernan-731171

damn

boy with toy sword shot from behind

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/race-utah-police-shooting

I saw that, horrifically sad

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/58409680-78/hunt-family-police-sword.html.csp

Multiple witnesses say he was running away AND an independent autopsy report found that he was shot in the back

Direct contradictions of the police officer's report that he 'lunged' at the officer

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-utah-police-shooting-20140914-story.html

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-ci-police-suit-20140915,0,6933088.story

It seems to me that police doctrine is that the instant you are suspected of unlawful behavior, you are presumed to be dangerous and are fair game for any amount of force to be used against you, with the idea that it is far better that you are killed or wounded than any police officer ever be hurt. This doctrine goes back a very long time in the USA, but the difference now is that it has become officially recognized and codified by the legal system and courts.

It apparently does not matter whether the suspicion is justified or not. It apparently does not matter whether you present any clear or present danger by your actions. So long as the officer "felt threatened", any amount of force is justified to nullify that imagined threat. In practice, this, of course, nullifies the entire concept of "excessive force".

Autopsy report shows police shot Darrien Hunt in the back, lawyer says

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/darrien-hunt-carrying-toy-sword-shot-and-killed-utah-police

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/16/darrien-hunt-shot-in-the-back-by-utah-police-says-family-attorney

“We haven’t even interviewed the officers yet,” said Taylor. “We’ve talked briefly with them just to kind of get an idea of what the scene was at the time.” He said officers were typically interviewed within 48-72 hours of a shooting. One is now scheduled to be interviewed on Tuesday and the other on Thursday, more than a week after the shooting, he said.

“I’m stunned. I find that almost incomprehensible,” Edwards, the attorney for Hunt’s family, said after being informed of this by the Guardian. “You want to speak with the officers almost immediately afterwards, when their memories are fresh and before they have had a chance to corroborate their stories.”

It had been a perfect day for Caitlyne Gonzales. The Uvalde survivor saw Beto O'Rourke, one of her gun-safety heroes, speak. She took a selfie with him, got free shirts, ate fried chicken after.

Then, on the way home, police lights flashed behind her family's car.
A thread: pic.twitter.com/Q34EErx1y7

— John Woodrow Cox (@JohnWoodrowCox) October 25, 2022

jfc

https://www.propublica.org/article/nypd-karl-ashanti-special-federal-arrest

lots to chew on here!

Fantastic story, extremely interesting and thought-provoking

A friend of mine was on a similar trajectory but quit to become a chef. He had very similar stories (of course I can’t really remember the details of them now). He has since gone back into law primarily doing arbitration; he wants to spend time resolving conflicts rather than advancing arguments.

Two women found a missing child in Indianapolis and got the kidnapper arrested while struggling over and over to get the police to give a single fuck.

Oh, wait, never mind that — CNN says two hero cops found the baby in the parking lot of the Papa John's where they'd stopped to eat, after spending all day searching for him! It's a Christmas miracle! And they had no help from civilians at all! Yay cops!

According to this account, a few police officers falsely claimed that a 15-year-old girl wouldn't serve them at a deli - a girl grieving the death of her brother, who was killed by police - trumpeted those false claims on social media and got her fired. https://t.co/eZsZcexLSS

— @ijbailey (@ijbailey) January 11, 2023

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/01/12/keenan-anderson-police-taser-death-los-angeles/

A cousin of Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors died hours after Los Angeles police repeatedly used a Taser on him and restrained him in the middle of the street following a traffic accident, according to body-camera footage released by authorities Wednesday.

The death of Keenan Anderson, a 31-year-old high school teacher and father visiting from Washington, D.C., is among a recent series of separate encounters that ended with men dying after their exchanges with Los Angeles officers. The fatal incidents have rocked the city in recent days, and the community is calling for justice after the police encounters involving Anderson, as well as 45-year-old Takar Smith and 35-year-old Oscar Sanchez, both of whom were fatally shot by officers in the first few days of January.

Video of the Jan. 3 incident in Venice, Calif., shows Anderson being detained by multiple officers as he begs for his life shortly after a traffic collision. Body-cam footage shows an officer appearing to have his elbow on Anderson’s neck as he is detained in the middle of the road.

“They’re trying to George Floyd me!” he exclaimed, according to the video, referring to the Minneapolis man who was murdered by then-police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020. “They’re trying to George Floyd me!”

Then an officer is shown using his Taser on Anderson two times, including one stretch that lasted about 30 seconds uninterrupted.

jfc that is harrowing.

Fuck, the Tyre Nichols vid is ugly.

have absolutely no appetite to watch that based on the reporting…so sad

The description alone was enough to greatly upset me. I’m surprised Memphis isn’t in flames right now.

I wonder if their lengthy preamble is having an (intended?) effect of getting more people to NOT watch it?

Being in Tennessee, albeit the other end of the state, the Tyre Nichols case is all over the news obviously. It's terrible, and it's good that the cops involved have all been charged. Of course, one can't help but notice that our white Republican governor and many other white Republican state and local officials have been extraordinarily swift to condemn the beating and the cops. Which would seem like a promising development except for the cops being Black. I'm glad Black cops are held to account, because all cops need to be, but I 100 percent guarantee that we would not have all these strong statements coming if the cops were white.

And to Milo's post a few weeks ago about that other Tennessee case, I've been covering that. Here are a couple stories:

https://compassknox.com/2022/12/20/calling-for-accountability/
https://compassknox.com/2023/01/18/racial-tensions-rise-around-deli-incident/

Xpost otm

Radley Balko's latest newsletter is about how every time there's a police brutality case, a lot of "police rescue baby ducks" stories start popping up on the local news. He links to 30 examples.

The unspoken implication being that first police officers are deliberately planting those poor ducklings into the sewers in the first place

https://www.9news.com/article/news/investigations/littleton-motorcycle-police-shooting-rammed-crash/73-c247ea0c-59ad-432f-a22d-7b2d248e6ebb

On Feb 2, Littleton Police posted a press release saying Stephen Poolson, 41, “was driving a motorcycle and crashed” during a call about a suspicious vehicle. Police said an officer eventually fatally shot Poolson because he “produced a gun.”

there's video at the link, not of the police murdering the victim, but of the earlier part, the "was driving a motorcycle and crashed". you can clearly see the cop swerve and hit the guy on the motorcycle. he was "driving a motorcycle and crashed" in the same way that "a pińata was hanging and then fell down"

https://unicornriot.ninja/2023/fbi-bookstore-spying-in-chicago-eyes-abortion-rights-cop-city-anti-development-activists/

unicornriot.ninja is the only part of that url i can look at without just wanting to melt into ash and even that is a near thing

“This tweet has been deleted” pic.twitter.com/YgUuqcxul3

— People's City Council (@PplsCityCouncil) March 24, 2023

*fewer

nah, scum is uncountable, 'less' is appropriate

fucking Hell. clear the homeowner didn't hear the explanation they were police, is coming out because he thinks there's prowlers, and is shot almost immediately, without being given time to react to any commands or anything

fucking charge em all

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/video-shows-police-wrong-house-fatal-shooting-homeowner-new-mexico-rcna79848

This is good

fdny vs nypd hockey ACAB lmfao pic.twitter.com/2tiKR2RhFm

— fat taurus bitch (@NikosRaves) April 16, 2023

Indeed

Every Sunday morning for 4 years, residents of a block in Greenpoint woke up to hundreds of sheets of paper dumped on their street.

TV guides, Bibles, 70’s porn mags.

The serial litterer was a NYPD sergeant. https://t.co/MyJKEPWJDI

— Bahar Ostadan (@BaharOstadan) July 18, 2023

Gothamist reached Trzcinski by phone but he hung up. He joined the NYPD in 1994 and earned $177,516 last year.

The big brouhaha in Minnesota this last week is all about school resource officers and how the wording of a new law is leading many departments (and school districts) to terminate the use of SROs this school year.

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minnesota-gop-representatives-seek-clarity-on-new-law-leading-to-some-districts-pulling-sros/

As you'd expect ...

The portion of the law itself limits district employees -- including SROs -- from placing students into certain holds. Those include putting a student face down on the ground, or putting weight on their head, throat, neck or chest, thereby making it so they can't breathe.

"How can we expect our staff to go to the school and work there every day when they're constantly worried about being sued ... instead of just focusing on their job and developing relationships?" Blaine Police Chief Brian Podany said.

next you'll be telling us we can't handcuff 6 year olds

i guess we missed this

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/04/us/rankin-county-sheriff-torture-black-men-mississippi/index.html

next you'll be telling us we can't handcuff 6 year olds

Our school board literally debated this exact thing and voted against putting it explicitly in policy, instead telling police that they would just really urge them not to handcuff elementary schoolers.

profiles in courage!

we have to leave all options on the table if we’re going to win the war on children

Large briefing underway in French Creek Elementary School Parking Lot. Maybe a foot patrol or sweep during the daytime about to be carried out #ChesterCounty #DaneloCavalcante pic.twitter.com/Vu9SmTZDw7

— BradleyMitchell (@Bmitchell0794) September 12, 2023

Not sure how big this escaped prisoner story is outside of PA, but I'll be surprised if there aren't some dead civilians before this ends.

Well ... at least one Pennsylvania cop is not out looking for the prisoner ...

https://www.wgal.com/article/pennsylvania-state-police-trooper-charged-with-strangulation-official-oppression-and-other-offenses/45273387

(Oh, they caught the escaped guy, hadn't even seen that.)

And so it goes

I'm beyond outrage. This judge needs to be removed -- she's a danger to the public https://t.co/KxOi8lnDoj

— Will Bunch (@Will_Bunch) September 26, 2023

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lee-allen-cure-imprisoned-16-years-wrongful-conviction-fatal-shooting-georgia-deputy/

A man who spent more than 16 years in prison in Florida on a wrongful conviction was shot and killed Monday by a sheriff's deputy in Georgia during a traffic stop, authorities and representatives said.

Leonard Allen Cure, 53, was identified by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is reviewing the shooting.

His death was confirmed by Seth Miller, executive director of the Innocence Project of Florida, which represented Cure in his exoneration case.

Miller said he was devastated by the news, which he heard from Cure's family.

This one is enraging. There have been so many "touching tributes" to this fucking dog. Not one word that I have seen about the young man whose life was snuffed out in this incident.

‘Rest well buddy;’ Community remembers Clayton County K9 shot to death by 17-year-old

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/clayton-county/rest-well-buddy-community-remembers-clayton-county-k9-shot-death-by-17-year-old/7VZFNYE63ZGI5IYZEFCXDWCPAY/

Not one word of sympathy, I should have said.

the story Eric posted is incredibly fucked up

k9 thing is additionally disgusting given the mind-boggling number of pet dogs cops kill with impunity

A mother reported her son missing in March. Police kept the truth from her for months.

Bettersten Wade’s search for her adult son ended when she discovered that an officer had run him over — and without telling her, authorities buried him in a pauper’s field.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/elijah-mcclain-death-jury-decision-second-trial-police/story?id=104658159

at least the person was arrested, jfc

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/kamari-hughes-mother-interview-nypd-tow-truck-driver-child-killed/

this kid was buried today

that happened on my commute. I walked past the scene about an hour later. Ironically I had just minutes before had to jump out of the crosswalk to avoid getting hit by a speeding police cruiser.

https://ktvz.com/cnn-regional/2023/11/16/woman-killed-hours-after-rio-rancho-police-respond-to-her-home/

82 year old woman calls the police, says her caretaker is going to kill her. Cops show up, admire the guy's weapon collection and leave. 4 hours later, he kills her.

When Officers left the scene, it did not appear Juneanne was in fear for her safety and there was no probable cause to believe any criminal activity had occurred. Officers did not witness any signs of distress and comments made relating to the use of a firearm appeared to be insincere and made in jest. Officers had no reasonable belief to suspect that either individual was sincerely contemplating an imminent act of violence because the behavior of the individuals observed on scene indicated they cared for one another and were working to solve their long term health care and living situation needs.

Omg fuck off and die

Then, the conversation continues between Cardana and Fannell once the officers say they have to go.

“What did you say?” Fannell asked.

“I said you’re fine until I kill you,” Cardana said.

“All right? He’s threatened to do that,” Fannell said to the Rio Rancho police officers.

“Get out of here now,” Cardana said to the officers. “Go away.”

Totally normal situation here

Very caring. ffs