Shot In The Back: When can police fire on fleeing suspects? – Chicago Sun Times

CHICAGO — In decades past, police officers who shot suspects as they ran away were more likely to expect praise than criminal charges. And while the legal landscape and public opinion have shifted in recent years, it’s never a certainty that such shootings will result in officer indictments.

Prosecutors moved quickly to charge a white officer with criminal homicide Wednesday in last week’s death of an unarmed black teenager who was shot in the back while fleeing a traffic stop near Pittsburgh. In Georgia, another white police officer accused of fatally shooting a black man who was running away was fired and jailed.

In two other fatal police shootings — on Monday in Galveston, Texas, and on Saturday in Minneapolis — it remains to be seen whether charges will come. Those shootings also involved people who were running away.

A look at some of the history and legal principles behind such cases:

via Shot in the back: When can police fire on fleeing suspects? — Chicago Sun-Times

Police Officers Indicted For Assaulting Demetrius Hollins And Fabricating Story

He didn’t have a license plate.

He didn’t comply with verbal commands

He tried to push the officer away.

He reached for a firearm under his car seat.

The car smelled like marijuana.

He was pulled over before and a gun was found.

He resisted arrested which forced the tasing.

Demetrius Hollins

Those were all reason that Sgt. Michael Bongiovanni, 42, and Officer Robert McDonald 25, of suburban Atlanta, Georgia gave to justify their use of excessive force on April 12, 2017 upon  21-year old Demetrius Hollins.

Then bystander video was released showing what happened after Demetrius was placed in handcuffs and laying on the ground. The video shows McDonald running up to a handcuffed Demetrius, stomping on his head as if he was stomping an insect.

Another bystander video was released showing the traffic stop.  In it, Bongiovanni is shown punching Demetrius in the face as he gets out of the car with his hands up.   

Former Atlanta Police Sargent Trevor King Convicted On Federal Charges of Using Excessive Force

Tyrone Carnegay (Photo credit: WSBTV

On October 13, 2014, a Walmart customer in Atlanta, Georgia was attacked by a security guard, accused of shoplifting.  The security officer was 48-year old, off-duty Atlanta police Sargent Trevor King.

King used his department issued expandable baton hitting the customer multiple times, breaking the customer’s leg in two places.  King alleged to seeing the customer, 53-year old Tyrone Carnegay, weigh a tomato then try to exit the store without paying.  However, Tyrone had a receipt for the tomato in the bag.

In April 2016, Tyrone filed a lawsuit. His attorney, Craig Jones, told the NY Daily News:

“He got whacked seven or eight times across the shin and actually broke both bones, both the fibula and the tibula,” Carnegay’s lawyer, Craig Jones, told the Daily News. “This tomato not only cost him the dollar they overcharged him. It also cost him over $75,000 in medical bills, which I intend to get them to pay many times over.”

The lawsuit names Walmart, King and another employee as defendants.

Tyrone was chained to his hospital bed.  The broken leg wasn’t his only injury.  He also suffered a ruptured artery that later oozed blood out of his cast.

Because of the cost of the tomato, Tyrone believed that he was overcharged, and after paying for it, returned to the produce section and checked the price on a scale.  He went back in line to challenge the cost, but then decided not to and left the line.  A security employee alerted King who assumed that Tyrone was leaving the store without paying for the tomato.  Tyrone had actually bought $20 worth of items in the store.

After the lawsuit was filed, the Atlanta Police Department opened an investigation.

Department of Justice Investigative Findings Of The Chicago Police Department

Photo credit (Jose Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

The United States Department of Justice completed a probe of the Chicago Police.  Its investigation was conducted over a period of 13 months. They found that the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) used biased techniques to investigate officers and a consistent unwillingness to probe or dispute officers’ statements.

The Chicago police force is one of the nation’s largest, with 12,000 officers.

The DOJ also found that the police received insufficient training in de-escalation techniques and poor training on all levels.

The investigation also found Constitutional violations, and violations of federal law by officers in the use of force, racial disparities and other systemic problems.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports;

“The Justice Department and City Hall have hammered out a pact, called a “statement of agreement,” which will detail remedies the city has already or will be taking to address problems that have ruptured relations between police and the people they serve, particularly minority communities.”

Attorney General Loretta Lynch will be out of office on January 20, 2017, and wanted to complete DOJ investigations in Baltimore and Chicago before the new administration takes over. 

Marion County Florida Sheriff Indicted

A grand jury was investigating the conduct of deputies of the Marion County, Florida Sheriff’s office for using excessive force when making arrests.  Sheriff Chris Blair was subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury.  He did, and now he’s been charged with two counts of perjury in an official proceeding, and a third charge of official misconduct. All charges are third-degree felonies.  Officials said that Sheriff Blair “knowingly testified falsely in that while testifying in regard to Dustin Heathman.”

Dustin Heathman was involved in a 6-hour standoff with a SWAT team in 2014.  He was charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer; five counts of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer; and firing into a vehicle.  In December 2015, a jury of 6 found Dustin Heathman guilty of attempted second-degree murder.  He was acquitted on the charge of shooting into a barn at deputies.

Cops Tase, Sic Police Dog on Restrained Man – Man Wins Lawsuit

How in the heck does a person move their arm into a position demanded of them, when a dog is chewing on it?

Btx3's Blog

At some point the City Mayors, councils and elected figures have to be held into account for this.

WATCH: Cops hold man down and sic K-9 on him after beating him — for dancing in a parking lot

A Washington man has settled a lawsuit with the city of Tukwila after police officers assaulted him following a complaint that he was dancing in an industrial parking lot, reports the Seattle Times.

The city will pay Linson Tara $100,000 to settle a civil-rights lawsuit filed after the officers used Tasers, their fists and then a police dog on him while he was being restrained.

Tara was facing three counts of fourth-degree assault on police officers, but those charges were dropped when dash cam video showed one of the officers holding Tara on the hood of the police cruiser while his partner used a Taser on him.

Tara can then be…

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Mamou, Louisiana Police Chief Sentenced For Violating Civil Rights

Robert McGee, former Mamou Police Chief, has been sentenced to one year and a day in prison, and one year of supervised release, for tasing a non-combatant inmate. The case is the result of a federal investigation that extended from the 2015 civil rights conviction of former Mamou Police Chief Gregory Dupuis for use of excessive force on inmates at the Mamou jail. McGee, who was elected Mamou police chief after the incident involving Dupuis, resigned his position as chief on Oct. 8, 2015, as a result of the federal investigation.

The incident that McGee was sentenced for occurred in 2010.

U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik Sr. sentenced McGee.

The federal bureau of investigation reports:

“According to evidence presented at McGee’s October 13, 2015 plea hearing, McGee went to the jail on Aug. 6, 2010, to deal with an inmate who had been verbally, but not physically, disruptive.  McGee engaged the inmate in conversation as a second officer unlocked the cell.  After the cell door was opened, McGee pointed his taser at the inmate and discharged his taser into the inmate’s chest and abdomen area, even though the inmate was compliant and made no aggressive moves toward the officers or any other person.  The five-second electric shock caused the inmate to fall against the wall of the cell and experience physical pain.  At his plea hearing, McGee admitted that he knew at the time that his actions were unlawful. “

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES IN THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT

Gronda, you put allot of time into this, and wrote candidly and honestly in words that I have not been able to express. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Gronda Morin

Black Lives Matter Alicia_Patrisse_Opal_tumblr

When I first wrote the following blog over a year ago, the portrayal that I tried to convey, would not have received much traction or consensus within the general American population. THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT HAS MADE A MAJOR DIFFERENCE IN MOVING PEOPLES’ HEARTS AND MINDS, TO WHERE THERE IS DIALOGUE ALONG THE LINES, THAT SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE. Now there are even reputable news outlets keeping tabs on police shootings, so that we finally have facts for reference. For example a 12/24/15 Washington Post article reports that there have been 965 police shootings for the year 2015. Other reports indicate numbers up to 1199 citizens have been shot; however all resources detail the criteria used to arrive at their numbers. This data was virtually non existent over a year ago.

HERE IS THE YEAR OLD BLOG:

There is something off key regarding the back and forth rhetoric between the police and…

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Second student arrested for filming classroom takedown describes officer’s reputation: “He’s known as Officer Slam around our school”

Thanks for blogging this. Actually, I’m surprised that he was fired rather than placed on paid vacation “pending investigation.”

The Fifth Column

(Credit: MSNBC)

SALON

Body-slamming Officer Ben Fields has been fired, but cops won’t drop charges against student who filmed his attack

Officer Ben Fields, the South Carolina deputy who slammed and then threw a female high school student across a classroom this week, has been fired after video of his physical assault went viral. While the young girl recovers from injuries she sustained from the attack, according to her lawyer, officials have refused to drop criminal charges of disrupting a classroom against her and now one of the few students who protested against her violent arrest is speaking out about the fired deputy’s longstanding reputation at Spring Valley High.

Fields arrested two female high school students on Monday for disrupting the classroom. Niya Kenny was charged with disturbing school for filming the incident, and arrested in front of her class by Fields. She was later released from custody after posting $1,000 bail.

At…

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Former Independence MO Police Officer Timothy Runnels Pleads Guilty

This case brings me a level of  trust in the Department of Justice, while at the same time, causes me to question their impartiality.

In March 2015, a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment against former Independence, Missouri, police officer Timothy Runnels for violating the constitutional rights of a minor who was in his custody and obstructing the subsequent investigation into the incident.

Per the Department of Justice:

“According to the indictment, Runnels continuously deployed a Taser against the minor while the minor was on the ground and not posing a threat to Runnels or others.  The indictment also charges that Runnels deliberately dropped the minor headfirst onto the ground while the minor was restrained and not posing a threat to Runnels or others.  The indictment alleges that the minor sustained bodily injury as a result of Runnels’ actions and, with respect to the first count, that the offense involved the use of a dangerous weapon.  The indictment also charges Runnels with two counts of obstruction of justice for filing a false police report concerning the incident and for making a false statement to Independence Police Department investigators regarding the amount of force that he used against the minor.”

Runnels had been on the Independence, MO police force for 2 years.

DOJ Settles With Cleveland Over Police Conduct

Washington Post reports:

 

The Justice Department has reached a settlement with the city of Cleveland over the conduct of its police officers, according to a Justice official, the latest case in which the Obama administration has investigated excessive use of force and the violation of constitutional rights by a local department.

The settlement, amid the growing national debate about American policing, is expected to be announced early this week, the official said. It comes just days after a judge acquitted a Cleveland police officer for his role in the fatal shooting of two unarmed people in a car in 2012 after officers thought the sound of the car backfiring was gunshots.

The Justice Department in December issued a scathing report that accused the Cleveland Police Department of illegally using deadly force against citizens. The Justice Department’s civil rights division found that the Cleveland police engaged in a “pattern or practice” of unnecessary force — including shooting residents, striking them in the head and spraying them with chemicals.

In one incident, an officer used a stun gun on “a suicidal, deaf man who committed no crime, posed minimal risk to officers and may not have understood officers’ commands.”

The police were also accused of repeatedly punching in the face a handcuffed 13-year-old boy who had been arrested for shoplifting.

The Cleveland report was released the month after a 12-year-old African American boy, Tamir Rice, was fatally shot by a white Cleveland police officer. Cleveland officers had responded to a 911 call that reported a person pointing a gun. It turned out to be a toy pistol.

A Justice Department spokeswoman would not comment on the settlement, which was first reported on the Web site of the New York Times.

When last year’s report about Cleveland was released, then-Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. traveled to the city to announce the findings and said the Justice Department and the city had agreed to establish an independent monitor who would oversee police reforms. The changes will include better training and better supervision of officers, Holder said.

There have been more than 20 investigation by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in the past 5 years. The investigations have resulted in 15 agreements with law enforcement agencies, including New Orleans and Albuquerque.  The Justice Department recently opened an investigation of the Baltimore police department.

UPDATE

Here is the consent decree that the Cleveland police department entered into with the government.

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On a separate matter, I will be off and on today — probably offline more than on.  Tomorrow, I might reblog some articles and unless something comes up that is really interesting, that might be the case for several days until I catch-up on some personal matters and begin feeling better.

Remember to keep the Golden Rule. 

Why American Police Departments Are More Of A Threat Than ISIS [VIDEOS]

Thanks for this article. The uncivilized and criminal actions of law enforcement upon the citizens of America cause all cops to be profiled as terrorists who the government has given authority to terrorize and murder citizens without consequences. The bad cops impugn the integrity of the profession. Why do they want to be cops anyway, and why do they want to be cops in communities where they do not reside? That in itself questions their motivation.

United States Hypocrisy

While the shills in the corporate media try to convince us with their propaganda that ISIS is the most imminent threat to America’s security and necessitates us spending another $10 billion by year‘s end to “wipe them out” with bombs, many Americans are a lot more fearful of a threat much closer to home – a threat which terrorizes them and the ones they love just about everyday. I speak not of some foreign jihadi bogey-man whom we are told should be arriving any day now to chop off all our heads. No, I speak about the police officers who make up the police departments in every region of this country.

Now you’re probably saying, “You must be out of your mind. Cops are more dangerous than ISIS, or al-Qaeda, or [insert whatever Islamist group name the media wants us to be terrified of this week]?! That just can’t…

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Hostile Police – Death Threats Upon America

The below video is intentionally absent of the sound in the majority of the clips. I realize that some will say that without sound, we won’t know the context. However, without sound, it’s easier to concentrate on body movements. I learned something very important. What I learned is that when humans are placed in situations of being helpless by people who can kill them, we resist surrendering to death.

I also learned that some police officers need no provocation to use excessive force and even kill.  When putting the clips together I asked myself, what if it were me?  What would I do?  Would any action change the actions of the police?