Blog Archives
NY Cop Daniel Pantaleo Who Killed Eric Garner Has Been Fired
In a nutshell, the decision is based on the finding that while Eric Garner was wrong to resist arrest, Pantaleo was wrong to use a prohibitive chokehold on Garner.
From WhoTV.com
The New York police officer accused of fatally choking Eric Garner in 2014 has been dismissed and will not receive his NYPD pension, Commissioner James O’Neill said Monday.
“It is clear that Daniel Pantaleo can no longer effectively serve as a New York police officer,” he said.
Officer Daniel Pantaleo was found guilty in a disciplinary trial earlier this month of using a chokehold on Garner, the New York man whose final words were, “I can’t breathe”.
The departmental administrative judge officially recommended Pantaleo be fired. O’Neill, an officer for 34 years, cited that recommendation repeatedly in his announcement on Monday, but he said it was still not an “easy decision.”
O’Neill said contributions Pantaleo has already made toward his pension will be returned to him.
The decision comes more than five years after police tried to arrest the 43-year-old who was allegedly selling loose cigarettes illegally on Staten Island. In video of the arrest, Pantaleo can be seen wrapping one arm around Garner’s shoulder and the other around his neck before jerking him back and pulling him to the ground.
The departmental disciplinary trial focused on whether Pantaleo used a department-banned chokehold in the arrest.
The city medical examiner’s office ruled Garner’s death a homicide in the days after his death, and the medical examiner testified that Pantaleo’s alleged chokehold caused an asthma attack and was “part of the lethal cascade of events.”
Pantaleo denied that he used the maneuver, but Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado ruled that a chokehold triggered a series of events that culminated with Garner’s death, according to the report, which CNN obtained from a source familiar with the matter.
“Here, (Pantaleo’s) use of a chokehold fell so far short of objective reasonableness that this tribunal found it to be reckless — a gross deviation from the standard of conduct established for a New York City police officer,” Maldonado wrote. “Moreover, (Pantaleo’s) glaring dereliction of responsibility precipitated a tragic outcome.”
Despite the disciplinary trial, Pantaleo has avoided criminal charges in the death. A grand jury in New York declined to indict the officer in 2014, and the city of New York settled with Garner’s estate for $5.9 million in 2015. The Justice Department declined to bring federal civil rights charges last month.
Jury Finds Yanez Not Guilty In The Death of Philando Castile
Philando Castile
After approximately 29 hours of deliberations, the jury in the manslaughter case of St. Anthony, Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez has returned a verdict of not guilty. Yanez was also charged with two felony counts of intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety for firing his weapon. When he shot and killed Philando Castile, Castile’s girlfriend and her 4-year old daughter were passengers in the car. Bullets barely missed both of them.
During deliberations, the jury requested to review the transcript of Yanez’s interview with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Judge William H. Leery III denied their request. By Wednesday, the jury was deadlocked, but the judge sent them back to keep deliberating.
Kare11 reports that this morning, the jury handed a note to Judge Leary III requesting to have the transcript of Yanez’s testimony while on the stand and the cross examination read aloud in court. The judge denied their request.
We followed the trial at this link.
If there are press conferences filmed later where the videos are on Youtube so they can be embedded here, I will post them in the comment section.
UPDATE:
Donald Trump Fired FBI Director James Comey
Published Using Press This.
The New York Times. Written by MICHAEL D. SHEAR and MATT APUZZO
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday fired the director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey, abruptly terminating the leader of a wide-ranging criminal investigation into whether Mr. Trump’s advisers colluded with the Russian government to steer the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
The stunning development in Mr. Trump’s nascent presidency drew comparisons to President Richard M. Nixon’s infamous “Saturday Night Massacre,” in which Nixon purged the Justice Department in the middle of the Watergate investigation. Mr. Trump’s move immediately ignited Democratic calls for an independent prosecutor to lead the Russia probe.
Mr. Trump explained the firing by citing Mr. Comey’s controversial handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, even though the president was widely seen to have benefited from that inquiry. Mr. Trump had also once praised Mr. Comey for being “gutsy” in pursuit of Mrs. Clinton during the campaign.
“While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the bureau,” Mr. Trump said in a letter to Mr. Comey dated Tuesday.
Mr. Comey, who is three years into a 10-year term at the helm of the F.B.I., learned from news reports that he had been fired while addressing bureau employees in Los Angeles. While Mr. Comey spoke, television screens in the background began flashing the news. Shortly after, a letter was delivered to F.B.I. Headquarters in Washington.
The abrupt firing raised questions over whether Mr. Trump was trying to influence the Russia investigation. But the president said he was following recommendations from the Justice Department, which criticized how Mr. Comey concluded the investigation into Mrs. Clinton. Read the rest of this entry
Two Georgia Cops Fired for Attack on Handcuffed Man
Reported this yesterday. A Gwinnett County, Georgia Policeman stomping the face of a suspect, as he lay handcuffed on the ground.
Turns out he wasn’t the only officer to abuse this man.
Kudos to the Police Chief Butch Ayers for reacting to these crime decisively, and not with the cover ups like we have seen in places like Fergeson, Mo. Chief Ayers decision to fire the Officers involved makes a statement, not only to his Officers, but to the community as a whole, that there is no justification for illicit actions.
Second Georgia cop canned after violence caught on video during arrest
Two Georgia police officers were fired Thursday, a day after authorities say one punched a man who had his hands up and the other kicked the man in the head once he was handcuffed on the ground.
The Gwinnett County Police Department said Thursday afternoon that Master Police Officer…
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Acting Attorney General Sally Yates Fired By Donald Trump. What It Means For America.
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates
There’s so much in the news regarding President Trump’s Executive Order banning Muslims from 7 countries from entering the United States, that following it is almost like putting a jig saw puzzle together. There are many, many pieces that make the whole.
On Saturday, a U.S. District Court judge placed a temporary injunction on Trump’s Executive Order. A hearing is scheduled for next month. That means that the federal judge is giving the United States (Trump) time to prepare and file a defense as to why the Executive Order is not in violation of the constitution. It has now been reported that four federal judges have temporarily enjoined the Executive Order.
Earlier this evening, cable news reported that the acting Attorney General, Sally Yates, was not going to defend Trump’s Executive Order. According to the New York Times;
“At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities, nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful,” Ms. Yates wrote in a letter to Justice Department lawyers.
Raw and other sources now report that President Donald Trump has “relieved” acting Attorney General Sally Yates of her duties as reported by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
Spicer made the announcement via Twitter, writing: “@POTUS has named Dana Boente, US Attorney for the Eastern District of VA as Acting Attorney General. Sally Yates has been relieved.”
The Danger In Trump’s Firing of Yates
Officer Who Arrested Sandra Bland Fired From Job
Brian Encina, the Texas trooper who arrested Sandra Bland, has been fired from his job with the Texas Department of Public Safety. In December, he was indicted on a perjury charge. He’s accused of lying about his July 10, 2015 arrest of Sandra Bland and their confrontational traffic stop. It was caught on dashcam video and also filmed by a passer-by. The perjury charge is a misdemeanor, with a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Twenty-eight year old Sandra Bland was found dead in the Waller County jail. Although her death was ruled a suicide, an investigation is taking place, including involvement by the FBI. Read the rest of this entry
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.”
(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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Cop Ignores 911 Call To Eat Lunch, Woman Dies
I wonder. Does 911 follow-up with officers to see if they arrive on scene? Shouldn’t dispatchers have concern when the radio is silent about a medical emergency 911 call?
This is obviously an exception to the rule. I’ve been on the receiving end of an emergency call on more than one occasion and I have nothing but praise for the Police and Fire Department personnel who arrived promptly and administered first aid or monitored vital signs until a family member was transported to the hospital…
Addicting Info
On March 13th, a woman in Lee County, Florida tried calling 911 because she was having a medical emergency. She was having difficulty talking, and was later found passed out in her driveway. Per policy, 911 issued an order to the nearest deputy on duty, Yvan Fernandez, to check on the call and to see if the person was in trouble.
Deputy Fernandez was not going to let an emergency call get between him and lunch, however. So he sat and enjoyed his meal at Raider’s Pizza and Wings on Palm Beach…
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5 Ft. Lauderdale Cops No Longer On Force Due To Racist Text Messages
Hat tip to Gronda.
ALERT: This article contains racial and other slurs that were used in text messages
Priscilla Perez was engaged to 22-year old Alex Alvarez. Alvarez was a police officer in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. They are no longer engaged. Priscilla and Alex had an agreement to check each others cell phones to make sure that neither were behaving badly. Priscilla wanted out of the relationship and in October 2014, she called the police for a domestic disturbance. Alex put on his police uniform. Priscilla was afraid of retribution, so she acted first, sending an email to Police Chief Frank Adderly saying there were racists in his outfit. That prompted an internal affairs investigation.
In late January, Alvarez resigned before the investigation was completed and before he had to make a sworn statement about the allegations. The investigation also involved 3 other officers who last week, were terminated from their positions.
Screenshot of Fort Lauderdale cop Alex Alvarez’s video.
Priscilla sent screen shots of text messages between the four police officers and gave a sworn statement to internal affairs outlining Alvarez’s racist views against Blacks. The texts are alleged to have been sent while the officers were on duty. There is also a video in the investigation, allegedly made by Alvarez. The video, titled “The Hoods” uses the likenesses of his fellow officers (called “Savage Hunters”) cut with images of KKK hoods, vicious dogs, slave holders, blood, and President Obama with a mouth full of gold grills, pointedly calling the president a “n****er.” Read the rest of this entry
Dr. Bao’s Lawsuit To Expose Biases Against Trayvon Martin
Attorney Willie E. Gary
Attorney Willie E. Gary has quite a reputation. He has won over 150 cases valued in excess of $1 million each. Attorney Gary has been featured in Ebony Magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential Black Americans.” Forbes magazine has listed him as one of the “Top 50 Attorneys in the U.S.”
Now, attorney Gary is representing Dr. Shiping Bao, the assistant medical examiner who performed Trayvon Martin’s autopsy.
Dr. Bao was one of the most controversial prosecution witnesses because of his conflicting testimony.
In a letter dated August 23, 2013, Dr. Bao was given 30 days to find employment at another office or resign. He declined to resign. Volusia County released a letter on Tuesday, September 10, 2013, stating that Dr. Shiping Bao was fired from his position as an associate medical examiner last week. Spokesman Dave Byron declined to give a reason, citing county standard personnel practices.
Dr. Bao began his employment with Volusia County in July 2011 and made an annual salary of $175,950. Read the rest of this entry
We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident 