Black Man who alleged Police Tortured him to Remain in Prison

Even though Cook County prosecutors dropped all charges against Darrell Cannon in a 1983 murder, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board said Thursday it believed he had a role in the slaying and decided he should remain in prison indefinitely. Board Chairman Jorge Montes said he was "inclined to believe" Cannon's claim that detectives working under former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge extracted a confession from Cannon through torture. But the board, said Montes, did not accept Cannon's claim that he was only an unwitting bystander to the gang-related slaying. The ruling capped an unusual parole revocation hearing at which Burge and four detectives he once supervised invoked their 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination, refusing to answer questions about how they obtained a murder confession from Cannon.  Cannon, 53, alleges the detectives under Burge took him to remote locations where they shocked his genitals with a cattle prod, put a shotgun he thought was loaded in his mouth and repeatedly pulled the trigger and taunted him with racial epithets. In January 1991, just before a trial judge was scheduled to hear testimony about the torture, Cook County prosecutors agreed to a plea deal with Cannon. He pleaded guilty and dropped the torture allegations in exchange for a scheduled August 2003 release date. Before he was released, the Prisoner Review Board served Cannon with a parole revocation notice issued after he was convicted in the 1983 slaying. As a result, Cannon remained in Tamms Correctional Center, the state's highest security prison. [more ]

FBI probes Police shooting of Ron Lollis as possible civl rights violation

The FBI is now investigating the Aug. 23 shooting of Ron Lollis on Doty Road as a potential civil rights violation. Special Agent Sheila Thorne, based at the FBI's New Orleans office, said civil rights investigations are routine for the FBI. She said the FBI's investigation will be independent of the one being conducted by the State Police and the local District Attorney's office. "The FBI looks into civil rights violations and this is one such instance of that," Thorne said. The findings of the FBI's investigation will be submitted to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. Lollis, who was black, was shot and killed by a white Concordia Parish Sheriff's Deputy. Sheriff Randy Maxwell has said the deputy was responding to a harassment call involving Lollis and Lollis pulled a gun on the deputy. A gun was found at the scene. The deputy has been put on administrative leave until the conclusion of the investigation. The sheriff's office turned over the investigation to the State Police because of their involvement. [more ]

GR Police Accused of Bashing Black Man with Radio after he had Surrendered

Grand Rapids Police Accused of Bashing Black Man with Police Radio after he had Surrendered
A Grand Rapids police officer is off the job and may be charged criminally for allegedly beating a man. Officer Matthew Lockhart is officially suspended without pay pending discharge. The complaint of excessive force against the nine-year veteran of the police department was brought not by a family member, not by a victim, but other officers. Officer Lockhart is off the job for what police say he did to 19-year-old Derrius Joseph. But the big question is what happened during the arrest of Joseph in June behind a house on Gold Avenue in Grand Rapids. "I really don't know what to think right now. I just want to see my son. I haven't seen him in a while, and I'm just ready for him to be home," said Ouida Kellie, Joseph's mother. "My heart just kinda drops, because when I went to the jail to see him, he was limping." Her son violated parole for stealing, officers then went looking for him, and he ran from them. Officer Lockhart was involved in the chase, and according to documents obtained by 24 Hour News 8, other officers said Lockhart jumped onto the back of Joseph, slammed his police issue radio several times in the back of his head and kicked him in the mid-section. This all happened after Joseph apparently had given up, fell to the ground in the prone position.  [more]

• GR cop abuse case sends message to public, Dolan says [more ]

Burge tape used in bid to free man

Attorneys trying to free a man who claims Chicago Police tortured him into giving a false murder confession showed a parole board Friday a tape of former Area 2 Cmdr. Jon Burge repeatedly refusing to answer questions on alleged torture in the department. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board is scheduled to decide by Wednesday whether to free inmate Darrell Cannon, who claims officers under Burge tortured him. Cannon's attorneys, Locke E. Bowman and Flint Taylor, argued that Burge's deposition is evidence he and others have something to hide. The three-member board heard Burge, like at least four other current and former police officers who testified before him, refuse to answer questions. Unlike in a criminal case, the review board can hold it against the former officers for taking the Fifth while deciding if Cannon should be freed. Cannon, 53, alleges that in 1983, officers drove him to a remote location, shoved a gun in his mouth and played Russian roulette to get him to confess to a murder. He also testified that officers put cattle prods on his genitals and shocked him.[more ]

Houston Cop who Shot Dead Unarmed Latino Teenager Getting his Job Back

A Houston Police Department officer fired earlier this year after he shot and killed an unarmed teenager must be reinstated, an arbitrator ruled this week. Officer Richard Kevin Butler, 38, who was fired in February for the shooting of 15-year-old Jose Daniel Vargas Jr., could return to work within a matter of days or weeks, his attorney said today. "This is a guy who's going to go back to work and do a good job," attorney Brett Ligon said. Butler was fired in February by then-acting Police Chief Joe Breshears. But a Harris County grand jury declined to indict Butler for the Oct. 31, 2003, shooting, which happened after the officer tried to stop the teen outside an AMC Studio 30 movie theater in the 2900 block of Dunvale near Westheimer. The teen drove away when the officer tried to confront him, but Butler caught up with the vehicle and pointed his pistol inside the driver's window, police said. When Vargas accelerated, the vehicle's door frame struck the officer's arm and the gun fired one time. Butler has always maintained the shooting was an accident. A lawsuit brought by the teen's family against Butler, the city of Houston and AMC Theaters is pending. [more ] and [more ] Pictured above: Daniel Vargas jr.

NYC Police Shoot Latino Man in Brooklyn: Allege Excessive Force

A police shooting in Brooklyn leaves two brothers wounded. Officers arriving on the scene find one of the men armed with a 10-inch knife. Alvin Figueroa, Brother: "They shot him up like a wild man. They shot Richie four times." Richard Figueroa's family is accusing the police of using excessive force. Maria Ortiz, Neighbor: "It wasn't necessary to shoot him in the stomach." It was a 911 phone call from the Figueroa home that lead police to the scene and then the street at 240 South Second Street at about 6 a.m. Saturday morning where shots were fired. Richard Figueroa was outside with a 10-inch chef's knife. Witnesses say his brother may have been trying to calm him down. When police rolled up on the scene, they say they saw 25-year-old Richard Figueroa making a stabbing motion into the window of an ambulance that was already there. Victor Rodriguez, Witness: "The cops were telling the guy to drop the knife and he didn't drop the knife. All of the sudden the cop just started letting off...he just started shooting at him. [more ]

Police Killing of Latino Man in El Monte Sparks Protest

In a summer that has witnessed police shootings of unarmed Latinos and beatings of subdued Black men caught on videotape, a militant march of several hundred demonstrators made its way through the working-class neighborhood of El Monte, Calif., on Aug. 28. The protesters demanded an immediate end to police brutality in their community and throughout the world. The demonstration was prompted by the July 20 death of David Viera at the hands of El Monte police. Viera, a young Chicano father of three, was shot to death after police stopped the car he was riding in. Police said Viera and the driver, Raul Moreno, were suspects in a "gang shooting." Police claim that Viera failed to obey orders to vacate the vehicle and attempted to retrieve something from beneath the passenger seat--possibly a weapon. The police riddled the car with bullets, mortally wounding Viera.No weapon was recovered. Viera and Moreno were exonerated as suspects in the earlier shooting. [more ]

Sikh trucker accuses Oregon police of abuse

Some members of the Yuba-Sutter Sikh community are outraged over an alleged racial profiling and beating of a Yuba City Sikh truck driver by an Oregon State Police officer Wednesday. Gurpal Singh Gill, 44, said he was driving a truckload of produce from Stockton to Tacoma, Wash., when he was pulled over by a state police officer, cuffed and then beaten near the city of Roseburg in southwestern Oregon. Gill said he suffered scrapes to his face and shoulders and pain in his lower back from the incident. He also had a ceremonial knife, called a kirpan, taken from him, he said. "This is a gross violation of his fundamental rights," said Harbans Sraon, a fellow Sikh who translated for Gill Friday at the Appeal-Democrat office in Marysville. "The Sikh community is very offended." The Punjabi-American Heritage Society and the Sikh Coalition are considering legal action against the officer for the incident, according to Dr. Jasbir Kang, a member of the Society. [more ]

Tensions with Police escalating in Dallas

Rising tension in an east McKinney neighborhood spilled into a courtroom and City Council chambers Tuesday. Justice of the Peace Paul Raleeh decided after a hearing that there was not enough evidence to hold Chez Jones, who was taken into custody Aug. 27 after police said he detailed plans to "X-out" specific officers responding to calls at apartments near where he lives. The Collin County district attorney's office had sought to hold Mr. Jones on a $50,000 peace bond, used to prevent an imminent crime from being committed. Judge Raleeh said the prosecution failed to prove Mr. Jones was about to kill an officer when he was arrested and ordered him released on a personal recognizance bond with a one-year order not to harass or assault the police.  [more ]

NAACP complaint causes locals to seek SBI probe in Pasquotank

Local authorities have asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into allegations made by the NAACP that two law enforcement officers "body-slammed" a teen at a football game. Pasquotank County Sheriff Randy Cartwright said he asked the SBI to review the case "to make sure everyone is treated fairly." In addition, the Elizabeth City Police Department and the sheriff's office are conducting internal reviews. At issue is whether police Sgt. John Young and sheriff's Deputy Joe Tade, who were working security at a Northeastern High School football game Aug. 27, used unnecessary force when one of them apprehended and handcuffed a 14-year-old. Raymond Rivers, president of the local NAACP, said this week that an officer "body-slammed" the teen, who allegedly stole a football belonging to another officer's child. [more]