Black Teen Beaten by Police: Stopped for Jaywalking

• "A dog doesn't deserve to be treated like this. Our children are treated like this. This was a young man on his way home from school."

15-year-old boy Don Pennington was beat down by Calumet City police officers yesterday after being picked up on a jaywalking charge. He was taken into custody, put in a holding room and he says, beaten while five other officers watched. Pennington, who said he was walking with about five other students when he was approached by Police,  was the only one taken to the police station. The jaywalking ordinance requires all minors who are charged with the violating the ordinance to be taken to the police station, issued tickets and have their parents called. Pennington said he had been waiting for about 20 minutes for his ticket when an officer came into the room and asked him to stop tapping on a wall with his two fingers. The teen said no words were exchanged before an officer allegedly grabbed him by the neck, threw him against a wall, then punched and kicked him for about five minutes as five other officers looked on.  [more ] and [more ] and [more ]

ACLU claims Manalapan Police harassed Black Youth

• Suit alleges patrolmen treated Black youths differently than whites

The complaint filed by the ACLU, New Jersey, claims discrimination based on race, and improper search and detention by members of the township police department, Patrolman Peter Chalfin and Patrol-man Steve Turner, on the evening of June 21, 2003. The complaint also names the township of Manalapan, the Manalapan Police Department and Police Chief Stuart Brown. Chalfin and Turner are white. They are seeking compensatory damages for pain, suffering and humiliation.  According to the complaint, the three plaintiffs, who are black, were with three white friends  along Park View Way near the Bucks Head playground.  Two police cars stopped across the street from the where the ju­veniles were standing and a pair of white police officers approached the three plaintiffs and their three friends. The complaint states that at the time the officers arrived, the minor plaintiffs and their three friends were not making any excessive noise. According to the complaint, Yorker was asked to take his hands out of his pockets and asked why, since he had done nothing wrong, but complied with the directive. At that point, according to the com­plaint, one of the officers "pushed him against the police car and or­dered him to stand against the po­lice car with his arms and legs spread."...[

Omaha Police Going Off: Daughter Of Baseball Great Say Police Roughed Her Up

• Police Punch Bob Gibson's Daughter while she's Handcuffed.

 The daughter of a baseball Hall-of-Famer Bob Gibson is accusing Omaha police of using excessive force. Renee Gibson points to bumps and bruises as proof of an assault, but police say they're not the ones who tried landing a punch. Gibson said she knew that police were across the hall. Officers were investigating a disturbance at the apartment building. "I came over to the door because I heard the woman next door mention my name," said Renee Gibson, recounting what happened this weekend. Gibson wanted to talk to the officers, so she opened her door. She said an officer yelled at her to go away. "I just stood here in disbelief. I didn't know what was going on. He said, 'Close the door,'" Gibson said. "And I guess I didn't respond fast enough for him, so he charged out of that apartment, over here and I tried to close the door, and he busted it open and knocked me all the way back." Gibson said the impact pushed over the TV and broke her statues, including one of her father. Gibson said the officer slugged her after being handcuffed. She has a bruise by her eye and says she is sore all over. Gibson said she has filed a complaint with internal affairs. Gibson was arrested for disorderly conduct and obstructing a police officer. She goes to court in September. [more ]

More Details About Arab Truck Driver Shot by Trooper

Tennessee's Homeland Security office says shooting is not tied to terrorism.
A state trooper shot and critically injured a truck driver Monday on Highway 64. The driver of the truck was identified as Mohammed Medhat Karim of New York. Trooper Thomas Kilpatrick told investigators that after he gave Karim a ticket for speeding the driver rammed his 18-wheeler into Kilpatrick's patrol car. The trooper reported that the suspect pulled a knife and the trooper fired several shots in response, police said. Police said they're still trying to find out why the man became so angry over a speeding ticket. The truck driver was shot in the chest. He was transported to a Nashville hospital. [more ]

Former Cop Jon Burge Testifies In Torture Lawsuits Today

• A grand jury is also investigating allegations by 108 African-American men, who say they were tortured during interrogations by Burge and his detectives. [see 8/30 BW for more]

Attorneys in Chicago Wednesday are questioning former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge, who was fired for allegedly torturing a murder suspect to get a confession. Burge will give a deposition in two federal civil rights lawsuits. Both suits were filed by two former death row inmates pardoned by former Governor George Ryan. The lawsuits allege the inmates were tortured into giving false confessions by detectives working for Burge.[more ]

Complaints about Portland police rise in 2003

• The department says the 48 percent jump does not necessarily reflect growing public dissatisfaction

Complaints about Portland police rose 48 percent in 2003, with rude behavior, false charges and harassment topping the list of the most common allegations against officers, according to an oversight group's report to be released today. But the Internal Police Review Division's second annual report cautioned that the jump in citizen complaints doesn't necessarily reflect growing dissatisfaction with the Police Bureau. Director Richard Rosenthal said the increase probably is the result of more people knowing about in the 21/2-year-old division, which serves as an intake center for complaints against police. Another theory is that the public's attitudes toward police have returned to where they were before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. "That's a trend in other cities," Rosenthal said. "Complaints have returned to the prior levels." The division's 164-page report shows 761 complaints, compared with 513 in 2002. [more ]

County won't pay for burial of African man shot by Maryland Cop

The family of a Cameroonian immigrant killed last month in a police shooting expressed disappointment Tuesday that the county would not pay the expenses of sending the body back to his village. "It seems like the county is pulling back on all the assistance they were going to give us," said Julius Oben, a cousin of Peter Ayompeuh Njang, who was shot Aug. 12 by a police officer after he allegedly threatened her with a box-cutter. Oben said the family faces a $7,000 bill to fly Njang's body to the central African nation, as well as a $26,500 hospital bill. The county had offered the family $1,500, but Oben said the family was told if they spent more than that, the county would offer nothing. A lawsuit is pending on behalf of Njang who was gunned down by Montgomery County police last month. Police say that Njang approached officers with box cutters, witnesses say otherwise. [more ]

Early findings justify Police shooting of Hispanic Man in Pasadena

Police Chief Dave Hinig said a preliminary investigation by his department shows an officer was justified in shooting an alleged car thief who allegedly threatened her with a 10-inch screwdriver. Arcadia police Officer Toni Caylor, a 17-year veteran of the department, was a few feet away from Cesar Baltazar, 23, of Hawthorne when he allegedly thrust the screwdriver at her, Hinig said. Baltazar was parked in a stolen Acura with his girlfriend, Bianei Miramontes, 19, when the incident occurred at 4:36 a.m. Aug. 25 at Arcadia County Park, authorities said. Caylor was investigating the car because its trunk lock and ignition were damaged, leading her to believe it had been stolen, police said. Caylor fired several shots at Baltazar, hitting him once in the arm, before he drove away, Hinig said. He and Miramontes were arrested about 90 minutes later. [more ]

Ex-Clio cop charged with brutality

Criminal charges have been filed against a former police officer who allegedly brutalized two suspects and threatened to shoot a former Clio police chief in the head. Terry Marshall, 56, is charged with three assault and battery misdemeanors stemming from two incidents in 2002 that allegedly occurred while he was a Clio police officer. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail. Marshall entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment Friday. A pretrial hearing is set for Sept. 23, and he is free on a personal bond. [more ]

Knife-wielding man is shot by border agent near Campo

A U.S. Border Patrol agent shot and wounded a suspected illegal immigrant who was threatening him with a knife early yesterday in the mountains near Campo, authorities said. The unidentified man suffered minor injuries when at least one bullet struck him in the leg. He was treated at a hospital and then jailed, Border Patrol spokesman Steve McPartland said. The agent was on patrol about 2 a.m. when he surprised a group of nearly 20 people walking in the rugged mountains near Old Highway 80 and Buckman Springs Road about 10 miles north of Campo, McPartland said. Seventeen people in the group were arrested, including the man who was shot, McPartland said. Border Patrol agents in San Diego County have arrested more than 118,000 people since July 1, 2003, McPartland said. [more ]