Officers cleared in shooting death of 85 year white old man

State authorities have cleared two Whitfield County sheriff's deputies who shot and killed an 85-year-old man last week. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation concluded the officers, Jason Cooley and Clay Pangle, acted appropriately because the man fired at them. A GBI report said John Smith fired one round at the deputies when they were called to his home. The deputies returned fire, hitting Smith twice in the chest. Family members disputed the GBI's account. "My brother was 85 years old. He was an invalid. He was in his own bed in his own home," sister Christine Hicks told The Daily Citizen of Dalton. [more ]

Mississippi - Sheriff's Deputy Involved in Fatal Shooting of Black Man

James Tillman's baseball cap lies near a ditch in Lexington where his body fell after he was fatally shot early Sunday morning. "One of my deputies was involved in a shooting," said Holmes County Sheriff Willie March.  The Sheriff says the investigation is continuing as to why his deputy fired at Tillman. "Why, why, why? Explain why did that happen?" asked Tilman's sister Valerie.  Tillman's family is grieving and wondering how the situation escalated into such violence. Around 4 in the morning Sunday, a sheriff's deputy responded to a report of simple assault at the Yellow Tree Club. A woman claimed Tillman beat her outside the club, say witnesses, who also say that when the deputy arrived, Tillman fled on foot.  The officer followed. "That's where he pulled out his weapon," said James Bankhead, who witnessed the chase around a trailer.  Tillman led the officer down an incline and into the woods, where no witnesses were able to see,  but they heard a single gunshot."I ran down here then the police turned around and pulled out the gun at me and said, 'Get back up the hill,' so i ran back up there," said Tillman's friend Hercules Stewart.  Stewart said he could see Tillman lying in a ditch and bleeding, shot in the stomach. Tillman died after being transported to University Hospital in Jackson. [more ]

• Chief pledges full investigation of incident [more ]

NAACP and Press Allowed to See Jefferson Confrontation with Police

NAACP and Reporter are Allowed to See Videotape of Kenny Jefferson's Deadly Confrontation with Seven Norfolk Police Officers .
 It was shot through a rain-splattered police windshield: a videotape that captured some of the final moments of Kenny S. Jefferson , who died Aug. 14 after struggling with police on Chesapeake Boulevard .  The video was shot from the car of a supervisor who arrived as several officers struggled to handcuff Jefferson, who lay face down on the wet road . Some of the action was obscured by officers grouped around him, their backs to the camera. Officers cuffed his hands behind his back, then cuffed his ankles together and bound his ankles to his wrists. A short while later -- Young said it was just more than a minute -- Jefferson was moved to his side, then his back. At some point, an officer felt for a pulse, and appeared to monitor him for a bit. Eventually, police attempted to revive Jefferson with chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Young said. Pishko made the video available for viewing to a Virginian-Pilot reporter after the newspaper requested to see it under the Freedom of Information Act. However, Pishko said that he had grounds to withhold the videotape under the act because it was part of a confidential administrative investigation and said that making it available for viewing was "discretionary." [more]

• Man dies after struggle with seven Norfolk police officers [more ]

Officers involved in fatal shooting of Latino Man in SB. Claim Self Defense

Two Colton police officers shot and killed a man Sunday evening at a Colton apartment complex after the man aimed a handgun at the officers, officials said. Police Lt. Mark Owens declined to name the officers, but said both had been with the department for several years. The men have been placed on paid leave pending an administrative review, Owens said. About 9:30 p.m., the officers were at an apartment complex in the 900 block of East Fairway Drive when they heard an argument, Owens said. As the officers approached, Freddy Joe Enriquez, 24, pulled out a handgun, Owens said. The two officers fired their guns at Enriquez, Owens said. Owens said he did not know how many shots were fired or where Enriquez was hit. He also was unsure if Enriquez fired at the officers. [more ]

NAACP wants investigation into trooper who ran over Black teenager

A state police trooper has been placed on adminstrative leave after he ran over and killed a 17-year-old boy during an automobile pursuit. The boy's family said he was a victim of racial profiling. Trooper Sean P. Taylor was pursuing Rashaad Randle early Friday when Randle jumped out of his car. Taylor swerved to avoid hitting the car and hit Randle, killing him, police said. Taylor was patrolling Pine Street near Maple Street in York when he saw a Nissan Stanza driven by Randle commit a traffic violation, state police said. Randle, who only had a learner's permit, did not stop for the trooper and a police pursuit began. Randle ran stop signs, drove on the wrong side of the road, and was speeding and driving recklessly during the chase. Randle's family, however, said he was the victim of racial profiling. "The only violation I can see is that he was black and he was out at 3:30 in the morning," said Darlene Barnes, Randle's mother. The state police have launched an investigation into Taylor's actions, said Trooper Kristal Turner-Childs, a state police spokeswoman, adding that state police do not engage in racial profiling. [more ]

Brooklyn Man Fatally Shot by Police Fired at Officers First

A Brooklyn man who allegedly stole $36 from an all-night car wash was shot and killed by officers during a gun battle early yesterday, police said. The man, whose name was not released pending notification of his family, was shot several times after he fired at officers arriving at TT's Millennium Car Wash and Quick Mart in East New York just before 2 a.m., police said. [more ]

Community Oversight plan for Denver Police OK'd

Mayor John Hickenlooper beat back weeks of heavy criticism to win final City Council approval Monday of his plan for civilian oversight of the Denver Police Department. The council voted 12-1 Monday to place the mayor's plan on the Nov. 2 ballot, leaving voters to decide the politically divisive issue. The council's backing was a foregone conclusion, despite broad opposition from minority community leaders who last week urged council members not to rush the measure to the ballot, arguing it lacks teeth to lead to meaningful reform. The package of reforms requires voter approval of two significant changes to the city charter. The council was under pressure to move a bill forward to meet a pending state election deadline. Hickenlooper has proposed a three-pronged approach to civilian oversight. The cornerstone of the plan calls for forming the Office of Independent Monitor, which will come solely under the mayor's authority. The monitor would have unprecedented access to statements and information surrounding investigations involving excessive force and alleged police misconduct.[more

Video reveals Deadly police Confrontation with Black Man

• Orignally published by the Virginia Pilot on August 31, 2004 [here ]

 By MATTHEW ROY, The Virginian-Pilot

NORFOLK -- It was shot through a rain-splattered police windshield: a videotape that captured some of the final moments of Kenny S. Jefferson , who died Aug. 14 after struggling with police on Chesapeake Boulevard .On Monday, city officials allowed a Virginian-Pilot reporter and an NAACP leader to watch about 15 minutes of the videotape in the city attorney's office, with ranking police present, including Chief Bruce P. Marquis .

City Attorney Bernard Pishko said the tape shows that police acted appropriately while doing a tough job: responding in the rain, getting exposed to Jefferson's blood from wounds he incurred punching car windows, keeping their tempers, staying attentive to him after he was subdued and ultimately attempting to save his life.

John Wesley Hill , president of the city's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and a former police officer, said he did not see any inappropriate action on the tape.

But Hill said he has questions about what the tape didn't show -- the use of pepper spray on Jefferson before the arrival of the supervisor.

Hill questioned if the spray could sometimes aggravate situations rather than make them better. The NAACP has asked the city for information about pepper spray, including how often it has been used and its possible effects, and Hill contended that Norfolk's leaders should be concerned about its use .

Capt. Michael Young said officers fired two quick bursts of pepper spray at Jefferson, with little apparent effect.

Marquis weighed in on pepper spray, calling it "about as safe a non lethal that you can use on someone."

Police involved in the incident had been temporarily placed on administrative duties. But they returned to their usual work a little more than a week ago after Commonwealth's Attorney John R. Doyle III said in a letter to Marquis that the videotape and witness statements showed they "only used the degree of force necessary to restrain Mr. Jefferson."

The video was shot from the car of a supervisor who arrived as several officers struggled to handcuff Jefferson, who lay face down on the wet road . Some of the action was obscured by officers grouped around him, their backs to the camera.

Officers cuffed his hands behind his back, then cuffed his ankles together and bound his ankles to his wrists.

A short while later -- Young said it was just more than a minute -- Jefferson was moved to his side, then his back. At some point, an officer felt for a pulse, and appeared to monitor him for a bit.

Eventually, police attempted to revive Jefferson with chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Young said.

Jefferson, 26 , who police and witnesses say had punched out windows of passing vehicles and behaved bizarrely that day, was pronounced dead at a city hospital a short while later.

The state medical examiner's office has yet to release a cause of death pending laboratory tests. Officials have suggested Jefferson was under the influence of some substance .

Pishko made the video available for viewing to a Virginian-Pilot reporter after the newspaper requested to see it under the Freedom of Information Act. However, Pishko said that he had grounds to withhold the videotape under the act because it was part of a confidential administrative investigation and said that making it available for viewing was "discretionary."

He declined to allow the newspaper to take images of the video. "I just don't think that it's the type of thing that should be plastered all over the place," Pishko said.

In an interview later Monday, Melody Vergara of Virginia Beach, who had two children with Jefferson, said he was a good, generous person.

She said he had an anxiety disorder and also been hospitalized recently for a seizure. His actions that day, she said, were "crying for help."

She also questioned the police use of pepper spray in an interview Monday. Her eyes were irritated after she identified his body at a hospital, she said.

More than 500 attend shooting victim's funeral Sunday

• Black Man Gunned Down by Police
  

More than 500 people stood as the casket of Fredrick "Ron" Lollis was wheeled into Ferriday Junior High School's gym Sunday. Lollis, 38, was fatally shot Monday night by Concordia Parish sheriff's deputy David Hedrick on Doty Road in an incident under investigation by Louisiana State Police.  The sheriff's office has said Lollis was carrying a gun and was a suspect in a harassment call earlier that night. Many people in the Doty Road community believe the incident was racial. The deputy is white and Lollis was black. Hedrick has been placed on administrative leave. Sheriff Randy Maxwell said Hedrick told investigators Fredrick Lollis had a bat and then brandished a gun when approached on Doty Road. He also said Fredrick Lollis pointed the gun at him. Maxwell said a gun was found at the scene, and there are eyewitnesses. However, there have been witnesses who describe a different set of events. One Doty Road resident has said she saw Fredrick Lollis walking down the road carrying a grocery bag. She also said she heard him ask the officer not to shoot him.  Mourner Jimmie Skipper, 43, of Ferriday, said that "five blacks have been killed in Ferriday ... and none of the murders have been solved," claiming official corruption. [more] and [more ] and [more ]

NAACP and Nation of Islam Demand apologies from Monroe police chief, mayor

Suspicion surrounds fatal shooting of Black Man
Black leaders are demanding public apologies from the mayor and police chief for their stances in a fatal shooting by police officers. The leaders of the local chapters of the NAACP and the Nation of Islam made their demand at a news conference on the steps of Monroe City Hall on Friday. They charged that Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo and Police Chief Ron Schleuter have been insensitive and uncaring in the shooting of William Mark Henderson Sr., 58, last Sunday. His funeral was held on Saturday. The day after the shooting, Mayo and Schleuter held a joint news conference and Mayo called the shooting "an unfortunate incident." "The mayor has been insistent it was an accident. ... It was not an accident," said local NAACP President Otis Chisley. [more ]

• Five Monroe officers on leave while fatal shooting investigated [more ]