Details emerge in Police Shooting of Kerry Von Reese Cook

Charlottesville police released new details Tuesday about what they say happened when an officer shot a man after a struggle at an apartment in Friendship Court. City Police Chief Timothy J. Longo said the woman who called police to her apartment Saturday night later told authorities that Kerry Von Reese Cook had entered her home uninvited and started cursing and damaging property. The woman, who was not identified, said she left the apartment to call police and waited for their arrival, Longo said. City officers William Sclafani and Jeremy Carper entered the apartment and found Cook, 31, in a bedroom closet, Longo reported. The officers ordered him to surrender, but he resisted and a violent confrontation ensued, Longo said. "The struggle begins at that point and literally goes throughout the apartment," he said. Both officers applied "escalating levels of force," he said, declining to specify what tactics they used to restrain Cook before he was shot. Sclafani shot Cook once in the abdomen with a .45-caliber round, and Longo said he had no reason to believe the shooting was accidental. [more ]

Black Teens Say NYC Cops Set Dog On them after they Surrendered

Two teenagers say a police dog attacked them,  and they've announced a multi-million dollar lawsuit against New York City. Those teenagers are suing for $10 million. They claim the horrible gashes on their leg and arm are proof -- not just of police brutality, but of police cruelty -- on the night they were arrested here at the Marcus Garvey Houses. Two and a half weeks later, the dog bites on William Bryant's leg are still painfully raw -- enough to make you cringe. Only 16, he now walks like a much older man. Emmanuel Blake, 18 Years Old: "They pulled me, threw me to the floor, stomped on my head, put the handcuffs on me. And the dog just came running after me. And they were just holding him by the leash like, 'Get him, get him, get him.'" The teens, who live at the Marcus Garvey Public Houses, claim that after they were in custody  the officers ordered the German shepherd to attack them. Andrew Stoll, Teenagers' Attorney: "These men were not charged with resisting arrest, they were not charged with assault on an officer. And the question that we should ask, that for some reason that hasn't been asked is: how could this happen?" The only charge they are now facing is trespassing. [more ]

Black Man dies after struggle with Akron Police

A 47-year-old Kenmore man died Tuesday after struggling with Akron police officers and losing consciousness. Now, police and prosecutors are investigating whether Solomon Dandridge died as a result of the four officers' actions or some other cause. Police say they went to 17th Street and Witner Avenue about 5:15 a.m. after fielding a string of emergency calls from neighbors about a man yelling in the street and acting irrationally. The first patrol officer to arrive had trouble calming Dandridge, police Capt. Daniel Zampelli said, prompting three more officers to join the struggle. Before long, Dandridge lay on the ground, unresponsive. The officers tried but failed to revive him. He was pronounced dead just before 6 a.m. at Akron General Medical Center. The Summit County Medical Examiner's office conducted an autopsy but is awaiting test results before ruling on the cause of death.  [more ]

NAACP Gets Involved in Curtis Good Police Shooting

Gwendolyn Good is still looking for answers in the death of her 41-year-old brother, who was shot by a city police officer early Friday. "They tell us they're trying to get (the investigation) over and done with as fast as possible so we can get some closure," Good said. "But they're telling us nothing." Meanwhile, the city chapter of the NAACP plans to conduct its own investigation into the fatal shooting of Curtis Good by a city patrolman. And family and friends plan to hold what they referred to as a peaceful protest march at 6 p.m. tomorrow. The shooting occurred shortly after 1:30 a.m. Friday. Patrolman Carmen Fazzolari, 45, went to the apartment of Good's girlfriend at King and Smith streets on a report that Good was destroying the home, authorities said. Another officer, David Sanchez, arrived two minutes behind Fazzolari and spoke with the man who had called the police, the 18-year-old son of Good's girlfriend. Inside the apartment alone with Good, Fazzolari fired eight shots from his .45-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol, striking Good with six of them, authorities said. Good was pronounced dead at 2:21 a.m. at the Perth Amboy Division of Raritan Bay Medical Center, authorities said.
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Suburban Pittsburgh Police officer Exonerated in Fatal shooting of Black Man

Suburban Pittsburgh Police officer Exonerated in Fatal shooting of Black Man, Gilbert Carswell

• Appeals court rules actions 'reasonable'

A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit against a suburban Pittsburgh police officer who fatally shot a man during a domestic disturbance call. Gilbert Carswell's widow, Tonya Carswell, claimed that Homestead police Officer Frank Snyder didn't have to shoot Gilbert Carswell in November 1999 because he was unarmed and surrendering. Evidence showed that Carswell rushed from an alley at Snyder with his arms outstretched. Snyder has maintained that Carswell ran into him and his gun accidentally fired. A three-judge panel of the U-S Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a reasonable officer wouldn't be expected to risk being assaulted by a fleeing man who was close enough that he could seize the officer's gun. A lower court judge had dismissed the suit last year based on a U-S Supreme Court ruling that officers should be granted immunity even if force resulted from "reasonable, but mistaken beliefs" about the situation they faced. [more ] and [more ]

Norfolk Police Officers not liable for Black Man's death, review finds

Police officers involved in the fatal apprehension of a man who had been punching windows of passing vehicles used only the amount of force necessary to subdue him, according to Commonwealth's Attorney John R. Doyle III . Doyle based his preliminary conclusion on a review of witnesses' statements and police videotape that captured part of Kenny S. Jefferson's  struggle with officers. That was just moments before Jefferson stopped breathing . The videotape was shot from the car of a police supervisor who arrived as officers attempted to handcuff Jefferson, 26 , on Chesapeake Boulevard near Johnstons Road  on Aug. 14 , Doyle said. It did not capture the incident perfectly but showed Jefferson struggling with officers, Doyle said. Authorities declined to make the tape available Monday.The death of a young black man during an arrest raised questions about police actions. The Norfolk chapter of the  NAACP has said it will investigate. Funeral director Carlos A. Howard , who paused in a procession passing the arrest scene, said he saw Jefferson on his chest and stomach, his hands cuffed behind him and also attached to his ankles, which were cuffed together. Howard has questioned whether that affected Jefferson's breathing.  [more ]

Black Man Shot by Charlottesville Police still in critical condition

A 31-year-old Charlottesville man shot by police over the weekend remained comatose and in critical condition Monday, as the city's top prosecutor investigated whether the shooting was justified. Kerry Von Reese Cook was shot once in the abdomen Saturday after a struggle with police at an apartment on Garrett Street. Although a hospital spokeswoman said Cook still was in critical condition, his mother, Patricia, said doctors had taken him off a breathing apparatus. [more ]

Minneapolis Police Beat Haider Al-Amery after he identified himself as Iraqi

Iraqi artist Haider Al-Amery was driving home from working on a new mural at Central Ave. and 19th St. in Minneapolis when he was stopped by the police. The police told him to get out of his car and immediately hand-cuffed him. They took him back to their squad car and took his ID out his pocket. When they saw his name on the license they asked where he was from. When he responded he was from Iraq one of the police officers punched him in the eye. The same officer then slammed his head into the squad car and slammed his elbow into Haider's back. Haider was then placed in the back of the squad car, where he was kept for over 1 hour with no explanation of what the charges against him were. He was then taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center where he was treated for his injuries.  Al-Amery has decided to fight this racist abuse.  [more ]

Voters Will Decide Whether Denver Will Get an "Independent Police Monitor"

The Denver City Council cleared the way late Monday for voters to decide in November on aspects of the city's plan to hire an independent police monitor. The council voted 11-2 to put on the November ballot a single item allowing the monitor's office access to restricted records such as police personnel records and to make the monitor's six-member staff serve at the will of the mayor. The changes would be made to the city's charter. The council must vote on the matter again Aug. 30, but such votes on second reading rarely differ from the first.  [more ]

Schurz police shooting sent to U.S. attorney

• 17 Year Old Native American Boy Slain by Police

An investigation by the FBI into a police shooting in Schurz that left a 17-year-old boy dead in July has been turned over to the U.S. Attorney's office for review. FBI Special Agent Todd Palmer said Thursday the U.S. Attorney's office in Las Vegas will decide if further investigation is needed or if the case should be closed. Once that agency is done with the case, it will be forwarded to the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. for further review, he said.Tribal Police Office Walter Valline shot and killed Norman "Manny" Boney Jr. July 15 in the yard of his Schurz home on the Walker River Paiute Reservation after his father was incapacitated with a stun gun. Police say the teen threatened Valline with a pit bull during a confrontation with the father and son. Boney Jr., shot once in the neck and once in the right side, died on scene. Gail Boney, the boy's mother disputes the FBI's explanation about how the shooting occurred. [more ] Pictured above: Sadness fills the eyes of Norman Boney Sr. after talking about his deceased son.