Excessive force, poor medical care led to death of Orange County inmate, lawsuit claims

From [HERE] wrongful death lawsuit filed this week claims that officers at the Orange County Jail knew William Howard, 75, was going through a mental breakdown when they used force, which caused a neck fracture and his death.

The allegations are part of a federal lawsuit filed by Howard’s family against Orange County, corrections officers and the jail’s nursing staff after Howard was killed while in custody.

His death led to a batch of officers being placed under investigation and three members of the nursing staff being reprimanded, including one who was terminated for not properly treating Howard after the takedown, according to internal documents from the jail.

Howard’s family did not include an exact dollar amount for which they are suing but the lawsuits states they are looking for reimbursement for medical and funeral expenses, mental pain and suffering and loss of earnings.

The lawsuit claims he had glaucoma, an eye condition that causes blindness, so officers banged on the cell door to get his attention but Howard did not respond.

Cpl. Juan Padilla, who has worked for the jail for 10 years and supervised Howard’s transfer, authorized the other four officers to use force.

Internal documents show they used pepper spray then did a takedown on the inmate.

The officers “ripped Howard away from the wall and slammed him head-first onto the concrete cell floor,” the lawsuit states.

The takedown caused a neck fracture — and his death, an autopsy shows.

The lawsuit claims the officers used excessive force. It also says the officers outnumbered Howard and were muscular, whereas Howard was “elderly, effectively blind and weighed 187 pounds.”

Howard’s family attorney also claims the county was negligent in allowing Padilla to work for the jail because he’s faced criminal charges.

The Orange County Jail said Padilla was arrested in Volusia County in 2010 on an assault charge, but the case was dismissed.

He still works for the jail and is in good standing, Proudfit said.

After Howard’s injury, he was not evaluated for more than 24 hours by medical staff at the jail, the lawsuit states.

The suit claims the nursing staff had a “deliberate indifference” to his serious medical needs.

Howard complained of neck and back pain, along with weakness and decreased sensation in his legs, according to notes in his autopsy.

The lawsuit is the second filed within weeks that states the jail’s medical care was inadequate and caused the death of an inmate.

The family of Max Gracia, 22, filed a federal lawsuit against the jail and nursing staff after he died in 2015 because of an infection that was caused by a police dog bite during his arrest.

The lawsuit claims the nurses failed to care for him and get him to a hospital for treatment.

2 White Euclid Cops on Video Violently Beating Black Man, Slamming His Head Into Ground for "Resisting Arrest"

From [HERE] and [HERE] Euclid police are reviewing a struggle between two white police officers and a Black man that was caught on video and spread on social media Saturday.

Richard Hubbard, 25, was driving a 2011 Hyundai when he was pulled over on East 228th Street before 10:30 a.m, for an unknown "moving violation" according to a news release.

Police ordered Hubbard out of the car, instructing him to face away, so they could arrest him. Apparently he was placed under arrest for driving on a suspended driver's license. 

Hubbard did not face away. A video shows Hubbard on the ground while a Black woman yells at the white cops to stop assaulting him. One of the officers is shown slamming Hubbard's body repeatedly into the ground. The officer briefly puts his hands around the man's neck and pushes his head into the ground at least three times.

The officer then sits over him and punches his face multiple times. The other officer pats his partner's back before the officer on top of the man slides an object away.

Police have not identified the officers.

Hubbard was taken to the Cuyahoga County Jail Euclid Annex and medically examined. He posted bond on charges of driving under suspension and resisting arrest.

Councilwoman Taneika Hill, Ward 3, said, "I was very disturbed by what I saw.I am waiting for my chief and my mayor to respond to me and add some clarity. To me the video is very disturbing."

"I do not want to move ahead of facts, but at the same time the human in me, its disturbing, to see a person hitting someone to that degree is disturbing. I will never understand why the officers would continuously hit. I will never understand why the young lady [who was video recording it] was put on the ground..to me that is humiliating, cant wrap my mind around things like that....Do not want to move ahead of the facts"

"I am not an officer...again, I don't know what happened before,I can't speak on what happened. I can only speak on what my heart felt."

Montgomery County Settles Suit for 1.75M: Genocidal White Cops Murdered Black Man by Tasering him for 37 Seconds

Mentacidal Black Children Cheer on Genocidal White Cops Murdering Black Man b/c He is Black. From [HERE] Montgomery County officials have settled a civil rights violation claim with the family of a Gaithersburg man who died after county police officers shot him with a Taser during a 2013 arrest.

The county paid the family $1.75 million but admitted no liability, the county’s chief of litigation, Patricia Via, said Thursday. The amount was approved by the finance director and covered by the county’s self-insurance program. It does not require approval by the County Council, she said.

The settlement was reached in June.

The family alleged in a recent letter written to county officials that officers violated Anthony Howard Sr.’s civil rights during the April 19, 2013, arrest.

“The County recently settled a claim filed by the estate of Anthony Howard Sr. and Anthony Howard Jr. involving [the elder] Mr. Howard’s interaction with police,” Via said in an email. “The settlement was made without any admission of liability on the part of the county and the officers.”

When Montgomery County police encountered Howard in April 2013, the 51-year-old man was behaving erratically. High on cocaine, Howard started the standoff by dancing barefoot on an SUV roof, barking and muttering gibberish in a quiet Gaithersburg cul-de-sac.

Police said in an incident report that Howard had thrown “boulders” and charged at officers. But a 17-minute video taken by a resident and obtained by The Sun showed that when white officers approached Howard for the last time, he was standing still, holding a child’s scooter. Officers fired two Tasers, shooting electrified darts connected by long wires into Howard’s body.

After he dropped the scooter and keeled over onto a flower bed, police continued to pump electricity into Howard; he kicked wildly on his back with four officers standing over him. Police fired their Tasers at Howard nine times for a total of 37 seconds, data shows — far above the recommended limit of 15 seconds. He stopped breathing and died shortly afterward.

Anthony Howard’s sister, Robbin, told The Sun that she and her family had been asking questions about his death but had gotten few answers. The family abandoned legal action against Montgomery County years ago after police declined to turn over any videos they had obtained from neighbors who recorded the incident on their mobile devices.

She and her relatives first saw the video of her brother’s arrest when The Baltimore Sun provided her with a copy last year.

She and Anthony Howard Jr. filed a civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court of Maryland in October last year. They sought $50 million for each of eight claims, including allegations of excessive force by police.

The lawsuit stated that Howard never attempted to flee, kept a safe distance from the officers and bystanders and “did not pose any legitimate, immediate threat to the physical safety of the police officers or bystanders.”

The legal action was voluntarily dismissed days later when settlement negotiations began.

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White Cops in Seattle Went Crazy Dealing w/Mentally ill Black Woman: Family of Charleena Lyles File Claim

Seattle Cops' Plan to Deal with Blacks = Use Violence. From [HERE] In a six-page claim filed Friday against the city of Seattle, attorneys representing the estate of Charleena Lyles say two Seattle police officers “lost their composure” when the pregnant mother of four began waving a knife or knives around, then failed to order her to drop her weapon and warn her they would shoot.

The claim, which does not specify a dollar amount, is a first step toward filing a lawsuit alleging the officers violated Lyles’ civil rights and are responsible for her wrongful death. The claim also alleges negligence and violation of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.

The city has 60 days to respond to the claim before a suit can be filed.

Julie Moore, a spokeswoman for the city’s department of finance and administrative services (FAS), wrote in an email Friday that “FAS does not comment on open claims.”

Lyles, a 30-year-old African-American mother of four, was fatally shot by two white officers, Steven McNew and Jason Anderson, on June 18. Police say she threatened the officers with at least one knife after calling 911 to report that someone had broken into her Magnuson Park apartment and stolen two video-game consoles.

Three of Lyles’ children were in her apartment when she was killed. 

Lyles’ family has said the shooting could have been avoided and that they believe race was a factor.

During the news conference, Charles Lyles’ attorney, Karen Koehler, declined to answer questions related to what she called Charleena Lyles’ “severe mental-health issues,” but the claim filed against the city references Lyles’ battle with depression and says she began treatment at Sound Mental Health in summer 2016 after she was arrested for domestic-violence assault following an altercation with her sister in Auburn.

Koehler, who is representing Charles Lyles along with attorneys Ed Moore and Travis Jameson, acknowledged that the Seattle Police Department quickly released the officers’ statements and other evidence to the public.

“It’s unprecedented for SPD to release information like this as fast as they can … They have definitely done a good job in releasing documents,” she said.

But Jameson said the attorneys are “concerned with the defensive response” provided by SPD to outstanding questions about the shooting. Last month, the department released a 45-page memo answering a slew of questions posed by members of the City Council.

“The tone of the SPD’s opus was imperious and defensive,” the claim filed against the city says of the memo.

Koehler criticized Anderson and McNew for failing to come up with a plan before entering Lyles’ apartment, noting officers had responded there 23 times between January 2016 and June.

“They knew there was a woman in there in distress. There was no plan,” Koehler said.

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Killed by Cops: 2017 is On Pace to Become the Deadliest Year on Record

From [HERE] In 2017 alone, police have killed 746 people in the U.S., according to the Killed By Police database, which puts this year on pace to become the deadliest year on record. In contrast, in the first seven months of 2016, police killed 714 people; the number was slightly higher in 2015 with 725 killed, and it was noticeably lower in 2014 with 663 killed and in 2013 with 353 killed.

One case from this year that the white media really paid attention to [despite there being no video or witnesses] occurred on July 15 when Justine Damond, a 40-year-old white woman was shot and killed by police in Minneapolis, after she called 911 to report a disturbance in her neighborhood. As The Free Thought Project reported, while audio was released from the shooting, neither one of the two officers on the scene chose to turn on their body cameras, and the officer who shot and killed Damond had several complaints on his record.

In addition to the increase in police shootings, the U.S. is also under a new administration, which has expressed overwhelming support for all of the characteristics that lead to an empowered police state.

In an address to the National District Attorney’s Association conference on July 17, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions promised to increase the federal government’s civil asset forfeiture programs.

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If You Murder a Black Man, You're Qualified to be a Cop in Rogers County: Terrence Crutcher's Killer Gets New Job

From [HERE] The former white police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black man during a traffic stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was sworn in on Thursday as a reserve deputy in a nearby county.

Betty Shelby, a white woman, resigned from the Tulsa Police Department on July 14, two months after a mostly white jury found her not guilty of manslaughter for the death of Terence Crutcher.

"I certainly feel like we hit the lottery with this deal," Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton, who publicly backed Shelby in her trial, said at a news conference. Walton, who apparently held a press conference to make the monumental announcement is also white. 

When asked what the typical responsibilities of a reserve deputy (a role which is unpaid, but carries a firearm) would be, Walton replied: "Identical to anything that a full-time police officer that is paid or compensated for their duties will be."

When Shelby left the police department in July, she wrote in her resignation letter that “I pray [to my white God and his white son] for healing for his family, I will continue to pray for the unity of our community, the safety of our citizens and our police officers,” she added. Before the jury’s decision in May, Shelby had been on unpaid leave since prosecutors charged her with first-degree manslaughter in September. (The white cop was reinstated to her police post shortly afterward and awarded more than $35,000 in back pay for time missed from work during the investigation.) She said "sitting behind a desk, isolated from my fellow officers and the citizens of Tulsa, is just not for me." She desired to be back on the streets to resume her genicidal role killing niggers. [MORE]

Shelby’s case was also unusual for her decision to appear on 60 Minutes in the weeks ahead of her trial, a move both criticized as a skewing of public opinion and acknowledged as tactically savvy. What is white collective power? 

Reaching High For an Imaginary Gun in the Sky. [Racists Cannot See Things As They Are]. Terence Crutcher was empty-handed next to his vehicle when Shelby fired a single shot that killed him. Police cameras captured the final moments of the 40-year-old’s life from multiple angles, showing he had been walking slowly with his hands high above his head during the moments before the killing.

A jury decided last month that it could not convict Shelby of manslaughter in the case despite the video evidence. Defense attorneys persuaded jurors that Crutcher had made a move toward the open driver’s-side window of his stationary vehicle, and that Shelby’s decision in that moment to kill him was justified by what she perceived to be a reach for a gun that did not exist.

In a public letter after the trial, however, jurors indicated they believed Shelby’s actions were rash and Crutcher’s death was avoidable — just that none of what transpired satisfied the technicalities of the law they’d been asked to apply to the officer.

At 7:36 p.m. on September 16, 2016, police received a 9-1-1 call from a racist suspect about an abandoned vehicle in the middle of 36th Street North just west of Lewis Avenue. One racist suspect caller said: "Somebody left their vehicle running in the middle of the street with the doors wide open." "The doors are open. The vehicle is still running. It's an SUV. It's like in the middle of the street. It's blocking traffic." "There was a guy running from it, saying it was going to blow up. But I think he's smoking something. I got out and was like, 'Do you need help?'" "He was like, 'Come here, come here, I think it's going to blow up.'" The other racist suspect caller said: "There is a car that looks like somebody just jumped out of it and left it in the center of the road on 36th Street North and North Lewis Avenue." "It's dead in the middle of the street." "It's a Navigator. The driver-side door is open like somebody jumped out. It's on the yellow line, blocking traffic. Nobody in the car."

Police stated that Crutcher kept reaching into his pocket, refused to show his hands, walked towards his vehicle despite being told to stop, and then angled towards and reached into his vehicle. 

However, video and photographic evidence seems to contradict this, showing Crutcher's blood streaking the driver's side window from top to bottom after the shooting and indicating it was closed. Turnbough tased Crutcher, and Shelby shot him. Shortly before the shooting, officers in the helicopter conversed with each other: "This guy's still walking and isn't following commands." "It's time for a taser, I think." "I've got a feeling that's about to happen." "That looks like a bad dude, too, could be on something." Approximately two minutes after the shot, an officer checked Crutcher's pockets, and approximately 45 seconds later, someone crouched to offer aid. Police said Crutcher died in the hospital later that day. Tulsa police chief Chuck Jordan said no weapon was recovered from Crutcher's body or vehicle.

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[In Racist System Due Process is Only About the Appearance of Justice] Charlotte Bd Upholds Killing of Black Man

From [HERE] A civilian review board in Charlotte, North Carolina, handed down a split decision on Thursday over a finding by the city's police chief that an officer acted properly in killing a black man in 2016.

It was the first time in the board's 20-year history that a majority on the panel in North Carolina's biggest city did not agree with the police chief in such a case.

Charlotte's Citizens Review Board spent more than two days hearing evidence in the death of Keith Lamont Scott, a 43-year-old black man shot by Officer Brentley Vinson in September 2016. His death touched off two days of sometimes violent demonstrations that left another man dead and resulted in extensive property damage.

The board split 4-4 in its vote on Thursday, meaning Charlotte-Mecklenburg Chief Kerr Putney’s determination that Vinson acted in accordance with department policy will stand. In November, District Attorney Andrew Murray determined that Vinson, who also is black, committed no crime. 

"The board was split — which has come a long way from the chief's earlier determination that this shooting was absolutely, 150 percent justified,” said Scott family attorney Justin Bamberg. "We are still looking into the likelihood of success in a civil lawsuit."

The board has 11 members, but one seat is vacant and two members were unable to attend the hearing because of work commitments, said Cary Davis, the board’s attorney.

The board, established in 1997, lacks the authority to enforce its decisions.

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White DC Cop Won't Be Charged in Fatal Shooting of Unarmed Black Man, Terrence Sterling

From [HERE] White federal officials said Wednesday that they won't file charges against a police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black motorcyclist last year in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement that there was insufficient evidence to prove the city police officer used unreasonable force or was not acting in self-defense.

The officer, Brian Trainer, shot Terrence Sterling after a high-speed chase that ended with the 31-year-old revving his motorcycle into a police cruiser's door, according to the statement. Federal officials said the level of alcohol in Sterling's blood was 0.16, twice the legal limit. They said he also tested positive for marijuana.

Federal officials said the chase began after Sterling pulled in front of the police cruiser that was stopped at a red light.

"Mr. Sterling looked over his shoulder in the direction of the officers and then accelerated at a high rate of speed through the red light," the statement said. A chase ensued, covering 25 city blocks, federal officials said. Sterling allegedly drove 100 mph or more while narrowly missing pedestrians and cars.

Sterling was a heating and air-conditioning technician from Fort Washington, Maryland.

Sterling's parents filed a $50 million wrongful-death lawsuit, claiming that Sterling posed no threat and that the officer was negligent when he failed to turn on his body camera.

City officials have acknowledged that the officer, who has been on administrative leave since the shooting, did not turn on his camera, and the city has since ordered 911 operators to remind officers to activate their cameras.

"The complaint alleges that Metropolitan Police officer Brian Trainer shot Mr. Sterling in the back, killing Mr. Sterling from the safety of a police vehicle despite the fact that Mr. Sterling was unarmed and posed no danger to Officer Trainer or any other person. 

"The complaint alleges that Officer Brian Trainer and his partner violated multiple Metropolitan Police Department General Orders in the moments leading to Mr. Sterling’s death. Specifically, the Complaint alleges that General Order 301.03 prohibits officers from placing themselves in front of an oncoming vehicle where deadly force would be the likely outcome. In spite of this General Order, officers unlawfully placed themselves in front of Mr. Sterling’s oncoming motorcycle.

"Additionally, the complaint alleges that General Order 301.03 also prohibits officers from intentionally causing contact between their police vehicle and a civilian’s vehicle, or attempting to force a civilian vehicle into another object or off the roadway. The officers violated this Order by intentionally blocking Mr. Sterling’s path of travel, causing contact with his motorcycle, and trapping his motorcycle between the police car and the curb. While Mr. Sterling was trapped between the curb and the police car, Officer Trainer unlawfully drew his gun, pointed it at Mr. Sterling, and shot him, using deadly force in violation of General Order 901.7. 

"The complaint alleges that each of these violations independently caused the death of Terrence Sterling."

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White Ft Worth Cops Argue Black Man Would've Survived Choke Out If He had a Better Diet: Jermaine Darden Case Reinstated

Getting Murdered by White Cops is a Not "Natural" Cause of Death. From [HERE] A federal appeals court has reversed a Fort Worth judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit against the city and two white police officers in the death of an obese Black man who suffered a heart attack during a drug raid in 2013.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans issued the ruling Wednesday morning, arguing that evidence suggested Jermaine Darden, 34, wouldn’t have died if the officers had not used a Taser on him and forced him onto his stomach.

In the ruling to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Darden’s family in 2014, U.S. District Judge John McBryde had written that Darden, who weighed about 340 pounds, “had multiple risk factors for sudden cardiac death and the severity of his cardiac disease alone made him susceptible to sudden cardiac death at any time, with or without physical exertion.”

Darden died of natural causes, with sudden cardiac death associated with high blood pressure and application of restraints, the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office ruled.

Darden also had liver disease and thyroid disease, according to court documents.

But a medical expert for Darden’s family testified that Darden’s death should not have been ruled “natural,” according to the Fifth Circuit’s ruling Wednesday.

“Accordingly, the plaintiff can show that the use of force was the direct and only cause of Darden’s death,” despite his pre-existing medical conditions, Judge Edward C. Prado wrote in the ruling.

Veteran police officers W.F. Snow and J. Romero were named in the lawsuit, and other unidentified officers were said to have participated in the raid and in restraining Darden.

The officers had executed a “no-knock” search warrant on May 16, 2013, bursting into a residence in the 3200 block of Thannisch Avenue without warning, according to court documents.

According to witnesses, several people, including Darden, were inside. They said that Darden was not attempting to flee, attack or resist when police officers choked him, kicked him several times, punched him and shocked him, according to court documents.

Several officers applied their weight to Darden’s back, making it difficult for him to breathe, the court documents said. Witnesses told officers that Darden had asthma and could not breathe.

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White KY Cops Clear Themselves in the Murder of Darnell Wicker: Shot to Death 2 Seconds After Cops Appear

From [HERE] An internal police investigation has found that white  Kentucky officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Black man did not violate the department's use of force policy.

The investigation stemmed from last year's death of Darnell Wicker. Louisville police officers involved in the shooting were responding to a domestic violence call.

Media reports say Louisville police Chief Steve Conrad said the use of force was "reasonable" given circumstances the officers faced. His comments were in a letter to one of the officers.

Police body camera footage showed Wicker holding a tree saw when confronted by officers.

The internal police review did conclude that one of the officers violated department rules by not turning on his body camera. Conrad briefly suspended the officer.

Wicker was black and the officers involved are white.