City to pay $70,000 to daughter of Handcuffed Black man Pepper Sprayed & Beaten by Tucson Police

• Lawyers for White Cops Call Tyrone Johnson an "Evil Man" [more]
  

The city will pay $70,000 to the teenage daughter of a man who died during a 1999 struggle with police as they tried to arrest him on a traffic warrant. The settlement was approved in U.S. District Court earlier this month and is in addition to an undisclosed amount 15-year-old Ashley Johnson will receive from Southwest Ambulance, which was transporting her father to Kino Community Hospital when he died. A lawsuit by Johnson accusing the city and the ambulance company of negligence and the city of excessive force ended in a hung jury last year.  Tyrone Johnson, 28, had a past conviction for drug possession and resisting arrest, and spent about nine months in jail for a probation violation before his Aug. 8, 1999, encounter with the police that led to his death. Officers said they used pepper spray on Tyrone Johnson to subdue him and after he was handcuffed, he complained he couldn't breathe. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. The Pima County medical examiner found Johnson had a significant amount of cocaine and traces of morphine in his system when he died. [more] and [more]

• Gasping for Air Tyrone Johnson was "spent." He was gasping for air. He posed no threat to anyone around him; he wasn't about to run, or to lash out at the cops who'd beaten and pepper sprayed him, or to battle the firefighters and EMTs who had loaded him face-down in an ambulance with his hands cuffed behind his back. He was given no oxygen--something that is administered as routinely as nine out of 10 calls, according to one of the firefighters who responded to the call to evaluate and treat Johnson after Johnson briefly fled from two Tucson policemen on Aug. 8, 1999. [more]

• Improper Care? After police subdued Tyrone Johnson with three shots of pepper spray and up to 11 strikes with metal batons, Tucson Fire Department paramedics and Southwest Ambulance EMTs failed to properly diagnose, monitor and treat Johnson, according to testimony from a longtime emergency room physician. [more]
  

Wrongful death lawsuit filed against city, Greenville Police in Custody Death of Black Man

The father of a man who died in police custody three years ago has brought a wrongful death suit against the city of Greenville and the police officers involved in the incident. Eugene Allen Boseman, 41, of Greenville died after police removed him from the travel lanes of Memorial Drive on March 7, 2002. He was wearing boxer shorts and a T-shirt and behaving erratically. The lawsuit lists Allen Boseman Sr., the father, as plaintiff on behalf of the son's estate. Boseman died after officers struggled to subdue him. The State Bureau of Investigation investigated the incident, and Pitt County District Attorney Clark Everett decided not to prosecute the officers involved after reviewing the results of the investigation. The Pitt County medical examiner reported that Boseman "died as a result of agitated delirium caused by cocaine use, psychosis and stopping antipsychotic medications." Obesity and heart disease contributed to the death, the report said. The $15 million suit filed March 10 in federal court in Greenville alleges the officers' actions violated Boseman's constitutional rights and caused his death. Greenville Police Chief Joe Simonowich said his officers followed state and departmental procedures for dealing with mentally ill people. While the medical examiner found multiple bruises on Boseman's body apparently resulting from the contact with officers, none of the injuries contributed to his death, the examiner said. Boseman, who was infected with the virus that causes AIDS, inflicted a deep bite wound on one of the officer's hands. That officer, Armarlin Richardson, is named in the suit, along with six "unknown officers" and Greenville Mayor Don Parrott. Calvin Henderson, president of the Pitt County Chapter of the NAACP, said the organization "has worked hard to obtain justice in this case," which he claims involves "gross police misconduct and brutality," and an "official cover-up" in the wake of Boseman's death. [more] and [more]

• Marchers Want Police Officers Fired Because Of Deaths [more]
• Man dies in hands of police [more]
• Since 1999 at least 12 Mentally ill people have been killed by police in North Carolina [more]
  
  

Texas Rangers Beat Down Black Man on his own Property - Mistaken Identity

The Texas Rangers have officially launched an investigation into an alleged case of police brutality, which left a Cherokee County man with a broken ankle. Cherokee County District Attorney Elmer Beckworth said he has asked Texas Ranger Rudy Flores to conduct an investigation into the allegations made by John Brown, of Alto after the man reported he had been the victim of brutality at the hands of a veteran Cherokee County sheriff's deputy. Beckworth said his office asked Flores to investigate the allegations after Brown and witnesses made statements to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Brown called the FBI. Brown, 27, said he was in his home cooking last week when his father asked him to go outside and see why the family dogs were barking. Brown claims he saw an unidentified man lurking around his property with a flashlight and went to investigate. He contends the man, Cherokee County sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Jamie Beene, who was searching for an unrelated suspect, arrested him for no reason and broke his ankle and beat him while Brown was handcuffed behind his back. Brown was subsequently arrested on a misdemeanor charge of interfering with a police investigation and underwent surgery that night to repair his shattered ankle, which entailed three plates and 16 pins being used during the surgery. Brown's attorney, Hulon Brown, a former district attorney and Texas legislator, said My client was in his own yard and had nothing to do with what was going on. He was arrested and brutalized," he said. [more]

Milwaukee Drugstore Security Guard shoots, kills Black Man - alleged shoplifter

A convicted felon with a long, violent history who was working illegally as a security guard at Walgreens shot and killed an unarmed man accused of stealing sunglasses Sunday night, prompting a state investigation. The 53-year-old guard - identified on a police arrest record as Sam Gwin Jr. - was carrying the gun illegally and concealed it from shoppers and employees at the store in the 3500 block of W. Wisconsin Ave., police said. Gwin, who was held in jail Monday night but had not been charged, shot Alexander Mitchell, 39, outside the 24-hour store, police said. All guards working for security companies in Wisconsin must be licensed by the state Department of Regulation and Licensing, whether they carry a gun or not, said Chris Klein, a department spokesman. Gwin was not licensed, Klein said. Mitchell and a friend went into the Walgreens store around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, his family said. Mitchell picked up a pair of sunglasses and tried to steal them, police said. "The victim punched the security guard one time in the face when they got out of the store ... then apparently the security guard pulls the weapon and shoots the victim multiple times," Schwartz said. The shooting happened outside the Walgreens door. [more] and [more]

• Pictured above: Alexander Mitchell: Shooting victim leaves behind four children
  

Orlando Police Officer Charged With Battery After Tasering Strapped Down Black Man

Suspect Shocked After Not Giving Urine Sample
An Orlando police officer has been charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly using a Taser stun gun on a suspect tied and handcuffed to a hospital bed. Officer Peter Linnenkamp was charged Monday with using his Taser on 18-year-old Antonio Wheeler two times in early March. The 50,000-volt shocks came after Wheeler, who had been arrested on a drug charge, had been taken to Florida Hospital Orlando and either would not or could not provide a urine sampleBefore the Taser was used, Wheeler aggressively resisted efforts to insert a catheter in order to get a urine sample, officials said. Linnenkamp wrote in a statement to investigators that he "administered the Taser discharge upon Mr. Wheeler in order to get him to release his penis so that the catheter could be inserted." After Wheeler was shocked in the forearm area two times with the Taser, the report says he "voluntarily provided a urine sample to the medical staff." Linnenkamp, who remains on restricted duty, was not arrested, but received a summons to appear in court. Linnenkamp could still keep his job even if he is found guilty, said Lt. Brian Gilliam of the Orlando police department. Sanctions could include anything from time off to a demotion to termination, he said. The crime itself carries a sentence of up to one year in jail. Wheeler's lawyer, Howard Marks, said prosecutors undercharged Linnenkamp. "We believe this (Linnenkamp's behavior) amounts to nothing less than torture. To me, it should be a felony battery." About 100 people have died nationally since 1999 after being shocked with a Taser, including recent deaths in Pensacola, Hollywood and Naples. [more] and
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Judge dismisses Kenneth Walker suit - 2nd Grand Jury Not Allowed

• Unarmed Insurance Salesman, Black Man, face down, complying with police orders shot in the head. Officer not punished.
  

Kenneth Walker was shot and killed by former Deputy David Glisson in December of 2003. A grand jury cleared him of criminal charges 11 months later. Civil rights leaders then filed a petition saying Glisson wasn't sworn in during that hearing, and they wanted a new one. In a hearing Wednesday, Judge Jordan ruled to dismiss the petition, meaning no other grand jury will hear the case. The ruling ended the suit for a writ of mandamus filed Nov. 30, 2004, by Edward DuBose, former president of the Columbus chapter of the NAACP. The complaint sought an order compelling Dougherty County District Attorney Kenneth Hodges to correct an error that allowed former Muscogee Deputy Sheriff David Glisson to make an unsworn statement to the grand jury on Nov. 22, 2004. The next day, the grand jury returned a no bill, refusing to indict Glisson in the Dec. 10, 2003, shooting death of Walker during a traffic stop.  Jordan's ruling granted the motion to dismiss argued by Assistant Attorney General Kay Baker, who said a writ of mandamus was the wrong mechanism for a remedy.The judge noted that the prosecutor still has the discretion to present the case to a second grand jury. "Broad discretion remains with the district attorney, who may exercise his discretion to present to a subsequent grand jury... or, in his discretion, to choose not to present to a subsequent grand jury," Jordan said. [more] and [more]

• VIDEO: View the Kenneth Walker tape  (Blurry, no audio) [more] and [more]
• Pictured above: The 39-year-old black insurance manager from Columbus was either exiting an SUV that had been pulled over on I-185 or was getting set to lie on the ground. A bullet, one of two shots fired from an MP5 9 mm submachine gun, ripped into Walker's brain. Six hours later, the husband and father of a 3-year-old girl was dead.
• The Wrong Car. On Wednesday, Dec. 16, four professional African American men were supposedly identified by a police informant as drug suppliers from Miami who were heavily armed. Who really was inside the vehicle were four friends en route to a local restaurant to continue their weekly ritual of male/friendship bonding. All of that changed when the gray Yukon was pulled over. Eyewitnesses recounted the incident as the men were being physically snatched from the car, guns pointed directly in their faces and to the head area and being thrown to the ground. It was during this time that 39-year-old Kenneth Walker was shot. According to the sheriff, he was shot after failing to show both of his hands. "Mr. Walker refused to follow a direct command from the deputy."  When the dust settled, a terrible mistake had been made. Walker and his companions were not drug dealers and they were not armed. The car was searched and no drugs were found. [more]

Family's lawsuit claims excessive force used by Amarillo Police: Shot & Tasered

The parents of a 33-year-old man who died after Amarillo police shot him twice and shocked him multiple times with a Taser in 2003 filed a federal civil lawsuit Monday, alleging officers' excessive force contributed to their son's death. The wrongful-death suit, filed in Amarillo's U.S. District Court, names the city of Amarillo, Taser International Inc., Amarillo Police Sgt. Phil Dean and five unknown police officers as defendants in the case. The suit, filed by the parents of Corey Calvin Clark, focuses on the April 16, 2003, case that led to Clark's death. According to police reports, the confrontation between Clark and Amarillo police, who wanted to arrest Clark in connection with a string of car thefts, began when officers cornered Clark's van in an alley in the Bivins neighborhood after he led police on a car chase. When officers ordered Clark out of his car, he refused and appeared to be reaching behind the seat for a weapon, police reports stated. The final autopsy report into Clark's death said the weapon was a knife. Dean then shot at Clark, who suffered two gunshot wounds, because he feared for his life, according to Globe-News reports. Police also activated a Taser against Clark multiple times during their attempt to place him into custody, the autopsy report said. Clark was transported to Northwest Texas Hospital, where he later died. According to the autopsy report, Clark died of "acute cocaine intoxication due to chronic cocaine abuse." The civil lawsuit alleges officers' actions in the incident were excessive, unlawfully violent and deprived Clark of his life and liberty, violating his Fourth Amendment rights. "I cannot understand why (police) shot a person twice, and then practiced their Tasers on them," said attorney John Mann, who is representing Clark's parents.[more]

NYC Police Officer Pleads Guilty in Fatal Shooting of Latino Deli worker

A former police officer pleaded guilty on Monday to second-degree manslaughter in the shooting of an 18-year-old deli clerk last year in Queens, telling the judge it was tragic case of horseplay. An indictment had accused John Malik, 60, of recklessly firing a semiautomatic pistol at the victim while cashing a lottery ticket inside the deli the night of Oct. 18, 2004. Mr. Malik originally told the police that he had been waiting for his lottery tickets around 11 p.m. on Oct. 18 when his pager went off. He claimed that when he reached for it, he jostled his .380-caliber SIG Sauer semiautomatic pistol in his holster. A single shot struck the clerk, Manuel Chametla, 18, who was about 8 or 10 feet away, behind the counter of the Astoria Food Mart at 31st Street and 21st Avenue. But Mr. Malik changed his story yesterday, before Justice Randall T. Eng of State Supreme Court in Queens, saying the shooting had resulted from "horseplay." He had been on the way to work at a security company, he said, his gun holstered in a belt clip inside his waistband, until he drew his gun in jest in response to something Mr. Chametla had said. The bullet struck and killed Manuel Chametla, an 18-year-old Mexican immigrant. During the sentencing, he turned and apologized to the victim's family. Malik, who served on the police force 28 years, faces a term of one to three years in prison at sentencing on June 14. [more] and [more] and [more]

• Outraged father: Cop killed my son [more]
•  THE NEWS HOLE [more]
  

Twenty Years Later, the Philadelphia MOVE Case is Settled

 
Two decades after police ordered the bombing of the home of the radical group MOVE, which demolished an entire city block, a federal jury awarded 24 West Philadelphia residents $12.8 million in damages. What the jury’s decision means is that the city must pay $530,000 to each of the plaintiffs, who have been tussling for decades over their compensation for the bombing, which resulted in 11 deaths and the destruction of 61 Black-owned row houses. After spending $16 million for repairs, in 2000 the city offered $150,000 – roughly three times the market value – for each home, plus moving expenses. Thirty-seven homeowners accepted the deal, but another 24 families refused it, enlisting the help of attorneys, arguing that their homes and lives were worth more than that. “Thank the Lord; our day of deliverance has come,” plaintiff Betty Mapp told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It took 20 years, and now it’s over with the City of Philadelphia.” The seven-member jury found the city and Mayor John F. Street liable for $1.25 million in damages for reckless disregard for the rights of the homeowners, $960,000 for conspiracy to harm, and $2.4 million for breach of contract for the promised repairs and emotional distress. The plaintiffs sued on the grounds that Street broke the promises of former mayors, W. Wilson Goode ,who rebuilt the block, and Ed Rendell, who promised to continue repair on the homes. Mayor Street allegedly told homeowners that the city could use the power of eminent domain to seize their property if they did not accept the buyout. [more] and [more]

• Police Drop Bomb on Radicals' Home in Philadelphia. [more]
• 6 Bodies in Ashes of Radicals' Home; 200 Homeless - Assault Defended [more]
  
• After the Inferno, Tears and Bewilderment [more

Police Brutality News Continues [here] and scroll down.

Feds cleared Concordia Deputy in Fatal Shooting of Black Man

The U.S. Justice Department has cleared a white Concordia Parish deputy in last summer's shooting of a black man in Ferriday, the Sheriff's Office said. Deputy David Hedrick said he shot Frederick Lollis in self-defense. The NAACP had contended the August shooting was racially motivated. The Justice Department's criminal section in Washington has closed its investigation, according to a news release issued by the Concordia Parish Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Randy Maxwell stressed that Hedrick has now been cleared of any wrongdoing by local, state and federal agencies. At the time of the shooting, police said that Hedrick was responding to a complaint from a man who said two people had hit him with a gun. Hedrick and the victim were in Hedrick's car when the victim pointed out his attackers on the road, Maxwell said. Hedrick stopped and got out. Maxwell said Lollis was one of the men and had a baseball bat. The deputy told the men they were under arrest and ordered Lollis to drop the bat and both men to get on the ground, according to last August's account by Maxwell. Maxwell said Lollis moved toward the officer and Hedrick sprayed him with Mace. It was then that Lollis pulled a 9mm gun from his waistband. The gun was pointed at Hedrick as the officer continued to shout for Lollis to put his weapon down, Maxwell said. Hedrick fired four or five shots and then called for backup and an ambulance. [more]