Jury Selection Set For East Palo Alto Cop Beating of Black Man

Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the trial of two off-duty East Palo Alto police officers accused of beating a man who tried to sell them drugs. Prosecutors say Officers Edward Rivers and Johnny Taflinger sat in a sport utility vehicle in East Palo Alto in August 2004 and asked a man passing by if he would sell them drugs. They allegedly chased and beat the man after he returned with crack cocaine. A teenage volunteer who allegedly participated in the incident will be tried separately. The trio was implicated after a fellow officer complained to the district attorney and secretly recorded conversations about the alleged beating. A conviction could result in a more than seven years in prison for each officer. [more]

Three Mississippi officers fired for beating of Hawaii inmate

Three workers at a privately run Mississippi prison were fired after they were videotaped beating an inmate from Hawaii, according to the Hawaii Department of Public Safety. The inmate, 55-year-old Harry K. Hoopii, was taken to the hospital with injuries including multiple facial bruises, swelling and a cut lip, said Shari Kimoto, administrator of the department's branch on the mainland. He was beaten after allegedly assaulting two corrections officers at the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility on Feb. 23, Kimoto said. The prison is managed by Corrections Corporation of America. He was then taken to a disciplinary holding cell in another part of the prison, where his beating allegedly occurred, she said. It is regular procedure for a Special Operations Response Team to use force against a violent inmate, but the assistant warden and chief of security at the prison determined that this incident went too far, Kimoto said. They "realized that excessive force had been used," she said. Two captains and a sergeant were fired for violating the policies of Corrections Corporation of America.  [more] and [more]

L.A. pays $1.1 million in Notorious B.I.G. suit: Must Cover Family's Legal Costs in Wrongful Death Mistrial

 
LAPD Concealed Evidence 
The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday approved a $1.1 million payment to the family of slain  rapper Notorious B.I.G because of errors in a civil wrongful death trial over accusations that he  was murdered by rogue police officers. The penalty was levied by a U.S. district judge who accused police of concealing evidence and  declared a mistrial in the lawsuit, which was brought against the city last year. The popular rapper, born Christopher Wallace, was shot dead at the age of 24 after leaving a  Los Angeles music party in 1997. Relatives of Notorious B.I.G. claim the shooting was carried out by Los Angeles police officers  moonlighting for one of the record companies. The $1.1 million dollar penalty will go to pay legal costs incurred by the family of the rapper  before the mistrial was declared in July. The family has said it will go ahead with its wrongful death lawsuit and hopes to set a new trial  date next month. [more]

US Capitol Security Guard has Confrontation with Black Congresswoman

 
As U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Georgia, faces possible criminal charges for a Wednesday altercation with a Capitol Police officer, one of her lawyers said Friday that the real issues were "sex, race and Ms. McKinney's progressiveness." In a news conference featuring actor Danny Glover and singer Harry Belafonte, McKinney said she would be exonerated and that "this whole incident was instigated by the inappropriate touching and stopping of me, a female, black congresswoman." She had little else to say, citing the ongoing investigation into her allegedly striking a police officer after he failed to recognize her at a security checkpoint and tried to stop her from passing. One Republican congressman dismissed the star-studded news conference. "Rep. McKinney appearing with the star of "Lethal Weapon"? Not exactly the message you want to be sending," said Ron Bonjean, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Asked Friday if Capitol Police intended to bring charges against the congresswoman, Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said only, "I know we're still investigating." During the conference, held at historically Black Howard University in Washington, civil rights attorney James Myart said his client was "assaulted" by a Capitol Police officer, whose name the department refuses to release. Myart said McKinney would seek a criminal investigation against the officer, and a civil lawsuit against both the officer and the Capitol Police is being explored. [more]

• Greg Palast: The RE-LYNCHING CYNTHIA MCKINNEY [more]
  
• Televising the conspiracy against Cynthia McKinney [more]
• Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has a bill in the House Government Reform Committee to re-open the MLK assassination investigation [more]