Judge says Shooting by Morgan County Sheriffs is Justified: Black Man Caught Selling Beer Shot 13 Times & Refused Medical Treatment

• 63 Year Old White wife called 'nigger lover' by Police and Dragged on the Ground 

A federal lawsuit that alleged Morgan County sheriff's deputies and other authorities used excessive force when they shot and killed suspected bootlegger James Hulett, 53 and abused his 63-year-old wife by forcing her to crawl on her belly while uttering a racial slur about her was dismissed by a federal judge today.  June Hulett, who is white, sought releif from a June 30, 2002 raid that killed her husband, who was black.  A forensic report stated that Hulett's body had 13 bullet holes. The Judge held that the suspect fired first after agents identified themselves. The judge began his written order by noting that June Hulett and her lawyer had presented no evidence beyond that provided by the defendants.  The case began with a recitation of James Hulett's criminal record. Normally such information would be inadmissable, but the defendants claimed that their knowledge of Hulett's record contributed to the amount of force they used during the raid. June Hulett said her husband fired at the officers because a year before, robbers had raided the home. Police records confirmed that fact. The law enforcement officers were not wearing uniforms. Three of 10 officers who were present, including England, entered the house through the front door, and three more came in through the side door. The judge said several entered while yelling "Police!", contradicting claims by June Hulett that the officers didn't identify themselves. The claim asserted that the pistol was fired after her husband had been shot several times and while he lay dying on the floor. Witnesses said the officers kept Hulett handcuffed and would not remove the cuffs for paramedics to properly treat him after he had been shot multiple times. A paramedic report stated that law enforcement officers refused to remove the handcuffs.  The court did not address this issue. Nor did the order mention race. In addition to Hulett's shooting, the lawsuit claimed that the officers abused his wife.  "They instructed Mrs. Hulett, who was sitting on the porch, to get down on her hands and knees but she was experiencing difficulties due to infirmities caused by her age of 63. One of the officers then called her a 'nigger-lover' and instructed her to get all the way down and to crawl on her belly," the lawsuit states.  "As she was crawling toward the steps, one of the officers grabbed her and dragged her down the steps onto the graveled yard. They handcuffed her and placed her near the van."   The Judge's order also did not address the alleged abuse. During the trial she said had no memory of what happened.  [more] and [more]

Chicago Officer testifies against ex-partner in case of Police Beating of Black Man at Housing Project

As he sat in the witness box Tuesday, Chicago Police officer Joseph Groh took the witness stand to testify against his former partner, Chicago Police officer Bryan Vander Mey. Groh testified that it "appeared" to be Vander Mey caught on home video kicking and punching of Rondell Freeman (29) April 17, 2003, outside the Cabrini-Green public housing complex. But Groh, who was also present during the arrest, said he couldn't be "100 percent" certain. Vander Mey sat still during Groh's testimony, never looking directly at his former partner. Vander Mey, who is suspended without pay, is charged with multiple counts each of official misconduct and battery in the beating of Freeman. In exchange for his testimony, Groh was granted immunity from prosecution. On the stand Tuesday, Groh admitted that he also had kicked at Freeman during the arrest. Under defense cross-examination, Groh described a scene of "total chaos" in which police surrounded a van containing Freeman and three other men. Police had an arrest warrant for one of Freeman's passengers. As officers tried to talk the men out of the van, a swarm of people surrounded them, yelling profanities and tossing objects, Groh testified. "I was in fear [for] my life," Groh said. "I'm sure other officers were, too." Groh testified he didn't witness Vander Mey punching or kicking Freeman, but only came to that conclusion after viewing the video multiple times. As defense attorneys played the video in court, Groh repeatedly said the quality was too bad to recognize officers' faces. Groh said he recognized Vander Mey by his "body shape" and by how close Vander Mey was to Groh. The trial is set to resume April 10. [more] and [more] and [more]

Beating victim can't ID which Officer Attacked him
A man who was allegedly beaten in 2003 by a Chicago police officer after holing up inside his van near the Cabrini-Green public housing complex told a judge Monday that he could not identify any of the officers involved. On the stand, Freeman said that before the incident he had attended his grandmother's funeral and had been at a family gathering when he and three friends got into the van. While Freeman was in the driver's seat near Cabrini-Green, a police officer allegedly came up to him, ordered him to get out of the van and slapped him when he refused. Freeman said he tried to drive off but was surrounded by more officers, who ordered him out of the van. He said a sergeant tried to get him to leave the van. "The sergeant told me to get out. I told the sergeant the officer swung and struck me," Freeman said. Freeman, who has since filed a lawsuit against the city and the Police Department, said police eventually broke the windows of his van, sprayed him with Mace and, when he walked out of the van, threw him to the ground. He denied that he tried to hit any of the officers. "I was thrown to the ground face first. I was laying flat on the ground. I was being sprayed with Mace and punched on my back. I was hollering `I can't breathe' ... a lot of times," Freeman said. [more]

• SEE Video [here]
  
• The Racial Politics of Policing in Chicago [more]
  
• Cabrini Residents: Police 'Brutalized' Two Women [more]
• Police Investigate themselves say Excessive Force was used [more]
• 100 Cabrini Residents Clash With Police [more]
  

Relatives demand answers in New Jersey Park Police Shooting of Native American Man

Anger over the police shooting of Emil Mann deep in the woods of northern New Jersey escalated yesterday as relatives and fellow Ramapough Indians kept pressing authorities to explain why a weekend cookout ended with gunfire. The 41-year-old Blooming Grove man remained in critical condition at Hackensack University Medical Center. Prosecutors say Otis Mann, 42, who lives in Blooming Grove, scuffled with a state park police officer, took her baton, then used it to menace her and another park police officer.The exact progression of events that resulted in the shooting is unclear. But witnesses to the incident say Otis Mann grabbed Gottheiner's baton after she slapped his 14-year-old daughter following an argument at the cookout site, according to a report yesterday The Record of Hackensack. Emil Mann is reported to have tried to break up the ensuing altercation, The Record also said. Emil Mann is not reported to have been armed. The Ramapough Mountain Indians trace their roots to the Lenape Nation. [more] and [more]

Handcuffed Iranian Man Beat Down by Sacramento County Sheriffs Files Lawsuit

Iranian Man says Excessive Force is the Official Policy of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Dept.
The question of whether the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department sanctions excessive force as an unwritten policy at the downtown jail should be decided at a trial, U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton has ruled in a civil rights lawsuit. Sheriff Lou Blanas, in his response to the suit, vehemently denies that there is such an unwritten policy and asserts that there is a written policy governing the use of force at the jail. Jafar Afshar, a 40-year-old native of Iran and a naturalized U.S. citizen, filed suit two years ago alleging that use of excessive force was routine by jail deputies after he suffered a massive cut on his head and a concussion while being booked. Noting that Blanas, the Sheriff's Department and the county "dispute the existence of an informal policy condoning the use of excessive force on jail inmates," Karlton ruled Monday that the issue "requires a jury or judge to resolve the parties' differing versions of the truth at trial." The judge threw out part of the suit against Blanas, saying the U.S. Constitution bars federal actions for damages against state officers in their official capacities. As the sheriff in charge of the jail, Blanas is a state official. But Karlton refused to let Blanas out of the suit for his individual role as a supervisor in the Sheriff's Department. If the allegations of excessive force by Afshar are found to be true, the judge wrote in a 13-page order, "Blanas could be held liable in his individual capacity for his action or inaction in the training, supervision, or control of his subordinates." "The law at the time of the alleged incident was well established that condoning a policy of excessive force constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, and a reasonable supervisor would have known that this sort of policy or practice was illegal," Karlton wrote. A trial date will now be set, unless the parties settle. Afshar was arrested by Sacramento police officers early June 7, 2003. He was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, and a pot pipe and less than an ounce of marijuana were found on him, according to Karlton's order. A jail surveillance video of Afshar being patted down during the booking process "shows an officer pulling (him) back and pushing him to the floor in a violent manner," according to Karlton's order. Afshar is then taken away "and a large pool of blood remains on the floor in the area where (he) fell to the ground." [more] and [more]

Phoenix Police Officer Shoots Unarmed 19-year-old Latino Man in the Face

Police are investigating an incident in which a Phoenix police officer shot a 19-year-old suspect in the face during a traffic stop. Officer Mykal Moller fired a single shot in defense after watching the suspect, Pineda Santana, reach for a what was believed to be a gun in the front passenger seat of a Volkswagen Rabbit at 1:15 a.m. today near 27th Avenue and Van Buren Street, police said. Moller and another officer tried to pull over the Rabbit after watching it driving erratically on 27th Avenue.  After the officers got out of their squad car, the Rabbit drove away suddenly. The officers returned to their car and went in pursuit and the suspects' vehicle stopped again, moments later. Moller "feared for his life," after watching Santana reach for what he believed to be a handgun, police said.  Investigators searched the Rabbit, but did not find a gun.  Santana, the registered owner of the vehicle, was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital in serious condition.  Santana was one of six passengers in the vehicle, including four minors.  After the shot was fired, the Rabbit crashed into the wall at El Taquito restaurant at 2720 W. Van Buren Street. [more]

Puerto Rico files Lawsuits Against the FBI for Killing Filiberto Ojeda Ríos

• House panel hears about FBI agents' assault on reporters [more]
  

Puerto Rico is suing the FBI following the fatal shooting of a nationalist wanted in a 1983 Hartford armored car heist and a separate incident in which agents used mace against journalists. Two lawsuits were filed against the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department last week, and a congressional inquiry was held on Tuesday. It is believed to be the first time a U.S. territory - or state - has sued the federal law enforcement branches. One lawsuit stems from a September standoff in which Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, the 72-year-old leader of Los Macheteros, an armed movement that sought independence for the island, was shot by agents and bled to death. The other follows an incident last month in which FBI agents were accused of using excessive force against journalists covering a raid on a residence targeted in what the FBI called an anti-terrorism initiative. Both suits seek to force the federal government to release evidence, including the names of agents involved. U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Michigan, the ranking Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee, called for a congressional briefing at the request of the Puerto Rico government. In a letter to the committee, Puerto Rico's Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá said the federal government's refusal to provide all information related to the incidents "is an example of an unfortunate breakdown in the relationship of coordination and support that should exist between local and federal authorities." Named in the lawsuits are FBI Director Robert Mueller III, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and island department directors. [more] and [more]

• Pictured above: Ojeda, who was armed, was shot once in a Sept. 23 standoff with dozens of agents. The shooting took place on the 137th anniversary of the island's uprising against Spain. Ojeda had been a fugitive for his role in the $7.1 million Wells Fargo heist, in which the thieves drugged guards with sedatives. [more]
• FBI Assassinates Puerto Rican Nationalist Leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios [more]

Protests in Puerto Rico mount against FBI Over Tactics

The FBI is under attack in Puerto Rico for operations that critics say unfairly target pro-independence activists.
Students masqueraded as rifle-toting federal agents, while others donned T-shirts with the face of a man they called Puerto Rico's ``liberator.'' Near the angry shouts and political placards stood Elma Beatriz Rosado with a calm explanation for it all: ``I want the FBI out of Puerto Rico. The time has come for them to leave, now.'' Rosado's husband -- convicted bank robber, fugitive and pro-independence activist Filiberto Ojeda Ríos -- was killed in an FBI shootout in September. In the months since, the FBI has catapulted onto the front pages here, accused of deliberately letting the founder of the radical Macheteros group bleed to death as well as stonewalling follow-up investigations. Last month, federal agents executing search warrants on the homes of independentistas were captured on video pepper-spraying journalists covering the story, with seemingly little or no provocation, further fueling anti-FBI sentiment. ''People are very offended with what the FBI did,'' Puerto Rico Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá told The Miami Herald. ''We have to recognize they have No. 1, made mistakes in those cases, and No. 2, they have not been open and communicative with the people of Puerto Rico to understand what happened'' in both incidents. Now protests demanding the FBI's ouster are growing not just in frequency but also in participation. Thousands of Puerto Rican students, union activists, environmentalists and other sympathizers of liberal causes are joining the independentistas to rally against the FBI's presence on the island. [more]

• Pictured above: Puerto Rico's police officers try to stop pro-independence activists from entering the Capitol building in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, March 29, 2006. Pro-independence protesters stormed the statehouse, breaking tables, a door, windows and the glass that protects the U.S. territory's Constitution before Puerto Rican lawmakers intended to pay a tribute to Cuban dissident Julio Labatut for what they said was his charitable works and entrepreneurship. Angered protesters allege that he was involved in the unsolved killing of independence activist Carlos Muniz Varela in 1979. [more]
  
• Puerto Rico questions US ties [more]

Leniency Request Is Denied for NYPD Officer in Louima Case - Black Man Beaten & Sodomized with Broom Stick in Precinct Bathroom

Nearly a decade after the station house attack on Abner Louima, an act of police brutality that had epic consequences for the city and its police force, a federal judge told a former police officer yesterday that his perjury had prevented a full accounting of the crime. The judge, Reena Raggi, who handled parts of the case in Federal District Court in Brooklyn before her appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, rejected a request for leniency and reinstated a five-year prison sentence for the former officer, Charles Schwarz. "This is, and was, a very, very serious crime, the first link in a chain that caused tremendous, tremendous problems for this city," Judge Raggi said. Mr. Louima was sodomized with a broomstick in a bathroom of the 70th Precinct station house in Brooklyn in August 1997. Judge Raggi said that Mr. Schwarz had failed to accept responsibility for lying to protect other officers, including Justin A. Volpe, who attacked Mr. Louima. She said there was another officer in the bathoom, and that "it was either you, which I think is highly probable — in fact I think it's more than highly probable — or it was someone else."  Four days after the attack, Mr. Schwarz and Mr. Volpe were charged with assault and sexual abuse. Mr. Volpe, who has told federal officials that Mr. Schwarz was not in the bathroom, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Prosecutions of other officers have ended in acquittals and overturned verdicts. Convicted of perjury for testifying that he did not lead Mr. Louima to the bathroom, Mr. Schwarz agreed, before Judge Raggi in 2002, to a five-year prison term.  [more]

• Legal Documents: Abner Louima Case Indictment [more]and[more]
• Pictured: (above) Demonstrators rally at City Hall after marching over the Brooklyn Bridge to protest the alleged police torture of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima, Aug. 29, 1997, in New York. The march was dubbed "Day of Outrage Against Police Brutality and Harassment." [more] and (top) Abner Louima with his attorney Johnny Cochran.
  

NAACP Probes Black Man's Death in Custody of Myrtle Beach Police

Local NAACP officials are investigating circumstances surrounding a man's death while in the custody of Myrtle Beach Police. Mickey James, president of the Myrtle Beach branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said today ``There are many questions to be answered involving the mysterious death of this man while he was in the custody of Myrtle Beach police.'' State Law Enforcement Division agents and Myrtle Beach police began separate investigations Wednesday after Michael Lee George died at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center. SLED was contacted because George was in the custody of Myrtle Beach Police at the time. George, 22, was arrested Friday on charges related to drug possession. After he was jailed he complained he was ill and was taken to the hospital where he remained until he died, police said. Police Chief Warren Gall said and internal investigation will determine whether jail staff members followed department policy. Myrtle Beach city jail has no medical team on staff. The jail calls emergency medical service when someone becomes ill, according to Gall. 'It is the responsibility of law enforcement agencies to protect people from hurt, harm and danger, while they are in the custody of police.'' James sad the NAACP hopes to complete its probe within about 30 days.[more] and [more] and [more]

Prichard Police Officer to Face Criminal Charges for using Excessive Force: Black Man's Skull Fractured

A former Prichard police officer faces up to a half-century in prison and a $750,000 fine on federal charges that he used excessive force and then lied in police reports when justifying his actions. The federal grand jury in Mobile indicted Jason Hardy Hunt on Friday for his actions on March 22, 2005. Hunt was fired by the Prichard Police Department after the incident, although the Mobile County Personnel Board suggested a 30-day suspension without pay. Hunt appealed, but later withdrew the filing. Hunt is accused of using unreasonable force when apprehending James Woodard outside the Pride Stop and Save convenience store at 200 Meaher Ave. Woodard was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Those charges are still pending. While being arrested, Woodard began yelling at police for searching and handcuffing him outside the store, authorities have said. During the shouting, Hunt grabbed Woodard and threw him to the ground, fracturing Woodard's skull, authorities have said. An internal police review board found Hunt guilty of using excessive force and for conduct unbecoming a police officer. When Hunt filed his incident report, he falsely stated that "when I got between 2 to 3 feet to him, he grabbed me and tried to slam me, but I was strong enough to get my hands free around his and take him to the ground," according to the indictment. Later, when filing a criminal complaint in order to receive an arrest warrant, he made another false entry, saying that Woodard grabbed at his lower waist near his firearm, according to the indictment. Woodard, meanwhile, filed a $25 million lawsuit against the city in April 2005. Wesley Pitters, Woodard's lawyer, said he is in talks with the city of Prichard regarding a settlement to the civil lawsuit. The Friday indictment will help his case, he said. [more]

• Prichard resident alleges retaliation after filing lawsuit [more]
  
• Officer fired in Prichard for alleged police brutality [more]