Money May Not be Enough to Compensate Black College Student for Barbaric Beating by Racist Denver Police

From [HERE] DENVER -- 7NEWS has learned the city of Denver may settle with a Black man who is suing over police brutality. If the Denver City Council approves the settlement, the victim, Alexander Landau, could be awarded $795,000.

The original lawsuit accused the officers of stopping Landau, 19, after midnight on Jan. 15, 2009, for making an illegal turn, then calling him "nigger" and beating his face and head with their fists, a radio and a flashlight until he was unconscious.

Landau, a student at Community College of Denver, was treated at the hospital for a broken nose, brain bleeding, a concussion, a hemorrhage in his right eye and head lacerations that required several dozen stitches.

The conflict erupted when Officer Nixon moved to search the trunk.  Landau asked if police had a search warrant as he "stepped toward the officers with his hands deferentially raised in the air, showing that he was not a threat. Murr grabbed Landau's left arm and Middleton clasped his right arm, the lawsuit said. "Nixon then punched the restrained (man) in the face" and Landau fell to the ground.

To provide cover for the "unprovoked attack," the lawsuit claimed, Murr falsely yelled: "He's going for the gun." Landau shouted, "No, I'm not!" the lawsuit said. The cops began pummeling Landau first with their fists, then with a police radio and a metal flashlight. Additional officers arrived from the police station a few blocks away joined in the fracas, others stood and watched. 

In police reports, the three officers said they were unable to subdue the 5-foot-8-inch, 155-pound teenager. At one point, the lawsuit said, Murr put his revolver to Landau's head and threatened to shoot him. Landau lost consciousness and awoke lying in a pool of his own blood, the lawsuit said. "Where's that warrant now, you f------- n-----?" a male officer asked, according to the lawsuit.

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Son of Black Man Shot to Death & Burned by New Orleans Police files $2 Million Lawsuit

The three men and Glover drove to a school that had been turned into a makeshift police station. Inside, the stranger and Glover's friends asked police officers to help them treat Glover, who was bleeding but alive in the back seat of the Chevy Malibu. "Instead of offering assistance, Jeff Winn and Greg McRae of the NOPD handcuffed [the men] and beat them. Winn instructed McRae to drive the seriously wounded Mr. Glover to a secluded spot on the Algiers levee. Dwayne Scheurmann was instructed to follow McRae in another vehicle.

"[The] Malibu, with Henry Glover still in the back seat, was intentionally set on fire by McRae with the possible assistance of Scheurmann, causing his body to be burned beyond recognition and leaving DNA as the only method of identification of the remains," according to the complaint.

"Following the shooting and burning of Mr. Glover, the beating of his attempted rescuers, and the theft and burning of [the Chevy Malibu], various members of the NOPD, including but not limited to David Warren, Jeff Winn, Greg McRae, Travis McCabe, Dwayne Scheurmann, Robert Italiano, Jeffrey Sandoz, Ronald Ruiz, and Joseph Meisch, conspired to cover up the illegal actions of the various members of the NOPD, to contribute to the filing, with the assistance of other NOPD personnel, of an intentionally false and misleading police report about the incidents of September 2, 2005, and thereafter, and then proceeded to lie about the events and intentionally obstruct the federal investigation of the events thereafter."

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Derby (KS) Police Officer Breaks Unarmed Latino Teenagers Arm & Tasers him

From [HERE] Derby police are investigating whether a school resource officer used excessive force in breaking a student's arm and giving him a black eye. While some claim the officer went too far, the department says it's still too early to tell.

"He just grabbed me and tried to throw me on the ground," said Jonathan Villarreao. 17-year-old Villarreao claims he was thrown to the ground Wednesday. This, after his SRO at Derby High School asked him to pull up his pants because they were sagging, and he said 'no.' Then what began as a verbal dispute turned physical, when police say Villarreao refused to comply.

"[He] used a number of different profanities towards the officers. The SRO was was attempting to escort him back to the office of the school when he refused to go," said Derby Police Chief Robert Lee. But police are still investigating exactly what happened to spur the officer to shoot his taser, then use enough force to break Villarreao's arm and give him a black eye.

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Seattle Considers Police Body Camera Option

From [HERE] Police departments around the Puget Sound have started using body–mounted cameras. In Lake Forest Park, Orting and on Bainbridge Island officers can now record video as evidence with small cameras clipped to their chests or ears.

Seattle's police department is still considering whether to arm the city's officers with body cameras. As KUOW's Hansi Lo Wang reports, there are unanswered questions about the technology's effectiveness and the privacy of citizens captured on video.

Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell proposed the idea to use body cameras last July. Speaking with KUOW's Steve Scher on Wednesday, he said police depart

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Tallahassee Police Taser Black Man to Death - Eyewitnesses say Officers Used Excessive Force

Can anybody show me where the penalty for resisting arrest is DEATH? [MORE] 

From [HERE]and [HERE] Preliminary autopsy results indicate that Kevin Darius Campbell — the man who died after police officers used a Taser to subdue him — did not suffer significant internal or external trauma that would explain his death, according to the Tallahassee Police Department. The officers involved with the incident were placed on administrative leave as a part of the department's policy.

Police say Campbell was arrested in an apartment that wasn’t his.  Earlier, a caller reported to police that a bald Black man was running up and down steps, in and out of his apartment and then into a woman’s apartment at 2315 Jackson Bluff Road.  Officers say they used a Taser during the struggle to take him into custody. Campbell was put in a police car, where officers say he became violent and was later removed. That’s when police say they called paramedics and he became unresponsive.

Some residents who witnessed the incident at the Hickory Hill apartments say officers used excessive force against Campbell after he was arrested.

"The most brutal part to me was the seeing them pull him out of the car by his leg and then letting his head hit the ground," said Lashae Short. "That was the most brutal thing I've seen, the hardest thing I've seen and to see a police officer was hard."

Some neighbors say they are rattled over the way they say officers treated the man and are now hesitant to call police. (Internal Affairs Department at 891-4321) [MORE] 

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Family Claims Camden (NJ) Police Beat Handcuffed Latino Man as he Choked to Death

From [HERE] and [HERE] Family members of a Pemberton Township man who died after swallowing a plastic bag of drugs during a Camden arrest have filed a lawsuit against the city's police department.

The suit, filed Friday, alleges Jorge Rivera died after the arresting officers took no action to dislodge the bag, and instead continued to beat the 32-year-old even after he was handcuffed. Rivera died from asphyxiation shortly after the April 22, 2009, incident in North Camden.

While the lawsuit acknowledges Rivera attempted to swallow a "small plastic bag" as officers approached him, it blames the officers for Rivera's death.

"The officers' intentional attack on Rivera and use of excessive force caused the plastic bag to become lodged in Rivera's throat, causing him to asphyxiate and die," the lawsuit states.

Witnesses at the scene said that police kicked and punched the man after he was handcuffed. Police said Rivera resisted arrest.

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New Brutality Suit Filed Against Houston Police: Unarmed Black Man Shot in the Neck after Traffic Stop

From [HERE] HOUSTON -- An unarmed Black man who was shot in the neck by a Houston police officer has become the latest person of color to allege police brutality in a lawsuit against the city of Houston.

Steven Guidry, 42, who lives on Houston's south side, was shot after an officer tried to pull him over for failing to use his signal before turning on Feb. 24, 2010, on Noel Street. At the time, Houston police said he was shot because the officer feared he was reaching into his coat, potentially going for a weapon.

In his lawsuit filed Tuesday in Houston Federal Court, Guidry points out that he was unarmed and no drugs were found in his car, and he claims his hands were clearly visible on his steering wheel when the officer drew his gun and then fired.

In his lawsuit on Guidry's behalf, Anderson writes, "There was no objectively reasonable basis for (the officer) to use deadly force against Plaintiff since Plaintiff was not attempting to escape and posed no significant threat of death or serious physical injury to (the officer) or anyone else.

The lawsuit alleges that "Defendant Green withdrew his weapon and placed his finger on the trigger before he made a conscious decision to shoot Plaintiff." Guidry spent 23 days in the hospital, was released with a walker in March 2010, but he returned to the hospital within the past week when his throat collapsed. His lawyer said he continues to have complications from the shooting.

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Black Man Accuses Warner Robins (GA) Police of Excessive Force in Rough Arrest for a Bad Check

From [HERE] and [HERE] A lawsuit has been filed in federal court against five Warner Robins police officers, their supervisor and the city of Warner Robins by a Fayetteville man who claims officers "used excessive force" and "viciously and unjustifiably beat" him during his arrest outside Famous Liquors on Davis Drive back in April of last year.

The lawsuit named Warner Robins police Officers Brandon Smith, Timothy Gray, Nicholas Taylor, Billy Styles, Bradley Triplett, their supervisor Lt. Donald Edwards and the city.

According to the lawsuit, Sims was cooperating with his arrest when he was assaulted by the officers after an "encounter" with Warner Robins police Sgt. Matt Moulton. He says the officers picked him up and threw him across the store. He also claims that after he was in handcuffs he was kicked and punched. 

The attorney representing Sims, Atlanta based Scott R. King, says that there is video surveillance footage of the incident that supports Sims claims. 

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San Juan County (NM) Deputy Fired for Incident Caught on Tape: Native American Man Viciously Beaten with Flashlight

From [HERE] AZTEC — The Sheriff's deputy who was caught on camera beating a man in the head multiple times with a Maglight flashlight was fired for violating the agency's use of force policy.

Dale Frazier, a nearly five-year veteran of the department, was captured on video [HERE] striking Donovan Tanner, 22, in the head and neck with his department-issued flashlight during a St. Patrick's Day incident. The deputy's dashcam video shows the officer forcefully hitting Tanner at least five times with his flashlight. Deputy Frazier later said that Tanner had grabbed his flashlight with the attempt to disarm him.

Asserting numerous civil rights violations motivated largely by race, Tanner filed a lawsuit contending that his rights were violated when he was unlawfully detained and arrested by Frazier. Sheriff Ken Christesen denies there exists any issues of racism among deputies at the Sheriff's Office.

Leonard Gorman, the executive director of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission, condemned the beating, calling it an example of the type of discrimination faced by American Indians in Farmington.

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No Criminal Charges Filed against Charlotte Police Officers who Beat Handcuffed, Wounded Black Man

From [HERE] and [HERE] CHARLOTTE, N.C. --After an internal investigation by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, no criminal charges will be filed against three officers in the arrest of Malcolm Springs. Witnesses say Springs, who shot and injured an officer, was beaten by police.

Police were chasing Springs because he was suspected in an armed robbery and attempted murder on West Trade Street. Police say Springs shot Officer Harrison in the leg and Harrison in return shot Springs in the torso.

Eight residents who witnessed Springs' capture told the Observer that officers went too far after handcuffing Springs. The witnesses said officers hit, kicked and stomped Springs as he lay near the sidewalk. The witnesses said they didn't see Springs - who is thin and about 6 feet tall - resisting officers. [MORE] 

"They were beating him," said Wade Miller, who said he watched from his front door, about 20 feet away. "He was handcuffed. I didn't see the man moving."

Another witness said,  "the gun was nowhere. He was lying in a ditch. Three cops were beating the crap out of him for five to seven minutes, even more,” said witness Sharon Allen. The FBI is also looking into Springs’ arrest to see if police actions violated Springs’ civil rights.

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