137 Shots: Neely Fuller Jr. Discusses the Cleveland Police Murder of Black Couple

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Gun Control? Cleveland Asks for Federal Review after Outlaw Cops Shoot Unarmed Black Couple 137 Times

Blame the Gun or White Supremacy? Racism White Supremacy is carried out through violence and/or deception.In wake of this shooting, Neely Fuller says You Should expect to be killed in the name of racism anytime, any place. You have been marked as an enemy because you are Black. Keep your protest signs because this will happen again. [mp3]  From [HERE] Last month, a police chase that started in East Cleveland when a cop said he heard a gunshot ended with cops in East Cleveland firing 137 shots into the car, killing the driver and a female passenger, both were Black people. No gun was found. Protests followed. Now, the city of Cleveland has requested a review of its policies in the wake of the shooting. 

After leading police on a 25-minute chase through city streets, Russell found himself surrounded in a dead-end in East Cleveland. Police have said that they opened fire when Russell tried to run one of them over. That version may eventually be tested in court, but what is undisputed is that 13 officers unloaded a total of 137 bullets into Russell’s 1979 Chevy Malibu, killing both him and Williams.

In an interview with The Daily Beast, Williams’s uncle, Walter Jackson, said that 24 bullets had been removed from her body and the damage to her face and torso was extensive. [MORE] 

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Macon Police Retract Statements after White Officer Shoots Unarmed Black Man to Death in Store

From [HERE] and [HERE] New facts have emerged on Thursday, December 27, which sheds a little more light on a Macon police officer who shot 49 year-old Sammie Davis, Jr. at a Kroger store located on Pio Nono Ave on December 21. The Black man was handcuffed before he was medically treated, even though police found no weapon on the scene, according to a Macon police report. Davis was unarmed and was shot three times in the chest. Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones ruled on Thursday, December 27 that Davis' death by a Macon Police Officer is a homicide.

Police originally said Officer Clayton Sutton was serving a warrant on Sammie "Junebug" Davis Jr., when a struggle ensued and multiple shots were fired. Davis' died shortly after the incident and his death has been ruled a homicide.

It was later discovered there was no warrant for Sammie Davis Jr., and police then released a statement saying Sutton was responding to a call for service. Davis had no criminal history, a clean crimnal record.

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West Warwick Police Grossly Negligent in Death of Black Man: No Reason for Stop, Arrest, Beating and Failed to Provide CPR - Awarded $1 Million

On the day he died, Jackson was visiting his mother and went to an adjacent liquor store parking lot to smoke a cigarette. That night, defendant Officers Sean Lukowicz and Patrick Kelley received a report of the liquor store’s sign being vandalized.

When the officers saw Jackson illuminated in their headlights, Lukowicz turned on his search light and directed it at Jackson. Jackson immediately turned 180 degrees to his left and started walking away. Both officers then exited their patrol cars and started walking toward Jackson.

When they observed Jackson walking away from them, the defendants ordered him to stop. Jackson responded with words to the effect of: “You’re not the boss of me. ” Kelley reached out to take hold of Jackson’s right arm, but before he could touch him, Jackson removed his right hand from his pocket and “swatted” or “flailed” at the officer.

The judge later found that “Jackson’s flail/swat was not made in a threatening manner and would not place a reasonable person in fear of imminent bodily harm. ”

Within seconds, Kelley made the decision to arrest Jackson for assault. After deciding to detain him, Kelley, with Lukowicz, immediately moved in and seized Jackson by his shoulders, attempting to put him to the ground using an arm-bar maneuver.

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DEA Refuses to Cooperate with so-called Investigation into Homicide of Latino Man Beaten to Death by Agents

From [HERE] In July 2010 Albert Arriaga was arrested in Los Angeles in a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency meth bust and handed over the Los Angeles Police Department. Then he died. A coroner subsequently found that his ribs had been broken in 21 places. Here’s how the Los Angeles Times describes Arriaga’s last hours:

The informant, wired with a hidden microphone, approached the suspects' car and received the drugs from Alberto Arriaga, who remained in the passenger seat throughout the exchange. Drug agents moved in and are believed to have pulled Arriaga from the car, laid him face down on the pavement and handcuffed him, according to the LAPD report.

Eventually, officers from the LAPD were called in to take Arriaga and the other suspect to a nearby station to be booked, the report said. A station supervisor asked the men if they had any medical issues. Arriaga complained of leg pain from a previous injury but mentioned nothing else, the report found. The men were then placed in a holding cell together.

Sometime later that night, after the booking process had been completed, detention officers tried to move Arriaga, 45, to another jail facility. He told the jailers he was having abdominal pain "and had been beaten up by the DEA agents who arrested him," the report said. Arriaga was taken by ambulance to Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital. There, according to coroner's records, he waited 16 hours without receiving medical attention despite his worsening condition and then died.

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Justice Dept. and Puerto Rico Agree to Overhaul the Island’s Troubled Police Force

From [HERE] The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the government of Puerto Rico agreed Friday to sweeping changes to the commonwealth’s large and troubled Police Department intended to help overcome a history of discrimination, violence and corruption.

In a 102-page consent decree filed to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit, Justice Department officials and the departing governor of Puerto Rico, Luis G. Fortuño, agreed to far-reaching changes in the way the 17,000-member force recruits, trains, promotes and oversees its officers. This includes strict new policies on the use of force, police interactions with gay and transgender Puerto Ricans, the department’s approach to domestic violence and its handling of civilian complaints. The agreement also reins in the department’s special tactical units, which have drawn much criticism over the years.

Both sides agreed to delay putting the changes in place for several months to give the administration of the incoming governor, Alejandro García Padilla, an opportunity to review and adopt it — or propose changes. The subject is also subject to judicial approval. The agreement follows a 116-page report the Civil Rights Division issued last year accusing the Police Department of systematically “using force, including deadly force, when no force or lesser force was called for,” unnecessarily injuring hundreds of people and killing “numerous others.”

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"Zapsters": Texas mall police use Mace on Air Jordan shoppers

From [HERE] Security officers at a Fort Worth mall used Mace to calm and disperse a crowd of hundreds who were waiting to buy Air Jordan sneakers after an off-duty officer was nearly trampled.

Fort Worth police spokesman Sgt. Pedro Criado told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram ( http://bit.ly/XZPjtt) that a crowd of more than 350 people at Hulen Mall wanted to buy a limited re-release of red-and-black Nike Air Jordan sneakers. He says the crowd pushed through barricades, knocking down an off-duty officer. Criado says the officer was nearly trampled and shot "a short burst" of Mace into the crowd.

Criado says the crowd quickly dispersed. No one was injured. The sneakers cost between $150 and $200. Many stores are using a voucher system to avoid crowd-control problems.

Jesse Jackson Demands Investigation in Custody Death: Chicago Police Kill Black Man who had Graduate Degree

The Powerless Class. The very existence of white supremacy automatically eliminates the possibility of any non-white person being so-called "upper class" or "middle class" in his or her relationship to any person, any place. Non-whites are certainly not "upper" or "middle" relative to white supremacists [MORE]  From [HERE] and [HERE] Philip Coleman had a “breakdown” that caused him to act erratically and prompted his arrest but he “didn’t deserve to die,” his older sister said Friday.

The 38-year-old Coleman, a businessman and University of Chicago graduate, died a day earlier after twice being Tasered by Chicago Police following his arrest for allegedly beating his mother. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and a Chicago family are calling for an independent investigation after he died in police custody last week. The group wants to know whether Chicago Police officers used excessive force in their arrest.

There are two very different versions of what happened to Coleman. Police say officers were forced to use a Taser in response to a combative, aggressive suspect.

Coleman's family says the victim was suffering from an extreme, severe mental breakdown at the time of the incident, and needed to be hospitalized, not taken to jail. Coleman was pronounced dead Thursday evening while in police custody after a series of violent episodes over the course of the prior day.

Coleman was first arrested Wednesday afternoon at his home in the West Pullman neighborhood for allegedly beating his 69-year old mother. As he was taken into custody, police say he became combative and even spat blood at officers. But family members deny he was actually coughing up blood due to injuries sustained during the fight. The day after his arrest, police say Coleman again became combative as they tried to transfer him to court from Area South Police Headquarters, prompting officers to use a Taser on him.

Police then transferred Coleman to the hospital where they say he once again became violent with both officers and hospital staff. That led to another shock with the Taser. Coleman died a short time later.

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LAPD Police Chief, 'A real Tragedy, but we didn't do anything wrong': Jury Does Not Believe Officers - $24 million to Latino boy Paralyzed in shooting

In photo, racist suspect, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. From [HERE] In what is likely a record judgment, a jury on Friday handed down a $24-million verdict against the  Los Angeles Police Department for the shooting of a 13-year-old boy who was playing with a replica gun. His injury left him paralyzed.

The case centered on a December 2010 encounter in which Officer Victor Abarca and his partner were on patrol in Glassell Park shortly before 8 p.m., according to police records.

The officers, who told investigators they were in search of graffiti and gang activity, came upon Rohayent Gomez and two of his friends on a street. Gomez's attorney, Renaldo Casillas, said the evidence and testimony from two eyewitnesses to the shooting "completely blew apart" Abarca's account.

Casillas said Gomez was playing "cops and robbers" in the street near his home with his friends. They each had airsoft pistols that fire small plastic pellets and are made to look like actual firearms.

The witnesses told jurors that the officers arrived and immediately drew their weapons, Casillas said. Gomez, who was hiding behind a parked van to reload his pellet gun, was unaware of the police, Casillas said, and was startled when Abarca came around the side of the van.

The witnesses said the officer gave one command ordering Gomez not to move and then fired a single shot at the boy as he took a step out of surprise, Casillas said. The eyewitness testified that the officer shot the teen seconds after the boy came out from behind the van. The boy was hit in the chest and is now paralyzed.

That account differs dramatically from the one Abarca gave investigators. Abarca said that in the darkness he was unaware he was confronting a teenager and claimed that the boy ignored repeated commands to come out from behind the van.

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Jury Finds Oklahoma County Jail Detention Officers Liable for Excessive Force Against Black Woman Beaten & Made to Crawl after DUI Arrest

From [HERE] A civil jury in Oklahoma County has awarded a former inmate $39,000 in actual damages after finding that jail detention officers used excessive force against the woman nearly 10 years ago.

Jurors returned verdicts Friday in favor of plaintiff Dionne A. McKinney on two excessive-force claims against Sheriff John Whetsel, including negligent infliction of excessive force, court documents show.

“We do find by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant, John Whetsel, in his individual capacity, acted in reckless disregard of the rights of others,” jurors answered on the verdict form.

McKinney alleged in court papers she was beaten without provocation by female officers in May 2003 while being booked into the Oklahoma County jail on a complaint of driving under the influence.

The woman's attorney, Aletia H. Timmons, told jurors her client was assaulted by several officers after she asked to use the restroom. 

Timmons said the officers slammed McKinney's head against a concrete wall and then threw her to the ground and kicked her. An unidentified officer, the attorney alleged, rubbed McKinney's genitals as she attempted to change out of a dress into orange coveralls.

McKinney, according to court papers, was placed in a holding cell and was taunted by officers. They ignored her requests for medical aid and made her crawl from her cell to a holding room on her hands and knees, the attorney said during the weeklong trial.

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