Family Sues City of Portland and Police -- Unarmed Black Man Shot Dead

The family of an unarmed black motorist who was shot and killed by police has filed a $10 million lawsuit against the city of Portland and two of its officers. Spokesman for both the city and the police said that they hadn't seen the lawsuit filed Monday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, and so couldn't offer substantive comment. Elden Rosenthal, who is representing the family of James Jahar Perez, said the lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court Monday isn't about money. "There are bigger issues here," Rosenthal said. "The question of whether there will be change or not. We are still in the same situation we were in in March after two African American motorists had been shot and killed." [more]

Witnesses Contradict Police Story: No Officer said "Gun"- No Objects were Seen

LAPD MIller Beating-
Two women who say they witnessed the beating of alleged car thief Stanley Miller report that none of the police involved called out a warning that Miller had a gun, contradicting the account five officers gave to justify striking and kicking the prone suspect during his arrest. Los Angeles Police Officer John J. Hatfield, who is shown on TV news videos striking Miller repeatedly with a flashlight, said he heard Officer David Hale yell that the suspect had a gun, according to sources familiar with the investigation. Hale, 31, said he shouted the warning after he felt a bulky object in Miller's pocket, the sources said. But one of the women, who said she watched the arrest through a bedroom window about 20 feet away, added: "They didn't say anything about a gun. I promise you, they didn't say anything like that." [more]

LAPD Beating Report Almost Done

The inspector general of the Los Angeles Police Department vowed Saturday that a thorough investigation will soon be completed of the televised beating of an alleged car thief by officers. "We have a staff of 28 and we're working diligently on it and I'm confident that we'll be able to produce the insight and analysis that the public wants," said Andre Birotte Jr., the LAPD's inspector general. Birotte was speaking to a crowd of about 30 at the weekly Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable in Leimert Park. He is charged with determining whether Officer John J. Hatfield was justified when he repeatedly hit Stanley Miller with a flashlight in Compton on June 23 following a police pursuit. Birotte declined to offer details of his findings. Some in the audience didn't see much reason to further investigate the incident since it was captured on videotape. Others wondered aloud why an officer would act so brazenly when there were clearly members of the press watching.  [more]

Oakland Officers walk out of Citizens review Hearing

Four Oakland police officers accused of improperly arresting and beating a West Oakland man walked out of a Citizens Police Review Board hearing.But the eight-member board continued the Thursday evening hearing without their participation and sustained four of the 25 allegations lodged against Officers Steve Chavez, Jeffrey Tom, Michael Shinn and Michael Osanna. According to the board, Chavez arrested Ronald Muhammed without having a reasonable suspicion that a crime had been committed. On the afternoon of July 28, 2003, Muhammed was walking on Wood Street near 10th Street shaking his cell phone and trying to get a signal. Chavez, while still in his patrol car, asked Muhammed whether he was on probation or parole and requested his identification. When Muhammed did not comply, Chavez got out of the patrol vehicle and attempted to arrest Muhammed. A struggle ensued, and other officers were called to the scene to help restrain Muhammed, who was arrested and jailed. [more]

Houston-- 1 in 3 police shootings involve unarmed people

Law enforcement officers in Harris County have shot 65 unarmed people since 1999, killing 17. These incidents represent more than a third of all local police shootings, but experts call them the most preventable. After two unarmed teenagers were shot and killed in separate incidents last year, the Houston Chronicle analyzed 189 shootings by officers from 18 local law enforcement agencies in the past 5 1/2 years. Nearly once a month, on average, police shot someone who had no weapon. [more]

Seven Black men say police harassed them at restaurant

Seven black men who were detained as they left a restaurant have sued police and the restaurant chain, saying they were the victims of discrimination and unlawful detention. The men met at a Golden Corral on July 13, 2003. Restaurant manager Mary Christian called police to report a robbery in progress, and said a group of suspicious black men was in the restaurant, the lawsuit said. Police waited outside the restaurant for customers to leave. When the plaintiffs left, they were orderd to kneel on the ground as officers aimed guns at their head, took their cell phones, searched them and verbally abused them, the complaint said. Later, police realized the men had done nothing wrong and released them, but refused to give the men their names and badge numbers, the lawsuit said. The group's lawyer, Ronnie Mitchell said the men were singled out by restaurant employees and police because they are black. White customers were asked for identification and allowed to leave, he said. [more]

Probe of Jones killing by Police heads to council

The city of Cincinnati's civilian board that reviews the actions of local police has completed its probe into the death of Nathaniel "Skip" Jones, who died last fall during a scuffle with officers. The Citizen Complaint Authority will release the report publicly and discuss its findings during an Aug. 2 meeting at City Hall. Jones, a 41-year-old black man, died Nov. 30 during a struggle with police officers outside a White Castle restaurant in North Avondale. The incident began when Cincinnati firefighters responded to a call about a man unconscious at the restaurant. The crew arrived to find that Jones had reawakened and acting erratically. When officers approached the 350-pound Jones, he became agitated, and lunged and punched at them. The situation escalated, and videotape shows police struck Jones with nightsticks for almost three minutes until he was handcuffed. [more]

• In November the Cincinnati Police fatal beating of Nathaniel Jones was captured on video tape. NO officers were charged in the beating. Nathaniel Jones pictured above. [more]

Lawyer: Police Beat and Tortured White man for 2 hours: Caught on Audiotape

Lawyers for Lester Siler said that Police tortured him for over two hours. When officers arrived, he was standing outside," lawyer Mike Farley explains. "He was brought inside, handcuffed, and set down at the kitchen table. He never attempted to flee." "The officers then asked Mr. Siler to sign a consent to search form, waiving his constitutional rights to not search his home, when Siler refused to let officers search his home, the five men beat him for nearly two hours.  "The beating lasted almost two hours, with the officers striking Mr. Siler numerous times about his face and body, and contained other forms of torture which we are not at liberty to disclose at this time," the statement said. At least part of  the incident was caught on audiotape on a machine at Siler's home. Circumstances of the arrest being probed by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation include allegations that electrical clamps were present and Siler was threatened with being shocked.  [more] and [more]

• Photographer claims evidence of Campbell Co. deputy abuse [more]

Excessive Force: Hispanic family files federal lawsuit against Austin Police

The Austin Police Department, the city of Austin and several police officers are the target of a federal lawsuit. The Villegas family said they were terrorized by police one night last October. They said they woke up when they heard gunshots and 20 minutes later, they said almost 15 Austin police officers showed up yelling and demanding the family come outside. Most of the family only spoke Spanish and could not understand the officers' English. The family said police aimed guns at them, handcuffed them and forced them to get on the ground. The Villegas family said police entered their home without a warrant looking for a gun. They also said no one ever reported gunshots coming from their home and police never found a gun.  [more]

DNA tests spur harassment suit: claim filed against Charlottesville Detective

'Because the suspect is Black, every Black Man is a suspect'--
A man who says he was harassed during the search for the serial rapist is seeking $15,000 from a city police detective. Lawyer Deborah C. Wyatt filed the claim Tuesday in city General District Court against Detective James Mooney, one of the investigators looking for the man responsible for six rapes in the area since 1997. Wyatt said Monroe "wasn't even in the range" of the serial rapist's description. The rapist has been described as a black man who is roughly 6 feet tall with an athletic build. Monroe is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs about 300 pounds.  Monroe maintains that police showed up at his home and work in April, told him his name was on a list and said they needed to take a DNA sample, Wyatt said. They took swab of Monroe's saliva, she said.  [more] and [more] and [more]

• Charlottesville police have asked over 200 black men to submit to cheek swabs as part of the search for a rapist who has attacked at least six women since 1997 [more]
• ACLU of Virginia Asks Charlottesville Police to Halt DNA Collection from African-American Males [more]