Family of 8-year-old Latino Boy Killed in Police Car Chase to Receive $1.25 Million

The city of Tucson has quietly agreed to pay $1.25 million to the family of an 8-year-old boy who died after a traffic crash that occurred when a police officer ran a red light. A Tucson Police Department inquiry found the officer ran the light while on an emergency call and collided with a small SUV, fatally injuring Jordan Horn Rodriguez in 2003. On a motion by Councilwoman Carol West, the council Tuesday voted in public to have its attorney "proceed as discussed" earlier that day in a closed-door executive session on the lawsuit. The council did not disclose that a settlement had been reached, much less the payment amount. West confirmed the settlement amount when contacted by a reporter Saturday. The motion passed unanimously, with Councilman Fred Ronstadt away on city business. The payment exceeds a $1 million settlement paid in 2001 to a man shot by police, which at that time was the largest single claim paid by the city since it became self-insured in 1986. Officer Justin Lane, who was a three-year Tucson police officer at the time of the traffic wreck, served a 40-hour disciplinary suspension last year after police determined he should have used greater care and slowed appropriately as he drove south on North Oracle Road near West Glenn Street on Nov. 29, 2003. Attorneys Richard Grand and Michael Meehan filed the lawsuit last year against the city on behalf of the boy's parents, Shannon Horn and Luis Rodriguez, and his sister, Tiffany Rodriguez, who were with him in the Geo Tracker when the collision occurred. Meehan, reached Saturday, said the family is relieved that that the matter is concluded. [more]

3 of 10 Milwaukee Police Officers Turn Themselves In Frank Jude Brutal Beating - Race at Issue

Three Milwaukee police officers were criminally charged Monday with the severe beating of Frank Jude Jr. outside a party in Bay View last October. Jon Bartlett was charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety and substantial battery. Andrew Spengler was charged with substantial battery and Daniel Masarik was charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety and perjury. All three men turned themselves in Monday afternoon and are all out of jail on a signature bond.  According to the criminal charges, Jude and three other people were at a house party in Bay View at a police officer's house when Jude was accused of taking a police badge and wallet. Witnesses said when the group tried to leave, up to 10 off-duty officers surrounded the car and pulled Jude out. The witnesses said the men searched Jude and when they didn't find the wallet, they started beating him. According to one of the first on-duty police officers to arrive at the scene, she "... saw defendant Bartlett put a knife to Jude's neck and say, 'Where's the -- badge? I'm going to kill you if you don't give it up.'" She said she heard someone handcuff Jude and then saw Bartlett "...get up and begin kicking Jude in the head." McCann said depending on how much more cooperation they get, and how bad Jude's injuries end up being, there could be more charges.  McCann has been criticized heavily the last few weeks by some who say that he was dragging his feet on this case. He said, considering the lack of cooperation he got from some of the off-duty officers at the party, he did the best he could. But there are still more people he would like to interview. Milwaukee Police Chief Nannette Hegerty released a statement that said the department will continue with its internal investigation into the event that took place.  All three officers are scheduled to be back in court for preliminary hearings March 16. A fourth officer was suspended after the beating, but he was not charged. [more]

• Pictured above: Frank Jude before and after Racist cops beat him down.
  

WEAK Prosecutor TIMID About Using Hate Crime Law
In explaining his choice not to pursue Hate Crimes claims against police, Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann said the hate-crime law applies only when perpetrators target their victims specifically because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic background or some other trait. "To anyone who reviews the whole police file, it is very clear these victims were selected because they were suspected in stealing a (police officer's) badge," McCann said. "If they had been white, black or red - if there had been two white men involved - the same thing would have happened." Jude denies taking a badge, and none was found on him. The criminal complaint charging police officers Jon Bartlett, Andrew Spengler and Daniel Masarik says Spengler, who was hosting a party at his Bay View home, suspected Jude of taking his badge, and that Jude shortly thereafter was pulled from a pickup truck, savagely beaten and stripped. The complaint cites accounts of 12 witnesses, but none mentions racial taunting or slurs.   To McCann, the motive seems plausible enough to undercut the idea that Jude was beaten for being black. "You don't use the enhancer just because the person who committed the crime has demonstrated they can be a bigot," said Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard, who has used the statute several times. "Any time a prosecutor includes a charge or an enhancer that you cannot prove very well, the jury starts to wonder, 'If the state will make that weak an argument on that point, does that mean everything they present is weak?' "Wisconsin's hate-crimes law, which has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, can add up to five years to the prison sentence imposed for a felony, one or two year to misdemeanors, and upgrades some misdemeanor offenses to felonies. [more]

• Milwaukee beating victim troubled by nightmares [more]
• Jude case sheds light on Griffin beating [more]
• Pictured above: Milwaukee Officers: Jon Bartlett, Andrew Spengler and Daniel Masarik

2 officers faced other complaints; Questions about use of force prior to Jude case include fatal shooting of black man

Jon M. Bartlett, the police officer accused of terrorizing Frank Jude Jr. with a knife and kicking him so hard in the head that bones crackled, was accused of using excessive force three times against other black men - one of them fatally - in five years with the Milwaukee Police Department. Officer Daniel L. Masarik, who is charged with kicking Jude repeatedly in the groin and head, used a Taser stun gun on six suspects in 11 weeks last year. One of those suspects accused Masarik of saying he "enjoyed" beating up the suspect's brother. Bartlett, Masarik and a third officer, Andrew R. Spengler, were charged last week in the attack on Jude. The criminal complaint says Jude's pants were cut off, his fingers were pulled back, a pen was jammed in both ears, a gun was put to his head and a knife to his throat as he lay facedown in a Bay View street on Oct. 24. Jude, who is black, said racial slurs were used repeatedly by the white men. Bartlett, Masarik and Spengler respectively face up to 22 1/2 , 19 1/2 and 3 1/2 years in prison if convicted. District Attorney E. Michael McCann said 10 off-duty officers were at the scene and more people could be charged. Witnesses said a dozen men who identified themselves as off-duty officers beat Jude.

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Undisclosed Settlement Reached for 14 Year Old Disabled Black boy beaten by Inglewood Police on Video Tape

The family of a 16-year-old boy who was videotaped being beaten by police officers - a scandal which shocked the world - has agreed to settle a federal civil rights case for an undisclosed sum, a lawyer for Inglewood city said yesterday. In the bystander's video the handcuffed Donovan Jackson, who is black, is seen being punched in the head by a white officer. He is then slammed into a patrol car. The incident in 2002 was resonant of the Rodney King beating by Los Angeles police officers 14 years ago. The city and Los Angeles county did not admit any wrongdoing in the tentative agreement, Albert DeBlanc said. The family's lawyer could not be reached for comment yesterday. Donovan, who suffers from hearing, speech and learning difficulties, was returning to his car after paying for petrol when the officers told him to drop the crisps he was eating and put his hands on the car. A young white DJ staying at a hotel nearby heard the commotion and ran outside to record the beating. It was broadcast around the world. The officer, Jeremy Morse said he had reacted forcefully after Jackson grabbed his testicles during an arrest at a petrol station. The videotape did not show whether any grabbing occurred. Mr Morse was sacked and his one-time partner Bijan Darvish was suspended for 10 days for filing a report which allegedly failed to mention Mr Morse's conduct. A judge dismissed a criminal charge of assault against Mr Morse after two juries failed to reach a verdict. In January a jury awarded $1.6m to Mr Morse and $811,000 to Mr Darvish, who sued Inglewood for discrimination, arguing that a black officer who allegedly hit Jackson with a flashlight received a lesser punishment. [more]

3 of 10 Milwaukee Police Officers charged in Brutal Beating Of Black Man but questions remain

Three Milwaukee police officers were charged with felonies Monday in the savage October beating outside a party in Bay View, Wis., that left some worried a code of silence might thwart justice. The community reacted with some relief but also surprise that more off-duty officers from the party were not charged and that hate crimes were not among the offenses. The district attorney himself said he was not satisfied fully and vowed the investigation may add more defendants to the case. The criminal complaint alleges disturbing new details about what Frank Jude Jr. endured on a street in Bay View: A gun was put to his head and a knife to his throat. He was kicked in the groin and head repeatedly and had a pen jammed in his ears, all with on-duty officers present. His pants were cut off and his underwear removed. Jon M. Bartlett, 33, Daniel L. Masarik, 25, and Andrew R. Spengler, 25, turned themselves into police Monday, made their first court appearance and were freed on $5,000 signature bonds. If convicted, Bartlett and Masarik face up to 22.5 and 19.5 years in prison, respectively, and Spengler up to 3.5 years.

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LAPD Officers Cleared in 2003 Shootings of 2 Black Men

A police commission cleared three detectives of wrongdoing in the fatal shootings of two robbery suspects, though an investigation found the suspects were not armed. The report will be sent to the department for a decision on possible disciplinary action. The district attorney's office, which investigates all police shootings, has not yet decided whether to file criminal charges, said spokeswoman Jane Robison. Police Chief William Bratton said he supported the commission findings. ``I have determined that the detectives reasonably believed the suspects presented an immediate threat of serious bodily injury or death,'' he told the Los Angeles Times. The commission, an administrative panel that governs police conduct, cleared detectives Robert Kraus, Christopher Brazzill and Anthony Avila of wrongdoing in the September 2003 shootings of David Thomas, 19, and Byron Smith, 20. The detectives maintained they opened fire because Thomas and Smith and another suspect, Steve Hunnicutt, were armed. Hunnicutt's attorney said the men did not have a gun at the scene. The commission report, released this week, said no handguns were found in the possession of the three suspects and none of the suspects had gunshot residue on their hands. After the shootings, a handgun was found in a getaway car, and the third suspect and a fourth man were charged with assault on police officers. [more] and [more]

• Gun Not Found in LAPD Shooting [more]
  

NO Justice for Zongo: Mistrial Declared in FATAL Police Shooting of African Man by NYPD

A mistrial was declared Monday at the manslaughter trial of an undercover police officer who shot unarmed art restorer Ousmane Zongo in a Manhattan warehouse. "After careful and considerable deliberations, we, the jury, cannot reach a unanimous verdict," said the note read by state Supreme Court Justice Daniel FitzGerald. "We have thoroughly examined the facts and charges and no further deliberations will resolve our differences." Officer Brian Conroy was tried for the May 22, 2003, killing of Zongo, a married father of two from West Africa who worked in the warehouse. Conroy, 25, would have faced up to 15 years in prison if he had been convicted. The courtroom was packed with uniformed police officers, behind the defense table, and supporters of the Zongos, behind the prosecution table. When the judge asked the jurors if they were sure, they all nodded in agreement, some closing their eyes; he reassured them that some issues are not easily resolved. The judge ordered all the parties back to court on April 7 for motions and discussion of a probable retrial. Zongo's wife, Salimata Sanfo, said later through an interpreter that she has confidence in God and the jury system, and she believes truth and justice will be served in the near future. Sanfo has no ill feelings toward police in general - only against Conroy, because "he is a killer," she said through the interpreter. The trial was the first involving a city police officer in a fatal shooting since Amadou Diallo was infamously gunned down in the Bronx six years ago - a case that also involved an unarmed West African immigrant. [more]
and [more]

• Pictured above: Al Sharpton with widow Salimata Sanfo at a press conference before the verdict was rendered.
  

San Diego to pay $975K to Latino Man in Fatal Police Shooting

The city of San Diego agreed to pay $975,000 to the family of a mentally disturbed man shot to death by police three years ago, it was reported today. The agreement, which is not covered by insurance, sets aside a nearly $900,000 federal jury award against the city and prevents the family's lawyer from seeking additional attorney's fees or punitive damages, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Alejandro Jimenez, 24, of El Cajon was shot 31 times after fighting with officers in a Midway area strip mall parking lot March 22, 2002. On Monday, jurors found that officers were negligent in the fatal shooting, the newspaper reported. Jurors found that a sergeant who shot Jimenez with a beanbag shotgun used excessive force – the standard for civil rights violations – but the fatal shooting did not constitute excessive force, the Union-Tribune reported. Those findings were dismissed as part of the settlement reached Tuesday. "There will be no judgement against the officers," City Attorney Michael Aguirre told the newspaper. "There will be no judgement against the city." To become final, the agreement must be approved by the City Council, which is scheduled to consider it next Monday, Aguirre told the Union-Tribune. The city is self-insured and – if approved – the settlement will be paid out of a liability fund, city officials told the newspaper. [more]

Testimony wraps up in civil suit over Knoxville police shooting of Black Man

• Mother says son holding cell phone, not gun, when KPD officer shot him
  

Testimony wrapped up Monday in the trial for a family's civil lawsuit against the city of Knoxville over a police shooting. The family of Sean Gillispie filed the suit. Gillispie, 19, was shot by Officer Jason Keck during an incident at a Weigel's in May 2003. Gillispie was in the back seat of a car parked at the store. He died at UT Medical Center. Monday morning, a law enforcement expert testified as well as the two officers who were involved in the shooting. Officer Keck testified that he shot Gillispie because he felt he was in imminent danger. Keck said he saw Gillispie fumbling with what he thought was a gun. The city's attorneys brought in a captain from the Chattanooga Police Department who said he's an expert in the use of force by police. He testified that he reviewed the case and felt Keck's actions were justified. The family says that although there was a gun in the back seat next to Gillispie, he was reaching for his cell phone. They say he never would have harmed anyone. Family members and their friends have packed the court room and say they've waited nearly two years for time in court. "We're very numb," says Gillispie's aunt, Desiree Wallace. "We're hurting all over...to hear Keck say the words that he meant to shoot him, I think it just brought up a lot of old memories that have been instilled within us. We're just trying to get through it." His grandmother, Janet Gillespie, says, "What makes the police force above the citizens? You understand what I'm trying to say? Sean was 19-years-old. He had everything to look forward to. He's gone." The family's attorney told the judge he believed Gillispie also was negligent but the officers' negligence outweighed that. The DA's office cleared Keck of any wrongdoing in September 2003.[more] and  [more]

Settlement Paid in Corpus Christi Police Shooting of Latino Man City -- $200,000 to victim's kin

• Paul Silvas was Beaten, Sprayed and Shot &  Killed by Police
  

City Council members agreed Tuesday to settle a lawsuit that arose out of the 2003 police shooting death of Paul Silvas. City Hall previously had denied any wrongdoing in Silvas' death, but council members voted 8-0 to pay Silvas' family $200,000 and settle the case before it goes to trial. Councilman Brent Chesney was absent. Deborah Golder, Silvas' common-law wife, would not comment about the settlement. In a written statement, city officials said they decided to settle the case because of "the potential cost of extended litigation, uncertainty of a jury trial and an inevitable appeal." Police officers Jason Lavastida and Donald Moore shot and killed Silvas, 27, on Oct. 23, 2003, outside of the Times Market at 4701 Greenwood Drive. Silvas' family said he cooperated with police and died unnecessarily. The officers said the deadly shooting was in self-defense. Lavastida and Moore, both bicycle officers, said they smelled marijuana coming from Silvas' parked teal four-door Ford Taurus, according to a statement by Police Chief Pete Alvarez after the shooting. The officers ordered Silvas out of the car, according to reports. The family's lawyer, Luis Cardenas, denied marijuana was being smoked. Silvas' family said police proceeded to beat him with batons and spray him with pepper spray when he sought safety in his car.Paul Silvas did not appear to be trying to run over two bicycle police officers, but tried to drive away when they began to shoot at him, a witness said."They already beat him with batons, sprayed him with pepper spray and he just kept telling them to leave him alone," said Adriana Trevino, 18. "He wasn't trying to run over them." Trevino watched Paul Silvas go outside after buying cigarettes, where he used the pay telephone and then got into his car, she said. "The cops got him out of the car and started hitting him with batons," Trevino said. "He just kept yelling 'leave me alone, leave me alone.'" She said after being hit repeatedly in the head and body, Silvas got away from police, slid back into his car and was trying to start the engine when one officer started spraying him with pepper spray and hitting him more with a baton. "Paul backed up and stopped because one of the officers was behind him," Trevino said. "The other one kept hitting him, then pulled a gun, and they both started saying they were going to shoot." [more] and [more] and [more]