5 officers facing internal charges in Death of Black Man Tasered by Cops

Five Toledo police officers including a sergeant are facing administrative charges for improperly handcuffing a man who died after he was shocked nine times with a Taser. Police and Lucas County jail authorities were involved in the incidents. The police department's internal affairs bureau concluded the officers did not use excessive force in the arrest Jan. 31 of Jeffrey Turner, 41, and that the use of a Taser at the time of his arrest was justified, Chief Mike Navarre said yesterday. However, the investigation showed that in transporting Turner to the jail, he was handcuffed behind his back and those cuffs were connected to oversized cuffs that were placed on his ankles, which is contrary to department policy. Chief Navarre said video from the Toledo Museum of Art, where the arrest occurred, showed Turner kneeling with his hands cuffed behind his back, another set of cuffs on his ankles, and a third set of cuffs connecting the other two sets.  Turner died after he was shocked five times by police and four times by jail correction officers in incidents that occurred about three hours apart. Police approached Turner outside the museum after security there reported a suspicious man loitering outside the closed museum for more than 40 minutes. Officers said they used a Taser to subdue him after he refused to cooperate and fought being taken into custody. After he was carried into the jail, Turner was booked and ate a lunch before becoming agitated again. He refused attempts to restrain him, and corrections officers shocked him with a Taser. A nurse sent to Turner's cell, as a matter of procedure to check on him after the stun gun's use, discovered he was unresponsive. He died a short time later. [more]

Pahokee police chief resigns over police beating of Black Man

Pahokee Police Chief Rafael Duran resigned on Wednesday amid allegations that his officers beat and hospitalized a man who has been in an ongoing feud with police. Robert Love, 48, was a frequent nuisance to police. At crime scenes, Love would sometimes show up and taunt officers, tell witnesses not to talk to them and videotape them at work. It's unclear what sparked his alleged beating on Friday. The city manager and vice mayor stumbled upon three officers beating Lowe on Friday. The two were driving through town after having dinner, Mayor J.P. Sasser said. When the city officials got out of the car and identified themselves, the officers told them to leave and threatened to arrest them for interfering with a police investigation, Sasser said. The two officials immediately went to Sasser's home, and the three of them returned to the scene. But the Pahokee police officers, accompanied by two Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies, again threatened the city officials with arrest if they did not leave. The beating was "so vicious'' that Love was hospitalized, Sasser said. Duran, a former patrol deputy, took over as chief in the summer of 2003. His family had moved from Cuba to the small town in 1960. Duran lost a bid for Palm Beach County Sheriff in 2000. He could not be reached for comment on Thursday. Detective Calipto Gonzalez is temporarily filling in as chief. Sasser said the Sheriff's Office internal affairs division is investigating because he doesn't have confidence in his department to investigate the incident. He said he is also going to ask the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to review the Police Department. "I can't believe this happened,'' Sasser said. ``The last time I checked, the American flag was flying atop City Hall.'' [more] 

Black Man Dies In Police Custody After Being Shot With Taser - Police Stopped the Wrong Man

Two DeLand police officers are off the job after a man they were trying to arrest died in custody. Willie Michael Towns died shortly after he was shot with a taser during a struggle with the officers. The ironic part of this story is, Towns wasn't even the man the police were looking for. DeLand police were looking for a burglary suspect named Mike. They saw Towns and he fit the description, but he was not the man they were looking for. Police approached him on Woodland Boulevard to ask him some questions. For some reason, he took off. Police didn't even bother with pursuit. But then Towns was spotted on the roof of a building. Police say they had no choice but to chase him then. The suspect jumped from the roof to a metal awning. He was going to try to jump to the ground, but decided to break a window and go inside the building, according to the police report. Two officers tackled Towns who, they say, tried repeatedly to jump out the second floor window. They also tasered him three times, with apparently no effect. Towns later admitted doing cocaine that day. Officers finally subdued Towns, strapped him to a board and put him in an ambulance where, the report says, he began fighting with paramedics, then suddenly stopped. Towns was dead. Once again, police are left wondering why this happened. The autopsy report will be out Tuesday. [more]

District Judge Rejects Request to Drop Black Man's Wrongful Death & Racial Discrimination Claims Against Guilford Police

A lawsuit accusing Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes of violating the constitutional rights of a High Point man shot to death by a deputy in 2001 can move forward, a federal judge ruled. The suit, filed in 2003, stems from the May 18, 2001, death of Gilbert Barber, who was fatally shot by a deputy near Kersey Valley Road and Old Kivett Loop. U.S. District Court Judge James A. Beaty Jr., for the Middle District in Greensboro, rejected a motion to dismiss certain claims in the case. In his ruling Monday, Beaty said three claims against Barnes can move forward: two related to racial discrimination, and one alleging that the sheriff failed to properly train deputies to respond to calls dealing with emotionally disturbed people. Thomas Gordy, the deputy involved in the shooting, also faces a claim that racial discrimination was a factor in the shooting of Barber, who was black.

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Family sues Denver -- Police Shot Latino Man 20 Times

The family of a man shot to death by Denver police two years ago outside a bar on Federal Boulevard has sued the city and three police officers for excessive and deadly force. According to the complaint filed last week in federal court, police shot Luis Almeida-Ponce 20 times as he exited the Tequila LeClub, 5115 Federal Blvd., early on March 7, 2003. The complaint claims that officers Randy Murr, Joseph Trujillo and William Carr fired 27 rounds at Almeida-Ponce, killing the 24-year-old. The police report stated that the officers had responded to a call nearby, then were flagged down by a woman who said there was a fight in the club involving a man with a gun. Police said Almeida-Ponce came out of the club with a handgun in his waistband. As officers asked him to drop the gun and raise his hands, he started firing at officers, police said. The suit, filed by attorney Daniel Genet, says that Almeida-Ponce was not armed, was not threatening anyone and was killed without justification. The suit also states that the city inadequately trains and supervises police officers, that police fail to use less lethal alternatives and that officers have a "shoot first" policy, particularly in minority neighborhoods. [more]

NY Metro Police Officer pleads guilty in beating of Black homeless man

A former Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officer has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge related to his beating of a homeless man he threw out of Penn Station. Prosecutors said they had videotape of the incident. Michael Koenig, 34, admitted that he hit Maurice Cherry, 35, in the head before ejecting him from the station around 3 a.m. on Jan. 18, 2004. State Supreme Court Justice James Yates sentenced Koenig to perform 200 hours of community service. Koenig, who has resigned from the MTA police after four years with the department, and Sgt. Joseph Camean, 32, were arrested last August. Koenig was charged with felony assault and Camean, a seven-year MTA police veteran, was accused of failing to report the beating. Assistant District Attorney Andrew Heffner said at the time that Cherry mouthed off to Koenig, who hit him in the head with a metal baton. "There was absolutely no justification for this assault, according to witnesses," Heffner said then. "He (Cherry) went into the fetal position when Koening was hitting him. There is videotape evidence in this case." Witnesses reported the incident to Amtrak police, who told both Camean and other MTA officials, Heffner said. He said the MTA's police internal affairs bureau and the district attorney's office investigated the reports. Camean, who was suspended without pay, has pleaded not guilty to charges of falsifying business records and official misconduct, which are still pending. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted.[more]

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Hanging death of Black Man was suicide, GBI concludes

The conclusion that Bernard C. Burden's family and friends had hoped state investigators would not reach regarding his hanging death last October is now official. Suicide. The ruling by Kris Sperry, chief medical examiner for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, answers questions that have been swirling around Grantville since Oct. 13, when Burden was found hanging from a tree, his feet inches from the ground. Burden was African-American, and the circumstances surrounding the death conjured up ugly images of the Old South. Some in the Coweta County town of 1,300 simply didn't believe Burden took his own life. Others criticized Grantville's Police Department, which they said dismissed any notion of foul play before conducting a thorough investigation. On Monday, Coweta Circuit District Attorney Pete Skandalakis said the GBI had found no evidence to indicate that Burden, 21, had been killed by someone else. "It appears, sadly, that Bernard Burden was a young man who felt life had nothing more to offer him," Skandalakis said. Burden's mother, Tamathy Pless, who was highly critical of the police, was aware of the findings but was not available for comment, said her attorney, Graylin Ward. The state's investigation of the death concluded that, among other things, Watson was upset at the prospect of ending his relationship with his girlfriend, Charity Hope Watson. The night before he died, the couple talked for 5 1/2 hours, telephone records show. Watson told investigators that Burden was weeping and told her that "nobody knew how bad he felt." According to an autopsy in the state report, there were no injuries that might have indicated a struggle or foul play. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution March 8, 2005

No Charges filed by LA County DA in Police Killing of Black Man

• Police Believe Kenyante Reed had a Gun. No Gun was Found.
  

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office will not file criminal charges against a Long Beach police officer who fatally shot an unarmed man in July. The district attorney concluded that Officer David Garcia, whom the city later fired, acted in self-defense July 16 when he shot 22-year-old Keyante Reed near Second Street and Orange Avenue. Witnesses told police and district attorney's investigators that Reed led Garcia on a chase into a driveway before growling and lunging toward the officer, prompting Garcia to fire once at Reed's chest. "Although it was later determined that Reed did not have a weapon, Officer Garcia reasonably believed that he was in imminent danger of death of serious injury when he fired his gun," the report said. The city fired Garcia, a three-year veteran, Dec. 3 after a shooting review board recommended his termination. Police Chief Anthony Batts said at the time that Garcia's actions were inconsistent with his training. Deputy Chief Ted Hulsey said the department was not surprised by the district attorney's conclusion, noting that the Police Department used different standards to reach its conclusion on Garcia's termination. The Reed case drew citywide attention last summer as members of Reed's family criticized Garcia's action. Family members said Garcia left himself few options but to fire his weapon if the situation with Reed got beyond control. Garcia was on patrol about 11 p.m. when Reed called for his attention. Reed, who was carrying a can of beer, began yelling profanities at the officer and passing drivers, according to the district attorney's report. Garcia followed Reed on foot down Second Street. Reed zig-zagged through cars and told the officer to "kill me now. Kill me now," witnesses said. Garcia shot Reed in a driveway after Reed screamed, growled and lunged toward the officer. Toxicology reports later showed traces of marijuana, but no alcohol, in Reed's system. [more]

Talladega grand jury finds fatal Police shooting of Black Man Justified

A Talladega County grand jury has determined that the shooting death of a robbery suspect by a police officer at a convenience store was justified, according to District Attorney Steve Giddens. The fatal shooting of Prince Rogers Patterson, 22, occurred after he entered Benny's Stop and Go on Jan. 23 and apparently attempted to rob it, with his actions caught on the store's surveillance camera. "At some point, he comes around the counter. One of the female clerks stepped on a silent alarm button in the floor and then ran to a secure area in the back of the store," Giddens said Monday. "The remaining clerk was taken by Patterson out of the range of the camera." When police arrived, one of the officers sprayed Patterson with pepper spray, but he lunged for a second officer who shot him twice, authorities said. Giddens said Patterson got up, walked out of the store and ran up the street before paramedics found him dead about 90 feet away. [more] and [more]

Bakersfield Sued for Police Shooting of Latino Man

The City of Bakersfield is facing a lawsuit by the family of a Bakersfield man shot to death by police a year ago. Gabriel Garcia, 20, was killed when he refused orders to drop his knife. Garcia was trying to force his way into the home of a registered sex offender. Last year, BPD passed out fliers in a southwest neighborhood warning people that known sex offender Vincent Verdile lived there and said he may be involved in that type of crime. The federal lawsuit points to the flier and BPD misconduct as the reason Garcia ended up being killed by police. After Garcia’s death, many conversations were recorded at the Police Dispatch Center, including one where an officer can be heard saying, “well, if we’re going to shoot him, we might as well do it right.” Attorney Kiya Kato is representing Garcia’s family. “The thing that's most offensive is that the individual making those comments is not only a Bakersfield Police officer, but he's the person who's charged with the responsibility of investigating the shooting,” said Kato. She said the remark is symptomatic of a bigger problem with BPD and its policy on when to use deadly force. “The police should allow shooting the individual poses an imminent threat of physical danger to somebody, and the facts in this case would show that type of danger just did not exist,” said Kato. But Bakersfield City Attorney Ginny Genaro said everything officers did was reasonable. “I'm very confident that our actions by our officers will be found justified,” said Genaro. He was trying to kick in Verdile’s door and carrying a knife, according to police. “This young man was not responding to the oral directives of the Police Department,” said Genaro. “He did not respond to the tazer. He was obviously under the influence of some type of stimulant.”  [more] and [more]

• Family honors man fatally shot one year ago [more]
• Officers justified in shooting according to review board [more]