Denver Police Officer Arrested in Beating, Stomping of Latino Teenager

A 12-year veteran of the Denver Police Department was arrested Thursday on a felony charge of second-degree assault after accusations that he used excessive force against a 16-year-old. Officer Charles Porter, 40, has been suspended without pay from the department. He had been assigned to the gang bureau prior to the charges.
The suspension is in connection with alleged excessive force against Juan "Willie" Vasquez, who suffered a lacerated liver, kidney injuries and broken ribs on April 18 near West 37th Avenue and Pecos Street. An incident report was unavailable late Thursday. Vasquez has undergone at least two surgeries at Denver Health Medical Center and still has a tube inserted into his back to expel bodily fluids, said his brother Felipe Vasquez, 27. "He said they jumped on him with both feet," the brother said. "He said they beat him and hit him with a flashlight, and they left him there and gave each other high-fives, and then the ambulance came. Then they said, 'What happened, did you fall?' "

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Maryland Agrees to settlement in Central Booking Beating Death of Unarmed Black Man - Attacked by 25 Officers

The Maryland Attorney General's Office has agreed to a settlement with the relatives of a man who was beaten to death at the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center after a struggle involving correctional officers.  Relatives of Raymond Smoot have agreed to drop their $130 million wrongful death lawsuit in exchange for the settlement. Dwight Pettit, an attorney who represents the family members, says it was the family's decision to settle. He wouldn't disclose the amount.  The settlement will have to be approved by the Board of Public Works.

Smoot was killed in May 2005 after a struggle broke out involving 25 to 30 correctional officers. Relatives of prisoner Raymond Keith Smoot said he was "savagely beaten" by guards. At a news conference they arranged at a niece's home, family members provided photos they took after Smoot's initial treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital; the photos show his face covered in bruises, his eyes blackened and blood-soaked gauze in his mouth.
"They cracked my uncle's skull," said the niece, Delvonna Smoot. "They crushed his face. This did not look like the Raymond Smoot we knew." [MORE] and [MORE]

Sharpton arrested (released) as hundreds protest NYC police shooting

The Rev. Al Sharpton was among dozens arrested Wednesday as demonstrators blocked traffic at the height of the evening rush hour to protest the acquittal of three detectives in the 50-bullet shooting of an unarmed black man on his wedding day. Police said 216 people were arrested, including Sharpton, two survivors of the shooting and the slain man's fiancee. They lined up and put their hands behind their backs as police arrested them on disorderly conduct charges.

Sharpton, the two survivors and the fiancee were released about four hours later, said Sharpton spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger.

The demonstrators prayed, sang and chanted slogans including "no justice, no peace" as they converged on six heavily used bridges and tunnels that carry traffic to and from Manhattan island. The protests were part of a coordinated campaign to urge federal authorities to investigate the shooting of Sean Bell in November 2006.

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NFL Player says Austin Police Used Excessive Force

Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson believes officers used excessive force against him and plans to fight charges he operated a boat while intoxicated and resisted arrest on a Texas lake over the weekend. "He denies that he was intoxicated," attorney Brian Carney said Monday. "He denies that he resisted arrest."

Benson is scheduled to appear in Travis County Court on May 19 to face charges stemming from an incident Saturday night. Benson failed a sobriety test while operating a 30-foot boat on Lake Travis near Austin and resisted arrest before being hit with pepper spray, Travis County Sheriff's Department spokesman Roger Wade said Sunday.

He was released from jail early Sunday on a $14,500 bond. The charges are class B misdemeanors, each punishable by up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine. Benson's version of what happened is drastically different from the police's description. "There was no resistance on my part," Benson told the Chicago Tribune. "Was I drunk? No."

Police say Benson was operating the boat with 15 passengers when a Lower Colorado River Authority officer stopped him for a random safety inspection. He failed a field sobriety test on the officer's boat and was uncooperative when the officer tried to take him ashore, the authority said.

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TV video shows Philly officers kicking, hitting 3 suspects

A half-dozen police officers kicked and beat three men pulled from a car during a traffic stop as a TV helicopter taped the confrontation. The video, shot by WTXF-TV, shows three police cars stopping a car Monday, two days after a city officer was shot to death responding to a bank robbery.

The tape shows about a dozen officers gathering around the vehicle. About a half-dozen officers hold two of the men on the ground. Both are kicked repeatedly, while one is seen being punched; one also appears to be struck with a baton. The third man is also kicked and ends up on the ground. "On the surface it certainly does not look good in terms of the amount of force that was used," Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said. "But we don't want to rush to judgment."

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