Grand jury to get Monroe police shooting case - Black Man Killed by Cops

• Witnesses Contradict Police Account
  

A grand jury will study the shooting death of a man by Monroe police next month, a prosecutor says. William Mack Henderson, 58, died Aug. 22 during a confrontation with police. Officers said Henderson refused to drop a knife and chain and lunged at an officer. Henderson was shot an undisclosed number of times. District Attorney Jerry Jones said he received a 1,000-page report Wednesday from state police. Jones said he plans to present the case to a grand jury during the first two weeks of December. At least two people claiming to have witnessed the shooting contradicted the police department's account. Officials involved in the probe have not verified or discredited those statements. Jones said the state police investigation would not be made public before the grand jury meets. [more]

Mexican Consulate Requests Inquiry in Broward Police Shooting of Mexican Man

The Mexican consulate has asked for an investigation into the shooting of a Mexican citizen by a Broward County sheriff's deputy. The shooting of German Gomez, 22, looked "like a real case of abuse of authority, and it's devastating," David Kubiliun, a lawyer for the consulate in Miami, said Thursday. Gomez, who was in critical condition at North Broward Medical Center, was shot once in the head in the parking lot of a Pompano Beach apartment complex Wednesday evening by a deputy responding to a report of an attempted burglary. Gomez's family said he and his cousin, Javier Dominguez, 21, who had both recently moved from the southern Mexican province of Chiapas, mistakenly went to the wrong apartment when they returned home from work. After a deputy put him on the ground in the parking lot and handcuffed him, Dominguez said he heard a gunshot, looked to Gomez and saw him lying in blood. Dominguez "started crying when he saw his cousin," said Joe Buchanan, a former assistant U.S. attorney who is part of the men's legal team. "He started fearing for his own life." Dominguez said he did not understand what the deputies were saying. Kubiliun said his clients surrendered peacefully and that a language barrier between them and the deputies may have been a factor in the shooting. [more] and  [more]

• Shooting account disputed [more] and [more]

Latino Man's Family files $10 Million Wrongful Death claim Against Cops

The family of a 24-year-old man fatally shot by two police officers is seeking $10million in damages from the city, claiming wrongful death and excessive force. Freddie Joe Enriquez was shot Aug. 29 by two unidentified police officers on a second-floor balcony of the Sunset Village Apartments. The officers who fired did so without proper justification and "failed to immediately summon medical personnel,' the family's claim contends.  The claim was filed with the city on behalf of the family by attorney John Henley on Nov. 1 and was addressed to Mayor Dierdre Bennett and the City Council. Freddie had been visiting his mother, who lived in the complex and was leaving for dinner with his girlfriend and her parents, family members said. The couple were on their way to the car when Enriquez saw police. Two officers had responded to an unrelated call of a "disturbed person' at the Sunset Village apartments police said. When they arrived, their attention was diverted from the original call after they noticed Freddie Enriquez arguing with another tenant, police said. "They made eye contact and my brother ran,' Antoinette Enriquez said. When the two officers approached him, police said Freddie Enriquez pulled out a handgun. The officers shot him and called paramedics, coroner's officials said. Enriquez was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. He was shot twice in the head and five times in the chest. "It took them forever for them to get my brother to the hospital,' his sister, Antoinette Enriquez, said. "His girlfriend heard him breathing really hard, trying to take a breath.' [more]

Chicago Police Shoot & Kill Latino Man

• Witness Contradicts Police Account
  

A man was shot and killed on Northwest Side after police tried to pull him over for driving erratically. Authorities say following a police chase, 25-year-old John Fuentes grabbed a female officer's gun and began struggling with her. He was shot by other officers who arrived at the scene. Chicago police say the incident started when officers patrolling the area of Homer and Cicero noticed the driver of a Ford Explorer driving erratically.  They gave chase, but moments later at the corner of Lamon and Homer, the squad car rear-ended the Explorer, forcing it to stop. Police say that's when Fuentes jumped out and ran. A female officer chased him into an empty lot in the 4800-block of Armitage. Police say the officer and Fuentes struggled for the officer's gun."Our female officer was on the ground...offender is on top of her...he was shot by the responding uniformed officers," said Pat Camden, Chicago Police Department spokesperson. The family is not convinced about the circumstances. Another woman said she witnessed the shooting and did not agree with the police account of events. Annigalia Turner, who told Vatis she was questioned by police all night, said she saw everything out her apartment window. "They were yelling way before they got to him, 'Let her go.' Well, the guy stopped whatever he was doing," Turner said. The witness added that "about 20 police officers" ran up to the pair. She said police shot the man even though he had stopped when officers commanded. Turner claimed the officers then turned Fue "They got this close and aimed the gun and shot the guy," said Annidalia Turner. "They yelled 3 times for him to get off of her...but they didn't get him the opportunity. They just shot." "Why did they kill my nephew the way they did? I would like to know....reasonable doubt, anything. Was he a suspect for something - we don't know," said Olivia Castaneda, suspect's aunt.[more] and  [more] and [more]

• Images [here]

Raleigh Police Gun Down Black Man

• Officers say he lunged at them. Witnesses didn't see 'lunge'

The first formal report about a fatal police shooting Nov. 2 listed no evidence from witnesses to support officers' statements that a suspect lunged at them with a knife before he was killed. Navon Lefort Ligon, 43, died as two officers were trying to arrest him on a domestic violence assault charge outside his girlfriend's house at 4608 Brockton Drive. The report, written by Raleigh Police Chief Jane Perlov and submitted to City Manager Russell Allen on Tuesday, mentions three witnesses who heard officers order Ligon to drop the knife. It says two of the witnesses later saw the knife after the shooting, as it was kicked away from the suspect. A third witness saw the knife in Ligon's possession before the officers' arrival and in his hand before the shooting. The witnesses were not named in Perlov's report. But two witnesses told The News & Observer last week that three civilians saw the incident. They did not see Ligon lunge at anyone, the two witnesses said. The State Bureau of Investigation is conducting a criminal probe, and the Police Department is conducting an internal review. Perlov's statement, released Wednesday, provides new details about what led to the shooting and what each of the officers said occurred. Ligon's girlfriend, Freda Gail Narron, called 911 about 1 a.m. on Nov. 2 to report that her boyfriend had assaulted her and stolen her purse, money and identification. [more]

• Pictured above: Chief Jane Perlov's statement offers new details.
  
• Witnesses Contradict Police In Suspect's Death [more]

DA yanks back report on fatal Boston police shooting of Black Man

Minutes after issuing a five-page statement yesterday calling the fatal shooting of a Roxbury man by police last June justified, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office withdrew that declaration, citing concerns among the victim's family and community activists. The bizarre turnaround caught members of the news media assembled for a press conference by surprise as they were asked to relinquish their copies of the report. "The Bowen family and community leaders have voiced their concerns and opinions, and we promised to give them due consideration,'' said spokesman David Procopio. ``This is the right thing to do.'' He said the findings would be released in ``several days.'' Bert Bowen, 40, was pulled over on Blue Hill Avenue June 27 on a routine traffic stop. According to police, Bowen struggled with an officer, got out of his grasp, and then pulled a gun from his waist while trying to flee. At one point in the chase, Bowen allegedly pointed the .40-caliber weapon in the direction of one of two pursuing officers and police fired at him in response.  Bowen was shot in the head, back, and leg, according to police. But witnesses said Bowen had nothing in his hands as he ran from police. Bowen's family and several community leaders met with authorities in the days after the shooting and said they would wait for the district attorney's findings before deciding what course of action to take. [more]

• Pictured above: Dorothy Bowen, widow of Bert Bowen who was shot and killed by Boston police, walks with NAACP head Leonard Alkins
  
• Police leave widow questioning death [more]
• Victoria Snelgrove's death was not an isolated event. It's time to start asking some tough questions about the Boston Police Department. [more]
• scroll down for more police brutality news
  

Dallas City Council conveys 'deep remorse' to victims of fake-drug scandal

• Latino Immigrants Falsely Arrested
  

Dallas City Hall is issuing a formal apology over a fake drug scandal, nearly three years after it surfaced. What turned out to be pool chalk, was planted on dozens of Latino immigrants by highly paid informants working with narcotics detectives. Several informants have been convicted. Offering an apology to the victims of the 2001 fake-drug scandal, the Dallas City Council unanimously passed a resolution expressing "deep remorse" for the false arrests. The measure passed Wednesday also offered apologies to the victims' families and the city's residents for breakdowns at the Police Department. "It is very, very tragic what happened to a great number of people, and I think we are on the right track now," said Mayor Pro Tem John Loza. The scandal erupted in late 2001 after more than two dozen people, mostly Hispanic immigrants, went to jail based on bogus drug evidence planted by corrupt police informants. The resolution states that those false arrests - which have led to criminal charges against several former narcotics officers and the informants - should be "indelibly etched in our history," so that similar mistakes aren't repeated. Calling it an "extraordinary step," City Attorney Madeleine Johnson said such a vote expressing remorse for city failures probably is unprecedented in the city's history. The two-page resolution asks officials to continue searching for reasons why the department's "system designed to fight a war on drugs was subverted so that innocent people became its casualties." [more] and [more]

Board findings on Nathaniel Jones Police Killing rejected

• Cincinnati Cops Beat Black Man to Death on Videotape. No Officers Disciplined
  

Just weeks away from the first anniversary of Nathaniel "Skip" Jones' death while in Cincinnati police custody, City Manager Valerie Lemmie is rejecting a civilian oversight board's findings and won't impose any discipline against officers involved in the incident. The city's Citizen Complaint Authority -- which reviews allegations of misconduct and excessive use of force by police -- recommended in August that three officers receive "severe disciplinary sanctions" for their roles in Jones' death. But Lemmie, who makes the decision on discipline, agreed with the Cincinnati Police Department's internal investigation that officers didn't violate any policies when handling Jones. Instead, officers should receive additional training on how to avoid positional asphyxiation, or suffocation, with handcuffed suspects who are obese or have certain medical conditions. "While the death of Mr. Jones is tragic, I do not believe our officers violated CPD policy," she said. Jones' death was the first major case reviewed by the Citizen Complaint Authority, which was formed in early 2003 as part of a settlement of a racial profiling lawsuit against police.  An attorney representing Jones' family in a federal lawsuit against the city noted that police already had received a training bulletin from the chief on positional asphyxiation before the Nov. 30, 2003, incident. Jones, who weighed nearly 350 pounds, stopped breathing after he was handcuffed and placed on his stomach in a parking lot after a scuffle with officers. "How much training does it take to read a memo from the chief?" asked attorney Kenneth Lawson. "What additional training does Valerie think these officers need?" [more]

• See Video of beating [more] (Curiously, the Police tape begins after the altercation has started)
  
• FBI Probes Death of Natheniel Jones [more]

Allentown police violated rights in drug arrest

Man claims he was beaten to give up hidden bag of cocaine.
An Allentown man acknowledges he was hiding a bag of cocaine in his mouth when police arrested him. But he claims police officers had no right to physically force him to give it up. Jesse Crespo is suing Allentown police in federal court, alleging they violated his civil rights by beating him as they tried to take the cocaine. In his suit, Crespo says he was in his car one night in September 2002 when police approached him. He put a bag in his mouth containing 1.77 grams of cocaine. Officers from the vice squad tried to remove the bag by ''administering a series of stunning blows,'' according to his suit. Officer David Patino allegedly struck Crespo in the mouth repeatedly while other officers subdued Crespo. They also allegedly beat him with their hands, causing him to fear for his safety. He eventually relinquished the bag. Crespo, who is black and Hispanic, alleges that racial prejudice motivated the conduct of the officers, who called him by racial slurs. He suffered a permanent injury to his left eye and has headaches and double vision. He also was bruised and scraped and missed work for several weeks. Police charged him with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence and resisting arrest. Crespo, 20, alleges that Patino filed the resisting arrest charge, without a legal basis, to shield himself from liability for beating Crespo. Patino later gave false testimony about the resisting arrest charge, according to the suit. [more]

Blue Island Mayor says city not ignoring Police Beating death

• 74 Yr. Old Latino Man Dead in Confrontation with Blue Island Police
  

Mayor Donald Peloquin defended his administration amid fresh criticisms of the city a month after a 74-year-old Hispanic man died after an encounter with two Blue Island police officers. He denied that city officials were trying to minimize the death of Antonio Manrique, who was tackled by the officers on the street near his home and died of his injuries in the hospital on Oct. 10. Officials say the incident was a case of mistaken identity. Peloquin was particularly upset by a letter that U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) wrote to a local newspaper criticizing the way the city handled the incident. "No one in this city has not been touched by" Manrique's death, Peloquin said during Tuesday night's City Council meeting. "We will take appropriate measures after the investigation is completed." The city also has been hit with a dozen civil lawsuits alleging other acts of police brutality. [more]

• Blue Island vigil commemorates 74-year-old [more]