Houston Police back Tasers despite deaths

• Latino Man Dies after being shocked. Cops Order More Tasers

The death of a man in Fort Worth after being shot with an electrified dart this week has recharged debate about the safety of the increasingly popular stun guns. Touted as a life-saving alternative to deadly force, Tasers are used by every major law-enforcement department in Harris County and 300 across Texas. The sudden death of 21-year-old Robert Guerrero on Tuesday is the state's third that occurred in police custody after the use of a stun gun, based on reports from the manufacturer and the media. The incident did not shake Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt's conviction that his pending order for $4.7 million in Tasers will help save lives, not end them. "Tasers give officers another option besides their handguns when they are confronted by someone with a weapon other than a gun or by someone who is mentally ill," he said. Houston's City Council approved buying 3,600 Tasers this week. Guerrero's death occurred after Fort Worth police officers responded to a tip that someone was illegally running electrical lines into an apartment. They followed the lines, discovered Guerrero hiding in a closet and threatened to stun him if he didn't come out. Shortly after being zapped with 50,000 volts, Guerrero stopped breathing and died, said Fort Worth Police Department spokesman Lt. Abdul Pridgen. It was the third recent death in Texas of someone who had been stunned by a Taser. [more]

Agreement reached in 2nd Inglewood police-abuse lawsuit after trial starts

A day after a trial started in a police-abuse lawsuit against a controversial former Inglewood officer, a judge approved a settlement in which the city will pay $590,000, lawyers said. Last Wednesday's action marked the second time there was a settlement in the lawsuit Surjue filed against the city of Inglewood, former police officer Jeremy Morse and officer Bijan Darvish. Last year, Surjue said she agreed to a $470,000 settlement, but that deal was nixed after she later said her lawyers at the time and U.S. District Judge S. James Otero pressured her into settling her case. Otero later ordered the case to trial, which started Tuesday with jury selection. Testimony was slated to begin Wednesday but the new accord ended the trial. Surjue's new lawyer Joseph L. Shalant said his client was pleased with the new agreement, which he called "final." "It's a very fair settlement," Shalant said. As part of the agreement, the claims against Morse, Darvish and other officers would be dismissed and the city of Inglewood will be the sole defendant, Shalant said. Surjue's lawsuit claimed that in October 2001, Morse and Darvish illegally entered her house, then Morse rushed toward her and pushed her into a wall and stairway railing. She fell down and fractured her coccyx, the suit contends. Glave said defense lawyers would have challenged Surjue's account and he was ready to argue that medical records showed "no objective signs of any assault taking place that night." [more]

• Pictured above: Officer Morse was criminally charged and fired after he was seen on a widely broadcast videotape beating and slamming  16 year old, Donovan Jackson while he was handcuffed in July 2002. The criminal charges were dropped [more]
  

• Police-brutality victim Patricia Surjue and her elusive day in court [more]
• Second Police Officer Admits Punching California Teenager [more]

NAACP sues Kent schools, alleges excessive force on 15 black students

A lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of 15 students and their parents claims that Kent School District security officers used excessive force against students, including handcuffing, squeezing ``pressure points'' or joints, or unnecessarily kneeing children. The action filed in King County Superior Court by attorneys representing the Seattle-King County Chapter of the NAACP follows an earlier claim for nearly $50 million in damages. The action also claims the students, all black, received more harsh discipline or were treated differently because they are African American. The rejection of that earlier claim by insurance carriers for the school district allows the children and parents to pursue their claims in court. Pursuant to state law, the lawsuit filed Friday doesn't list any dollar figures, but says damages will be shown at the time of trial. And attorneys anticipate filing additional claims on behalf of more students. The earlier claims filed against the school district, and rejected by insurance carriers, sought $3.3 million in damages for each of the 15 students, or a total of $49.5 million. [more]

Witnesses to Raleigh Police Shooting Contradict report

• Unarmed Black Man Shot Dead

Two witnesses who said they saw police shoot and kill a knife-wielding man in northeast Raleigh on Tuesday contradict a police account that the suspect lunged at an officer with the weapon. Navon Lefort Ligon, 43, was shot once while officers were trying to arrest him outside his girlfriend's apartment at 4608 Brockton Drive on Tuesday afternoon. He was wanted in connection with an assault early Tuesday morning on the girlfriend, Freda Gail Narron.  Ligon was shot by Sgt. Craig Haines. Officer Stephen Wolfe was with Haines at the scene, according to an incident report.  A statement released by police Tuesday evening said that after "Ligon resisted, and a foot pursuit ensued," he ignored orders by police and "lunged forward with the knife" before Haines shot him. Elena Hurst, 34, said she watched from across the street as two Raleigh officers approached a man and a woman near an apartment building Tuesday afternoon. The officers told the man they had a warrant for his arrest, but he denied that they did and started walking away, Hurst said. She didn't see a weapon. "They said, 'Drop the knife. Drop the knife,' " she said. When one of the cops sprayed the man with pepper spray, it had no effect. He started walking toward the street, Hurst said. The officer who shot him walked six or seven feet behind Ligon, and the other was a few feet in front, she said. "His back was turned to the police officer, and when he went to turn around, that's when the police shot him," she said. "But mind you, it wasn't like he was waving the knife around." John Gettinger Sr., 62, of Surf City was working on one of the apartments he owns across the street and also witnessed the encounter. Gettinger and Hurst said that the suspect was walking at a normal pace and that his hands were at his sides when the shot was fired. "I didn't see him make any kind of threatening motion or anything like that," Gettinger said. [more]

Off-duty LAPD cop shoots, kills Latino man firing gun at party

A 19-year-old Sylmar man who opened fire with a gun at a raucous Halloween party died after being shot -- in self-defense -- by an off-duty LAPD officer, officials said Monday. Mario Lopez died Sunday evening at Simi Valley Hospital of a gunshot wound to the neck, officials said. William Ortiz, a bystander at the party, was listed in fair condition with a gunshot wound to the jaw. The off-duty officer was questioned by Simi Valley police and released. He was identified Monday by the Los Angeles Police Department as Jaime Reyes, a first-year rookie assigned to the Van Nuys Division. "Detectives are investigating the shooting, but it appears at this time that the off-duty officer fired his gun in defense of his life," said Simi Valley police Sgt. Paul Fitzpatrick. LAPD Sgt. Catherine Plows said Monday the department's Force Investigation Division was investigating the incident. [more]

Did a Security Camera Capture the NYC Police Shooting of Manuel Chametta?

Last week we called into question the NYPD's decision to declare the shooting of 18-year-old Queens deli clerk Manuel Chametta a "freak accident" and leave it at that. Chametta, as you probably remember, was shot and killed by retired police officer John Malik, who claims he was reaching for his beeper, knocked his gun loose and, when reaching to recover it, accidentally fired one bullet into Chametta's chest. That he wasn't taken into custody as a simple matter of procedure afterwards, and that there was no serious investigation planned into the shooting struck us as awfully peculiar at best. Again, not to imply guilt or intent on his part, but had this happened to any civilian, he or she would have been arrested and an investigation would have followed--no matter how clear-cut things seemed. And this case was far from clear-cut. It seems a few more people came to that conclusion last week, too. Chametta's father grew more adamant about the peculiarities of the case, with both Malik's and almost-witness Felipe Santiago Villares' stories changing, and a city councilman demanded that the Queens DA's office arrest Malik and conduct a real investigation. Yet for all the coverage, all the calls for this and that, all the arguments from both sides, it seems strange that still no one has even mentioned the deli's security cameras. The shooting took place at the front counter. Any security cameras in the shop would have been pointed at the front counter. The tape from that evening would quickly and clearly resolve this whole issue once and for all--so why isn't it being done? Or is the Astoria Food Mart the only deli in the city that doesn't have security cameras? [more]

Durham Police Officer Cleared In Fatal Shooting of Black Teenager (15) Tony Rochelle

The Durham District Attorney's Office will not pursue charges against a police officer who shot and killed a 15-year-old back in July. Officers said Tony Rochelle shot at Officer John McDonough. McDonough later fired back, killing Rochelle. District Attorney Jim Hardin said the officer used reasonable force in what he thought was a life-threatening situation. Hardin also recommended the State Bureau of Investigation take no further action against McDonough.Rochelle was shot and killed during a confrontation with an officer outside the Oxford Manor Apartments just after 1 a.m. Police were called out to a report of loud music. When authorities got to Oxford Manor, a group of people began to break up. Police say Rochelle and another young male took off running. Police say a man-to-man struggle took place in the woods near Wiggins Street Fish Dam Road between Officer J.J. McDonough and Rochelle. During the struggle, police say Rochelle produced a weapon and fired it. McDonough returned fire, striking Rochelle [more] and [more]

Indian Reservation shooting leaves Teen in hospital

A teenager is fighting for his life following a police-involved shooting on an Indian reservation in Arizona. The 18-year-old, whose name has not been released, was allegedly observed by police speeding through a stop sign on the Pima and Maricopa tribes' Salt River Reservation just outside of the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale. A chase ensued that saw the suspect attempt to allude authorities while driving on a dirt and gravel road that is bordered by a few homes and cotton fields. When the car slowed, police got out and approached it. Officials say the driver rammed his car into two police cars, and then steered toward the officer. The officer opened fire, wounding the man. He was taken to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn. Two other teens were in the suspect's vehicle but were unharmed. Local and federal officials are investigating the case. [more]

Covington County Police Kill Black Man-

• Citizens believe shooting racially motivated

Authorities in Covington County aren't saying much about a fatal shooting involving a sheriff's deputy. It happened Thursday about noon at a residence on Highway 55, about four miles north of Florala, in the Lockhart community. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation said a Florala man, 47-year-old Aron Shaw, was shot and killed after he got into a fight with a deputy.  Stephanie Green lived in the same neighborhood as Aron Shaw. She says around 11:30 Thursday morning, she heard someone screaming for help saying, "They are going to kill me." Green says that's when police arrested Aron Shaw. A little while later, he was found shot to death nearly 4 miles outside of Florala. Green says she's not surprised considering what she says she saw happened during the arrest. "I saw someone stomp him and he slammed his head it the car 5 times. You could hear it,"   "It's just sad," said Sylvia Wallace, a woman who lived not far from Shaw. "He was found on the ground dead. An officer shot him." Shaw allegedly kicked the glass out of a patrol car after being apprehended by law enforcement, and subsequently obtained the official's tazer gun and repeatedly shocked the officer. Linda Carson claims to have been an eye witness to an incident involving Shaw and police officers the day he was shot to death. "They were beating him," Carson said. "I'm talking beating this man. I backed up to tell these other guys to come and look at what was going on. "I said, 'I've got to go get this man some help,' so I called the mayor's office and said, 'Somebody needs to get up there and stop them from beating that man up there.' [more] and [more] and [more] and [more]

Miami Police Officer Kills Mentally Ill Black Man

• Vietnam Veteran Shot in the Back of the Head by Aggressive Cops

Three Miami-Dade County police officers struggled with a man whom relatives described as mentally ill before one of the officers shot and killed the man.  Randy Carlos Baker, 49, an Army veteran, died on the way to a hospital. Baker's family said he died in the street where he was shot. According to witnesses, Baker was walking home in West Perrine, carrying a soda, when Officer Saavedra pulled up to him in his police car. Baker, who family members say was mentally ill, was known in the neighborhood as someone who was ''not right in the head,'' but they also say he wasn't dangerous.When Saavedra stopped Baker, the two men began to argue. According to Angela Baker, who witnessed her cousin's shooting, Saavedra ordered Baker to get out of the street, and Baker asked why. ''I guess the police officer got offended,'' said Angela Baker, who added that Saavedra got out of his car, grabbed Baker and started hitting him, despite pleas from herself and others to stop because Randy Baker was mentally ill. Two other officers -- Millie Garcia and Della Oros -- arrived and jumped into the fray with their batons. Police say Baker wrestled a baton away from one of them and struck Garcia in the mouth and Oros in the back of the head. Angela Baker said after one of the female officers was hit, the other one struck Randy from behind. When Randy turned to face her, Saavedra stepped up and shot him in the back of the head. After Randy fell, Angela said, Saavedra shot him twice more in the chest. Baker's relatives said he only fought back because the officers hit him first for no reason. Brad Brown, president of the Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP, said "we all know that most people who are shot by police are young African-Americans and people with mental illness, here we have someone who falls within both categories."[more] and  [more] and [more]

• Pictured above: Miami-Dade Fire Rescue workers hose down the crime scene where Randy Baker, 49, was shot  by police in West Perrine. [more]
• Family Files Complaint After Police Shooting [more] and  [more]
  
• NAACP Calls For Investigation Into Police Shooting [more]
• Shooting fuels anger [more]