Black Man Shot & Killed by Memphis Police

• Family Awarded $3 Million in Damages in Excessive Force Suit

Nearly two and a half years after police shot and killed a man during a drug bust in south Memphis, a federal jury awarded his family nearly three million dollars. Vice Narcotics Officers stormed the house on 1523 Rozelle Street in South Memphis during a drug bust in July of 2002. Officers were looking for two drug dealers in the house when they came across Jeffrey Robinson. Officers shot him in the jaw saying he was going for a weapon. But late Friday afternoon the jury ruled for Robinson's family saying the officers used excessive force. The family got nearly three million dollars in the ruling including the largest punitive pay out in an excessive force case in some time. Attorney's prosecuting this case say they will continue to look into the police department's liability in all of this including whether or not the city of Memphis is responsible for the officers' conduct. If proven, this case could serve as an important precedent for at least three other excessive force cases pending in Memphis. [more ]

Police kill Black Man, wound another in Delray Beach

• Black Man Approached for Sitting in Car Blasted by Cops

"They murdered him," three members of the African-American community in Delray Beach said when asked about the shooting Saturday of Ralph A. Brown by Delray Police. Two officers investigating a report of a suspicious vehicle parked at a home shot and killed Brown when he and his passenger attempted to flee. Brown, 23, died as a result of the gunshots, while his passenger, Paul E. Stevens was being treated at Delray Medical Center. According to police reports, someone called in a report of a suspicious vehicle at 715 S.E. 10 th Street. When police approached the vehicle to speak with its occupants, they attempted to flee the scene. The report states that Brown aimed his vehicle at the two officers, forcing them to fire in self defense. Eight shots punctured the windshield as the car sped toward the officers. When asked to comment on the shooting, those willing to talk said they feared police reprisals and would only do so on the condition they remain anonymous. "He was laid back and cool," one man noted. "He would have not done what they are accusing him of doing. He would have handled it the right way. That is why I know they murdered him." [more ]

After Police Shot Latino Man he Received No Medical Help. Died in Car

Oceanside police say Juan S. Sanchez, 19, tried to run over an officer  who was investigating a report of someone shooting a rifle last Wednesday. The officer fired in self defense killing Sanchez. Now residents, friends and family members are complaining that Sanchez did not receive immediate medical treatment. Shortly after the shooting, a neighbor began videotaping police as they moved around Sanchez's car. Portions of the videotape, shot through a screen door, show three officers standing outside the car with their guns drawn. Sanchez is presumably still in the vehicle, although it is difficult to see him on the tape, as is a rifle that was propped up against the passenger's seat. No one appears to come to Sanchez's aid in the early portion of the video, and no paramedics approach the car. Attorney Samuel Knudsen said yesterday that the neighbor, whom he described as a friend, was concerned enough about the officers' actions to shoot the videotape and make sure copies were provided to Sanchez's family and police. The neighbor taped the officers for more than an hour, eventually setting the camera on a window sill with its lens trained on the street. Heering said an officer was prepared to administer first aid, but it was obvious Sanchez had died. A paramedic confirmed that Sanchez could not be revived, Heering said. [more ] = Police acting as medical experts!

Marietta police cleared in Black man's death

Marietta police were cleared of any wrongdoing in the September death of 19-year-old Paul Johnson, according to a report released Monday. Johnson died Sept. 21 after he fought with three officers at the Glenbrooke Apartments. According to the report, released by Marietta Police Chief Bobby Moody following an investigation by the Cobb County district attorney, Cobb medical examiner and police internal affairs unit, Johnson died in custody when his heart went out of rhythm. Johnson had an enlarged heart, cocaine in his system and was under stress because of the fight, according to the report, and any of those factors could have led to his death. Moody said the force used by police to subdue Johnson, who was listed as at least 6 foot 3 and 250 pounds in an incident report, was justified and the officers involved have returned to duty. Johnson's mother, Dawn Jackson, reacted angrily to the report. "He didn't have no heart condition. That's just a coverup," she said. "They killed my son. They beat him up and killed him. They're not going to get away with this." Earle Burke, Jackson's Atlanta-based attorney, said he will ask the U.S. Justice Department to investigate whether Johnson's civil rights were violated and said that any legal action the family might take would await an independent autopsy he is having conducted. "I'm a little surprised and concerned they might have reached a conclusion without talking to several witnesses they had in custody who we spoke to who gave us a completely different story," Burke said, "including possibly the beating, punching and kicking of Mr. Jackson after he'd been subdued." [more ]

•  Black Man Beat Down by Marietta Police Dies in Custody -Community Outraged [more]

LAPD Not Doing a Good Job of Investigating its Own

Time and again, the LAPD has given its civilian overseers an incomplete, often distorted picture of police shootings, a Times investigation found. The five-member commission -- made up of lawyers, business people and civic leaders appointed by the mayor -- is supposed to serve as the public's sentinel at police headquarters. Scrutinizing shootings is one of its most important responsibilities, a way to ensure that police who use excessive force do not go undetected or unpunished. Yet as a watchdog, the commission operates with a serious handicap: It has frequently been kept in the dark about important aspects of LAPD shootings. The department's shooting reports routinely omit information that might cause the commission to question whether officers acted properly. Witnesses who told investigators that police fired without provocation have gone unmentioned. Physical evidence that contradicts an officer's claim of self-defense has been left out. The Times studied dozens of shootings, comparing the information presented to the Police Commission with confidential Police Department files, court records and other documents. In at least 28 shootings, 15 of them fatal, the commission ruled that the use of force was "in policy" -- that is, reasonable and justified -- without knowing about evidence that pointed to the opposite conclusion. [more ]

• In one case, suspected cocaine dealer Leonard Robinson's (Pictured above) hands were shot by Officer Jeff Nolte, who, according to the Police Department, fired "in immediate defense of his life" after the man apparently pointed a shotgun at him. The commission cleared the officer. But a different story unfolded when Robinson's civil rights lawsuit went to trial. The jury, acting on evidence never seen by the commission, found that Robinson didn't aim a weapon at the officer and also had his hands in the air trying to surrender.Robinson collected $2 million in damages this year. [more ]

Rally protests racial profiling, police brutality

A crowd of people gathered in Clark Park on Saturday to rally against what they called "America's other war" -- the injustices committed against the country's black community. Racial profiling, police brutality, lower pay scales and exploitation of black prison workers were just some of the group's overall list of injustices. International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement Chairman Omali Yeshitela also cited Penn as an example of white gentrification and encroachment on the black community. The rally followed a five-kilometer "March for Social Justice," which took place simultaneously in Oakland, Calif., and St. Petersburg, Fla., as well as West Philadelphia. The event in Clark Park, which is located at 43rd Street and Chester Avenue, was organized by the African People's Solidarity Committee, a group of white community members who say they support the plight of their black peers. That group is under the larger umbrella of the Uhuru Movement. Uhuru is the Swahili word for "freedom," but the group is also known as the African People's Socialist Party. [more ]

Oceanside Police fatally shoot Latino Man after alleged attack

Hours after a fatal officer-involved shooting, only the yellow crime-scene tape separated blood stains and a makeshift memorial of votive candles, photos and flowers on Capistrano Drive yesterday. Oceanside police say Juan S. Sanchez, 19, tried to run over an officer shortly before midnight Wednesday who was investigating a report of someone shooting a rifle. The officer fired in self defense, they said. But Sanchez's friends and family who gathered near the shooting scene questioned the official account.  Chief Michael Poehlman said it would be inappropriate for him to comment in detail about the investigation until it is over. But Poehlman expressed sympathy for family and friends of Sanchez -- and for the officer who killed him. Police said they were called to nearby Santa Anita Street Wednesday night to investigate a report of a man shooting a rifle. When they arrived, officers tried to pull over a man driving blue Thunderbird who they thought might be involved in the shooting, police said. An officer standing outside his cruiser was grazed by the car when the driver attempted to run him over, police said. The officer opened fire, striking the driver at least once and sending the car into a utility pole.  Witness, Mike Nelson said also that paramedics were kept away from the scene even though the driver was still moving. There have been at least seven officer-involved shootings in Oceanside since June 2002, not all fatal. [more ] and [more ]

• Pictured above: Paul Mount, 15, lighted candles for Juan Sanchez, who was killed by a police officer.

Black Man Allegedley Beaten by Cops - Police refuse to release Video Tape

Hattiesburg Police Department officers did not use unnecessary or excessive force in the Oct. 1 arrest of a man witnesses said was beaten by police, Chief David Wynn said Thursday. Tony Hinton, 34,  was arrested after he failed to pull over for a traffic violation and led police on a chase that ended with him crashing his truck in a ditch Wynn said. Residents of the Columbia Street neighborhood gathered on the corner and watched the arrest take place, they said. They then notified the police department that they believed officers had used excessive force during the arrest, spawning an internal investigation by the department. The investigation included interviews with Hinton, the officers and witnesses, as well as a review of police cruiser video footage shot that night, Wynn said. Eyeywitness Mary Brown said, "they had this guy down in the dirt and they were hitting him with a flashlight. He was saying, 'Lord help me, help me.'" "He resisted arrest," Wynn said. "The video clearly shows that the officers utilized their training." Wynn said he will not release the video to the media because the department is worried about civil lawsuits. He said that the investigation is complete unless he gets new information. The Hattiesburg American has filed a Mississippi Public Records Act petition with the department to obtain copies of the video and police reports. Officials have 14 days to respond to the request. Neighbors who saw the incident said they didn't see Hinton resist arrest. "He didn't have time to put up a fight," said neighbor Barbara Hilton. "He was face-down in the ditch. " [more ] and [more ]

County pays record settlement in jail-death lawsuit

• Inmate was Hog-Tied and Beaten

Jefferson County has agreed to pay a record $1.6 million to settle a lawsuit filed over an inmate's death while in retraints at the county jail. At issue was the 2001 death of Kevin Wayne Bledsoe, 23. His parents sued the county in federal court, alleging he was the victim of excessive force and gross mishandling by officers. "Kevin Bledsoe lost his life after members of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office sprayed him in the face with pepper spray, tied him up in a controversial 'hog-tie' position using a homemade rope, put a hood over his injured and bleeding head, brought him to the Jefferson County jail rather than to a hospital, and held him face down on the floor of an isolation cell until he suddenly went limp and lost consciousness," the lawsuit says. Instead of getting him medical aid, the officers removed his clothing and left him lying face down in a pool of blood, the lawsuit said. Bledsoe was arrested after a fight in a supermarket parking lot. He had recently moved to Port Hadlock from Texas. [more ] and [more ]

Verdict backs Corona officers in Killing of Arabic Man who had a Broom

A civil jury decided Thursday in favor of the city of Corona and three of its police officers in a wrongful-death lawsuit. Abdullah Fakhry died in December 2001 after a confrontation in his home with Corona officers. The family sued the city, claiming the officers' actions caused the 56-year-old man's death. On Dec. 9, 2001, officers responded to an apartment after a neighbor reported hearing a disturbance. Fakhry assured the officers nothing was wrong and didn't want to let them in, according to court testimony. But officers were obligated to make sure no one had been victimized, so they entered the apartment. Fakhry picked up a broom at one point and appeared threatening, according to court transcripts. The officers used pepper spray on him and subdued him. But Fakhry stopped breathing during the ordeal and an emergency worker gave him CPR. Fakhry died about nine days later, and the family believed the officers' actions caused his death. A critical issue debated in Riverside County Superior Court was whether the officers' use of force was reasonable. Jurors sided with the officers. Farzana Fakhry  said she believed the still-fresh events of Sept. 11, 2001, played a role.She said her father warned his children not to do anything irrational if approached by the police, she said. "The cops acted like criminals," Farzana Fakhry said. "My father was not violent." [more ]