Austin Medical Examiner Inquiry of Minority Deaths by Police Ends

Travis Co. Judge Sam Biscoe on Monday announced the end to a monthlong county investigation into allegations that the office of Travis Co. Medical Examiner Roberto Bayardo has improperly handled its investigations into 11 minority Austinites killed by Austin police officers since 1998. "Based on our review of the issues ... and after our review of the information received from the [ME's] office, we have found no evidence of improprieties that would justify an official investigation at this time," Biscoe said. Rev. Sterling Lands filed a complaint with Biscoe in July, asking that he investigate 11 "senseless and unprovoked killings" of minorities by APD officers. Lands said he was concerned that in each case Bayardo's office ruled that the deaths were "justified or unrelated to any unjustified actions by law enforcement," he wrote on July 30. Further, Lands said, he was concerned about the "countless numbers of blacks who are incarcerated" based in part on court testimony provided by examiners with the ME's office. Lands also raised questions about whether the doctors had perjured themselves and whether each of the examiners had been "properly accredited and credentialed" over the past two decades. [more ]

Coroner No Longer Recommends Charges In Police Shooting

• Black Man Fatally Shot by Pittsburgh Housing Authority in March 2003

A man was shot and killed by Pittsburgh Housing Authority Police nearly two years ago. Wednesday, the coroner weighed in on new evidence in the case. A coroner is no longer recommending criminal charges against a Pittsburgh Housing Authority police officer who fatally shot a man in a housing project. But Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht also said Wednesday that new evidence uncovered since that March 2003 recommendation doesn't exonerate the three officers present when Bernard Rogers, 26, was shot in November 2002. Wecht originally recommended charges against Officer Tonyea Curry, saying some evidence didn't support police testimony that Rogers was shot as he struggled for Curry's weapon. A witness, Delfonte Ellis, has testified he saw another officer, Douglas Butler, shoot Rogers -- but only as he ran out of the apartment at the Bedford Dwellings housing complex and down a set of steps. But Wecht said ballistics evidence supports police claims that Rogers was shot in the apartment while he struggled with Curry for the officer's weapon. [more ]

Family of Black man slain by Ferriday Police hires lawyer. NAACP Gets Involved

A fund in honor of slain Concordia Parish resident Fredrick "Ron" Lollis has been established, according to the family.  Also, the family has retained as its lawyer Ernest Johnson, state president of the NAACP.  The NAACP also has become involved in another police shooting. Monroe police shot William Henderson, 58, on Aug. 22, resulting in five officers being placed on leave.  Lollis was shot on Doty Road after Deputy David Hedrick responded to a complaint call. Hedrick told investigators that Lollis had a bat and pointed a gun at him during the incident, said Sheriff Randy Maxwell.  Another witness has said Lollis was carrying a grocery bag and asked the officer not to shoot. Both sides say they have eyewitnesses to the incident. Maxwell said a gun was recovered at the scene. On Wednesday, Louisiana State Police officials said its investigation is ongoing. [more ]

Officer Wants his Trial Moved From Pr. George's

• Prince George's County police have fatally shot more people per officer than any other large police department during a 10-year period. PG County is 62% Black (population 800,000).

Attorneys for a Prince George's police corporal who is charged with assaulting a suspected carjacker -- an incident that was captured by a video camera mounted in a police car -- do not want the officer to be tried in the county. In a 12-page motion seeking a change of venue, attorneys for Cpl. Brian K. Addis argue that he "stands no chance" of receiving a fair trial in Prince George's. The motion, filed Tuesday in Circuit Court, cites news coverage not only of the alleged assault but also of misconduct involving the police force in recent years. Defense attorneys attached printouts of 91 news articles from newspapers and television news Web sites.   According to police who have seen the videotape, it appears to show Addis running toward Bullock, after the suspect had stumbled out of the van and fallen to the ground, and then hitting and kicking him. The tape appears to show Addis leaning down and kneeing the handcuffed Bullock in the groin, the sources said.[more ]

Anarchist People of Color Members Arrested in New York. Need Legal Aid + Money

Bail is being set Much Higher for Minorities  For the past several days the New York Police Department has used heavy-handed tactics to harass, intimidate, and arrest predominantly non-violent protestors. Unfortunately, but not atypically, non-Caucasian dissenters are suffering the worst consequences. On Sunday, August 29th, one of the many people arrested was charged with two felony charges and bail that was set at $200,000. This person of color has the highest bail so far and supporters need to raise $20,000 in order to get him released. Other white activists arrested during this action were given minor charges. There is a fund set up at www.foodnotbombs.net for bail and commissary for this brother.  A nineteen year old African-American, Jamal Holiday, was arrested after an undercover officer on an unmarked scooter rammed into a crowd of protesters and a fight ensued, leaving the undercover officer wounded. The brother was picked up the next day at a protest because he fit a description and was wearing similar clothes as the suspect. He is spending his 20th birthday in jail under circumstantial evidence. [more ]

• At this point, we have identified six APOC affinity members who've been arrested. The process is still being established, but if you are willing to donate funds for bail and/or fines, please go [here ] and click on the Paypal icon to make a secure donation. Please e-mail apocfund@yahoo.com with questions. Via Infoshop.org
  
• Group Complains About Police Holding Area; "Guantanamo-style pens [more ]

Black Teen Beaten by Police: Stopped for Jaywalking

• "A dog doesn't deserve to be treated like this. Our children are treated like this. This was a young man on his way home from school."

15-year-old boy Don Pennington was beat down by Calumet City police officers yesterday after being picked up on a jaywalking charge. He was taken into custody, put in a holding room and he says, beaten while five other officers watched. Pennington, who said he was walking with about five other students when he was approached by Police,  was the only one taken to the police station. The jaywalking ordinance requires all minors who are charged with the violating the ordinance to be taken to the police station, issued tickets and have their parents called. Pennington said he had been waiting for about 20 minutes for his ticket when an officer came into the room and asked him to stop tapping on a wall with his two fingers. The teen said no words were exchanged before an officer allegedly grabbed him by the neck, threw him against a wall, then punched and kicked him for about five minutes as five other officers looked on.  [more ] and [more ] and [more ]

ACLU claims Manalapan Police harassed Black Youth

• Suit alleges patrolmen treated Black youths differently than whites

The complaint filed by the ACLU, New Jersey, claims discrimination based on race, and improper search and detention by members of the township police department, Patrolman Peter Chalfin and Patrol-man Steve Turner, on the evening of June 21, 2003. The complaint also names the township of Manalapan, the Manalapan Police Department and Police Chief Stuart Brown. Chalfin and Turner are white. They are seeking compensatory damages for pain, suffering and humiliation.  According to the complaint, the three plaintiffs, who are black, were with three white friends  along Park View Way near the Bucks Head playground.  Two police cars stopped across the street from the where the ju­veniles were standing and a pair of white police officers approached the three plaintiffs and their three friends. The complaint states that at the time the officers arrived, the minor plaintiffs and their three friends were not making any excessive noise. According to the complaint, Yorker was asked to take his hands out of his pockets and asked why, since he had done nothing wrong, but complied with the directive. At that point, according to the com­plaint, one of the officers "pushed him against the police car and or­dered him to stand against the po­lice car with his arms and legs spread."...[

Omaha Police Going Off: Daughter Of Baseball Great Say Police Roughed Her Up

• Police Punch Bob Gibson's Daughter while she's Handcuffed.

 The daughter of a baseball Hall-of-Famer Bob Gibson is accusing Omaha police of using excessive force. Renee Gibson points to bumps and bruises as proof of an assault, but police say they're not the ones who tried landing a punch. Gibson said she knew that police were across the hall. Officers were investigating a disturbance at the apartment building. "I came over to the door because I heard the woman next door mention my name," said Renee Gibson, recounting what happened this weekend. Gibson wanted to talk to the officers, so she opened her door. She said an officer yelled at her to go away. "I just stood here in disbelief. I didn't know what was going on. He said, 'Close the door,'" Gibson said. "And I guess I didn't respond fast enough for him, so he charged out of that apartment, over here and I tried to close the door, and he busted it open and knocked me all the way back." Gibson said the impact pushed over the TV and broke her statues, including one of her father. Gibson said the officer slugged her after being handcuffed. She has a bruise by her eye and says she is sore all over. Gibson said she has filed a complaint with internal affairs. Gibson was arrested for disorderly conduct and obstructing a police officer. She goes to court in September. [more ]

More Details About Arab Truck Driver Shot by Trooper

Tennessee's Homeland Security office says shooting is not tied to terrorism.
A state trooper shot and critically injured a truck driver Monday on Highway 64. The driver of the truck was identified as Mohammed Medhat Karim of New York. Trooper Thomas Kilpatrick told investigators that after he gave Karim a ticket for speeding the driver rammed his 18-wheeler into Kilpatrick's patrol car. The trooper reported that the suspect pulled a knife and the trooper fired several shots in response, police said. Police said they're still trying to find out why the man became so angry over a speeding ticket. The truck driver was shot in the chest. He was transported to a Nashville hospital. [more ]

Former Cop Jon Burge Testifies In Torture Lawsuits Today

• A grand jury is also investigating allegations by 108 African-American men, who say they were tortured during interrogations by Burge and his detectives. [see 8/30 BW for more]

Attorneys in Chicago Wednesday are questioning former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge, who was fired for allegedly torturing a murder suspect to get a confession. Burge will give a deposition in two federal civil rights lawsuits. Both suits were filed by two former death row inmates pardoned by former Governor George Ryan. The lawsuits allege the inmates were tortured into giving false confessions by detectives working for Burge.[more ]