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Posts published in “Justice”

Black Parole Officers Sue Police Department After Being Racially Profiled By White Cops

By goodblacknews on May 7, 2015

Police
(Photo Source: JEWEL SAMAD / Getty)

Four NYPD parole officers have filed a civil lawsuit against the Ramapo Police Department after claiming they were racially profiled during a recent traffic stop, CNN reports.  The officers were stopped on April 21 while attempting to carry out an arrest warrant and wearing their badges, bulletproof vests, and a placard on their truck’s dashboard.
The force claims they received a 911 call about “four big people” with “bulletproof vests on” riding in an unmarked car. According to CNN:

Mario Alexandre and his colleagues — Sheila Penister, Annette Thomas-Prince and Samuel Washington — are all black New York State Parole officers. The parole officers have filed a civil lawsuit, alleging that they were racially profiled by the white officers and that their detainment was unnecessarily malicious and reckless.

In addition to being punched by a lieutenant, Alexandre says he showed his badge but was ignored by the rest of the officers.

Penister said that when she attempted to show her New York State ID to a police sergeant, he “became enraged and approached her in a threatening manner with his hand held on the butt of his gun,” court documents state. When all parole officers were identified, they allege they were still forcibly detained and not permitted to leave.

Penister later told reporters she still suffers anxiety towards other officers. All of the parole officers have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ramapo Town Assistant Attorney Dennis Lynch says the police officers acted accordingly.

Lynch said called the actions of the police officers “reasonable under the circumstances” and that the “parole officers had not notified the town that they would be in town.”

The officers have not been placed on suspension, despite demands from the victims.

article by Desire Thompson via newsone.com

San Francisco D.A. George Gascón Expands Racial Bias Inquiry Into SF Police Department

By goodblacknews on May 7, 2015
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón (Photo via
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón (Photo via sfexaminer.com)

First came disclosures of racist and homophobic text messages exchanged by officers of San Francisco’s Police Department. That was followed by the discovery that sheriff’s deputies had been gambling on forced fighting matches between inmates at a city jail.

Then on Thursday, the San Francisco district attorney George Gascón announced that he was expanding the investigation of the city’s police and sheriff’s departments to examine whether those agencies have a deep-seated culture of systemic bias that has led to unlawful arrests or prosecutions.

In a year in which many of the nation’s major cities have been rocked by protests after the fatal police shootings of unarmed African-Americans, the broadened inquiry made clear that even a city known for its liberal politics can be buffeted by accusations that its officers behaved in a racially biased manner.

African-Americans in San Francisco have complained for years about harassment and the use of excessive force by the police. And while African-Americans make up about 5 percent of the city’s population, they account for half of its arrests and jail inmates, and more than 60 percent of the children in juvenile detention, according to city statistics.

D.A. Gascón, formerly the SFPD Chief of Police, said, “If just one individual was wrongly imprisoned because of bias on the part of these officers, that’s one too many.”

In Baltimore on Wednesday, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake acknowledged a “fractured relationship between the police and the community” in her predominately African-American city and asked the Justice Department to conduct a civil rights investigation of the Police Department to determine whether officers had engaged in unconstitutional patterns of abuse or discrimination.

At a news conference in San Francisco announcing the expanded inquiry, the district attorney, George Gascón, acknowledged that the racist text messages had particularly undermined public confidence in both his office and the local criminal justice system.

“In the last few months, we have seen city after city where police use of force or other police activity is coming to the light and indicating that racial animosity and other types of biases play a significant role,” he said. “I think at one point we felt we would be immune from that type of activity.”

He also said he believed that the city’s tradition of inclusivity would allow it to avoid the tumult in Ferguson, Mo., and other cities where racial bias has been found to have played a role in the actions of police officers.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake Calls For Department Of Justice To Investigate Police Department

By goodblacknews on May 6, 2015

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

A day after U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch visited Baltimore in the wake of unrest after Freddie Gray died of fatal injuries received in police custody, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the city’s embattled police department, according to a live report on CNN.
Lynch visited the city on Tuesday and attended a series of meetings with the mayor, embattled Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, and members of Gray’s family, reports The Baltimore Sun. Gray’s death reinflamed nationwide tensions over police brutality in Black communities, sparking sometimes violent protests last week.
Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson released a statement Wednesday regarding the possible DOJ investigation:
“The Attorney General has received Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s request for a Civil Rights Division ‘pattern or practice’ investigation into the Baltimore Police Department.  The Attorney General is actively considering that option in light of what she heard from law enforcement, city officials, and community, faith and youth leaders in Baltimore yesterday.”
Rawlings-Blake’s announcement follows a bold move last week by Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to bring charges against six police officers in Gray’s death, which has been ruled a homicide.
article by Lynette Holloway via newsone.com

Loretta Lynch Unveils $20,000,000 Program to Expand Cop Body Cameras

By goodblacknews on May 3, 2015
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Loretta Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, speaks at a press conference on April 28, 2014 in New York City. (ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES)
Just a week on the job, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Friday unveiled a $20 million pilot program to expand the use of police body cameras for “transparency” amid nationwide protests over law enforcement treatment of suspects, according to NBC News.
“Body-worn cameras hold tremendous promise for enhancing transparency, promoting accountability, and advancing public safety for law enforcement officers and the communities they serve,” Lynch said in a press release, notes the television news outlet.
The move follows protests over allegations of police brutality in black communities across the nation following several high profile deaths, including Michael Brown by a white officer in Ferguson, Mo., the killing of a homeless man on Los Angeles’ Skid Row and most recently the spinal injury while in police custody that led to the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, the report says.
NBC says the program includes $17 million in competitive grants for cameras, $2 million for training and technical assistance, and $1 million for evaluation.
Police departments around the nation have begun equipping officers with the cameras, with encouragement from the Obama administration, which has asked Congress for increased funding for the cameras, notes NBC.
A day after Lynch announced the program, the Democratic National Committee at its quarterly meeting on Saturday in San Francisco, Calif., supported the program and passed a resolution calling for reform of the criminal justice system and community investment.
“[S]ince Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, we have witnessed over a dozen high profile officer-involved shooting cases and the loss of dozens more unarmed black men and women whose names we do not see in headlines or hashtags,” the resolution reads in part. “We can no longer endure the pain, heartbreak and destruction.”
article by Lynette Holloway via theroot.com

Six Baltimore Police Officers Face Criminal Charges in Freddie Gray's Death

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2015
All six Baltimore police officers involved in the arrest and transport of Freddie Gray, who was fatally injured while in police custody, will face serious criminal charges ranging from second-degree murder to assault, Baltimore State’s Atty. Marilyn J. Mosby said on Friday.
At a news conference, Mosby announced that Gray’s death had been officially ruled a homicide and that the investigation by city police and her office had found probable cause to charge all six officers.

Arrest warrants have been issued for the officers, she said.
Mosby also spoke directly to the protesters who have marched in riot-scarred Baltimore and around the nation.
“I heard your call for no justice, no peace,” Mosby said, “but your peace is sincerely needed as I work to bring justice for Freddie Gray.”
Gray died on April 19, a week after he was arrested by Baltimore police. Gray, hands cuffed behind him, was placed in a police van to be taken to the precinct where he was expected to be charged with illegally possessing a knife, according to charging papers released by police weeks ago. At the end of the ride he was hospitalized where he later died of a severed spine.
On Friday, Mosby said police lacked probable cause for the initial arrest. The knife was not a switchblade and was legal under Maryland law.  Mosby also detailed how Gray was transported in a police van that stopped four times.  Gray was not secured in a seat belt during the trip and was repeatedly refused medical care, she said.

Officials regained control by imposing a 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew and sending in thousands of National Guard troops and police officers from municipalities throughout the region.
Protesters and community leaders have demanded to know what happened to Gray during the 45 minutes from when he was taken into custody on April 12 to when he arrived at the police precinct and how his spine was severed.
“Mr. Gray’s death was a homicide,” Mosby declared Friday, a day after formally receiving a police investigation that supplemented her office’s work throughout the crisis. The final autopsy report on Gray’s death was delivered to the prosecutor Friday morning.
Gray’s arrest was illegal and the way he was treated by officers led to the charges of murder and manslaughter, Mosby said.  The most serious charge was second-degree “depraved heart” murder lodged against the driver of the van.

Three other officers face charges of involuntary manslaughter and two were charged with assault.
The top charge carries a penalty of 30 years in prison. Conviction on the manslaughter charges carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
“No one is above the law,” Mosby said at a news conference.
article by Timothy M. Phelps and Michael Muskal via latimes.com

Eric Garner's Mother Gwen Carr Appears Before Lawmakers, Says Baltimore Riots Should Be A Wake-up Call

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2015

Gwen Carr According to Eric Garner’s mother Gwen Carr, the riots going on in Baltimore should serve as a wake-up call to lawmakers in New York that something needs to change.
Carr, along with several relatives of police victims traveled to Albany, New York Tuesday to demand that Governor Andrew Cuomo sign an executive order that would allow special prosecutors to step in to investigate police-related shootings, The New York Daily News reports.
She went on to say that many of the people who are rioting in Baltimore have reached a breaking point and in many ways, they are risking their lives to protect the lives of others who are in danger of being killed off by police in the future.
“It is very sad to see the city burning like that but sometimes people get so frustrated and they say enough is enough,” she said about Baltimore. “It just seems to me just watching it that they’re just laying their lives on the line to protect other people in the future.”
As for lawmakers, Carr had this to say:  “They need to wake up and see what’s really going on,” Carr said. “What caused this to happen? That’s the question they should ask and then correct that.”
Governor Cuomo had initially proposed criminal justice reforms that include appointing a special monitor to review cases involving deadly police encounters but has not gone as far as to allow special prosecutors to step in.
Carr and others, however, did not feel that this would be enough. Following their meeting Tuesday, Alphonso David, counsel to the governor, said that Cuomo promised to approve special prosecutors if the Legislature did not pick up his plan.
“We had a productive meeting, where both the Governor and the families of these victims had a detailed and respectful discussion on how to best reform the criminal justice system,” said David. “The Governor believes that his reform package is a balanced approach that would correct real and perceived inequities that exist within the system and he is intent on passing them in the remaining weeks of the legislative session.”
“He made it clear that if these reforms were not approved by the Legislature, he would sign an order creating a special prosecutor for police-involved fatalities,” David continued.
In a perfect world, lawmakers would have begun paying closer attention to these police-involved killings a long time ago. Hopefully, Governor Cuomo keeps his word and lawmakers across the nation will follow suit.
In other news, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that she will be sending two government officials to Baltimore to meet with faith and community leaders, as well as city officials.
article by Jazmine Denise Rogers via madamenoire.com

Nigeria: 160 More Women, Children Rescued from Boko Haram Camp

By goodblacknews on April 30, 2015

Screen Shot 2015-04-30 at 4.44.45 PM

Kano, Nigeria (CNN)  Nigerian troops rescued an additional 160 women and children from Boko Haram within days after they found hundreds of other hostages, the military said Thursday. “We are still working to verify the actual number of the rescued hostages, but I can say they include around 60 women and 100 children,” said army spokesman Sani Usman.

Troops are moving into other parts of the forest and have destroyed nine militant camps, the spokesman said. “Many of those kidnapped have undergone psychological trauma and indoctrination,” he said.

Second rescue in a week

The rescue announced Thursday came the same week the military said it rescued another group of hostages in a different operation in the same forest. Shortly after troops saved 200 girls and 93 women Tuesday, Usman said they were not the Chibok girls whose abduction last year sparked worldwide outrage.  It was not immediately clear if any of those rescued in the most recent operation are among the Chibok girls.

That mass abduction of more than 200 girls in April 2014 from a school in the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok sparked a social media movement, #BringBackOurGirls. There’s been no sign of them since. Last year, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau not only bragged about abducting the girls, but said he would “sell them in the market” like slaves.

Usman said the 160 figure for the latest batch of rescues is “an estimation, because more are coming in as operations continue.”

As to their backstories, the Nigerian army spokesman added, “Some of them are psychologically disturbed and giving contrary information due to trauma, so we can’t say where they’re from yet.”

Those rescued Tuesday were at least initially in “operational areas and not yet cleared for accessibility by health workers,” according to Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency. Officials have sent basic food and sanitary supplies, said agency spokesman Manzo Ezekiel. 

ACLU of California Launches Cellphone App to Preserve Videos of Police

By goodblacknews on April 30, 2015

A homeless man on skid row was shot to death last month during an altercation with Los Angeles police. Cellphone video captured the incident. (Los Angeles Police Department)
A homeless man on skid row was shot to death last month during an altercation with Los Angeles police. Cellphone video captured the incident. (Los Angeles Police Department)

Californians who use their cellphones to record police encounters with the public on video will be able to automatically transmit them directly to their local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union using a smartphone application launched Thursday.
By using the Mobile Justice CA app to send recordings to the ACLU, leaders of the organization said, people can ensure that video of potential police misconduct is preserved, even if their cellphone is tampered with or destroyed.

“We’re merging the power of technology with the power of the ACLU and the power of the people,” Hector Villagra, the executive director for the ACLU of Southern California, told reporters Thursday. “We are so proud to put an innovative new tool in people’s hands, empowering people to know, to assert and to protect their rights.”
Peter Bibring, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California, told The Times that work on the app began before the recent national outcry over how police officers use force, particularly against black men. But, he said, the recent string of controversial police killings have shown the importance – and impact – of civilian-captured video.
“As we’ve seen in headlines over the previous few months, recordings by members of the public is a crucial check on police abuse,” Bibring said. “We’ve seen a number of examples of high-profile incidents of abuse and unlawful shootings or killings that never would have come to light if someone wouldn’t have pulled out their phone and taken video.”

#BaltimoreUprising Protests Spread To NYC, DC And Beyond

By goodblacknews on April 30, 2015

Screen Shot 2015-04-29 at 11.58.56 PM
New York City Protest for Freddie Gray (Photo: Michael Skolnick)

Wednesday evening protests inspired by those who marched for answers in the death of Freddie Gray spread from Baltimore to other cities. Some highlights:
-In New York City, protesters starting at Union Square in Manhattan marched throughout the city, at one point shutting down the West Side highway and Holland Tunnel., according to CBS-2. At least one dozen arrests were made, according to USA Today, and Michael Skolnik of Interactive One, who was out with the marchers, and sent out a photo of Instagram of one of them. His caption: “Lots of arrests in NYC tonight. This could be a very long night…”
-In Washington, DC, NBC-4 reported that “a large group of protesters,” rallied peacefully after gathering at Gallery Place and DuPont Circle.
-In Denver, a rally that started at the county jail ended with several arrests and police pepper-spraying protesters, reported ABC-7.
-In Minneapolis, about 1,500 people marched throughout the downtown area, reported the Star Tribune. There were no arrests.
-In Boston, the Boston Globe reported that more than 500 protesters marched after gathering behind police headquarters in the Roxbury section of the city.
Meanwhile, back in Baltimore, the epicenter of protests in reaction to the death of Freddie Gray after suffering a severed spine in police custody, USA Today reported that thousands gathered outside of City Hall. Eighteen people had been arrested in Baltimore by 8 p.m., including two juveniles, the paper reported. Just after a citywide 10 p.m.-5  a.m. curfew took effect, conditions were reportedly calm.
article via newsone.com

President Obama: Police Must Hold Officers Accountable for Wrongdoing

By goodblacknews on April 29, 2015

President Barack Obama (Photo via thegrio.com)
President Barack Obama (Photo via thegrio.com)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said the Baltimore riots show that police departments need to hold officers accountable for wrongdoing “instead of just the closing-ranks approach that all too often we see.”
In an interview broadcast Wednesday morning on “The Steve Harvey Morning Show,” Obama said his heart goes out of the Baltimore officers who were injured by rioters. He said there’s no excuse for that kind of violence and Baltimore police showed “appropriate restraint.”
But he said police departments have to build more trust in minority communities by building accountability and transparency.
“It’s in their interest to root out folks who aren’t doing the right thing, to hold accountable people when they do something wrong, instead of just the closing-ranks approach that all too often we see that ends up just feeding greater frustration and ultimately, I think, putting more police officers in danger,” Obama said in the interview taped Tuesday and broadcast on black radio stations nationwide.
Obama said Attorney General Loretta Lynch is reaching out to mayors to let them know what resources are available for retraining police and providing body cameras to hold them accountable. But he said solving the problems is going to require a broader political movement that addresses problems like poor education, drugs, absent fathers and limited job opportunities.
“If all we’re doing is focusing on retraining police but not dealing with some of these underlying issues, then these problems are going to crop up again,” Obama said.
“Unfortunately we’ve seen these police-related killings or deaths too often now,” Obama said. “And obviously everybody is starting to recognize that this is not just an isolated incident in Ferguson or New York, but we’ve got some broader issues.”
“I’ve seen this movie too many times before,” he added.
Asked whether he would visit Baltimore, Obama said he didn’t want to draw resources away from addressing the violence. “Once things have been cleared up, I think there’s going to be a time I go back to Baltimore.”
article by Nedra Pickler via thegrio.com