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Posts tagged as “deadly force”

Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Department of Justice to Start Collecting Data on Deadly Use of Force by Police

By goodblacknews on October 13, 2016
Protesters hold signs in front the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department during a demonstration in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 23, 2016, following the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by police three days earlier and subsequent unrest in the city.
Protesters at demonstration in Charlotte, NC after Keith Lamont Scott shooting by police. (Nicolas Kamm / GETTY IMAGES)

article by Breanna Edwards via theroot.com

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that it will begin collecting data on deadly police encounters nationwide, starting early next year, the New York Times reports.

As the report notes, it marks the beginning of the most ambitious effort the federal government has ever made to track police use of force, coming after the nation has been rocked time and time again with the aftermath of such brutal encounters.
As the Times notes, the project will not only collect data on fatal shootings by local, state and federal officers, but will also include data on the deaths that occur in police custody through suicide or natural causes.
“Accurate and comprehensive data on the use of force by law enforcement is essential to an informed and productive discussion about community-police relations,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement. “In the days ahead, the Department of Justice will continue to work alongside our local, state, tribal and federal partners to ensure that we put in place a system to collect data that is comprehensive, useful and responsive to the needs of the communities we serve.”
Read more at the New York Times and the Department of Justice. 

Bill from CA Senator Holly Mitchell to Bar Secret Grand Juries in Police Deadly Force Cases Signed into Law by Governor Jerry Brown

By goodblacknews on August 13, 2015
Both measures were part of a spate of proposals introduced by lawmakers earlier this year on police accountability; some of the more controversial bills dealing with body-worn cameras or reporting on use-of-force incidents have stalled in the Legislature.
Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) offered the grand juries measure in response to high-profile incidents in Ferguson, Mo., and New York City, where grand juries declined to indict police officers for the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, respectively.
Mitchell said her bill, SB 227, would help make judicial proceedings more transparent and accountable. Los Angeles and Santa Clara counties already have opted not to use grand juries when an officer’s actions may have caused someone’s death.
“One doesn’t have to be a lawyer to understand why SB 227 makes sense,” Mitchell said in a statement.  “The use of the criminal grand jury process, and the refusal to indict as occurred in Ferguson and other communities of color, has fostered an atmosphere of suspicion that threatens to compromise our justice system.”
The measure was opposed by law enforcement groups, including the California Assn. of District Attorneys, which argued the grand jury system was a useful prosecutorial tool.