It’s quite clear that new measures are a response to the overall violent demeanor of the NYPD.
New York City, N.Y. – In a testament to the “trigger-happy” nature of NYPD cops, the city Housing Authority has ordered all workers fixing elevators in NYC housing projects to wear construction orange vests.
New policies were enacted by the Housing Authority after officers pulled a gun on a maintenance crew and fatally shot an unarmed man in a stairwellin a separate incident.
“[The elevator workers] were basically told the reason was because of recent incidents where cops had pulled a gun on a caretaker and a supervisor on the roof of a housing project,” a source said.
“No one got shot, but they also referred to the cop shooting and were told, ‘We’re doing this for your protection. Your lives are in jeopardy, and we don’t want you to get hurt,’ ” the source said
Pulling no punches, one Housing Authority supervisor allegedly told his crews that the new policy was due to NYPD cops being “trigger-happy.”
In addition to wearing the bright orange vests, workers will now also be required to wear their official identification on a neck lanyard.
“They said that in case a cop stops you, we don’t want you reaching around in back pocket That could be another reason for a cop to shoot you,” the source told the Post.
According to a Housing Authority spokeswoman, the new policies were simply standard operating procedure regarding safety.
“The issuance of the safety vests was one action taken to increase safety for elevator personnel through our ongoing ‘Safety in Motion’ initiative. Although not tied to any particular incident, we hope that this simple action will further protect these hardworking employees and allow them to be easily identified when needed,” the spokeswoman said.
Regardless of the Housing Authority’s public statements, it’s quite clear that new measures are a response to the overall violent demeanor of the NYPD. More specifically, they are in response to the killing of unarmed father of two Akai Gurley in a dimly lit stairwell on November 20, 2014.
When city agencies feel the need to have their employees wear brightly colored vests to be sure they aren’t killed by cops while on the job, you may just have a severe policing problem on your hands
On Friday, May 29, 2015, a group of bikers in Arizona plan to host an anti-Muslim demonstration outside of the Islamic Community Center in Phoenix. Dubbed as “Freedom of Speech Rally Round 2,” a reference to American blogger Pamela Geller’s deadly “Draw Muhammad” cartoon contest in Garland, Texas earlier this month, the event, organized on Facebook, is described as a “response to the recent attack in Texas where 2 armed terrorist, [sic] with ties to ISIS, attempted Jihad.”
Prior to gathering outside of the mosque, the motorcyclists say they’ll meet in a nearby Denny’s parking lot, where they’ll have a “Muhammad cartoon contest.” They plan to take the images of Islam’s prophet to the Islamic Community Center at 6:15 that evening — a time when the Muslim community is expected to gather inside.
Jon Ritzheimer, the event’s organizer, wearing a t-shirt that will be sold ahead of the planned protest.
The rally’s organizer, Jon Ritzheimer, has called on the group to “to utilize there [sic] second amendment right at this event just in case our first amendment comes under the much anticipated attack.” He warns on the event’s Facebookpage that the mosque is “a known place that the 2 terrorist [sic] frequented.” The would-be ambushers of Pamela Geller’s event in Garland are said to have worshiped there.
As of Wednesday morning, 128 people had signed up to attend the Phoenix rally.
There are a few important points about this event that are worth noting, briefly.
First, this rally shows how seemingly fringe figures like Pamela Geller have (even unintentionally) inspired copycat demonstrations across the country. Geller and company don’t tote weapons, but biker gangs who sympathize with her views often do. Ahead of a Muslim event in Garland, Texas back in January, some motorcyclists showed up with long guns. In 2011, fundamentalist Christian pastor Terry Jones planned a protest outside of a Dearborn mosque, indicating that he and his supporters would be armed. Ultimately, authorities prevented the gathering. Though the bikers at these events did not fire their weapons, the possibility of violence increases when armed demonstrators swarm a group of people they dislike. For Ritzheimer and his fellow bikers, Islam is a religion that inspires violence among its followers. Muslims are a dangerous threat. At this latest protest in Phoenix, Geller’s supporters are taking what — in their minds — is the logical next step: possibly resorting to violence.
Next, this event is yet another reminder of the degree to which “free speech” demonstrations are often veneers for deep-seated animus. The point that the Phoenix bikers are making with this event is less about free speech than it is about expressing their hatred of Islam directly to Muslims. This is evidenced by the obscene comments on the group’s page, the vulgar t-shirts that the group will sell (and wear) ahead of their gathering, and the fact that the organizers have chosen to intentionally antagonize Muslims at their mosque by arriving en masse, insulting their religion to their faces, intimidating them with their weapons, and expecting that they quietly embrace all of this in the name of the First Amendment.
Lastly, it highlights the degree to which Islamophobia runs rampant on the Internet, and how social media has become a breeding ground for groups like this who, in addition to fomenting their views online, use the virtual space to plan and organize actual events. This is central to the effectiveness of groups like Geller’s, who time and again have nurtured online bases and issued calls to action. In 2010, the hue and cry in the streets of Manhattan over the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” was Geller’s work, and in the past five years dozens of bloggers and web-goers have translated armchair enthusiasm about issues related to Islam into on-the-ground activism against Muslim groups.
The FBI is currently investigating threatening letters that were sent to the mosque, and an entourage of armed people gathered outside of it on Friday evening will only make matters worse.
Trameka Pope said she worked hard in school because she refused to become a statistic.
Trameka Pope, a Chicago high school senior, gave birth to a baby girl the summer after eighth grade and decided then that she wasn't going to become a statistic. Now she has more than 26 college-acceptance letters and has been awarded more than $600,000 in scholarships, People magazine reports.
"I was told that God don't make mistakes and he wouldn't give anyone a child who wasn't ready for one," Pope told Fox 32 News.
Pope told the news station that at one point during her struggles, she and her family were homeless. But that didn't stop Pope. She was a cheerleader, worked at a grocery store and is a member of the National Honor Society. She is also the valedictorian of the graduating class at Chicago's Wendell Phillips High School, and she has already taken college-preparatory courses at a local college.
"I didn't give up. I pushed myself hard. And my baby motivated me every day because I wanted to provide for her and I also didn't want to be a statistic," Pope said.
Pope's school counselors helped her apply to college, and staff members from the Chicago Public Schools took her on college tours. Her social worker, Dawn Jackson, described Pope as an example of how teen parents can persevere and still do incredibly well in school if they put in the effort and are helped.
"No matter what background you come from, it doesn't matter if you have a child as a teen, no matter what people say about you, you still can, you can make it and you can become something," Jackson said.
Pope plans to attend Western Illinois University and hopes to get her Ph.D. in social work.
The United States is preparing for a possible war against China and Russia aimed at preventing the collapse of the Western banking system, an American political commentator and activist says.
Michael Billington, Asia editor for the Executive Intelligence Review and author of Reflections of an American Political Prisoner: the Repression and Promise of the LaRouche Movement, made the remarks in a phone interview with Press TV on Thursday.
On Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter warned China to stop developing man-made islands in the South China Sea, vowing that the United States would not stop patrolling international waters and airspace in the Asia-Pacific region.
“There should be no mistake, the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, as we do all around the world,” Carter said at the US military’s joint base at Pearl Harbor.
Billington said China’s attempt to build islands in the South China Sea is “not that unusual” since the Philippines and Vietnam are also doing the same.
US President Barack Obama is trying to keep his focus on a widely advertised shift to Asia, which he has pursued since 2011. The White House argues that no region is more important to America’s long-term interests than Asia.
“The point that has to be made is that the Chinese, like the Russians, are very, very clear that the United States and their NATO allies are in a war mobilization, preparing for war on Russia, preparing for war on China,” Billington stated.
“There’s a general recognition growing that the driving force for this war is the utter collapse of the entire Western banking system,” he added.
“Greece is now ready to default. It has made this very clear. The euro will not survive. Obama here at home has failed… to reverse the decline in employment, in production, in infrastructure in the United States and we are now facing a collapse far greater than the 2008 collapse,” the analyst said.
“And the view from London and Washington and New York is we have to go to war, we cannot allow this BRICS alliance between Russia, China, India, South Africa and most of Latin America creating new financial institutions to take away our ability to loot the resources in the developing sector,” Billington noted.
“So they are going for war,” he stressed.
Washington accuses Beijing of undergoing a massive “land reclamation” program in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, and says China’s territorial claims of the man-made islands could further militarize the region.
“China knows that every military offensive against them since the time of the British opium war came through the South China Sea,” Billington said. “So they are concerned.”
He said the Chinese have repeatedly offered to “the South-East Asian nations to work jointly on the development of the resources, which have been soundly rejected by the Filipinos, who are functioning as absolute puppets of Obama’s war plans, and in fact, turning their islands into a massive US military base.”
He went on to say that there is "no reason for this confrontation" between the United States and China “other than the fact that Obama wants a war, rather his controllers in London and in Wall Street want a war, and Obama will do it if he is not removed from office.”
“The US is already using the Philippines as a military base for war. This can be stopped, it must be stopped, but it’s going to have to be stopped here in the United States,” Billington emphasized.
ss than two weeks on the job and Edwardsville city councilman Chuck Stites is already being investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigations.
The councilman has been accused of shouting racial slurs at a teenage girl during a road rage incident that occurred on May 3rd.
“He had on his signal like he was going to turn right to where I was, so I proceeded to take my right and we almost collided because he continued to go straight,” Kali Chatmon, 17, told WDAF .
She said she felt bad for almost hitting the car and started apologizing. Unfortunately, that’s when things got ugly.
“He was just saying things like go back to Baltimore then he called me a black n***er b***h,” said Chatmon.
The upset teen told her parents about the altercation and was later able to identify the driver when she recognized the vehicle at a local bar and grille. A Bonner Springs police report was eventually turned over to the Kansas Bureau of Investigations, which said it could not comment on ongoing investigations.
In a statement to KSHB, Stites refused to say whether the charges were true.
“There’s an ongoing investigation,” Stites said. “It’s a misunderstanding. There’s a lot more to this story than is being told, and I think it would probably be inappropriate for me to comment much more until that investigation is complete.”
“I’m okay with somebody voicing their opinion,” he added. “That’s their right, and that doesn’t bother me at all. I have no intention of stepping down.”
The international soccer organization has over time been accused of rampant human rights violations—including exploiting migrant and child labor, and spurring the mass displacement of poor and indigenous peoples—environmental degradation, corruption, bribery, and more or less running roughshod over the nations chosen to host the quadrennial FIFA World Cup tournament.
Most recently, the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar has drawn significant scrutiny.
On Wednesday, the U.S. DOJ announced that it is indicting nine FIFA officials and five corporate executives on charges of racketeering, conspiracy, and corruption.
"The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch in a press statement.
The corruption, Lynch continued, "spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks. And it has profoundly harmed a multitude of victims, from the youth leagues and developing countries that should benefit from the revenue generated by the commercial rights these organizations hold, to the fans at home and throughout the world whose support for the game makes those rights valuable.
"Today’s action makes clear that this Department of Justice intends to end any such corrupt practices, to root out misconduct, and to bring wrongdoers to justice—and we look forward to continuing to work with other countries in this effort."
Seven of those charged were arrested by Swiss authorities while attending the annual FIFA meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.
According to the New York Times, which has live updates on the scandal, "more than a dozen plainclothes Swiss law enforcement officials arrived unannounced at the Baur au Lac hotel, an elegant five-star property with views of the Alps and Lake Zurich. They went to the front desk to get room numbers and then proceeded upstairs. The arrests were carried out peacefully."
The remaining defendants now face extradition to the U.S..
Reaction to the news, however, was mixed—particularly in a country where the "world's sport" ("soccer" in the U.S.; "futbol" or "football" everywhere else) is only the favorite in two percent of American households, according to a 2012 survey.
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
U.S. Department of Justice
Fact Sheet
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 represents
the bipartisan product of six years of hard work. It is the largest crime bill
in the history of the country and will provide for 100,000 new police
officers, $9.7 billion in funding for prisons and $6.1 billion in funding for
prevention programs which were designed with significant input from
experienced police officers. The Act also significantly expands the
government's ability to deal with problems caused by criminal aliens.
The Crime Bill provides $2.6 billion in additional funding for the FBI, DEA,
INS, United States Attorneys, and other Justice Department components,
as well as the Federal courts and the Treasury Department. Some of the
most significant provisions of the bill are summarized below:
Substantive Criminal Provisions
Assault Weapons
Bans the manufacture of 19 military-style assault weapons, assault
weapons with specific combat features, "copy-cat" models, and certain
high-capacity ammunition magazines of more than ten rounds.
Death Penalty
Expands the Federal death penalty to cover about 60 offenses, including
terrorist homicides, murder of a Federal law enforcement officer,
large-scale drug trafficking, drive-by-shootings resulting in death and
carjackings resulting in death.
Domestic Abusers and Firearms
Prohibits firearms sales to and possession by persons subject to family
violence restraining orders.
Firearms Licensing
Strengthens Federal licensing standards for firearms dealers.
Fraud
Creates new insurance and telemarketing fraud categories. Expands
Federal jurisdiction to cases that do not involve the use of delivery
services to commit a fraud. Provides special sentencing enhancements
for fraud crimes committed against the elderly.
Gang Crimes
Provides new and stiffer penalties for violent and drug trafficking crimes
committed by gang members.
Immigration
Provides for enhanced penalties for alien smuggling, illegal reentry after
deportation and other immigration-related crimes. (See Part II).
Juveniles
Authorizes adult prosecution of those 13 and older charged with certain
serious violent crimes. Prohibits the sale or transfer of a firearm to or
possession of certain firearms by juveniles. Triples the maximum
penalties for using children to distribute drugs in or near a protected
zone, i.e., schools, playgrounds, video arcades and youth centers.
Registration of Sexually Violent Offenders
Requires states to enact statutes or regulations which require those
determined to be sexually violent predators or who are convicted of
sexually violent offenses to register with appropriate state law
enforcement agencies for ten years after release from prison. Requires
state prison officials to notify appropriate agencies of the release of such
individuals. Requires states to criminally punish those who fail to
register. States which fail to establish registration systems may have
Federal grant money reduced.
Repeat Sex Offenders
Doubles the maximum term of imprisonment for repeat sex offenders
convicted of Federal sex crimes.
Three Strikes
Mandatory life imprisonment without possibility of parole for Federal
offenders with three or more convictions for serious violent felonies or
drug trafficking crimes.
Victims of Crime
Allows victims of Federal violent and sex crimes to speak at the
sentencing of their assailants. Strengthens requirements for sex
offenders and child molesters to pay restitution to their victims. Improves
the Federal Crime Victims' Fund and the victim-related programs it
supports.
Other
Creates new crimes or enhances penalties for: drive-by-shootings, use of
semi-automatic weapons, sex offenses, crimes against the
elderly, interstate firearms trafficking, firearms theft and smuggling,
arson, hate crimes and interstate domestic violence.
Immigration Initiatives
The Crime Bill contains specialized enforcement provisions respecting
immigration and criminal aliens. Those programs are highlighted here:
$1.2 billion for border control, criminal alien depor.tations, asylum reform
and a criminal alien tracking center.
$1.8 billion to reimburse states for incarceration of illegal criminal aliens.
(See State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) Grants in Section
III).
Enhanced penalties for failure to depart the United States after a
deportation order or reentry after deportation.
Expedited deportation for aliens who are not lawful permanent residents
and who are convicted of aggravated felonies.
Statutory authority for abused spouses and spouses with abused children
to petition for permanent residency or suspension of deportation.
Grant Programs For 1995
Most of these programs are authorized for six years beginning October 1,
1994. Some are formula grants, awarded to states or localities based on
population, crime rate or some other combination of factors. Many are
competitive grants. All grants will require an application process and are
administered by the Department of Justice unless otherwise noted. As
always, all funds for the years 1996-2000 are subject to appropriation by
the Congress.
Brady Implementation
Competitive grant program for states to upgrade criminal history records
keeping so as to permit compliance with the Brady Act. $ 1 00 million
appropriated in 1995. In addition, the Brady Act authorizes $1 00 million
for FY 1996. $50 million of this amount is authorized to be expended from
the Violent Crime Control Act Trust Fund.
Byrne Grants
Formula grant program for states for use in more than 20 law
enforcement purposes, including state and local drug task force efforts.
$450 million appropriated for the formula grant program in 1995. $550
million authorized in 1996-2000 for both formula and discretionary.
Community Policing
Competitive grant program (COPS Program) to put 100,000 police officers
on the streets in community policing programs. $1.3 billion available in
1995. $7.5 billion authorized in 1996-2000.
Community Schools
Formula grant program administered by the Department of Health and
Human Services for supervised afterschool, weekend, and summer
programs for at-risk youth. $25.9 million available in 1995. $567 million
authorized in 1995-2000.
Correctional Facilities/Boot Camps
Formula and competitive grant program for state corrections agencies to
build and operate correctional facilities, including boot camps and other
alternatives to incarceration, to insure that additional space will be
available to put - and keep - violent offenders incarcerated. Fifty percent
of money to be set aside for those states which adopt truth-in-sentencing
laws (violent offenders must serve at least 85% of their sentence) or which
meet other conditions. $24.5 million in competitive funds available for
boot camps in 1995. $7.9 billion authorized in 1996.2000.
Drug Courts
Competitive grant program to support state and local drug courts which
provide supervision and specialized services to offenders with
rehabilitation potential. $29 million available in 1995. $971 million
authorized in 1996-2000.
Family and Community Endeavor Schools
Competitive grants program administered by the Department of
Education for localities and community organizations to help improve
the overall development of at-risk youth living in poor and high-crime
communities. This program is for both in-school and after-school
activities. $11 million available in 1995. $232 million authorized in
1996-2000.
Hotline
Competitive grant program administered by the Department of Health
and Human Services to establish a National Domestic Violence Hotline.
$1 million authorized in 1995. $2 million authorized in 1996-2000.
Prevention Council
Provides funding for the President's Prevention Council to coordinate
new and existing crime prevention programs. $1.5 million available in
1995. $88.5 million authorized for competitive grants in 1996-2000.
SCAAP Grants
Formula grant program to reimburse states for the cost of incarcerating
criminal aliens. $130 million available in 1995. $1.67 billion authorized in
1996-2000.
Violence Against Women
Formula grant program to support police and prosecutor efforts and
victims services in cases involving sexual violence or domestic
abuse, and for other programs which strengthen enforcement and
provide services to victims in such cases. $26 million available in
1995. $774 million for formula grants and over $200 million for
competitive grants authorized in 1996-2000.
Grant Programs For 1996-2000
All programs available in 1995 are continued. All programs are
administered by the Department of Justice unless otherwise noted.
Funding for 1996-2000 is, as always, subject to appropriation by the
Congress.
Battered Women's Shelters
Competitive grant program administered by the Department of Health
and Human Services for battered women's shelters and other domestic
violence prevention activities. $325 million authorized.
Capital Improvements to Prevent Crime in Public Parks
Competitive grant program administered by the Department of Interior
for states and localities for crime prevention programs in national and
public parks. $15 million authorized.
Community Economic Partnership
Competitive program administered by the Department of Health and
Human Services for lines of credit to community development
corporations to stimulate business and employment opportunities for
low-income, unemployed and underemployed individuals. $270 million
authorized.
Crime Prevention Block Grants
$377 million authorized for a new Local Crime Prevention Block Grant
program to be distributed to local governments to be used as
local needs dictates. Authorized programs include: anti-gang programs,
sports leagues, boys and girls clubs, partnerships (triads) between the
elderly and law enforcement, police partnerships for children and youth
skills programs.
Delinquent and At-Risk-Youth
Competitive grant program for public or private non profit organizations
to support the development and operation of projects to provide
residential services to youth, aged 11 to 19, who have dropped out
of school, have come into contact with the juvenile justice system or are
at risk of either. $36 million authorized.
DNA Analysis
Competitive grant program for states and localities to develop or
improve DNA identification capabilities. $40 million authorized. An
additional $25 million is authorized to the FBI for DNA identification
programs.
Drug Treatment
$383 million for prison drug treatment programs, including $270 million
in formula grants for states.
Education and Prevention to Reduce Sexual Assaults Against Women
Competitive grant program administered by the Department of Health
and Human Services to fund rape prevention and education programs in
the form of educational seminars, hotlines, training programs for
professionals and the preparation of informational materials. $205 million
authorized.
Local Partnership Act
Formula grant program administered by the Department of Housing and
Urban Development for localities to enhance education, provide
substance abuse treatment and fund job programs to prevent crimes.
$1.6 billion authorized.
Model Intensive Grants
Competitive grant program for model crime prevention programs
targeted at high-crime neighborhoods. Up to 15 cities will be selected.
$625 million authorized.
Police Corps
Competitive funding for the Police Corps (college scholarships for
students who agree to serve as police officers), and formula grants to
states for scholarships to in-service law enforcement officers. $100
million authorized for Police Corps, and $ 1 00 million authorized for
in-service law enforcement scholarships.
Prosecutors
Competitive grant program for state and local courts, prosecutors and
public defenders. $150 million authorized.
Rural Law Enforcement
Formula grant program for rural anti-crime and drug enforcement efforts,
including task forces. $240 million authorized.
Technical Automation
Competitive grant program to support technological improvements for
law enforcement agencies and other activities to improve law
enforcement training and information systems. $130 million authorized.
Urban Recreation For At-Risk-youth
Competitive grant program administered by the Department of Interior
for localities to provide recreation facilities and services in areas with
high crime rates and to provide such services in other areas to
at-risk-youth. $4.5 million authorized.
For More Information
For further information about the Violent Crime and law Enforcement Act
of 1994, contact the:
Department of Justice
Response Center
1-800-421-6770
In the Washington, DC metropolitan area:
202-307-1480
October 24,1994
NCJ FS000067
Charlena Michelle Cooks was accused of resisting arrest for not showing an ID (YouTube/screen grab)
Officials with the city of Barstow, California insisted this week that officers had acted properly when they used force to arrest a pregnant woman who refused to show them her identification, even though the charges were later dismissed.
In police body camera video obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California (ACLU SoCal), an officer is responding to an apparent traffic dispute between Charlena Michelle Cooks, who is 8-months-pregnant and black, and an unidentified white woman.
The officer first talks to the white woman, who accuse Cooks of acting “all crazy.”
“I don’t see a crime that has been committed,” the officer admits after examining the woman’s car. After promising the woman a police report, the officer heads over to talk to Cooks.
Cooks explains that the argument occurred because the woman disagreed with the way she was driving in the parking lot. Cooks also said that the woman frightened her daughter, who was in second grade.
Watch the video of Cooks arrest below, record January 26, 2015.
“She called the police for whatever reason, I don’t know,” Cooks says. “Should I feel threatened by her because she’s white? Because she’s white and she’s making threats to me?”
At that point the officer asks for Cooks name, but she insists that she does not have to tell him.
“I actually do have the right to ask you for your name,” the officer replies.
“Let me make sure,” Cooks says as she makes a phone call to someone.
The officer says he will give Cooks two minutes to verify his right to ask for her identification. But less than 20 seconds later, the officer and a colleague are performing a painful wristlock takedown on Cooks. The pregnant woman screams as she is forced belly first into the ground.
ACLU SoCal staff attorney Adrienna Wong pointed out that Cooks had a right to refused to show her ID.
“It would be a wrongful arrest, but it would be an arrest,” she noted. “Even if an officer is conducting an investigation, in California, unlike some other states, he can’t just require a person to provide ID for no reason.”
“Officers in California should not be using the obstruction law, Penal Code 148, to arrest someone for failing to provide ID, when they can’t find any other reason to arrest them,” Wong added.
ACLU SoCal staff attorney Jessica Price observed that Cooks, who is black, was handled very differently than the white woman.
“Imagine getting wrestled to the ground and handcuffed in front of your child’s elementary school,” Price remarked. “Imagine interacting with other parents afterwards. Imagine what kids who saw the incident tell your child. And if you think the whole incident happened because of your race, how does that impact your view of police?”
In a separate settlement with ACLU SoCal, the City of Barstow agreed to provide training to its officers after two brothers were arrested for refusing to provide identification. Charges against the brothers were dropped and the city agreed to pay $30,000 in damages.
The charges of resisting arrest against Cooks were also dropped, but the city insisted that it acted properly in that case.
“The Barstow Police Department continues to be proactive in training its officers to assess and handle interactions with emotionally charged individuals while conducting an investigation, for the protection of everyone involved,” the city said in a statement.
“This incident was in no way racially motivated, as implied by the ACLU,” the statement said. “Barstow is a racially diverse community, as is our Police Department, and we affirm our Police Department’s commitment to protect and serve all of our residents.”
To make matters worse, Cooks was banned from her daughter’s school until the charges were dismissed. She said that she has not decided whether or not she wants to sue the city. But ultimately, her goal is to move out of Barstow as soon as possible.
“I’m still trying to process everything and get in a good state of mind,” she told theDesert Dispatch. “I’m in a very fearful state of mind. Barstow is so small and I used to be comfortable living here. Not anymore. I really felt like after all that happened I had some of my everyday freedoms taken from me.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been that terrified in my life,” Cooks continued. “I never saw that coming. I told him I was pregnant so he could proceed with caution. That didn’t happen and the first thing I thought was I didn’t want to fall to the ground. I felt the pressure on my stomach from falling and I was calling for help. But those guys are supposed to help me. But who is supposed to help me when they are attacking me?”
Cooks gave birth to a daughter earlier this year, but the violent January arrest still haunts her.
“She was a full-term baby born on March 30,” she said. “We don’t exactly know if anything really happened to her during the incident so I’m just watching her development closely.”
It is sad to report that at least 56 Chicago citizens were shot over Memorial Day Weekend, with 12 of them succumbing to their injuries.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the victims (mostly men) ranged from 17-47 years of age, with one women being shot by her boyfriend early Tuesday morning around 2:00 a.m. The latest killing was that of a 17-year-old boy who was shot several times in the back and leg Monday night around 7:50 p.m. Many of the fatalities occurred between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, bringing the total to nine victims before Monday afternoon. Three others were killed a short time later.
As many shootings that took place over the course of the weekend, no one has been placed in custody for the crimes. Chicago Police spokesman Officer Thomas Sweeney reported that many of the victims were taken to different hospitals in serious or critical condition, and Chicago police are currently investigating every shooting.
Farrakhan on the Killing of Mike Brown & Conspiracy to Destroy Black Youth
This May 24, 2015 Handout photo provided by the Blanco Police Department in Blanco, Texas shows the bridge on Rte 165 spanning the Blanco River that was washed away by flash flooding caused by torrential downpours. (AFP/BLANCO POLICE DEPARTMENT) The governor of Texas declared a state of emergency in 2 dozen counties, as more severe weather conditions are in store for the region, where storms have already killed at least 3 people. Across the border in Mexico, 13 people were killed by a tornado.
Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster in 24 counties, citing deadly weather conditions that have been tormenting the state since early May.
The first emergency proclamation, issued on May 11, had to be amended to include more counties.
An unidentified man was found drowned in Texas, while at least two more victims reportedly died in Oklahoma. One woman died after her car hydroplaned and a firefighter was killed when he was swept into a storm drain, CNN reported.
Twelve people were reported missing after hundreds of homes were damaged by flash-flooding in Central Texas on Monday, AP reported.
The region has been badly affected by tornadoes, heavy rains and thunderstorms as of late. People have been evacuated from their homes, sometimes being rescued from their roofs, Reuters reported. Thousands have been left without electricity, and flash flooding has damaged hundreds of houses and washed away bridges.
The area has been suffering from record-setting rains since the beginning of May, and has already received six times more rainfall than typical for an entire month, Accuweather said. More severe thunderstorm and flash-flood warnings, as well as tornado watches, were issued by the Weather Service on Monday, with the governor’s office saying the severe weather could continue through the week.
Meanwhile at least 13 people have died as a result of the severe weather conditions in the Mexican city of Ciudad Acuna across the border from Del Rio, Texas, Coahuila state spokeswoman Rosario Cano announced. At least another 230 people were injured in a tornado. Shelters were being set up, after the twister touched down in the region shortly after daybreak on Monday, destroying some 750 homes as well as cars.
It is believed to be the strongest tornado to ravage Mexico in at least 15 years, registering from grade EF2 to EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, a spokesman for the National Meteorological Service told Reuters. Link: http://rt.com/usa/261889-emergency-governor-texas-weather/
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (L) and Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta (R) listen as U.S. Attorney Steve Dettlebach speaks at a press conference on December 4, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Angelo Merendino/Getty Images)
The Department of Justice has released a report of its investigation into the Cleveland Police Department. My Post colleague Emily Badger beat me to the punch on this, but the findings are staggering.
Our investigation concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that CDP engages in a pattern or practice of using unreasonable force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. That pattern manifested in a range of ways, including:
The unnecessary and excessive use of deadly force, including shootings and head strikes with impact weapons;
The unnecessary, excessive or retaliatory use of less lethal force including tasers, chemical spray and fists;
Excessive force against persons who are mentally ill or in crisis, including in cases where the officers were called exclusively for a welfare check; and
The employment of poor and dangerous tactics that place officers in situations where avoidable force becomes inevitable and places officers and civilians at unnecessary risk.
In other words, the department fails in just about every possible measurable way. And it goes on like that:
. . . we found incidents of CDP officers firing their guns at people who do not pose an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury to officers or others and using guns in a careless and dangerous manner, including hitting people on the head with their guns, in circumstances where deadly force is not justified. Officers also use less lethal force that is significantly out of proportion to the resistance encountered and officers too often escalate incidents with citizens instead of using effective and accepted tactics to de-escalate tension. We reviewed incidents where officers used Tasers,3 oleoresin capsicum spray (“OC Spray”), or punched people who were already subdued, including people in handcuffs. Many of these people could have been controlled with a lesser application of force. At times, this force appears to have been applied as punishment for the person’s earlier verbal or physical resistance to an officer’s command, and is not based on a current threat posed by the person. This retaliatory use of force is not legally justified. Our review also revealed that officers use excessive force against individuals who are in mental health crisis or who may be unable to understand or comply with officers’ commands, including when the individual is not suspected of having committed any crime at all.
In addition to the pattern or practice of excessive force, we found that CDP officers commit tactical errors that endanger both themselves and others in the Cleveland community and, in some instances, may result in constitutional violations. They too often fire their weapons in a manner and in circumstances that place innocent bystanders in danger; and accidentally fire them, sometimes fortuitously hitting nothing and other times shooting people and seriously injuring them. CDP officers too often use dangerous and poor tactics to try to gain control of suspects, which results in the application of additional force or places others in danger. Critically, officers do not make effective use of de-escalation techniques, too often instead escalating encounters and employing force when it may not be needed and could be avoided. While these tactical errors may not always result in constitutional violations, they place officers, suspects, and other members of the Cleveland community at risk.
The department also fails at holding cops accountable after the fact.
Force incidents often are not properly reported, documented, investigated, or addressed with corrective measures. Supervisors throughout the chain of command endorse questionable and sometimes unlawful conduct by officers. We reviewed supervisory investigations of officers’ use of force that appear to be designed from the outset to justify the officers’ actions. Deeply troubling to us was that some of the specially-trained investigators who are charged with conducting unbiased reviews of officers’ use of deadly force admitted to us that they conduct their investigations with the goal of casting the accused officer in the most positive light possible. This admitted bias appears deeply rooted, cuts at the heart of the accountability system at CDP, and is emblematic of the type of practice that justifies a finding under Section 14141.
In fact, the relevant internal department responsible for investigating deadly force incidents hasn’t conducted a single investigation since 2012. More disturbing still, the DOJ issued a similar report a mere decade ago about the same department. There’s only so much the department can do. At some point, it’s up to the people of Cleveland. Hopefully it won’t take too many more dead kids or multimillion dollar settlements for residents to demand that political leaders install police officials who take a more constitution-friendly approach to law enforcement.
