Abuse of Power Thread (Cops, Governments, Etc.)

[Asgard]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-the-back-by-utah-police-says-family-attorney

Darrien Hunt: Utah authorities alter account of shooting by police

Family lawyer says bullets came from behind and criticises ‘almost incomprehensible’ delay in questioning officers involved

• Jon Swaine in New York
• theguardian.com, Tuesday 16 September 2014 01.12 BST

Darrien Hunt and police just before the shooting. Photograph: Jocelyn Hansen via ABC4

Authorities in Utah have altered their account of how a 22-year-old black man was killed by police, after an attorney for the man’s family alleged that he was shot repeatedly from behind by officers while running away.
The authorities also said that the two police officers involved in the shooting of Darrien Hunt last Wednesday had not yet been interviewed about the incident. The attorney for Hunt’s family described this delay as “almost incomprehensible”.
Hunt died outside a Panda Express restaurant at a strip mall in Saratoga Springs on Wednesday morning following an encounter with two police officers who were responding to a 911 call reporting a man with a samurai-style sword acting suspiciously.
After several days of silence Tim Taylor, the chief deputy attorney for Utah county, said in a statement on Saturday: “When the officers made contact with Mr Hunt, he brandished the sword and lunged toward the officers with the sword, at which time Mr Hunt was shot.”
However, Taylor confirmed to the Guardian on Monday that Hunt was in fact alleged to have lunged at the officers outside a bank several dozen yards away from where he ultimately died. While it was outside the bank that Hunt was first “shot at” by police, Taylor said, it was not clear whether he was struck on that occasion.
Hunt then headed north and was shot several more times before eventually collapsing outside the Panda Express, according to Taylor. He said it was not clear if there were any further threatening moves. “Whether or not the individual lunged again at point two, the other location, I don’t know about that,” Taylor said.
Randall Edwards, an attorney for Hunt’s family, said in an email late on Monday: “This appears to be a major change in the official story”.
Edwards said over the weekend that the family’s private autopsy had found Hunt was shot six times from behind. He was hit once in a shoulder, once in the back, once in an elbow, twice in a leg and once in a hand, according to the attorney.
“The shot that killed Darrien, which was straight in the back, did not have an exit wound,” Edwards told the Guardian. “It raises the question as to how you can lunge at someone and be shot in the back at the same time.” Edwards declined to identify the pathologist who had carried out the autopsy, citing a desire to protect him from media attention.
Hunt’s death follows the high-profile fatal shootings by police in August of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, and John Crawford III, a 22-year-old black father of two who was carrying a BB rifle through a Walmart in Beavercreek, Ohio.
Hunt’s mother, Susan, who is white, accused the police of killing the 22-year-old due to his race. The population of Saratoga Springs is about 93% white and 0.5% black, according to the 2010 census.
“They killed my son because he’s black. No white boy with a little sword would they shoot while he’s running away,” Mrs Hunt told the Deseret News. Taylor said there was “no indication that race played any role”. Hunt’s family have not been able to explain why he was carrying the sword, which they called a souvenir from a gift shop.

Darrien Hunt in a family photograph. Photograph: Courtesy ABC4 The new account confirmed by Taylor on Monday appears to potentially match with remarks made by a witness to local media shortly after the shooting.
Jocelyn Hansen, who was filling her car at a gas station opposite the bank, has said that seconds beforehand she saw Hunt and the officers in conversation. She said that after taking a photograph of the scene, which showed Hunt smiling and with his hands at his sides, she got into her car in order to leave and then heard gunfire.
“I looked up. There were shots and there was a chase,” she told ABC 4 Utah. “He turned and was running away from the police officers,” Hansen added. She could not be reached on Monday.
The altered official account also follows an angry response by the Saratoga Springs police department to media reports of claims that Hunt may have been shot while running away.
“Everyone should remember that the news outlets have ratings they need to gain. They don’t report facts. They use innuendo, opinion and rumor and then report it as fact,” said the unsigned statement, which was published on the department’s Facebook page but has since been removed.
“The real facts are being determined by an independent investigation, and not in a rushed or haphazard manner,” it went on. “When those facts are gathered and analyzed they will be reviewed by independent legal authorities.”
The two officers involved in the incident have not been identified by Saratoga Springs police department. They have been placed on paid administrative leave. An investigation is being carried out by the county’s “officer-involved shooting protocol team”, which includes officers from several different forces and agencies, according to Taylor, who said the county attorney’s office would “review these findings and issue a statement”.
“We haven’t even interviewed the officers yet,” said Taylor. “We’ve talked briefly with them just to kind of get an idea of what the scene was at the time.” He said officers were typically interviewed within 48-72 hours of a shooting. One is now scheduled to be interviewed on Tuesday and the other on Thursday, more than a week after the shooting, he said.
“I’m stunned. I find that almost incomprehensible,” Edwards, the attorney for Hunt’s family, said after being informed of this by the Guardian. “You want to speak with the officers almost immediately afterwards, when their memories are fresh and before they have had a chance to corroborate their stories.”
Taylor said the county attorney’s report would not be complete until his office received the findings of an autopsy that had completed by a state medical examiner’s office in Salt Lake county. He said that he expected this to take between six and seven weeks.
Edwards, the attorney for the family, said it was not clear whether the inquiry would be satisfactory. “Do we trust the police to do a thorough investigation to find any kind of wrongdoing, and to ultimately punish the wrongdoer? I think the jury is still out on this one.”
The attorney said he and the Hunt family would wait until the report before deciding their next move. “If it appears that there was some sort of criminal activity on the part of the officer, obviously we would like to have that followed through with,” he said.

Another young black man shot in the back by the police. Its like a trend now.

So first the cops say, he lunged at the officers with his sword at which time he was shot. And then they change their story that they shot at him but are unsure if he was hit at the time.

The autopsy requested by his family shows that he was shot six times from behind. The kill shot looks to be one to the middle of his lower back.

So let me get this straight. The cops shoot at the guy and misses, he runs away, and then from several yards away he turns around, and lunges at the officers with the sword and then turns around to run away again and then is shot 6 times? If he had lunged at officers with the sword why are there no wounds to his front? Did they wait for him to turn around before killing him?

None of that makes sense.

And theyre going to question the officers several days AFTER the shooting? What is that? Arent you supposed to immediately question officers involved in shootings so that the events are fresh in their minds and to eliminate any possibilities of changing stories?

 

[RockSP]

Having sex in the car changes the context entirely. I can see how the police can mistake that for either prostitution or for the other crime of public indecency.

The cop didn't catch them having sex, though. A witness just said that's what happened.

Pulling a "do you know who I am" also underminds any legitimacy there might have been in her case.

Eh, not really. I mean it's a jerk thing to say...especially when she isn't famous at all, lol...but it doesn't mean she did anything illegal.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-the-back-by-utah-police-says-family-attorney


Another young black man shot in the back by the police. Its like a trend now.

So first the cops say, he lunged at the officers with his sword at which time he was shot. And then they change their story that they shot at him but are unsure if he was hit at the time.

The autopsy requested by his family shows that he was shot six times from behind. The kill shot looks to be one to the middle of his lower back.

So let me get this straight. The cops shoot at the guy and misses, he runs away, and then from several yards away he turns around, and lunges at the officers with the sword and then turns around to run away again and then is shot 6 times? If he had lunged at officers with the sword why are there no wounds to his front? Did they wait for him to turn around before killing him?

None of that makes sense.

And theyre going to question the officers several days AFTER the shooting? What is that? Arent you supposed to immediately question officers involved in shootings so that the events are fresh in their minds and to eliminate any possibilities of changing stories?

Cops shouldn't be allowed to switch up their story. They really shouldn't.

If the first police account is sketchy and incorrect they shouldn't get a do-over.

 

[Teelie]

The cop didn't catch them having sex, though. A witness just said that's what happened.

Eh, not really. I mean it's a jerk thing to say...especially when she isn't famous at all, lol...but it doesn't mean she did anything illegal.

They were having sex in the car, whether the cop saw it or not is irrelevant as it would change from harmless making out to something more inappropriate.

And it does undermind her case because it gives the impression she should be more important and given special exemption above any other, regular person who isn't even a modest celebrity.

If this had been just some average person of no notable fame then it wouldn't change what the cops did. Saying "I'm famous, I should be treated better" does change her accusation from some innocent person to someone who (thinks) they should be treated better.

 

[RockSP]

They were having sex in the car, whether the cop saw it or not is irrelevant as it would change from harmless making out to something more inappropriate.

Maybe they were, maybe not. A "witness" saying something happened doesn't mean something happened.

And it does undermind her case because it gives the impression she should be more important and given special exemption above any other, regular person who isn't even a modest celebrity.

If this had been just some average person of no notable fame then it wouldn't change what the cops did. Saying "I'm famous, I should be treated better" does change her accusation from some innocent person to someone who (thinks) they should be treated better.

If someone says I did something but I didn't do it and I go on an egomaniacal rant about who I am...I'm still innocent of what I was accused of doing.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Report: In New York, Justice for the Poor Is a Joke

One nice thing about America is that even if you are poor, you cannot legally be railroaded for any old criminal accusation; you are guaranteed justice and fair representation. A new report details just how much of a farce that promise is.

The New York Civil Liberties Union's new report examines the state of public defense provided to poor people accused of crimes in New York. SUMMARY: The state is "poor." To be somewhat more specific: in New York, counties have long been required to provide public defense services to the poor. Not the best setup, for obvious reasons! Here is an area in which, perhaps, decentralization was not the best way to go. This entire discussion should take place with the understanding that providing legal services to the poor is one of the most important aspects of our justice system, because it pertains to those without the means to defend themselves from the ruthless onslaught of what our overburdened legal system has become.

A few key points from the report:

- "The New York State Bar Association and national legal experts recommend that attorneys carry no more than 150 felony cases a year. In New York State, public defense attorneys have been known to carry as many as 420 felony cases a year, in addition to misdemeanor cases and, in some instances, family court cases."

-"Although effective counsel often requires a factual investigation and forensic expertise, defense counsel often fail to consult expert witnesses in New York. Experts were consulted in effectively zero percent of the tens of thousands of cases in Suffolk County. In Onondaga County in 2011, investigators were not hired in 99.7 percent of cases."

-"In Washington County in 2012, the seven attorneys in the Public Defender's Office shared a single computer."

This is hardly equal justice under the law. There are really only two choices, if America hopes to try to live up the ideals we so loudly espouse: either we can pay the staggering price to actually provide decent legal services to every poor person charged with a crime, and gape at how huge the bill is; or we can start letting people go free, because we acknowledge that we cannot provide them decent legal services.

A third and perhaps more realistic option is: we tone down the "tough on crime/ lock em all up" philosophy that has guided us for decades now and get a little less punishment-happy. If we're going to railroad the poor, it's much better to railroad them into a $50 ticket than a 50-year sentence.

http://www.nyclu.org/files/publications/nyclu_hh_report_FINAL.pdf

Does this surprise anyone?

 

[dnno1]

 

[dnno1]

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/d...andcuffed-mistaken-for-prostitute-1201305240/

Disgusting. What the hell were these cops thinking? Is it because she's black and her husband's white? I honestly cant think of a logical reason why theyd think she was a prostitute because she's kissing her husband.

Oh and she had every right to refuse to show her ID to these cops. Not only because LA doesnt have a Stop and Identify law, but because she didnt do anything wrong.

The think that really gets me is that the officer claimed that he was investigating a 911 call of indecent exposure. Because there was the call, the officer had to investigate and felt that he was justified in asking for ID. California State law makes it mandatory for citizens to identify themselves when asked by a police officer, but to me it has to be warranted. Anybody could make a prank 911 call -- even the police officer could have made that up. Where do you draw the line here. By the way, according to the Supreme Court the police may temporarily stop and frisk you if the suspect there is probable cause that you may have committed a crime or that there may have been one. They may even ask you for identification if the state warrants it. So now we have empowered people to report others if they don't like what they do in public, even if it is just a show of affection. What has the world come to.

 

[JaD]

Maybe they were, maybe not. A "witness" saying something happened doesn't mean something happened.

If someone says I did something but I didn't do it and I go on an egomaniacal rant about who I am...I'm still innocent of what I was accused of doing.

They actually were having sex in the car. TMZ put pics up that witnesses had taken because it was completely out in the open and people had gone up to them to ask them to stop but they didn't.

Here's a link, she was clearly playing the race card and it was weak.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Asst. Principal Promoted After Special Needs Student Used as Rape "Bait"

In 2010, a teacher's aide and the assistant principal at Sparkman Middle School in Huntsville, Alabama carried out a plan to use a special needs student—a 14-year-old girl—as "bait" to catch another special needs student who was sexually violent. The plan failed, and the 14-year-old girl was raped in the school's bathroom. Earlier this year, that assistant principal got promoted.

The Huntsville Times reports that despite being accused by the Justice Department of "deliberate indifference," all of the administrators who oversaw the rape bait plot have kept their jobs, and the assistant principal, Jeanne Dunaway, got promoted to principal at another school in the district. The teacher's aide, June Simpson, was placed on leave and later resigned.

The case against the administrators, filed by the victim's father, got thrown out by the Northern District of Alabama District Court, but the Justice Department has now filed a brief with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals stating that was the wrong decision.

Here's how the plot went down, according to the Justice Department brief:

Simpson and [the girl] ... went to Vice-Principal Dunaway's office, where Simpson told Dunaway about her plan to use [the girl] as bait to catch [the boy]. Dunaway did not respond with any advice or directive.

[The girl] left Dunaway's office, found [the boy] in the hallway, and agreed to meet him for sex. [The boy] told [the girl] to go to the sixth grade boys' bathroom and she complied. No teachers were in the bathroom to intervene, and [the boy] sodomized [the girl].

The boy was 16 years old at the time. Simpson and Dunaway apparently thought this plan was okay, because the principal, Ronnie Blair, told Simpson the boy needed to be "caught in the act" to be disciplined. Blair ran unsuccessfully for superintendent this year.

For her part, Dunaway testified that the girl "was responsible for herself once she entered the bathroom."

The 11th Circuit will now determine if the case should go forward. The school board wouldn't comment on the details of the case other than to say its attorneys are confident the court "will rule in favor of the board and the administrators."

http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2014/09/sparkman_middle_rape_case.html

Seriously, WTF? Since when does a rapist need to be "caught in the act"? How these people have jobs much less get promoted is baffling

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Iranians Sentenced to Six Months, 91 Lashes for Dancing to "Happy"

[YT]tg5qdIxVcz8[/YT]

The six young Iranians arrested for dancing to Pharrell's "Happy" in a viral video were sentenced today to six months in prison. They will each receive 91 lashes while there, according to CNN.

The Iranians were previously released from jail on bail, and it seemed like President Hassan Rouhani was on their side. (He thinks the country should start to embrace the internet, the judiciary does not).

Tehran's police chief has referred to the video as "a vulgar clip which hurt public chastity."

https://***********/vplus/status/512670761027649536

That is insane

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

The NSA Helped Israel Blackmail Palestinians

http://forums.superherohype.com/showpost.php?p=29757091&postcount=906

Read that and it will blow your mind with how out of control the NSA's powers are now

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

That reminds me of how the FBI abused its power in the J Edgar Hoover days to sabotage civil rights groups.

and people wonder why some people don't like the NSA spying on everyone.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Iranians Sentenced to Six Months, 91 Lashes for Dancing to "Happy"

[YT]tg5qdIxVcz8[/YT]



https://***********/vplus/status/512670761027649536

That is insane

Oh, the Middle East.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Oh, the Middle East.

The joys of a theocracy.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

NYPD Officer Filmed Slamming Pregnant Woman to Ground

An NYPD officer was filmed violently throwing a pregnant woman to ground early Saturday morning. Sandra Amezquita, who is five months pregnant, reportedly suffered vaginal bleeding after the incident, and her arms and stomach remain bruised.

The incident took place in Sunset Park, Brooklyn at about 2:15 am Saturday. Amezquita and her husband, Ronel Lemos, claim they approached the scene and attempted to intervene as police arrested their 17-year-old son, Jhohan, for possession of a knife.

The video, filmed by a witness, shows an NYPD officer slamming Amezquita to ground and handcuffing her before forcefully shoving another woman, identified by the New York Post as Amezquita's friend, to the street.

Amezquita was given a summons for disorderly conduct and Lemos was arrested for assaulting a police officer, reportedly after striking the officer who was arresting his son.

"The first thing I thought was they killed my baby, and they're going to kill my wife," Lemo told the New York Daily News on Tuesday.

"You would think the police would respect a woman that is pregnant," Amezquita added. "I was afraid something happened to my baby. I am still afraid that something is wrong."

The NYPD's Internal Affairs unit is reportedly investigating the incident, which took place just one week after an officer from the same precinct—the 72nd—was filmed kicking a street vendor. That officer was suspended and remains under investigation by Internal Affairs.

http://nypost.com/2014/09/24/pregnant-woman-slammed-to-the-ground-by-police-caught-on-video/

That's messed up

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Horrifying Video of Wal-Mart Shooting Shows Cop Executing Terrified Kid

A special grand jury called to review evidence in the fatal shooting of John Crawford III, killed by police in an Ohio Walmart while carrying a BB gun from store's shelves, decided today that no officers involved in the shooting will be indicted. A disturbing video of Crawford's shooting was also released, showing he had the BB gun pointed at the floor when he was shot.

Surveillance video from Crawford's shooting—previously unavailable to the public—shows Crawford walking around the store while talking on the phone, with the BB gun at his side or on his shoulder. The disturbing video then shows multiple officers rushing toward Crawford, who has the gun pointed at the floor, with guns drawn, shooting him.

Though the special grand jury reportedly considered charging the officers with murder, reckless homicide, or negligent homicide, WHIO reports the jury ultimately decided not to indict the officers involved in the shooting, finding their actions were justified.

Vince Pope, attorney for the officers involved in the shooting, released a statement following the decision:

"I believe the grand jury's decision, it's absolutely the right decision, that the officers acted well within their training."

Derrick Foward, president of the Dayton Unit NAACP, also released a statement:

"The Special Grand Jury in Greene County made the wrong decision. It's a sad day in the history of Dayton."

Foward added the NAACP will call for a complete investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

http://www.whio.com/news/news/crime-law/special-grand-jury-selected-john-crawford-case/nhRwM/

How in the actual **** did these people watch that video and come to that conclusion. This is insane

 

[Teelie]

Pennsylvania woman blamed for her own rape in state response to lawsuit

This among the worst attempts I've seen to deflect blame onto a victim of rape, or of any crime for that matter. The story even details how she stated she felt uncomfortable near the inmate and that her office was moved from a secure location to an unsecure one, in an understaffed prison. The rapist has been convicted three times prior for rape and was serving a life-sentence for it. Somehow though, it was still her fault?

The Pennsylvania attorney general's office is blaming a former state prison clerk for her own rape, in response to a federal lawsuit the woman filed.

The 24-year-old typist was working at the state prison at Rockview in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, when she was attacked in 2013. She was choked unconscious and raped for 27 minutes by inmate Omar Best, who had been convicted three times previously of sex-related crimes, and then been transferred from a different state prison for assaulting a female assistant there.

"Despite this knowledge, defendants ... still allowed Omar Best to have unsupervised access to the offices of female employees," according to the lawsuit, which also blames the state for the rape.

In fact, the lawsuit says that the prison superintendent actually moved the clerk offices from a secure floor where there was no inmate contact to a location that was on a cell block.

"There were no locked doors between the offices and cell blocks, including Block C where (the victim) worked, except for the copy room," the lawsuit states.

Even though Best was convicted of the rape in May and a review of the prison found multiple failings and led to the superintendent's removal, a senior deputy attorney general wrote that the woman "acted in a manner which in whole or in part contributed to the events" in his response to her lawsuit.

It's victim shaming at its worst, the woman's lawyer told CNN.

"Worse than that, it's an attempt to embarrass the victim," said Clifford Rieders, a Williamsport, Pennsylvania, attorney.

The state attorney general's office at first declined to comment when the matter was reported by the Centre Daily Times, in State College, Pennsylvania.

Wednesday, the office released a statement saying that it is required to present all possible defenses and "contributory negligence is one such defense."

In the statement provided to CNN, the attorney general's office said, "This initial filing should not necessarily be interpreted as meaning this defense will be pursued throughout the entire case," adding that elected Attorney General Kathleen Kane was not aware her senior deputy included that defense in his filing.

"Attorney General Kane is disappointed that she was not made aware of this matter prior to the filing, and was saddened to learn that the filing implied that the victim somehow contributed to this crime."

Best is serving a life sentence for the woman's rape. The Pennsylvania state victim advocate said it's hypocritical to use victim-blaming as a defense for the prison.

"I think it's absolutely deplorable to blame the victim in this case," Jennifer Storm told CNN.

"It's not common legalese in rape cases," Storm said of the AG's defense. "And it shows a significant lack of sensitivity to not understand the harm this has done to the young woman and the re-victimization she's going through today.

"In a rape case, this is plain victim-blaming."

Storm and Rieter both pointed out that the local district attorney, Stacy Parks Miller, who prosecuted Best, whole-heartedly believed the victim. And so did a jury.

"The DA went to bat 100% for this victim," Storm said. "To then backtrack ... it's despicable, I'm disgusted.".

"It's obviously completely inconsistent with the criminal trial," Rieter said. "I think it's bad lawyering. It's what some lawyers do. I don't think it's right, or just, and has no basis here ... There are some people in this day and age who will still do that even though there is no factual or legal basis for it."

According to the suit, Best had been convicted three times prior of sex-related offenses. In 2010, DNA testing linked him to the 1999 abduction and rape of an 18-year-old woman in Philadelphia, and he was sentenced to 7 to 15 years in prison for it. In 2011, he pleaded guilty to rape and robbery in another Philadelphia case and was sentenced to 15 years in state prison.

In a 1996 case, he pleaded guilty to indecent assault, after being charged with attempted rape, the lawsuit says.

Then, while imprisoned at another facility called Graterford, Best assaulted a female assistant, according to the lawsuit, and was transferred to the state prison at Rockview in Bellefonte, where this victim worked.

The victim had complained twice to her boss -- about a week before the attack -- that she felt uncomfortable and unsafe with Best coming into her office. She was assured Best would no longer have access to her office, the lawsuit states.

But on July 25, around 8:30 a.m., Best went to her office under the guise of taking out her trash, and grabbed the woman from behind, choking her until she passed out. She tried to blow a distress whistle she carried, but no one heard it. Her lawsuit also claims the prison was understaffed.

A prison investigation led to the firing of the superintendent, Marirosa Lamas, the hiring of 70 new corrections officers, and the moving of those offices where she had worked to a more secure space, away from inmates.

In the state's response, it denied that the internal investigation was the reason for Lamas leaving.

The victim is suing the state Department of Corrections, her former supervisor, the block manager, and the former superintendent, Lamas.

CNN

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Roadside Beating Cop to Resign, Victim Will Receive $1.5 Million

Marlene Pinnock, the woman whose brutal beating at the hands of a California Highway Patrol officer was captured on video in July of this year, will receive a $1.5 million settlement in a deal reached this week, the Associated Press reports. The officer will resign.

According to the AP, much of the money will go to a special needs trust for Pinnock, who has bipolar disorder. Caree Harper, her attorney, stated she was satisfied with the outcome:

"One of the things we wanted to make sure of was that she was provided for in a manner that accommodated her unique situation in life," Harper said, "and that the officer was not going to be an officer anymore and we secured those things."

Daniel Andrew, the officer seen punching Pinnock, has been on leave since the beating, and has "elected to resign," according to the CHP's statement. He may face criminal charges.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/woman-punched-california-highway-patrol-settles-25745555

Well that's good news

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Pennsylvania woman blamed for her own rape in state response to lawsuit

This among the worst attempts I've seen to deflect blame onto a victim of rape, or of any crime for that matter. The story even details how she stated she felt uncomfortable near the inmate and that her office was moved from a secure location to an unsecure one, in an understaffed prison. The rapist has been convicted three times prior for rape and was serving a life-sentence for it. Somehow though, it was still her fault?

CNN

That is some BS right there man

 

[Teelie]

Video shows trooper shooting unarmed man, South Carolina police say

Fortunately there are a lot of things that went right in this case. The trigger-happy cop is fired, arrested and had bond set at $75,000 (the video posted in the link is pretty damning proof this cop acted irrationally). The shooting victim survived and was shot in the hip, not somewhere more lethal and released from the hospital.

Most importantly: There was a video camera showing the unprovoked and unnecessary shooting of the man who was literally doing the exact thing he was told to do when the officer shot him. There can be no dispute by the officer or his colleagues he was acting appropriately.

One moment, a man reaches into his vehicle after a South Carolina trooper asked for his driver's license.

Seconds later, the trooper shoots him, and the man asks why. Days later, prosecutors aren't satisfied with the answer.

Authorities released dash-camera video Wednesday showing what they say is Sean Groubert, then a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper, shooting Levar Jones, who was unarmed, in the parking lot of a gas station just outside Columbia on September 4.

Jones, 35, survived the shooting. But Groubert, who was fired because of the incident last week, has been charged with aggravated assault and battery, a felony that could get him up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said Wednesday.

"The force administered in this case was unwarranted, inconsistent with how our troopers are trained, and clearly in violation of department policies," state Public Safety Director Leroy Smith said while announcing Groubert's firing Friday.

'Why did you shoot me?'

Police said Groubert, 31, stopped Jones in the parking lot of a Circle K station in daylight, for what police say was an alleged seat belt violation, around 5 p.m.

Video that authorities say was recorded from Groubert's police car shows the trooper driving up to a vehicle just as its driver -- who authorities say is Jones -- steps out of the vehicle.

When Groubert asks for Jones' license, Jones pivots toward the vehicle he just exited -- the driver's door is still open -- and leans inside as if to retrieve something, the video shows.

About two seconds later, the trooper that police identify as Groubert comes into view with a gun drawn and yells "Get out of the car! Get out of the car!" The gun is fired -- at least four shots are heard -- and Jones steps away from the vehicle, raising his hands in the air and eventually moving off camera.

"I just got my license! You said get my license!" says someone off camera, apparently Jones.

After being told to put his hands behind his back, Jones asks: "What did I do, sir?"

"Are you hit?" asks another off-camera voice, apparently Groubert's.

"I think so," comes the response. "I can't feel my leg. I don't know what happened."

The conversation continues:

"Why did you shoot me?"

"Well, you dove head-first back into your car. Then you (unintelligible), I'm telling you get out of your car."

Shot in the hip

Jones was shot in the hip, CNN affiliate WACH reported. He was taken to a hospital and later released, authorities said.

Jones was found not to be armed, Smith said.

"I believe this case was an isolated incident in which Mr. Groubert reacted to a perceived threat where there was none," Smith said last week.

In a court hearing Wednesday night, a judge ordered Groubert held with bond set at $75,000, WACH reported.

In explaining Groubert's firing Friday, Smith said the department's policy on using force says that officers can use "only the level of force necessary to accomplish lawful objectives."

"That protocol was not followed in this case. Further, this incident occurred in broad daylight. Mr. Groubert had a clear and unobstructed view of Mr. Jones," Smith said.

The shooting, Smith said, "deviates from SCDPS standards and cannot be tolerated."

CNN

 

[RockSP]

How in the actual **** did these people watch that video and come to that conclusion. This is insane

...and it happens all the time. Just imagine all the cases with no video.

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

UPDATE: Pregnant Woman: NYPD Beat My Belly With a Baton

New details have emerged in the case of Sandra Amezquita's rough arrest last Saturday that was in part captured on video. In the video, an NYPD officer slams Amezquita, who is pregnant, belly-first into the ground. She and her attorney now say cops beat her belly with a baton.

Amezquita provided the photo above, which shows lacerations on her stomach, to CBS New York. According to Dennis Flores, who filmed her arrest, "they put a Taser to her stomach" in addition to beating her. Yesterday, Amezquita said she experienced vaginal bleeding after the arrest.

The incident occurred after cops tried to arrest Amezquita's son for possession of a knife around 2 a.m. Saturday. When Amezquita and her husband intervened, they both got arrested. "I am afraid of what might happen to my baby," she says.

http://gothamist.com/2014/09/25/cops_pregnant_woman_vid.php

How these cops thought doing that was acceptable defies logic

 

[DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs]

Mississippi Jails People For Months With No Charges

Even in 2014, it is still possible to come across facts about the American justice system that stagger even the most cynical of minds. For example: do you know how long people are sitting in jail in Mississippi without being charged with a crime?

Imagine you are arrested. You are taken to jail. Even if you could not make bail, you would expect (being an American, in America) to meet your public defender relatively soon, to get on with the mechanics of your case. You are, after all, presumed to be innocent.

In the great state of Mississippi, your experience might be somewhat different. The ACLU yesterday filed a lawsuit against Scott County, Mississippi, charging that the way they handle prisoners violates their right to a fair and speedy trial. From the ACLU:

That's how it works in Scott County: No one gets a public defender until they've been indicted. In other places, this might not be a big deal. In Colorado, prosecutors have 72 hours after an arrest to formally indict someone. In Kansas, it's two weeks. But in Scott County and throughout Mississippi, the wait could last forever. That's because Mississippi doesn't limit how long a prosecutor has to indict someone, even if that someone is wasting away in jail.

In Scott County, felony indictments are only issued three times a year, after a grand jury convenes to formally charge defendants with their crimes. If you're lucky, you might wait two months to hear about your charges. If you're unlucky, you're put off until the next session. That's at least another four months in jail.

You could, as a matter of course and not as anything out of the ordinary, be arrested for a crime in Scott County, Mississippi and spend six months in jail waiting to be indicted and then have a grand jury conclude that they will not charge you with a crime after all. This would be considered a fair outcome under a normally functioning system of criminal justice. That is so screwed up that it should blow your mind if you possess even the faintest ability to put yourself in the shoes of someone in Scott County, Mississippi.

Part of the problem is that the public defender system is funded on a county-by-county basis, so certain counties do everything they can to keep those costs low, including not giving defendants access to a public defender until after they have spent months in jail, without being convicted or even charged with a crime. A broader, more overarching part of the problem is that many people involved in the administration of our criminal justice system—in Mississippi, certainly, but also across this nation—do not give a crap about the suffering of people in their care.

https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-...hts/three-years-cage-no-charges-and-no-lawyer

How is it possible to do something like this in the year 2014?

 

[Breogan]

Video shows trooper shooting unarmed man, South Carolina police say

Fortunately there are a lot of things that went right in this case. The trigger-happy cop is fired, arrested and had bond set at $75,000 (the video posted in the link is pretty damning proof this cop acted irrationally). The shooting victim survived and was shot in the hip, not somewhere more lethal and released from the hospital.

Most importantly: There was a video camera showing the unprovoked and unnecessary shooting of the man who was literally doing the exact thing he was told to do when the officer shot him. There can be no dispute by the officer or his colleagues he was acting appropriately.

CNN

Well if ever once any doubters(me) want to see what a man with his arms clearly up looks like getting shot by the cops. There it is.
While doing exactly as he's told, collaborates by getting his license cop already opened fire on him. Then he continues to shoot a few more times as he's already stumbling and with his hands clearly up!
Full vid graphic...

Spoiler

[YT]RBUUO_VFYMs#t=50[/YT]

I imagine a similar shoot first jumpy "have to empty the clip" mentality in the Michael Brown scenario.