Law Enforcement
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Police Open Fire on Sleeping Black Man in Locked Car
Relatives of 20-year-old Willie McCoy, also known as rapper Willie Bo, are demanding answers after six Vallejo police officers shot and killed McCoy while he slept in his car in a Taco Bell parking lot. McCoy, who had been recording recently, was on tour with his group, FBG. The second youngest of five children, McCoy…
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Bodycam Footage of Florida Deputy Grabbing Black Father by the Throat and Calling Him 'Boy' Sparks Investigation
According to the Daily Beast, a Florida deputy is the focus of an internal affairs investigation after body-camera footage from 2017 recorded him not only repeatedly calling a black father “boy”, but grabbing him by the neck during a profanity-laden confrontation. The internal investigation into Deputy James Cady, who reportedly has a history of making…
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Chicago Police Removed From School for Using Stun Gun on 16-Year-Old, but She’s the One Facing Charges
Three Chicago police officers caught on video tasing a 16-year-old female student and punching her at a school in the city’s West Side will not be returning to campus until an investigation is completed, a Chicago Public Schools spokesperson announced. The disturbing video, taken at Marshall High School, shows three officers taking down Dnigma Howard,…
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How Does a California Department of Justice Review of the Sacramento Police Department Impact the Stephon Clark Case?
Last week, the California Department of Justice released a report and recommendations for improvements within the Sacramento Police Department specifically pertaining to its use-of-force policy. The 97-page “Sacramento Police Department Report & Recommendations 2019” (pdf) was released just days after the state DOJ turned over the findings from its independent investigation of the shooting and…
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Baltimore’s Marilyn Mosby Becomes Latest Top Attorney to Stop Prosecuting Marijuana Cases But Faces Major Hurdle—the Police
Marijuana possession cases will no longer be prosecuted in Baltimore, regardless of how much marijuana is found or whether the person has a criminal record. Marilyn Mosby, the State’s attorney for Baltimore, made the announcement on Tuesday, making her the latest prosecutor to move away from trying marijuana cases. “We need to get serious about…
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Former Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger, Who Killed Botham Jean, Appears in Court
Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger made an appearance in court Tuesday morning along with her attorneys. The 30-year-old shot and killed the innocent and unarmed 26-year-old Botham Jean—a black man and native of St. Lucia who was in his own apartment—on Sept. 6. The Dallas Morning News reports that Guyger and her attorneys were…
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#StephonClark: Sacramento DA Says It Will Take Longer to Decide Whether Officers Will be Charged for Killing Unarmed Black Man
On the day attorneys representing the parents, grandparents and children of Stephon Clark filed a lawsuit against the city of Sacramento and the two police officers who killed the 22-year-old man in the backyard of his grandparents’ house, the district attorney’s office announced there would be a delay in its review of the case. In…
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#StephonClark: Family of Man Killed by Police Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Officers, City of Sacramento
Lawyers representing the children, parents and grandparents of Stephon Clark—the 22-year-old man killed by two Sacramento police officers in March 2018—have filed a lawsuit against the City of Sacramento as well as the two officers involved, Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet. The suit (pdf), which was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court Eastern District…
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2 California Newspapers Sue Sacramento Sheriff to Make Him Follow the Law
On Jan. 1, 2019, a new law went into effect in California that requires law enforcement agencies to release the records of officers involved in, among other things, use-of-force cases that result in death. Unfortunately, some law enforcement brass are pushing back against the law, using a semantical argument to defend their noncompliance. That noncompliance…
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Video Surfaces of Cop Apparently Kicking Man in Head; Officer Cleared by Internal Investigation
Video from May 2017 has surfaced showing what appears to be an officer kicking a robbery suspect in the face as he kneeled and spread his hands out on the ground in front of police. Ravon Boyd had led officers on a foot chase after a strong-arm robbery, for which he has since been convicted…