Law Enforcement
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Michigan Police Accused of Tasing Black Man While He Was Holding His 2-Month-Old Son
A viral video on Facebook appears to show the moment Westland, Mich. police tased a black father, even as he still has his two-month-old baby in his hands. According to WXYZ, the confrontation started on Friday at a home in Alberta Court where neighbors had gathered for a barbecue. Officers were called to the home…
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Family, Protesters Demand Answers Following Death of 15-Year-Old Black Teen Who Police Say Killed Himself Following Foot Chase
More than 100 people gathered in Chicago on Sunday evening to protest the death of Steven Rosenthal, a 15-year-old boy who police say shot himself in the stairwell of his West Side home, following a brief chase with officers. Police say that officers tried to question the teen after seeing him with the weapon just…
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Study Shows Black Cops Just as Likely to Kill Black Suspects as White Cops
Implicit bias toward black men by police is nothing new, and it is not limited to white officers. Black officers can also have implicit bias toward black men because in the case of police forces, that implicit bias is institutional. This is actually news to no one—or shouldn’t be—but a recent study conducted by a…
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Georgia Police Use Taser on 87-Year-Old Grandmother With Dementia
In yet another example that illustrates just how much more training our nation’s police forces need, police in Georgia used a Taser on an 87-year-old grandmother suffering from dementia—because there is no bigger threat to four grown men with guns than an old lady with mobility issues. The incident took place on Friday, Aug. 10.…
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Too Little, Too Late: Sacramento PD Changes Foot Chase Policy After Killing of #StephonClark
Sacramento police officers have a new foot chase policy as of late last month, and it is reportedly in response to the shooting death of Stephon Clark five months ago. KCRA reports that the new policy requires officers to consider their personal safety, the safety of the public as well as the suspect, and “the…
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Prosecutors Cannot Call Laquan McDonald, 17-Year-Old Shot and Killed by Chicago Cop, a 'Victim' During Murder Trial
A Chicago judge ruled on Wednesday that prosecutors will be unable to call Laquan McDonald, who was shot and killed by a Chicago police officer, a victim until closing arguments. Attorneys defending Officer Jason Van Dyke, the officer who is facing charges of first-degree murder and other firearm offenses in McDonald’s death, have claimed that…
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Florida Cop Handcuffs 11-Year-Old Black Boy Because ‘He Was Being Disrespectful’
Florida, man. In Jacksonville, Fla., JaxPAL is the city’s Police Athletic League. They sponsor a youth basketball league with the intended goal of creating “positive relationships between law enforcement officers and the youth of our community through educational, athletic and leadership programs.” Would you like to know how that is going? One of the law…
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'Tired of Talking': Nashville Community Demands Police Chief's Resignation After Cop Shoots Black Man in Back
“Just because someone is running away from you doesn’t mean you can gun them down. Just because someone doesn’t listen to you doesn’t mean you can gun them down” – Pastor Napoleon Harris, First Baptist Church, Nashville, Tenn. text Pastor Harris is referring to 25-year-old Daniel Hambrick, who was fatally shot in the back after…