Police Brutality
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Report Suggests Police Use of Deadly Force Is on the Decline in California
According to a new report, police incidents involving the use of deadly force are on the decline in California. The Associated Press reports that in 2018, 146 civilians died during encounters with law enforcement. This tally includes unarmed shooting victim Stephon Clark and denotes a significant decline in comparison to 172 civilians in 2017 and…
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Miami Officer Acquitted of Attempted Manslaughter: 'He Should Have Never Been Charged to Begin With'
Charles Kinsey thought he was good. Despite police on the scene, as he laid on the North Miami sidewalk with his arms extended in the air, he believed he posed no threat. And he thought the same of his group home patient, 23-year-old Arnaldo Rios Soto, who sat beside him while playing with a toy…
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Jay-Z's Roc Nation Offers Legal Counsel to Phoenix Family Held at Gunpoint By Police, Calls Incident 'Absolutely Sickening'
If Clark Kent had a real-life alter ego, it might be Jay-Z. The 49-year-old billionaire has been using his immense fortune and influence to save artists like Lil Wayne from the IRS, to pour $50 million into criminal justice reform and to otherwise balance the scales for people of color who have faced prejudice or…
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Family Files $10 Million Lawsuit Against City of Phoenix After Police Allegedly Assault, Threaten to Shoot Family
A family is suing the City of Phoenix for $10 million after police officers were caught on video using what the family believes is excessive force. Per AZ Central: Dravon Ames, 22, and his pregnant fiancée, 24-year-old Aisha Harper were pulled over by Phoenix police near 36th and Roosevelt streets on May 27. They allege…
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A Black Teen Was Going Through a Mental Health Crisis. Wisconsin Police Ended Up Punching Him in the Head
Madison, Wisc., police officers were called to the home of a 17-year-old boy last week because he was experiencing a mental health crisis. The encounter ended with officers tackling the child, placing a bag over his head, and punching the teen, who is black, repeatedly. Unbeknownst to the officers, the entire incident had been recorded…
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To Protect and Serve or to Terrorize Children? Sacramento Police Department Under Fire Again
In the 14 months that have passed since Officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet gunned down 22-year-old Stephon Clark in the backyard of his grandparents’ home, the Sacramento Police Department has not managed to stay out of the headlines with negative news stories. Chief Daniel Hahn was purported to be ushering in a new day…
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During Police Raid, Chicago Officers Handcuffed an 8-Year-Old Boy, Claiming They Had No Idea He Was a Child
If Chicago police are to be believed, they simply don’t know what a black 8-year-old boy looks like. That’s the defense the department is giving for why it handcuffed a child during an early morning raid by Chicago Police Department and SWAT on a family home on March 15. The raid—one of several local news…
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NYPD Commander Texted 'Not a Big Deal' After Being Told of Eric Garner's Death
A Staten Island police commander involved in the arrest of Eric Garner, the black man who died after an NYPD officer put him in a chokehold for allegedly selling loose cigarettes in 2014, assured one of his officers that Garner’s death was “not a big deal” upon learning about his condition. The revelation came on…
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Watch: Texas Police Try to Arrest an Innocent Black Man Because Apparently They All Look Alike
When Clarence Evans refused to give his name and identification to officers who showed up at his house—even though they called him by another man’s name, showed him a picture of a different man and seemed to have no verifiable information about Evans’ identity—they still attempted to arrest him because… Come on. Don’t act like…
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Eric Garner Case: ‘Definition of a Choke Hold’
An NYPD trainer testified Tuesday that the maneuver used by police officer Daniel Pantaleo to force an unarmed black man to the ground was the “definition of a choke hold.” The testimony came during the departmental trial of Pantaleo regarding his role in the July 2014 death of Eric Garner, according to the New York…