Police Brutality
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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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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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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…
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Citing Costs, Police Departments Drop Use of Body Cameras
Over the past several years, police departments across the country have equipped themselves with body cameras in an attempt to increase accountability and mend relationships with communities who cited a lack of trust between themselves and the officers charged with protecting them. But many departments—particularly those in smaller jurisdictions—are either dumping or pressing pause on…
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This Is Not Justice: Former Chicago Police Officer Sentenced to 6 Years, 9 Months for the Murder of Laquan McDonald
As if we needed more proof of just how much the criminal justice system in the United States does not value the lives of black people, a judge in Chicago gave us a glaring example. The former police officer who murdered 17-year-old Laquan McDonald will serve just 6 years and 9 months for his crime.…
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Police Disciplinary Records in California Are Now Public Information
A new California law that went into effect on Jan. 1 makes it possible for the public to get records on law enforcement officers that up until now were kept secret by their departments. Now that those agencies are required to give that information up, the American Civil Liberties Union is taking full advantage—starting with…
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Here’s How Many People Police Killed in 2018
In March 2018, cops in Sacramento, California, fired at least 20 bullets at 22-year-old Stephon Clark, killing him. He was unarmed and running away. In June 2018, a Pittsburgh police officer killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose, shooting him in the back. He was unarmed and fleeing. In November, a Hoover, Alabama, police officer killed 22-year-old Emantic…