police brutality
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NYC Judge Says Cops Were Justified in Handcuffing 16-Year-Old Kimani Gray as He Died in the Street
A Brooklyn, N.Y., federal judge has ruled that police officers were justified in arresting 16-year-old Kimani Gray as the teen lay in the street dying from gunshot wounds suffered at the hands of police. According to the New York Daily News, in the ruling, the judge effectively scrapped two claims in a wrongful death lawsuit…
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Milwaukee Jail Staffers Facing Charges in Death of Inmate Who Died of Dehydration
It’s been almost two years since Terrill Thomas died of dehydration while in custody at the Milwaukee County jail, and almost a year since jurors recommended that staffers at the facility be held liable in his death. On Monday, prosecutors finally announced that three jail staffers will be facing criminal charges in the death. According…
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Why I, a Survivor of Police Violence, Find Jeff Sessions’ Remarks So Disturbing
In 2012 I was shot five times by Pittsburgh police. Although I survived, I was paralyzed and, soon thereafter, charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest, charges that were thrown out three years later. Since that fateful incident, which began as a “routine” traffic stop, I’ve chosen to use my platform as an activist and…
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Freddie Gray’s Stepfather, Richard Shipley, Dead at 60
Richard Shipley, who called for “peace in the pursuit of justice” as family and community members demanded answers in the police-involved death of his stepson Freddie Gray, died earlier this month at the age of 60. According to the Baltimore Sun, Shipley, who was also known as “Rick,” died Feb. 6. Family attorney Billy Murphy…
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A Community Reels After the Police Killing of 16-Year-Old Anthony ‘A.J.’ Weber in Los Angeles
There is a familiar grief ritual when a young person dies, especially from violence, especially in poor, black communities. It is communal, emotive and performative, as black people are wont to be, and much the same the world over. After news of the death spreads, people pour out of their homes to a common area—a…
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An Open Letter to the Mainstream Media Covering the Death of Black People by the Police
The presence of news media at Wednesday night’s Town Hall in South Los Angeles to address the deputy-involved killing of unarmed 16-year-old Anthony “A.J.” Weber could’ve been a blessing. The grieving family and community had an opportunity to be heard on a national level. An opportunity to say or do what they needed in front…
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‘I Love This Shit’: Tennessee Sheriff Recorded Boasting After Ordering Officers to Shoot Unarmed Man During Slow-Speed Chase
A Tennessee sheriff is being sued for excessive force after he was recorded laughing and boasting about how he told his officers to shoot a man during a slow-speed chase rather than risk damaging police cars attempting to drive him off the road. According to News Channel 5, White County Sheriff Oddie Shoupe did not…
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Baltimore Cops Kept Toy Guns to Plant Just in Case They Shot an Unarmed Person
In April 2016, a 13-year-old boy was shot by officers of the Baltimore Police Department. The boy ran when faced with the police, so they gave chase. During the chase, the police spotted the boy holding a gun, and when he turned, they shot the teenager. The youngster wasn’t critically injured, and it seemed like…
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Erica Garner Recorded Justice Department Meeting on Father’s Choke Hold Death
Erica Garner may be physically gone from this world, but her fight and legacy live on. On Tuesday afternoon, posted to her Twitter account was video from a Department of Justice meeting recorded by Garner herself and showing officials from the department telling the family last year that a decision in the federal investigation into…