police use of force
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#StephonClark: One Year Later, There Is Still No Justice and No Peace
One year ago today, 22-year-old Stephon Clark was shot and killed by two police officers as he stood in the backyard of his grandparents’ home in the Meadowview neighborhood of Sacramento, Calif. Officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet said they feared for their lives—a common refrain that often leads to law enforcement officers being exonerated…
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No Surprise Here: Police Regularly Deny Access to Officer Video Footage
When 22-year-old Stephon Clark was shot and killed by two police officers in the backyard of his grandparents’ house in March 2018, the Sacramento Police Department released officer body camera footage as well as footage captured by a Sacramento sheriff’s helicopter within days of the shooting. The city has its own transparency policy that requires…
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Florida Cops Charged After Slapping Handcuffed Teen, Trying to Destroy Video of the Incident
Officials in Florida charged two Miami-Dade officers after they discovered an alleged assault and cover-up involving the tag team rogue cops. Even though the incident happened nearly a year ago, and no one knows how many other people these cops may have assaulted or how much evidence they may have destroyed, people must understand that…
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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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Police Officers Who Manhandled Jazmine Headley and Her 1-Year-Old Baby Will Not Be Punished
If you’re a New York police officer, apparently manhandling women and violently ripping a 1-year-old baby from his mother’s arms isn’t a punishable offense. As according to Politico, an NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau review into Jazmine Headley’s violent arrest last week in Brooklyn found no wrongdoing on the part of the NYPD officers involved. “The…
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Black Lives Finally Matter? The FBI Will Launch a Database to Keep Track of Deadly Police Encounters
According to the Associated Press, the federal government will roll out a national database that will keep track of when law enforcement officers use deadly force. In doing so, the intent is provide more transparency about these encounters, as they continue to remain commonplace. The FBI national database, announced recently and being launched in January,…
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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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Video Shows at Least 5 Cops Aiming Guns at Black Woman With Her Hands Up; LAPD Says She Is a Kidnapping Suspect
The footage is enough to make your stomach drop. In it, a black woman can be seen slowly exiting a vehicle with her hands up and turning around. As the camera pans to the left, you see at least five cops, all of them with their guns drawn and pointed at the woman, who slowly…
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Police Use Video, Witness Testimony in Bid to Justify Use of Force During Controversial Arrest of Black Woman in Alabama Waffle House
Saraland, Ala., police are standing by the officers who were seen on video aggressively wrestling a seemingly unresisting black woman at a local Waffle House over the weekend. As AL.com notes, during a press conference Monday, investigators showed video evidence and described witness testimony to justify the officers’ use of force. That being said, the…