Police Crime

A black teenager pedalling fast was fleeing from a crime . A white teenager pedalling at the same speed is feeling the freedom of youth'- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People commenting on the case of a black teenager shot by police after falling off his bicycle in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 1993. Now don't you think something is fishy about that.
William J. Whitfield 3rd, was an unarmed African American man, he was shot dead in a New York supermarket on December 25, 1997 by police who said they mistook the keys he was carrying for a gun. Although the officer who shot him was cleared of wrongdoing, it was revealed that he had been involved in eight prior shootings. The New York Police Department (NYPD) Police Commissioner subsequently set up a monitoring system for officers involved in three or more shootings. Why do you have to wait until three or more shootings occue?, that does not happen if we shoot someone, we are automatically guilty.
All over the USA people are injured and even killed by police using excessive force or deliberately brutal treatment. Police officers punch, kick, beat and shoot people who pose no threat, or are causing serious injuries, and sometimes death, by misusing restraints, chemical sprays or electro-shock weapons. Most reported incidents take place during arrest, searches, traffic stops or in street incidents.
Each year there are thousands of reports of assault and mal-treatment by police officers. Inquiries into some of the largest urban police departments have uncovered systematic brutality. It is very difficult to assess the true extent of police brutality because there is no reliable national data. Since 1994 the federal government has been legally required to collect national data on police excessive use of force, but Congress has not provided the necessary funding.More than 17,000 police agencies operate in the USA, each with its own code of practice and methods of recording and investigating abuses.
A lot of US police departments have strict guidelines on the use of deadly force, and international standards state that force should be used only as a last resort, proportionate to the threat and designed to minimize injury.Although it is clear that these standards are frequently breached and that too often the authorities have turned a blind eye to abuses.Investigations into complaints of police brutality are often subject to delays and there are concerns about the quality and impartiality of internal investigations. Disciplinary action is very rare. Sanctions, when they are imposed, are often lenient.Many police shootings raise serious doubts as to whether the victims posed an immediate threat. Amnesty International detailed more than 30 cases where NYPD officers had shot or injured suspects, including children, in disputed circumstances in its 1996 report. Nearly all the victims were black, Latino or from other minorities - a pattern seen across the country. Members of racial and ethnic minorities bear the brunt of police brutality in many areas. Black officers themselves have complained of the stereotyping of black men as criminal suspects. Caroline Sue Botticher, an unarmed innocent African American woman, died after police from West Charlotte, North Carolina, fired 22 rounds at the car in which she was a passenger when it failed to stop at a police check-point in April 1997. There was no evidence to suggest that anyone in the car was armed. Some police departments have introduced guidelines to bar police from firing at moving vehicles unless they are directly threatened with deadly force, but many have not.
There have been many deaths in custody after police used restraint procedures known to be dangerous. Hogtying - tying suspects' ankles to their wrists behind their backs - has been recognized as highly dangerous for at least the past decade. However, while many departments, including the NYPD, have banned the procedure, others continue to use it. Deaths in custody resulting from hogtying have been reported from various parts of the country, including Athens (Georgia), Jackson (Mississippi) and Memphis (Tennessee).Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on grounds of race, colour, national origin, sex or religion by state and local law enforcement agencies, and allows the Justice Department to withhold grants or make them conditional on compliance

Brutality in Massachusetts

In Compton Sheriff's deputies fired about 120 shots at a vehicle to end a car chase according to sources quoted inThe unarmed man in the SUV was wounded, but will survive.120 shots? That is dangerous to bystanders and nearby houses and residences. The normal operating procedure is for the police department to investigate this. If it is justified it is then dissmissed. As 120 bullets were fired, the justification for the gunfire is a unfair and sort of a stetch ok, lets not sugar coat this, it is a big stretch even given the national success at defenses of this type
Another police incident was a suspected purse snatch run over by police truck
A police truck ran over a fleeing suspect in a purse snatching. The truck ran over the legs of the victim and barely missed running over the man's head. This stuff is crazy, police feel they are fighting crime but they are causing them too, murder and certain kinds of assault are crimes, torts or something like that.

Brutality in Hungary

In Hungary hundreds of thousands were attackedhttp by police going home after a anniversary celebration of the major opposition party Fidesz. Peaceful celebrants, pensioners, families or simple passers-by and tourists were beaten up indiscriminately. Policemen were equipped with ski masks, illegal cobra sticks, rubber bullets and did not have their compulsory identification badges. Populist prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, a member of the socialist Party admitted that police in some cases of direct instruction. 52-56% of voters in Hungary are represented by Fidesz. The police had an explanation for the attack. They said a small group of people coming from elsewhere was into the peaceful crowd. Wasn't it their job to seperate them?, to protect innocent people by hurting innocent people, i am not sure, but I do not feel they were right and took the problem into legal matters, because they was not sure of who they were helping/hurting. Police sometimes take control of things too abruptly.

Brutality exists nationwide

One of the most serious and divisive human rights violations in the U.S. is abuse by law enforcement officers. The violations occur nationwide, in rural, suburban, and urban areas of the country, committed by various law enforcement personnel like local and state police, sheriff's departments, and federal agents. Police engaged in many unjustified shootings, severe beatings, fatal chokings, and unnecessarily rough treatment. The proportion of repeatedly abusive officers on any force is generally small, responsible authorities, including law enforcement supervisors, as well as local and federal government leadership,often fail to act to rpenalize or restrain such acts.

Isn't it no RIDING bikes on the sidewalk

One day I was with my friend Dominique and my cousin Melissa. We were on our way to Dominique house. I was walking Dominique bike, but i was walking with my legs over the bike so it seemed like i was riding it. All of a sudden i heard someone say young ladies. We turned around and saw 3 police officers. We didn't know why they were coming to us because we all felt none of us was doing anything wrong. The cops asked me for my i.d. I replied by saying i did not have it on me, then one officer asked "you wanna take her in?".My cousin asked where, but we all had a clear idea that it was gonna be the precint. The cop then asked my age and i told him i was 15, the other cop told him to just let me slide. That one cop was overusing his force and trying to find anyway possible to catch someone that night. I never understood why we couldn't ride bikes on the sidewalk because we don't have any bike lanes.

Yup, in prison too

Cops do not only overuse their force on the streets only, they do it in prison too. Have you ever seen the movie Civil Brand? If you didn't that is a movie when the women are in a prison. In the prison the guards are allowed to do whatever they want. They beat them, rape them, and hardly feed them. As harsh as that may sound, im am sure things like that really happen. If people who are not criminals are treated as horrible as they are, imagine how people who actually are criminals is treated. In Hennipen County Jail inmates complained about beatings and sexual assault. How ironic is it that the inmate got in trouble for filing the complaint. The inmate even had to use kleenex tissue to place in his jumpsuit to stop anal bleeding, and then he was taking to the hospital. That is really nasty. Inmates also have bruises, scrapes, etc from brutal attacks from the police.http://www.charityadvantage.com/CUAPB/3-30-04Newsletter.asp

Security Brutality

Is it me or are security guards taking their job a little bit too seriously and a little to far. In my 3.5 years of high school i have noticed the changes in the way security act. This year a new security guard came. Her name is blue. Ever since she came things just have not been the same. She is like a gang member, she just has to prove to people how tough she "think" she is. The first thing i noticed was her no words policy. She is like a pit-bull on a mission. The first incident was a simple body slam. A student by the locker with his hat on. The hallway is a crowded noisy place so the chances of a you hearing someone a distance from you is very rare. The guard had to make sure she didn't feel disrespected so she took it upon herself to get in the boy's way so he walked around her, that is when it all happened, she body slammed him, then the other security guards came and took him and she walked away. The next incident happened in the lunchroom. Two girls were handing out fliers for their party. She told them they could not hand out fliers. So one of the girls she walked away. She then aggressively threw the girl against the wall, and then the girl was pulled into the deans office. Now here is a more interesting event. There was a fight in the cafeteria, a girl was getting jumped. The girl who was getting jumped was pulled into an office because she was not calm, the other faculty members told the security guard that the girl was not calm and to let her stay in the office or a while, the security guard still insisted on bringing her out, that is when the girl unconsciously hit the other girl who had jumped in the fight. The security guard then threw the girl on the floor, got on top of her back, and then handcuffed her. Some security do things that are not necessary just because they can.

Johnny Gammage

Johnny Gammage was a motorist who was brutally murdered. He was severely beaten, then he suffocated. He died of asphyxiation. This happened October 12, 1995. He was riding in his cousin's jaguar when he was pulled over by the police. He died of compression to the neck or chest. The police officers had him face down on the pavement. He was murdered by 5 police officers. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pshell/gammage/flyer.html

The cops probably thought the car was stolen but it was his cousin NFL player Ray Seal's car. It was said Gammage got out the car with a cellphone that cops believed was a gun. It was said that Gammage was fighting with the police officers, but it was drive of them and he had to fight for his life. They were suffocating him and there was nothing he could do. He was helpless, he was also innocent.http://www.cnn.com/US/9611/13/verdict/

Why is it the cops were acquitted. Cops should not be allowed to commit murders and still be free. They should get arrested because a murder is a murder whether if it is commited by a homeless black male or a cop. The cops knew they had the authority to kill him especially after he fought back, that was just what they were waiting for.

No sudden moves!/ Amadou Diallo

Do we really have to warn the police of every sudden movement we are about to make? Well we really don't have to, I mean what is the worst that can happen, you might only just get shot 41 times. It happened to Amadou Diallo, and it could happen to you. Diallo was an innocent west african male. He was returning to his home on a late night when 4 unidentified cops approached him. Diallo did not speak good english and did what he felt was right. He knew that cops usually ask for i.d. He went inside his jacket and reached for his wallet. That was the last time he would reach for anything else. The cops started fire, and didn't stop. It does not take a roket scientist to figure out it does not take 41 shots for anyone unless you are a mutant or some kind of superhero to drop a weapon if you had one. Cops know that they would not get in trouble for killing him, so why not, just for the heck of it. Why did they kill him, was there a warrant out for him, did he hurt anyone, no he was black, and he was alone, he was a nobody in the eyes of the government.

No federal prosecution of Diallo cops



NEW YORK (AP) — Four police officers cleared of state criminal charges in the shooting death of an African immigrant will not be tried for federal civil rights violations, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
The officers were cleared of murder and other state charges last year. Amadou Diallo, 22, died two years ago in a hail of 41 bullets outside his Bronx apartment in what the officers testified was a tragic error.
In a statement released in Washington, the Justice Department said an investigation by its Civil Rights Division and by U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White in Manhattan had determined that federal charges against the officers were not warranted.
Federal officials concluded they "could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers willfully deprived Mr. Diallo of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force," according to the statement.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said his office agreed with the findings of the investigation.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the members of his family for this tragic loss," Holder said. "We must learn from this deeply troubling incident."
The Diallo family, along with many of their supporters, had hoped for a federal civil rights prosecution of the officers. Diallo was black, and the four undercover officers were white in the Feb. 4, 1999, shooting that exacerbated racial tensions in the city.
Attorneys for the officers said the decision not to prosecute would bring the case to an end for their clients.
"It's a decision that's right on the law and right on the facts," said Steven Brounstein, attorney for Officer Kenneth Boss. "It was a tragic accident. ... I'm just pleased that the decision has been made."
The Diallo family still has a $61 million civil suit against the city, its last legal recourse in the case. Diallo was shot when he reached for his wallet; the officers said they believed he was reaching for a gun.
White's office proposed the meeting with the Diallo family after Robert Conason, the attorney for the victim's mother Kadiatou Diallo, sent a letter to Holder blasting Justice Department officials.
"The seeming lack of courage displayed by the failure to either seek an indictment or formally close the investigation could only be taken ... as an example of politics at its worst," Conason said.
All of the officers acquitted last year — Boss, Sean Carroll, Edward McMellon and Richard Murphy — remain on the force. They were searching for a rape suspect when they stopped Diallo outside his home.
Federal civil rights prosecutions following state acquittals are extremely rare. In the Diallo case, authorities would have required proof that the officers violated Diallo's civil rights by intentionally using excessive force. DPXxr he state trial, the officers argued they fired in self defense, believing that Diallo was about to pull a weapon on them.
The officers were members of the NYPD's Street Crime Unit at the time of the shooting. They were driving around the Bronx in an unmarked car and wearing plainclothes when they spotted Diallo.
Shortly after Diallo's death, White announced her office had begun the civil rights probe.
White's office also has a separate investigation under way into police training and practices, especially by the Street Crime Unit.
The Diallo family, in its civil lawsuit, claims the officers used unnecessary force to deprive their son "his right to life."
It also charges the shooting resulted from racial profiling sanctioned by the police department, including stopping and frisking black males without justification.


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It is really crazy the cops are being found not guilty, they are going to keep doing things like this, they need to be punished.

Crono@timesend.com),

Guilty for being Black

"Only in black minority neighborhoods
cops are allowed to kill first
and ask questions later"

Cruel but true this quotations proves correct in New York City. Innocent people are killed by cops. Why does it take a crime to prevent crime, why do we have to be hurt to be protected? These are questions that are ignored. Cops do not care what they do to minorities. It seems normal to see a black male against a gate being searched for no reason. If a cop see a black male with his pants a little baggy it is assumed he is a gangster, and even if did not commit a crime he would soon, someday. One day I was on the train when a group of black males got on, it was a lot of them so one boy was holding the doors to make sure all his friends could get on. The train conductor became mad at the fact the boy were holding "her doors". She called the cops in rage as if they were really hurting her. The cops made all the young boys get off the train. After that I noticed them being searched. Was all that necessary, were they accused of selling drugs, or accused of having a weapon, or was it even that serious in the first place. It is not that serious because when white people are holding the doors asking if the train is going uptown or downtown cops are not notified and if they were the cops would most likely get a friendly smile and give them directions. Well we can't blame the cops anyway because we seem to have a new law stating if you are black you are guilty until proven innocent... right, and besides cops can do whatever they want, if they have a badge they have the right to harass you and don't worry it get better, they might even get the chance to kill you.