Having handled excessive-force claims against police for three decades, Newport Beach-based attorney Jerry Steering says he had never seen a more outrageous case of a cop committing a public execution than the September 2013 death of Connor Zion, a 21-year-old Laguna Niguel resident. Nobody absolves Zion, a talented dancer who was in the midst of … Read more
A federal judge has declined to dismiss a civil rights lawsuit filed against six defendants by the estate of Eric Harris, who was shot to death while being detained by Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office personnel. The ruling Thursday by U.S. District Judge John Dowdell clears the way for the lawsuit to move to the discovery … Read more
The state of New Hampshire will pay $750,000 to the family of a Canterbury woman fatally shot by a State Police trooper in 2013. The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office and attorneys for the family of Wendy Lawrence agreed to the settlement this month, roughly three years after Lawrence’s oldest son, Michael Rand, filed a … Read more
The Wisconsin Department of Justice released the initial findings of its investigation into the fatal police shooting of 14-year-old Jason Pero of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe, which occurred Nov. 8. The Wisconsin DOJ claims that Jason called 911 at approximately 11:00 a.m. Wednesday morning and described himself to the dispatcher. … Read more
Attorney Darold Killmer, corresponding via email, responds like so: “This astonishing testimony, from a trainer at the jail, shows clearly why inmates keep getting killed and maimed at the Denver jail. Mr. Yamaguchi should be first in line to receive the new training required by the Marshall settlement. In the meantime, he should be removed … Read more
Mesa Police officer Brian Elmore testified Tuesday in a former colleague’s murder trial that he didn’t shoot at an unarmed Texas man because he didn’t see an imminent threat. Elmore testified over two days in the murder trial of former Mesa officer Philip “Mitch” Brailsford, 26, who is accused of unjustifiably shooting 26-year-old Daniel Shaver … Read more
The fired Balch Springs police officer who killed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards “flipped off” the car containing Jordan’s body and four other teens, according to court records filed Thursday. The records reveal a troubling pattern of behavior before and after Roy Oliver fired his rifle into a black Chevrolet Impala full of teenagers leaving a party … Read more
Over the course of two days in early July of last year, three black men, each of them under 40, were killed by police officers in different parts of the country — Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La.; Philando Castile, outside of St. Paul, and Delrawn Small, in a case that drew far less national … Read more
Baltimore Police Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. was found not guilty Tuesday of all 21 administrative charges against him in the 2015 arrest and death of Freddie Gray. The verdict absolves Goodson once and for all in the case, and allows him to continue his career on the city police force. Goodson, 48, the driver of … Read more
After a man called Connor Zion experienced several seizures, he became disoriented and attacked some of his family members, who called the police. Orange County, California Deputy Michael Higgins arrived, shot Zion nine times, approached Zion’s motionless body, fired nine more shots into him at point-blank range, then, after a running start, stomped on Zion’s … Read more
A Brooklyn jury has cleared an NYPD officer of all charges for the fatal off-duty shooting of an unarmed motorist following a July 2016 road rage incident. The panel of seven women and five men found cop Wayne Isaacs not guilty of charges of second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter following nearly 14 hours of deliberation. … Read more
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.– Two Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) officers involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man in June have been suspended and face termination. A special prosecutor assigned to the case determined criminal charges against officers Carlton Howard and Michael Dinnsen were not warranted. IMPD conducted an administrative review separate from the prosecutor … Read more