MEMPHIS, Tenn. – A federal judge in Memphis ruled Friday that the city’s failure to properly train members of its police department caused it to violate a 1978 agreement not to collect political intelligence on activists exercising their First Amendment rights. “The failure was one of training and inadequate direction over a sustained period of … Read more
Documents released by the City of Memphis indicate that their police department has been systematically using social media to track and observe Black Lives Matter activists in the area, including compiling a trove of dossiers and PowerPoint presentations on the local activists. The documents came out in a lawsuit brought against the city by the … Read more
A police officer who shot and killed a man during a stop-and-search operation in Nantes, sparking two nights of rioting and violence, has been taken into custody for questioning. Investigators are looking into whether the officer should be charged with “violence by a person of authority leading to manslaughter”. Announcing the arrest on Thursday, the … Read more
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the home of a Pittsburgh-area police officer hours after he was charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager. “A 17-year-old boy is dead and his killer is free,” Godfrey, a protester who only gave his first name, told ABC Pittsburgh affiliate WTAE-TV of the officer Wednesday night. “So … Read more
In Portland, Oregon, the prison used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is housed in a nondescript building tucked between a highway and the waterfront south of downtown. The tan three-story structure has darkened windows and no identifying marks. It’s surrounded by an 8-feet high metal fence, guarded by a security checkpoint, and cameras outside cover … Read more
Rakem Balogun thought he was dreaming when armed agents in tactical gear stormed his apartment. Startled awake by a large crash and officers screaming commands, he soon realized his nightmare was real, and he and his 15-year-old son were forced outside of their Dallas home, wearing only underwear. Handcuffed and shaking in the cold wind, … Read more
In December, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Louisiana shackled 92 Somali immigrants into airplane seats, fired the jet off toward their home country in eastern Africa, allegedly beat the men bloody and forced them to relieve themselves in their seats, mysteriously turned the plane around in Senegal, and then landed the caravan in … Read more
04 May 2015 The use of flashbang grenades by Seattle police is being investigated following the events of a protest late last week, including what appears to be wrongful use of non-lethal weapons, the Stranger reported. The Office of Professional Accountability’s (OPA) probe came as footage from freelance photographer Alex Garland shows one grenade landing … Read more
A protester at a vigil Saturday night for Stephon Clark was hit by a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department vehicle on Florin Road, the latest tense moment between law enforcement and activists following the March 18 police shooting death of the unarmed black man. Witnesses and the struck protester said the sheriff’s vehicle left the scene. … Read more
Members of the Nationals Basketball Association’s Boston Celtics and Sacramento Kings came together Sunday to call attention to the killing of an unarmed black man by police. Players wore warmup t-shirts with the message “Accountability. We are one.” printed on the front and #StephonClark on the back. Clark died March 18 in South Sacramento. Police … Read more
The debate over the police shooting of an innocent man intensified at Wichita City Hall on Tuesday, with the mayor admonishing activists for interrupting a pastor supporting police and some police critics getting thrown out for arguing with the council. It was the most tense day yet at a City Council meeting since Andrew Finch … Read more
Your pain is worth a penny. That’s the message a jury sent an Occupy Wall Street protester who sued the city, alleging he was a victim of police brutality. Eric Gersbacher claimed NYPD Deputy Inspector Edward Winski used excessive force while arresting him for failing to move in Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan on Sept. … Read more