Showing posts with label police brutality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label police brutality. Show all posts

Saturday, January 28, 2023

Vice President Kamala Harris on the death of Tyre Nichols

Vice President Kamala Harris released the following statement on the death of Tyre Nichols after the release of the video footage showing the brutal beating he endured at the hands of Memphis Police officers:

Memphis Grizzlies release statement on the death of Tyre Nichols

The NBA's Memphis Grizzlies released the following statement on the death of Tyre Nichols after the release of the video footage showing the brutal beating he endured at the hands of Memphis Police officers:

Friday, June 05, 2020

Congressional Black Caucus to propose policing reforms

The Congressional Black Caucus is at work on a package of policing reforms the House could advance later this month in response to the death of George Floyd, Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., the chair of the caucus, told ABC News.

A federal chokehold ban, a review of police training standards and a reform of the legal doctrine that shields police officers from legal liability are some of the proposals circulating among the group, which House Democratic leaders have tasked with leading the chamber's response to Floyd's death and the ongoing protests.

"We are going to do everything we can, while the nation has a height of awareness on the issue, to pass transformative legislation," said Bass. "We want to make sure that, in this time period, we are very visible so that African Americans around the country understand that this is our experience as well."

SOURCE: ABC NEWS

Tuesday, June 02, 2020

Sen. Cory Booker calls for national registry to highlight police misconduct

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker called for a national registry of police misconduct in order to keep a record of incidents in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week.

“We have to create transparency and accountability,” Booker, D-N.J. said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

He said he was drafting legislation to set up a registry for cases of misconduct, use of force incidents, and people killed at the hands of police. He said he would move to change the section of federal law governing misconduct so make it easier to hold police officers accountable. He also called for a ban on racial and religious profiling.

We know what to do. There are things we can do. We are not helpless. We are not weak. We are strong,” Booker said.

“And so now it’s a time to take this energy and this anger and this focus and keep it, until we actually change laws and systems of accountability that can raise standards in our country.”

[SOURCE: NJ.COM]

Friday, July 19, 2019

4 Chicago police fired for alleged police shooting coverup in shooting of Laquan McDonald,

Four officers accused of lying about the circumstances around the fatal shooting of a black teen have been fired by the Chicago Police Board.

The 2014 killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, which was captured on police video camera, sparked months of protests and became emblematic of longstanding police abuse in America’s third-largest city.

A jury in October convicted a white police officer, Jason Van Dyke, of second-degree murder for firing 16 bullets into McDonald, most of which struck the teen after he fell to the ground.

The Police Board said that Sergeant Stephen Franko and three other officers had exaggerated the threat posed by McDonald in order to cover for Van Dyke, according to a decision handed down Thursday.

“Their conduct is antithetical to that expected and required of a sworn law enforcement officer, who at all times has a duty to act with honesty and integrity and to accurately and completely report their observations,“ the board said in a statement.

“Their conduct is antithetical to that expected and required of a sworn law enforcement officer, who at all times has a duty to act with honesty and integrity and to accurately and completely report their observations,“ the board said in a statement.

Friday, June 08, 2018

4 things Trump's offer to NFL players to pardon people wont change

By George L. Cook III African American Reports EMAIL: George Cook

With the backdrop of the positive response to his pardon of Alice Johnson and the National Anthem controversy in which National Football League players are protesting police brutality and racism, President Trump in his tone-deaf way has made an offer to black athletes in the NFL to submit cases of possible injustice so he can evaluate them for potential pardons.

"I’m going to ask all of those people to recommend to me -- because that’s what they’re protesting -- people that they think were unfairly treated by the justice system,” Trump told reporters Friday before departing the for the G-7 summit in Canada, adding that they shouldn’t remain in the locker room while the national anthem is played before games.

"If I find, and my committee finds, that they’re unfairly treated, then we will pardon them, or at least let them out," the president said.

While Trump's offer to pardon those in federal prison may help dozens it does nothing to help thousands who suffer at the hands of the justice system and abusive policing. Trump is hoping that African Americans somehow fall for this PR stunt and see this as a move that benefits them a whole when it doesn't.

Here are four things his offer to pardon people won't address:

Police committing acts of brutality and shooting unarmed black men. Until there are tougher consequences at the Federal level for bad police officers who violate the HUMAN rights of American citizens these abuses will continue.

Criminal justice reform addressing disparate sentences for African Americans as compared to white Americans for committing the same crimes.

Bail reform, thousands sit in jail not because they have been found guilty of a crime but because they can't make bail.

Environmental issues that affect black communities that lead to learning and behavioral problems that can make a child more likely to end up in the criminal justice system.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, these are things that immediately sprung to mind upon hearing of Trump's offer to NFL players.

This is just another example of Trump pointing to the bright shiny object hoping that we all ignore the grim reality that needs to be addressed. Pay attention people and don't let this con-man get with pulling yet another PR stunt that doesn't benefit African Americans as a whole.

So, in light of Trump's misguided offer to pardon boxing legend Muhammad Ali whose conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1971 I would like to close by warning us all not to fall for the okey-doke.

George L. Cook III African American Reports

Wednesday, September 06, 2017

Michael Bennett Discusses Violent Police Incident In Las Vegas Police

Seattle Seahawks star Michael Bennet has accused Las Vegas Police of throwing him to to the ground and threatening to blow his head off after he and others fled what many believed were gun shots. He like the others fleeing was seeking safety but believes that police singled him out for being black. Bennet discusses his altercation with Las Vegas police at a news conference. Bennet is obviously distraught and explained how he feels lucky to be alive.




Saturday, April 15, 2017

Man Beaten by Georgia Cops Speaks Out

Video shows Demetrius Hollins, 21, was kicked in the head by a Georgia officer during a traffic stop. He told NBC Nightly News on Friday that he also had an earlier encounter with one of the officers.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Feds revive probe of Eric Garner chokehold death

The feds have revived the grand jury probe into the NYPD chokehold death of Eric Garner — and a police witness who was questioned in front of the panel believes an indictment is looming, sources told The New York Post on Thursday.

A high-ranking NYPD official and a sergeant testified behind closed doors in the Brooklyn federal courthouse on Wednesday after being slapped with subpoenas, sources said.

Revelation of their appearances before the grand jury marks the first sign that the US Justice Department hasn’t abandoned the racially charged case since the inauguration of President Trump and the confirmation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Read more: Feds revive probe of Eric Garner chokehold death

Sunday, December 11, 2016

New book on police violence in America, They Can't Kill Us All by Wesley Lowery

They Can't Kill Us All: Ferguson, Baltimore, and a New Era in America's Racial Justice Movement, a deeply reported book that brings alive the quest for justice in the deaths of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and Freddie Gray, offering both unparalleled insight into the reality of police violence in America and an intimate, moving portrait of those working to end it.


Conducting hundreds of interviews during the course of over one year reporting on the ground, Washington Post writer Wesley Lowery traveled from Ferguson, Missouri, to Cleveland, Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina; and Baltimore, Maryland; and then back to Ferguson to uncover life inside the most heavily policed, if otherwise neglected, corners of America today.

In an effort to grasp the magnitude of the repose to Michael Brown's death and understand the scale of the problem police violence represents, Lowery speaks to Brown's family and the families of other victims other victims' families as well as local activists. By posing the question, "What does the loss of any one life mean to the rest of the nation?" Lowery examines the cumulative effect of decades of racially biased policing in segregated neighborhoods with failing schools, crumbling infrastructure and too few jobs.

Studded with moments of joy, and tragedy, They Can't Kill Us All offers a historically informed look at the standoff between the police and those they are sworn to protect, showing that civil unrest is just one tool of resistance in the broader struggle for justice. As Lowery brings vividly to life, the protests against police killings are also about the black community's long history on the receiving end of perceived and actual acts of injustice and discrimination. They Can't Kill Us All grapples with a persistent if also largely unexamined aspect of the otherwise transformative presidency of Barack Obama: the failure to deliver tangible security and opportunity to those Americans most in need of both.

BUY THE BOOK



Thursday, September 22, 2016

When is the United States going to have a real conversation about bad cops?

It seems that whenever black people want to discuss bad and aggressive policing other issues that have nothing to do with aggressive police get brought in by police and their supporters. How can we have a real conversation or fix the issues that are destroying lives and families if no one is listening to us?

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

I'm tired of having to say most cops are good cops

By George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.com EMAIL

I'm upset about the death of Terence Crutcher, I'm tired of seeing innocent black men gunned down by police officers and I'm tired of saying that most cops are good cops before discussing a police shooting of an unarmed black man. I know they exist but where are they at? Listen to more of my thought's below.

Monday, September 05, 2016

Obama: Kaepernick exercising his constitutional right

While on a diplomatic visit to China President Obama said that he thought San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was exercising his constitutional right to protest when he sat during the national anthem. Watch more of Pres. Obama stating his views on Kaepernick below.

Trump's new civil rights agenda that doesn't address 4 major civil rights issues

Here is Donald Trump's Civil Rights agenda that not surprisingly doesn't address four major civil rights issues. You could make the argument that it doesn't address any civil tights issues at all. The real question is how can a civil rights agenda not address voting rights, police brutality, environmental discrimination,  and pay equality? This is just another example of Donald Trump's smoke and mirrors approach to black issues.

George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com

[SOURCE:donaldjtrump.com]

PPPPPPPPPPPppppppppPPPP

--------

TRUMP OUTLINES NEW CIVIL RIGHTS AGENDA: A SAFE COMMUNITY, A GREAT EDUCATION, AND A SECURE JOB

“In his remarks today, Donald Trump called for a new civil rights agenda that includes the right to a safe community, the right to a great education and the right to a secure job. These civil rights are in addition to the fundamental, constitutional civil rights of our society and the absolute commitment to equal protection, ending discrimination and safeguarding the dignity of all citizens - and that includes their inviolable freedoms and liberties. Mr. Trump will also defend our religious freedoms, and the freedom of Americans from all communities to worship in peace.” – Pastor Darrell Scott

More detail will continue to be shared on these items in the coming days. Below is more detail on these points and links to previously-released policy papers and speeches on a number of the items. 

THE RIGHT TO LIVE IN A SAFE COMMUNITY –

The first duty of our government is ensuring every citizen in America has the right to live and prosper in a safe community. We cannot solve poverty if we don’t also solve crime – security is the foundation of prosperity. Crime is a stealth tax on the poor, reducing their jobs, incomes, property values and undermining their schools. A top priority of a Trump Administration will be working with local communities, city and state police, federal law enforcement, and the Mexican government to combat crime. As a team we will dismantle gangs, remove violent offenders from the streets, and destroy the international drug cartels that thrive off the innocent victims in our cities robbing them of the future every citizen deserves. This will provide a foundation for other reforms to thrive – to education, trade and across the economy, along with social reforms and religious empowerment to strengthen families as the foundation of opportunity. This is all part of rescuing millions from poverty and fear that no American should have to experience.


THE RIGHT TO A GREAT EDUCATION OF YOUR CHOICE –

At the center piece of our agenda is the empowerment of parents and children in school choice. States should have flexibility to use federal dollars to help parents and students find educational opportunities that meet their needs – including charter schools, magnet schools, private schools, religious schools, and home schooling. A portion of existing education aid should be contingent on states developing school choice programs. The failed government education monopoly discriminates against students in the inner cities by denying them the choice they deserve.

We will end discrimination in all of its forms.

We will use federal resources to encourage states to provide choice, while also encouraging curriculums geared toward success in the workplace – not arbitrary standards – and programs that provide students with in-demand skills and matches them up with both college courses and career courses.

THE RIGHT TO HAVE YOUR JOB PROTECTED –

The current policy of economic globalism violates the civil rights of American citizens by failing to protect and prioritize their jobs and wages from foreign competition. The movement of jobs offshore, combined with the uncontrolled flow of workers onshore, has concentrated wealth at the top and put American workers at a disadvantage. Economic surrender to the mercantilist and predatory trade practices of foreign countries has steadily eroded the economic conditions of Americans, particularly in our inner cities.

At the same time, illegal immigration violates the rights of American citizens in general – and African-American citizens in particular – by stripping them of the equal protection of the laws, which include the laws passed to protect them from illegal competition. Illegal immigration, while enriching the owners of capital, has disproportionately harmed low-income African-American and Hispanic citizens. As Harvard Professor Dr. George Borjas documented: “The employment rate of African-American men—defined as the fraction of weeks worked during a calendar year by the typical black male—fell from 73.2 percent in 1960 to 64.3 percent in 2000… The data reveal a strong correlation between immigration and black wages [and] black employment rates… As immigrants disproportionately increased the supply of workers in a particular skill group, we find a reduction in the wage of black workers in that group [and] a reduction in the employment rate.”

Further crucial steps will need to be taken to do a top-down reform to add millions and millions of new great jobs – energy reform will add half a million new jobs a year, along with dramatic tax and regulatory reform to bring thousands of new companies to our shores and into our poorest communities. This, combined with repatriation of overseas profits, and a bold national infrastructure program, will create trillions in new wealth to invest into our communities and our workers. 

Saturday, September 03, 2016

Santa Clara Police Union Threatens Boycott of 49ers Games Over Kaepernick Protest

By George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com

The Santa Clara Police Union has sent a letter to the San Francisco 49ers threatening that their members will no longer volunteer to provide security at home games unless Colin Kaepernick is disciplined. Now, of course, the first obvious question any rational human being would ask is discipline him for what? He has broken no team rules or policies but only exercised his rights as stated in the US constitution, so what is there to punish him for?

Here is another example of police officers acting like fragile little lilies who can't bare to have big mean bad words thrown at them. They want to pretend to be tough guys, but it hurts their feelings because some guy protest? They could have used this as an opportunity to open up a dialogue with Kaepernick and work with him to show a different side of the police that many minorities don't see, but no they want to fall on the ground and throw a tantrum. Watch video of the story below.

Thursday, July 07, 2016

Pres. Obama Statement On Shootings Of Alton Sterling And Philando Castile

President Obama has released a statement on the shooting deaths of both Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of police officers. Read President Obama's statement below.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

No indictment in Sandra Bland case

A grand jury has decided not to indict anyone in the case of Sandra Bland, whose death in police custody raised questions of excessive force and the role of race.

The grand jury met for more than eight hours Monday.

"After reviewing all the evidence in the death of Sandra Bland, a Waller grand jury did not return an indictment in the death of Bland, nor were any indictments returned against any employee of the Waller County Jail," said Darrell Jordan, a special prosecutor handling the case.

The grand jury will reconvene in January to consider other indictments.

Read more; Grand jury decides against indictments in Sandra Bland case

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Black Lives Matter, Campaign Zero 10 point plan to address police abuse

Black Lives Matter activists have released a 10 point plan to address abuses by US police forces after critics said that the group has lacked direction.
The plan, called "Campaign Zero", urges policy changes and proposes laws on federal, state and local levels.

The plans calls for:

Ending "broken windows" policing, which aggressively polices minor crimes in an attempt to stop larger ones

Using community oversight for misconduct rather than having police decide what consequences officers face

Making standards for reporting police use of deadly force

Independently investigating and prosecuting police misconduct

Having the racial makeup of police departments reflect the communities they serve

Requiring officers to wear body cameras

Providing more training for police officers

Ending for-profit policing practices

Ending the police use of military equipment

Implementing police union contracts that hold officers accountable for misconduct

Saturday, May 09, 2015

Negrotown by Key & Peele

Check out Key and Peele's already classic skit titled Negrotown, that tackles the issue of police abuse many African American men face in a funny and thought provoking. WARNING: Video does contain adult language.

Thursday, April 09, 2015

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott post responses to Walter Scott shooting

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott tweeted several messages about the horrific shooting of Walter Scott in North Charleston. See his messages below.