Related: Gang Killed Child in Chicago
At least all the talk of Rahm resigning has gone silent.
"Man charged with luring 9-year-old to death with promise of juice box" by Don Babwin Associated Press March 08, 2016
CHICAGO — A Chicago man has been charged with first-degree murder, after authorities say he lured a 9-year-old boy into an alley with a promise to buy him a juice box and then shot him in the head because of his father’s gang ties.
Ummm, yeah.
We knew that around Christmas.
Dwright Boone-Doty, 22, was charged Monday night in the Nov. 2 death of Tyshawn Lee. Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Boone-Doty has been held since his November arrest on unrelated gun charges. Guglielmi said Boone-Doty has admitted to shooting the boy.
The fourth-grader was one of more than 400 homicide victims in the Chicago last year.
That including the ones blown away by police?
But even in a city where children are all too often the innocent victims of relentless gang warfare, Tyshawn’s killing was shocking because, according to police, he was killed for no other reason than to punish his father....
Of course, torturing someone to death or drone striking their home to do the same thing is not shocking at all.
--more--"
Odd thing is, Chicago has the most murders of any major metropolis and yet it has the toughest gun control laws.
"Homicides rise in Chicago; illegal gun seizures fall" by Don Babwin Associated Press March 01, 2016
CHICAGO — Homicides and shootings have doubled in Chicago so far this year compared with the same period in 2015, and police have seized fewer illegal guns — more possible signals officers have become less aggressive in the aftermath of a shooting video released last fall.
See?
Not a good thing when you make a fuss about authority. Your safety is then put at risk.
Who keeps you safe from the cops, I dunno.
Interim Police Superintendent John Escalante said Tuesday that he was so concerned about officers possibly holding back that he filmed a video for the department in which he encouraged them to do their jobs and assured them that a federal probe of the force was not aimed at individuals.
‘‘We are aware that there is a concern among the rank and file about not wanting to be the next YouTube video that goes viral,’’ Escalante said in the video before introducing a segment of his own to remind viewers ‘‘why we took this job and swore this oath of office.’’
Good.
The statistics come almost exactly three months after the city on the orders of a judge released the video of officer Jason Van Dyke firing 16 shots at Laquan McDonald, a black teen killed in 2014. Since that day, Van Dyke has been charged with murder, and Superintendent Garry McCarthy has been fired. The Department of Justice launched a civil rights probe of the police force, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel has sought to regain public trust in the department and his own leadership.
Once that is gone.... in 21st century AmeriKa?
Forget it.
The vast majority of the bloodshed in the nation’s third-largest city occurs in neighborhoods on the south and west sides, away from the Loop business district.
You know, where are the important people.
The McDonald case raised concerns that officers, fearful of attracting negative attention, may be becoming more passive. Quietly, officers say they are not going to take chances that might land them in legal trouble or threaten their jobs and pensions.
It's a concern now for something they should have been aware of anyway, right?!
Unless they were under the impression it was all tacitly approved from higher up, right?
Don't worry about it. Investigations will absolve you.
Is it just me, or is the whole tone of this article trying to justify the record number of those killed by authority when it is safer than ever for them?
Yeah, better off letting the police blow you away -- for safety's sake. F*** your family and those left behind.
‘‘I’m hearing that police are standing down because they’re afraid what might happen to them, that when they get a call, they wait to see if someone answers it first,’’ said the Rev. Michael Pfleger, a prominent Roman Catholic priest and activist on the South Side. ‘‘I get really angry about that. If they are not going to do police work, they need to get out.’’
Woa, father, woa!
As for the work of the church, that's why I got out (blogger makes grinding motions while grasping imaginary hips in front of him).
Now about that anger.... remember the crusades?
Evidence of a pullback starts with an 80 percent decrease in the number of street stops that the officers have made since the first of the year....
I'm sure the communities have breathed a huge sigh of relief at the relaxation of police harassment.
--more--"
Do they stop and frisk in Chicago?
Related: You Can't See Chicago Cop Videos
Not for another 2+ months.
Also related:
Justice Department sends Ferguson warning on consent decree
Some might call it a threat.
"Ferguson city leaders could end a potentially costly lawsuit from the US Department of Justice as early as this month, now that the federal agency has assured them its plan to overhaul the city’s embattled police and court system won’t create an unmanageable financial burden, the mayor said Monday. City Council members were concerned Ferguson might go bankrupt trying to implement changes outlined in the agreement. In a letter to city leaders dated Friday, Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, clarified financial details of the plan — including that the city wouldn’t be required to provide pay raises to its police officers, a provision that could have cost nearly $1 million. Gupta also said Ferguson could avoid litigation by signing the original agreement and notes the possibility of technical assistance and grant money for Ferguson."
The cost could reach nearly $4 million in the first year alone, and that sure looks like the heavy hand of federalism coming down on poor Ferguson.
Also see:
Ferguson council expected to reconsider federal justice agreement
That's usually what you do when the Godfather makes you an offer you can't refuse -- and that is how the U.S. government behaves.
Database of problem police may get test in Ferguson
Hey, now they can join the citizenry!
Going to coast home....
Baltimore officer must testify in Freddie Gray cases
‘‘You need to smack him,’’ officer said before assault on student
"Neighborhood reflects on life, death of man shot by police" by Jonathan Drew Associated Press March 01, 2016
RALEIGH, N.C. — The black man shot to death by a police officer was a father of two who was quick to flash a smile or give a hug, yet someone who had a troubled relationship with police and was wanted on charges of selling cocaine.
What color was the cop, and it almost sounds like he deserved to die.
Did everyone a favor (btw, where is the blood? Shouldn't there be some on the pavement?).
Akiel Denkins, 24, died Monday after a foot pursuit with an officer serving a felony arrest warrant. The officer chased Denkins over a fence and fired multiple shots in a backyard behind a modest home, according to police and witnesses.
The police shooting angered residents in this predominantly African-American neighborhood and comes as officers face perhaps more scrutiny than ever over their treatment of young black men.
Of course, they also kill one white person each day but #WLDM.
The officer’s race was not released and police gave out few details, other than saying a gun was found near Denkins.
Uh-oh.
Gun must have been planted.
‘‘He had some troubles, but he was a good guy,’’ said Pastor Chris Jones of the Ship of Zion, who uses patience and prayer to convince young men in the community to give up drug dealing and other troubled paths.
Truvalia Bailey said she bumped into Denkins about 10 minutes before the shooting and he ‘‘hugged me around the neck.’’
‘‘It happens everywhere,’’ she said of the police shootings, her voice hoarse and breaking with emotion. ‘‘But it finally hit Raleigh.’’
Frustration with police was evident in the hours after the shooting, with some chanting ‘‘no justice, no peace’’ at the edge of a police cordon.
The atmosphere was calmer Tuesday in the neighborhood of one-story houses and small clusters of apartments. Residents say they have a complicated relationship with police.
More than a half-dozen churches sit within a half-mile of where shooting took place, and three area pastors chose measured responses such as ‘‘somewhat peaceful,’’ ‘’decent’’ or ‘‘respectful’’ when asked to describe interactions between the community and officers. Some people complained that crime in the area is driven by outsiders coming in at night to buy and sell drugs.
Denkins had children ages 1 and 2, said the Rev. William Barber II, the head of the North Carolina National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Oh, man!
‘‘Did he have faults? All human beings have faults. Some reports say he had an arrest record. So do I,’’ Barber told reporters Tuesday.
But Barber said neither a warrant nor an arrest record ‘‘is a license to kill’’ and he called for a fair and transparent investigation.
That is where the printed Globe decided to drop it.
Denkins’ mother, Rolonda Byrd, had tears streaming down her face as she stood next to Barber. She said she went to the medical examiner’s office, but wasn’t allowed to look at her son’s body.
‘‘They stopped me at the door. Somehow they knew I was on my way,’’ Byrd said.
A day earlier, she questioned the police officer’s use of force.
‘‘Why wasn’t there a Taser pulled out to Taser him while he was jumping over that fence? What happened to beanbags guns? They used to use those to stop a criminal. They don’t do that anymore. Now it’s just bullets — all bullets. Why?’’ she said.
The police department identified the officer involved in the shooting as senior officer D.C. Twiddy, 29. He has been placed on administrative leave while the State Bureau of Investigation looks into the matter.
Shooting witness Claresa Williams said she was standing in front of her apartment when she saw an officer drive up.
‘‘When the police came, he jumped the fence’’ into the backyard of a house next door, Williams told The Associated Press. ‘‘The officer jumped the fence, pulled his gun out and shot him down six times.’’
Williams said her view was blocked so she didn’t see the man fall from the bullets.
‘‘To me, you pulled your gun out and you fired at that man six times in his back because he was running,’’ Williams said.
Denkins had previous drug convictions and was released on $10,000 secured bond in October after being charged with selling cocaine, according to court documents. He failed to show up for a court date and an order for his arrest was filed Friday.
Looks like he brought it on himself -- like all victims of police brutality.
On Tuesday morning, several young men gathered at a makeshift memorial with balloons and flowers to take pictures and write messages about ‘‘Lock Man’’ on large pieces of poster board.
Jones, the pastor, said he and Denkins had good conversations at the Galley Grocery Store, which is operated by Jones’ church.
‘‘A big smile would come on his face, and he would say ‘What’s up Pastor Chris?’’’ Jones said.
Denise Brimley, who works at the Galley, said Denkins usually ordered two chili dogs and a can of grape soda. She said she was thinking about his two children: ‘‘It’s really sad that young man isn’t going to get to see them grow up.’’
And that those kids will have to be told one day what happened to a father they never new and can't remember.
--more--"
"Alabama officer charged with murder in fatal shooting" Associated Press March 03, 2016
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A white Alabama police officer was charged with murder Wednesday in the shooting death of a black man who was walking home when he was slain outside a neighbor’s house.
Police Chief Ernest Finley said Monday that Montgomery police officer Aaron Smith, 23, deemed 58-year-old Greg Gunn suspicious, left his car, and approached Gunn around 3:20 a.m. on Feb. 25. Authorities have not said what Smith found suspicious.
Authorities initially said Gunn was holding a stick or cane and the two men had struggled. But Gunn’s next-door neighbor Colvin Hinson said the stick was an extension handle for a paint roller.
Hinson said he was awakened by loud banging on his front door before he heard gunshots. He opened the door to see Gunn in the grass.
Gunn’s death comes amid a national conversation about law enforcement’s use of lethal force after multiple cases of black men dying at the hands of police....
Maybe it's me, but I feel like a certain agenda is being pushed to divide the people and federalize police.
--more--"
I'm told Gunn ‘‘brought it on himself.’’
It's like I have said all along: if AmeriKa's security services kill you, you deserved it. Period, end off story. Next body.
Slain Virginia officer buried next to father in Springfield
See: Guidon You Through Virginia
Did I forget to mention the New Hampshire cops are hurting for money?
NDUs:
"As boy lay dying in road, motorists just drove on by" Washington Post March 11, 2016
It was just after sunset Wednesday in East St. Louis. Fog crept across the city. A light rain fell on the intersection of State Street and Post Place.
As the boy made his way across the roadway, a car suddenly slammed into him.
Instead of stopping to help, however, the car kept on driving, according to police.
Perhaps worse, other drivers followed the lead, weaving around the boy as he lay on the ground, dying.
It was ‘‘several minutes’’ before anyone stopped to help Richards, reported local television station KMOV.
By then, it was too late.
Richards died at a hospital shortly thereafter.
Authorities called the hit-and-run a ‘‘senseless act,’’ but also called out the drivers who ignored the dying boy.
‘‘Just for the fact that they’re seeing someone lying in the street and didn’t render aid . . . they need to be held accountable,’’ East St. Louis Police Det. Jason Hicks told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
It's Seinfeld's Good Samaritan law and it is where the print ended.
It's also a symptom of this virtually real, social media driven, $elfi$h con$umeri$t culture that has been promoted for nearly half-a-century now.
‘‘We as citizens of East St. Louis need to start taking a more serious role in things that go on.’’
‘‘If you were one of the ones that saw the young man laying in the street and went around him, you know it’s not right,’’ Hicks added, according to KMOV.
But they could not be inconvenienced, even to make a call on that phone they need.
Richards’s grandmother said they weren’t sure how long the boy lay in the street before someone finally stopped, but that it was long enough that his clothes were ‘‘drenched’’ from the rain.
‘‘They said one lady was praying over him, and she asked other people to join and they wouldn’t join,’’ Gertrude Richards told the Post-Dispatch. ‘‘I guess they just drove by. They had to stop another car from almost hitting him.’’
She told the newspaper that her grandson was a student at Gordon Bush Elementary School and enjoyed pizza as well as playing with his four sisters and brother.
‘‘He was a happy kid. He loved to ride his bike,’’ she said amid tears Wednesday night. ‘‘He loved to eat. He was mostly a meat eater. He liked to eat like his daddy.’’
His mother, Erica Steele, posted two photos of Richards to her Facebook page, where friends left their condolences.
Hicks said investigators had no leads as of late Wednesday night.
‘‘We have no vehicle description, no suspects as of right now,’’ the detective told the Post-Dispatch.
No cameras in the area? No license plate readers?
There was also no sign that the car had tried to avoid the fatal collision.
‘‘There weren’t any skid-marks at the scene, and we do not have any witnesses,’’ he told the Belleville News-Democrat. ‘‘Cars were driving around the boy. The caller who reported the hit-and-run stopped and blocked the area where the boy laid.’’
Hicks asked residents to rally around Richards’s death, even if some drivers initially had ignored the boy in his moment of need.
‘‘The citizens need to come together and try to get who did this and get justice for that young man,’’ Hicks told the Post-Dispatch.
The tragedy seemed to shake even the reporter covering the story for the Post-Dispatch.
‘‘What is wrong with people?’’ tweeted Valerie Schremp Hahn. ‘‘WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?’’
--more--"
Related:
"Driver identified in crash that left Cambridge woman critically injured" by Andy Rosen Globe Staff March 03, 2016
CAMBRIDGE — Authorities on Thursday said they had identified a Somerville resident as the driver in a hit-and-run crash that threw a 77-year-old woman from her wheelchair early Sunday morning, leaving her critically injured.
The office of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said investigators had also located the vehicle they believe was involved in the crash. No charges had been filed by Thursday evening, and no further information was released on the driver.
The area where the accident took place is just north of a raised-brick area set up to slow traffic and keep motorists alert.
Police believe the woman was in the road, but that the driver should have been alert and seen her on the relatively quiet street near several commercial areas.
Another neighbor, Bob Lo Duca, was angered by the driver’s decision to leave.
“The bottom line is, whoever it was should have stopped,” he said. “These people, they have no regard for life.”
I know how he feels.
--more--"
UPDATE: Citation issued in wheelchair crash in Cambridge
Why was the man not identified?
Also see:
"Driver in fatal Milton crash was an off-duty officer" by Laura Crimaldi and Jan Ransom Globe Staff March 10, 2016
MILTON — Milton High School senior Katelisa Etienne was headed to the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit in Mattapan on Wednesday afternoon to work up a list of children to invite to her high school graduation party.
But before the 18-year-old could get there, she was fatally struck around 3:30 p.m. by a Jeep Wrangler driven by Warren Hoppie, an off-duty Boston police sergeant, authorities said....
At least he stopped.
--more--"
UPDATE: Father of slain Chicago 9-year-old boy charged with shooting 3
UPDATE: "More two-officer police teams are patrolling the streets of Montgomery after a white officer on a solo patrol shot and killed a black man in February."
