Police Brutality (and Atrocity) Blog

Campus Police Attack on UC Davis Peaceful Student Protest Creates a Potential Powder Keg

2011-11-20T18:53:00.000-08:00

Hat Tip to African American Pundit.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has spread to US college campuses like the University of California at Davis, of which the above YouTubeVideo caption says, "Police pepper spraying and arresting students at UC Davis." The students pepper sprayed were peacefully sitting down. There are seventeen thousand comments on this video at YouTube, with over 900,000 views after two days posted, Saturday, November 19, 2011 and Sunday, 20th.

African American Pundit says,

Looks like America's college campus may just explode after what happened at a non-violent protest at UC Davis. . . . This reminds me of the violent action of police against civil rights marchers back in the early 60's.

The Washington Post says:

The video, which shows the officer using the spray against Occupy protesters Friday, went viral over the weekend. On Sunday, the university placed two police officers on administrative leave while a task force investigates. The clip probably will be the defining imagery of the Occupy movement, rivaling in symbolic power, if not in actual violence, images from the Kent State shootings more than 40 years ago.

Putting this growing protest in context, college students have a lot to protest about:

Students are unable to find internships to offset the cost of their college expenses, and jobs after college are scare with 15-20% unemployment in that age-group. MSNBC says,

They will enter an economy where roughly 17% of people aged 20 through 24 do not have a job, and where two million college graduates are unemployed. They will enter a world where they will compete tooth and nail for jobs as waitresses, pizza delivery men, file clerks, bouncers, trainee busboys, assistant baristas, interns at bodegas.

Students' in-state tuitions increased 8.9% on average last year, while their wages and those of their parents wages are stagnant or decreasing. At private colleges, tuition has increased even more.
Students' expected post-college income in decreasing, if they expect to have income at all;
Parents are less able to help students financially because their greatest asset -- the value of their houses -- has tanked. Second mortgages have become impossible with homes "underwater" and some parents' investments have become equally worthless.
Parents are taking additional jobs to pay basic household bills, and some parents are becoming unemployed, and even losing their homes;
Students are racking student debt at unprecedented levels. With no way to discharge this debt in bankruptcy, their only hope for relief, other than paying in perpetual debt servitude, may be to become "permanently and totally disabled" and "discharge" the debt with the US Department of Education. This might be an option for students whose debt drives them completely insane or who become permanently crippled in suicide attempts.

In this context of student fright about what has happened to their present and their future, students have every reason to join Occupy Wall Street protesters and begin to occupy US college campuses.

Angering the students even more against the Republican Party in particular, Republican presidential nomination candidate Newt Gingrich said yesterday, with respect to Occupy protesters,

"Now, that is a pretty good symptom of how much the left has collapsed as a moral system in this country and why you need to reassert something as simple as saying to them, ‘Go get a job right after you take a bath.’”

The Republican debate audience responded to that comment by filling the Christian church with some of the loudest applause of the evening.

President Obama can't fire up student support for his re-election, but Republican presidential nomination candidate Newt Gingrich can rally students and many sympathetic Americans for the Democrats with comments like this one.

Add your voice. The following contact information for campus police and school officials was provided with the above video:

Title says all. During peacefully Occupy Movement, police came in to tear down tents and proceeded to arrest students who stood in their way. Once students peacefully demanded the release of the arrested, a police officer unnecessarily pepper sprays the students to open a path for the rest of the officers.

*UPDATE*
The officer who sprayed the students was UC Davis Police Lt. John Pike
Lieutenant John Pike - (530) 752-3989-Police Station #
Email: japikeiii@ucdavis.edu

Annette M. Spicuzza,
UC Davis Police Chief
(530) 752-3113

Chancellor Linda Katehi
(530) 752-2065
email: chancellorkatehi@ucdavis.edu
http://chancellor.ucdavis.edu/messages/2011/taskforce_111911.html

*UPDATE*
Please sign the petition for the Chancellors Katehi's resignation!
http://www.change.org/petitions/police-pepper-spray-peaceful-uc-davis-student...

I was just sent this by a fellow YouTuber giving us pretty interesting information about what occurred on Friday Nov 18
http://studentactivism.net/2011/11/20/ten-things-you-should-know-about-friday...

2011-10-03T00:51:00.000-07:00

Offering a reason for some police behavior without making an excuse, a case from Florida shows that some police officers are mentally ill, even if they are able to understand the wrongfulness of their actions.

A female Florida sheriff's deputy handcuffed naked girls to a desk, spanked them with a leather paddle and sent the seamy homemade videos to a boyfriend she met on a fetish web site, authorities said.

Robin Leigh Pagoria, 45, subjected her two victims - described as girls between the ages of 10 and 18 - to multiple torture sessions, authorities said.

"There aren't words to describe my anger with her," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told the Orlando Sentinel, adding that the arrest "came out of nowhere."

Pagoria, a divorced Marine veteran, shackled the girls' wrists and ankles to a homemade "spanking bench" in her home and pounded (sic) their backs, legs and buttocks, the report says.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/05/27/2011-05-27_robin_pagoria_florida_sheriffs_deputy_busted_for_spanking_girls_and_making_porn_.html#ixzz1ZiNpwSjD

So, where are the local police union and chief elected officials who would normally insist that barbaric behavior is justified by the circumstances and the police officers' fear that not spanking these children would have led to even greater harms? Does either of the girls have a court history that would explain the officer's need to engage in video-taped beatings of naked girls and them put them on the Internet? Apparently, there is at least some police atrocity that even police officers and their supervisors cannot defend.

Black Family Argues Against Death Penalty for Color-Aroused Pick-Up Truck Murderer

2011-09-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

A dedicated reader of this blog just informed me, in the Deryl Dedmond, 'Let's go get an "N-word"' case, in which a middle-aged Black man, named James Craig Anderson was run over by a color-aroused white youth with a pickup truck, now the Black victim's family has asked that the death penalty not be sought against any of the culprits.

The New York Daily News reports,

Deryl Dedmon, 19, was arrested on a charge of capital murder, which is punishable by death or life without parole. He has not been indicted and it will be up to a grand jury to decide on the formal charges. Capital murder in Mississippi is defined as a murder that happens during the commission of another felony. The underlying offense in this case is the alleged robbery of Anderson.

Police say that Dedmon and a group of teens had been partying late that night in suburban Rankin County when he asked a group of them to go out looking for a black man to "mess with." Seven people allegedly loaded up in two cars and headed to Jackson.

However, the New York Daily News quotes the family as saying:

Those responsible for James' death not only ended the life of a talented and wonderful man. They also have caused our family unspeakable pain and grief. But our loss will not be lessened by the state taking the life of another.

( . . . )

"We also oppose the death penalty because it historically has been used in Mississippi and the South primarily against people of color for killing whites. Executing James' killers will not help balance the scales. But sparing them may help to spark a dialogue that one day will lead to the elimination of capital punishment."

Most of the time, the facts of case of police brutality and atrocity speak for themselves, but I have strong feelings and opinions about this case.

Francis L. Holland says:

I wish the family had waited until the penalty phase of the trial to come out with this ameliorating statement. The white boy with blue eyes will probably now get a life sentence with eligibility for parole in ten or fifteen years. The victim's family short-circuited the color-aroused criminal justice system by asking that the boy not receive the harshest penalty for the harshest crime. Now, the trial and subsequent injustice will get far less attention than it deserves nationally and internationally.

Certainly, the death penalty was taken off of table in the O.O. Simpson case, but that case lacked video evidence of the accused beating and then running over his victim with a pick-up truck.

As a matter of reality, there was no way this kid was going to get the death penalty and have it sustained on appeal in Mississippi. There are all sorts of ways they could and would have avoided inflicting the death penalty, such as changing the venue of the trial to an all-white town, doggedly keeping Blacks off of the jury, etc.

The injustice system should have been allowed to embarrass itself and show its skin-color-based decision processes through every phase of the case, as it does in cases in which Blacks are the victims.

I strongly disagree that the victim's family has created a teachable moment this way. Whites think they have a right to kill Black people, so they will think that the Black family's act of generosity and selflessness it is not magnanimous but just another example of Blacks knowing they should step off of the sidewalk when whites go by.

Martin Luther King, Jr. would have approved of this action by the family, where the family tries to teach white people how vengeful they are as a color-group, compared to sane people, in the hopes that embarrassment and the high road will reach their hearts.

I have a color-aroused suspicion that, when this trial is over and the Dedmond, kid will soon be out on probation, doing three months of community service at his local chapter of the Klu Klux Klan chapter.

In expressing that opinion, I have to admit my own experience. When I was seven years old, my sister was shot in the chest by white men who confessed to the act, but served no prison or jail time. Not even for disturbing the peace.

Perhaps the family is wise to argue against the death penalty, since Dedmond wouldn't have gotten the death penalty in any case.

Francis L. Holland

Afrosphere Bloggers Urge Financial A$$istance to CoC, to Stop Planned Execution of Troy Davis in Georgia, September 21

2011-09-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

Donate money at Color of Change, to save Troy Davis' life

this week.

Over the last four of years that I have been participating, we in the afrosphere, often with the leadership and political acumen of Color of Change, have come together and reached out to the public at large, and specific politicians, to fight cases of injustice in the color-aroused political injustice system. We have sometimes achieved unexpectedly rapid successes by organizing across professions, income levels, skin colors, and unrestrained by geographical boundaries.

We have realized that "the system," from 911 calls to the gallows, is stacked against Blacks, and so we have fought back with electronic weapons of communication and organization that were never before available to us on this scale.

"Indifference is the essence of inhumanity". ~George Bernard Shaw~

Today, Field Negro brings our attention to a case that we have fought long and hard. We have won over and over again, by postponing the execution, and seeking new consideration for a probably-not guilty man, but we are down to the wire again. We have to reach out to the Black and progressive public, in the state of Georgia, through mainstream and targeted media, to delay the work of the guillotine, save the life and postpone the death of Troy Davis.

Color of Change has a new paid media publicity strategy, aimed at the Georgia Parole Board:

The day we’ve dreaded is finally here:a Georgia judge issued a death warrant for Troy Davis. It shocks the conscience, but despite all the doubt hanging over the case – all the evidence that Troy is likely innocent – Troy is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection as soon as September 21.

One of the most powerful things we can do for Troy is making sure that his story gets told in the state of Georgia. Can you chip in $10, $20, or $50 to help buy advertisements with the potential to reach thousands of Georgia residents? Please give, while Troy Davis still has a few days of life left.

Field Negro documents the pleasure of Republican color-aroused antagonists from all over the country, now, as the doors between life and death threaten to close with a quickness behind Troy Davis.

( . . . ) a man who very well could be innocent of the charges brought against him, but who, nevertheless, the state of Georgia plans to put to death on September 21,2011. *more applause*

Oh field, there you go playing defense attorney again.

Well, please consider the following:

# Almost all of the nine witnesses who gave evidence at his trial have recanted or changed their testimony

# A state's witness now says another guy murdered the officer, Mark Allen MacPhail

# No DNA evidence link him to the crime

# No fingerprints, either

# Nobody ever found the murder weapon

# Davis has maintained his innocence since his arrest (h/t Gawker)

Not good enough to put reasonable doubt in your mind? How about the following?

"...upon reviewing his case a federal court held in 2010 that he hadn't proven his "actual innocence" because his post-conviction body of evidence was either "not credible and would be disregarded by a reasonable juror," too general, or both. The presiding judge didn't allow Davis's lawyers to call any of the recanting witnesses—who pinned the murder on a different man at the scene named Sylvester "Redd" Coles— because they hadn't subpoenaed Coles to testify. However, the judge asserted that, even if the lawyers had called Coles to the stand, he might have confessed to the crime just to enhance "his reputation as a dangerous individual." Based on this logic, we should now assume that everyone who's ever confessed to murder probably did so only to enhance their badass reputations and therefore should be released from prison, because they're innocent.

In March the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to give Davis more time to prove his innocence. Despite all the evidentiary issues, Georgia's superior court has scheduled his execution for September 21. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has scheduled a hearing two days before Davis's government-issued death; Davis' lawyers will call some of the recanting witnesses, and maybe the board will be influenced by what they hear. If not, then Davis will be executed.." [Source]

Congrats Governor Deal, if you put Troy Davis down, you too can run for president and get all the adoration and applause from your party loyalist.

We are one day away from September 11th. And the psychos who flew the planes into those buildings were inhumane and had no empathy for their fellow human beings. They represented the worst of what humanity has to offer.

Come September 22, 2011, we will find out if they have more company.

*Sign the petition to save Troy Davis, here.

Many readers have already signed the petition with their name. Now, we need to $$$$$$$$$$$$$$sign the petition with our money, to support Color of Change's strategy of pressuring the Georgia Parole Board through paid media buys. This is the only known change that Troy Davis might have left.

Forensic Psychology Writer Seeks to Publish Article on Black Communities and Violence

2011-09-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

The American Journal of Color Arousal blog, or the Police Brutality Blog, has received an offer and request from Allison, of forensicpsychology.net, for her to write and publish an article here discussing the topic:

why is there so much violence in the black community? The article will include: statistics on crime in impoverished neighborhoods, explain why violence is more prevalent, and explain how Its not just because one race is more violent than another but because the way people are oppressed and through oppression comes coping mechanisms to get through life.

This Journal's response is as follows (but is subject to public comment from all quarters):

Allison:

I believe that one of the reasons there is so much crime in some Black communities is that some whites (and even some Blacks) hate, despise, subjugate and marginalize Blacks, and Blacks have turned that anger inward. Take, for example, your use of the word "race." What do you mean when you use the word "race"? Are you suggesting that people with white skin and people with brown skin are from different species? If you are, then I think that insults Blacks more than the "N" word does.

Whether it comes from Black or white people, I believe the assertion that "race" exists at all is a profound insult to Blacks that can only be based in malice or ignorance. I, quite frankly, am sick and tired of the "R" word. It is, in my opinion, anachronistic and anti-science.

If you would like to write an article explaining why you still use the "R" word, even though the US Government's Human Genome Project has declared conclusively that "race" simply does not exist, then I would be very interested in reading and publishing your article on that topic. I think we all will learn something, no matter what you say about what you mean when you use the "R" word.

Having said that, if you want to write about Black people and crime, and you demonstrate that you have something new and original to bring to the topic, then I'll gladly publish what you write. I would just request that you either define "race" as a factor in your research or find a way to describe what you mean to say without using the "R" word and without asserting that I and other people with brown skin belong to a species that is separate and distinct from that comprising the white-skin-color-group.

If you insist that you cannot discuss this topic without using the word and the concept of "race," then I insist that you explain and support your definition of the "R" word in light of the findings of the US Government's Human Genome Project and the following articles that the Nature.Com website offers as suggested further reading on the topic, based on scientific genomic research completed within the last decade:

'Race' and the human genome ppS1 - S2 Ari Patrinos doi:10.1038/ng2150Full text \| PDF (103K)

Editorial	Top



The unexamined population pS3 doi:10.1038/ng2151Full text \| PDF (50K)

Commentaries	Top



Changing the paradigm from 'race' to human genome variation ppS5 - S7 Charmaine D M Royal & Georgia M Dunston Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1454Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (95K)



Forensic genetics and ethical, legal and social implications beyond the clinic ppS8 - S12 Mildred K Cho & Pamela Sankar Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1594Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (104K)



What we do and don't know about 'race', 'ethnicity', genetics and health at the dawn of the genome era ppS13 - S15 Francis S Collins Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1436Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (330K)

Perspectives	Top



Conceptualizing human variation ppS17 - S20 S O Y Keita, R A Kittles, C D M Royal, G E Bonney, P Furbert-Harris, G M Dunston & C N Rotimi Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1455Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (102K)



Implications of biogeography of human populations for 'race' and medicine ppS21 - S27 Sarah A Tishkoff & Kenneth K Kidd Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1438Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (270K)



Genetic variation, classification and 'race' ppS28 - S33 Lynn B Jorde & Stephen P Wooding Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1435Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (850K)



Will tomorrow's medicines work for everyone? ppS34 - S42 Sarah K Tate & David B Goldstein Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1437Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (161K)



Are medical and nonmedical uses of large-scale genomic markers conflating genetics and 'race'? ppS43 - S47 Charles N Rotimi Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1439Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (118K)



Assessing genetic contributions to phenotypic differences among 'racial' and 'ethnic' groups ppS48 - S53 Joanna L Mountain & Neil Risch Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1456Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (226K)



Implications of correlations between skin color and genetic ancestry for biomedical research ppS54 - S60 E J Parra, R A Kittles & M D Shriver Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1440Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (1,666K) \| Supplementary Information

CoC Urges Phone Calls to Chicago Prosecutor to Free DNA-Innocent Black Men

2011-09-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Afrosphere Action Alerts has received the following e-mail from Color of Change.

Having read the e-mail, I have called Cook County (Chicago.IL) State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez' office (312 325-9200), demanding that she move to release Black men whom DNA has proved innocent, even after confessions that may have been the result of rampant and notorious torture by the Chicago Police Department.

Here is the slightly edited letter from Color of Change

Dear Atty,
You and more than 64,000 ColorOfChange.org members have demanded that Cook County (Chicago.IL) State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez immediately acknowledge the innocence of 10 falsely accused Black men and vacate their convictions.
Last week, we delivered the petition signatures at Alvarez's office in downtown Chicago. But Alvarez so far remains silent. We need to step up the pressure.
Can you make a quick call to Alvarez's office (312 325-9200) and demand that she vacate the convictions of these innocent men? If enough of us call, it will let her know we're not going away and increase the pressure on her to act. Just click the link to make your call — we'll give you the number and a short script you can use:
http://act.colorofchange.org/call/alvarez
Attorney Alvarez needs to know that we will hold her accountable for blocking justice and supporting law enforcement practices that compromise all of our safety. Please take a moment now to call Alvarez and ask her to immediately correct these outrageous wrongs.
http://act.colorofchange.org/call/alvarez
Thanks and Peace,
-- Rashad, James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Matt, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
September 9th, 2011
Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU--your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:
http://www.colorofchange.org/donate

Color-Aroused Targeting of Blacks by Police Still Statistically Rampant in the USA

2011-09-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

I read an e-mail recently that pointed out with great specificity the problems that Blacks are having with police and the criminal justice system in one geographical area, but that then proposed the following as causes leading to potential solutions:

The problem within the xxxyzzz Police Department:
1. Poor recruitment
2. Poor training
3. Poor Supervision

I wrote back with the following opinion, which I've embellished with citations and statistics below:

I believe the police are doing exactly what they are trained to do, which is to occupy the Black community and keep it under a state of siege. When police learn to profile based on skin color during their training courses, they are receiving "training" to suspect, beat, arrest and imprison Black people disproportionately. If this is what you mean when you say "poor training" then I agree with you.

Supervisors in police departments almost always support police officers who have committed even the most savage and unconscionable acts under color of law. If by "poor supervision" you mean that supervisors encourage officers to target Blacks, then I agree with you that "poor supervision" is a problem.

When police departments recruit police officers, they recruit people whom they believe will behave consistent with the above policies of color-aroused injustice. Police know what their job is in the Black community and with respects to Blacks who are in a white community or institution: arrest and convict enough Black people to maintain one million Blacks in jail and prison, which has the highest imprisonment rates of any country on Earth, by far.

The New York Times says:

The United States has, for instance, 2.3 million criminals behind bars, more than any other nation, according to data maintained by the International Center for Prison Studies at King's College London.

China, which is four times more populous than the United States, is a distant second, with 1.6 million people in prison. (That number excludes hundreds of thousands of people held in administrative detention, most of them in China's extrajudicial system of re-education through labor, which often singles out political activists who have not committed crimes.)

( . . . )

The United States comes in first, too, on a more meaningful list from the prison studies center, the one ranked in order of the incarceration rates. It has 751 people in prison or jail for every 100,000 in population. (If you count only adults, one in 100 Americans is locked up.)

Black people compose and bear the brunt of this massive incarceration. The National Council on Crime and Delinquency says:

US rates are in large part driven by disproportionate minority incarceration.

In the US, African Americans are over six times as likely to be incarcerated as whites; Latinos over twice as likely. If the US enacted the reforms necessary to reduce its disproportionate minority confinement by just 50%, the incarceration rate would drop to approximately 491 and put the US fifth in the world instead of first (see Harrison & Beck, 2006 and US Census Bureau, 2006a).

For example, according to PrisonPolicy.Org.:

In Delaware, Blacks represent:
§ 20% of the general population;
§ 42% of those arrested for criminal offenses;
§ 64% of the prison population; and
§ 86.8% of those incarcerated for drug offenses.

This is not, as many assume, attributable to a higher incidence of criminal behavior among Blacks. The national data shows that Non-whites are statistically more likely to be imprisoned because they are more likely to be arrested than Whites. Much of this appears to be attributable to the “war on drugs.” Studies have consistently shown that Whites use drugs at rates comparable to Blacks, which makes them the vast majority of illicit drug users.

White drug dealers far outnumber Black dealers. Yet, of those incarcerated for drug charges in Delaware, Blacks represent 86.8 percent of those sentenced to prison terms for drug offenses.

This trend is seen in most if not all states. According to a report by RacialDisparity.Org, concerning the state of Minnesota:

The racial disparity in the justice system originates predominantly at the point of first contact with law enforcement. Depending on the level and type of crime, the disparity may increase, remain roughly the same, or in some cases decrease as the case moves through the justice system; however, this change is typically not significant when compared to the disparity that occurs at arrest.

This point of first contact can occur through police response to 911 calls or through more discretionary activities such as traffic stops, police contact in the community (e.g. for loitering, lurking), or in the case of juveniles, through interactions with school administration (e.g. for disorderly conduct). Studies from across the country have shown that a disproportionate number of African Americans are routinely stopped and searched while driving4. This finding holds true in Minnesota.

Here, law enforcement officers stop Black, Latino, and American Indian drivers all at a greater rate than White drivers; search Blacks, Latinos and American Indians all at a greater rate than White drivers; and find contraband as a result of searches of Blacks, Latinos, and American Indians all at a rate lower than in searches of White drivers. African Americans drivers, for example, are stopped at a rate 3.5 times higher than Whites; searched at a rate 3.4 times higher, yet have contraband found on their person or in their car only half as often as Whites (Council: Racial Profiling, 2003).

The racial disparity at point of first contact carries over into arrests. A Council study found that for every 100,000 people in each racial group, the arrest rate was 4,138 for African Americans, 1,277 for American Indians, 188 for Asians, and 404 for Whites. The racial disparity (i.e. the ratio of arrest rates) for African American to White was 10:1; for Latinos to White 4:1; and

Nationally, the disparity for African Americans and Whites was 4: 1; which
means that the arrest rate disparity in Minnesota is more than twice the national average. The racial disparity is larger for low level offenses where police officer discretion is the greatest. In 2001, the equivalent of one out of four Black residents of Minneapolis were either arrested or cited for such low-level offenses as disorderly conduct, loitering or lurking. For Whites, the number was one in sixty, yielding a disparity of fifteen to one (Council: Low Level Offense, 2004).

The racial disparity in low level offense arrests is also true for juveniles. In Minneapolis, African American juveniles are at least four times more likely to be cited or booked for loitering than White juveniles. In Brooklyn Center, African American juveniles represent 20 percent of the population, yet are 65 percent of those who are either cited or arrested (Council: Disproportionate Minority Contact II, 2006).

The above is not evidence of lack of "poor training" or "poor supervision." It is evidence of systematic and blatantly obvious color-aroused policing patterns that are apparent to anyone who visits a jail in a majority white state (all states).

Overall, this problem is not one of negligence, but rather one of a white nation intentionally focusing on Black communities for more violent, more stringent and more punitive treatment. When we complain, police departments and politicians assure us that better training, supervision and recruitment could reverse these realities. We buy into this story that says that police abuses are not intentional but are negligent results of lapses. The truth is that police abuse of Blacks is no more negligent (accidental and unintended) than Klu Klux Klan rallies and lynchings. What they do is intentional and based on a clear understanding of the injustice rather than an ignorance of it.

The police represent American society's worst attitudes about Blacks. Training police not to abuse Blacks is like training tigers not to attack rabbits and to be vegetarians instead. Good luck! What we need is political change with respect to the fact and results of color-arousal in the United States and elsewhere.

I believe this is why the Black Panther Party focused on "revolution" as the solution, even though it was hard to imagine how a small Black minority of the American population could take control of the Government and change its policing and incarceration behavior. It was clear to the Black Panthers that minor retouches to a fundamentally color-aroused (in)justice system, in a profoundly color-aroused incarceration society, would be insufficient and mostly meaningless in terms of addressing and redressing the blatant and rampant discrimination against, subjugation and imprisonment of Blacks by "the system."

The incarceration rate in the United States is almost five times that of Brazil, a nation that is 50% Black, which is why I think I'll just stay in Brazil.

Police Brutality Blog Among Top Ten Criminal Justice Blogs, Says Criminal Justice Degrees Blog

2011-09-07T19:21:00.000-07:00

Even after afrosphere blogger Francis L. Holland, Esq. refused to publicize the Political Justice Degrees website in exchange for their linking to this blog, they have nonetheless selected this Police Brutality (and Atrocity) Blog as number eight among 100 "Police and Detective Blogs". This is particularly significant in light of the their criteria for selecting blogs for this list.

The Criminal Justice Degrees Guide says:

Criminal justice is perhaps one of the the most broad reaching fields of study in education today. It incorporates not only the topics that immediately come to mind such as law enforcement, corrections and the courts, but also political history, social issues, psychology and civil liberties among many others. This diversity of issues makes criminal justice dynamic but it also makes it dizzyingly complex for someone trying to educate themselves in justice issues. Consequently, we have compiled this list to help anyone involved in the criminal justice field — including academics, practitioners and students — find information and resources about their niche, as well as any other aspect of criminal justice.

Police and Detective Blogs
Get a feel for what it’s like to police the streets in some of the world’s toughest cities by checking out this list.

Our Police Brutality (and Atrocity Blog) is number eight among the list of 100 blogs.

I say 'our blog' because this blog is a compendium of cases, incidents and atrocities supplied by dozens of primarily but not solely AfroSpear and afrosphere blogs from across the country and overseas. The blogs include African American Pundit; the Tasered While Black blog; the Field Negro blog; Electronic Village; Eddie G. Griffin, BASG; Granny Standing for Truth; the Excited Delirium anti-electrocution blog, the national Color of Change group that brings hundreds of thousands of voices to bear through online petitions and fundraising for brutality victims, as well as hundreds of other blogs and organizations.

When I started the Police Brutality Blog, it was with the goal of doing what the Black Panther Paper did four decades ago: it made local examples of color-aroused injustice into national outrages that stiffened all of our resolve to dismantle what was once called "racism" and is now called "color-aroused injustice." If the Black Panthers had had the electronic resources that we do now, they would have had two million followers on Facebook, including the FBI and the local and state police departments as avid readers.

Ironically, the Police Brutality Blog has become a place where both police and their brutality victims, as well as students of the police/public interface, can encounter opposing views about cases without this resulting in violence and arrests. But, I admit that I feel safer writing this blog about American injustice from Brazil than from Boston or Newark. I would hate to be stopped driving while Black, for the officer to then realize I was the man helping to turn obscure local police brutality into nationally and internationally repulsive police injustice cases.

The blog's site meter "referrals" information suggests that the blog has a heterochromatic national and international audience, since many visitors come from sites that are not primarily accessed by people with beige, brown or black skin.

Perhaps the most important thing do is to support local Black Accused Support Groups (BASG's), as well as national Black accused support groups like Color of Change, and highlighted individuals like Kelly Williams-Bolar:

Kelley Williams-Bolar, the Ohio mother who was convicted of a felony after allegedly misleading authorities and sending her children to a school outside her district. We just learned that Ohio Governor John Kasich granted Williams-Bolar executive clemency, reducing her convictions from felonies to misdemeanors. Gov. Kasich took this action despite the fact that Friday, the Ohio parole board made a unanimous recommendation against any form of clemency.

By bringing local cases to national attention, we bring a new level of scrutiny, embarrassment and public responsibility to local police officers and police forces, who realize that there might well be a digital camera capturing their behavior and spreading it worldwide. More than ever before we who fight color-aroused injustice can say to local police forces that, "The whole world is watching."

Ohio Governor John Kasich Grants Williams-Bolar Executive Clemency

2011-09-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

The following comes from Color of Change regarding a great victory in a criminal court case in which Color of Change and US and international afrosphere and other bloggers publicly intervened:

Dear Atty,

There's great news today in the case of Kelley Williams-Bolar, the Ohio mother who was convicted of a felony after allegedly misleading authorities and sending her children to a school outside her district. We just learned that Ohio Governor John Kasich granted Williams-Bolar executive clemency, reducing her convictions from felonies to misdemeanors. Gov. Kasich took this action despite the fact that Friday, the Ohio parole board made a unanimous recommendation against any form of clemency.

This is a huge victory, and it wouldn't have happened without the activism of ColorOfChange members, and our friends at Change.org and MomsRising.org:

When we first learned of the case in February, more than 67,000 ColorOfChange members called on Gov. Kasich to take a public stand and commit to pardoning Williams-Bolar.
We delivered your signatures to Gov. Kasich's office, along with thousands more from Change.org and MomsRising.org — more than 165,000 signatures in all. The next day, Gov. Kasich responded to the public pressure by asking the state's parole board to review Williams-Bolar's case.
On Friday, Ohio's parole board finally came back with a recommendation for the Governor — to deny Williams-Bolar a pardon.
In response to the parole board's recommendation, many of you swung into action this week, calling Gov. Kasich's office and urging him to issue Williams-Bolar a pardon anyway. Today, Gov. Kasich announced that he would reduce Williams-Bolars felony convictions to first-degree misdemeanors.

Williams-Bolar will still be on probation and will need to complete 80 hours of community service; but she won't have a felony conviction following her for the rest of her life, limiting her opportunities. Thanks for getting involved — without your voice, things could have turned out much differently for Kelley Williams-Bolar. You should be proud.

At ColorOfChange, we'll continue to fight to end inequality in education and the criminal justice system, we hope you'll continue to be there with us. Remember, our work is powered by you, our members. If you can support our work financially, in any amount, please click the link below.

http://www.colorofchange.org/donate

Thanks and Peace,

-- Rashad, James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Matt, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
September 7th, 2011

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

http://www.colorofchange.org/donate

Color Aroused Injustice is Swift in Deryl Dedmon Pick-up Truck Murder Case

2011-08-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

Why are police so quick to absolve potential co-defendants of criminal responsibility?

I am not admitted to the Bar in Mississippi and I do not represent anything or anyone other than my own opinion and my opinions about general principles of criminal law, without having researched Mississippi law as it applies to this case.

However, in the Deryl Dedmon case, which I've discussed before, in terms of color-aroused violence, if a Black person or persons did what Dedmon and his friends did, then that Black person or persons would get the death penalty. There is absolutely no way that any participant present at the scene of the crime would be charged only with "assault."

However, I predict that Dedmon will not get the death penalty, much less his friends, because his skin is white and the skin of his victim is brown, and that is color-aroused injustice at work. It will depend, in large part, on the skin color of the jury, but even Black people have been taught to believe that a white life is more valuable than a Black one. Meanwhile, the Black prosecutor cannot be seen to be overly aggressive in this case, because he works in Mississippi. He might win the case in the national jury of public opinion while alienating his (all-white?) jury in Jackson, Mississippi.

I hear excuses being made by a police detective for Dedmond's friend who traveled with him, but there is no way a police detective would offer these excuses if the killer were Black and the victim were white. I can't remember seeing a case in which a police detective in one jurisdiction made statements that tended to lessen the possible criminal consequences of a defendant in another jurisdiction. Detectives are all on the same team, unless the prosecutor is Black and the perpetrators are white.

Moreover, even if Dedmond's friend wasn't present for the run-over, he can and should be charged with conspiracy to commit murder (there was an agreement when they began their trip and murder was a foreseeable result) and attempted murder (Dedmon's friend beat the victim) as well as murder (Dedmon's friend actively engaged in a concerted effort which ended in the foreseeable death of the victim.

The friend is known to have inflicted injuries that might have killed the victim even if the victim had not been run over. That's attempted murder, and the collusion with the murderer to effectuate the beating makes it murder outright. I think we can all agree that it wasn't necessary for Dedmon to run over the victim with a pick-up truck in order for the victim to die, as the result of a beating that both Dedmon and his friend engaged in.

A conspiracy is committed at the time of the agreement to commit a crime. Since the agreement is the crime, it doesn't matter whether someone who agreed and took steps in furtherance of the conspiracy later changed his mind, e.g. because he had to go to the bathroom, and was therefore not present when the conspiracy ended in the goal that was intended. All conspirators are guilty of conspiracy, even if some of them are in Australia when the conspiratorial goal, or the likely result of the goal, is "achieved."

It was likely that two or more people young adults beating one middle-aged man, over and over again, would result in murder, and people are legally responsible for the foreseeable results of their behavior.

A lot of white people took part in the conspiracy, agreeing on the demographic group of the victim and where the victim could be found, and that the crime should be committed right away. ALL of those people are chargeable with conspiracy because the all collaborated and colluded in the agreement to do an act which none of them might have done without the encouragement of the others. The fact that the police haven't released the names of these other individuals and that their criminal responsibility has been ruled out is yet another example of color-aroused injustice.

If the victim had been white and the conspirators Black, all of them would have been charged with murder and then one of them might get life imprisonment instead of the death penalty in exchange for testimony against Dedmon and the friends who were with him.

This case helps explain why Haley Barbour decided not to run for president. He had too many skeletons already and there was always the risk that something like this would happen when he was the nominated candidate and would be besmirched nationally, even if this murder was celebrated by whites in Mississippi.

Kids For Cash Juvenile Judge Sentence to 28 Years

2011-08-12T17:15:00.001-07:00

By Eddie Griffin

Mass Incarceration: Naïve Juveniles go into Court looking for Justice and Mercy, while Judge looks for Kickbacks for sending them to prison.

Former Luzerne County Juvenile Court Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. was sentence to 28 years in prison for his part in the “Kids For Cash” kickback scandal. A second juvenile judge, Michael Conahan, pleaded guilty last year and awaits sentencing. The two were accused of taking more than $2.8 million in bribes from the builder of the PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care detention centers and extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the facilities' co-owner.

According to accusations, Ciavarella “filled the beds of the private lockups with children as young as 10, many of them first-time offenders convicted of petty theft and other minor crimes.”

“The defendant argues he didn’t sell juveniles retail. We agree with that. He was selling them wholesale,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Zubrod, maintaining that the jury found Ciavarella guilty of a racketeering conspiracy for being part of a scheme to extract cash from the construction and operation of the two for-profit centers.

As a result of the corruption case, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed about 4,000 convictions issued by Ciavarella between 2003 and 2008, saying he violated the constitutional rights of the juveniles, including the right to legal counsel and the right to intelligently enter a plea.

Fellow former Judges Conahan and Michael T. Toole both pleaded guilty to criminal charges last year as investigators untangled a web of corruption. A number of other public officials were caught in the probe as well, including the county's court administrator, the clerk of courts and a member of the juvenile probation services office.

While The Legal had previously reported that sources had tied Conahan to mobsters, following Ciavarella's trial Zubrod said that the investigation into Conahan and Ciavarella's activities "sprang from" a probe of reputed mobster William "Billy" D'Elia.

The case of the juvenile court judge accused of trading kids for cash has garnered national and international press coverage, spawned an ongoing corruption probe that has led to more than 30 arrests and spurred the state Supreme Court to dismiss thousands of Ciavarella's court rulings.

COMMENTARY by Eddie Griffin

Some people may see this case as an aberration and isolated, one-of-a-kind, corruption case that could only happen in Pennsylvania. What people overlook is who is the real beneficiary in the scheme, the ones receiving the bribes and kickbacks, or the one paying them?

The Prison Industrial Complex feeds on incarceration. The more prison beds occupied the more profits for the corporations that build and manage facilities.

Where paying bribes and kickbacks to juvenile justice officials may not be the normal way of doing business, they are instrumental in “get tough” policies, “zero tolerance” and longer prison sentence advocacy.

The irony in the above case is that it began with an investigation into mobster activities. There is an ominous sense of danger for those involved. Once graft is accepted from mobsters, the next bribe cannot be rejected. And so, the corrupt scheme builds upon itself, until there is a steady stream of juveniles going into prison, for little or no offense, as some investigations revealed.

Child Rights advocates cannot stop the pipeline other than warn juveniles to stay out of the juvenile justice system. Any other intervention, such as revealing the truth behind the corruption, can lead to terminal consequences.

So for now, all we can say is: Keep You Hand Out of the Lion’s Mouth.

Suspected Police Assassination of Black Father of Three* Catalyzes Riots in British Cities and Towns

2011-08-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

The Great Britain website The Guardian reports that the, Mark Duggan, a "29-year-old father-of-four was shot by police during an attempted arrest in Tottenham, north London, on Thursday," but there is suspicion that the police had decided to execute Duggan before the stopped him, or made that decision at the scene. The Guardian also ran a story today whose title and subtitle say:

Mark Duggan did not shoot at police, says IPCC. [Independent Police Complaints Commission]. IPCC releases initial findings of ballistics tests in police shooting of Mark Duggan, whose death sparked London riots."

Explaining the initials and role of the IPCC, the agency's website says:

The IPCC was established by the Police Reform Act and became operational in April 2004. Its primary statutory purpose is to increase public confidence in the police complaints system in England and Wales.

The IPCC also investigates the most serious complaints and allegations of misconduct against the police in England and Wales, as well as handling appeals from people who are not satisfied with the way police have dealt with their complaint.

Just as some of the rioters must have believed during the riots before the IPCC report was released today, Mr. Duggan may not have been shot in the chest by police for any justifiable reason.

The BBC says:

Mr. Duggan was killed in Ferry Lane, Tottenham Hale, by Metropolitan Police officers working for Operation Trident, which investigates gun crime in the black community.

The same BBC article says:

Speculation that Mr Duggan was "assassinated" in an execution style involving a number of shots to the head was "categorically untrue", the commission added.

Mr Duggan's brother Shaun Hall told Sky News that the family was "devastated" by his death and dismissed as "utter rubbish" claims he had shot at police.

Certainly, the suspicion that Mark Duggan was assassinated by police might be fueling riots, just as shooting such as this one triggered riots in the United States in the 1960's and early 1970's. One white female British blogger, whose blog is called "Penny Red," describes the riots that seem to have taken over Great Britain in recent days:

I’m huddled in the front room with some shell-shocked friends, watching my city burn. The BBC is interchanging footage of blazing cars and running street battles in Hackney, of police horses lining up in Lewisham, of roiling infernos that were once shops and houses in Croydon and in Peckham. Last night, Enfield, Walthamstow, Brixton and Wood Green were looted; there have been hundreds of arrests and dozens of serious injuries, and it will be a miracle if nobody dies tonight. This is the third consecutive night of rioting in London, and the disorder has now spread to Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and Birmingham. Politicians and police officers who only hours ago were making stony-faced statements about criminality are now simply begging the young people of Britain’s inner cities to go home. Britain is a tinderbox, and on Friday, somebody lit a match. How the hell did this happen? And what are we going to do now?

The Guardian provides additional details showing that the police vigilance and killing of Mark Duggan was not an ordinary traffic stop, but a well-planned confrontation:

A father of three died instantly after an apparent exchange of fire when police attempted to arrest him in north London, it emerged on Friday.

A police marksman escaped with his life when a bullet lodged in his radio during the confrontation that ended in the death of Mark Duggan, 29. The Scotland Yard firearms officer was taken to hospital and later released.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is investigating the fatal shooting, said the bullet and a non-police-issue handgun found at the scene had been sent for forensic tests.

IPCC investigators believe two shots were fired by an armed officer. A spokesman for the IPCC said that at around 6.15pm on Thursday officers from Operation Trident, the Metropolitan police unit that deals with gun crime in London's black communities, with officers from the Specialist Firearms Command (CO19), stopped a minicab to carry out a pre-planned arrest. (Emphasis added.)

How did a pre-planned arrest of a man believed to be armed nonetheless result in a "shoot-out"? The perception, and the belief among rioters that police should not execute members of the public, might be the simple explanation of why Blacks and others are rioting in Great Britain. Now that an official agency reports that the victim didn't fire at police, the riots could continue and even spread.

Penny Red says:

As I write, the looting and arson attacks have spread to at least fifty different areas across the UK, including dozens in London, and communities are now turning on each other, with the Guardian reporting on rival gangs forming battle lines. It has become clear to the disenfranchised young people of Britain, who feel that they have no stake in society and nothing to lose, that they can do what they like tonight, and the police are utterly unable to stop them. That is what riots are all about.

Deryl Dedmond Case Spotlights Extreme Color-Aroused Disorder

2011-08-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

The case of Deryl Dedmond, a white teenager who seems to have suffered from Extreme Color-Aroused Disorder (ECAD) that led him to murder a Black stranger, seems to be getting massive attention in the United States, as it should. Apparently, Deryl Dedmond led a group of white teenagers to get in their cars and trucks, drive from their all-white suburb to Jackson, Misssissippi, pick a Black man at random, beat him to within an inch of his life, and then run the Black man over with a pick-up truck. "According to CNN, the teens were specifically hunting for a black victim."

Curiously, police have decided to charge only two of several white youths in this case, including murder for Dedmond and assault for his companion. Compare this to the Jena Six case, where no one was seriously hurt and yet three Black men were charged with acts including attempted murder. This case will be an object lesson about the criminal (in)justice system, regarding the way that Blacks and whites are investigated charged and sentenced in similar cases, based on their skin color.

It also seems obvious to me (see the above video) that Deryl Dedmond was led to the act he committed by a serious mental illness called "Extreme Color-Aroused Disorder" (ECAD) because:

Witnesses say that Dedmond showed aggressive and antagonistic behavior toward Blacks over a period of years.
Dedmond came to the attention of people in his community as a result of his color-aroused ideation, emotion and behavior;
Witnesses believed it was only a matter of time before Dedmond committed a serious color aroused crime, which is a hallmark of Extreme Color Aroused Disorder. Anyone who will kill a stranger based on his skin color has a serious mental illness called Extreme Color Aroused Disorder. Color Aroused Disorder is "extreme" when the color arousal leads one person to murder another, because murder itself is extreme and often leads to long jail sentences that separate the mentally ill person from his family, friends and educational or professional career. An illness that seriously harms a person in that many important areas of his life is "extreme" per se.

Now that we have seen what Deryl could do based on his awareness, ideation, emotion and behavior concerning his own skin color and that of another skin-color group, let's see how the criminal justice system and the media treat this case.

Hopefully, Deryl Dedmond is already getting some psychiatric attention that might eventually lead from an extreme condition that causes him to commit murder and lessen the illness until he can at least not kill based on his ideation and emotion. He may need medication that enables him to control strong emotions more successfully and also to help him reduce his rage to the point where he can engage meaningfully in therapy that addresses is apparent Extreme Color-Aroused Disorder (ECAD).

White Youths Kill Black Stranger in Color-Aroused Crime

2011-08-09T09:50:00.001-07:00

What made this youth engage in extreme color-aroused ideation, emotion, and behavior? Maybe he has Extreme Color-Aroused Disorder (ECAD).

How can you tell whether an alleged act or acts reflect and are symptomatic of Extreme Color-Aroused Ideation, Emotion and Behavior Disorder (ECAD)? In criminal cases, among other evidence, people's statements (verbally expressed ideation) may reflect their hate, fear, envy, jealousy, or even curiosity, love, lust, empathy and caring, based on skin color.

When ideation and emotion are based on skin color, and skin color is the cue for a person to commit a criminal act, then you have a color-aroused behavior that, in many cases, may bring civil and criminal penalties. It is important to note that it is the illicit behavior that may bring civil and criminal punishments, while these punishments would NOT result from "mere" extreme color-aroused ideation and emotion, without the illicit behavior. The illicit behavior is a key symptom sometimes present in Extreme Color-Aroused Disorder (ECAD). For example,

CNN is reporting the alleged hate crime [against] James Craig Anderson, a 49-year-old auto plant worker, who was beaten and then murdered [run over by a truck driven] by a group of white teens intent on hurting a black person. Deryl Dedmon, Jr., 18, of Brandon, Mississippi and his friends were at a party drinking when Dedmon allegedly told friends they should leave, saying "let's go fuck with some niggers," according to law enforcement officials.

Is all color-aroused violence a "hate crime"? As a legal matter it might be, but as a matter of psychology, not necessarily. If the white-skinned Dedmon killed the victim because the white anti-black antagonist was jealous of Black people and their Black President, then the crime might factually be a crime of envy, hate, jealousy and vengeance. If you if you imagine Dedmon in his first meeting with the prison psychologist, his resentments against Black people may be based on a number of emotions, since virtually no one feels only hate, consciously and unconsciously. Everybody has a panoply of feelings. A white man might hate a Black US Senate candidate because he fears the Black candidate will be elected.

I am painfully aware that a lot of Black people and white people believe that any attempt to undertand psychologically why a culprit did what he did risks that the culprit may be perceived as not as culpable for what he did, and therefore might receive a lesser sentence, if he receives a sentence at all.

In this case, where there is video cam evidence and where Dedmon admitted his crime after the fact, Dedmon could receive a strong prison sentence, unless his case is tried before an all-white jury. Perhaps the case may be tried before an all-white jury, and then Dedmon might go free, in spite of his crime that was based on anti-Black antagonistic ideation, emotion and criminal behavior.

When a person assaults and kills a stranger based on the skin color of the victim and the skin color of the accused, then that is a strong indicator that the culprit has Extreme Color-Aroused Disorder, since no one without the disorder would risk imprisonment for the purpose of targeting a stranger based on skin color. Only a person with Extreme Color Aroused Disorder would do that. Disorder is "extreme" when, among other facts:

The behavior violated laws such that it could bring or be likely to lead to criminal charges or civil liability against the assailant(s);
The assailants did not know the victim and were looking to harm someone, anyone, based on his brown skin color;
The assailant risks that the man they attack might be armed or have friends nearby, and so attacking the victim could very well lead to physical harm for the assailants;
The assailants did not stand to gain or save any money through this behavior, but could only lose money so the assailants' behavior was not self-interested but was likely to be self-destructive;
The assailants run the risk of spending time in jail or even being executed for their crime;
The assailants lose social, political and potential professional opportunities as a result of the behavior.

The above focuses on the irrational and self-destructive nature of the behavior, which is indicative of Extreme Color-Aroused Disorder (ECAD). Of course, behavior can be self-interested (i.e. stealing from someone based on their skin color) and still be symptomatic of Extreme Color Aroused Disorder.

When the accused Mr. Dedmon has gets to prison and speaks with the prison psychologist for the first time, Dedmon might well reveal that he was envious of Black people, many of whom have successful jobs, nice cars and a happy future ahead of them.

Is it wrong (or so hard) to acknowledge that a crime might have been motivated by color-aroused envy or color-aroused jealousy and/or color-aroused fear, as well as color-aroused hatred?

If a Black man kills a white man because he fears that the white man will take his wife, based on his knowledge that his wife has a thing for white men, then the killing of a white man by a Black man could be aroused by jealousy, envy and fear that leads to antagonistic behavior. If this seems complex, it is. Human beings are believed to have powers of feeling, thought and behavior that others in the animal kingdom do not have. If you accept that proposition, then you must also accept that human minds are copiously full of all sorts ideation and emotion that sometimes lead to behavior.

If you hear anyone trying to describe all of this with one word, e.g. "racism" or "hate," then you know that person simply has not take the time and effort to understand the mechanics of color-aroused ideation, emotion and behavior, and they may even be aversive to complex thought about inherently complex people.

Police Look Guilty in Black College Freshman's Electrocution and Execution Death

2011-08-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

Rippa, from the AfroSpear's "Intersection of Madness and Reality blog, reports:

For the past few years I’ve watched and read with disgust as my man Villager over at Electronic Village highlights story after story of taser deaths in America. As you could imagine, these are deaths at the hands of police officers; anbd yes, oftentimes the victims are people of color – more specifically, they’re mostly Black males. But then I came across the following story, and I have to wonder: how long must legalized torture that’s not seen as deadly force continue to be sanctioned?

CINCINNATI – An autopsy is expected to be performed Monday on a teen who died after being stunned with a Taser gun at the University of Cincinnati.

Everette Howard, 18, died early Saturday morning. Friends said Howard was trying to break up a fight in front of Turner Hall when campus police responded.

Police said Howard appeared angry and didn’t follow orders. Witnesses said Howard collapsed after a UC officer stunned him with a Taser.

Read more at Rippa's blog on Everett Howard's death at the hands of a police officer with an electrocution device. The police electrocuted and executed Everett Howard, without so much as a trial. This was an extra-judicial murder. We used to call it "lynching," but the rope and the tree have since been replaced by an electronic fire arm, just like the "phasers" in the Star Trek television series. However the people with the phasers now are all too often police with suspected Extreme Color-Aroused Disorder. They view all young Black men as worthless pre-prison and/or pre-death scum, even when these young Black men have rejected prison and death, and are pursuing college degrees.

Blacks in the United States need a national anti-electrocution and execution law just as much as we needed anti-lynching laws in the days of Jim Crow.

Federal Jury Awards $10 Million Against TASER International for Teenager's Death

2011-07-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

Black blogger and social activist Eddie G. Griffin, BASG says:

HALLELUJAH! Praise the Lord! After 674 taser related death... a four-year campaign to raise public awareness... and 31 blog posts at my site on the subject... FINALLY, TASER International, with all its slick high-power lawyers and intimidated and bribed medical examiners and pseudo-scientific babbling experts... FINALLY, TASER International get shocked in the pocketbook... Eddie G. Griffin

Federal Jury Awards $10 Million Against TASER International for Teenager's Death

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys John Burton and Peter M. Williamson announce that at 2:30 p.m. EDT today, a federal court jury returned a verdict for wrongful death in the amount of $10,000,000.00 against TASER International Inc., for the wrongful death of 17-year-old Darryl Turner, who collapsed and died in a Charlotte, North Carolina supermarket on March 20, 2008, following shocks to the chest from a TASER Model X26 electronic control device.

CNBC also reports that:

After the verdict was announced, John Burton, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, explained the importance of the verdict: "TASER has been irresponsible in representing the safety of its products. Hopefully, this verdict will sound the alarm to police officers around the world that firing these weapons into the chests of people should be avoided. No other family should have to endure the tragedy that the Fontenot family has experienced." The lawsuit is Fontenot v. TASER International, Inc., United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division, Case No.
3:10-CV-125. United States District Judge Robert Conrad presided.

However, Taser International has announced it will appeal.

The jury consisted of five women and three men [whose skin color is not reported in the article].

If you are in North Carolina and looking for lawyers for a Taser lawsuit, you might want to contact and consider the following lawyers, who won the ten million dollar jury award.

Plaintiffs' Counsel: John Burton, Esq. THE LAW OFFICES OF JOHN BURTON65 North Raymond Ave, Ste 300Pasadena, CA 91103Tel: 626-449-8300/Email: jb@johnburtonlaw.comWeb: http://www.johnburtonlaw.com Peter M. Williamson, Esq.WILLIAMSON & KRAUSS21800 Oxnard Street, Suite 305Woodland Hills, CA 91367Tel: 818-226-5700/Email: pmw@wandklaw.comWeb: http://www.wandklaw.com Charles A. Everage, Esq.EVERAGE LAW FIRM, PLLC1800 Camden Road, Ste. 104 Charlotte, NC 28216Tel: 704-377-9157/ Email: cae@everagel

Black Pastor Says He Warned Police that Local White Youths had Launched Two Year 'Campaign Of Harassment' Before They Murdered James Craig Anderson.

2011-07-02T22:05:00.000-07:00

An anonymous tipster brings our attention to an enormous color-aroused injustice in Mississippi. White youths were wilding for two years in Jackson, MI, before they finally killed a Black man. Keep an eye on the penalty the two white alleged youth murderers get for murdering a Black man. In economic terms, prices influence buying behavior. Just as people buy less coffee as the price increases, whites would kill less Black people if the prices they paid for killing Black people were increased.

JACKSON, Miss. -- A Brandon pastor said he had warned police and school officials that if something wasn't done about Deryl Dedmon's behavior, the teenager may one day kill someone.

Dedmon, 18, is charged with murder in connection with the Sunday death of James Craig Anderson. He is accused of running Anderson, 49, over with his truck. Dedmon is currently free on a $50,000 bond.

Pastor Brian Richardson, of Castlewoods Baptist Church, said his son, a student at Brandon High School, was bullied by Dedmon."My son was harassed by Deryl Dedmon.

Beginning in 2008, specifically September 2008, Deryl began this campaign of harassment against my son and it continued for two years," Richardson said.Richardson said in 2009, his son called police after Dedmon and a group of boys confronted him at a Brandon pond and tried to start a fight. He said the group, including Dedmon, tormented several teens in the community, using racial and homphobic slurs.

Here's the anonymous tipster's account and opinion:

It seems that a group of white boys had a favorite past time that included, bullying, fighting, and terrorizing others with racial and homophobic slurs. It is noted the white Pastor who is speaking out against one of the culprits in this hit and run murder said that the he feels that the high school and police did the best they could; I don't recall hearing him say that, but I see that it is written. However, I feel that everyone failed these white boys, by dismissing their behavior as boys will be boys, even the African American judge that gave one of the primary agitators such a low bond referred to the tow head boy as a kid. It's tragic that everyone in their community failed these boys in the end result is that these boys murdered because they're white, because they feel entitled, and because their illusion of whiteness made them feel they could get away with such a hideous act.

Had these two young men been born a Tyrone or a Jamal, their reign of terror would have never been able to breathe light. They would have been suspended from school early on, arrested and doing time on terrorist threats, and would more than likely spent their time at a juvenile facility as the result of the constant fighting and harassments. It seems that the poor people of Mississippi are so color aroused that they're having a difficult time distinguishing who is and who is not a "thug,' especially if it comes in white face, and that is unfortunate for us all, because again, there are no winners in this situation, a man is dead, and parents are reaping what they've sewn when they allowed hate to fester in their children.

I see how the comment section in several of these articles I have read attempt to accuse the MURDER victim of wrongdoing. They're questioning why this man was out early in the AM hours, stating that a fight was initiated by the victim, and their suggesting that the man was a drug dealer well before facts are even put together. It is the black victim's fault for ruining the lives of these two white boys. I'm appalled that would even be considered. I'm also distressed over the kid glove treatment one of the perpetrators is receiving.

The Black Panther Party’s 1966 "10 Point Plan" Still Relevant To (In)Justice Today

2011-06-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

I came across the following at the Prison Culture blog:

I came across the Black Panther Party’s 10 Point Plan again last week in the course of doing some research on a different topic. I stopped to re-read the points and I was struck by two things. The first is that the plan is as relevant today as when it was unveiled in 1966. The second is how many of the points address themselves to the criminal legal system.

7. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people.
We believe we can end police brutality in our black community by organizing black self-defense groups that are dedicated to defending our black community from racist police oppression and brutality. The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States gives a right to bear arms. We therefore believe that all black people should arm themselves for self defense.
8. We want freedom for all black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails.
We believe that all black people should be released from the many jails and prisons because they have not received a fair and impartial trial.
9. We want all black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their black communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States.

We believe that the courts should follow the United States Constitution so that black people will receive fair trials. The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives a man a right to be tried by his peer group. A peer is a person from a similar economic, social, religious, geographical, environmental, historical and racial background. To do this the court will be forced to select a jury from the black community from which the black defendant came. We have been, and are being tried by all-white juries that have no understanding of the “average reasoning man” of the black community.

They Electrocuted and "They Executed My Son," Says Middlebury Heights, OH Parent

2011-06-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

It's not Just Black People

Seen at Excited Delirium blog.

In Middlebury Heights, Ohio, police responded to the scene after 41 year-old Howard Hammond rear-ended another driver's car at a traffic light. While there is no evidence of a struggle in the police video, the police nonetheless electrocuted and "executed" (the father's word) Hammond.

"They executed my son," the father told Fox 8, Cleveland, OH.

Police fired their electrocution devices at Howard Hammond twice, and the failed to call an ambulance, even though electric shock devices are known to cause serious injury and death, particularly in people who are intoxicated, as the police say they believe Hammond was.

Pastor Kenneth Glasgow on Drug Reform Bill President Obama Signed

2011-06-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

Submitted by Pastor Kenneth Glasgow on August 4, 2010 as Letter to the Editor of the (AL) Dothan Eye News.

Thank God for the drug reform bill President Obama signed reducing the disparity in federal
mandatory sentences between crack cocaine and powder cocaine convictions.

The 25 year-old law that Congress just changed subjected tens of thousands of blacks to long
prison terms for crack cocaine convictions while giving far more lenient sentences to those,
mainly whites, caught with the powder form.

Blacks serve almost as much time for drug offenses (58 months) as whites do for violent
offenses (61 months). Though this new law is a congressional compromise, it is a huge step
forward in reforming our overly harsh and wasteful drug laws.

The old 1986 law was enacted at a time when crack cocaine was considered a violent drug.
However, in 2002, twenty-eight U.S. Court of Appeals judges and many District Court Judges
who were formerly U.S. Attorneys, wrote the Sentencing Commission condemning the notion as
not scientifically accurate and recommended its repeal.

There’s still much work to be done as the law applies to only federal defendants, not state laws.
Most drug arrests occur at the state level.

We started this journey for justice in 2001. Our many trips to Washington, DC were covered
by the Dothan Eagle, WTVY, WDHN, Southeast Gazette and Rickey Stokes News. Local and
regional debates followed with law enforcement officials that wanted to keep the Draconian
Laws. The door opens again for those who have not participated in reform to join in doing
so now. Otherwise they will be looked upon as preserving a racial caste system that was
abolished with chattel slavery.

We must continue to locally address related issues like lack of family support, ministry and
rehabilitation of those incarcerated because of repressive attitudes toward “lawbreakers”, even
after being “punished”. How long will we allow local political culture to shape our local social
culture by discretionary drug enforcement practice here–the real morally and socially unjust
behavior that destroys lives?

Pastor Kenneth Glasgow
Founder, Executive Director
The Ordinary People Society (TOPS)
403 West Powell St. Dothan, AL 36303
Office / Fax: 334-671-2882
Cell: 334-791-2433

Pastor Kenneth Glasgow Writes About Drug Reform

2011-06-17T19:32:00.000-07:00

Submitted by Pastor Kenneth Glasgow on August 4, 2010, to the (AL) Dothan Eye News
as a letter to the editor.

It’s hard to think of a more wasteful way to spend tax dollars than locking up marijuana users. But, in the midst of a budget crisis, this is exactly what Alabama is doing.

Your legislators could change that. Alabama is already taking a serious look at its sentencing practices — but they need some encouragement. So please, ask them to get their priorities straight and to support sentencing reform. Please urge legislators to introduce legislation to stop wasting money and ruining lives by incarcerating people for possessing marijuana.

There are clear harms entailed in the practice of putting lots of unenforceable or unenforced laws on the books and consigning a significant swathe of your population to the category of “lawbreakers”. On the one hand, this promotes contempt for the law. On the other hand, it allows police and government to lock up many people at will, since most people are always violating some law or another, and that’s a discretionary power that governments tend to abuse for repressive political purposes.

The government also derives extortionary power from its ability to lock people up at will, which leads to corruption. In autocratic countries across a wide spectrum of development, from Guinea to Russia, you tend to find all of these things occurring together: a broad range of normal economic and political behavior is criminalized, the citizens treat the law as an arbitrary set of irritating technicalities to be evaded, government uses police powers to repress political opposition, and police and government officials make their living by shaking people down.

Parts of this syndrome (criminalizing normal behavior, contempt for the law, shaking people down) also describe the way drug laws function in much of America. So the question arises of whether we should legalize pot. Sarah Palin recently said we shouldn’t, but that marijuana use isn’t much of a problem–and should be a low priority for law enforcement.

What I think what we’re seeing here is the wrong-headed notion that an appropriate way to express disapproval of a behavior is to simply make it illegal, but then wink and nod on enforcement as if this is some sort of middle ground.

If you don’t think a law should be enforced, you should support repeal of the law. All “compromise” accomplishes is granting police almost unfettered discretion. If smoking pot is still technically illegal, police can enforce the law when they choose, targeting certain people for arrest while turning a blind eye to others engaging in the exact same activity.

I’ve now learned in some of those foreign countries that are famously tolerant of drug use, it turns out that “tolerant” is the operative word. For example, while there are periodic calls in the Netherlands to move to complete legalization of soft drugs, that initiative never seems to get anywhere. But neither do calls for actual prosecution of marijuana possession and use.

So while the Netherlands, Denmark, and so forth are among the countries that court public contempt for the law and repressive police practices by keeping marijuana use illegal, they also keep the “lawbreakers” unpunished in practice. And yet these countries have failed to turn into Russia. I think what we’re seeing in the United States is the impact of a national political culture shaping the practices of governance over other national social institutions when it comes to drug laws here.

It would be nice if we could arrive at an ethically and logically consistent legal stance on drug use, but it may be that in practice that’s very hard to do, and not actually very important. Basically, while Sarah Palin’s position on this issue, as on many others, is semi-deliberately incoherent, it is in this case a semi-deliberate incoherence that has proven to be effective policy in many countries, and it might be the stance to begin on the issue in the United States.

Pastor Kenneth Glasgow
Founder, Executive Director
The Ordinary People Society (TOPS)
403 West Powell St. Dothan, AL 36303
Office / Fax: 334-671-2882
Cell: 334-791-2433

Esteban Carpio Case Closely Watched Nationally by Public Against Police Brutality, Unrepentant Police Officers

2011-06-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

The case of Esteban Carpio will not go away or be forgotten because of a number of alarming facts in his case:

Esteban Carpio's mother told police that he was mentally deranged, but police believed he had knifed an old woman that day, and they questioned him, without a lawyer, from the early evening into the midnights hours, at which time police accuse Carpio of taking a gun from the only police officer in the interrogation room, shooting the officer dead, and then jumping from an upper-floor window, after which a police chase ensued that ended with a horrific beating of Carpio that left his face so incredibly disfigured by fresh hammering that police were ashamed to show him to the court and instead put a mask over his face.

This case poses the societal and legal questions of whether the accused should be punished after conviction at trial or whether the Providence Police Department's summary extra-judicial punishment (see photograph), otherwise known as "lynching" when death results, is acceptable to the white people who make up the majority of the United States and the majority of its juries.

Virtually every one of the hundreds of cases of death of a member of the public after police lethally shock the person with an electrocution devise such as the Taser, sometimes repeatedly shocking handcuffed and arrested persons poses the same question: Is lynching de facto legal, or do police have to wait and submit cases to the judgment of courts, judges and juries rather than imposing a pre-trial death penalty and/or severe physical harm upon immobilized prey?

Esteban Carpio's lawyer has asked the Rhode Island Supreme Court to order a lower court to consider significant evidence that Esteban Carpio met the legal definition required for him to be declared not competent. They say that they showed at trial more than "a fair preponderance of the evidence — that his mental illness rendered him ineligible for conviction."

The largest local newspaper reported on September 4, 2010, that Carpio's legal defense, based on a mental illness that no one denies, had reached the Rhode Island Supreme Court with a request that a new hearing be held with the proper legal standard applied to his mental status:

Carpio asks R.I. Supreme Court to throw out his murder conviction
01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, September 4, 2010
By Gregory Smith
Journal Staff Writer

Esteban Carpio

PROVIDENCE — Esteban Carpio, convicted of shooting to death Providence police Detective Sgt. James L. Allen at police headquarters, is asking the Rhode Island Supreme Court to void the conviction because he was not criminally responsible due to mental illness.

More than four years after his conviction in one of the most infamous murders of the modern Rhode Island era, Carpio has submitted a memorandum of appeal of his conviction and sentence.

Carpio would like to see the Supreme Court return the case to Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause with an order that Krause enter a verdict of not guilty due to lack of criminal responsibility on all three of the counts of which he was convicted.

Through his appellate lawyers at the public defender’s office, Carpio contends that the defense proved by more than the required standard — a fair preponderance of the evidence — that his mental illness rendered him ineligible for conviction. He further contends that Judge Krause erred in his instructions to the jury that convicted him; and that his sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is unfairly excessive, in large part because of his illness.

The Carpio family, Providence Police and people from around the country, judging by this blog's Site Meter, are waiting to hear from the Rhode Island Supreme Court whether Carpio's mental condition now and at the time of the crimes of which he was convicted is to be considered in weighing Carpio's behavior and, implicity, the arguably criminal and obviously unwise behavior of the Providence Police Department.

While it is natural that the Providence Police Department is aggrieved by what happened on that fateful day, they should seriously consider whether question a mentally ill man for hours and then leaving him alone in a room with one solitary armed police detective created an unreasonable risk that the exhausted and some say psychotic Carpio would use the officer's own gun to kill the officer.

Maybe, police should have given more consideration to the mother's insistence that Carpio was psychotic and therefore presented a danger to himself and other. If they had shown that sensitivity and concern for their own safety, then the police detective who died might be alive today.

"Tasers Are Perfectly Safe as Long as They Aren’t Used on the People Most Likely To Be Tasered", Says "The Agitator" Blog

2011-06-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Tasers Are Perfectly Safe as Long as They Aren’t Used on the People Most Likely To Be Tasered, Says "The Agitator" Blog.

I saw the following over at "The Agitator" blog and I am compelled by its relevance to share it with readers:

Tasers Are Perfectly Safe as Long as They Aren’t Used on the People Most Likely To Be Tasered

An NIJ report on Tasers gives us the ol’ “Nothing to see, here”. Nut graph:

“There is no conclusive medical evidence in the current body of research literature that indicates a high risk of serious injury or death to humans from the direct or indirect cardiovascular or metabolic effects of short-term CED exposure in healthy, normal, nonstressed, nonintoxicated persons,” the report concludes.

And we all know that Tasers are never, ever used on people who are unhealthy, or who are intoxicated, or who are under some sort of duress. So the debate is settled!

White-Looking DC Police Bloody Wheelchair-Bound Man's Face When They Throw Him to the Pavement

2011-05-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

African American Pundit says,

The Internet is buzzing on The D.C. Police Beat Down of a wheelchair bound man. Check out how the D.C. Police are caught body slamming the Wheelchair-Bound Citizen. The two officers, identified as Washington D.C. cops, were caught on camera ... The video entitled “DC police abuse homeless man in wheelchair”, .... I called for police assistance and all they did was beat me up. More HERE

I certainly hope the President won't say that the police acted "stupidly," because that would only get these two Pigs an invitation to the White House Lawn, for some German beer.

Instead, Eric Holder, the Attorney General of the United States of America, should investigate whether wheelchair-bound Americans must be dragged out of their wheelchairs and thrown onto the ground, with their faces slammed against the pavement, in the process of arresting them. Why not just frisk them and call for a police van?

In the age of the Internet, our America "freedoms" are visible all over the world. This was not a good day for freedom. That's what the world thinks as the view this video.

A List of Persons Extra-Judicially Electrocuted by Police Using Taser (and other) Electrocution Devices

2011-05-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Hat Tip to Eddie G. Griffin (BASG).

A list of known torture victims that died after being intentionally electrocuted.
Most of these torture deaths resulted from being shocked with a Taser brand electronic torture device. A few were tortured and died from being electrocuted with another brand of electrical torture device
1983
1. August 10, 1983, Vincent Alvarez, 27, Los Angeles, California

1984

2. January 22, 1984: Raul Guevara, Jr. 30, Los Angeles, California
3. August 17, 1984: Larry Donnell Gardner, 32, Burke County, Georgia

1985

4. April 11, 1985: Cornelius Garland Smith, 35, Los Angeles, California
5. August 29, 1985: Lannie Stanley McCoy, 35, Los Angeles, California
6. December 27, 1985: Joseph Rodriguez, 24, Santa Clara, California

1986
7. May 9, 1986: Anthony Manwell Williams III, 35, Pomona, California
8. May 18, 1986: Robert Zapata, 37, Los Angeles, California
9. June 2, 1986: Robert Herbert Bobier, 31, Los Angeles, California
10. October 7, 1986: Yale Larry Wilson, 25, Vacaville, California

1987

11. July 22, 1987: Miguel Contreras, 27, Los Angeles, California
12. November 2, 1987: Mario Antonio Gastelum, 24, San Diego, California
13. December 4, 1987: Stewart Alan Vigil, 29, Los Angeles, California

198814. January 13, 1988: William McCall, 39, Los Angeles, California
15. September 10, 1988: Edward Breen, 38, Bell-Cudahy, California
16. September 10, 1988: Charles Eugene Miles, 37, Los Angeles, California

1989

17. February 14, 1989: Jose Torres, 31, Los Angeles, California
18. May 15, 1989: Jorge Hernandez, 28, Los Angeles, CA
19. May 22, 1989: Anthony Puma, 34, New York, New York
20. May 24, 1989: Jeffrey Michel Leonti, 37, Santa Clara, California

1990
21. February 13, 1990: Duane J. Johnson, 24, Ventura, California
22. August 13, 1990: Glen Gonzalez, 26, Los Angeles, CA

1991

23. April 21, 1991: Douglas L. Danville, 47, Los Angeles, California
24. July 1, 1991: Douglas Charles, 24, Los Angeles, California
25. November 2, 1991: Max Leyza Garcia, 40, Fullerton, California
26. December 9, 1991: Donnie Ray Ward, 38, Deuel, California

1992

27. July 18, 1992: James Ricard’ 32, Los Angeles, California
28. August 20, 1992: Clarice A. Younger, 62, Prince George`s County, Maryland
29. September 14, 1992: David Martinez, 27, Los Angeles, California

1993
30. March 8, 1993: Michael James Bryant, 37, Los Angeles, California
31. December 2, 1993: Vital Montilla, 28, New York, New York

1994
32. January 6, 1994: Daniel Scott Gizowski, 25, Los Angeles, California
33. March 18, 1994: Ephraim Lewis, 26, Los Angeles, California
34. April 16, 1994: Richard Wayne Harris, 32, Los Angeles, California
35. May 24, 1994: Brandon Jordan, 7 months, killed by his foster mother with repeated shocks, Peoria, Illinois (NOT TASER- Bestex? Space Thunder)
36. June 5, 1994: LeGrand Griffin, 39, Cincinnati, Ohio

1995

37. August 18, 1995: Bruce Klobuchar, 25, Los Angeles, California
38. December 1, 1995: Harry Landis, (Prison guard died after two compulsory training shocks from a NOVA shield, Coryell County, Texas (NOT TASER- NOVA shield)

1996

39. January 5, 1996: Byron Williams, 36, Los Angeles, California
40. June 1, 1996: Scott Jaron Norberg, 33, Maricopa, Arizona
41. June 8, 1996: James Quentin Parkinson, 25, Fairfield, California
42. July 20, 1996: Kimberly Lashon Watkins-Oliver, 38, Los Angeles, California
43. December 27, 1996: Andrew Hunt Jr. , 38. Pomona, California

1997

44. July 6, 1997: Garner Roosevelt Hicks Jr., 25, Santa Ana, California

1998
45. March 10, 1998: Mark Andrew Brown, 43, Los Angeles, California
46. January 29, 1999: Michael Labmeier, 43, Kenton County, Kentucky
47. September 28, 1999: David Torres Flores, 37, Fairfield County, California

2000In approximately 2000, Taser International began to replace early taser models up to the Air Taser with the M26 model and starting in 2003 by the X26. The electrical charge is different in these models so the medical reaction should differ. However the ways in which these weapons have been used did not appear to differ.
48. May 14, 2000: Enrique Juarez Ochoa, 34, Bakersfield, California
49. June 29, 2000: Lawrence Frazier, Wallens Ridge, Virginia (NOT TASER- Stinger Ultron II)

2001

50. June 17, 2001: Mark Burkett, 18, Gainesville, Florida
51. December 17, 2001: Marvin Hendrix, 27, Hamilton, Ohio
52. December 21, 2001: Steven Vasquez, 40, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

2002
53. January 27, 2002: Vincent Delostia, 31, Hollywood, Florida
54. February 12, 2002: Anthony Spencer, 35, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
55. March 27, 2002: Henry Canady, 46, Hilliard, Florida
56. May 17, 2002: Richard Baralla, 36, Pueblo, Colorado
57. June 10, 2002: Eddie Alvarado, 32, Los Angeles, California
58. June 13, 2002: Nicholas Aguilar, 39, Phoenix, Arizona
59. June 15, 2002: Jason Nichols, 21, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
60. June 27, 2002: Fermin Rincon, 24, Fontana, California
61. June 28, 2002: Clever Craig, 46, Mobile, Alabama
62. July 19, 2002: Johnny Lozoya, 24, Gardena, California
63. July 19, 2002: Gordon Jones, 37, Windermere, Florida
64. September 1, 2002: Frederick Webber, 44, Orange City, Florida
65. November 7, 2002: Stephen Edwards, 59, Shelton, Washington
66. December 31, 2002: Ronald Edward Wright, 35, Arlington, Texas

2003In 2003, Taser International introduced the X26 model.
67. March 16, 2003: Christopher Smith, 31, Albuquerque, New Mexico
68. April 16, 2003: Corey Calvin Clark, 33, Amarillo, Texas
69. April 19, 2003: Terrence Hanna, 51, Burnaby, British Columbia
70. May 10, 2003: Joshua Hollander, 22, Normal Heights, California
71. June 9, 2003: Timothy Sleet, 44, Springfield Missouri
72. June 26, 2003: David Lewandowski, 26, Escambia County, Florida
73. July 22, 2003: Clayton Willey, 33, Prince George, British Columbia
74. August 4, 2003: Troy Nowell, 51, Amarillo, Texas
75. August 8, 2003: John Lee Thompson, 45, Carrollton Township, Michigan
76. August 8, 2003: Walter Curtis Burks Jr., 36, Minneapolis, Minnesota
77. August 17, 2003: Gordon Rauch, 39, Citrus Heights, California
78. September 24, 2003: Ray Austin, 25, Gwinnett, Georgia
79. September 29, 2003: Glenn Leyba, 37, Glendale, Colorado
80. September 28, 2003: Clark Whitehouse, 34, Whitehorse, Yukon
81. October 7, 2003: Roman Pierson, 40, Brea, California
82. October 11, 2003: Dennis Hammond, 31, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
83. October 21, 2003: Louis Morris, 50, Orlando, Florida
84. November 6, 2003: James Borden, 47, Monroe County, Indiana
85. November 10, 2003: Michael Johnson, 32, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
86. November 11, 2003: Kerry O’Brien, 31, Pembroke Pines, Florida
87. December 9, 2003: Curtis Lawson, 40, Unadilla, Georgia
88. December 9, 2003: Lewis King, 39, St. Augustine, Florida

2004
89. February 4, 2004: David Glowczenski, 35, Southampton Village, New York
90. February 13, 2004: Raymond Siegler, 40, Minneapolis, Minnesota
91. February 21, 2004: Curt Rostentangle (Rostengale), 44, Silverdale, Washington
92. February 21, 2004: William Lomax Jr., 26, Las Vegas, Nevada
93. March 23, 2004: Ronald Perry, 28, Edmonton, Alberta
94. March 28, 2004: Terry Williams, 45, Madison, Illinois
95. April 1, 2004: Phillip LeBlanc, 36, Los Angeles, California
96. April 16, 2004: Melvin Samuel, 28, Savannah, Georgia
97. April 17, 2004: Robert Harold Allen, 45, Little Rock, Arkansas
98. April 18, 2004: Alfredo Diaz, 29, Orange County, Florida
99. April 27, 2004: Eric Wolle, 45, Washington Grove, Maryland
100. May 1, 2004: Roman Andreichikov, Vancouver, British Columbia
101. May 13, 2004: Peter Lamonday, 38, London, Ontario
102. May 22, 2004: Henry Lattarulo, 40, Hillsborough, County Florida
103. May 27, 2004: Frederick Williams, 31, Lawrenceville, Georgia
104. May 30, 2004: Darryl Smith, 46, Atlanta, Georgia
105. May 31, 2004: Anthony Oliver, 42, Orlando, Florida
106. June 4, 2004: Jerry Pickens, 55, Bridge City, Louisiana
107. June 9, 2004: James Cobb, 42, St. Paul, Minnesota
108. June 9, 2004: Jacob Lair, 26, Sparks, Nevada
109. June 16, 2004: Abel Ortega Perez, 36, Austin, Texas
110. June 23, 2004: Robert Bagnell, 44, Vancouver, British Columbia
111. June 24, 2004: Kris Lieberman, 32, Bushkill Township, Pennsylvania
112. June 30, 2004: Bernard Christmas, 36, Dayton, Ohio
113. July 3, 2004: Demetrius Tillman Nelson, 45, Okaloosa County, Florida
114. July 11, 2004: Willie Smith, 48, Auburn, Washington
115. July 17, 2004: Jerry Knight, 29, Mississauga, Ontario
116. July 23, 2004: Milton Salazar, 29, Mesa Arizona
117. August 2, 2004: Keith Tucker, 47, Las Vegas, Nevada
118. August 8, 2004: Samuel Truscott, 43, Kingston, Ontario
119. August 11, 2004: Ernest Blackwell, 29, St. Louis, Missouri
120. August 11, 2004: David Riley, 41, Joplin, Missouri
121. August 13, 2004: Anthony Lee McDonald, 46, Harrisburg, North Carolina
122. August 16, 2004: William Teasley, 31, Anderson, South Carolina
123. August 19, 2004: Richard Karlo, 44, Denver, Colorado
124. August 20, 2004: Michael Sanders, 40, Fresno, California
125. August 24, 2004: Lawrence Davis, 27, Phoenix, Arizona
126. August 27, 2004: Jason Yeagley, 32, Auburndale, Florida
127. August 29, 2004: Michael Rosa, 38, Del Rey Oaks, California
128. September 12, 2004: Samuel Wakefield, 22, Rio Vista, Texas
129. September 15, 2004: Andrew Washington, 21, Vallejo, California
130. September 20, 2004: Jon Merkle, 40, Miami, Florida
131. October 4, 2004: Dwayne Dunn, 33, Lafayette, Louisiana
132. November 2, 2004: Greshmond Gray, 25, LaGrange, Georgia
133. November 2, 2004: Robert Guerrero, 21, Fort Worth, Texas
134. November 7, 2004: Keith Raymond Drum, Clearlake, Califormnia
135. November 8, 2004: Ricardo Zaragoza, 40, Elk Grove, California
136. November 15, 2004: Jesse Robert Tapia, 37, Pomona, California
137. November 25, 2004: Charles Keiser, 47, Hartland Township, Michigan
138. November 27, 2004: Byron Black, 39, Lee County, Florida
139. December 4, 2004: Patrick Fleming, 35, Metairie, Louisiana
140. December 15, 2004: Kevin Downing, 36, Hollywood, Florida
141. December 17, 2004: Douglas Meldrum, 37, Wasatch County, Utah
142. December 17, 2004: Lyle Nelson, 35, Columbia, Illinois
143. December 22, 2004: Jeanne Hamilton, 46, Palmdale, California
144. December 23, 2004: Timothy Bolander, 31, Delray Beach, Florida
145. December 23, 2004: Ronnie Pino, 31, Sacramento, California
146. December 28, 2004: Christopher Hernandez, 19, Naples, Florida
147. December 30, 2004: David Cooper, 40, Marion County, Indiana

2005
148. January 2, 2005: Gregory Saulsbury, 30, Pacifica, California
149. January 5, 2005: Dennis Hyde, 30, Akron, Ohio
150. January 8, 2005: Carl Trotter, 33, Pensacola, Florida
151. January 10, 2005, Jerry Moreno, 33, Los Angeles, California
152. January 28, 2005: James Edward Hudson, 33, Chickasha, Oklahoma
153. January 31, 2005: Jeffrey Turner, 41, Lucas County, Ohio
154. February 10, 2005: Ronald Alan Hasse, 54, Chicago, Illinois
155. February 12, 2005: Robert Camba, 45, San Diego, California
156. February 18, 2005: Joel Don Casey, 52, Houston, Texas
157. February 20, 2005: Robert Heston, 40, Salinas, California
158. March 3, 2005: Shirley Andrews, 38, Cincinnati, Ohio
159. March 6, 2005: David Levi Evans Jr.,45, Los Angeles, California
160. March 6, 2005: Willie Towns, 30, Deland, Florida
161. March 12, 2005: Milton Woolfolk, 39, Lake City, Florida
162. March 17, 2005: Mark Young, 25, Indianapolis, Indiana
163. April 3, 2005: James Wathan Jr., 32, Delhi, California
164. April 3, 2005: Eric Hammock, 43, Fort Worth, Texas
165. April 8, 2005: Ricky Barber, 46, Carter County, Oklahoma
166. April 22, 2005: John Cox, 39, Bellport, New York
167. April 24 2005: Jesse Colter, 31, Phoenix, Arizona
168. May 4, 2005: Keith Graff, 24, Phoenix, Arizona
169. May 5, 2005: Kevin Geldart, 34, Moncton, New Brunswick
170. May 6, 2005: Stanley Wilson, 44, Miami, Florida
171. May 6, 2005: Lawrence Berry, 33, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
172. May 13, 2005: Vernon Young, 31, Union Township, Ohio
173. May 17, 2005: Leroy Pierson, 55, Rancho Cucamonga, California
174. May 20, 2005: Randy Martinez, 40, Albuquerque, New Mexico
175. May 23, 2005: Lee Marvin Kimmel, 38, Reading, Pennsylvania
176. May 23, 2005: Richard Alverado, 38, Tustin, California
177. May 26, 2005: Walter Lamont Seats, 23, Nashville, Tennessee
178. May 28, 2005: Richard T. Holcomb, 18, Akron, Ohio
179. June 2, 2005: Nazario J. Solorio, 38, Escondido, California
180. June 4, 2005: Ravan Conston, 33, Sacramento, California
181. June 6, 2005: Russell Walker, 47, Las Vegas, Nevada
182. June 11, 2005: Horace Owens, 48, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
183. June 13, 2005: Michael Anthony Edwards, 32, Palatka, Florida
184. June 13, 2005: Shawn Pirolozzi, 30, Canton, Ohio
185. June 14, 2005: Robert Earl Williams, 62, Waco, Texas
186. June 24, 2005: Carolyn Daniels, 25, Fort Worth, Texas
187. June 24, 2005: Melinda Kaye Neal Fairbanks, 33, Whitfield County, Georgia
188. June 29, 2005: Pharoah Knight, 33, Miami, Florida
189. June 30, 2005: Gurmeet Sandhu, 41, Surrey, B.C.
190. July 1, 2005: James Foldi, 39, Beamsville, Ont.
191. July 2, 2005: Tommy V. Gutierrez, 38, Sacramento County, California
192. July 7, 2005: Rocky Brison, 41, Birmingham, Alabama
193. July 8, 2005: Raul Jimenez Buenrostro, 29, Fontana, California
194. July 12, 2005: Kevin Omas, 17, Euless, Texas
195. July 15, 2005: Ernesto Valdez, 37, Phoenix, Arizona
196. July 15, 2005: Paul Sheldon Saulnier, 42, Digby, Nova Scotia
197. July 15, 2005: Otis G. Thrasher, 42, Butte, Montana
198. July 17, 2005: Michael Leon Crutchfield, 40, West Palm Beach, Florida
199. July 16, 2005: Carlos Casillas Fernandez, 31, Santa Rosa, California
200. July 23, 2005: Maury Cunningham, 29, Lancaster, South Carolina
201. July 25, 2005: Elisio Maldanado, 33, Los Angeles, California
202. July 27, 2005: Terrence L. Thomas, 35, Rockville Centre, New York
203. August 1, 2005: Brian Patrick O’Neal, San Jose, California
204. August 3, 2005: Eric Mahoney, 33, Fremont, California
205. August 4, 2005: Dwayne Zachary, 44, Sacramento, California
206. August 5, 2005: Olsen Ogodidde (Agoodie?), 44, Glendale, Arizona
207. August 7, 2005: Frank Gilman Edgerly, 47, Phoenix, Arizona
208. August 26, 2005: Shawn Norman, 40, Laurelville, Ohio
209. August 27, 2005: Brian Lichtenstein, 31, Stuart, Florida
210. August 29, 2005: Robert E. Boggon, 65, Escambia County, Florida
211. September 4, 2005: Leonard A. Mitchell, 36, Darby Borough, Pennsylvania
212. September 18, 2005: David Anthony Cross, 44, Santa Cruz, California
213. September 22, 2005: Timothy Michael Torres, 24, Sacramento, California
214. September 24, 2005: Patrick Aaron Lee, 21, Nashville, Tennessee
215. September 26, 2005: Michael Clark, 33, Austin, Texas
216. October 1, 2005: Mary Ellen Malone Jeffries, 51, Marshall County, Mississippi
217. October 13, 2005: Steven Cunningham, 45, Fort Myers, Florida
218. October 18, 2005: David Michael Croud, 29, Duluth, Minnesota
219. October 20, 2005: Jose Perez, 33, San Leandro, California
220. October 25, 2005: Timothy Mathis, 35, Loveland, Colorado
221. October 25, 2005: Cedric Stemberg-Barton, 21, King County, Washington
222. November 1, 2005: Miguel Serrano, 35, New Britain, Connecticut
223. November 13, 2005: Josh Brown, 23, Lafayette, Louisiana
224. November 17, 2005: Jose Angel Rios, 38, San Jose, California
225. November 20, 2005: Hansel Cunningham, 30, Des Plaines, Illinois
226. November 21, 2005: Barney Lee Green, 38, Pasadena, Texas
227. November 25, 2005: Tyler Marshall Shaw, 19, Asotin County, Washington
228. November 26, 2005: Tracy Rene Shippy, 35, Fort Meyers, Florida
229. November 30, 2005: Kevin Dewayne Wright, 39, Kelso, Washington
230. December 1, 2005: Jeffrey Earnhardt, 47, Orlando, Florida
231. December 7, 2005: Michael Tolosko, 31, Sonoma, California
232. December 17, 2005: Howard Starr, 32, Florence, South Carolina
233. December 21, 2005: Clint R. Yarbrough, 33, Maricopa County, Arizona
234. December 24, 2005: Alesandro Fiacco, 33, Edmonton, Alberta
235. December 29, 2005: David Moss, 26, Omaha, Nebraska

2006
236. January 3, 2006: Roberto Gonzalez, 34, Waukegan, Illinois
237. January 4, 2006: Steven Hooker, 21, Kalamazoo, Michigan
238. January 5, 2006: Matthew Dunlevy, 25, Laguna Beach, California
239. January 7, 2006: Carlos Claros Castro, 28, Davidson County, North Carolina
240. January 13, 2006: Daryl Dwayne Kelley, 29, Houston, Texas
241. January 16, 2006: Shmekia Lewis (female), 24, Beaumont, Texas
242. January 18, 2006: Daniel Rivera Tamez, 21, Harlingen, Texas
243. January 22, 2006: Nick Ryan Hanson, 24, Ashland, Oregon
244. January 25, 2006: Murray Bush, Metairie, Louisiana
245. January 25, 2006: Jorge Luis Trujillo, San Jose, California
246. January 28, 2006: Karl W. Marshall, 32, Kansas City, Missouri
247. January 29, 2006 Benites Sichero, 39, Spokane County, Washington
248. January 31, 2006: Jaime Coronel, Castroville, California
249. February 6, 2006: Jessie Williams Jr., 40, Harrison County, Mississippi
250. February 6, 2009: Troy Rigby, 29, Broward, Florida
251. February 13, 2006: Darval Smith, New Orleans, Louisiana
252. February 19, 2006: Gary Bartley, 36, Mandeville, Louisiana
253. February 24, 2006: Samuel Hair, 48, Fort Pierce, Florida
254. March 8, 2006: Robert R. Hamilton, 42, St. Augustine, Florida
255. Approx. March 13, 2006: Twan Tran, Port Arthur, Texas
256. March 18, 2006: Otto Zehm, 35, Spokane, Washington
257. March 18, 2006, Cedric Davis, 26, Merced County, California
258. March 20, 2006: Timothy Grant, 46, Portland, Oregon
259. March 24, 2006: Theodore Rosenberry, 35, Hagerstown, Maryland
260. April 5, 2006: Thomas Clint Tipton, 34, Clearwater, Florida
261. April 15, 2006: Nick Mamino Jr., 41, St. Louis, Missouri
262. April 16, 2006: Billy Ray Cook, 39, Dublin, North Carolina
263. April 16, 2006: Juan Manuel Nunez III, 27, Lubbock, Texas
264. April 18, 2006: Richard McKinnon, 52, Cumberland County, North Carolina
265. April 22, 2006: Alvin Itula, 35, Salt Lake City, Utah
266. April 24, 2006: Jose Romero, 23, Dallas, Texas
267. April 24, 2006: Emily Marie Delafield, 56, Green Cove Springs, Florida
268. April 25, 2006: Curtis Lee Smith, 45, New Holland, Pennsylvania
269. April 30, 2006: Brian Craig Carlile, 37, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
270. May 1, 2006: Jeremy Davis, 24, Bellmead, Texas
271. May 7, 2006: Kenneth Cleveland, 63, Ashtabula, Ohio
272. May 25, 2006: Brian Davis, 43, Los Angeles, California
273. June 4, 2006: Unidentified man, Phoenix, Arizona
274. June 4, 2006: Felipe Herrera, 48, Las Vegas, Nevada
275. June 5, 2006: James Simms, 52, Phoenix, Arizona
276. June 10, 2006: Vicki Avila, 31, Orance County, California
277. June 13, 2006: Jerry Preyer, 43, Pensacola, Florida
278. June 18, 2006: Jason Troy Dockery, 31, Coolville, Tennessee
279. June 21, 2006: Kenneth Eagleton, 43, Crosby, Texas
280. June 21, 2006: Joseph Stockdale, 26, Indianapolis, Indiana
281. June 24, 2006: John Martinez, San Jose, California
282. July 2, 2006: Jermail Williams, 32, South Bend, Indiana
283. July 3, 2006: Rodney Sisneros Jr., 26, Evans, Colorado
284. July 7, 2006: Michael Deon Babers, 26, Shreveport, Louisiana
285. July 8, 2006: Christopher Tull, 36, Cincinnati, Ohio
286. July 9, 2006: Nickolos Cyrus, 29, Mukwonago, Wisconsin
287. July 9, 2006: Ramiro Garcia, 39, Patterson, California
288. July 11, 2006: Jesus Negron, 29, New Britain, Connecticut
289. July 23, 2006: Shannon Johnson, 37, Pittsboro, North Carolina
290. July 30, 2006: George Victor. Holder, 34, Salina, Kansas
291. August 2, 2006: Anthony Jones, 39, Merced, California
292. August 4, 2006: Ryan Michael Wilson, 22, Lafayette, Colorado
293. August 8, 2006: Curry McCrimmon, 26, Melbourne, Florida
294. August 8, 2006: James Nunez, 27, Santa Ana, California
295. August 9, 2006: Glen Thomas, 33, Wabasso, Florida
296. August 18, 2006: Kenyata H. Allen, Mobile, Alabama
297. August 17, 2006: Raul Gallegos-Reyes, 34, Centennial, Colorado
298. August 18, 2006: Kenyata Allen, 23, Mobile, Alabama
299. August 20, 2006: Mark McCullaugh, 28, Akron, Ohio
300. August 20, 2006: Timothy Picard, 41, Woonsocket, Rhode Island
301. August 23, 2006: Noah Lopez,25, Fort Worth, Texas
302. August 25, 2006: Mark L. Lee, 30, Rochester, New York
303. August 26, 2006: Terry Wayne Robinson, 42,Jackson Township, Ohio
304. August 30, 2006: Jason Doan, 28, Red Deer, Alberta
305. August 30, 2006: John (Juan) Soto, Jr., 39, Liberal, Kansas
306. September 4, 2006, Jesus Mejia, 33, Los Angeles, California
307. September 5, 2006: Larry Noles, 52, Louisville, Kentucky
308. September 8, 2006: Perry Simmons, 35, Montgomery, Alabama
309. September 13, 2006: Laborian Simmons, 24, Marion County, Florida
310. September 17, 2006: Marcus Roach-Burrus, 42, Menasha, Wisconsin
311. September 17, 2006: James Philip Chasse Jr., 42, Portland, Oregon
312. September 29, 2006: Joseph Kinney, 36, Madison Twp., Ohio
313. September 30, 2006: Vardan Kasilyan, 29, Las Vegas, Nevada
314. September 30, 2006: John David Johnson III, 27, Orange Park, Florida
315. October 1, 2006: Kip Darrell Black, 38, North Charleston, South Carolina
316. October 4, 2006: Michael Templeton, 50, Jonesboro, Arkansas
317. October 6, 2006: Herman Carroll, 31, Houston, Texas
318. October 8, 2006: Armando Ibarra, Greenacres, Florida
319. October 9, 2006: Gerald Raymond Guimond, Patagonia City, Arizona
320. October 9, 2006: James Simons, 35, Lincoln Park, Michigan
321. October 19, 2006: James Lewis, 37, Las Vegas, Nevada
322. October 19, 2006: Nicholas Brown, Milford, Connecticut
323. October 22, 2006: Eddie Charles Ham Jr., 30, Montgomery, Alabama
324. October 23, 2006: Michael Todd Gleim, 40, Milford, Ohio
325. October 29, 2006: Roger Holyfield, 17, Jerseyville, Illinois
326. October 30, 2006: Jeremy Foos, 29, Columbus, Ohio
327. November 1, 2006: Curtis M. Sloan, 47, Georgetown, Illinois
328. November 5, 2006: Rosendo Gaytan, 52, Austin, Texas
329. November 7, 2006: Matthew Barnett, East Norriton, Pennsylvania
330. November 9, 2006: William Jobe, 40, Federal Way, Washington
331. November 10, 2006: Weizhong Wang, Los Angeles County, California
332. November 14, 2006: Timothy Wayne Newton, 43, Rocky Mount, North Carolina
333. November 14, 2006: Darren Faulkner, 41, Southaven, Mississippi
334. November 14, 2006: Gregory Nykiel, 34, Sharpsbury, Pennsylvania
335. December 3, 2006: Briant K. Parks, 39, Columbus, Ohio
336. December 17, 2006: Anthony Placido, 38, West Palm Beach, Florida
337. December 17, 2006: Terrill Enard, 29, Lafayette, Louisiana
338. December 30, 2006: Daniel Walter Quick, 43, Magalia, California

2007
339. January 5, 2007: James Barber, 25, Ottawa, Ontario (incidental?)
340. January 5, 2007: Calvin Thompson, 42, Gastonia, North Carolina
341. January 6, 2007: Douglas John Ilten, 45, Fort Pierce, Florida
342. January 7, 2007: Blondel Lassegue, 38, Nassau County, New York
343. January 12, 2007: Pedro Carlos Madrid, 44, Fresno, California
344. January 17, 2007: Keith Kallstrom, 56, Milan, Michigan
345. January 18, 2007: Andrew J. Athetis, 18, Gilbert, Arizona
346. February 19, 2007: Brett Howie, 36, Pine Bluffs, Arkansas
347. January 29, 2007: Michael Keohan, 45, Huntingdon Park, California
348. January 30, 2007: Christopher L. McCargo, 43, Dayton, Ohio
349. February 11, 2007: Stephen Krohn, 44, Mesa, Arizona
350. February 21, 2007: Martin Mendoza, 43, Oceanside, California
351. March 12, 2007: Michael J. Hartshorn, 38, Montgomery County, Kansas
352. March 13, 2007: Muszack Nazaire, 24, East Naples, Florida
353. March 15, 2007: Randy Buckey, 42, Marion, Ohio
354. March 16, 2007: Ryan Lee Myers, 40, Essex, Maryland
355. March 17, 2007: David Brown, 47, Park Forest, Illinois
356. March 17, 2007: David Mendoza, 25, West Covina, California
357. March 18, 2007: Brandon Lee Hessler, 28, New Richmond, Wisconsin
358. March 20, 2007: Christopher Eugene Fagan, 27, Harris County, Texas
359. March 23, 2007: Sergio Galvan, 35, San Antonio, Texas
360. April 10, 2007: Eugene Donjuall Gilliam, 22, Prattville, Alabama
361. April 11, 2007: Roberto Perez, 25, Indio, California
362. April 14, 2007: Unidentified male, Phoenix, Arizona
363. April 22, 2007: David Mills, 26, Hamden, Connecticut
364. April 23, 2007: Unidentified male, Houston, Texas
365. April 24, 2007: Louis Jermaine Broomfield, 35, Charleston, South Carolina
366. April 24, 2007: Walter Heller, 55, Santa Rosa, California
367. April 24, 2007: Uywanda Peterson, 43, Baltimore, Maryland
368. April 30, 2007: Roy Hamner, 59, Pearl, Mississippi
369. May 5, 2007: Daniel Bradley Young, 33, Seminole, Florida
370. May 7, 2007: Robert A. Keske, 45, Seminole, Florida
371. May 12, 2007: Trent A. Yohe, 37, Spokane, Washington
372. May 12, 2007: Jeffry Young, 54, Bremerton, Washington
373. May 14, 2007: Terrill Heath, 31, Baltimore, Maryland
374. May 15, 2007: Chance W. Shrum, 20 years old, Iola, Kansas
375. May 16, 2007: Patrick D. Hagans, 42, Valleyview, Ohio
376. May 19, 2007: Milisha Thompson, 35, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
377. May 22, 2007: Kevin DeWayne Hill, 39, Knoxville, Tennessee
378. May 23, 2007: Raymundo Guerrerro Garcia, 33, Simi Valley, California
379. May 24, 2007: Cecil Wayne Valenzuela, 39, Bakersfield, California
380. May 25, 2007: Steve Salinas, 47, San Jose, California
381. May 26, 2007: Marcus D. Skinner, 22, Seat Pleasant, Maryland
382. May 29, 2007: Doyle Moniki Jackson, 34, Benton Harbor, Indiana
383. June 2, 2007: Aaron Roe, 23, Ironton, Ohio
384. June 10, 2007: Israel Guerrero, 29, San Benito County, California
385. June 19, 2007: Juan Flores Lopez, 47, San Angelo, Texas
386. July 2, 2007: Richard Baisner, 36, Pasadena, California
387. July 6, 2007: Rafael Valentin, 35, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
388. July 8, 2007: Nathaniel Cobbs Jr., 25, Newburgh, New York
389. July 11, 2007: Donald Edward Willis, 37, Harris County, Texas
390. July 16, 2007: Albert Romero, 47, Denver, Colorado
391. July 20, 2007: Jermaine Thompson, 36, Kansas City, Missouri
392. July 25, 2007: Carlos Rodriguez, 27, Atlanta, Georgia
393. July 29, 2007: Ronald Marquez, 49, Phoenix, Arizona
394. August 2, 2007: Clyde Patrick, 44, Birmingham, Alabama
395. August 4, 2007: Gefery Johnston, 42, Chicago, Illinois
396. August 4, 2007: Stephen Spears, 49, Shelby County, Michigan
397. August 4, 2007: James Barnes, 21, Omaha, Nebraska
398. August 11, 2007: Craig Berdine, 37, Fremont, Ohio
399. August 14, 2007: Rafael Forbes, 21, Jackson, Mississippi
400. August 15, 2007: James Wells, 43, Waterford, California
401. August 16, 2007: Avery Sheron Winn, 27, Conway, South Carolina
402. August 18, 2007: Thomas Campbell, 50, Baltimore, Maryland
403. August 23, 2007: Chad Cekas, 27, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
404. August 26, 2007: Glenn Shipman Jr., 44, Portland, Oregon
405. September 3, 2007: Earl Guerrant, 47, Golf Manor, Ohio
406. September 3, 2007: Charles Gordon, 26, Vallejo, California
407. September 9, 2007: Jorge Renteria Terrquiz, 25, Anaheim, California
408. September 20, 2007: Claudio Castagnetta, 32, Quebec City, Quebec
409. October 1, 2007: Samuel Baker, 59, Quitman, Georgia
410. October 1, 2007: Keith White, 44, Kansas City, Kansas
411. October 11, 2007: Frederick L. Nelsen, 52, Wood County, Wisconsin
412. October 12, 2007: Michael Patrick Lass, 28, Orange County, California
413. October 14, 2007: Robert Dziekanski, 40, Richmond, British Columbia
414. October 14, 2007: Donald Clark Grant, 54, Asheville, North Carolina
415. October 17, 2007: Quilem Registre, 39, Montreal, Quebec
416. October 28, 2007: Randall Mark Blalock, 48, Kern County, California
417. November 1, 2007: Seldon Deshotels, 56, Lake Charles, Louisiana
418. November 2, 2007: Stefan McMinn, 44, Hendersonville, North Carolina
419. November 7, 2007: Roger Brown, 40, Miami, Florida
420. November 16, 2007: Paul Carlock, 57, Springfield, Illinois
421. November 18, 2007: Jesse Saenz, 20, Raton, New Mexico
422. November 18, 2007: Jarrel Gray, 20, Frederick, Maryland
423. November 18, 2007: Christian Allen, 21, Springfield, Florida
424. November 20, 2007: Conrad Lowman, Jacksonville, Florida
425. November 22, 2007: Howard Hyde, 45, Halifax, Nova Scotia
426. November 24, 2007: Robert Knipstrom, 36, Chilliwack, British Columbia
427. November 29, 2007: Ashley R. Stephens, 28, Ocala, Florida
428. November 30, 2007: Cesar Silva, 32, Los Angeles, California
429. December 5, Juan Mendoza Farias, 40, Maricopa County, Arizona
430. December 10, 2007: Leroy Patterson Jr., 41, Walton County, Georgia

2008
431. January 2, 2008: Brandon Smiley, 27, Mobile, Alabama
432. January 4, 2008: Ryan Rich, 33, Las Vegas, Nevada
433. January 9, 2008: Otis C. Anderson, 36, Fayetteville, North Carolina
434. January 11, 2008: Xavier Jones, 29, Coral Gables, Florida
435. January 15, 2008: Mark Backlund, 29, New Brighton, Minnesota
436. January 17, 2008: Baron Scooter Collins-Pikes, 21, Winnfield, Louisiana
437. January 18, 2008: Daniel Hanrahan, 44, Staten Island, New York
438. February 3, 2008: Louis Cryer, 32, Port Arthur, Texas
439. February 3, 2008: Joseph Davis, 50, Brandon, Mississippi
440. February 7, 2008: Richard Earl Abston, 53, Merced, California
441. February 19, 2008: Garrett Sean Farn, 41, Bakersfield, California
442. February 26, 2008: Barron Harvey Davis, 44, Mayes County, Oklahoma
443. March 4, 2008: Christopher Jackson, 37, Clay, New York
444. March 5, 2008: Steven Drussell, 41, Albuquerque, New Mexico
445. March 6, 2008: Javier Aguilar, 46, Roswell, New Mexico
446. March 18, 2008: Roberto Gonzalez, 24, Chicago, Illinois
447. March 20, 2008: Darryl Wayne Turner, 17, Charlotte, North Carolina
448. March 21, 2008: James Garland, 41, Deerfield Beach, Florida
449. March 29, 2008: Henry Bryant, 35, Indianapolis, Indiana
450. March 30, 2008: Walter Edward Haake Jr., 59, Topeka, Kansas
451. April 1, 2008: Jason Jesus Gomez, 35, Santa Ana, California
452. April 6, 2008: Yvelt Occean, 31, New Kent County, Virginia
453. April 6, 2008: Jose Mendoza-Escobar, 35, Los Angeles County, California
454. April 22, 2008: Uriah Samson Dach, 26, Richmond, California
455. April 24, 2008: Kevin Piskura, 24, Cincinnati, Ohio
456. April 24, 2008: Dewayne Chatt, 39, Memphis, Tennessee
457. April 27, 2008: Paul Thompson, 24, Greensboro, North Carolina
458. April 28, 2008: Jermaine Ward, 28, Jackson, Tennessee
459. May 4, 2008: Joe Kubat, 21, St. Paul, Minnesota
460. May 6, 2008: James S. Wilson, 22, Alton, Missouri
461. May 8, 2008: Paul J. Swider, 29, Hammond, Indiana
462. May 28, 2008: Ricardo Manuel Abrahams, 44, Woodland, California
463. May 31, 2008: Robert Ingram, 27, Raceland, Louisiana
464. June 5, 2008: Willie Maye, 43, Birmingham, Alabama
465. June 6, 2008: Donovan Graham, 39, Meriden, Connecticut
466. June 8, 2008: Quintrell T. Brannon, 25, Vincennes, Indiana
467. June 9, 2008: Tony Curtis Bradway, 26, Brooklyn, New York
468. June 23, 2008: Jeffrey Marreel, 36, Norfolk, Ontario
469. June 24, 2008: Ernest Graves, 26, Rockford, Illinois
470. June 27, 2008: Nicholas Cody, 27, Dothan, Alabama
471. July 2, 2008: Isaac Bass, 34, Louisville, Kentucky
472. July 4, 2008: Othello Pierre, 23, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
473. July 7, 2008: Arthur Bennett, 36, Brewton, Mississippi
474. July 8, 2008: Samuel DeBoise, 29, St. Louis, Missouri
475. July 8, 2008: Carlos Vargas, 42, San Bernardino, California
476. July 8, 2008: Clarence J. Smith, Jr., 29, Bertie County, South Carolina
477. July 12, 2008: Deshoun Keyon Torrence, 18, Long Beach, California
478. July 14, 2008: Marion Wilson Jr., 52, Houston, Texas
479. July 22, 2008: Michael Langan, 17, Winnipeg, Manitoba
480. July 24, 2008: Richard Smith, 46, Dallas, Texas
481. July 27, 2008: Anthony Davidson, Statesville, 29, North Carolina
482. August 4, 2008: Jerry Jones, 45, Beaumont, Texas
483. August 4, 2008: Andre Thomas, 37, Swissvale, Pennsylvania
484. August 7, 2008: Lawrence Rosenthal, 54, Hemet, California
485. August 10, 2008: Kiethedric Hines, 31, Rockford, Illinois
486. August 15, 2008: Kenneth Oliver, 45, Miami, Florida
487. August 25, 2008: Ronald Adkisson, 59, Creston, Iowa
488. August 28, 2008: Stanley James Harlan, 23, Moberly, Missouri
489. September 3, 2008: Prince Swayzer, 38, San Jose, California
490. September 3, 2008: Andy Tran, 32, Garden Grove, California
491. September 11, 2008: Roney Wilson, 46, Hillsborough, Florida
492. September 15, 2008: Guadalupe Zavala, 87, San Diego, California
493. September 17, 2008: Sean Reilly, 42, Mississauga, Ontario
494. September 19, 2008: Gabriel Bitterman, 23, Lincoln, Nebraska
495. September 25, 2008: Iman Morales, 35, New York, New York
496. September 30, 2008: Frank Frachette, 49, Langley, BC
497. October 1, 2008: Jose Anibal Amaro, 45, Orange County, Florida
498. October 18, 2008: Homer Taylor, 39, Chicago, Illinois
499. October 29, 2008: Trevor Grimolfson, 38, Edmonton, Alberta
500. October 31, 2008: Marlon Oliver Acevedo, 35, Riverside, California
501. November 2, 2008: Gordon Walker Bowe, 30, Calgary, Alberta
502. November 3, 2008: Adren Maurice Turner, 44, Mexia, Texas
503. November 9, 2008: Guy James Fernandez, 42, Santa Rosa, California
504. December 3, 2008: Leroy Hughes, 52, Covington, Kentucky
505. December 9, 2008: Quincy Smith, 24, Minneapolis, Minnesota
506. December 19, 2008: Edwin Rodriguez, 26, San Jose, California
507. December 20, 2008: Nathan Vaughn, 39, Santa Rosa, California
508. December 24, 2008: Mark Green, 46, Houston, Texas

2009In 2009, Taser International introduced the TASER X3, designed to enable law enforcers to render three targets powerless or, should the officer miss the target, have additional shots available quickly.
509. January 8, 2009: Derrick Jones, 17, Martinsville, Virginia
510. January 11, 2009: Rodolfo Lepe, 31, Bakersfield, California
511. January 22, 2009: Roger Redden, 52, Soddy Daisy, Tennessee
512. February 2, 2009: Garrett Jones, 45, Stockton, California
513. February 7, 2009: Phillip B. Munoz, 29, Pueblo County, Colorado
514. February 11, 2009: Richard Lua, 28, San Jose, California
515. February 13, 2009: Rudolph Byrd, 37, Thomas County, Florida
516. February 13, 2009: Michael Jones, 43, Iberia, Louisiana
517. February 14, 2009: Chenard Kierre Winfield, 32, Los Angeles, California
518. February 28, 2009: Robert Lee Welch, 40, Conroe, Texas
519. March 1, 2009: Terry Wayne Jackson, 22, San Bernardino, California
520. March 19, 2009: Levi Mahoney, 24, Pittsburgh, Pennsylania
521. March 22, 2009: Brett Elder, 15, Bay City, Michigan
522. March 26, 2009: Marcus D. Moore, 40, Freeport, Illinois
523. April 1, 2009: John J. Meier Jr., 48, Tamarac, Florida
524. April 3, 2009: Jermaine Lamonte Love, 35, Montclair, California
525. April 6, 2009: Ricardo Varela, 41, Fresno, California
526. April 10, 2009: Robert Mitchell, 16, Detroit, Michigan
527. April 13, 2009: Craig Prescott, 38, Modesto, California
528. April 16, 2009: Gary A. Decker, 50, Tuscon, Arizona
529. April 18, 2009: Michael Jacobs Jr., 24, Fort Worth, Texas
530. April 30, 2009: Kevin LaDay, 35, Lumberton, Texas
531. May 4, 2009: Gilbert Tafoya, 53, Holbrook, Arizona
532. May 6, 2009: Grant William Prentice, 40, Brooks, Alberta
533. May 17, 2009: Jamaal Ray Valentine, 27, La Marque, Texas
534. May 23, 2009: Gregory Rold, 37, Salem, Oregon
535. June 9, 2009: Brian Layton Cardall, 32, Hurricane, Utah
536. June 21, 2009: Kurt Platzer, 32, Warren, Ohio
537. June 13, 2009: Dwight Jerome Madison, 48, Baltimore, Maryland
538. June 20, 2009: Derek Kairney, 36, South Windsor, Connecticut
539. June 29, 2009: Shawn Iinuma, 37, Fontana, California
540. July 2, 2009: Rory McKenzie, 25, Bakersfield, California
541. July 5, 2009: Raynard Jensen Davis, 41, Los Angeles County, California
542. July 18, 2009: Charles Anthony Torrence, 35, Simi Valley, California
543. July 26, 2009: Kelly Michael Galindo, 40, San Bernardino, California
544. July 28, 2009: Eanice Cowart, 23, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
545. July 30, 2009: Jonathan Michael Nelson, 27, Riverside County, California
546. August 9, 2009: Terrace Clifton Smith, 52, Moreno Valley, California
547. August 12, 2009: Ernest Owen Ridlehuber III, 53, Greenwood, South Carolina
548. August 14, 2009: Hakim Jackson, 31, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
549. August 18, 2009: Ronald Eugene Cobbs, 38, Greensboro, North Carolina
550. August 20, 2009: Francisco P. Sesate, 36, Mesa, Arizona
551. August 22, 2009: T.J. Nance, 37, Arizona City, Arizona
552. August 26, 2009: Miguel Molina, 27, Los Angeles, California
553. August 27, 2009: Manuel Dante Dent, 27, Modesto, California
554. September 7, 2009: Shane Ledbetter, 38, Aurora, Colorado
555. September 16, 2009: Alton Warren Ham, 45, Modesto, California
556. September 19, 2009: Yuceff W. Young II, 21, Brooklyn, Ohio
557. September 21, 2009: Richard Battistata, 44, Laredo, Texas
558. September 28, 2009: Derrick Humbert, 38, Bradenton, Florida
559. October 2, 2009: Rickey R. Massey, 38, Panama City, Florida
560. October 12, 2009: Christopher John Belknap, 36, Ukiah, California
561. October 17, 2009: Frank Cleo Sutphin, 19, San Bernardino, California
562. October 27, 2009: Jeffrey C. Woodward, 33, Gallatin, Tennessee
563. November 13, 2009: Herman George Knabe, 58, Corpus Christi, Texas
564. November 14, 2009: Darryl Bain, 43, Coram, New York
565. November 16, 2009: Matthew Bolick, 30, East Grand Rapids, Michigan
566. November 17, 2009: Edward Buckner, 53, Chattanooga, Tennessee
567. November 19, 2009: Jesus Gillard, 61, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
568. November 21, 2009: Ronald Petruney, 49, Washington County, Pennsylvania
569. December 10, 2009: Hatchel Pate Adams III, 36, Hampton, Virginia
570. December 11, 2009: Paul Martin Martinez Jr., 36, Roseville, California
571. December 11, 2009: Andrew Grande, Panama City Beach, 23, Florida
572. December 13, 2009: Douglas Boucher, 39, Mason, Ohio
573. December 20, 2009: Preston Bussey III, 41, Rockledge, Florida
574. December 21, 2009: Michael D. Hawkins, 39, Springfield, Missouri
575. December 30, 2009: Stephen Palmer, 47, Stamford, Connecticut

2010In 2010, Taser International introduced the TASER XREP – eXtended Range Electronic Projectile. The XREP projectile is self-contained, wireless, and fires from a 12-gauge shotgun (X12)
576. January 6, 2010: Delano R. Smith, 21, Elkhart, Indiana
577. January 17, 2010: William R. Bumbrey III, 36, Arlington, Virginia
578. January 20, 2010: Kelly Brinson, 45, Cincinnati, Ohio
579. January 27, 2010: Joe Nathan Spruill Jr., 33, Goldsboro, North Carolina
580. January 28, 2010: Patrick Burns, 50, Sangamon County, Illinois
581. January 28, 2010: Daniel Mingo, 25, Mobile, Alabama
582. January 29, 2010: Ronald Dennis Palacios, 28, Los Angeles, California
583. February 8, 2010: Mark Andrew Morse, 36, Phoenix, Arizona
584. March 4, 2010: Roberto Olivo, 33, Tulare, California
585. March 5, 2010: Christopher A. Wright, 48, Seattle, Washington
586. March 10, 2010: Jaesun Ingles, 31, Midlothian, Illinois
587. March 10, 2010: James J. Healy, 44, Rhinebeck, New York
588. March 19, 2010: Albert Valencia, 31, Downey, California
589. April 10, 2010: Daniel Joseph Barga, 24, Cornelius, Oregon
590. April 30, 2010: Adil Jouamai, 32, Arlington, Virginia
591. May 9, 2010: Audreacus Davis, 29, DeKalb County, Georgia
592. May 14, 2010: Sukeba Olawunmi, 39, Clarkston (Dekalb County), Georgia
593. May 24, 2010: Efrain Carrion, 35, Middletown, Connecticut
594. May 28, 2010: Carl D'Andre Johnson, 48, Baltimore, Maryland
595. May 29, 2010: Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, 42, San Ysidro (San Diego), California
596. May 29, 2010: Jose Martinez, 53, Waukegan, Illinois
597. June 9, 2010: Terrelle Leray Houston, 22, Hempstead, Texas
598. June 12, 2010, Curtis Robinson, 34, Albuquerque, New Mexico
599. June 13, 2010: William Owens, 17, Homewood, Alabama
600. June 14, 2010: Jose Alfredo Jimenez, 42, Harris County, Texas
601. June 15, 2010: Michael White, 47, Vallejo, California
602. June 22, 2010: Daniel Sylvester, 35, Crescent City, California
603. June 24, 2010: Aron Firman, 27, Collingwood, Ontario
604. July 5, 2010: Damon Lamont Falls, 31, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
605. July 5, 2010: Edmund Gutierrez, 22, Imperial, California
606. July 8, 2010: Phyllis Owens, 87, Boring, Oregon
607. July 9, 2010: Marvin Louis Booker, 56, Denver, Colorado
608. July 12, 2010: Anibal Rosario-Rodriguez, 61, New Britain, Connecticut
609. July 15, 2010: Jerome Gill, 31, Chicago, Illinois
610. July 18, 2010: Edward G. Stephenson, 46, Leavenworth, Kansas
611. July 23, 2010: Jermaine Williams, 30, Cleveland, Mississippi
612. August 1, 2010: Dennis C. Sandras, 49, Houma, Louisiana
613. August 9, 2010: Andrew Torres, 39, Greenville, South Carolina
614. August 18, 2010: Martin Harrison, 50, Dublin, California
615. August 19, 2010: Adam Disalvo, 30, Daytona Beach, Florida
616. August 20, 2010: Stanley Jackson, 31, Superior Township, Michigan
617. August 23, 2010: Michael Ford, 50, Livonia, Michigan
618. August 25, 2010: Eduardo Lopez-Hernandez, 21, Las Vegas, Nevada
619. August 31, 2010: King Ramses PJG Hoover, 27, Spanaway, Washington
620. September 4, 2010: Adam Collier, 25, Gold Bar, Washington
621. September 10, 2010: Larry Rubio, 20, Lemoore, California
622. September 12, 2010: Freddie Lee Lockett, 30, Dallas, Texas
623. September 16, 2010: Gary Lee Grossenbacher, 48, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
624. September 17, 2010: David Cornelius Smith, 28, Minneapolis, Minnesota
625. September 18, 2010: Joseph Frank Kennedy, 48, La Mirada, California
626. October 4, 2010: Javon Rakestrau, 28, Lafayette, Louisiana
627. October 7, 2010: Patrick Johnson, 18, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
628. October 10, 2010: Michael Ryan Bain, 31, Billings, Montana
629. October 14, 2010: Karreem A. Ali, 65, Montgomery County, Maryland
630. October 19, 2010: Troy Hooftallen, 36, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
631. November 4, 2010: Eugene Lamott Allen, 40, Wilmington, Delaware
632. November 4, 2010: Mark D. Shaver, 32, Kent, Ohio
633. November 6, 2010: Robert A. Neill Jr., 61, Mount Joy, Pennsylvania
634. November 25, 2010: Rodney Green, 36, Waco, Texas
635. November 27, 2010: Blaine Terrell McElroy, 37, Jackson County, Mississippi
636. December 2, 2010: Clayton Early James, 45, Elizabeth City, North Carolina
637. December 11, 2010: Anthony Jones, 44, Las Vegas, Nevada
638. December 13, 2010: Linel Lormeus, 26, Naples, Florida
639. December 21, 2010: Christopher Knight, 35, Brunswick, Georgia
640. December 31, 2010: Rodney Brown, 40, Cleveland, Ohio

2011In 2011, Taser International will roll out the new TASER X2, “the result of consulting with its customers about what they were seeking in a stun gun.”

641. January 5, 2011: Kelly Wayne Sinclair, 41, Amarillo, Texas
642. February 5, 2011: Robert Ricks, 23, Alexandria, Louisiana
643. February 24, 2011: Unidentified male, age unknown, Los Angeles, California
644. March 14, 2011: Christopher Davis, 36, Los Angeles, California
645. March 15, 2011: Brandon Bethea, 24, Harnett County, North Carolina
646. March 17, 2011: Christopher Apericio, 24, Las Cruces, New Mexico
647. March 20, 2011: Dale Lee Mitchell, 34, Pinellas Park, Florida
648. March 21, 2011: Jerry Perea, 38, Albuquerque, New Mexico
649. March 24, 2011: Johnny Leija, 34, Madill, Oklahoma
650. March 31, 2011: Estyl Lee Hall, 67, Pend Orielle, Oregon
651. April 3, 2011: Jairious McGhee, 23, Tampa, Florida
652. April 4, 2011: Demetrius Johnson, 38, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
653. April 9, 2011: Ervin Terrill Motley, 38, St. Francis City, Arkansas
654. April 9, 2011: James Robert Hudson, 34, Whittier, California
655. April 21, 2011: Adam Spencer Johnson, 33, Orlando Florida
656. April 23, 2011: Ronald H. Armstrong, 43, Pinehurst, North Carolina
657. April 25, 2011: Kevin Darius Cambell, 40, Tallahassee, Florida
658. May 1, 2011: Marcus Brown, 26, Waterbury, Connecticut
659. May 6, 2011: Daniel McDonnell, 40, West Babylon, New York

Electrocution Victim's Family Routed in California Taser Death Case

2011-05-10T16:16:00.001-07:00

Hat Tip to Eddie G. Griffin (BASG).
Unfortunately, it seems that the estate of Robert Heston, and his family, have been routed so far in the electrocution device suit they first filed and was first heard in San Jose District Court and then appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Perhaps the family and their lawyers will petition for en banc (full court) review of the three-judge panel opinion, although their is no inherent right to en banc review and it is mostly granted in cases considered to be of great importance.

With so many District Court appointments to be made and affirmed by the US Senate still, this case was heard by a three judge panel, composed RYMER and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges, and "The Honorable Ronald B. Leighton, United States District Judge for the Western District of Washington, sitting by designation."

Bloomberg reported in June 2008 that:

A San Jose, California, jury yesterday said Taser had failed to warn police in Salinas, California, that prolonged exposure to electric shock from the device could cause a risk of cardiac arrest. The jury awarded $1 million in compensatory damages and $5.2 million in punitive damages to the estate of Robert Heston, 40, and his parents. The jury cleared the police officers of any liability.

However, the District Court judge immediately threw out the punitive damages, while affirming the jury's compensatory damages finding.

Now, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed the lower court's denial of punitive damages AND thrown out the compensatory damages as well.

In overturning the compensatory damages, the Ninth Circuit said:

4. However, the district court abused its discretion when it affirmed the jury’s compensatory damages award to the estate. While the estate presented evidence suggesting that Heston was treated by emergency medical technicians, transported to the hospital, and received continuing medical treatment, it presented no evidence at trial showing compensable “loss or damage that the decedentsustained or incurred before death, . . . not includ[ing] any damages for pain, suffering, or disfigurement.’” County of L.A. v. Superior Court, 981 P.2d 68, 70 (Cal. 1999) (quoting Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 377.34; emphasis altered). Thus, although the trial judge had discretion to “weigh the evidence” when it considered TASER’s motion for a new trial, it abused that discretion by denying the motion where there was simply no evidence to weigh in support of the jury award. See Air-Sea Forwarders, Inc. v. Air Asia Co., 880 F.2d 176, 190 (9th Cir. 1989). We accordingly reverse and vacate the compensatory damages award.

In affirming the denial of punitive damages, the Court of Appeals found that:

Under California law, punitive damages may be awarded when a plaintiff proves by clear and convincing evidence that a defendant acted with “such a

7

conscious and deliberate disregard of the interests of others that his conduct may
be called willful or wanton.” Taylor v. Superior Court, 598 P.2d 854, 856
(Cal. 1979) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); see Cal. Civ. Code
§ 3294(a). Here, TASER made efforts, albeit insufficiently, to warn its customers
about the risks posed by prolonged TASER deployment. While this may amount to negligence, it does not rise to the level “willful or wanton” conduct. Tomaselli v. Transamerica Ins. Co., 31 Cal. Rptr. 2d 433, 444 n.14 (Ct. App. 1994) (such conduct must be “inconsistent with the hypothesis that [it] . . . was the result of . . . mere negligence or other such noniniquitous human failing.”). Moreover, although the jury found that a “reasonable manufacturer” would have known that prolonged TASER deployment may cause cardiac arrest, it answered “No” to the question asking whether TASER actually “knew” of that risk. We accordingly affirm the district court’s order vacating the punitive damages award to the estate.

The only victory for the plaintiff's lawyers and the public is that the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected a requested by Taser International that the plaintiffs pay Taser's legal fees.

The Ninth Circuit Appeals judges said,

"Each party will bear its own costs."

because there was sufficient merit to the case that plaintiffs should not be penalized for having brought the case in the first place.

Had the plaintiffs been ordered to pay legal fees it would have dissuaded families across the country from filing complaints against Taser International.

Overall, this is a particularly bad case result for Taser petitioners, even though the presiding judges said,

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.

Killing Osama Bin Laden Doesn't Free the American Black Prison Population

2011-05-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

Opinion, first posted at the Francis L. Holland Blog.

I had hoped that people in the US and elsewhere would quickly forget about Bin Laden and refocus on 15% unemployment among Black American adults, and the one million of us in jails and prisons, but that refocusing doesn't seem to be happening. President Obama and the "intelligence" agencies now have an endless supply of Osama Bin Laden mementos and goodies with which to regale the media and the public, and the story will be dragged out like the equally inconsequential death of Princess Diana.

A comment by TheEvilOne prompts me to address the Bin Laden case again, only with respect to its political lessons and implications in the United States.

What strikes me is that, if indeed Bin Laden was killed, Obama had a pretty good idea of what country he was in. Readers may remember that when Senators Clinton and Obama were running for Democratic nomination, Obama successfully avoided being called "anti-war" by promising to attack targets in PAKISTAN to 'get the terrorists," with or without Pakistan's permission. Hillary Clinton said Obama's plan was immature and illegal, but Obama stuck to his drones and won the nomination.

Today, if anything that the CIA operatives are telling us on the news is true, Osama Bin Laden was, in fact, in PAKISTAN. Had it been known during the Democratic nomination primaries that Bin Laden was in Pakistan and Pakistan was refusing to cooperate with Bin Laden's capture, then both Clinton and Obama would have been compelled to talk tough about going into Pakistan. Obama promised to do it and kept his promise, while Clinton promised NOT to do it and lost the nomination to Obama.

How was Obama so fortunate as to promise to effectively invade the very country where Bin Laden was hiding? It makes Obama seem pretty smart in retrospect, but in an irrelevant sort of way, from the perspective of Black Americans and their homes in foreclosure, or already living out of their cars.

Of course, Obama has been invading foreign oil-producing countries at the average rate of one per year (Pakistan and then Libya), so we can expect him to invade six more oil-producing countries by the end of his second term. None of it will help Black people in the United States one bit.

Black people are far more afraid of their local police and the all-white juries than they are of anyone in the Middle East or Africa, and with good reason: "TheEvilOne" pointed to the following article, entitled, "The Failed Drug War Has Created a Human Rights Nightmare," with strikingly similar facts and metaphors, like the fact that Obama-Land is not the "Promised Land," which is still out of reach, in large measure because white America targeted Black America for imprisonment and the loss of many of the rights of citizenship:

We declared a war known as the War on Drugs. The war has driven the quintupling of our prison population in a few short decades. The vast majority of the startling increase in incarceration in America is traceable to the arrest and imprisonment of poor people of color for non-violent, drug-related offenses. Families have been torn apart, young lives shattered, as parents grieve the loss of loved ones to the system, often hiding their grief under a cloak of shame. Politicians claim that the enemy in this war in is a thing -- "drugs" -- not a group of people, but the facts prove otherwise.

African Americans have been admitted to prison on drug charges at a rate up to 57 times higher than whites. In some states, 80 to 90 percent of all drug offenders sent to prison have been African American. The rate of Latino imprisonment has been staggering as well. Although the majority of illegal drug users and dealers are white, three-fourths of all people imprisoned for drug offenses have been black and Latino.

In my opinion, one million Blacks in US jails and prisons is a far more important statistic than 3,000 killed at Ground Zero. "Ground Zero" for Black people is the state prisons in the fifty states, and the felony convictions:

Millions of people in the United States, primarily poor people of color, are denied the very rights supposedly won in the Civil Rights Movement: the right to vote, the right to serve on juries, and the right to be free from discrimination in employment, housing, access to education, and public benefits. They have been branded "criminals" and "felons" and now find themselves relegated to a permanent, second-class status for the rest of their lives.

We feel as if we are under siege, because we are under siege. Every Black kid knows it and every Black parent and adult has fought it, but we are a minority--marginalized, repressed and imprisoned.

Tonya McDowell, US School Financing and the "Theft" of High Quality Education

2011-04-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

In the United States, education is a valuable commodity that parents buy for their children when parents select the town, city or state in which they will live. Schools typically are funded largely based on the taxes imposed on home-owners and others in a particular locale. Where house values are high, more money is raised by charging realty taxes based on a percentage of the values of the homes.

When parents buy or rent real estate in a given town, they simultaneously buy the right to send their children to the school in that town that is closest to their home. This creates a direct and predictable relationship between the income and assets of the parents and the funding available for the education of their children.

The quality of education is determined not only by expenses per student, but also the qualifications of teachers, class sizes quality of libraries and lab equipment and other factors. Above all, educators and supervisors know that they will be held accountable for the percentage of students graduating and entering high quality and high status colleges and universities. Wealthy parent simply will not permit their children to receive an education whose poverty is evident in college entrance exams.

This brings us to the case of the allegation that Tonya McDowell "the homeless single mother who was arrested for sending her child to the “wrong” school district (similar to the case of Kelley Williams-Bolar a few months ago)." http://blacknews5.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/tonya-mcdowell-update-the-parents-of-connecticut-come-together/

Short of murder, it ought not be a crime to send one's children to the best available schools, regardless of where they are. To the contrary, the failure to seek out the best education available might even be considered child neglect, if American society were not ordered in such a way as to guarantee that poor children typically receive poor educations. For example, it is not unusual in some major urban school districts for 50% of high school students to leave high school without receiving a high school diploma.

It's in this context that we see the motivation and intent of Tonya McDowell, and we cannot help but agree with her laudable goal even if some readers find fault with the way in which she sought to achieve her goal, which was to obtain the best quality education available to her for her child.

Should "stealing" education from a wealthy school district be a crime at all? Or should we all be attempting to do the same thing--to achieve the best possible educations for our children, even if it is paid for by wealthy parents' property taxes in a suburb where we parents are unable to rent or buy a home?

The system of funding schools through property taxes is obviously unfair to children whose only crime was to be born on the wrong side of the train tracks. It is this system that must ultimately be modified so that a quality education for our children is a right and not commodity that only the rich can afford through their property taxes.

Georgia to Execute Troy Davis, Despite Gaping Holes In State's Case

2011-04-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

Troy Davis is about to be executed -- even though he may be innocent.

Tell Georgia to spare Troy Davis' life.

This is an emergency announcement from Color of Change:

Dear Atty,

In 1991, Troy Davis was convicted of murdering a white police officer. Though there's major evidence that Davis didn't commit the crime, Georgia is prepared to put him to death. We have a good chance of stopping this -- but only if we speak up now.

The fact is, no physical evidence connected Davis to the murder. Seven of the original nine witnesses have recanted, with many saying their testimony was a result of law enforcement pressure. Of the remaining witnesses, one is highly suspect and the other could be the actual culprit in the officer's murder.

Now, despite these and other facts, the state of Georgia has taken the first steps toward Davis' execution -- and only the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole stands between Davis and the lethal injection chamber.

Georgia may be about to kill an innocent man. That's not justice. Please ask the Georgia Parole Board to spare Troy Davis' life, before it's too late -- and it's critical that you ask others to do the same:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/troy/

Since Troy Davis' 1991 conviction, numerous facts have emerged that introduce significant doubt as to his guilt. These facts include:

All but two of the original witnesses against Troy Davis have signed affidavits recanting their earlier testimony. Most claim that their testimony was coerced by police officers.¹
Multiple witnesses say that another man -- one of the original witnesses against Davis -- has claimed to have slain the fallen officer.²
The weapon used in the murder was never found. The only physical evidence connecting Davis to the crime was indirect, circumstantial -- and new testimony disputes Davis's connection to that evidence.³

In light of this evidence, the Supreme Court granted Davis another chance. But instead of an actual new trial before a jury, which would mean the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt is on the prosecutor, he got an evidentiary hearing before a single federal judge where Davis' lawyers had the burden to meet an impossibly high and undefined legal standard.

In light of this, it was sad -- but no surprise -- when the judge rejected the new evidence and cleared the way for Davis' execution. However, even he acknowledged lingering doubt, noting that the case against Davis was not "ironclad."

But "ironclad" is exactly what the evidence should be in order to put someone to death. If the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole doesn't act to stop Davis' execution, they'll run a serious risk of putting an innocent man to death. That is not acceptable.

Please join us, along with our partners at Amnesty International and the NAACP, in asking the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole to save Troy Davis' life by commuting his sentence to life in prison. And when you do, please ask your friends and family to do the same.

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/troy/

Thanks and Peace,

-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Matt, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
April 20th, 2011

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU--your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

http://www.colorofchange.org/donate

References:

1. “Troy Davis – Finality over Fairness,” Amnesty International USA
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/808?akid=1957.202094.Tk29Fw&t=7

2. See Reference 1

3. See Reference 1

2011-04-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

The second segment of the above video reports that a teenage high school girl was on the bus when she observed the manner in which Newark, NJ police were treating a man who had become unconscious on a city bus in which she, also, was a passenger. The girl began filming the public's police in a public place and then she was arrested my Newark Police. She was later released with no charges filed. Obviously, she was exercising her First Amendment right to free speech and the police had no reason to arrest her in the first place.

What is remarkable about this second segment of the above video is that Fox News, a Republican propaganda organ, (which is so not because I say so, but because Fox hires Republican candidates such as Sarah Palin as commentators when they are not in office), Fox nonetheless reports negatively on illegal police behavior and abuse of the public. I wonder (and I imagine) that the girl arrested was Black. If so, that makes Fox News' interest in this story doubly notable, since Fox is not known to focus on Police brutality as a cause for them to take up.

Meanwhile, the first segment of the Fox video above hammers President Obama, blaming him for what they call a "one hundred percent increase in gas prices" since he was elected. Although I'm not even sure why Obama wants to be president anymore, I cannot publish the first segment above without putting it in some factual context. Just for some perspective from a mainstream (but not necessarily honest) news source, we go to the US News site and find the following:

Few issues have more of an impact on voters than the rising cost of gasoline. Soaring prices at the pump make commuting more expensive and put a crimp in motorists' vacation plans. Businesses that rely on gasoline often raise prices to keep pace and are sometimes forced to limit expansion and hiring. At another level, high gas prices suggest that America's fate is not in its own hands, that the country's way of life is at the mercy of oil-rich nations that mean us harm or don't care about our well-being. (Link to other page deleted.)

That's why so many politicians in Washington are suddenly jumping on the gas-price issue. The stakes are particularly high for President Obama, who is up for re-election next year. Some of the lowest presidential approval ratings have been recorded when there was a "gas crisis," either shortages or high prices or both, according to Gallup. This happened to President Richard Nixon in 1973, President Jimmy Carter in 1979, George H.W. Bush in 1990, and George W. Bush in 2005. Americans of a certain age remember vividly one of the worst gasoline-related crises in recent history, when oil shortages resulted in long lines at filling stations across the country during the mid-1970s. No one wants to go through that again.

I would have tended to agree that high gas prices would weigh against a President's re-election, until I recall that President George W. Bush started wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which wars made the availability of gasoline and heating oil seem less certain, and therefore caused gas prices to spike. Nonetheless, he was re-elected for a number of reasons which are not the subject of the Police Brutality (and Atrocity) Blog.

TEXAS INJUSTICE: BOBBY YATES – WRONGFUL CONVICTION IN THE MAKINGS

2011-03-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Brenda Cherry

Phone: 903-739-9122

Contact: Nancy Lockhart, M.J.

Phone: 843-217-4649

TEXAS INJUSTICE: BOBBY YATES – WRONGFUL CONVICTION IN THE MAKINGS

(Lamar County Texas, City of Paris), TX – 3/20/2010 -- Residing in the deeply troubled and [color-aroused] town of Paris, Texas lives a Black gentleman who has suffered a lower body amputation including a penectomy. Mr. Bobby Yates, age 51, lost his lower limbs and lower body as a result of a hunting accident 20 years ago.

On Wed. March 23, 2011, Bobby Yates is facing jury selection for the sexual assault of a 16 year old white girl. On March 18, 2008 Yates was attacked in his home and called 911. The 911 tape clearly plays his cries for assistance but, the police report says otherwise. Bobby Yates is yet another wrongful conviction in the makings.

A photo of Yates was taken for the grand jury indictment and he appears to be standing in that photograph. His height is not included with the grand jury information. Mr. Yates is not able to stand as he has no legs.

Bobby Yates is scheduled for jury selection on Wed. March 23, 2011. His court appointed attorney has filed a motion to withdraw as attorney of record. That motion has not been heard to date. Bobby would be pleased with the attorney's removal as he has not prepared for his case properly, refused to acquire expert witness testimony and has tried to coerce Yates into a plea deal. Masses are needed in the courthouse on Wednesday March 23, 2011 where jury selection is scheduled in the case of The State Of Texas v. Boby Yates.

Updates: http://justiceforbobbyyates.blogspot.com

Court House Address

1119 North Main Street

Paris, Texas

9:00am Wed. March 23, 2011

--
Nancy Lockhart, M.J.
http://nancylockhart.blogspot.com

Did Frederick Germaine in Mississippi Hang Himself or Was he Lynched?

2011-03-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

Did Frederick Germaine in Mississippi hang himself or was he lynched and, if so, by whom? Here is a link to more YouTube videos posing the same questions and offering various arguments and opinions.

BlogTalkRadio has a number of interviews with family members.

Was Star Black MS High School Football Player Billy Joe Johnson Murdered By a Sheriff's Deputy Because Johnson's Girlfriend Had White Skin?

2011-02-26T14:59:00.000-08:00

African American Pundit (AAP) asks how and why a seventeen year-old star high school football player Billy Joe Johnson died on the road, shot with a shotgun, in the presence of a George County, Mississippi sheriff's deputy? The police say Billy Joe Johnson had tried to break into the house of his white girlfriend (he had the admiration of girls of every skin color), but the police also say that Billy Joe Johnson died in a typical traffic stop, after he ran a red light.

The police say that the sheriff's deputy went o radio from his car when all of a sudden Billy Joe shot himself in the mouth with a shot gun, and the shotgun was found laying on top of him. I wish the late Johnny Cochran were alive, such was his ability to show the absurdity of police testimony before a jury. But, Johnny Cochran has gone on to greener pastures, leaving his his legacy for the rest of us to emulate. 'If the story doesn't fit, it must be bullshit.'

So which of the police's two stories is true, if any of them is true. Did he die because his white girlfriend called the police after he allegedly tried to break into her house? Did he die because he ran a red light in a typical traffic stop? Or did he die because he was the most famous and renowned member of his community, beloved by all except those who viscerally hate Black men, and particularly Black men who date white women.

This case shows the poverty of the word "racism". If the sheriff's deputy was responsible in some way, was it because he was envious, jealous, color-aroused to envy, jealousy and fury by Johnson's bichromatic relationships, or did he die because white policemen believe that all Black men deserve to be in prison or dead. Did Billy Joe die because he didn't bow and scrape in the face of the sheriff's deputy?

It seems to me that the white girlfriend whose home was allegedly the target of a break-in attempt by Johnson that night is a valuable witness in this case. Did she call the police? Was she afraid of her boyfriend? Or is this alleged detail just another piece of propaganda invented by the George County, MS Sheriff's Department in a bold attempt to legitimize the execution of a star football player who had not even allegedly committed a capital crime or threatened an officer?

Don't the police ALWAYS come forward with some unrelated and alleged act of wrongdoing in a young Black man's history in an attempt to demonstrate that police probably made the right decision when they decided to execute a Black man during a traffic stop?

This case stinks like rat that died in a hidden corner of the House of America.

There is so much that we don't know. That's why we call on Attorney General Eric Holder to visit the family in Mississippi and comfort them in the knowledge that the Justice Department is doing everything possible to find and disseminate the facts in this case. If President Obama can meet on the White House lawn with a police officer whose feelings have been hurt, then certainly Attorney General Eric Holder can meet in Mississippi with the grieving and anguished family of the late Billy Joe Johnson, promising them as much action is legally warranted after a full investigation.

It cannot and must not be a capital crime for a Black teenager to be a star football player and to date women regardless of their skin color. And Black young men must not die at random at the hands of sheriffs' deputies in the States of Mississippi in the year 2011.

I call on Attorney General Eric Holder to personally meet with the family, and to order the questioning of the sheriff's deputy and the white girlfriend, and gather others evidence as the facts warrant, before deciding what action is appropriate to vindicate the right to be alive, even if you are a star high school Black football player with a white girlfriend in Mississippi.

Ms. Recy Taylor: Police Colluded When Black Mother was Gang Raped in 1944 by Local White Men

2011-02-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

This is a very compelling guest post by African American Pundit.

As the story of Recy Taylor gets told through the Internet by The Root, Field Negro, and other African American and progressive bloggers, so does the need to fight for justice. Across the nation, African Americans, infact, all Americans are reading and learning about the horror experienced by Recy Taylor.

Recy Taylor at 90, standing tall and still waiting for justice.

As Reported by The Root, Cynthia Gordy, “Sept. 3, 1944: It's a damp evening in the Alabama black belt, nearly midnight, but services at Rock Hill Holiness Church in the small town of Abbeville have just let out.

Painting of Rock Hill Holiness Church

Source: at the dark end of the street.com

Recy Taylor, a 24-year-old sharecropper, sets out along the town's fertile peanut plantations, accompanied for the walk home by two other worshippers from the African-American congregation. Moments later, a green Chevrolet rolls by -- and their routine journey takes a horrifying turn.

Wielding knives and guns, seven white men get out of the car, according to Taylor and witnesses from a state investigation of the case.

One shoves Taylor in the backseat; the rest squeeze in after her and ride off. Her panicked friends run to tell the sheriff. After parking in a deserted grove of pecan trees, the men order the young wife and mother out at gunpoint, shouting at her to undress. Six of them rape Taylor that night. Once finished, they drive her back to the road, ordering her out again before roaring off into the darkness.

Days after the brutal attack, Taylor's story traveled through word of mouth, catching the attention of a Montgomery NAACP activist named Rosa Parks. A seasoned anti-rape crusader, who focused on the sexual assaults of black women that were commonplace in the segregated South, Parks would eventually help bring the case international notice. Despite her efforts, however, in Jim Crow-era Alabama, Taylor's assailants were never punished.” More HERE

Fast forward to today, days after The Root’s report on the brutal attack, Taylor's story still travels, this time not only by word of mouth, but also through the internet, through black bloggers, and then through word of mouth, catching the attention of thousands of bloggers and readers throughout the U.S. and around the world.

Today it’s not only the Montgomery NAACP activist named Rosa Parks who would eventually help bring the case international notice, today it is the internet and blogs New Black Woman, Marians Blog, Black Femme blog, Black Buzz, New Black Man, Damn Theory in of 2010, African American News and Commentary and many other Black and progressive blogs.

Family supports Recy Taylor from a distance.

Enter Tracey, who resides in New York state with her mother (Mrs M), who at one time lived in… yes you guessed it, Abbeville, Alabama.

Tracey, in an inclusive Interview with African American Pundit shares more information on this continuing story of Recy Taylor: A Symbol of Jim Crow's Forgotten Horror

AAP: So Tracey, What is your involvement in the Recy Taylor Story?

Tracey : Well Pundit, I first read about the Recy Taylor story on The Root and The Field Negro.

After talking with my mom and family I decided to write the Field Negro asking how I could help make this story come to life throughout the afrosphere/afrospear and blogosphere. I guess you and he talked about it, and that’s how I’m here now talking with you.

AAP: So walk us through what happened when you read the story:

Tracey: “As I was reading the story I thought hmm… Alabama. Then I read Abbeville, Alabama; wait a minute, Abbeville, that were my mom is from, it’s a very small town and literally, everyone knows everybody, so I said, let me call my mom (Mrs M) and ask her if she was familiar with Ms. Taylor and her story.”

AAP: So what happened?

Tracey: “Well Pundit, I lot of things were going through my head at the time. First off, I knew I had to be careful with questions that I asked my mom, I have always been sensitive about that, because I know her experiences back in Alabama during that time could bring back good memories, but also horrible memories of Jim Crow...” So, at first I asked my mom if she heard about this gang rape that took place in the forties in Abbeville, Alabama.

My mom asked the woman's name… Then there was silence… and after a 15 or 20 seconds she said that is my Uncle Virgil's daughter. At that point, I thought to myself… wow that makes her my cousin… Well, to say I was stunned would be an understatement. I then went on to ask her many questions about the incident and the more my mom talked, I just could not believe what was happening.”

AAP: So Your Mom and dad were in the movement?

Tracey: “My mom and dad grew up in Alabama and were active participants in what we now call "The Civil Rights Movement"; sometimes I believe people think of it as some glorious movement, but instead these were people who were sick and very tired of the treatment they were receiving and decided to take part in civil disobedience. I was always reluctant to ask my mom or my dad about their experiences in Alabama, due to what bad memories my questions would dredge up. And here I was asking about an incident that happened in her hometown and I found out about it on a national blog. I was talking to another younger cousin of mine and we cannot believe that we both had learned about Ms. Recy's this way.”

The rapist may have been a Federal workers son and his friends

AAP: So what more do you know, or can share at this time?

Tracey: “My mom shared with me that when this happened she was a girl, she learned about what happened from hearing "the old folks" talk. Allegedly one of the participants was my mom's and Ms. Recy's mailman son and his friends. Everyone knew who did it, but the sheriff wouldn't arrest anyone. My mom also said she was left on the side of the road like trash after they were done. My mom's sister, my Aunt X, (she still lives in Abbeville, Alabama so I will use X for now) told her that in 1991, Ms. Recy's brother tried to get the authorities to investigate the case, but he refused saying that those involved were dead. Not true.”

AAP: Is your mom available for an interview?

Tracey: Yes she and my Aunt are available to assist in any way they can to bring this chapter of Ms. Recy Taylor into the open and provide closure for her as she sees fit. Since Ms. Recy only wants an apology from the state of Alabama; I support her in that request. It would be wonderful if the Governor would ensure that would happen. It's the very least he could do.

AAP: Thank You Tracey. I look forward to further discussing this situation with you, your mom, and your aunt in the upcoming days.

Sidebar: Tracey, her mother Mrs. M, and Aunt X, all family to Recy Taylor, are eager to continue the Fight for Justice in support of Recy Taylor. These strong Black women want justice to be served in Abbeville, (Henry County) Alabama. They have all gone from disbelief, anger, shock to a place in which they want to right a wrong.

As The Root reports, “It's unclear what legal options the family has today, but because Alabama has no statute of limitations on rape, McGuire posts that Taylor's case could potentially be reopened if the assailants are still alive. "There may be a possibility that they could sue the county or sheriff's department for obstruction of justice, given the cover-up," she said. "A creative attorney could certainly find a way." Tracey agrees with her Cousin Recy Taylor who recently said in The Root, "It was a long time ago," she says finally. "But I still think something should have been done about it."

This is part 1 of a 3 part interview. Part 2, Recy Taylor A Fight for Justice on Monday… Here on this blog.

Bloggers, please repost or link to this post. Let's get the word out that Recy Taylor deserves true justice.

Cross posted on MYDD, African American Pundit's BlogtTalkRadio Blog, Francis Holland Blog, Democratic Afrosphere, TheLoop21 and Now Public

Video Shows Houston PD Hit Teen With Car, Kick Him Repeatedly in the Head and Groin

2011-02-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

African-American Pundit tells me that the biggest news in the United States right now is this: Houston police rammed a Black teenager with their car, causing him to fly over the car and fall on the other side. And then, with Chad Holley on the ground and his hands in a position to be cuffed, the police kicked Chad Holley in the head over and over again, while also kicking him in between his legs, in the reproductive organs. According to Houston's local ABC affiliate , the video shows:

Houston police kicking, punching, and stomping teenage burglary suspect Chad Holley who had run, but was now clearly trying to surrender. That video obtained by 13 Undercover . . .

Watch the video and tell me if you see what I do.

This is one more incident and example of proof that police in the United States of America believe that hitting, stomping and killing Black people is part of their job description.

I am a US citizen. Sometimes people offer to pay my way back to the United States for one reason or another. Each time, over the last seven years, my answer has been, 'No', and what you see on this video is part, but only one part, of the reason why.

NYPD Kills 72 Year Old Man Over SeatBelt Violation

2011-02-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

Hat Tip to the Intersection Between Madness and Reality Afrospear blog for the following excerpt, with the story told in full at Rippa's blog.

Police said the wife didn't have identification for her seatbelt summons, so her 72 year-old husband ran home to get it, and then died of a heart-attack.

The woman's lawyer, Bonita Zelman, said police refused to let the husband drive home to get the ID. Instead, he walked home about half a mile back and forth and returned to the pharmacy about 45 minutes later.

While the husband was away, the wife got her medicine and the cops wrote her a summons based on her name and address from the prescription.

The couple eventually got back in the car and drove off. About a block or so away, Robert Hudson collapsed behind the wheel and later died at Franklin Hospital.

"There was no reason not to let him drive home," Zelman said. "He wasn't the one getting the summons. Instead, they had him walk home. He tried to walk as fast as he could, but he's 72 years old and some of the walk is uphill."

It's cases like this that compel the existence and persistence of the Police Brutality (and Atrocity) Blog. Making a 72 year-old man walk 45 minutes to get identification for an alleged seatbelt violation is attrocious. Regardless of the skin color(s) of the police officers involved, a white couple would not have been treated this way. Nobody should be treated this way!

PRESS RELEASE - Jamie Scott Has Been Hospitalized

2011-01-26T14:21:00.000-08:00

From: Nancy Lockhart <thewrongfulconviction@gmail.com>
Date: January 25, 2011 11:43:53 AM EST
To: ActionForScottSisters@groups.facebook.com
Subject: PRESS RELEASE - Jamie Scott Has Been Hospitalized

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MRS EVELYN RASCO
CONTACT: MRS EVELYN RASCO
850-375-4336

E-Mail: thewrongfulconviction@gmail.com

JAMIE SCOTT HOSPITALIZED - BROTHER IN AFGHANISTAN NEEDS TO COME HOME

(Pensacola), FL – 12/25/11 – Jamie Scott has been hospitalized with an excessively high potassium level. The sisters were released from prison to serve life on parole and have had a very rough time adjusting with little funds to support themselves. Their mother is on a fixed income and unable to make necessary repairs as a result of storm damage to the house. These repairs require immediate attention to accommodate Jamie upon her release from the hospital.

Currently, their brother serving in Afghanistan owns the home and is the only person who is able to conduct business regarding the house -- the insurance company will not comply with Mrs. Rasco. Willie James Scott Jr., is in need of your assistance to get home. Please contact all media outlets and make this information public.

--
Nancy Lockhart, M.J.
http://nancylockhart.blogspot.com
843.217.4649

Evelyn Rasco and "Free the Scott Sisters Blog" Criticized NAACP

2011-01-01T07:17:00.000-08:00

The NAACP already has a bad reputation for trying to take political credit and solicit financial contributions from the public in cases that the NAACP ignored until the national press moved in. In the case of the Jena Six, it was discovered that most of the contributions the NAACP received when it sprang on the scene were spent not mostly on the legal defense for the Jena Six, but rather half of the money was spent on NAACP internal administration. So, public giving to the NAACP did not help the Jena Six directly as much as it helped the NAACP.

Jack and Jill Politics said at that time, quoting Yobachi's TheJena6Blog,

Yobachi’s got all the facts at The Jena Six Blog. The NAACP has finally released a report on their Jena 6 activities and fundraising. As a member, I’m disgusted. Color of Change raised $200,000, mostly from individual donors, and gave 90% of the funds to the lawyers representing the Jena 6 families and to the families themselves. That’s quite a contrast.
I’m an NAACP member and I’m offended by the NAACP’s inefficiency and also by their taking advantage of one of the biggest civil rights events in recent memory to fill their own coffers. That doesn’t represent my values, nor do I think that most members would be impressed by their sad performance.

Here’s a snippet from the report with Yobachi’s notes in bold and brackets.
Contributions received by the NAACP in response to the Jena Campaign include:
Internet Contributions: $ 8,782.00
Mail Contributions: $11,112.00
Total: $19,894.00 Mail contributions of $11,112.00 include a $10,000.00 donation from celebrity musician David Bowie.[So more than half their donation money came from one rich individual. Sorry, but that's not very effective fund raising by the old guard there]
Expenses related to support to the LaSalle Parrish Branch (travel, meetings and web cast) associated with the September 20, 2007 march and streaming video of the town hall meeting total:
$10,283.00 [I don't recall that site, which I viewed a few times back in the summer and fall of last year, notifying donors that there money would go towards support of branches and for meetings. The industry standard for over head is about 35% and many think that's too high.]
Excess of revenue over expense $ 9,611.00
The NAACP will provide a check in the amount of $10,000.00 in pro rata shares, to the attorneys providing legal services to the Jena defendants. [So they took in 19,894 and spent 10,283 on themselves. That's 52% overhead. Even if you give the NAACP credit for the $389 they added to the pot, that's still 50% overhead]

Knowing that many young men and women of color outside Jena face discrimination in the criminal justice system, the NAACP has declared a State Of Emergency to call attention to the problem of unequal justice nationwide. We welcome the support and assistance of all likeminded individuals and organizations seeking systematic change and broad based solutions to racial injustice.
The NAACP and its members thank you for your continuing support and dedication to justice.

So, why does the NAACP always show up on the scene at the last minute and ask the public to contribute money to the NAACP, instead of doing what others groups do: ask the public to contribute to the defendant(s)' legal defense account?

Evelyn Rasko, who has co-published a blog about this case at least since 2009, tells us that the NAACP is at it again, profiteering for publicity and dollars off the work that others did before they arrived and making political decisions that local activists find to be incomprehensible. On April 25, 2010, the blog was critical of the NAACP presence, saying:

MDOC [Mississippi Department of Corrections] Commissioner Christopher Epps, whom we've been contacting for months regarding the disastrous level of Jamie's care and who's been steadily misinforming people that she's not as sick as we've regularly documented, even after she had to be hospitalized several times for high toxicity and infections that almost took her life, is being HONORED as the KEYNOTE SPEAKER by the Jackson County, MS NAACP at their upcoming banquet on April 30, 2010!

Link: http://www.gulflive.com/sendthispage/sendthispage.ssf?http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-living/2010/04/christopher_epps_to_speak_at_freedom_fund_banquet.html

How could this branch, which is actually portrayed as an activist branch that has courageously taken on the police dept. and most recently the fire dept., completely ignore the sickeningly outrageous case of the Scott Sisters! And to add insult to injury, laud Christopher Epps, who covers up the low-budget, some-timey care that denies Jamie Scott regular medications, regular dialysis, and the specific diet she has been told repeatedly that she needs to maintain any semblance of health. The medical care is said by inmates there to be abysmal on every level, and particularly so for Jamie Scott, with end stage kidney failure!

On December 30, 2010, the Free Scott Sisters Blog announced that the Scott sisters were free and that the arrival of the national NAACP had been useful to the case. The question is, with the sisters in jail for sixteen years, what took the NAACP so long? The answer seems to be that national NAACP executives only engage in high profile cases, where they are able to request that checks for the victims be sent to the NAACP instead, and where the media spotlight will be present before the NAACP arrives.

On Saturday, September 18, 2010, the The Free the Scott Sister Blog announced with amazement and jubilation, "MSNBC gave coverage to this case! Featur[ing] Mrs. Rasco and NAACP Prez,
Ben Jealous". Back on April 25, 2010, the blog was critical of the NAACP presence, saying:

Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Christopher Epps
This is a smack in the face to Mrs. Rasco, to whom Epps made false promises of relief for Jamie, as well as Jamie and Gladys Scott, their supporters, and the community at large! This organization should be fighting on the front lines for justice for the Scott Sisters and not inviting Christopher Epps to some banquet! And what of the national NAACP, why are they NOT responding to the many requests that have been made of them for the past 15 years to become involved in this case!

This is the final indignity and must not go unchallenged. This bureaucrat should not pompously sit up there picking his teeth and pontificating while Jamie Scott lay suffering in one of the very prison cells that he oversees, a prison cell that she (nor her sister) should even be in!

Please contact the president of the Jackson County, Mississippi NAACP, Curly Clark, and ask him:

* Why is the NAACP distinguishing a man who would allow a woman to deteriorate in a prison on his watch until she is now at end stage of kidney failure?

* Why does the NAACP want to hear from a man that won't permit this same, very seriously ill woman to be housed in the Medical Bldg. on the grounds of that facility so that she can be cared for by her sister and instead has her housed in a mold-infested, damp, breeding ground for the infections which have repeatedly threatened her life?

Ask Jackson County NAACP President, Curly Clark, and State President, Derrick Johnson, why they are not involved in the fight for justice for the Mississippi Scott Sisters, a shocking and internationally known atrocity occurring right in their own backyard!

This entire event should be protested if Epps remains on the program and attendees given refunds for their $30 tickets!

Curly Clark, President, Jackson County NAACP
228-762-9692

Derrick Johnson, State President
Mississippi State Conference NAACP
1072 West J.R. Lynch Street
Jackson, MS 39203
Phone: 601.353.6906
Fax: 601.353.1565
Website: http://www.naacpms.org

Was inviting the MDOC (Mississippi Department of Corrections) Commissioner Christopher Epps to a banquet a cynical political gambit on the part of the NAACP, to gain Commissioner Epps' access, attention and assistance, or was this just another example of the NAACP's policy of giving ill-timed and off-color banquets as a solution for America's troubles?

NAACP Finally Follows Media Spotlight and Dollars to Mississippi Scott Sister's Case

2010-12-31T18:03:00.001-08:00

After 16 years, NAACP Joins the Fight and Asks Public for Cash

As soon as I saw the NAACP mentioned in the Washington Post article about the Scott sisters, I smelled that the NAACP would try to take credit for the outcome, even though I've never heard their name associated with the Scott sisters' case before. I know with certainty that, although I read blogs and newspapers every day, the NAACP is NOT where I found out about this case. And now, Benjamin Jealous plans to hold a joint press conference with arch-conservative Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour to celebrate this long-fought victory which then NAACP has so recently joined.

I imagine that if the case had occurred in Louisiana, Jealous would hold a press conference with David Duke.

In fact, although the Scott sisters have been in jail for sixteen years, while the NAACP's President Ben Jealous may have first mentioned the case to the media on September 15, 2010. "NAACP backs pardon for Miss. sisters serving life", USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-14-scott-sisters_N.htm. "The president of the N.A.A.C.P., is seeking a pardon from the Governor of Mississippi, announced the Red Mountain Post on October 15, 2010. When the NAACP announces its support in a nationally-known case of injustice that has been advocated at blogs and community groups for years, and the NAACP's freshly-painted involvement becomes national news, you know that organization has lost its way. It has gone from political leader to political opportunist, just as occurred in the Jena Six case, where "NAACP Spent More on Internal Jena Six Activities Than on Youths’ Defense Funds."

I think the current role of the NAACP is to show up at our victory parties and grab the microphone before anyone else has a chance to speak, so they can ask for donations that ultimately pay for NAACP overhead instead of being used to help the named victims of injustice.

Scotty Reid of BlackTalkMedia says that the NAACP ignored the Scott sisters' case until it became a media magnet, and then the NAACP jumped into the media fray as a "Johnny come lately," opening a financial donations account from which the Scott sisters allegedly have not received a dime. "The NAACP has not contributed one dime to the legal expenses of the Scott sisters and nor has it stated that it will do so. . . " alleges Scotty Reid.

Leave it to the NAACP to announce a joint press conference with Haley Barbour, defender of the White Citizens Councils, and thereby putting the NAACP seal of Black approval on Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. , in the eyes of white people who thing the NAACP is a respected organization with real constituents. Here's Haley Barbour's resume, in reverse chronological order, which facts Ben Jealous apparently has not read, or has dismissed in the rush for the media spotlight:

Governor of Mississippi (Jan-2004 to present)
National Policy Forum Founder (1993)
Republican National Committee Chairman (1993-97)
American Success PAC
Americans for a Republican Majority
America's Foundation
Bayou Leader PAC
Bluegrass Committee
Bush-Cheney '04
Bush-Quayle '92
Campaign America Inc.
Cantor for Congress
Committee for the Preservation of Capitalism
Defend America PAC
Elizabeth Dole Committee
Elizabeth Dole for President
The Freedom Project
FreedomWorks
Friends of Giuliani Exploratory Committee
Friends of Katherine Harris
Friends of Phil Gramm PAC
Friends of Roy Blunt
George W. Bush for President
Keep Our Mission PAC
JD Hayworth for Congress
John McCain 2008
Leadership PAC 2006
Lindsey Graham for Senate
McCain 2000
McCain for Senate '98
National Council for a New America Founding Member
National Republican Senatorial Committee
New Republican Majority Fund
Northern Lights PAC
Rely on Your Beliefs Fund
Republicans Abroad Advisory Committee
Restoring the American Dream Board of Directors
Resurgent Republic Advisory Board
Santorum 2000
Senate Victory Fund PAC
Spirit of America
Washington Legal Foundation Legal Policy Advisory Board
Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity
Microsoft Washington lobbyist
Barbour, Griffith & Rogers Founder, President, CEO (1991-99)
Member of the Board of Amtrak
Bush Pioneer 2000

The only thing missing so far is Barbour's conceivable involvement in the White Citizens Councils. Now, I'd like to have one good reason why Ben Jealous wants to shake Haley Barbor's hand, if not for selfish fundraising goals and publicity after the fact. See "Haley Barbour's Praise For Racist Group Gets Noticed" on NPR.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is getting much more national attention than he usually does this week following a Weekly Standard profile in which the Republican with presidential aspirations lauds a group that was part of the racist reaction to the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s.

Haley Barbour has tried to rehabilitate the imagine of the White Citizens Councils, but Amanda Terkel at Huffington Post says:

In a 1956 article in Commentary David Halberstam describes the White Citizens Council as an organization determined to "not just oppose integration in the public schools but to stop or at least postpone it. In most of the the Deep South, where hostility to integration is nearly universal, it is this militancy and dedication that make the Council member stand out. Despite occasional efforts by supporters to build the Councils up into a movement of broad conservatism, their only serious purpose is to fight the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Not only do they contest the NAACP's desegregation suits, but they seek to cancel much else that the Negro has gained over the last half-century by keeping him out of the voting booth."

Even Haley Barbour now recognizes that the hateful and pro-segregation work of the White Citizens Councils. His state governor website says, apologetically:

GOV. BARBOUR'S STATEMENT REGARDING WEEKLY STANDARD ARTICLE
"When asked why my hometown in Mississippi did not suffer the same racial violence when I was a young man that accompanied other towns' integration efforts, I accurately said the community leadership wouldn't tolerate it and helped prevent violence there. My point was my town rejected the Ku Klux Klan, but nobody should construe that to mean I think the town leadership were saints, either. Their vehicle, called the 'Citizens Council,' is totally indefensible, as is segregation. It was a difficult and painful era for Mississippi, the rest of the country, and especially African Americans who were persecuted in that time."

I personally believe that Haley Barbour is trying to disassociate and immunize himself against attacks on his color-aroused background, perhaps because he was a member or collaborator of the White Citizens Council himself, or because his family members were. That's just a hunch, but it's worth looking into it, because I believe Haley Barbour is running for president in 2012.

This is why I find it incredibly idiotic that Ben Jealous of the NAACP is planning to hold a joint press conference with Barbour. He unwittingly or intentionally is helping to inoculate Barbour against charges of color aroused politics and helping to distract attention from Barbour's roles and affiliations in the Republican presidencies of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Meanwhile, Ben Jealous wants to get on television, pretending that his NAACP is still relevant, even though they didn't have a meaningful website during any of the days of the George W. Bush presidential administration.

Ben Jealous is prominently meeting with one of President Obama's most likely opponents for 2012, undercutting the obvious anti-Barbour opinion that Barbour is a color-aroused man from one of America's most color-aroused states. I don't know who's worse: The NAACP's Ben Jealous for helping Haley Barbour or Haley Barbour for being Haley Barbour.

Haley Barbour's motive is obvious, and Ben Jealous is seems blind to the political realities, except as they affect his own publicity and opportunities for an NAACP fundraising drive.

Justice Clarence Thomas's Nephew Treated Like a Black Man with Rasta Locks by West Jefferson Hospital Security

2010-12-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

Is it possible that in the current purportedly "color blind" and "post racial" USA, a nephew of US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas could be treated as so many other Black men have been? According to the Star Telegram, a newspaper owned by the McClatchy company, US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' nephew was known by hospital emergency room security to be epileptic, but was shocked with a "Taser" electrocution and execution device anyway.

In July, a security guard used a stun gun on the nephew of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after he allegedly became combative when trying to leave a Louisiana hospital against doctors' orders, The Washington Post reported.

ABC 26 WGNO reports:

MARRERO - Family members of Derek Thomas, nephew of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, are alleging that the younger Thomas, was punched and tased when he was admitted to West Jefferson Hospital Thursday.The family says the use of the taser caused Thomas to have a seizure.

According to at statement from the family, Derek Thomas, who is epileptic, refused to put on a hospital gown and tried to leave his examination after a possible suicide attempt. They say security "punched him in his lip, pulled out more than a fistful of his dreadlocks and tasered him to restrain him."

Doctors knew about Thomas' epilepsy, but ordered security officers to use the taser anyway, instead of sedating him, the family says.

The family is trying to have Thomas transferred to another facility.

Justice Thomas is expected to travel to New Orleans as soon as possible to check on his nephew.

Washington Post writer Philip Rucker reported:

A nephew of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas suffered a seizure after he was beaten and shocked during a scuffle with security guards at a New Orleans area hospital, relatives alleged Friday.

Derek Thomas, 25, was immobilized with a stun gun Thursday after he tried to leave the emergency room at West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero, La., his sister told WDSU, a local television station. Security responded after Thomas refused a doctor's request to put on a hospital gown and started to leave, Kimberly Thomas said.

"One of the security guards punched him in the lip," she told WDSU. "Another one pulled out more than a fist full of his hair and, from that point, they [shocked] him," possibly with a Taser.

Derek Thomas has epilepsy, she said, and he suffered a seizure shortly after the stun gun was used.

The same Washington Post article says:

Their mother, Dora Thomas, confirmed the account in an interview with The Washington Post. She said that she picked her son up from the hospital Friday and that he is resting at home.

"He's as well as can be expected," she said.

Clarence Thomas was planning to go to New Orleans to check on his nephew, Kimberly Thomas told the television station. A Supreme Court spokesman said the justice had no comment on the matter.

Reached at her home in Georgia, Clarence Thomas's mother, Leola Williams, said she, too, was joining the family in Louisiana. "I'm just worried about my grandson," Williams told The Post.

Justice Clarence Thomas has at least de facto joined the Republican Party and joined the extreme right-wing members of the US Supreme Court in decision after decision His wife is a white woman. What else can and must Justice Thomas do to assure that he and his family will be treated by security guards and police just as white people would be treated under similar circumstances? Maybe his family's trauma in this case will cause Justice Thomas to think about the problem of color-aroused injustice when Thomas votes on Supreme Court cases involving color-aroused treatment of other Blacks.

African American Pundit Expresses Doubts in Esteban Carpio Case

2010-12-17T14:40:00.000-08:00

African American Political Pundit says today:

As someone who was raised in Boston, and []known the family of Esteban Carpio for many years, I have always thought that he was wrongfully convicted of the murder of Providence Police Detective Sgt. James Allen.

I have always wondered if he was beaten even before the officer was shot.

Read more: http://africanamericanpundit.blogspot.com/2010/09/case-of-esteban-carpio.html#ixzz18QFpA5ET
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

It seems obvious to me that at some point Esteban Carpio was severely beaten about the face by police in Providence, Rhode Island. African American Political pundit wonders whether he was beaten before he shot a policeman and jumped out a forth-floor window or after that.

The question is crucial. If a reasonable were in the position of being severely beaten during questioning, instead of calmly questioned with his lawyer present, and if police continued to beat said reasonable person until his face looked like hamburger, I can imagine how that reasonable person might take the only weapon he had at hand--the officer's gun--and shoot that officer in order to stop the beating. That scenario is not the known truth of the matter, but the truth of the matter it is a question worth being asked and answered.

I have always assumed that Esteban Carpio was beaten by the police for shooting a fellow officer. Is it possible that Esteban Carpio shot an officer to end a beating administered by police? The question had never occurred to me until it was raised by African American Political Pundit.

In any case, the Providence Police Department has learned, hopefully, that leaving one armed police officer in a room with a suspect charged with murder, when the suspect's family has warned police that the suspect is mentally ill, creates a life-threatening situation for that lone, armed police officer. And maybe, just maybe, police have learned that beating a person until he is unrecognizable is unacceptable, particularly to the person being beaten.

Police may also have learned that questioning a mentally ill suspect without his lawyer present can have negative results not merely for the mentally ill suspect, but also for police officers.

One thing is sure: Police will never credibly tell the public whether they beat Esteban Carpio until he shot an officer, or whether they beat Esteban after he shot the officer. The world might never know, but the Providence Police know, and they know who was most responsible, and how, for the death of a fellow police officer.

GA Prison Inmate Strike Enters New Phase, Prisoners Demand Human Rights, Education, Wages For Work

2010-12-15T14:45:00.000-08:00

Story by Bruce A. Dixon, audio interview by Glen Ford

Georgia prisoners who began a courageous, peaceful and nonviolent protest strike for educational opportunities, wages for their work, medical care and human rights have captured the attention of the world. Black Agenda Report intends to closely cover their continuing story. Glen Ford recorded a conversation with activist Elaine Brown and one of the striking inmates in Georgia on Wednesday, December 15.

Click here for more information from Black Agenda Report.

Prisons and Jails: A Color-Aroused Caste System.

2010-12-09T14:25:00.000-08:00

I received this letter from Color of Change and I think it addresses
well the systematic brutality of the criminal injustice system aimed at
perpetuating a permanent Black underclass in a color-aroused caste
system.

Need a gift idea for the holiday?
This book is for anyone who wants to fix our broken criminal justice system.

Buy the book and join author Michelle Alexander in the new year to talk solutions.

Dear Atty,
We’ve all heard the statistics, and most of us have simply become numb to hearing them. For many people, the over-incarceration of Black people is simply a fact of life. It shouldn’t be.
Thanks to legal scholar and professor Michelle Alexander¹ we now have a new book that explains how we ended up with a criminal justice system that targets and endangers Black communities, as well as ideas on what we can do to free ourselves from that system’s clutches.
When we put the book — The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness — in the hands of 20 ColorOfChange members to review, the response was unanimous. In addition to giving the book glowing reviews, they all wanted the entire ColorOfChange community to know about it.
It’s why we’re now inviting you to get your own copy (and one for your friends or family as well, in time for the holiday season), as well as participate in a conference call with Professor Alexander in the new year to discuss it.
You can get your copy here:
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/284?id=1990-898983&akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=4
Professor Alexander’s book outlines the evolution of drug laws and how their ongoing effects on Black America parallel the role that segregation played in the period following the Civil War and preceding the Civil Rights Movement.² And it raises questions about what it will take to build a movement that can reform the broken drug laws that fuel high incarceration rates.
Criminal justice reform is key to our community — a third of Black men will spend part of their lives in prison,³ and Black children are more than six times more likely to have a parent incarcerated than White children.⁴ ColorOfChange members have demonstrated time and again that they want to change the status quo. More than 59,000 ColorOfChange members called on Congress to remove the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine, and nearly 25,000 sent a statement to Senator James Webb of Virginia, thanking him for his attempts to overhaul our approach to incarceration.
We believe — and the ColorOfChange members who read and reviewed the book agreed — that the book will help us, as everyday people, stand with even more power to advocate for change. Ms. Alexander is herself a longtime member of ColorOfChange.org, and she’s agreed to speak with those of you who read the book, and answer any questions you have. We’ll contact you again early in the new year with more information about how to participate in that conference call, which is sure to be informative and powerful.
Here’s what ColorOfChange.org members are saying about The New Jim Crow:
“This book explains how this new Jim Crow came to be and how deeply ingrained it is now in the American psyche. Unless we really understand how this happened, we’ll never break this vicious cycle of African-American overincarceration… How many family members of prisoners lie about their relatives in the penal system in an effort to mitigate the stigma of criminality? This system penalizes entire families. [The book] was such an eye opener."
— Irma, Washington, DC
“This book will give you a good understanding of the system, its historical roots, its origins in the War on Drugs, the complicity of the police and legal system leading to mass incarceration of people of color, and the tragic result of creating a permanent caste system based on color. It opened my eyes and stirred my soul.“
— Larry, Freeland, WA
“This isn’t a fight for the lawyers. This is a fight for regular people, the non-experts, the advocates, the sympathizers, the human beings who care and want to care more. Fertile ground for change is wherever we are, however we are, and accessible to those of us with less than sizable monetary wealth or a law degree.”
— Thuha, Fountain Valley, CA
For more on The New Jim Crow and to get your copy, click here:
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/284?id=1990-898983&akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=6
Thanks and Peace,
-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
December 9th, 2010
Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU -- your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:
https://secure.colorofchange.org/contribute/
References:
1. “The New Jim Crow,” article by Michelle Alexander in Mother Jones, 03-08-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/279?akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=9
2. “Legal Scholar Michelle Alexander on ‘The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness’,” Democracy Now, 03-11-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/283?akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=11
3. “Too Long Ignored,” The New York Times, 8-20-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/598?akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=13
4. “Collateral Costs: Incarceration’s Effect on Economic Mobility,” Pew Charitable Trusts, 9-2010
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/603?akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=15
Additional resources:

“More than 1 in 100 U.S. adults are in prison,” New York Times, 2-29-2008

http://act.colorofchange.org/go/281?akid=1771.202094.3VWZg5&t=17

Historic 1-day peaceful strike by GA prison inmates today, Reports Black Agenda Report

2010-12-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

By Bruce A. Dixon

Managing Editor,
Black Agenda Report www.blackagendareport.com

In an action which is unprecedented on several levels, black, brown and white inmates of Georgia's notorious prison system are standing together for a historic one day peaceful strike today, during which they are remaining in their cells, refusing work and other assignments and activities. This is a groundbreaking event not only because inmates are standing up for themselves and their own human rughts, but because prisoners are setting an example by reaching across racial boundaries which, in prisons, have historically been used to pit oppressed communities against each other.

The action is taking place today in at least half a dozen of Georgia's more than one hundred state prisons, correctional facilities, work camps, county prisons and other correctional facilities. We have confirmed reports that authorities at Macon State prison have aggressively responded to the strike by sending tactical squads in to rough up and menace inmates.

Outside calls from concerned citizens and news media will tend to stay the hand of prison authorities who may tend to react with reckless and brutal aggression. So calls to the warden's office of Georgia State Prisons during this day are welcome.

Macon State Prison is 978-472-3900.

Telfair state prison is 229-868-7721

Valdosta State Prison is 229-333-7900

Hays State Prison is (706) 857-0400

Baldwin State Prison is (478) 445- 5218

Smith State Prison is (912) 654-5000

This is all the news we have for now, more coming.

One in every thirteen adults in the state of Georgia is in prison, on parole or probation or some form of court or correctional supervision.

*********************************

Press Release

BIGGEST PRISONER STRIKE IN U.S. HISTORY

Thousands of Georgia Prisoners to Stage Peaceful Protest

December 8, 2010…Atlanta, Georgia

Contacts: Elaine Brown, 404-542-1211, sistaelaine@gmail.com;Valerie Porter, 229-931-5348, lashan123@att.net; Faye Sanders, 478-550-7046, reshelias@yahoo.com

Tomorrow morning, December 9, 2010, thousands of Georgia prisoners will refuse to work, stop all other activities and remain in their cells in a peaceful, one-day protest for their human rights. The December 9 Strike is projected to be the biggest prisoner protest in the history of the United States.

These thousands of men, from Baldwin, Hancock, Hays, Macon, Smith and Telfair State Prisons, among others, state they are striking to press the Georgia Department of Corrections (“DOC”) to stop treating them like animals and slaves and institute programs that address their basic human rights. They have set forth the following demands:

· A LIVING WAGE FOR WORK: In violation of the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude, the DOC demands prisoners work for free.

· EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: For the great majority of prisoners, the DOC denies all opportunities for education beyond the GED, despite the benefit to both prisoners and society.

· DECENT HEALTH CARE: In violation of the 8^th Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments, the DOC denies adequate medical care to prisoners, charges excessive fees for the most minimal care and is responsible for extraordinary pain and suffering.

· AN END TO CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS: In further violation of the 8^th Amendment, the DOC is responsible for cruel prisoner punishments for minor infractions of rules.

· DECENT LIVING CONDITIONS: Georgia prisoners are confined in over-crowded, substandard conditions, with little heat in winter and oppressive heat in summer.

· NUTRITIONAL MEALS: Vegetables and fruit are in short supply in DOC facilities while starches and fatty foods are plentiful.

· VOCATIONAL AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES: The DOC has stripped its facilities of all opportunities for skills training, self-improvement and proper exercise.

· ACCESS TO FAMILIES: The DOC has disconnected thousands of prisoners from their families by imposing excessive telephone charges and innumerable barriers to visitation.

· JUST PAROLE DECISIONS: The Parole Board capriciously and regularly denies parole to the majority of prisoners despite evidence of eligibility.

Prisoner leaders issued the following call: “No more slavery. Injustice in one place is injustice to all. Inform your family to support our cause. Lock down for liberty!”

Bruce A. Dixon
Managing Editor,
Black Agenda Report
www.blackagendareport.com

The Real Pat-Down Outrage

2010-11-30T23:57:00.000-08:00

Cord Jefferson at The Root points out that the frisk procedures that whites are now going through at the airport are not entirely unlike the daily stop and frisk that Black people experience every day, whether we fly or not.

One significant difference I see is that whites know they will be friskes at the airport, while New York's Blacks can be stopped and frisked at any time, in any public place, with no notice or opportunity to prepare for the dehumanizing process.

Cord Jefferson says at The Root:

"If the media want to focus on embarrassing frisks, they should look at what black and Hispanic Americans routinely deal with, courtesy of the police department.
If the media want to focus on embarrassing frisks, they should look at what black and Hispanic Americans routinely deal with, courtesy of the police department.

As the fevered pitch around the Transportation Security Administration screenings gets even more fevered on the busiest travel days of the year, it's worth noting that, for some Americans, embarrassing frisks are de rigueur.

The man who first pointed this out to me is New York Times reporter David Carr, who tweeted, "White people aren't used to having the hands of state on them. Black folks know all about stop and frisk."

Carr is right about that, at least as far as New York City goes. According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, the NYPD's stop-and-frisk tactic, in which officers stop citizens on the street and search their bodies and bags, was used on 149,753 New Yorkers in the first three months of 2010. Of those frisked, 85 percent were black or Latino. Even more shocking is that 87 percent of those stopped were completely innocent.

More at the Root.

I felt sorry for whites who got this treatment at the airport, until I realized that Blacks suffer this everyday, everywhere, and whites don't raise their voices in unison against these frisks of Blacks. Maybe we can chalk this up to "sensitivity training" in which whites suddenly realize some aspect of what Blacks experience evert day, except that these pat-downs are unlikely to result in police beat downs and false charges of criminal behavior.

White Dallas Police Shoots Unarmed Black Man 8 Times?

2010-11-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

I don't have the bandwidth necessary to watch this video, so I would like for readers to watch it and then describe it or comment upon it in the comment section below.

White Dallas Police Shoots Unarmed Black Man 8 Times; 11 year old boy caught in crossfire.

Link to tragedy in South Oak Cliff:
http://www.the33tv.com/videobeta/4cdb001e-f831-45d0-b696-0f45a348a9e2/News/11/03/10--tobias-mackey

Do Blacks and Whites Benefit Equally from the Word and Concept of "Race"

2010-09-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

There is an informative article in The Root by Professor Lawrence D. Bobo, W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University, confirming that enormously expensive state and federal "tough on crime" programs have mostly been tough on Blacks:

For the first time in more than 30 years, state prison populations have shown a slight decline. But the federal prison population continues to grow. And the heavily disproportionate incarceration of minorities, especially poor blacks, for low-level drug offenses continues largely unabated.

However, I wrote the letter below to Professor Bobo, challenging his use of the word "race" in the article:

Professor Lawrence D. Bobo, Ph.D.
W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of the Social Sciences
Harvard University

Dear Professor Bobo:

I am a Black blogger researching the use of the word "race" among America's Blacks. I would like to pose a question regarding your use of the word "race" in an article at The Root entitled, "Time to End the Criminal-Punishment Binge."

I concur with the position of your article. However, in your sentence as follows, what difference would it make if you removed the word "race" and inserted the term "skin color" instead?

Let us be the generation that undoes the connection between race and who populates our jails and prison.

I ask this question because if there is one thing that white supremacists and Black intellectuals can agree upon, it is the continued fundamental nature and necessity of the word and concept of "race." For example, here's what the white supremacist Nationalist Party USA says about "race:"

The Nationalist Party embraces the differences in Cultures and races, and allows for each group to embrace their own heritage -- while recognizing the right to live separately, if we choose; and to preserve our unique Culture and heritage. Nationalist Party USA (Emphasis added.)

Clearly the Nationalist Party's belief in different "races" rationalizes, in their minds, their belief in and advocacy for segregation and white supremacy. And why not? Do we not segregate the dog species from the cat species at the dog pound?

It seems to me that as soon as we concede that we and whites are from different "races," we supply intellectual and moral support for white supremacists' belief in segregation, with separate and unequal roles for whites, Blacks and Latinos in society.

Here's another quote from the same website:

"The question is not why anyone would believe the races are unequal, but why anyone would believe them equal."

As Prof. Levin points out, a book like Why Race Matters should not have to be written. The only sensible conclusion to be drawn from simple observation is that races differ: "To put the matter bluntly, the question is not why anyone would believe the races are unequal in intelligence, but why anyone would believe them equal." For centuries, people as different as Arabs and Englishmen have judged Africans to be unintelligent, lascivious, jolly, and keen on rhythm. Today, in whatever corner of the globe one looks, blacks behave in certain consistent ways." Nationalist Party USA (Emphasis Added.)

There you have it. White supremacists agree with many Black intellectuals, including Harvard University professor Lawrence D. Bobo, Ph.D., that Blacks and whites are from separate "races." With white supremacists and Black intellectuals in agreement on this point, why should we even bother to consult the relatively new and opposite findings of the U.S. Department of Energy's Human Genome Program which says:

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Human Genome Program devoted 3% of its annual Human Genome Project (HGP) budget toward studying the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) surrounding the availability of genetic information. Some of these projects studied potential effects of ELSI, and others sought to educate professionals through literature, conferences, workshops, and multimedia. Among the programs funded by DOE ELSI were educational materials for physicians, educators, students, clergy, and judges and other legal professionals.

DNA studies do not indicate that separate classifiable subspecies (races) exist within modern humans. While different genes for physical traits such as skin and hair color can be identified between individuals, no consistent patterns of genes across the human genome exist to distinguish one race from another. There also is no genetic basis for divisions of human ethnicity. People who have lived in the same geographic region for many generations may have some alleles in common, but no allele will be found in all members of one population and in no members of any other.

Ari Patrinos, Director for Biological and Environmental Research, Office of Science, US Department of Energy, says on behalf of the DOE, in 'Race' and the Human Genome,

With very rare exceptions, all of us in the US are immigrants. We bring with us a subset of genes from our homelands, and for many Americans, often first-generation but more commonly second-generation, the plural noun 'homelands' is appropriate. From this perspective, the most immediately obvious characteristic of 'race' is that describing most of us as Caucasian, Asian or African is far too simple. Despite attempts by the US Census Bureau to expand its definitions, the term 'race' does not describe most of us with the subtlety and complexity required to capture and appreciate our genetic diversity. Unfortunately, this oversimplification has had many tragic effects. Therefore, we need to start with the science

( . . . )

In the end, each person must be treated as an individual with his or her own medical issues, rather than as an exemplar of a race. We anticipate a future in which accurate predictive medicine, based on one's individual genetic profile, will promote longer and healthier lives and a better ability to manage interactions with our environment and the challenges it constantly presents, be they allergens, diseases or environmental hazards. If nothing else, among so many potential benefits, the kind of solid science presented and discussed in this issue and at the Howard conference is providing proof that oversimplified concepts of race simply don't work in any objective realm. It's bad medicine, and it's bad science. 'Race' and the Human Genome,

Clearly what we have called "race" does not exist as a matter of science, yet the premise of "race" continues to be the single most fundamental commonality between white supremacists' arguments and those of Black intellectuals. Do white supremacists and Blacks benefit equally from the ubiquitous use of the word "race'? Historically, did we all benefit equally from the "N" word, whose use is just about as old as the word and concept of "race"?

Words and concepts can empower and disempower whole classes of people. We must either believe that whites gave Blacks the word "race" to empower us, or whites gave themselves the word "race" to empower whites.

I propose that we Blacks challenge white supremacists, as well as journalists, newspapers and websites of all skin colors to cease and desist using the word "race," based on the new Human Genome Project declarations. Rather than agree with white supremacists about "race," our strongest political high ground comes from insisting, based on new genomic science, that the word "race" be must be dropped from all public discussion of skin color, because the word "race" is nothing more than a pseudo-scientific and highly controversial political synonym for "skin-color group."

Those who insist on continuing to use of the word "race" are "racists."

Sincerely,

Atty. Francis L. Holland
Brazil

Justice Sonia Sotomayor Criticizes Majority Ruling on Miranda Rights

2010-06-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

The US Supreme Court majority, in WARDEN v. THOMPKINS, decided June 1, 2010, has effectively withdrawn much of the protection that Miranda once provided, by requiring a "clear statement" of an arrested person of his his/her decision to remain silent, before police must stop questioning a suspect.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a strongly dissenting defense of the system that has been in place for two generations, denouncing the Supreme Court majority's new requirement that a suspect must clearly say that he will not say anything, in order to invoke his right to remain silent. Justice Sotomayor criticized the US Supreme Courts June 1 WARDEN v. THOMPKINS decision, saying:

Today’s decision turns Miranda upside down. Criminal suspects must now unambiguously invoke their right to remain silent—which, counterintuitively, requires them to speak. At the same time, suspects will be legally presumed to have waived their rights even if they have given no clear expression of their intent to do so. Those results, in my view, find no basis in Miranda or our subsequent cases and are inconsistent with the fair-trial principles on which those precedents are grounded. Today’s broad new rules are all the more unfortunate because they are unnecessary to the disposition of the case before us. I respectfully dissent. WARDEN v. THOMPKINS

I personally hope this case indicates that Justice Sotomayor (soon to be joined by Justice Kagan on the Court) will defend the rights of public when faced by often brutal, atrocious and coercive police officers.

A Critical Look at TASER Policy and Effects

2010-05-25T20:47:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Eddie G. Griffin (BASG) for providing the following:

http://www.examiner.com/x-48240-NY-Public-Policy-Examiner~y2010m5d10-A-Critical-Look-at-TASER-Policy-and-Effects?cid=exrss-NY-Public-Policy-Examiner

May 10, 2:54 AM · Edward Nelson - NY Public Policy Examiner

With the recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Bryan v. McPherson, 590 F.3d 767 (9th Cir. 2009), law enforcement heads across the nation are gradually revising their use of force policies surrounding TASER deployment.

The Bryan Court dealt with a 21-year-old Carl Bryan who exited his vehicle at a distance of 20 to 25 feet away from Officer Brian McPherson who had pulled Carl Bryan over for a traffic violation. Standing on the asphalt ground Carl Bryan was wearing tennis shoes and boxer shorts and was positioned with his back facing Officer McPherson. At that point, Officer McPherson deployed his TASER causing Carl Bryan to suffer a non-minor injury as a result of falling face first onto the asphalt fracturing four of his teeth and damaging his face. Finding that a jury could conclude that Officer McPherson used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment, the court allowed Carl Bryan’s lawsuit to proceed to trial and denied Officer McPherson’s request for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds. A reasonable officer would have known that in a situation where force is at its lowest, the target is a nonviolent and stationary misdemeanant, would have concluded that deploying intermediate force without warning was not justified.

If you didn’t know, TASER is an acronym for Thomas A. Swift’s Electronic Rifle.

What’s significant about the Bryan Court’s decision is that it recognized that TASERs can actually cause death. In the past, TASER International, Inc. had a practice of suing researchers for making that conclusion. In fact, some researchers have accused TASER International, Inc. of employing intimidation tactics to discourage and prohibit them from publishing research that contends with the “less than lethal” stigmatization strategically associated with TASERs. Normally, researchers make findings and subject their work to the criticisms of their peers if their findings cannot be replicated. Why does that concept not apply to TASERs? Rick Smith, CEO of TASER International, must evaluate his SWOT analysis to include a new externality. America’s courts are now an externality that Mr. Smith must recognize as one of TASER International’s weaknesses and threats. The author John Grisham shows how easy it is for a company to purchase a judge to favor its position in his latest book titled, “The Appeal.” However, that would be a serious invocation of Game Theory on the part of TASER International.

Nationally, TASER International has placed itself in a powerful, yet, unique position of steering policy for law enforcement agencies nationwide. Law enforcement heads are forced to rely entirely on TASER International’s training and policies on use, deployment, and research methods. Unfortunately, the Chiefs of Police that use TASERs have delegated their duty to protect the public to a Fortune 500 business like TASER International whose sole concern is its bottom line. A government functions on inputs that maximize outputs. Apparently the TASER is the input and the death of a citizen is the output. Even an insignificant number like 1% of the nation dying from in custody death syndrome and excited delirium syndrome is too much. Stated another way, the trade off is more officers living and a marginal number of citizens dying. As government officials, law enforcement administrators should be concerned with protecting the individual rights of each individual citizen; a publicly traded IPO company like TASER International, trading under the ticker symbol TASR, is not concerned with individual rights.

While TASER International can write-off the deaths of 334 citizens mentioned by Amnesty International between 2001 and 2008 as collateral damage, law enforcement administrators must consider the individual rights of each person on a case-by-case basis. If not, they are deliberately indifferent to the Constitutional rights of the population of citizens they are hired to serve. Everyday anecdotal evidence is mounting and increasingly shows that TASERed citizens are dying in the custody of police officers. However, with TASER International steering the policies of law enforcement on TASER usage and training, the in custody death syndrome immediately following TASER usage is remarkably written-off as if death is the cost of not complying with police officers. If the officer, victim, or bystander is not facing an imminent threat from a subject, the deployment of a TASER would be unreasonably excessive. On March 3, 2010, an officer TASERed a 17 year old Philadelphia Phillies fan simply for running on the baseball field. The incident has caused a lot of public clamor because the officer, a victim, nor bystander was threatened by the 17 year old when he ran onto the baseball field. Unfortunately, the lesson behind the incident is that it shows how officers arbitrarily and capriciously use their TASERs.

Law enforcement officials have tenaciously maintained that TASERs save lives. Agreed! When used appropriately, TASERs can save lives. But an inappropriate use of a TASER by law enforcement is a rare finding. Statistically, the chance of finding a citizen dead from in custody death syndrome is greater than finding an officer improperly used a TASER. Even law enforcement officers have sued TASER International claiming that they were injured by a TASER during their training. In another instance, an officer’s TASER malfunctioned as he pursued a perpetrator and he was shot six times. TASER International was sued as a result. Therefore, the claims against TASER International and law enforcement aren’t isolated to members of the public. Moreover, it begs the question of whether TASER International knows, or, expects deadly malfunctions in its TASER product prior to marketing.

TASER International has warned that TASERs can contribute in death if the following variables are present within a TASERed subject:

• alcohol intoxication
• cocaine
• methamphetamine
So why are officers deploying TASERs on drug abusers when there is a real possibility of death occurring? If law enforcement agencies have no policy directing officers to refrain from deploying their TASERs on the above category of individuals, the answer is clear: It’s because their municipality has become deliberately indifferent to the individual rights of intoxicated /drugged citizens. A well informed law enforcement agency would know from anecdotal evidence collected on excited delirium syndrome and in custody death syndrome that those citizens who are intoxicated, high on cocaine or methamphetamine fall within a category of individuals that are likely to die post-TASER deployment. Unfortunately, post-TASER deployment has a medical aspect that makes most law enforcement administrators appear acutely obtuse and woefully incapable of understanding the injurious nature of TASER weaponry. Over the years, a medical examiner’s finding of excited delirium syndrome or in custody death syndrome is the only justification required to relieve an officer of liability for a citizen’s death. Today, excited delirium syndrome is a questionable medical condition in the medical community.

Lawyers that are worth their salt have quickly learned that the preparation of litigation against TASER International and law enforcement requires that they be as savvy as TASER’s medical experts regarding excited delirium syndrome and in custody death syndrome. Commonly, the coups de grace in TASER litigation involves a showing of death or non-minor injury resulting from brain injury, cardiac arrest, short term loss of memory, cardiac infarction, and metabolic acidosis proximately caused by a TASER. As alluded to earlier, TASER International is an aggressive publicly traded company concerned about its bottom line and answers to a board of directors. To maintain a pristine public image, TASER International strategically uses sneaky semantics, omissions, lawsuits, dry threats, scandalous and vexatious comments to fend off any undesired comments that can potentially have a negative economic impact on its TASER product. TASER International has successfully sued medical examiners to change the cause of death on a death certificate from being associated with a TASER to being “accidental.”

Unlike most weapons that cause visible superficial wounds, the TASER permeates the human body internally using voltage and amperes to overwhelm neurotransmitters emanating from the brain. In other words, it has a subtle way of causing damage to the body’s internal biological functions. It’s the fluctuating AC (alternative current) power source that causes the muscles within the body to experience a condition called tetany. Meaning the AC power source actually causes the muscles within the body to contract when in contact with an AC power source. However, a DC (direct current) power source pushes a person away when contact is made. The electricity from a TASER travels through the body looking for a place to ground. However, for the brief moment that it takes residence within the human body, the electricity from the TASER quickly transforms plasma glucose into lactic acid which ultimately forms a condition called metabolic acidosis. It’s important to note that a primary source of energy for the brain is glucose. Now imagine your brain’s primary source of energy being transformed into lactic acid. That’s a problem! Even a person with minimal medical experience would know that the heart is the biggest muscle in the body. Yet, researchers are divided as to whether a TASER can cause cardiac arrest.

Comparatively, TASER litigation reminds me of the long and hard fight attorneys had with cigarette companies. Remember the days when cigarette companies said their product was safe? Well, the federal government must have the same feeling because the National Institute of Justice is currently soliciting to fund research for a “less-lethal” weapon that is safer than a TASER. This article is dedicated to the memory of all those American citizens who gave their lives so law enforcement officers could enjoy deploying their new toys in the absence of perceiving an imminent threat to themselves, bystanders or victims. It’s because all of you existed that others are inspired to find the truth concerning your deaths. May your souls find rest!

Are Small Town Rhode Island Police Officers Overzealous With Traffic Fines?

2010-05-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

In a little-city suburb of Providence, Rhode Island, there is a police officer who is notorious for sitting in his squad car, hidden at the side of the road, and waiting for drivers to pass by, traveling at rates as little as two miles per hour above the speed limit. He writes an extraordinary number of speeding citations for minor deviations from the speed limit, and he writes an extraordinary number of other citations for offenses that many local citizens consider to be de minimus infractions.

Can any reader tell me the name of the town, the name of the officer, and the name of the judge(s) who review these tickets when these cases are appealed and come before the courts?

Is this officer appropriately zealous in protecting the public by enforcing traffic regulations to the letter of the law? Or is he giving Rhode Island government and law enforcement a bad name by harassing law-abiding citizens who are doing their best to drive safely and whose only meaningful "offense" has been to drive down the same road where this allegedly over-zealous police officer is hidden in waiting?

If you have an experience to recount about small-town Rhode Island traffic enforcement and you would like to do so anonymously, please feel free tell your experiences anonymously in the comments below, but please do include the name(s) of the town(s), location(s), policing officer(s), judge(s) and traffic court(s) with jurisdiction over traffic citations.

Please feel free not to include names of private citizens, who do have a right to their privacy and should not be targeted for retribution.

If we find that there is a pattern (or patterns) of over-zealous and inappropriate persecution of mild-mannered small-town Rhode Island drivers, who are going about their own business conscientiously way, then maybe some readers would like to report their experiences using their names for attribution (or send a confidential e-mail to this blog at francislholland at gmail.com (remember to include the @).

My belief is that Rhode Island newspapers like the Providence Journal will investigate over-zealous officers, if they read significant numbers of sufficiently specific complaints in blogs such as this one, about those officers who are supposed to protect and to serve, particularly when they wear a badge and operate under color of law.

No one wants to make herself the target of an already-over-zealous police officer, so please feel free to comment anonymously, including as much detail as you comfortably can.

Although I am a trained attorney who has practiced law in the United States, I am not currently admitted to the Bar of any state and cannot offer legal advice in public or in private. I write and discuss police brutality with readers strictly in my capacity as a citizen journalist.

Whatever your experience with Rhode Island traffic police, please remember the brighter side: at least you didn't end up looking like Esteban Carpio did when Providence police officers brought him to court with his face turned to virtual hamburger, which police covered with an (to my experience) unprecedented white Batman mask.

NYC Minorities Frisked More but Arrested at Same Rate

2010-05-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

The New York Times says in a very informative article about the overwhelming difference between stop and frisk rates of whites and others in New York City:

Blacks and Latinos were nine times as likely as whites to be stopped by the police in New York City in 2009, but no more likely to be arrested.
( . . .)
According to the analysis of the 2009 raw data by the Center for Constitutional Rights, nearly 490,000 blacks and Latinos were stopped by the police on the streets last year, compared with 53,000 whites.

But once stopped, the arrest rates were virtually the same. Whites were arrested in slightly more than 6 percent of the stops, blacks in slightly fewer than 6 percent. About 1.7 percent of whites who were stopped were found to have a weapon, while 1.1 percent of blacks were found with one. NYT

What I find most troubling is this: If police are able to find just as much reason to arrest whites even when whites are stopped and frisked only 1/10th as much as Blacks and Latinos, then if police INCREASED the stop and frisk rate of whites then they would probably also increase the rate of arrests made of whites.

Look at it this way, in the land of driverless white and black drone cars: If ALL cars have weapons in them but the white cars are stopped half as often, then police will find the same rate of weapons among both groups of cars, but white cars will proceed with weapons unmolested, even though increasing stops of white cars would increase the number of weapons found in white cars.

Or, let's look at it another way: In spite of an all out effort to find crime among Blacks, targeting Blacks almost ten times as much as whites, police have been unable to show that Blacks are more likely to have weapons than whites. Perhaps if the police stopped every single Black person who left his house, the police still wouldn't find more reasons to arrest Blacks than whites. And that's what these statistics are showing.

Is a Small Jail in Illinois Ground Zero for Taser Abuse?

2010-05-05T21:06:00.000-07:00

Submitted by Ruth.

Just about an hour south of Chicago sits an obscure Kankakee County jail, the Jerome Combs Detention Center, a 668-bed facility that may just be one of the country's worst centers of Taser abuse. Inmates have filed at least 15 lawsuits over the past four years regarding Taser-related abuses — an unusual number, according to law enforcement experts. Some of them describe Taser use while inmates were already in restraint chairs or handcuffs. One described an inmate being Tased while weak from a hunger strike; another inmate described being "shock[ed] almost to death." Yet another inmate said he was Tased multiple times while officers taunted him with racial slurs.

According to an investigation by The Chicago Reporter and The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute, at least 101 inmates in the jail were shocked by a Taser between mid-August 2007 and mid-December 2009, and a quarter of these incidents occurred while the inmates were restrained. Only 4 percent of the Taser firings were officially reported.

Since 2005, Chicago has been sending inmates from its own overcrowded Cook County Jail to be housed at the Jerome Combs facility, bringing in $1.4 million in revenue for Kankakee County. Several potentially unjustified Tasings occurred in response to these detainees protesting mistreatment at their new home.

The investigation, "Taser Timeout," was reported by Kelly Virella and appears in the May/June 2010 issue of The Chicago Reporter. It is available on-line here:

http://www.chicagoreporter.com/index.php/c/Cover_Stories/d/Taser_Timeout#

Press inquiries may be directed to Ruth Baldwin at The Nation Institute, at ruth@nationinstitute.org or 212-822-0266.

We hope you enjoy the read!

Yours,

Ruth

Stories Of Black Men Who Have Been Murdered By Law Enforcement Officers.

2010-04-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

I saw the following at a MySpace page that has plenty more examples to which readers can follow links:

blogs.myspace.com/blackpeoplestandup

MySpace.com | rss | inscrever-me

BLACK PEOPLE STAND UP!

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Stories Of Black Men That Have Been Murdered By Law Enforcement Officers.
Modo atual: acordado

Click on the links to read the full stories of these unarmed men that have been choked, beaten, neglected and shot to death by law enforcement officers in the United States.

This Monday is October 22. It will be a National Day Of Protest Against Police Brutality with protests planned all over the United States. If there is no rally in your area, why not reach out to a family that has lost a love one to thi senseless "shoot-first" justice the police departments are practicing on people of color across this country. This weekend, surf the web for emails and/or street addresses of Mothers, Wives and Children of these or other innocent, unarmed people that have fell victim to the murderous "Boys In Blue" and let them know you are praying for them and you support them!

1LOVE -BPSU

-------------------------

Johnnie Cromartie, 40, Murdered May 25, 1993 in New York, NY by Manhattan Police officers - http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEED8113CF937A35755C0A965958260'>FULL STORY

Anthony Baez, 29, Murdered December 22, 1994 in New York, NY by officer Francis X. Livoti Jr. – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Baez'>FULL STORY

Read more "Stories Of Black Men Who Have Been Murdered By Law Enforcement Officers." Do these stories check out? Do they anger you? Do they make you feel sad, embarrassed . . .? Are they even true? Check it out and report back in the comments!

Tic Toc shooting defense attorney claims jury made 'grievous error'

2010-03-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

How do readers feel about the quality of justice in Pennsylvania? Are these and other Blacks treated by police, prosecutors, judges and juries in the way that white people would be under similar circumstances?

In this particular case, did the jury convict these men because they were convinced beyond a shadow of doubt that they were culpable, or because they were convinced that the defendants were Black?

The preponderance of Blacks and Latinos in this nation's jails render skin color-aroused animosity an inevitably relevant part of our analysis when Blacks and Latinos are accused of a crime, tried and convicted, and when they plead guilty rather than facing the wrath of an all-white jury or judge. There are those who say skin color should never be considered an issue unless it is proved that skin color was involved. I say that the evidence of skin-color-aroused procedures and results is discovered when it is researched.

The following is an article posted in the Northampton News, under the headline,
"Tic Toc shooting defense attorney claims jury made 'grievous error," by Sarah Cassi.

Express-Times File PhotoKeri Ann Brekne

September 02, 2009, 10:00AM

Express-Times File PhotosTerrence Fitzpatrick (left) and Brandon Fleming are appealing convictions in a 2006 shooting to the state Superior Court.

A Northampton County jury ignored the evidence when they found two men guilty in the 2006 shooting outside the Tic Toc Family Restaurant in Palmer Township, attorney Eric Dowdle said.

"The jury's verdict is either the product of indifference or ignorance," said Dowdle, who represents Terrence Fitzpatrick. "The verdict cannot be allowed to stand ... there is a grievous error that has been made."

Fitzpatrick and Brandon Fleming were both sentenced in June to 20 to 40 years each in state prison for the Nov. 25, 2006, shooting of Marvin Dowe and Nataki Bryan.

Both men appealed their convictions to the state Superior Court, which is holding a special session in Northampton County Court.
Assistant District Attorney James Augustine said it's the jury's directive to reject or accept evidence. Dowdle's argument is asking the court to subvert the jury's decision, Augustine argued.
Dowdle said Fitzpatrick's conviction was based solely on Dowe's testimony, while other witnesses' testimony cleared Fitzpatrick. If the jury relied on Dowe's testimony, Fleming should have been found innocent, Dowdle said.

Check out Terrence Fitzpatrick's appeal of Tic Toc shooting conviction denied

2010-03-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

Many readers know that I live in Brazil. The following case points to one of the many reasons why: Extreme color-aroused anti-minority injustice is so pervasive in the United States' judicial system that I simply could not expect to be treated as a white person would be, if I were accused of a crime in the United States.

Sometime in the recent past, when a white female immigration lawyer was convicted under an anti-terrorist statute for having improper discussions with her clients, I realized that even a successful Black male lawyer could not assume he was safe from color-aroused injustice at the hands of the criminal law authorities in the United States.

I think it is foolish for any Black man in the USA to assume that he is safe from color-aroused injustice, even if he is an undercover police officer (who may be shot by his white colleagues), or the son of a retired police officer (who may be subject to assault and battery by police-operated taser electrocution devices, in spite of his father's contributions as a New York Police Department supervisor). Even famous football players may be subject execution on their own front lawns, because they are driving an SUV that "blacks aren't supposed to have," which is an example of the extremely color-aroused anti-Black policing behavior in the USA, even as practiced by Black police officers.

Now, I've received the following correspondence and I don't know what to do with it, except post it so that readers can review it, offer more links, and express their opinion, perhaps even suggestion action steps if appropriate:

Dear Francis,

I know this individual [who was convicted in the Tic Toc shooting reported below.] I must confess that he's not an innocent person; like a huge percentage of our [B]lack men, he's made poor choices.

His family has wondered whether he was being railroaded due to the fact that he successfully sued the same police department that did an investigation years ago. What advice would I have to tell the family in terms of seeking justice?

[Here's what one Pennsylvania newspaper says about the case:
Tic Toc Family Restaurant shooter Terrence Fitzpatrick's appeal denied
Friday, March 12, 2010
By SARAH CASSI
The Express-Times

The state Superior Court has denied Terrence Fitzpatrick's claim that there was not enough evidence to convict him of attempted murder in the 2006 Tic Toc Family Restaurant shooting.

Fitzpatrick and Brandon Fleming were both found guilty in Northampton County Court of attempted murder and related charges.

They were sentenced in June 2008 to 20 to 40 years each in Pennsylvania state prison for the Nov. 25, 2006, shooting of Marvin Dowe and Nataki Bryan at the Palmer Township restaurant.

Both men appealed their convictions to the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Attorney Eric Dowdle claimed Fitzpatrick's conviction was based solely on Marvin Dowe's testimony, while other witnesses' testimony cleared Fitzpatrick.

In the March 8 opinion, the judges said Northampton County Judge Anthony Beltrami, who presided over the trial, "properly concluded that Fitzpatrick's issues lack merit."

The judges upheld Fitzpatrick's sentence and relinquished jurisdiction of the case.

Fleming's appeal is still outstanding. Attorney Robert Patterson claims a photo of a shoe print from the restaurant men's room toilet tank was unfairly suppressed from the defense until the trial was under way.

Patterson also argues the prosecution failed to provide an interview conducted with an informer who said he heard Fitzpatrick and Seneca Rogers were involved in the shooting. Fleming was not mentioned in the interview.

Reporter Sarah Cassi can be reached at 610-258-7171 or scassi@express-times.com. Talk about issues in your town at lehighvalleylive.com/forums. ]
What upsets me the most is that he's rather large in stature, and all eye witnesses deny he was at the scene of the crime. The white girl who witnessed the shooting claims she would have seen someone like that because they'd obviously stand out. So, I don't understand what he's been convicted on and how this is justice

Sincerely,

AKA ********

Here's another article on the shooting, the alleged lack of evidence, as well as alleged police, prosecutor, and judge anti-judicial and illegal procedure and behavior:

Tic Toc Family Restaurant shooter Terrence Fitzpatrick's appeal denied
Friday, March 12, 2010
By SARAH CASSI
The Express-Times

The state Superior Court has denied Terrence Fitzpatrick's claim that there was not enough evidence to convict him of attempted murder in the 2006 Tic Toc Family Restaurant shooting.

Fitzpatrick and Brandon Fleming were both found guilty in Northampton County Court of attempted murder and related charges.

They were sentenced in June 2008 to 20 to 40 years each in Pennsylvania state prison for the Nov. 25, 2006, shooting of Marvin Dowe and Nataki Bryan at the Palmer Township restaurant.

Both men appealed their convictions to the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

Attorney Eric Dowdle claimed Fitzpatrick's conviction was based solely on Marvin Dowe's testimony, while other witnesses' testimony cleared Fitzpatrick.

In the March 8 opinion, the judges said Northampton County Judge Anthony Beltrami, who presided over the trial, "properly concluded that Fitzpatrick's issues lack merit."

The judges upheld Fitzpatrick's sentence and relinquished jurisdiction of the case.

Fleming's appeal is still outstanding. Attorney Robert Patterson claims a photo of a shoe print from the restaurant men's room toilet tank was unfairly suppressed from the defense until the trial was under way.

Patterson also argues the prosecution failed to provide an interview conducted with an informer who said he heard Fitzpatrick and Seneca Rogers were involved in the shooting. Fleming was not mentioned in the interview.

Reporter Sarah Cassi can be reached at 610-258-7171 or scassi@express-times.com. Talk about issues in your town at lehighvalleylive.com/forums.

I encourage readers to read and research more about this case and contribute in some way to the defense of these two Black men, if readers believe that the defendants are not being treated with at least as much justice as a white person would be under similar circumstances. It is my belief that, whether a Black person is guilty or innocent, s/he should receive the same protections and due process that a white person would under similar circumstances.

If some whites are committing unlawful acts with virtual impunity or leniency while Blacks are being prosecuted to the fullest possible extent of the law for the same sort of crime, that might help to at least partially explain why so many more Blacks (and Latinos) proportionately are in prison or under criminal supervision.

Because injustice can occur in the police investigation process, the prosecutors charging behavior, the courts rulings on the admissibility and inadmissibility of evidence, as well as in jury color-aroused ideation, emotion and behavior, and then in sentencing. If at any point in these processes Blacks and Latinos are not being treated as whites would be under similar circumstances, then that's a serious problem.

'Race' and the human genome ppS1 - S2 Ari Patrinos doi:10.1038/ng2150Full text \| PDF (103K)

Editorial	Top



The unexamined population pS3 doi:10.1038/ng2151Full text \| PDF (50K)

Commentaries	Top



Changing the paradigm from 'race' to human genome variation ppS5 - S7 Charmaine D M Royal & Georgia M Dunston Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1454Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (95K)



Forensic genetics and ethical, legal and social implications beyond the clinic ppS8 - S12 Mildred K Cho & Pamela Sankar Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1594Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (104K)



What we do and don't know about 'race', 'ethnicity', genetics and health at the dawn of the genome era ppS13 - S15 Francis S Collins Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1436Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (330K)

Perspectives	Top



Conceptualizing human variation ppS17 - S20 S O Y Keita, R A Kittles, C D M Royal, G E Bonney, P Furbert-Harris, G M Dunston & C N Rotimi Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1455Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (102K)



Implications of biogeography of human populations for 'race' and medicine ppS21 - S27 Sarah A Tishkoff & Kenneth K Kidd Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1438Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (270K)



Genetic variation, classification and 'race' ppS28 - S33 Lynn B Jorde & Stephen P Wooding Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1435Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (850K)



Will tomorrow's medicines work for everyone? ppS34 - S42 Sarah K Tate & David B Goldstein Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1437Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (161K)



Are medical and nonmedical uses of large-scale genomic markers conflating genetics and 'race'? ppS43 - S47 Charles N Rotimi Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1439Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (118K)



Assessing genetic contributions to phenotypic differences among 'racial' and 'ethnic' groups ppS48 - S53 Joanna L Mountain & Neil Risch Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1456Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (226K)



Implications of correlations between skin color and genetic ancestry for biomedical research ppS54 - S60 E J Parra, R A Kittles & M D Shriver Published online: 26 October 2004 \| doi:10.1038/ng1440Abstract \| Full text \| PDF (1,666K) \| Supplementary Information