• 27Oct

  US – California: Suspect Lynched In Sacramento Police Custody

  Police Brutality, Prison State No Comments

  We have reported on instances where police lynched a suspect accused of harming a fellow member of their gang before. So-called “justice” is a total fraud, as this extrajudicial killing (which might seem more at home in Brazil than the U.S.) shows us. ” I saw him. He walked and was cooperating with police. I was shocked when I heard he died.”

  Family, friends of Twin Rivers shooting suspect seek answers

  

  Evidence suggests that Tyrone Smith was murdered in custody by the police.

  
  

  From News 10:

  SACRAMENTO, CA – Family and friends of a man who died after being taken into police custody in the shooting of a Twin Rivers police officer want answers.

  Tyrone Smith, 32, died Saturday night.  He was captured about seven hours after the 25-year-old officer was shot multiple times. About 2:25 that afternoon, the officer had pulled over Smith on a traffic stop near Grant Union High School in Del Paso Heights. Smith is alleged to have fled in his vehicle, initiating a police pursuit and then a foot chase during which police say he fired shots at the officer.

  Witnesses say Smith was walking and breathing normally when he went into the patrol car. Police reported Sunday that Smith died about 20 minutes later while still in the police unit.

  “What happened?” said Smith’s sister Latara Brown. “We have a right to know. He was a suspect and he deserved a trial.”

  A rally was held at Grant Union High School Monday with community members and witnesses wanting an explanation as well. About 150 people marched two blocks from a memorial shrine put up for Smith on a street corner to the front of Grant High School.

  ” I saw him. He walked and was cooperating with police. I was shocked when I heard he died,” said De Washington, referring to the moments when Smith was taken into custody.

  Brown said she does have faith that multiple investigations will learn what happened to her brother.

  “I’m glad that everybody came together and we’re gonna get through this and I just want some answers, that’s all,” Brown said.

  The family of Smith says they met with police at the Sacramento Urban League on Monday.

  The officer shot has been moved from ICU and is recovering. His condition was upgraded from critical to stable condition on Monday and he is reportedly in pain but expected by his surgeon to make a full recovery.

  
  

  Tags: Murder By Police (MBP), Police Brutality

• 26Oct

  US – California: Michael Lee Nida, Unarmed Man, Shot & Killed By Downey Police Officer

  Police Brutality No Comments

  Michael Lee Nida, Unarmed Man, Shot & Killed By Downey Police Officer

  
  

  
  

  Downey police officers admitted Sunday that they shot and killed an unarmed man in a case of mistaken identity, reports CBS Los Angeles.

  The victim, Michael Lee Nida from South Gate, is survived by his wife of fourteen years and their four children. Tuesday would have been his 32nd birthday, according to KTLA.

  According to a statement released Sunday by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (they are currently investigating the case), Downey police officers in the area were responding to reports of an armed burglary when they spotted Nida, whom they thought was acting suspiciously.

  Officers tried to detain him, but he got away three times. During a short foot pursuit, an officer shot Nida, who later died at a local hospital. The officer who shot him claimed that Nida had turned toward him “in an aggressive manner,” leading police to believe he had a weapon — but none was recovered at the scene.

  Nida’s family members told KCAL9 that the victim was at a nearby gas station in the area with his wife when he decided to cross the street and head toward a tobacco shop. It was then that he was spotted by police officers and chased down. Nida’s sister, Terri Teramura, told KCAL9 that Nida had been shot at least five times in the back.

  The two suspects originally sought for the armed robbery are still missing, according to NBC Los Angeles.

  This is the second time this month that Downey officers have fatally shot someone. A homeless man from Huntington Park was killed after charging at officers with a pocket knife, according to The Downey Patriot.

  Those who wish to give to Nida’s memorial fund to help with burial costs can send donations to:
  Michael Nida Memorial Fund
  P.O. Box 3272
  Huntington Beach, CA 92605

  Tags: Murder By Police (MBP), Police Brutality

• 26Oct

  US – California: Iraq Vet Critically Wounded By Police at Occupy Oakland Protest

  Activism, Occupy #OWS, Police Brutality No Comments

  Iraq Vet Critically Wounded By Police At Occupy Oakland
  

  #OWS #OccupyWallSt #OccupyOakland
  

  
  

  
  

  From The Bay Citizen:

  Scott Olsen returned unscathed from two tours in Iraq only to be critically wounded during a violent confrontation between police and Occupy Oakland protesters.

  A YouTube video shows people carrying Olsen, who is bleeding from the head. The people tell the cameraperson that Olsen was shot. The incident occurred near 14th and Broadway at around 7:30pm last night.

  As of noon Wednesday, Olsen, 24, remained in critical condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland.  A handful of friends, many of whom are also veterans of the Iraq war, stood vigil outside the emergency room door.

  They said they had been informed by nurses that he was still unconscious. Aaron Hinde, an Iraq war veteran who, like Olsen is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, said Olsen was brought to the hospital by “two good Samaritans” around 8pm Tuesday evening and lost consciousness on the way to the hospital.

  “I think its terrible for him to go two tours in Iraq and exercise his rights that he fought so hard to defend and get a serious injury like this,” said his roommate Keith Shannon, who served alongside Olsen in the Marines in Iraq.

  An Oakland police officer told The Bay Citizen that the police department is investigating a use of force incident that caused serious injuries, but that it may not be OPD who was responsible. On Tuesday night, Oakland police said officers did not use any rubber bullets or non-lethal munitions to quell the protest.

  Siri Margerin, a local peace activist, said two Oakland police detectives in body armor, visited the hospital around midnight and interviewed Olsen’s friends.

  Two Alameda County Sheriffs Deputies also interviewed them this morning, she said.

  Shannon, who in Iraq alongside Olsen between 2006 and 2007, described his friend as a “quiet kind of person, someone who was always smiling.”

  Shannon said Olsen moved out to California after his discharge from the Marine Corps because he wanted to work in the tech industry. Olsen worked at the San Francisco tech firm OPSWAT, Shannon said.

  Olsen mother, Sandy Olsen of Onalaska, Wisconsin said her son joined the military out of high school in 2005 because he “wanted to help the people over there,” but soured on the war during his tours of duty.

  When he came home, she said, her son joined Iraq Veterans Against the War, a group which has joined many of the Occupy Wall Street protests around the country.

  His roommate, Shannon, said Olsen joined the protests “because he thought the banks pretty much run free and unregulated and are never held accountable for their actions.”

  “It is about the people taking back the government as well as placing restrictions on the corporations,” he said.

  Shannon said Olsen, who lives in a two-bedroom apartment in Daly City, had taken part in numerous Occupacy Wall Street protets in San Francisco, joined the Occupy movement in Oakland for the first time Tuesday evening.

  Tags: Activism, Occupy, Police Brutality

• 16Oct

  Iraq: Enriched Uranium Found In Hair Samples In Fallujah

  Iraq, Middle East No Comments

  From The Justice For Fallujah Project:

  “Dear friends,

  A very important study has come out, publishing findings of enriched
  Uranium in hair samples taken from families in Fallujah. However, the
  authors of this study have had trouble getting the media to report
  their findings. Please pass this study on to as many people as you
  can.

  Thank you,

  The Justice For Fallujah Project”

  Click Here for entire published article.

  Tags: Iraq, Middle East

• 10Jun

  Police Kill 2 People in Montreal

  Activism, Canada, Police Brutality No Comments
  

  Enough is Enough!

  http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/159541/20110608/montreal-police-shooting.htm

  This story exemplifies “trigger-happy” policemen, which our people are dealing with on a daily basis.  The police were called to the scene after receiving information that someone cutting open garbage bags and knocking trash cans over.  Why was this man cutting open garbage bags and knocking over trash cans?  According to the source from the local homeless shelter, this man collected cans and returned them in order to feed his family.  It is doubtful that these policemen will be held accountable for their actions.  Homeless people represent a voiceless, disenfranchised public who along with felons, are treated as an irrelevant constituency.  We already know that many homeless people are from vulnerable groups: oppressed minorities, war veterans, or mentally ill people.  In all cases, these are people who the government has maliciously neglected.  The manner in which the police killed this man is similar how they would treat a rabid animal.

  This particular incident has only become newsworthy because a male nurse was also killed by a stray bullet during this incident.  If only a homeless man had been killed, it would not be causing as much fervor.  Today, there was a march in protest against police brutality that included several hundred people.  While it was primarily peaceful, there was a small group that separated and smashed some windows.  These misguided activists were not liberating property; only destroying it! We don’t endorse these kinds of ultra-leftist tactics.  These violent tactics alienate working class people and therefore lessen its ability to be a truly mass movement.

  We salute the people of Montreal who marched to demand an end to police brutality!

  Tags: Canada, Murder By Police (MBP), Police Brutality

• 01Jun

  Family of Murdered Immigrant Sues Deputy and County

  Immigration, Police Brutality No Comments

  Our hearts and support go out to the Alvarez family in Oaxaca, Mexico.  It has been one year since Marcos De Jesus Alvarez was murdered by the deputy in Albany, NY.  The only crime that Marcos Alvarez committed was being brown at sun down.  The “Media” slandered this hard-working man, by painting him to be aggressive and furthermore, illegal, as if this somehow validates his murder.  The official story is laughable; Marcos was asked for his papers, to which he ignored the deputy, then when asked again, he became aggressive and charged the policeman.  Marcos had been deported before, so he knew very well that any interaction with the police would result in another deportation.  This would explain why Marcos initially ignored the cop; that, or Marcos could only speak his indigenous language of Triqui and did not understand the deputy.  Then he reportedly charged the cop and was shot twice in the torso.  First of all, were lethal shots required to stop a 5′4” unarmed man?  Certainly not.  Also, what is the likelihood that Marcos actually charged the deputy, instead of taking the more likely option: running away.  I am not surprised that there was no thorough investigation of this murder.  Our people can never expect justice in this racially-rigged court system.  As Brother Malcolm so succinctly put it, “a chicken can’t lay a duck egg,” that is, we can never expect anything from this corrupt, racist society.  However, in the interim, that shouldn’t stop us from demanding reparations for the injustices we have endured and building a movement to challenge it.  We know any awards given to the Alvarez family will never replace their father and husband, nevertheless they are entitled to it.  Here is a video of the News Report of Marcos Alvarez’s killing. (Note the racist comments by YouTube commentators)

  http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Family-of-dead-man-sues-deputy-Albany-County-1402774.php#photo-2

  The family of a Mexican man shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy is suing Albany County, the sheriff’s office and the deputy.

  Marcos DeJesus Alvarez was shot at 12:30 a.m. March 20, 2010, as he walked along Watervliet Shaker Road near Albany International Airport.

  Deputy Vincent Igoe maintained that Alvarez threw a chunk of concrete at him and refused to stop when ordered to do so. In the lawsuit, Alvarez’s family contends Alvarez was doing nothing illegal at the time of the shooting and Igoe had no right to approach him. The family also contends he posed no threat to Igoe.

  The suit also alleges the Albany County sheriff’s department failed to properly train Igoe in the use of a firearm and ignored the deputy’s history when promoting him.

  The case was taken to a grand jury, which declined to indict Igoe.

  Tests show Alvarez did not have drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death.

  Alvarez, who was in the United States illegally, is survived by his wife Augustine Cruz Garcia and six children ranging in age from 5 to 17. In the five years prior to his death, he had been caught and deported three times trying to cross the border into the United States. A 36-year-old farmer, he lived in an impoverished village mountain village in the state of Oaxaca.

  The suit was filed by attorney Donald Boyajian on behalf of attorney Gaspar Castillo, who is administrator of Alvarez’s estate. It does not specify the amount of damages being sought.

  Tags: Immigration, Murder By Police (MBP), Police Brutality

• 25May

  US: Supreme Court Says California Must Free 30,000 Prisoners; Democrat Governor Says Send Them To County Jails

  Prison State No Comments

  Instead of acting to put an end to the prison state that has criminalized a vast portion of Black and Brown people; Democrat Governor Jerry Brown agrees with his conservative counterparts that these 30,000 inmates shouldn’t be freed.  He proposes sending them to county jails to alleviate the health crisis which is the basis of the Supreme Court ruling.  We need a mass movement that challenges this prison state, surely these politicians are not going to free our people.  Even if some are freed do to budget constraints, if we don’t hit the streets and win the battle of ideas we will not dismantle this system of oppression or stop it from a resurgence shortly later on.

  California must cut prison population by 30,000

  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/24/MNGK1JJQRJ.DTL

  (05-23) 17:20 PDT WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court ordered California on Monday to reduce the population of its jammed prisons by more than 30,000 in two years to repair a health care system that lower courts found was defying constitutional standards and endangering guards as well as inmates.

  Federal judges rightly found that overcrowding in a prison system that has held nearly twice its designed capacity for more than a decade was the main cause of “grossly inadequate provision of medical and mental health care,” the court said in a 5-4 ruling.

  “Needless suffering and death have been the well-documented result,” Justice Anthony Kennedy said in the majority opinion.

  He cited evidence from two decades of litigation: mentally ill prisoners waiting up to a year for treatment, suicidal inmates held for 24 hours in phone booth-size cages without toilets, waiting lists of 700 inmates for a single doctor, and gyms converted into triple-bunked living quarters that breed disease, and violence victimizing guards and inmates alike.

  Death toll

  A federal judge found in 2006 that shoddy prison health care in California was responsible for the death of one inmate a week, Kennedy noted.

  “The medical and mental health care provided by California’s prisons falls below the standard of decency that inheres in the Eighth Amendment,” which bans cruel and unusual punishment, said Kennedy, joined by the court’s more liberal justices.

  Under the ruling, California’s prison population of 143,000 must be reduced to 110,000 by mid-2013. Critics both on and off the bench forecast a wave of dangerous felons on the streets.

  Justice Samuel Alito, in a dissent joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, said the majority was loosing “the equivalent of three Army divisions” of criminals and was “gambling with the safety of the people of California.”

  Assembly Republican leader Connie Conway of Tulare said Californians “could be at serious risk of becoming victims of crime … as a result of this reckless and irresponsible decision.”

  One alternative

  But Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration, while critical of the ruling, said the state could comply without releasing any dangerous criminals – if Republicans approve Brown’s budget proposal to shift thousands of low-level offenders and parole violators from state prisons to county jails.

  “If realignment is done quickly and fully as the governor proposed, it will solve this problem,” said Matthew Cate, Brown’s prison director. “Our goal is to not release inmates at all.”

  The California State Sheriffs Association chimed in, saying Brown’s plan – as long as it is accompanied by more state funding for counties – is “a way to ensure this is not a massive release of prisoners.”

  But Republicans have opposed Brown’s plan on two grounds: The governor wants to extend tax increases to pay for it, and it would arguably reduce punishment by allowing some felons to avoid state prison.

  [Clip]
  

  
  Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/23/BAGK1JJQRJ.DTL#ixzz1NLBXsyvp

  Tags: California, Prison State

• 25May

  US – Pennslyvania: Jordan Miles, Student Brutally Beaten by Police, Speaks for the First Time Since Assault

  Activism, Police Brutality No Comments

  Jordan Miles, Honor Student Brutally Beaten by Police, Speaks for the First Time

  

  Jordan Miles After Police BeatingAfter

  
  

  
  

  http://www.blackyouthproject.com/blog/2011/05/jordan-miles-honor-student-brutally-beaten-by-pittsburgh-police-speaks-for-the-first-time/

  Tags: Police Brutality

• 23May

  Africa – Morocco: Police Violence During Protests

  Africa, Class Struggle, Police Brutality No Comments
  

  Image Credit: Reuters

  Here at Malcolm-Che.com, we understand our readers have a special interest in policy brutality. We tend to focus on instances of domestic police brutality, but we never forget that this is a worldwide problem.  We’ve already said that inside the prison system, the prison guards are the biggest gang; in the outside world, the police are the biggest gang.  Along with the military, they are the biggest agents of state-sponsored violence.

  Given the political turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East, there are countless examples of police brutality that rightfully inspire indignation in all human rights activists.  Here we are highlighting the police brutality in Morocco.  Yesterday, according to official figures, which we know are often grossly underestimated, approximately 20 protesters in Rabat and Casablanca Morocco were beaten by police.  This was for allegedly defying a ban on public protests.  Since the uprising began in Tunisia, several Arab governments have passed various laws which have sought to stem the revolutionary tide that is now sweeping across the region.  Morocco is no different; they recently passed a constitutional amendment that would allow for “greater democracy and more independence for the judiciary.”

  However, we know that these reforms are too little, too late.  The people of Morocco live under the extreme oppression of a monarchy, where a class struggle has been developing for centuries.  Common to all monarchical states,  Morocco has a very rigid class structure.  Although poverty is most concentrated in the rural areas (Morocco Poverty), Casablanca is home to one of the largest slums in the Arab world.  It’s class structure is dominated on the one hand by a tiny elite that holds the majority of the political, economic and religious power.  The other end is dominated by the  impoverished and illiterate masses, which live in the countryside or the slum.  While these represent the majority, there is also a layer of  urban youth, which are primarily under- or unemployed.  As in many of the uprisings in the Middle East, they seem to be an important protagonist in the struggle for political, social and economic freedom.

  This article highlights two different demonstrations which are very telling in their location and content.  One demonstration was dispersed when graduate students were demanding jobs from the current Monarch.  The other demonstration was in front of a secret prison, where the protesters alleged prisoners were tortured.  It is worth mentioning that these are common themes which run throughout the so-called “Arab Spring,” but which we rightfully recognize as the Arab Uprising.  Protesters are demanding jobs and an end to the repressive tactics of authoritarian regimes.

  Predictably, these protests are being blamed on “leftist and religious elements,” which are seeking to destabilize the country.  We realize that the political powers are scapegoating these two groups, and these demonstrations capture the true will of the populations.  We fully support the people of Morocco in their quest for revolutionizing their social and political institutions!

  See article for more info:

  http://www.presstv.ir/detail/181244.html

  Tags: Activism, Africa, Arab Spring, Middle East, Morocco, Police Brutality, Revolution

• 21May

  US – Washington: Seattle Officials Agree to Pay Family Of Native American $1.5 Million For Unjustified Killing By Police

  Activism, Native American, Police Brutality, Racism No Comments

  We first reported on this story here.  Apparently, city officials found the killing of Native American woodcarver John Williams to be ‘unjustified’ to the extent that they’ll pay $1.5 million to his family; but they still refuse to bring criminal charges against the officer.  Currently the U.S. government is investigating an ‘alleged’ pattern of excessive force, particularly against racial minorities, by Seattle police.  Don’t expect much.  These officials will hand out millions of dollars, but refuse to address the fundamental issues surrounding poverty, racism, police brutality, and mass imprisonment.

  
  

  http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/30/us-woodcarver-police-idUSTRE73T0JN20110430

  Seattle to pay $1.5 million in cop-slain woodcarver case

  

  The conference called by the Chief Seattle Club started with a ceremonial drum blessing, then speakers took turns relating their experiences with police or talked about what they said is an ongoing problem with police and racism in Seattle.

  (Reuters) – City officials on Friday agreed to pay $1.5 million to the family of a Native American woodcarver fatally shot by a white cop in a confrontation that stoked racial tensions and helped spark a federal probe of Seattle’s police force.

  A police firearms review board deemed the August 2010 shooting of John Williams, 50, unjustified, ruling that although he was intoxicated at the time he posed no threat “of serious harm” to the officer.

  But prosecutors chose not to bring criminal charges against the policeman, Ian Birk, 27, finding insufficient evidence of the criminal intent or malice required under Washington state law to prosecute a law enforcement officer for homicide.

  Birk quit the force the same day, February 17.

  The civil settlement, announced by the Seattle city attorney’s office, was reached through mediation by municipal officials and Williams’ relatives.

  The settlement document states that $1.25 million will be paid to Williams’ estate and $250,000 paid to his mother, Ida Edward of Vancouver, British Columbia.

  Birk had insisted he believed Williams was armed and that he shot the man in self-defense. A knife with the blade folded closed was found next to Williams after the shooting.

  His death sparked several rallies, attended mostly by minority citizens, protesting policing practices they claimed were racially discriminatory.

  The Williams shooting was one of several incidents cited by the American Civil Liberties Union in seeking a U.S. Justice Department investigation into an alleged pattern of excessive force by Seattle police officers, particularly against ethnic and racial minorities. The Justice Department in March said it had launched such an investigation.

  Williams’ family on March 16 asked the King County Superior Court to convene a citizens grand jury to determine whether Birk should be criminally charged. No ruling has been made.

  Tags: Murder By Police (MBP), Native American, Police Brutality, racial profiling, Racism, Washington

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