Abuse of Power

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Taxpayers Shell Out $100K to Parents After School Cop Tased 14yo Daughter for No Reason

Allentown, PA – The family of a teenage girl was recently granted a $100,000 settlement from their local police department after an officer used his stun gun on the girl for no reason. The incident occurred in 2011, when the girl was 14-years-old while she was attending Dieruff High School.

 

The settlement was to prevent the family from moving forward with a federal civil rights lawsuit which accused Jason Ammary of using excessive force on the young girl.

 

According to court documents, the officer was ordering students to clear a street near the school on the day of the attack, but apparently the victim, Keshana Wilson, was not moving fast enough. So, Ammary grabbed her arm from behind and pushed her against a parked car when she instinctively pulled away from him.

As she struggled to get away, Ammary fired his taser directly at her and she collapsed onto the street.

 

The entire attack was documented by the school’s security cameras, and even the police department could not defend the actions of the officer when the recordings were made public
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The story of Keith Davis– what happens to you when you survive being shot by the police in Baltimore.
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The story of Keith Davis– what happens to you when you survive being shot by the police in Baltimore.

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Robocop Finally Goes To Jail Or, How To Use A Badge To Keep A Predominately Black City Oppressed

William Melendez was a police officer for the City of Detroit from 1993 to 2009. He received more civilian complaints than any other officer in the department. He was nicknamed “Robocop” like the movie character, purportedly because of his merciless violence against criminals. Melendez was accused of planting evidence, wrongfully killing civilians, falsifying police reports, and conducting illegal arrests.

 

Melendez has been a named defendant in at least 12 federal lawsuits. Some suits were settled out of court. Others were dismissed. Three years into the Detroit police force, Melendez and his partner fatally shot Lou Adkins. Witnesses testified that Adkins was shot 11 times while on the ground. The case settled for $1.05 million.

 

Melendez was also indicted by a federal grand jury for civil rights violations. Among other things, Melendez was accused of stealing guns, money, and drugs from suspects, and planting weapons. During his trial, many of the government’s witnesses had criminal records. The jury did not believe their testimony and Melendez was acquitted.

 

Melendez left Detroit and was hired by the Inkster police department. His conduct soon took a financial toll on that city. Since about 2008, Inkster has been financially struggling.  It reduced its police force from about 75 officers to about 23.  The majority of the officers in that predominately Black town are White.   In 2011, Melendez was accused of choking Inkster resident Deshawn Acklin. According to the federal lawsuit filed by Deshawn, Melendez beat and choked Deshawn until he lost consciousness. The court filing alleged that Ackline “succumbed to the pain and lack of oxygen and passed out defecating on himself.” Acklin was treated at a hospital for a closed head injury, a foot sprain, and bleeding from his eyes. He spent 3 days in custody but was never charged with a crime.  For Melendez humiliating and dehumanizing a man, homeowners in Inkster saw their property tax increased an additional $15 to $20 to pay for the $100,000 settlement.

 

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No Charges for Cop Who Killed Family’s Mentally Ill Son in His Underwear Holding a Broom on Video

Miami Gardens, FL — On February 15, Lavall Hall had a schizophrenic episode when he grabbed a broom and then went outside in his underwear. Unable to get her son back inside, Hall’s mother called the police for assistance to get her son back to the hospital, as he was only released one week prior.

 

Hall’s mother says that the police were aware of her son’s condition as they had responded to calls for medical assistance at her home in the past, and that she repeatedly told the officers that he was schizophrenic and bipolar on this evening.

 

“Don’t hurt my child,” the mother asked the officers before the encounter.

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/charges-cop-killed-familys-mentally-ill-son-underwear-holding-broom-video/#l7Sm76RB1YMG3QDO.99

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The cop shot him while he was down on the ground.

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Woman With Asperger’s Who Touched Millions of Lives with Viral Video, Shot Dead by Police

As the Free Thought Project has pointed out in the past, the overwhelming majority of time spent by police during training is devoted to shooting their weapons. Very little time is set aside for training in de-escalation tactics, and most departments receive zero training in dealing with the mentally ill.

 

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/woman-aspergers-touched-millions-lives-viral-video-shot-dead-police/#qXMbuVtjDy2OE9uw.99

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Gruesome Dashcam Shows Slowly Driving Away From Cops is Punishable by Death by Firing Squad

Billings, MT — In January of 2015, two former Yellowstone County Sheriff’s deputies Jason Robinson and Christopher Rudolph opened fire on Loren Simpson and killed him as he attempted to flee their stop.
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/gruesome-dashcam-shows-slowly-driving-cops-punishable-death-firing-squad/#P0uitqJIjSADeS5w.99

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Toyota Motor Credit to pay up to $21.9 million in racial discrimination probe

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a settlement with Toyota Motor Credit Corp. over racially motivated pricing policies.

The bureau worked with the U.S. Department of Justice to compel the company to alter its pricing and compensation methods to reduce dealer involvement in setting discretionary interest rates, the bureau said Tuesday in a statement.

The company will also pay up to $21.9 million in restitution to African-American and Pacific Islander customers who paid higher rates than white customers. An investigation revealed that, from 2011 to 2016, Toyota Motor Credit violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by encouraging dealers to charge some classes more for loans. The statement said that, on average, African-American borrowers were charged $200 more for their car loans, and Pacific Islanders, on average, $100 more, than white customers.

It is the fourth time the bureau and DOJ worked to address the disparity in lending rates by race. Since 2013, Ally Financial and Ally Bank Inc., American Honda Finance Corp. and Fifth Third Bank have each paid fines, and adjusted their policies, after a government investigation.

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Family of #JanetWilson, a 31 year old Black woman shot and killed by Dearborn police: ‘She was murdered’
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Family of #JanetWilson, a 31 year old Black woman shot and killed by Dearborn police: ‘She was murdered’

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#SarahReed: A Black Woman Victim of Vicious Police Assault Found Dead in Her Cell.

“My sources tell me that Sarah had been a victim of an attempted rape in Maudsley and that when she fought off her attacker, injuring him, the staff called the police. It was Sarah who ended up being arrested.

The fact that Sarah had previously challenged racist and violent Metropolitan Police Officer who was later sacked  leads the family to suspect that she was targeted for arrest under any pretence, as an act of retribution.”

 

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#SarahReed #SayHerName #BlackLivesMatter

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4 Cops Beat Pregnant Woman, Stomping on Her Stomach During False Arrest, Causing Miscarriage

Staten Island, NY – Accused of beating a pregnant woman in the stomach and causing her to miscarry, four NYPD officers have recently been sued for violating her constitutional rights, false arrest, and excessive force. Although the woman initially informed the cops that she was pregnant, the officers allegedly struck her before throwing her to the ground and stomping on her stomach.
According to the recently filed lawsuit, NYPD officers arrived at Emelda Fitzroy’s house at 1:45 p.m. on November 2, 2014. Although the civil complaint does not mention why the police went to her home, Fitzroy asserts that she told the officers that she was pregnant before they “forcibly grabbed” her and arrested her “without any legal justification.”
Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/nypd-sued-cops-beat-pregnant-woman-causing-miscarriage/#o07oErQhL2F5cH9F.99

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