grand jury

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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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Sourced through Scoop.it from: blackbutterfly7.wordpress.com

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Officer who killed unarmed #NaeschylusVinzant not indicted

GOLDEN, Colo. — A grand jury decided Wednesday not to indict an Aurora, Colo., police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man wanted for violating parole.

 

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Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.usatoday.com

#NaeschylusVinzant

 

A grand jury is useless

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grand jury

 

A grand jury (since 1166) is made up of 12 to 23 people. It is used by public prosecutors, sometimes judges, to look into possible wrongdoing, generally a serious crime like murder, rape or fraud.

They do not determine guilt, but whether there should be a trial.

Grand juries can issue an indictment. It lists which people are to be brought to trial charged with what crimes.


Judges can also determine whether there should be a trial by holding apreliminary hearing with the lawyers from both sides.


Public prosecutors (county prosecutors, district attorneys, state attorneys, etc) can also bring charges on their own if there is enough evidence – even when the grand jury returns no indictment.

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Police brutality: Public prosecutors are in bed with the police: they work with them and depend on them. That creates a conflict of interest when the police commit a crime. Throwing it to a grand jury gives an appearance of fairness, but because grand juries rarely disagree with prosecutors, it becomes a way to avoid bringing charges. That is how the police officers who killed Michael Brown, Eric Garner and John Crawford avoided arrest, trial and prison.

 

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Source: abagond.wordpress.com

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“It’s a Disgrace” Even U.S. Congressmen are Disgusted with the Grand Jury Decision in Garner Case [VIDEO]

 

New York, N.Y. – A U.S. congressional delegation of Congressmen from New York, representing a broad cross section of ethnicity, held a press conference to express their absolute disgust with the grand jury decision to not indict anyone in the killing of Eric Garner.

“The decision by a grand jury not to indict in the death of Eric Garner is a miscarriage of justice. It’s an outrage, it’s a disgrace, it’s a blow to our democracy and it should shock the conscience of every single American who cares about justice and fair play,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

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Source: thefreethoughtproject.com

 

#BLACKLIVESMATTER

#iCANTBREATH

#SHUTitDOWN

#CANCERofRACISM

 

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Ferguson II

 

On Monday November 24th 2014 in the US, the grand jury of St Louis County said it would not charge Darren Wilson with a crime. Wilson is the White police officer who gunned down Michael Brown in broad daylight and let his body lie there in the street for four hours. Brown was 18 and unarmed. This was in Ferguson, Missouri, a mostly Black township in suburban St Louis. Nights of violence between police and protesters followed and 108 days of protest.

 

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Source: abagond.wordpress.com