Bad Cops & Prosecutors

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 01-22-09

Posted on January 22, 2009
Seattle Police Department's "Command Vehicle", complete with telescoping boom mounted surveillance cameras, stationed outside of an Inauguration Day rally at Seattle's Westlake Center. Local Blogger Wonders If Seattle Is Becoming A Police State Apesma's Lament, a local Seattle blog by activist Tim Harris, wonders if Seattle may be turning into a police state given the overwhelming presence of Seattle Police at a local rally during Inauguration Day in which different independent reporters claimed it appeared as though there were more police than attendants at the rally organized by Seattle Community College students in Seattle's Westlake Center...

Building Bridges To Today

Posted on January 20, 2009
I grew up in Ohio during the 1970s while neighborhoods were still somewhat segregated and some still showed scars from riots that occurred just a few years prior to my birth. Since my parents were separated I would spend time between them in some very separate worlds...

Visitor Of The Day

Posted on January 19, 2009
As do most "bloggers", I use tracking services to monitor the site traffic and these services give me information about how people found the site, what they did while they were here, and other sundry details that help me figure out if the site is communicating its message well...

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 01-18-09

Posted on January 18, 2009
A Photograph of the Olympia Washington Anti-Police Brutality march on 01/17/09. Police Brutality Protesters Violently March Against Police Violence A small protest in Olympia, Washington yesterday against police brutality and the shooting death of Jose Ramirez-Jiminez last year took a violent turn after protesters were herded towards a police substation by Olympia police...

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Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 01-16-09

Posted on January 16, 2009
A review of police misconduct and jail abuse stories making the headlinesSite NewsThe first annual 2008 worst police misconduct video of the year reader's poll has ended, expect results from that poll to be posted later along with additional information about the stories behind those videos...

BART Officer Johannes Mehserle Arrested In Nevada

Posted on January 14, 2009
An alleged image of BART officer Johannes Mehserle taken before the New Years shooting death of Oscar Grant from Carlos Miller's Photography Is Not A Crime blog where he analyzes whether Mehserle was really carrying a taser on his opposing hip like BART officials claim he was...

Johannes Mehserle Charged With Murdering Oscar Grant - But More Questions Remain

Posted on January 14, 2009
Alameda Country District Attorney Tom Orloff announced that his office has charged Johannes Mehserle with murder in the shooting death of Oscar Grant on New Years Day. Orloff, according to the Press-Enterprise, went on to say that "At this point, what I feel the evidence indicates, is an unlawful killing done by an intentional act and from the evidence we have there's nothing that would mitigate that to something lower than a murder...

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 01-13-09

Posted on January 13, 2009
The "Worst Police Misconduct Video of 2008" reader's poll is ending tomorrow... Sure, they are all bad, but the worst ones will get their own story when voting ends. So pick which one you think exemplifies the worst example of police misconduct that was captured on video in 2008...

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 01-12-09

Posted on January 12, 2009
A review of police misconduct and jail abuse stories making the headlines Youth Manager In Juvi-Jail Accused Of Sexually Abusing a Minor A "youth manager" at the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center in Indiana is accused of forcing a 16 year old detainee into performing sexual acts for him on Christmas Eve...

When Assault Becomes Murder - An Analysis of the Oscar Grant Shooting

Posted on January 11, 2009
The videotaped shooting death of Oscar Grant by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle has stirred angry demands for criminal charges from the public as BART officials and the Alameda County District Attorney have dragged their feet. Officials claim that they need more time to investigate what the public has already seen...

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 01-09-09

Posted on January 09, 2009
A review of police misconduct and jail abuse stories making the headlinesWhy Prosecuting Police Misconduct Is So Difficult In The USEarl Ofari Hutchinson, with the American Chronicle, offers a brutally honest and realistic look at why it is highly unlikely that the BART police officer who shot Oscar Grant in the back and killed him will ever be convicted, even if he's ever charged, for the killing...

The Oscar Grant Shooting - A Study Of America's Dualistic Justice Systems

Posted on January 08, 2009
Video of the Oscar Grant shooting that we first covered here on 01/05/08 when the video was released to the public by witnesses. In the early hours of New Years Day 2009, 22 year old Oscar Grant pleaded with the officers who detained him by telling them he had a young daughter at home in the same way one might try to personalize oneself to a criminal in hopes that a connection will be made when being threatened with harm...

Worst Police Misconduct Video of 2008 Reader Poll

Posted on January 07, 2009
So much happened in 2008 and it seems like we've been losing the battle against police misconduct because of all the stories we've seen...Or is it just that these stories have always been here and that we're just now hearing more about the stories that usually get covered up thanks to brave citizens out there who videotape the police when they misbehave and because that technology has become so ubiquitous? Do these show us how bad misconduct is, or how much misconduct out there happens without us ever knowing about it?So, let's take a look back at the stories of police misconduct in video that happened in 2008...

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 01-05-09

Posted on January 05, 2009
Cell phone video taken by witness to the BART shooting in Oakland, CA.BART Officers in Oakland California Shoot Man In Back While He Pleads For His Life22 year old Oscar Grant was fatally shot by BART officers in Oakland California while laying face down on the ground and begging officers for his life...

King County and US Department of Justice Reach Agreement on Jail Reforms

Posted on January 05, 2009
King County Executive Ron Sims and the US DOJ released details on an agreement which outlines steps that King County must take in order to address the constitutional rights abuses the US DOJ discovered during it's year-long investigation last year into jail deaths and other abuses that occurred in the King County Correctional Facility (KCCF)...

When An Anti-War Protest Becomes A Pro-War Protest

Posted on January 04, 2009
I heard there was going to be a protest march today against the war going on in Gaza so I decided to go and take a few pictures... The bulk of the protest march in Seattle, cited in the news as 2,000 but seemingly more like 200. It really did seem to be an anti-war protest, intermixed between the Palestinian flags were some of the stock protesters that seem to be at any given anti-war protest of any stripe...

Happy New Year 2009

Posted on January 01, 2009

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 12-28-08

Posted on December 28, 2008
A review of police misconduct and jail abuse stories making the headlines Washington State Democrat Pushes For DNA Testing Upon Arrest Democratic state representative Mark Miloscia is introducing a bill into the Washington state legislature that would allow police to collect a suspect's DNA upon arrest instead of at the time of conviction for a felony crime...

Researching Top 10 Worst Cities For Police Misconduct

Posted on December 26, 2008
I'm currently working on a story that will list the 10 worst cities for police misconduct. It will be like a top ten list of cities you would never want to live in. At this moment, since most cities still don't record misconduct statistics in a reliable manner, we'll be judging cities by the number of publicly cited reports of misconduct via the media along with the number of federal investigations, other reports of widespread misconduct, and possibly taking into consideration the severity of misconduct reported and whether cities attempted to address it or cover it up...

For Your Holiday Viewing

Posted on December 25, 2008
Alas, I'm old, but here's one of my favorites on my listening list all year round...The Kinks with Father Christmas.Happy Holidays everyone.

Happy Holidays

Posted on December 25, 2008
I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season. No matter what you believe, if you believe or celebrate anything or not, it's still nice to have a day or two out of the year where there is a bit more peace in the world and where we are a bit more like brothers and sisters to each other than usual...

US ER Doctors Reveal They Know Police Use Excessive Force

Posted on December 24, 2008
A new report in the January 2009 edition of the Emergency Medicine Journal may contain evidence that the epidemic of police brutality in the US is very real. That report reveals that 99.8% of US Emergency Physicians believe that the police use excessive force when detaining suspects...

Police Officer Threatens Woman Who Blogs About Officer-Involved Domestic Violence

Posted on December 23, 2008
A Screenshot of one threatening email messages sent to Officer-Involved Domestic Violence (OIDV)advocate at the Behind The Blue Wall blog. Harassing and sending threatening messages to police accountability activists and people who report on police misconduct is a favorite pastime for police officers...

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 12-23-08

Posted on December 23, 2008
Denver's "Independent Monitor" Refuses To Investigate Misconduct ClaimsDenver's police monitor refuses to investigate allegations of misconduct during the DNC simply because he felt that the police "had no reason to lie" about what happened. (Guess he got some of those t-shirts the officers made to celebrate mistreatment of protesters for free)...

Police Officer Threatens Woman Who Blogs About Officer-Involved Domestic Violence

Posted on December 23, 2008
A Screenshot of one threatening email messages sent to Officer-Involved Domestic Violence (OIDV)advocate at the Behind The Blue Wall blog. Harassing and sending threatening messages to police accountability activists and people who report on police misconduct is a favorite pastime for police officers...

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 12-23-08

Posted on December 23, 2008
Denver's "Independent Monitor" Refuses To Investigate Misconduct ClaimsDenver's police monitor refuses to investigate allegations of misconduct during the DNC simply because he felt that the police "had no reason to lie" about what happened. (Guess he got some of those t-shirts the officers made to celebrate mistreatment of protesters for free)...

One DOJ Report And One Inquest Later, Abuses Continue At The King County Jail

Posted on December 22, 2008
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One DOJ Report And One Inquest Later, Abuses Continue At The King County Jail

Posted on December 22, 2008
In March of 2008 we reported that a woman who was recovering from reconstructive surgery was denied medical care while at the King County Jail despite just having surgery a few days before her arrest under allegations of shoplifting. In that case the jail staff had verified that she was under a doctor's care and had valid doctor's instructions for care of that wound, but the staff ignored her requests anyway...

No Good Deed Goes...Court Says Good Samaritans Can Be Sued

Posted on December 20, 2008
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No Good Deed Goes...Court Says Good Samaritans Can Be Sued

Posted on December 20, 2008
This story from California bugged me, not just the inherent injustice of someone being punished for doing a good deed, but because it also could apply to any of us... even here in Washington state, or wherever you live too.The case, Van Horn v Torti, pits Alexandra Van Horn, who was injured as a passenger in a car that slammed into a light pole at 45 mph in November of 2004, against Lisa Torti who was a co-worker and friend of Van Horn's following in a car behind Van Horns who attempted to pull Van Horn out of the vehicle in the fear that her car might ignite in to flame...

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