LAPD cover-up, lies, exposed in police murder of Jose Mendez

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LAPD cover-up, lies, exposed in police murder of Jose Mendez (http://fightbacknews.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a29530af96a02fc55d345e735&id=46468adb2b&e=d323598fe4)

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By Carlos Montes

Los Angeles, CA - The Mendez family and their attorney Arnold Casillas held a press conference, Jan. 11, to announce the filing of a federal lawsuit for the Feb. 6, 2016 killing of their 16-year-old son Jose Mendez by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Juan Mendez spoke of his murdered son Jose, saying that he loved soccer and hamburgers. Juan Mendez displayed an urn with the ashes of Jose saying, “This is all I have left of my son. I want justice - these police who assassinated my son must go to jail.”

Attorney Arnold Casillas gave specific facts and showed a video of the Boyle Heights killing. A video from across the street on apartment building shows Jose Mendez pulling over into drive way and the LAPD quickly exiting police car and start firing at Mendez, who was still sitting and strapped with seat belt in car. The police officers are Josue Merida and Jeremy Wagner.

A witness said he heard no orders to exit the car or for raised hands, only the loud burst of multiple gunshots. Jose Mendez was instantly killed, with 19 bullet wounds to his body, mostly to the left side shoulder and face. Part of his face was destroyed. The video shows the police taking the dead body out of the driver seat. The police report states that they cut the seat belt and dragged the lifeless body about 30 feet way from car onto the side walk and handcuffed him. Police then stood over body about 10 minutes. Later medical vehicle arrives but no aid was ever given.

The police version is that Jose was stopped for driving a reported stolen car, and that he “brandished” a shotgun. In 2014 these same two officers killed someone with the same story, that he “brandished” a gun.

Josue Merida and Jeremy Wagner must be taken off the street, fired and prosecuted - they are killers. The two policemen turned off their body video cameras before the shooting. These two cops are killers and they are now back on the street patrolling our community.

At an LAPD Police Commission hearing of Jan. 10, on the agenda was an Officer Involved Shooting report from Chief Charlie Beck. During the public comment period, Sol Marquez with Centro CSO called for the prosecution of the police. During the closed hearing they determined that the shooting was “within policy.” The commission bought into the lies of the two police officers and Chief Beck fed them their lies to consider a shooting “within policy.”

The Los Angeles District Attorney Jackey Lacey has also not prosecuted these killer cops or the many others. There were 19 killings by police in Los Angeles in 2016; six in Boyle Heights/East Los Angeles alone. The Mendez family and Attorney Arnoldo Casillas are in unity with Centro CSO are now calling for the U.S. federal government to intervene and conduct a federal investigation on the Jose Mendez killing, and the others, in Boyle Heights.

Centro CSO has organized with the families of Jose Mendez; Edwin Rodriguez, who was killed Feb. 14, 2016; Arturo Valdez, killed April 6; and Jessie Romero, killed August 9, to demand justice, and that the killer cops be fired and prosecuted.

Centro CSO is calling for a mass march on Jan. 20, to fight the coming Trump attacks. Demands include “Legalization, No Deportations and Jail the Killer Cops.” The rally will assemble at 11 a.m. at Mariachi Plaza and will march to LA City Hall.

Chicanos have a long history of organizing resistance to police killing and abuse. Since the 1848 Mexican American war - when the now-U.S. Southwest was occupied, we faced lynching and killings of the native indigenous and Chicano population. We have and will continue to fight back!

Read more News and Views from the Peoples Struggle at http://www.fightbacknews.org. You can write to us at [email protected]

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http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/01/18/cour-j18.html


Unanimous US Supreme Court insists on broad immunity for police

By Tom Carter

18 January 2017

On January 9, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous summary ruling reversing a decision by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and upholding qualified immunity for a police officer who shot and killed Samuel Pauly in an attempt to investigate a traffic incident near Santa Fe, New Mexico in October 2011.

Prior to the shooting, Samuel’s brother Daniel was involved in a non-violent road-rage incident in which he stopped his car and confronted two women who he claimed had been tailgating him. Daniel subsequently drove home, where he lived with Samuel. Samuel was at home playing video games and had not been involved in the confrontation. Meanwhile, the occupants of the other vehicle called the police, who were able to locate the house where the brothers lived.

At that point, no crime had been committed and there was no legal justification to arrest anyone or to enter or search any house. While the frequency of “road-rage” incidents is not a healthy sign, they do constitute a fairly common occurrence in American social life.

According to Daniel, when two police officers arrived at the brothers’ house they failed to identify themselves. Not realizing that it was the police, and believing that they were being burglarized, the brothers armed themselves with weapons. The brothers warned, “We have guns!” The encounter escalated and there was an exchange of gunfire in which no one was struck. Then a third officer arrived and, without warning, shot Samuel dead.

The phrase “qualified immunity” refers to a judge-made doctrine that has no basis in the text of the US Constitution, notwithstanding the claims by various Supreme Court justices to be handing down the Constitution’s “original” meaning. In recent decades, this doctrine has quietly been built up to huge proportions within the judicial system, largely without significant media commentary or public discussion. It now plays an important role in blocking civil rights cases and encouraging the ongoing epidemic of police brutality.

According to this authoritarian and anti-democratic doctrine, a judge can unilaterally decide a case in favor of a police officer—even if the officer’s conduct violated the Constitution—if the judge determines that the police officer acted “reasonably” in light of previous Supreme Court decisions. If qualified immunity is awarded to the police officer, the case can be thrown out of court, never going before a jury, and costs can be imposed against the victim or the victim’s survivors.

During American election campaigns, it is often claimed by liberal commentators that the election of a Democratic president is necessary to ensure that the Supreme Court is not stacked with ultra-right judges. The fact that the decision in the Pauly case was unanimous highlights the role of both official parties and the judiciary as a whole in the abrogation of democratic rights and the drive towards a police state.

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to award immunity to the officers, instead opting to let a jury decide whether their conduct was appropriate. The Supreme Court reversed that decision in an unsigned eight-page opinion joined by all of the sitting justices, including Obama appointees Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. While the court normally has nine justices, the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last year has not yet been filled.

The text of the Supreme Court’s opinion underscores the stunningly irrational character of the doctrine of qualified immunity as it is applied in practice. The Supreme Court held that the officer who killed Samuel “did not violate clearly established law” because “existing precedent” had not “placed the statutory or constitutional question beyond debate.”

In other words, there had not been a nearly identical case decided against a police officer in the past, so the conduct of the officer in this case could not be the subject of a lawsuit. However, since the doctrine of qualified immunity prevents this case from being decided on the merits, the Supreme Court’s Kafkaesque logic ensures that the outcome will be the same in every future case.

Moreover, the Pauly case has far more sinister implications then might be apparent from the facts of this particular case. In the written opinion, the justices went out of their way to complain that the lower courts were not granting qualified immunity to police officers often enough.

The justices noted bitterly, “In the last five years, this Court has issued a number of opinions reversing federal courts in qualified immunity cases.” In other words, while the Supreme Court has been routinely granting immunity to police officers, some lower federal courts have not kept pace. The Supreme Court is signaling the lower courts that they must fall into line.

With the full support of the Obama administration, the Supreme Court over the past five years has routinely insisted on broad immunity for police officers in civil rights lawsuits based on police misconduct. In its May 2014 decision in the case of Plumhoff v. Rickard, the Supreme Court—once again unanimously—awarded immunity to three Arkansas police officers who fired 15 bullets at two unarmed people who were trying to escape in a car. Both the driver and the passenger were killed. (See: “Supreme Court issues unanimous decision defending police in fatal shooting”)

In November 2015, the Supreme Court granted qualified immunity in the case of a Texas trooper who climbed on an overpass and used a rifle to assassinate a motorist who was being pursued by other officers, even after his supervisor told him not to do it. (See: “US Supreme Court expands immunity for killer cops”)

After killing his victim, the Texas trooper boasted, “How’s that for proactive?”

In its decision last week in the Pauly case, the unanimous Supreme Court emphasized the significance of the doctrine of qualified immunity, writing, “The Court has found [that] qualified immunity is important to society as a whole.”

While more than 1,050 people were killed by the police in America in 2016, the unanimous Supreme Court thinks it is “important to society” for the federal courts to ensure that more police officers enjoy immunity from legal actions that base themselves on fundamental democratic rights.

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Sign now: Police must report all deaths in custody to the DOJ


AFL-CIO


Chris,

We’ll never forget the names of Freddie Gray or Sandra Bland. There are many more names, though, of people who have died in police custody that we’ll never know because not all law enforcement agencies are reporting this information.

It doesn’t have to be that way. The Death in Custody Reporting Act requires law enforcement agencies to report this data, but the law isn’t being fully enforced by the Department of Justice.

Last week, the Senate held hearings on Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who Donald Trump has nominated to head the DOJ. Sessions claimed during his hearing that he’ll protect all Americans’ rights, but he’s going to have to prove it, especially given his history of racially charged comments and a record of attacking civil liberties, including the right to vote. We have a chance right now to hold him accountable to that promise.

On Monday, Jan. 23, a coalition of organizations will be delivering petitions to the Department of Justice to demand that the future attorney general fully enforce the Death in Custody Reporting Act.

Sign the petition now to tell the DOJ that you want the Death in Custody Reporting Act to be fully enforced. (http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/1QA/ni0YAA/t.244/wE9MoD1KS5KTknqQ9GGikg/h0/mHN54uPhY25EOaArZ7tBPpruPpiqAP8Le6PVJfehVgx2OQ7RoB O20lTIH0bJG6R03sMoBAMH36lI92fk-2FJ-2F-2BDNryG-2FPSexQbI0yFOfwxN4glBZIbCUQBuBv7WE0G1jJALSXG4RfeHq tblg4lxAxBL-2FOabmB4ke-2B-2B4C5t4M-2Fa-2Bp2RUoWOHEalzsciz7tXuzpztCVfDaifM3Mx8RDfwg-2FWpc1vvMSaKgeeOK9r1jHfDpljOnnGK8be1Si2GoWoxhTmr87 ND5-2Fb51Owm0ZraLQ5jEApkWWFotr55uEqdfGMYMpASTdC3EI9I5g cNlgmZPg-2Bcr4ajCdev0x68SLJ8Ne9-2BQWJNx31410Op5Mv7rJMh1V2sd2u6TErsIXV-2FhaZdV1zx7suC-2Bhm5yenPw-2BCD5Ert-2F5JR5KW2NrDWg4wDfrnEzYWMQOHZDNlqdmSq4utjzDs5E7u06 GF3aULBMItkYEKwrO3XCaV961BZ4PbfHgk-2FlUPY6mAm9AkD5GDHKriIn5XjfBccFj4VGlc6MfxoCubuA-3D-3D)

This law gives the Department of Justice the legal responsibility to require law enforcement agencies to report any and all deaths of people while in custody. The problem is that financial penalties authorized by the law have not been imposed on law enforcement agencies who do not comply with the law.

This information is important not only to the families of people who die in police custody, but all of us. We need this information, so we can ensure that all people can seek justice and we can begin to address the issues of inequality, racism and discrimination that too many communities face on a daily basis.

Add your name now to tell the DOJ to require accurate data on deaths in police custody. (http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/1QA/ni0YAA/t.244/wE9MoD1KS5KTknqQ9GGikg/h1/mHN54uPhY25EOaArZ7tBPpruPpiqAP8Le6PVJfehVgx2OQ7RoB O20lTIH0bJG6R03sMoBAMH36lI92fk-2FJ-2F-2BDNryG-2FPSexQbI0yFOfwxN4glBZIbCUQBuBv7WE0G1jJALSXG4RfeHq tblg4lxAxBL6udNKih-2BLI2p0kzmDlHQkTU17HnEuWqln-2BYKUoSnLlTxY1hklxgEL9FtmTa1Hcewv7Brf9m6QwpJVmokUU R-2Bgo-2Bno6RGYLfbuDKCCxrjC-2BewJtzlIrYr4kIu3NUTlPqUWe4KSQvGMBWoJUvLL2KWLsJ5u7 EdqQLhvDbSPhFTfBduZ5KS8FvcHSdgWXELGY6K0c2ObQcji53p Rx-2FYwPHijj2-2FVu5eQ6Jie6GV6XV-2Fc-2FbKMEc-2BLb-2FsbSNOu9e4KjZL-2F-2BHzT3ElmpMDkg6PheJajDlwHQxTcoFX0HLvkHvmACNcJj6bdA-2B2nAVFNR-2F4biD-2FZF6-2B471js6CoKlTa1Gwxkta-2BGvzJxBqw02a421dOKRJy-2FReLHvReeutFd8qA4vGNw-3D-3D)

In Solidarity,

Carmen
-------------------
Carmen Berkley
Director of Civil, Human and Women’s Rights, AFL-CIO


AFL-CIO (http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/1QA/ni0YAA/t.244/wE9MoD1KS5KTknqQ9GGikg/h2/GmvsifzDqUiJ01-2B2MhZwYx2fJVfA2umS6HXJEeRsAzBKJ7oZBIJqw-2BhIfOAppHKKT0mCU7f4L-2FpgkAYUFznGz7PF6T7VIeKqxBrfPlbtsXac-2BVByW4-2BWPe9ijHvQfY9kETuRORCnlg5dAosxg0Zw1HeyBWXzu6ZF86W ccmj2fPCMlzBg6XPS0DwBL7zWwmckTWV-2B-2BwG-2FfStJW5Rtf7PEkwP7fdcIHiCqmcf30db0jHgqYb3Dgp2Ukm1j 5N7X7K-2BORNp2BNAMACKtgEfLAUMN-2F2jqoR3UkBnQGQOdGK-2BOwmBEIw6QKFbr0VO0p9OYM32fHx0UTkAHdxprtEc5guL-2FA0nNf7tk2OquhR-2BM0SYDgOA2rs3W5LDH-2FCCwckUIlTkIACCozLxItEmfux06jrCTyg-3D-3D) Facebook (http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/1QA/ni0YAA/t.244/wE9MoD1KS5KTknqQ9GGikg/h3/9ZtgBbtsz-2BGzBX39C579VIL2jQ9i-2BKiVA2I-2BF9wgGRTklDg-2FnAUbcwA6VSlJz-2F4B1vNT1k5jee-2BXIQzhulup8HKE1YxIEuITeJe-2BzOC5bnuD2-2BLSmcPXWD8TRPLU-2F-2BGf9m5vaij9ClTB4GvmEzlt15V0oU5CtLiW6zM1kXdkWx2HGn qWehBYTLN-2BopMWBLREJpK5BkiPIdyzju6y9rKmIjhAjJ8chhjPDMPR6AaC Bc-2Bk5sCBNIowHX07G3ZY760KOPyZVG4yw1KLAdl4OxQJk89-2BAFsTVJf3xkGZ65ylaAS1ELa7t5uya7ZcjAlMKyAllPwDjdCA rpR1YCnuitNMjiY9pWK-2FGe7q1a1Qy2bDf-2Fa6IB0Ws0-2F54AHdomxNl-2BHG-2BRjk8jErCNr0l9g3hJcVawALwqrkdg7GUrSa93ig8KY-3D) Twitter (http://click.actionnetwork.org/mpss/c/1QA/ni0YAA/t.244/wE9MoD1KS5KTknqQ9GGikg/h4/9RXDenI7BReTpKa-2F42PXTJ7hbSBraPBCb6Z3XIdqxQRp-2BoE05SLHfZWukNdMgW6AXIoe2-2FTcx716UI2cPHd-2Bwe-2BUdKy0fLDDATPA25lI9z0xGx5uv03HDah2klrhL6NWDj1190k DTBHmdx0LZb2nIgAEOnsjSfKyqYHtguPWWMAktLAqM2ENHr4ep 8XgRpBQ4KlBKph3hBIOXpp7t7LyeRZKG3MglB9t-2FqrPhd-2FHvvC-2BC1s-2FcY0sZvDAJLiX8urigFbonnIHZ68zBeN2DpMHDo7zJj7KY1s1 FGqHQQrQZfn6st4zRz3N4l85A8O9GsjCbPW9G5i-2BMIx4aInLHQcUl903YOxIe7MAVs-2BwshgQU2dWKLwaXgToRdblmcXL9WQX0289PNMrvaqxYTgMTDd E-2Fg-3D-3D)
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[...]

https://cascade.madmimi.com/promotion_images/1537/9313/original/Ramarley.jpg?1485483691
Ramarley Graham, executed by NYPD on Feb. 2, 2012

Ramarley Graham Family Calls for the Firing of Richard Haste, NYPD Killer Cop

The NYPD execution of 17 year old Ramarley Graham took place five years ago in the Bronx on February 2, 2012. Richard Haste, the NYPD cop, shot Graham in the bathroom of Graham's apartment after Haste broke into the family's house and shot the unarmed Ramarley in front of his grandmother and younger brother. After the shooting, the grandmother was taken into custody as the police sought to cover up the shooting. Killer Cop Richard Haste has continued to walk.

Watch video news report here. (http://www.stoppoliceterror.org/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcnewyork.com%2Fnews%2Flocal %2FRamarley-Graham-Shot-Dead-Bathroom-New-York-City-NYPD-Officer-Family-Justify-Trial-Hearing-Unarmed-Black-Man-411668665.html&e=4160b7d4c80bd7ff2829463c3b9e0a03&utm_source=riseupoctober&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=jan_27_2017&n=2)

[...]

Stop Mass Incarceration Network
http://www.stoppoliceterror.org/
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https://news.google.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/no-charges-shot-mentally-ill-teen-bystander-article-1.2969869


Families outraged as prosecutors pass on charging Chicago cop who fatally shot mentally ill teen and bystander

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http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2969866.1486823006!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_1200/chicago12n-3-web.jpg
Bettie Jones and Quintonio LeGrier (pictured) were fatally shot by police at a West Garfield Park residence Dec. 26, 2015. (HANDOUT)
BY JESSICA SCHLADEBECK
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Saturday, February 11, 2017, 9:33 AM

The families of a mentally ill teen and his neighbor blasted prosecutors’ decision to not charge the Chicago police officer who fatally shot their loved ones.

The state attorney’s office Friday afternoon said no criminal charges would be brought against Officer Robert Rialmo who shot and killed Quitonio LeGrier, 19, and Bettie Jones, 55, the day after Christmas in 2015, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Officials said it couldn’t be proved the officer didn’t believe he or his partner were in “imminent danger” from LeGrier, who was wielding a bat when he was shot.

“There is absolutely not justification for the use of excessive force in that instance,” attorney Larry Rogers Jr., who represents Jones’ family, said. “Bettie Jones was at her home. She was in her house. She was doing everything right that day ... To suggest this is a justifiable shooting is to ignore the objective evidence.”

HEAR IT: Quintonio LeGrier dialed 911 three times

Police on Dec. 26, 2015 responded to four 911 calls — three by LeGrier and the other by his father — for a domestic disturbance. LeGrier, a sophomore at Northern Illinois University, was staying with his father during the winter break.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2969868.1486823009!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_1200/chicago.jpg
Officer Robert Rialmo shot Bettie Jones and Quintonio LeGrierin Chicago, Illinois on December 26, 2015. (RACHAEL LEVY VIA VIMEO)

Jones, who lived beneath them, answered the door when officers arrived and pointed them toward the correct apartment, but LeGrier was already coming down the stairs with an aluminum baseball bat.

“As the officers walked backward down the stairs, Rialmo’s partner tapped Rialmo on his back and told him to look out,” according to a report from the attorney’s office cited by the newspaper. “Rialmo drew his service weapon and fired eight shots toward LeGrier while backing down the front staircase.”

Jones was fatally struck once in the chest while LeGrier was shot six times.

Chicago cop who shot teen sues family for $10 million
His mother, Janet Cooksey, said she didn’t understand why the officer wasn’t charged, while his father labeled the decision “totally unacceptable” and “unfair,” the Tribune reported.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2969867.1486823007!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_1200/chicago12n-2-web.jpg
Bettie Jones (pictured) and Quintonio LeGrier were fatally shot by police at a West Garfield Park residence Dec. 26, 2015. (HANDOUT)

“Quitinio did the right thing. He called for help,” Cooksey said. “He called for help not one time, not two, but three (times.) He called for help to get shot... and yet this cop is not going to jail?”

Rialmo both defended his actions and expressed his regret.

“I have always known in my heart that I did not do anything wrong,” the officer said in a statement shared by his attorney. “I wish that Mr. LeGrier would have been able to get help and treatment for his mental illness and that the situation did not escalate to the point where I had no choice but to use deadly force.”

Family of black teen killed by Chicago cop say it was hate crime
He added that he does not expect the loved ones of those he killed to forgive what he did.

“Being right does not make it any less of a tragedy that two people are dead and I was the cause of their deaths,” Rialmo said. “I will have to live with that for the rest of my life.”

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.2969864.1486823003!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_1200/police-chicago-funeral.jpg
Pallbearers carry the casket of Quintonio LeGrier during his funeral in Chicago, Illinois, January 9, 2016. (JOSHUA LOTT/REUTERS)
The U.S. Department of Justice in a recent report said the deaths of LeGrier and Jones “laid bare the failures in CPD’s crisis response systems,” and noted issues including the dispatcher’s inability to identify LeGrier as mentally ill and Rialmo and his partner’s lack of proper crisis intervention technique, the Tribune reported.

The attorney’s office in its review of the case said a conviction would require proving Rialmo did not believe he and his partner were in danger, even though LeGrier had a bat — which is considered to be a deadly weapon — when the shooting occurred, according to the news paper.

“The uncontrverted evidence from the investigation into the shooting establishes that LeGrier was armed with an aluminum baseball bat when officers encountered him,” the state’s attorney’s office said in a statement, “and LeGrier wielded the bat in a threatening manner while in their close proximity.”

© Copyright 2017 NYDailyNews.com. All rights reserved.

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http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/02/13/chic-f13.html


Cook County, Illinois refuses to charge officer involved in fatal shooting of two

By George Marlowe

13 February 2017

Last Friday, the Cook County State Attorney’s Office refused to bring charges against Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer Robert Rialmo involved in a double-fatal shooting. In what amounts to yet another cover up of systemic Chicago police violence, the prosecutors claimed that the officer acted in self-defense and that there was “insufficient evidence” to bring charges, despite witnesses suggesting otherwise.

Officer Rialmo shot and killed 19-year-old Quintonio LeGrier and bystander 55-year-old Betty Jones in December of 2015. Rialmo responded to a domestic disturbance call from the LeGrier household. Antonio LeGrier, Quintonio’s father, said that his son was having emotional troubles and was taking medication for mental illness. LeGrier called 911 three times to ask the police to intervene before he was shot.

The officer claimed that LeGrier charged at him with a baseball bat when he shot at him in self-defense. But witnesses at the scene, including LeGrier’s father, pointed out that he was at least 15 to 20 feet away from LeGrier before he shot at him multiple times.

According to Larry Rogers Jr., the attorney representing the Jones family, “There is absolutely no justification for the use of excessive force in that instance. Bettie Jones was at her home. She was in her house. She was doing everything right that day. To suggest this is a justifiable shooting is to ignore the objective evidence.”

Shell casings found on the sidewalk also provide physical evidence to corroborate the witnesses’ statements that the officer was not in close proximity to either Jones or LeGrier. Jones, a workers rights activist opposed to police brutality, was a bystander when she was shot in the chest and died later.

The families of both Jones and LeGrier expressed outrage and disappointment at the decision. “We will not stop fighting for justice,” said Latisha Jones, one of Bettie Jones’ children, to the press. The Jones family continues to have a pending lawsuit against the city and Rialmo. LeGrier’s mother Janet Cooksey said, “As far as what happened today, I just don’t understand. Quintonio did the right thing. He called for help.”

Notably, when the family of LeGrier sought a wrongful death lawsuit over the killing of their son, the officer responded last year with a countersuit against the family estate for more than $10 million. Rialmo cited “emotional trauma” from the young man’s actions. Despite the CPD claiming they had no official role in the officer’s countersuit, the underlying logic of the highly unusual response was to try to intimidate anyone suing police officers for their brutality or violence.

The lawyers of the LeGrier family saw this as a clear sign that that the officers and the CPD were attempting to deflect blame from the police killing to the victims. For his part, Rialmo’s attorney issued a statement in which he feigned sympathy for his victims and claimed no wrongdoing.

The decision by the State Attorney’s prosecutors to pass on charges against Rialmo follows up on a scathing report brought by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) against the CPD for systematic and unconstitutional practices o fpolice violence and brutality. The report highlighted brutal practices used by the CPD, including the use of deadly force and highly militarized police responses to minor incidents. The reported noted that CPD officers terrorized working-class neighborhoods and used all kinds of racist language and profiling against minority youth, many of whom complained that they felt they were living in “open-air” prisons.

The city of Chicago has a long history of police torture and violence against broad sections of the working class and the most vulnerable in the city. The killing of LeGrier and Jones happened right after the release of the video of the police killing of Laquan McDonald in 2015. The release of the video highlighted the cover up by all layers of the political establishment, involving the Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel, as well as the City Council.

State’s Attorney Kim Foxx recused herself from this case, as her former Chicago law firm was representing the Jones family. Foxx replaced incumbent Anita Alvarez, who was criticized for her failure to bring charges against the officer that killed McDonald, and for her part in the cover up. Alvarez was known to have close relations with CPD herself. Foxx, for her part, was elected on the promise that she would “reform” the police department, but has largely followed in her predecessor’s footsteps.

Moreover, despite the DOJ report and its toothless recommendations, little has been implemented under the fraudulent banner of “reform” to change the police reign of terror in Chicago, as in most parts of the country where the police continue to kill with impunity. Such reports from the Justice Department, despite their horrific revelations, are part of the effort of the entire political establishment to try and cover up the crimes of the state against the population.

The response by the political establishment, Democrats and Republicans alike, has not been to “reform” the police or to end police violence. Far from dealing with the social crisis—with many parts of the city of Chicago ravaged by high degrees of poverty, unemployment and social breakdown, including a relative rise in violence—the political establishment has sought to dramatically strengthen the repressive apparatus of the state with more law-and-order measures and proposals.

Emanuel, for his part, recently bragged about the high volume of police applicants, as part of his efforts to increase the numbers of police forces on the streets. Building on the repressive framework established by the Obama administration in largely defending police violence around the country, the Trump administration has made insinuations that it will “send inthe Feds” to deal with the social crisis in Chicago.

Meanwhile, police violence continues in Chicago. Last week, an Amtrak police officer shot and killed a Minneapolis man who was traveling back to Minnesota after a funeral. Chad Robertson, 25, was shot by the officer and is in critical condition. While law enforcement sources suggest that Amtrak officers were responding to a potential robbery, Robertson’s family says he was shot for no reason.

Also last Friday, CPD officers shot a 55-year-old woman, Michelle Robey, in the North Side of Chicago near a CVS pharmacy. CPD spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi claim that it was a “suicide by cop” and that she was allegedly brandishing a knife when officers confronted her. Officers responded by using a Taser on the woman before finally shooting and killing her. It seems likely that Robey suffered from severe mental illness.

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http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/02/17/poli-f17.html


Video exposes official lies about police killing in Nashville, Tennessee

By Warren Duzak

17 February 2017

Police in Nashville, Tennessee have backed off initial reports that a man had physically “charged” a policeman who had stopped him last Friday, February 10, for running a stop sign. The man, Jocques Scott Clemmons, was later shot and killed by the same police officer.

Clemmons, 31, attempted to flee on foot after being stopped in the Cayce Home public housing area parking lot in East Nashville, but later turned on Officer Josh Lippert, according to police. During a subsequent scuffle police said Clemmons dropped a loaded handgun before retrieving it and again attempted to flee when he was shot three times by Lippert.

While the videos from security cameras appear to indicate a struggle later when Lippert shot Clemmons in the back, the report that the policeman had initially been assaulted when he got out of his car have been shown to be demonstrably false.

Clemmons, who was African American, was shot by Lippert, who is white, twice in the lower back and once in the hip. Police said he was shot just as he was turning in between two cars after struggling with Lippert.

But a local resident told a reporter for the Tennessean that she saw that as excessive and unnecessary force. “A person is shot in the back,” Brenda Morrow said. “That means he’s fleeing; he’s no threat.”

Police attempts to explain why the initial police statements suggested that Lippert had been physically attacked when he had not were less than plausible: “When interviewed by detectives on Friday, Lippert did NOT(original emphasis) assert that he was physically contacted by Clemmons just after he got out of the police car. That interview occurred before he had the opportunity to see any video,” police said in a statement.

Most media ran with the initial police report including the New York Daily News which carried a story of the shooting that even embellished the phantom contact:

“As Libbert (sic) got out of his cruiser, surveillance video provided by police shows Clemmons tackling the officer to the ground before running off. Libbert (sic) quickly got to his feet and chased after Clemmons.”

The misspelling of the policeman’s name and the fact that he was in an unmarked car not a “cruiser” are examples of sloppy journalism and forgivable. A total distortion of the facts is not.

Although Lippert had received some commendations in the five years he had worked for the Nashville Police Department, he had also received a total of 20 suspensions for improper conduct. Some were minor, such as for failing to attend in-service training, but two involved use of force, Nashville’s the Tennessean reported.

“In October 2015 Lippert used physical force to pull a black motorist from the vehicle during a traffic stop, even though the driver said he’d be willing to get out in the presence of a supervisor. Lippert was also reprimanded for having the man’s car towed without giving him a chance to park the car or turn it over to someone else,” as required by department policy, the paper reported.

The Nashville Branch of the NAACP has called for an “immediate and transparent” investigation, while the U.S. Attorney’s office here has said it will “monitor” the Nashville Police Department’s investigation.

This is not an isolated incident but one that occurs in a certain context and “raises serious questions,” ACLU-TN Executive Director Hedy Weinberg said in an ACLU statement.

“The shooting of Jocques Clemmons did not happen in a vacuum,” Weinberg remarked, “…incidents like these also compel us to take a step back and ask why Mr. Clemmons was stopped in the first place and how officers make decisions about who to stop for minor traffic infractions. Any one discretionary stop risks a tragic ending if there is an escalation of conflict – far too frequently such escalations result in police use of force, and also expose police to unnecessary risk.”

Weinberg could well have been referring to research by a local African American community group, Gideon’s Army. Describing itself as an “Army for Children,” the group produced a report entitled “Driving while Black” which showed African American and low-income Nashville neighborhoods suffering a disproportionate number of traffic stops and searches by a police department that conducts such traffic stops at an overall rate almost 8 times higher than the national average for police departments.

Nashville/Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk announced Thursday that for the first time the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations(TBI) would, starting with the Clemmons shooting, investigate all future shooting involving Metro police.

The use of TBI would by state law effectively make the investigation records confidential until TBI officials considered its investigation completed.

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