Dirty Police Today

Cop says he's "going to make stuff up" during arrest

2012-02-15T12:56:00.003-05:00

A Seattle cop arrested two men back in November 2010 where he told the two suspects, "Yeah, I'm going to make stuff up." Also somehow key moments of the arrest are missing from the video captured by the dash cam in the officer's car. How convenient.

Two friends who had planned to visit a Seattle sports bar claim they ended up being kicked, arrested at gunpoint and held in jail for several hours by a cop who said he intended to "make stuff up."

...

But key moments of the arrest that should have been captured on video are missing and it was unclear whether the officer intentionally neglected to turn on the dash cam. None of the released footage shows the officer in the moments he made the stop or kicked Lawson.

The accusations against Richardson are among many that have put a spotlight on the Seattle Police Department and it comes after the release of a Department of Justice report in December that said "serious concerns about practices that could have a disparate impact on minority communities" were raised by its review.

...

The officer's uniform microphone also records Richardson telling the suspects, "Yeah, I'm going to make stuff up."
Source

Police shoot rubber bullet at Occupy Oakland protester

2011-11-07T02:35:00.002-05:00

Wow a police officer opened fire on someone recording at the Occupy Oakland protest with a rubber bullet.

Shot by police with rubber bullet at Occupy Oakland
While filming a police line at Occupy Oakland after midnight on Nov. 3 following the Nov. 2 general strike, an officer opens fire and shoots me with a rubber bullet. I was standing well back. There was no violence or confrontations of any kind underway. At 0:31 seconds you can see a tall officer in the front raise his weapon and then fire. This is the full clip of the incident. Source

NYPD officers arrested in gun smuggling ring

2011-10-25T12:41:00.002-04:00

Looks like some NYPD officers have been caught for being bad.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eight New York City police officers were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion they helped run a gun-smuggling ring in the city.

The U.S. Attorney's office confirmed the Tuesday morning arrests, saying the cops also helped smuggle other items such as cigarettes and slot machines.

Altogether, 12 people were expected to be charged in connection with the illicit operation.

The New York City police department and one of its employee unions declined to comment on the charges, which were expected to be unveiled by the U.S. Attorney's office later Tuesday.

Of the eight officers charged in the federal crime, five are active duty officers and three are retired, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

(Reporting by Aman Ali; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Jerry Norton)
Source

NYPD is out of control

2011-10-23T01:49:00.002-04:00

Wow there is so much wrong-doing by the NYPD it is scary. Please read the entire article The NYPD's naked racism on SocialistWorker.org.

DARAGJATI'S RACIST abuse is the latest high-profile example of the systematic racism that runs through the NYPD. This isn't a matter of "a few bad apples," but of a rotten barrel that has produced a culture of brutality and racism that produces and protects officers like Daragjati.

Just last month, 17 NYPD officers were indicted for fixing tickets and other violations. Tapes from this case revealed widespread racism among the officers under investigation as well as many others. "The wiretap recordings at the heart of the probe captured conversations rife with racist and inflammatory remarks," according to the Daily News.

...

This pattern of brutality includes multiple cases of NYPD killings of unarmed Black men, including Amadou Diallo, a 23-year-old African immigrant shot 41 times in 1999 for the "crime" of reaching for his wallet on his own front porch--and Sean Bell, a 23-year-old Black who died in a hail of 50 police bullets the morning after Bell's bachelor party in 2006.

...

Then there is the everyday bigotry of encounters with New York police. Stop-and-frisk is a widespread tactic employed by the NYPD where hundreds of thousands of mostly Blacks and Latinos are stopped and searched on the street each year without any valid cause for suspicion. The statistics show that the racism on vile display in Daragjati's boast is merely the most confident expression of a pattern that runs through the stop-and-frisk program.

NYPD officer punches female protester

2011-10-17T01:59:00.000-04:00

A female protester at the Occupy Wall Street protest on October 14th was punched in the face by a NYPD police officer. She would fall to ground from the punch. No one seems to know if she did something to provoke the officer, but is this excessive force?

OccupyWallStreet police brutality

2011-09-28T19:44:00.001-04:00

The NYPD going too far during the OccupyWallStreet march.

More police brutality at the OccupyWallStreet march.

Police shoot 13-year old boy 8 times

2011-07-28T15:37:00.001-04:00

Another police shooting...

Chicago - Chicago police shot a 13-year-old boy on Monday night. Police said the teen pointed a weapon at them, but his parents are telling a different story.

The parents identified their son as Jimmel Cannon. The boy is talking and recovering at Stroger Hospital, according to his parents, but was shot 8 times, with wounds to his hands, shoulders and legs.

Police said they were called to the area at about 11 p.m. Monday to investigate shots fired. They saw the boy, who matched a description. Police said he had a weapon and refused to drop it when police told him to.

The boy's parents, Kenyatta Cannon and Jimmy Porter, said the boy wasn't holding anything and had his hands in the air when he was shot. They said their family was attending a birthday party at Kenyatta Cannon's mother's house Monday night and Jimmel's little brother was with him when the shooting happened.
Source

NYPD cops disagree about force to use on guy

2011-07-08T17:43:00.003-04:00

This video has been going around the internet today of two NYPD police officers arresting a guy and they almost come to blows on each other about the force to use.

The video starts with the guy already in handcuffs on the ground yelling as one officer is roughing him up and the other officer is trying to get his partner to calm down or take it easy on the already handcuffed guy. The two cops have a little disagreement and push each other. Then the officer who was roughing up the guy before tries to get the guy over to the cruiser as the guy yells about his hurt hand. The officer slams the guy against a parked vehicle. Then the guy drops the ground and starts crying. The officers then get physical with each other again, pushing each other back but that's as far as it went. The peaceful officer later comes over to the person recording the video and the video ends.

Of course we don't know what happened before the video started so I don't know if the guy tried to attack the officers or not, but that one cop is definitely using excessive force. I'm sure more info will come out about this incident, so stay tuned.

NYPD after Smif N Wesson & Pete Rock Monumental release party

2011-06-29T20:32:00.005-04:00

You've probably heard about it by now. Smif N Wesson & Pete Rock Monumental Release Party took place, everyone saying that it was all good inside. After the party a fight broke out outside, NYPD came and started pushing people around.

Video: smif n wessun nypd police brutality

Video: Smif N Wesson & Pete Rock Monumental ReleaseParty Gets Swarmed By NYPD OutsideTammany Hall

Video: Smif N Wessun/Pete Rock 'Monumental Release 'Cops Gone Wild' 2011

6/30 Update: statements that were released about the incidents. Tek and Steel'e official statement regarding what happened that night:

On Tuesday, June 28th, Pete Rock, Tek & Steele (of Smif N Wessun) were celebrating the release of their collaborative album, 'Monumental.' It was a peaceful gathering inside of a sold-out Tammany Hall (lower-east side Manhattan, NY) to see the group perform new music from the project. Earlier in the evening some guests wanted to enter the event but were turned away by the management and bouncers employed by the club. A minor argument ensued, but eventually was diffused by the bouncers. Thirty minutes after that minor skirmish 15-20 uniformed Police Officers from the 7th precinct arrived at the venue. Shortly after even more uniformed officers arrived. The officers then hurried into the club and began macing and assaulting individuals inside the club, dragging one of them out and pummeling him directly in front of the club. Present at the event were artists, industry tastemakers, fans, photographers, and cameramen. Several people began filming and recording the unprovoked brutality, much to the dismay of the police. The officers then began to mace and assault anyone within arms length, including several women. Kenneth Montgomery, the group's attorney, who was in attendance at the event, stated that the Police "behavior was unjustified, unprovoked, and simply barbaric considering there was no provocation." Pete Rock, Tek and Steele fortunately were not harmed, however some of their friends & family were assaulted by the Police. The group's attorney, Kenneth Montgomery, is addressing the situation now with local community leaders & is available for comment with more detailed information.
Source

Pete Rock's wife made a statement too about that night, and about her daughter being arrested that night:

With an extremely heavy heart I communicate to my friends and colleagues that over 24 hours ago my family and friends went out to celebrate the album release of Monumental. It was a peaceful, fun classic hip hop party. We all left the venue to be greeted outside by a sea of NYPD gloved up and very aggressive. As we began to move we all witnessed the most brutal beating of a party patron. He was on the floor surrounded by 10 police officers with sticks out beating him. In shock, we must have not moved quickly enough to the officers liking and they shouted "Move the FUCK back" and then shoved myself and my daughter down to the ground. Now we were surrounded by 3 cops and 1 pinning us down. My daughter shouted "Get off my mother" and was handcuffed and arrested. I am sure you heard or saw the disturbing graphic videos that have been circulating on line. Tonight with a lump in my throat my daughter remains in police custody with 4 others. She has been charged with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. With gratitude I have received emails, texts, msgs and phone calls sending support and asking what they can do. Tonight I ask if you can to join us peacefully tomorrow morning 9am at 100 Centre St New York, NY to stand up with us to this injustice. If you can not, please repost, tweet, email and let the world know.
Source

7/1 Update: video with Pete Rock talking about what happened.

New Orleans police department has lots of problems

2011-03-21T20:05:00.001-04:00

Wow the New Orleans police department is a mess. Make sure to check out the entire article. The link is below under the quoted piece.

A federal investigation of the New Orleans Police Department found "disrespectful conduct in the community, corruption, unnecessary uses of force, and improper stops and searches," stemming from systemic failures in policy, training, supervision and oversight. In 2009, the NOPD arrested 500 black men and eight white men for serious offenses, and the canine unit was so mismanaged the dogs regularly attacked their handlers, the Justice Department reported.

The report found numerous instances of legal violations, in some instances because the laws are convoluted, outdated, or police didn't know them.
Source

Teen surrenders but gets beat on by police

2011-02-25T18:26:00.001-05:00

I just saw this on the Acting White blog, but there was an incident with police officers going too far beating on a suspect after he surrendered. The video is below of the incident but warning, it is graphic and disturbing.

Just in case you have not seen it, the Houston Police went all "Rodney" on a young black suspect nine months ago. The media and the public did not know what happened until a few days ago when a judge ordered the released of the tape of the 'stomping' incident.

Although the fifteen year-old (at the time) definitely was attempting to elude the officers, he also clearly surrendered, laying on his stomach with his hands behind his head, before anyone touched him
Source

Two Dallas cops beat black man on motorcycle

2010-09-18T03:53:00.000-04:00

Two white cops in Dallas chased a black man on his motorcycle and then proceed to beat him with batons and their fists. Isn't this excessive force?

"The squad car hits the parked motorcycle, and then two officers begin to beat Collins with batons and their fists. One of the most shocking aspects of the video happens before the attack. Either Randolph or Bauer can be heard planning his next move. "Pull up alongside him so I can beat the shit out of him," the officer says. Officer Henry Walter Duetsch also will be charged with tampering with or fabricating evidence because Brown said he turned the dash camera in one squad car."
Source

Philly cop beats man on street

2010-09-10T17:46:00.000-04:00

Here is another incident of police brutality just a few days ago, in Philadelphia, the 19th District. The video is below, but you can read what happened:

According to published reports, one day after a video surfaced of a police officer severely attacking a West Philadelphia man, many residents in the area are stating that the cop has been terrorizing the community for a while.

...

The disturbing video shows the stocky unidentified officer, who the locals have dubbed "Mickey Mouse", wailing on Askira Sabur after he refused to leave the restaurant due to waiting on his order.

After Sabur told the cop that he was waiting for food, he was instructed to go inside, local business owner Jamil Stroman told NBC.

According to witnesses, Sabur told the officer that it was too hot inside and that he had to tend to his bike.

The officer then asked Sabur for identification, and as he reached into his back pocket, the cop grabbed him from behind and the two fell to the ground.

...

The incident left Sabur was left with a fractured left arm, a gash at the back of his head and a sore back.
Source

The video contains violent footage.

A video made after the incident that same night.

Pittsburgh teen beaten by white cops, files lawsuit

2010-09-01T01:17:00.000-04:00

In January, Pittsburgh teen Jordan Miles was beaten badly by three out of uniform white cops. Original story can be found here. He has rightfully filed a lawsuit against the cops.

An 18-year-old Pittsburgh teen that was violently beaten by police with his dreadlocks ripped out is filing a lawsuit against his attackers.

Jordan Miles and his family have decided to file a federal lawsuit against the three white Pittsburgh police officers that he says beat him and conspired to file false charges against him after concocting a story to cover-up their actions.

As previously reported, the teen violinist says he was walking to his grandmother's house when he was approached by three plains clothes officers saying, "Where's the money?" "Where's the gun? Where's the drugs?"

Fearing for his safety, Miles ran away and says when police caught up with him they beat him and ripped his hair from his scalp.

According to the lawsuit filed Monday, Miles says he had his face pushed into the snow and his gums impaled on a piece of wood, as officers kicked and punched him Jan. 12, a day after his 18th birthday.

He also says that he thought he was being kidnapped and in fear began reciting "The Lord's Prayer" prompting police to choke him and slam his face into the snowy ground.

Police charged Miles with loitering and prowling, aggravated assault and resisting arrest, claiming he acted suspiciously then fought with them after they clearly identified themselves as officers but Miles denies those claims.

A city judge dropped the charges against Miles in March.

He is seeking unspecified damages against the officers.
Source

Fellow cop gets beat down by cops after 911 call

2010-08-26T11:28:00.000-04:00

Wow if you're a cop and you call the police for help you're still not safe from the cops beating you or using excessive force on you. Larry Jackson, a cop himself, apparently was outside trying to get a gunman away from his daughter's birthday party and his wife called the police for help. The police showed as the gunman left and started to beat on Jackson and then family members inside the home. All I can say is wtf.

Larry Jackson suffered a broken right hand and multiple bruises from kicks and billy-club blows he said he got from the men in blue called to his home when a gunman menaced guests at his daughter's birthday party.

"To get my butt beat like that was unnecessary," said the six-year veteran assigned to the 110th Precinct. "We called the police, and this is what happened to me."

"I'm shocked, angry and disappointed," said the 6-foot-3, 300-pound Jackson.

...

Jackson's wife, Charlene, made a 911 call around 1:15 a.m. Sunday as her unarmed husband faced down thugs armed with a gun and bats who showed up as partygoers started leaving his home in Rochdale.

"I told the 911 operator it's my daughter's 21st birthday and my husband is a police officer and there's a young man with a gun," she said.

...

The couple said cops hit at least six family members and friends with batons. Their stepson, a cousin and a nephew were charged with disorderly conduct. Larry Jackson's gun and badge were taken and he was placed on modified duty.

"What's most disturbing is there were supervisors on the scene who did nothing," said lawyer Sanders.
Source

James Bain released after 35 years

2009-12-17T18:32:00.000-05:00

A Florida man named James Bain was released from prison after 35 years for a crime he did not commit. In 1974 he was convicted sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping a 9-year-old boy and raping him in a nearby field.

Bain spent more time in prison than any of the 246 inmates previously exonerated by DNA evidence nationwide, according to the project. The longest-serving before him was James Lee Woodard of Dallas, who was released last year after spending more than 27 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.

As Bain walked out of the Polk County courthouse Thursday, wearing a black T-shirt that said "not guilty," he spoke of his deep faith and said he does not harbor any anger.

"No, I'm not angry," he said. "Because I've got God."
Source

Pennsylvania cops cover-up crimes

2009-12-17T18:27:00.000-05:00

If you live in Shenandoah, PA be careful as the police there seem to do what they want and cover up their actions. The article Pennsylvania Cops Accused Of Hate Crime Cover-Up by Robert Smith talks about the cover-up of a fatal beating last year of a Mexican immigrant and the killing of one Hispanic resident's son.

Wrongfully jailed for 13 years

2009-09-10T19:00:00.003-04:00

Wow this man was in jail for 13 years for a crime he didn't commit and finally released. I hope he is awarded something to try and get back his life. And we all know there are many more out there. Read the whole article on Yahoo, I've included some quotes from the article below:

A man who served 13 years in prison before his homicide conviction was overturned sued the city of Milwaukee and its police department Thursday, days after authorities arrested a man whose DNA they say links him to the killing.

Chaunte D. Ott claims in the federal lawsuit that officers coerced two people to give false testimony and failed to intervene when tests after his conviction showed he did not commit the crime.

"I'm still kind of stunned they had audacity to proclaim I'm guilty of that crime," Ott, 35, told The Associated Press on Thursday. "But my attitude is, I've never been bitter. I feel like I just have to live each day."

The Oak Creek man was convicted in 1995 in the death of Jessica Payne, a 16-year-old runaway found partially nude with her throat slit.

The Wisconsin Innocence Project took up his case in 2002, and tests concluded that DNA in the case didn't match his. Ott was freed in January after a state appeals court ruled that he deserved a new trial.

...

Ott is now pursuing an associate's degree at Milwaukee Area Technical College, and he hopes to be a counselor for at-risk teens. He said the lawsuit is about bringing justice to people mistreated by the system.

"There are other guys languishing in prison trying to get their voices heard," he said. "I feel like this is a chance for me to have a voice and tell people about the situation they're in."

Source

Corrupt cop facing charges

2009-08-31T02:30:00.005-04:00

Former St. Louis police officer Bobby Lee Garrett has pleaded guilty to quite a few crimes. Garrett and two fellow officers have been caught. We all know there are more like these officers out there. Make sure to read the full story.

A corrupt former St. Louis police officer who helped trigger a re-examination of hundreds of criminal convictions and the dismissal of dozens in just the last year pleaded guilty of six felonies Friday, admitting that he stole money, planted evidence and lied to cover up his crimes.

Bobby Lee Garrett, 49, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to theft of government property, two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of making false statements and one count of misapplication of government funds.

Garrett will serve 28 months in federal prison under the plea agreement. In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to drop three other charges.

Source

Cops kill man with 59 shots, 43 wounds

2009-08-20T18:21:00.005-04:00

Ok here's a story that sounds so utterly shocking and makes me so pissed off and sick to my stomach. According to an article on AOL News, a man named Alonzo Heyward was carrying a rifle around his neighborhood last month ranting about suicide and six police officers surrounded him on his front porch and killed him. Here's some from the article (I'll say what I want to say after the quotes):

His father says Heyward told the officers, "I'm not out here to hurt anybody."

But the police, who tried unsuccessfully to disarm Heyward, fired 59 rounds to kill him on July 18. The medical examiner found 43 bullet wounds in his chest, face, arms, hands, legs, buttocks and groin. Police contend Heyward was a danger to others and threatened the six officers.

...

"We have a large concern about the amount of shots fired," said Valoria Armstrong, president of the NAACP branch in Chattanooga.

...

His father, James Marine, 61, does not believe Heyward really wanted to kill himself or that he was trying to commit "suicide by cop."

"He just needed somebody to talk to," Marine said. ... "I believe he was just depressed at that time."

...

Heyward, a 32-year-old moving company employee, was black. The six officers are white. They were temporarily placed on administrative leave but have since returned to work.

Police spokeswoman Weary said the officers confronted Heyward when they responded to a report of three men wrestling over a gun in the street just after 4 a.m.

Heyward's father said there was never any wrestling over the .44 Magnum rifle that his son was carrying and sometimes pointing at his chin.

Police said the officers tried but failed to disarm Heyward with a stun gun. Weary said Heyward ignored repeated commands to drop the rifle and officers fired when they felt threatened by the way he moved it.

Police accounts and a patrol car video indicate the shots were fired in three volleys, all within 30 seconds. Each officer used a .45-caliber pistol. Some officers emptied their magazines, reloaded and fired again, while others didn't fire all their bullets, Weary said.

Some of the gunshots ripped through the unoccupied front room of the house Heyward was renting from his employer, the owner of a local moving company. No one else was injured.

...

Amanda Counts, Heyward's girlfriend, and neighbor Darrell Turner said they witnessed the shooting. They said Heyward was lying on the porch on top of the rifle when officers opened fire.

"Before the first shot was fired he was down," Counts said. "Not one time did he threaten anyone."

Citing the ongoing investigation, police declined to answer questions about Heyward's position when officers started shooting.

Counts and Turner both said that during the first brief interruption in the barrage of police gunshots, they heard Heyward ask, "Why are you shooting me?"

That cannot be heard in the recording provided by police.

Police Chief Freeman Cooper this month told Chattanooga radio station WGOW the simultaneous shooting by all six officers shows they acted properly.

"We are saying that our people did what we trained them to do," the police chief said.

...

Heyward's father said he thinks a different police response could have brought the incident last month to a peaceful conclusion.

"I believe he would have put that weapon down," Marine said. "They should have said, 'Mr. Heyward, put the weapon down. We're here to help you.' ... He wasn't threatening no one."
Source

Make sure to read the whole article. When I first read this article I could not believe what I just read. If that is not excessive force then I don't know what is.

So let's see if I got this right, Heyward had a rifle walking around his neighborhood, the police come and try to get the gun by using a stun gun on him. I guess that didn't work and the cops got scared because of the way he moved so the six police officers fired 59 total shots together with 43 hitting Heyward, and some officers emptied their magazines, reloaded and fired again.

The medical examiner found 43 bullet wounds in his chest, face, arms, hands, legs, buttocks and groin. So they basically shot to kill as he had bullet wounds in his face. I don't get why they wouldn't just shoot his leg or both legs and tackle him down. I also don't get the shooting in his groin and buttocks. Did the police think this was funny? And to shoot him in his buttocks, Heyward had to be turned around or on the ground face down as I'm assuming the police were in front of Heyward as he was on his porch.

What about the part where some officers emptied their magazines and reloaded and continued shooting! WTF! This reminds me of the Sean Bell incident when cops kept firing.

Heyward's girlfriend and neighbor says that Heyward was down on the porch on top of the rifle before the police started shooting. He was laying down before they opend fire! Again WTF! Am I wrong or is this just insane. The girlfriend and neighbor also said they heard Heyward say "Why are you shooting me?" But the police continued shooting until he was dead. The police chief says that the six officers acted properly. Wow, 59 shots at a guy who was laying down on his porch, and that is acting properly.

Let me know what you all think, but this story just pisses me off and scares me at the same time.

Cop slams elderly woman with knife to ground

2009-08-08T13:49:00.007-04:00

I just saw the video of an elderly black woman who had a knife in her hand, who was slammed to the ground by a white police officer, which busted the woman's head open. This seems to me to be excessive force but I'm not a cop so I don't know the procedure how to deal with situations like this. What do you all think? Excessive force by the cop? Was it the only way to get the knife from the elderly woman?

Video description: This old lady was in the parking lot of Walmart in Whitehall, Ohio swinging a knife at people, when the police arrived she wouldn't drop the knife so the police officer took her down, the lady also assulted a kid by hitting him which sparked the crowd of people outside anyway, he was with relatives who intervened and that's when the knife swinging started anyone that tried to help her she began to swing her knife at them threatening them. Man the 1st of the month make people crazy...

A news segment about the incident
(Skip to 0:35 seconds in for the video to start)

Dirty Police Today blog

2009-05-26T17:18:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the Dirty Police Today blog which was created to let everyone know of violent, hideous, crazy acts by police that we trust to protect us. This is not an anti-police blog, most police officers are good, but there are some that cross the line and think they are bigger than the law and do bad things. We hope to point them out so we are all aware and hope that those bad police officers are gone from the job of police officers.