...Thanks to a lawsuit filed in Rutland, Vt., the world is about to get a rare, behind-the-dashcam look at police culture in a rural Vermont town. It ain’t pretty.
To be sure, police in Rutland have a tough job. The once-idyllic town has battled the scourge of heroin for years. New York City drug dealers flock there to sell their wares at a higher profit.
But there’s a right way and a wrong way to tackle this problem. Rutland chose the wrong way: Two white police officers — Sergeant John Johnson and Officer Earl Post — began strip-searching black men coming off the Amtrak train.
They manufactured probable cause, claiming they’d gotten a tip from a “confidential informant,” according to the lawsuit, filed by Andy Todd, who served for years as the only black officer on Rutland’s force.
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bobsal u1553115
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Sun 30 Aug, 2015 09:13 pm
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bobsal u1553115
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Sun 30 Aug, 2015 09:14 pm
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bobsal u1553115
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Sun 30 Aug, 2015 09:15 pm
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hawkeye10
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Mon 31 Aug, 2015 05:48 pm
Quote:
Hundreds of protesters led by the organization Black Lives Matter St. Paul marched north along Snelling Avenue to the gates of the fairgrounds Saturday afternoon to protest racial inequities in St. Paul and elsewhere. During the demonstration, some shouted out chants criticizing police as they were being escorted by officers who cleared the way for the demonstration, said David Titus, head of the St. Paul Police Federation.
A short video posted on Twitter shows that at one point in the march, at least several protesters can be seen at the front carrying a banner and shouting, “Pigs in a blanket, fry ’em like bacon!” as the camera pans to show police on bikes, squad cars and a utility vehicle.
Doesn't pontificating all the time ever wear you out?
Video appears to show Texas deputies shot man with hands up
Aug. 31, 2015 10:21 PM EDT
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Video obtained by a San Antonio TV station appears to show a man with his hands up fatally shot by deputies, an encounter that authorities say happened after the armed man resisted arrest and nonlethal weapons failed to bring him under control.
Gilbert Flores, 41, died shortly after the shooting Friday, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Monday.
Deputies Greg Vasquez and Robert Sanchez were responding to a domestic disturbance and found a woman with a cut on her head and a baby who appeared injured, according to the statement.
The deputies encountered Flores, who was armed, and attempted to arrest him, the sheriff's department said. After Flores resisted, they used nonlethal weapons, but when "those efforts failed," they shot him, according to the statement.
The video, taken by a bystander and obtained by KSAT-TV, appears to show Flores standing still with his arms raised just before two shots are heard. Flores drops to the ground. The video doesn't include audio of deputies' commands or Flores' response, and the scene is partially obscured by police vehicles and passing cars.
Moments later, deputies drag and flip Flores onto his stomach. About a minute and a half later, an ambulance arrives.
The deputies have been placed on paid administrative leave amid an investigation.
"Certainly what's in the video is a cause for concern, but it's important to let the investigation go through its course so that we can assure a thorough and complete review of all that occurred," Sheriff Susan Pamerleau said at a news conference Friday. But her office later criticized the release of the video as "unethical" and "sensational."
"These deputies have not been charged with a crime and a family lost their loved one," the office wrote in a Facebook post Monday.
The department didn't respond to messages Monday seeking comment on the video.
A woman at the residence where the shooting took place declined a reporter's questions Monday, referring him to San Antonio attorney Thomas J. Henry, who did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
Sounds like Black Lives Matter! Next comes the riot follow up, then looting, maybe a couple murdered cops and than they MIGHT be happy.
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tony5732
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Mon 31 Aug, 2015 09:02 pm
@bobsal u1553115,
Ok bobsal, ARMED MAN, DOMESTIC ABUSE, CUT ON HEAD, INJURED BABY. What APPEARS to be what you are looking at in this story? And that isn't his hands up that is the international symbol for bring it.
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bobsal u1553115
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Mon 31 Aug, 2015 11:01 pm
Police officer shot after responding to wrong home
By KATE BRUMBACK
Aug. 31, 2015 11:51 PM EDT
Officer Shot Georgia
ATLANTA (AP) — A police officer was shot and critically wounded Monday when he responded to a call of a suspicious person and showed up at the wrong house, authorities said.
The homeowner was also shot in the leg and his dog was killed in what DeKalb County police Chief Cedric Alexander is calling a complicated shooting. Officers fired their weapons, the chief said, but it's not clear if the homeowner had a gun.
Alexander said his department would typically handle the investigation since it did not involve a fatality, but because of the unusual situation, he asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into it.
"We did respond to the wrong residence tonight and then these other circumstances unfolded," he said.
Alexander said the situation happened like this: A neighborhood resident called 911 at 7:34 p.m. to report a suspicious person and described a home to the dispatcher. Three officers responded to a house that fit the description the caller gave 911. The officers went to the back of the home and found that a screen door and a rear door were unlocked.
"That in and of itself would probably suggest to anyone that it is possible that there could be intruders inside, but it turned out not to be the case," Alexander said. "Somewhere at the rear of that home, some things happened that have yet to be determined."
The officers had just entered the home when the gunfire erupted.
"There was gunfire, I just cannot tell you who fired and who did not," he said.
An officer was shot in the leg and lost a lot of blood. He was rushed to the hospital and was undergoing surgery. The homeowner was also taken to the hospital.
The homeowner's girlfriend was at the home at the time of the shooting and called 911.
Derek Perez told The Associated Press that he reported the suspicious person. He said he was walking his dog when he saw a man knock on a neighbor's door and then just stand in the yard. He said he then heard a loud noise, a dog barking and didn't see the man anymore. There had been break-ins in the neighborhood recently, so he called 911, he said.
Just as he was about to go into his house, he heard the gunshots, but they didn't come from the house where he had reported the suspicious person.
Police were still investigating whether there was a burglary at the home where the suspicious person was spotted.
All three officers have been placed on administrative leave.
The shooting happened in a neighborhood about 5 miles from downtown Atlanta.
Ok.... This is called messing up. Not police brutality. The police were placed on leave. You just post anything about anything to make it LOOK like there is tons of stories.
You will also notice that there is NEVER any mention by Bob of the police that have been killed since this whole "hands up don't shoot" bullshit started. I lay the death of all these cops at the feet of people like Bob. His only mission in life at this point is to get people to hate cops. I'm sure he has a party every time one is killed. After all, they are the enemy are they not? Congrats BLM and Bob.
I think the shot guy, his girlfriend and his dead dog think thats a lot of hogwash.
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bobsal u1553115
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Tue 1 Sep, 2015 12:03 pm
@Baldimo,
I showed how the good cops in my town take down an ARMED suspect who actually threw a large hunting knife at the officer closing in on him during the chase without killing or even shooting him.
More than 150 unarmed suspects have died at the hands of police. I have enough trouble keeping up the with the mayhem your boys in blue tally up, why don't you post the ten or so the other way around.
That 150 - since Trayvon. Actually its alot more. I was going troll you into asking me to prove it and then I was going to document the number closer to 350.
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tony5732
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Tue 1 Sep, 2015 03:03 pm
@bobsal u1553115,
Ok so try keeping up with the homicides that WERE NOT boys in blue. How many THUG homicides this year? 16000? Why aren't you whining about those? There is a much bigger problem here. MUCH bigger. You are talking about less than 1% of cops who are possibly in your. "cop brutality" category. Only a percentage of that 1% is actually a cop shooting a guy when he doesn't need to. The guy in your knife throwing video is a HERO. He risked his life so he could let the thug live. Not all cops are heroes. A lot of cops want to go back to their families and prioritize their own life before risking it, for a thug trying to kill them. That is not brutality. That is doing what makes sense.
FBI opens civil rights investigation into fatal on-camera shooting of San Antonio man
Source: San Antonio Express-News
SAN ANTONIO — The FBI said Tuesday afternoon it has opened a federal civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of a man by two Bexar County Sheriff's deputies, which was captured on cellphone video.
"We coordinate our investigation to ensure that we are not interfering with (BSCO's) investigation," said FBI spokeswoman Michelle Lee. "They have been extremely cooperative and transparent."
Gilbert Flores, 41, was shot by deputies Robert Sanchez and Greg Vasquez on Aug. 28 in his front yard at a Northwest Side neighborhood. A video of the incident appears to show Flores' hands raised just before the deputies opened fire, however, Flores' left hand is obstructed by a utility pole.
Authorities have not said whether Flores had a weapon in his hand at the time of the shooting and have refused to provide a written report of the incident, pending a full investigation. The Sheriff's Office has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Read more: FBI opens civil rights investigation into fatal on-camera shooting of San Antonio man
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bobsal u1553115
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Tue 1 Sep, 2015 06:05 pm
Assault charges for 3 deputies in horse-chase beating
Source: AP
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Three sheriff's deputies involved in the televised beating of a man after he tried to escape on horseback have been charged with felony assault.
Nicholas Downey, Michael Phelps and Charles Foster each face a charge of assault by a public officer, San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos said Tuesday.
Seven other deputies who were placed on administrative leave after the April pursuit in the inland desert were not charged.
"I believe the officers charged today crossed the line under the color of authority," Ramos said at a news conference.
FULL story at link.
San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos, joined by Sheriff John McMahon, speaks during a press conference, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015, in San Bernardino, Calif., announcing that felony assault charges have been filed against San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputies Nicholas Downey, Michael Phelps, and Charles Foster in the in the televised beating of Francis Pusok. A KNBC-TV helicopter news crew followed the chase as Frances Jared Pusok fled deputies on a stolen horse. The station then televised deputies repeatedly punching and kicking Pusok as he lay on the ground. Seven other deputies placed on administrative leave following the April pursuit in the inland desert were not charged. (John Valenzuela/The Sun via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT