Seen them at the forum, passed out when they were doing the lightbulb dance.

We had a lot of fun at the Forum; saw several Lakers games and concerts there back in the day.


Today in Baltimore....



The six officers charged in the April death of Freddie Gray will be tried separately.

Today, jury selection began in the trial of the first officer/defendant, William Porter.

Prosecutors are believed to have chosen to schedule Porter's trial first because they hope to use him as a witness in the trials of his fellow officers, according to The Associated Press. Porter plans to testify in his own defense.

Porter reportedly told the van driver, Goodson, that Gray was requesting medical attention. He also reportedly told him that he thought Gray might be faking it.

Porter faces second-degree assault, involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

This trial is expected to have a major impact on the other five trials and is being watched closely by Baltimore residents.

The trial is expected to move quickly and be completed before mid-December.

Refs:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2...-baltimore
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/11/19...ray-trial/

CHICAGO -- LAQUAN MCDONALD CASE LEADS TO LEADERSHIP CHANGES


Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy ^ was canned by Mayor Rahm Emanuel (left) today.

It seems Mayor Emanuel was having a hard time defending the Superintendent in light of the dash cam video of Laquan McDonald's shooting death being concealed for over a year (until ordered to be released by a judge), the circumstances of the shooting incident itself, and the claims that Chicago PD Officers deleted Burger King surveillance video footage that would have captured the lead-up to the shooting.


Police have denied deleting the Burger King video. But, a newly released screengrab ^ shows officers at the surveillance computer inside the fast food restaurant immediately following the shooting.

83 minutes of video surrounding the time of the shooting was missing after the officers left the restaurant. Police still claim they didn't tamper with the tape and the missing footage must have been due to a technical problem.

Uh huh. Anyway, McCarthy's now out and the mayor announced the creation of Task Force on Police Accountability. The Task Force will be advised by former Massachusetts Governor and Chicago native Deval Patrick and will include former director of the Illinois State Police, Hiram Grau and Chicago Police Board president Lori Lightfoot.

The five-person panel's responsibilities including improving oversight of police misconduct, finding best ways to identify and evaluate officers with repeated complaints (Officer Van Dyke had 18), and recommending how to release videos of police-involved incidents.

Refs:
http://chicago.suntimes.com/news-chicago...rthy-fired
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html

Fucker. 18 complaints...and because of his conduct I have no benefit of doubt to give him.

Nope

Tamir Rice -- Update



I wish username would finish that damned crossword puzzle and get her bony ass back in here. (I miss her commentary.)

Anyway..........a Grand Jury is still reviewing the Tamir Rice case.

Officers Loehmann and Garmback have both declined to be interviewed by the County Sheriff's Office or the County Prosecutor, but the Prosecutor released parts of the officers' initial statements today. It is the first public release related to verbal commands supposedly issued by responding officers before the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice.

Loehmann said that he and Garmback were continuously yelling at Tamir to "show me your hands" before Tamir motioned towards his waistband. However, the patrol car was rolling the whole time and Garmback said the windows were up, plus Tamir was shot in under two seconds. Like user, I have a hard time believing Loehmann's claim that he loudly and clearly issued any commands under those circumstances and in that amount of time.

Garmback admitted in his statement that he thought Tamir Rice would run when the patrol car approached him. Obviously, he was wrong. He also said that he did not intend to roll up right on top of Tamir, but the car slid. Too bad, things could have turned out much differently if the officers' approach had been appropriate.

I understand that the cops didn't know Tamir was a kid and that the gun was fake. And, I understand that the toy gun looked real. And, I understand that the cops therefore mistakenly assumed the male subject would run to elude police and that they feared being shot when he instead walked towards them and motioned towards his waistband.

BUT, it's not understandable to me that before they knew about the park surveillance video, the cops (via their union reps) claimed that Tamir was surrounded by people (the video shows that he was actually completely alone), and that Tamir picked the gun up off the table and headed towards the patrol car (the video shows that the gun was never on the table or in Tamir's hands during the encounter). Those cover-your-ass lies lead me to suspect that they're lying about what, if any, commands were issued to Tamir.

Sadly, there is no audio to confirm or refute the cops' claims in that regard. If there are no eye/ear witnesses to refute the claim, I think it's unlikely that either officer will be indicted.

It's been over a year since Tamir Rice was killed.

Ref: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pros...ce-n472321

LAQUAN MCDONALD CASE UPDATE -- CHICAGO



On Friday, the city released hundreds of official documents. The statements of the shooting officer, Jason Van Dyke (pictured right), and the other officers on the scene do not match up with the dash cam video (see post 593 upthread). Police also cannot explain why the audio is missing.

Van Dyke told an investigator that McDonald (pictured left) was "swinging the knife in an aggressive, exaggerated manner" and that McDonald "raised the knife across chest" and pointed it at Van Dyke, according to one police report. Multiple officers reported that even after McDonald was down, he kept trying to get up with the knife in his hand.

"In defense of his life, Van Dyke backpedaled and fired his handgun at McDonald, to stop the attack," one report reads. "McDonald fell to the ground but continued to move and continued to grasp the knife, refusing to let go of it."

Van Dyke told an investigator that he feared that McDonald would rush him with the knife or throw it at him. He also noted a 2012 Chicago Police Department warning about a weapon that was a knife but was capable of firing a bullet, hence making it firearm, according to the reports.

The officers' portrayal of the incident, recorded in hundreds of pages of handwritten and typed reports, prompted police supervisors to rule at the time that McDonald's death was a justifiable homicide and within the bounds of the department's use of force guidelines. It's not clear who wrote some of the police reports.

Officer Van Dyke was charged with premeditated murder just before the court-ordered public release of the video over a week ago. The Police Superintendent has been fired. Some in the community are demanding the resignation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel over what appears to be a systematic cover up.

The release of the reports comes amid mounting questions about the Chicago Police Department's handling of the incident, while activists allege that police and city officials tried to cover it up. The U.S. attorney's office is investigating the issue, and a number of officials have called for a broader intervention by the U.S. Justice Department. Ref: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/laquan-mcdon...e-reports/

I think Chicago PD should be wearing body cams, audio-enabled, at all times. It would benefit the public and the police. It should be a mandate (with support provided by the state/fed, if needed, to launch); no more feet dragging.

Agreed

(12-07-2015, 11:07 AM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: LAQUAN MCDONALD CASE UPDATE -- CHICAGO



On Friday, the city released hundreds of official documents. The statements of the shooting officer, Jason Van Dyke (pictured right), and the other officers on the scene do not match up with the dash cam video (see post 593 upthread). Police also cannot explain why the audio is missing.

Van Dyke told an investigator that McDonald (pictured left) was "swinging the knife in an aggressive, exaggerated manner" and that McDonald "raised the knife across chest" and pointed it at Van Dyke, according to one police report. Multiple officers reported that even after McDonald was down, he kept trying to get up with the knife in his hand.

"In defense of his life, Van Dyke backpedaled and fired his handgun at McDonald, to stop the attack," one report reads. "McDonald fell to the ground but continued to move and continued to grasp the knife, refusing to let go of it."

Van Dyke told an investigator that he feared that McDonald would rush him with the knife or throw it at him. He also noted a 2012 Chicago Police Department warning about a weapon that was a knife but was capable of firing a bullet, hence making it firearm, according to the reports.

The officers' portrayal of the incident, recorded in hundreds of pages of handwritten and typed reports, prompted police supervisors to rule at the time that McDonald's death was a justifiable homicide and within the bounds of the department's use of force guidelines. It's not clear who wrote some of the police reports.

Officer Van Dyke was charged with premeditated murder just before the court-ordered public release of the video over a week ago. The Police Superintendent has been fired. Some in the community are demanding the resignation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel over what appears to be a systematic cover up.

The release of the reports comes amid mounting questions about the Chicago Police Department's handling of the incident, while activists allege that police and city officials tried to cover it up. The U.S. attorney's office is investigating the issue, and a number of officials have called for a broader intervention by the U.S. Justice Department. Ref: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/laquan-mcdon...e-reports/

I think Chicago PD should be wearing body cams, audio-enabled, at all times. It would benefit the public and the police. It should be a mandate (with support provided by the state/fed, if needed, to launch); no more feet dragging.

It's the corruption that should be addressed first.

The corruption is definitely a problem and it's part of what is being addressed in this case.

Addressing corruption separately is not and should not be a prerequisite to body cam implementation though, in my opinion.

The body cams could help reduce the systematic/cultural corruption that contributes to systematic brutality, false police narratives, and cover ups.

(12-07-2015, 12:58 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: The corruption is definitely a problem and it's part of what is being addressed in this case.

Addressing corruption separately is not and should not be a prerequisite to body cam implementation though, in my opinion.

The body cams could help reduce the systematic/cultural corruption that contributes to systematic brutality, false police narratives, and cover ups.

As long as the camera is "functioning properly" on the day inquestion then yes, it would help and addressing the corruption could be done after the body cams are implemented.

I hear ya, Gunnar. The old "techical error" excuse for not using the body cams/audio while on duty should result in a stiff penalty if a technical error cannot be validated.

And, the "I forgot" excuse should carry no water whatsoever for on-duty patrol officers.

The department's traniing, operations, and code of conduct policies would need to be updated with clearly defined body cam/audio requirements.

(12-07-2015, 01:33 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: I hear ya, Gunnar. The old "techical error" excuse for not using the body cams/audio while on duty should result in a stiff penalty if a technical error cannot be validated.

And, the "I forgot" excuse should carry no water whatsoever for on-duty patrol officers.

The department's traniing, operations, and code of conduct policies would need to be updated with clearly defined body cam/audio requirements.

There's a company here in Southern Az that has developed a system that runs much the same way cell phones do so it wouldn't take a lot of storage room for video, and the cam automatically starts rolling when the officer's heart rate increases to a calculated number of beats per minute.

Yea I think its past time for all the cops to be wearing semi automatic body cameras.
They can be started by heartbeat, a simple button on the unit, remote from the station, whatever.
They should also have them automatically upload, same as cloud services for your pics.
It should be easy to poll all the cameras in the system, see where they are, any that are out of service can be followed up on.
The cameras show the good, bad and ugly, just like they are supposed to do.

(12-07-2015, 05:21 PM)SIXFOOTERsez Wrote: The cameras show the good, bad and ugly, just like they are supposed to do.

Yep.

Yesterday the two city marshals who opened fire on Chris Few -- killing his 6-year-old son Jeremy Mardis in the process -- were formally charged.

An indictment handed up by an Avoyelles Parish grand jury charged Stafford and Greenhouse with one count each of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

The judge also removed the gag order.

In court yesterday, official documents revealed that video from the body cam worn by one of the city's police officers (who did not shoot because he was not in fear for his life) shows Christopher Few at the dead end, in his car, with his hands in the air before gun fire becomes audible.

Few's mother, Jeremy's grandmother, is calling for the public release of the video.

Story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...z3u2gn9YM7

(12-11-2015, 03:41 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: In court yesterday, official documents revealed that video from the body cam worn by one of the city's police officers (who did not shoot because he was not in fear for his life) shows Christopher Few at the dead end, in his car, with his hands in the air before gun fire becomes audible.

I hope those cops are feeling the fear that man and little boy felt. Fuckers.

Baltimore: Closing Arguments in First Freddie Gray Trial

William Porter is the first of the Baltimore PD defendants on trial for the death of Freddie Gray back in April. Gray died after spinal injuries sustained in the back of a police van; he was not seat-belted and had indicated he needed medical attention before he was eventually driven to the hospital (where he later died). Six Baltimore PD officers are charged in his death.


Porter testified in his own defense last week. He said that he didn't summon medical attention for Gray because Gray didn't communicate any specific injuries, he just said "yes" when Porter asked him if he needed to go to the hospital. He said that it was the responsibility of Officer Goodson (who is facing the most serious charges in a future trial) to make sure that Gray was wearing a seat belt.

Prosecutors says that Porter, 3 years on the force, didn't care enough to make sure Gray was belted and should have secured medical attention for him instead of putting him back in the van for the continued ride/stops, unsecured. They have described the police van as Freddie Gray's 'casket on wheels'.

The mayor and police chief have set up an emergency response team in preparation for the verdict. Hopefully, the city will remain peaceful after a verdict is delivered. Closing arguments are underway now and jury deliberations will follow.

Porter is charged with second degree assault, misconduct in office, involuntary manslaughter, and reckless endangerment. I think he'll probably be acquitted of the assault and manslaughter charges and convicted of misconduct in office and maybe reckless endangerment, but that's just my guess.

Story: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/marylan...story.html

Freddie Gray Manslaughter Trial 1 -- Jury Deadlocked

It's being reported that the jurors in William Porter's trial can't reach agreement on all or some of the charges. They're still deliberating and trying to reach consensus though.

Meanwhile, police officers from neighboring jurisdictions have begun staging in Baltimore in preparation for unrest that local commanders hope never materializes.

Snip:
On Tuesday afternoon, Anne Arundel County Police officers were photographed staging in Druid Hill Park with an armored vehicle, helmets and shields by local photographer Devin Allen, who was made famous after one of his images from April's unrest landed on the cover of Time magazine. Allen posted his images on Twitter, where he has about 12,500 followers — including many journalists. A Baltimore Sun reporter who responded to the park also observed dozens of officers and protective gear, though the officers were no longer wearing the gear.

T.J. Smith, the Baltimore Police Department's chief spokesman, confirmed the presence of outside law enforcement personnel in the city but said the images were "not the visual that we want to portray."

"Our goal is to try to keep our assisting agencies out of sight, out of mind, away from general public view as best we can," he said. "It isn't anything where we want to raise anxieties."

Story: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/marylan...story.html

MISTRIAL

The jury hung on all four of the charges against William Porter in the Freddie Gray case.

I didn't expect them to convict Porter of assault or manslaughter, but thought they might find him guilty of misconduct or recklessness for failing to buckle Gray in and failing to call a medic.

Attorneys are expected to appear in court tomorrow morning in front of an administrative judge to discuss a possible retrial.

It's unclear if a retrial of Porter would affect the trial dates for the other five officers, who are scheduled to be tried separately and consecutively beginning Jan. 6.

Story: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/marylan...story.html

CHICAGO PD -- FIRING AND UNDER FIRE AGAIN

Chicago PD and city officials are already facing heavy scrutiny for the shooting death of Laquan McDonald and the subsequent cover up.

This fatal shooting incident will only add fuel to that fire.


^ Quintonio LeGrier, was carrying a baseball bat and threatening his father when police responded to a domestic disturbance call early yesterday morning, according to police dispatch radio traffic. No gun was recovered at the scene, a police source said.

LeGrier was a 19-year-old honor roll engineering student at NIU, and he'd developed a mental illness in September, according to his mother. Police say LeGrier was combative. He was shot multiple times and died.

IF LeGrier refused to put down the bat and threatened his father or responding officers during the encounter, I can understand why he was shot. But, few details have been provided to the public at this time.


What I don't understand under any circumstances is why 55-year-old mother of five Bettie Jones (pictured above) was shot by the same responding officers. She lived in the apartment below LeGrier's father.

Bettie Jones simply opened her front door and was immediately shot by Chicago PD. Her daughter was asleep in the house when she heard three gun shots. She went to the doorway and found her mother bleeding on the ground. Bettie Jones died shortly thereafter at a local hospital. RIP.

Yesterday, police confirmed that Bettie Jones was a casualty and was shot by 'accident'. Police officials also announced a major policy shift: All officers involved in shootings will be placed on routine administrative duties for 30 days. The new policy is a dramatic change from the current requirement that officers have to come off active duty for ony three days.

I don't know if there is any dashcam or bodycam video of either shooting.

Story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local...story.html