Tag Archives: assault

Police Accountability, US

Officer in Student Assault Investigation Accused of Pepper Spraying Vet in 2005

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The South Carolina deputy who is under investigation after videos circulated online showing him assaulting a female student in a classroom has a history of violence, according to a man who said he was assaulted by the officer in 2005.

Carlos Martin, a 36-year-old Army veteran, told New York Daily News that he filed a lawsuit against Ben Fields, the officer identified in the videos, after he was allegedly assaulted by Fields on Oct. 24, 2005.

Martin said that he had recently moved to Columbia, South Carolina, and was working at the Moncrief Army Community Hospital at Fort Jackson.

Fields, who had been responding to a separate complaint at the apartment complex Martin resided in, reportedly confronted Martin about playing loud music in his car.

Martin told the New York Daily News that an argument ensued, and Fields “snapped” after Martin called him “dude,” and slammed Martin on the ground.

Martin said Fields went on to use pepper spray on him and ended up using the entire can, which Martin said he was able to resist because of his military training. “He became even more violent because I didn’t react like most people would,” Martin explained.

Martin also said that his wife at the time, Tashiana Rogers, witnessed the assault, and came to the scene to take pictures with her cellphone. Martin claimed Fields told his partner to “get her black ass,” and the officer responded by taking Rogers’ phone and deleting the pictures.

Martin said that although he filed a lawsuit against Fields, and criminal charges against Martin and Rogers were ultimately dropped, it took four years for Martin’s case to go to trial. During that time, he was labeled as a criminal in the military. The lawsuit was eventually dropped due to lack of evidence of excessive force.

[RELATED: Investigation Requested After Video Shows Resource Officer Assaulting Student]

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announced on Monday that he requested the FBI launch an independent investigation into Fields’ actions at Spring Valley High School. Federal authorities confirmed on Tuesday that both the FBI and the DoJ have opened a civil rights probe into the arrest to determine if federal law was broken.

Police Accountability, Police State, US

NYPD officer indicted for stomping a citizen’s head

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An NYPD officer has been indicted on multiple charges, including assault, after he allegedly kicked a subdued citizen in the head during an arrest over the summer.

A video of the arrest allegedly shows Officer Joel Edouard, 37, and his partner arresting 32-year-old Jahmiel Cuffee, according to CBS New York.

Cuffee was allegedly drinking on a sidewalk in Brooklyn, and the officers claim he was in possession of marijuana at the time. While attempting to arrest Cuffee, a bystander began to videotape the incident with their cellphone. This video shows other officers begin to arrive to help mediate the situation, but near the end of the video, Edouard allegedly is seen stomping on Cuffee’s head after he was already handcuffed and on the ground.

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said, according to RT, “Police officers put their lives on the line every day to keep us all safe. However, this defendant allegedly stomped on the head of a suspect as he lay on the ground, which is unacceptable for a police officer.” Thompson continued by saying this indictment should not reflect the work the majority of officers who perform their duty honorably are doing in New York City. 

At the trial on Tuesday, Edouard’s attorney, Stephen Worth, pleaded not guilty to the charges he is faced with. Worth also said Edouard was simply trying to place handcuffs on Cuffee and this is no more than a case of an officer doing their job. “The act, so-called kick, was part of the arrest process and to attempt to get his hand in custody so he could be handcuffed… It’s not a kick, we’ll leave that for trial.”

After the incident, Edouard was stripped of his badge and gun according to New York Magazine. If convicted, Edouard could face up to a year in prison.

Politics, US

Charges for Oklahoma beheading suspect emerge as details come to light

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Days after Alton Nolen attacked two women after losing his job, murder charges are expected to be filed against him on Monday.

Nolen lost his job at Vaughan Foods in Oklahoma last Thursday and after this, Nolen reportedly went to his former workplace and carried out acts of violence against his co-workers.

Nolen reportedly drove to the Vaughan Foods processing plant, and rammed his car into another vehicle at the entrance before he entered the building.  Upon entering, it is believed he grabbed a knife, similar to those used on the production floor of Vaughan Foods, and beheaded 54-year-old Colleen Hufford, an employee at Vaughan Foods.

Then, Nolen supposedly attacked 43-year-old Traci Johnson, another employee in the plant, before he was stopped by gunfire.  Mark Vaughan is the company’s chief operating officer as well as a reserve deputy sheriff for Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department, and it was only after he shot Nolen the attack stopped.

Moore Police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis told the LA Times, detectives will recommend prosecutors to charge Nolen with first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

After he was released from prison in 2013 on drug related charges, Nolen reportedly became more religious and co-workers at Vaughan Foods said he had tried to convert them to Islam.

A Facebook page under the name “Jah’Keem Yisrael,” was used by Nolen before the attacks according to CNN.  The page contains pictures of Nolen as well as posts and pictures regarding Islam and the Quran.  Some of these pictures are of al-Qaeda chiefs as well as the 9/11 attacks.

There were also disturbing posts on this Facebook page.  One post reportedly showed a beheaded man with the quote, “I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite ye above their necks and smite all their fingertips off them.”

The Oklahoma Conference of Churches made a statement Saturday saying, “The Islamic Community of Oklahoma has consistently condemned all violence — most especially acts of violence ostensibly carried out in the name of Islam… Along with our Muslim brothers and sisters we affirm that true Islam is, in fact, a religion of peace and that those inflicting violence in the name of Islam are perverting Islam for their own ends.”

After undergoing surgery, Nolen spoke to investigators on Friday, but no details have emerged form these interviews.

Politics, US

In the midst of riots and protests, Michael Brown named as robbery suspect

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The events preceding the shooting death of Michael Brown have been unclear since they occurred, but new security footage from a convenience store in Ferguson, Mo., allegedly shows Brown and his accomplice Dorian Johnson, stealing a box of cigars valued at just under $50.

A police report released by the Ferguson Police Department details the events leading up to the shooting, beginning with a call around noon to a police officer concerning a robbery in progress at a Ferguson Quiktrip convenience store.  The report goes on saying how the investigating officer obtained a brief description of the two suspects and the direction they had run off in.

Upon not being able to locate the suspect, the investigating officer returned to the Quiktrip and observed security footage showing two suspects, reportedly Brown and Johnson, enter the store, and grab a box of Swisher Sweet cigars before a confrontation with the store staff begins.  As Brown and Johnson attempted to leave the store, an employee tried to block their exit and Brown grabs the employee before pushing him into a nearby rack.  Johnson exits without further incident, but Brown stands over the employee and, as the report claims, “intimidates” the employee, before leaving.

It was after this incident Brown and Johnson were located by Officer Darren Wilson, who was not the investigating officer, outside of an apartment complex, and Brown was fatally shot after a struggle with Wilson.

In the days after the death of Brown, Johnson has been in multiple interviews stating Brown was unnarmed at the time of the shooting, but he failed to mention his and Brown’s previous involvement in what could be robbery and assault.

Brown’s family have reacted strongly to the new accusations of their son being involved in a robbery before his death, and Ferguson residents have called the new evidence a “cover up.”

Benjamin Crump, the lawyer for the Brown family, said, according to the BBC, “The devious way the police chief has chosen to disseminate piecemeal information in a manner intended to assassinate the character of their son, following such a brutal assassination of his person in broad daylight.”

Details of the shooting are still cryptic as the police are saying, according to FOX News, Brown and Johnson assaulted Officer Wilson before the shooting, while Johnson claims he and Brown were running from Wilson as he fired shots at them.