Tag Archives: homicide

Police Accountability, Police State

Freddie Gray Autopsy: Homicide By ‘High-Energy’ Impact

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Baltimore – The autopsy of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man who died while in police custody in April, reveals that he suffered a “high-energy injury” to his neck and spine.

The Baltimore Sun obtained a copy of the autopsy results, and reported that the state medical examiner concluded Gray’s death was a homicide, rather than an accident, “because officers failed to follow safety procedures through acts of omission.”

Gray was arrested on April 12 in Baltimore after he made eye contact with a police officer, and then stared running in the opposite direction. He received the “high-energy injury” that left his spine 80 percent detached from his neck and put him in a coma during his time in police custody. After not receiving proper medical attention, Gray died on April 19.

The medical examiner compared Gray’s injury to a person diving headfirst into shallow water and noted that while Gray was loaded into the van on his stomach, and his wrists and ankles were shackled, he was not belted in, which put him “at risk for an unsupported fall during acceleration or deceleration of the van.”

The report concludes that Gray’s death was “not an unforeseen event,” and that when a “vulnerable individual was injured during operation of the vehicle,” the injury would likely be fatal “without prompt medical attention.”

The circumstances that led up to Gray’s death resulted in protests across the country, and six Baltimore officers faced criminal charges. State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced that Gray’s death had been ruled a homicide on May 1.

The “Baltimore Six” is comprised of Officer William G. Porter, Lieutenant Brian W. Rice, Officer Edward M. Nero, Officer Garrett E. Miller, Sergeant Alicia D. White and Officer Caesar R. Goodson, Jr.

Goodson, the officer who was driving the van Gray was transported in, faces the most severe charges, including misconduct in office, manslaughter by vehicle (criminal negligence), manslaughter by vehicle (gross negligence), involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and second-degree depraved-heart murder.

On May 21, Mosby announced that all six of the officers have been indicted by a grand jury in Baltimore. The officers responded by pleading “not guilty” to the charges, and a trial will be held in October. The Baltimore Sun noted that the case will be presided by Judge Barry G. Williams, “a former city prosecutor and civil rights litigator with a no-nonsense reputation.”

Editor’s Pick, Featured, Government Accountability, Police Accountability, Police State, Politics, US

Cleveland Judge Finds Probable Cause For Murder Charges In Tamir Rice Shooting

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A Cleveland municipal court judge ruled on Thursday that there is probable cause to charge two Cleveland police officers in the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. Rice was shot and killed by police on Nov. 22, 2014, while he was playing with a pellet gun at a park in Cleveland.

Judge Ronald Adrine issued a ruling that stated he found probable cause to charge Officer Timothy Loehmann, who shot Rice, with “murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide and dereliction of duty,” and he also found probable cause to charge a second officer on the scene, Officer Frank Garmback, with “negligent homicide and dereliction of duty.”

Adrine noted that although the municipal court determined that “complaints should be filed by the prosecutor of the City of Cleveland and/or the Cuyahoga County prosecutor,” the court’s role is only “advisory in nature,” and it is ultimately up to the City Prosecutor to “decide to issue felony complaints in the Cleveland Municipal Court based upon his acceptance of the court’s determination that there is probable cause to believe certain accusations found in the affidavits posted against these Patrol Officers.”

The New York Times reported that county prosecutor, Timothy McGinty, released a statement in response to the court’s ruling, indicating that he would not be “rushed into filing a criminal complaint.”

“This case, as with all other fatal use-of-deadly-force cases involving law enforcement officers, will go to the grand jury,” McGinty said. “That has been the policy of this office since I was elected. Ultimately, the grand jury decides whether police officers are charged or not charged.”

As Truth In Media previously reported, the family of Tamir Rice filed a lawsuit on Jan. 30, stating that Rice’s death and subsequent injuries suffered by his family were “directly and proximately caused” by officers Loehmann and Garmback.

While the city of Cleveland’s response noted that it was unable to respond in full due to the ongoing investigation, it did cite 20 defenses, with one including the allegation that Rice’s death was caused by his failure to “exercise due care to avoid injury.”

In April, attorneys for Loehmann and Garmback asked a federal judge to halt a lawsuit filed against them, until the criminal investigation into their actions has been completed. In response, Rice’s family filed a motion on May 4, in objection to the request, stating that delays in the lawsuit will hurt their case.

While Adrine’s ruling claimed that the video surveillance from the incident was low in quality, it does acknowledge the fact that after Rice is shot, nearly four minutes pass where he is left lying on the ground, and when his sister arrives on the scene, she is “restrained from going to her brother’s side.”

The video shows Rice’s 14-year-old sister rushing to her brother’s side, and then being thrown to the ground, handcuffed, and placed in a police cruiser by Garmback. She is then forced to wait in the cruiser, and to watch while police stand around, without attempting to provide any first aid to her brother.

“This has to be the cruelest thing I’ve ever seen,” said Walter Madison, an attorney for the Rice family, who called the video “shocking and outrageous.”

Featured, Police State, Politics, US

Report Finds Police Departments Making Their Own Rules, Not Reporting Hundreds of Homicides to The FBI

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A recent analysis found that the killings of hundreds of individuals by law enforcement officers have not been reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The study, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, stated that after looking at records from 105 of the nation’s largest police forces, there was a gap of 583 homicides that were not included in the FBI’s records from 2007 to 2012.

The analysis found that the departments recorded 1, 825 officer-involved killings over the five-year period, which was 45 percent higher than the tally of 1,242 that had been reported to the FBI.

According to Yahoo News, this massive gap “makes it nearly impossible to figure out how many people cops kill – justifiably or not – every year.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that local police departments are not required to provide the FBI with either statistics or detailed records on how many individuals are killed by police officers.

According to CBS News, police departments have “developed their own policies that generally permit officers to use force when they reasonably fear imminent physical harm,” which ultimately gives officers “the benefit of the doubt by prosecutors,” and makes and grand jurors “reluctant to second-guess their decisions.”

This is evidenced in the case of Michael Brown, who was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson during a confrontation in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9. The Grand Jury chose not to indict Wilson on murder charges, sparking riots and protests throughout the country.

Another instance that recently ignited protests from the American public is the case of Eric Garner, who was choked to death by Officer Daniel Pantaleo in New York City, on July 17. The Grand Jury chose not to indict Pantaleo, despite the fact that unlike in Wilson’s case, Pantaleo’s actions were caught on video.

In addition to the freedom local police departments are given regarding their policies for use of force, they are also given a great amount of freedom when deciding how to use the military equipment they obtain with grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

As previously reported, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is in charge of providing grants for military equipment, does not have a system in place to determine the extent to which police departments use the equipment, and as a result the grant program “exists with little oversight.”

In the newest episode of the Truth in Media Project, which will be released on December 10, Investigative Journalist Ben Swann looks at the root of Police militarization, and the effect it is having on society. Watch the trailer below:

US

Eric Frein ‘will face justice’: death penalty will be sought

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A seven week manhunt ended Thursday night with the capture of Eric Frein, a survivalist, who allegedly killed a Pennsylvania state trooper, and prosecutors for the case say they will seek the death penalty.

Frein, 31, was lead to the Pike County courthouse Friday amidst jeers and heckles from county locals who came out to see the man at the center of the manhunt which began on Sept. 12.

On that date, Frein supposedly used a high-powered rifle to kill Cpl. Bry0n Dickson, 38, and wound Trooper Alex Douglass, 31, outside of the Blooming Grove state police barracks.

State police began to scour the forests in the area in search of Frein after they had found an abandoned vehicle nearby, registered to Frein, with shell casings matching those found at the barracks.  FOX News reports the vehicle also contained camouflage face paint, two empty rifle casings, and various military-style gear.

When searching the forests, police found a journal allegedly belonging to Frein which described the shooting of the two officers.  Police also found campsites supposedly used by Frein and booby trapped pipe bombs in the woods.

US Marshals were used in the manhunt, and it was the Marshals who saw Frein, unarmed, in an overgrown field near an abandoned hangar Thursday.  This led to a sweep of the area, which yielded Frein without incident.

State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan, gave a statement late Thursday at a press conference after the capture, saying, “He did not just give up because he was tired… He gave up because he was caught.”

Many in the community, including the families of Dickson and Douglass have expressed relief at the capture of Frein.

The charges against Frein are widespread and include, according to USA Today, first-degree murder, homicide of a police officer, and possession of weapons of mass destruction.  He is being held without bail and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 12.

Politics, US

Former Virginia political candidate indicted on murder charges

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Charles Severance, a resident of Alexandria, Virginia who had ran for political office in Virginia in the 1990’s and 2000’s, has been indicted on ten charges, including murder and weapons related charges.

The killings in question date back to 2003 when real estate agent Nancy Dunning was found murdered in the Alexandria area.  There were other murders in the surrounding neighborhoods in the following years, one as recent as February.  These killings have sparked fears of a possible serial killer in Alexandria and the encompassing areas.

Ballistics experts had found similarities between the weapons used in all three murders, according to ABC News.

Severance, 53, was identified by a caregiver, who had survived the February slaying, with the help of forensic sketch artists.  When police contacted Severance in March, he left the state but was later arrested in a Wheeling, W. Va. library, according to the Washington Post.

Severance was initially arrested on a weapons related charge since he is a felon and therefore not allowed to carry a firearm.  He had previously pleaded guilty to a 2005 felony gun possession charge.

In 1996 and 2000, Severance made a run for mayor of Alexandria, but his odd and erratic behavior caused officials to take notice.  Police at the time conducted a routine investigation after tips were passed off to them pointing to Severance in connection with the 2003 homicide, according to the Washington Times.  After the investigation, police concluded Severance was not a suspect at the time.

Prosecutors for the case say they are not planning to pursue the death penalty.  The maximum sentence Severance could therefore face is life in prison if he is convicted of the murder charges.

“This has been a complex and time-consuming investigation that has spanned almost 11 years,” said the Alexandria police in a statement.