Wednesday, December 17

Tag: police

5 Essential Reads On Police Violence Against Black Men: As The Derek Chauvin Trial Begins In George Floyd Murder Case
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5 Essential Reads On Police Violence Against Black Men: As The Derek Chauvin Trial Begins In George Floyd Murder Case

The trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd is underway in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Chauvin, who is white, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with the death of George Floyd, who was Black, during an arrest last May. For 8 minutes and 46 seconds, Floyd – handcuffed and face down on the pavement – said repeatedly that he could not breathe, while other officers looked on. A video of Floyd’s agonizing death soon went viral, triggering last summer’s unprecedented wave of mass protests against police violence and racism. Chauvin’s murder trial is expected to last up to four weeks. These five stories offer expert analysis and key background on police violence, Derek Chauvin’s record and racism in U.S. law ...
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To stop police shootings of people with mental health disabilities, I asked them what cops – and everyone – could do to help
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MENTAL HEALTH

To stop police shootings of people with mental health disabilities, I asked them what cops – and everyone – could do to help

When Joe Prude called the police on his brother, he was asking for help: Daniel Prude, who suffered from mental health problems, had run almost naked out of his Rochester, New York, house into the snow. When officers arrived, new video footage shows, the March 23 encounter quickly turned violent, and Prude died from asphyxiation under a hood officers had put over his head. Two years prior, in 2018, Shukri Ali Said of Georgia also wound up dead after leaving her house during a mental health crisis on April 23, 2018. Police, called in to help, found Said standing at an intersection holding a knife. Officers shot her five times in the neck and chest, killing her. That same month, in New York, officers answered a 911 call about a black man waving something that looked like a gun. In fact, it...
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Police violence in the United States: what lies behind the ‘bad apples’ narrative
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Police violence in the United States: what lies behind the ‘bad apples’ narrative

The May 25 video of George Floyd’s death sparked outrage and demonstrations across the United States as well as around the world. The direct responsibility of police officer Derek Chauvin is reflected in the charges – on June 3 were upgraded to second-degree murder, while three other officers were charged with aiding and abetting Floyd’s death. However, the interpretations of what lies behind Chauvin’s behavior and the underlying racism differ greatly, and frequently along political lines. Structural vs individual racism A frequent interpretation is that George Floyd’s death was an isolated incident by a “bad cop”. This is the prevalent view in the Trump administration and more generally among conservatives. It was clearly expressed by Robert O'Brien, the president’s National Security Advi...
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Police officers accused of brutal violence often have a history of complaints by citizens
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Police officers accused of brutal violence often have a history of complaints by citizens

As protests against police violence and racism continue in cities throughout the U.S., the public is learning that several of the officers involved in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville share a history of complaints by citizens of brutality or misconduct. Decades of research on police shootings and brutality reveal that officers with a history of shooting civilians, for example, are much more likely to do so in the future compared to other officers. A similar pattern holds for misconduct complaints. Officers who are the subject of previous civilian complaints – regardless of whether those complaints are for excessive force, verbal abuse or unlawful searches – pose a higher risk of engaging in serious misconduct in the future. A study published in...
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To stop police shootings of people with mental health disabilities, I asked them what cops – and everyone – could do to help
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MENTAL HEALTH

To stop police shootings of people with mental health disabilities, I asked them what cops – and everyone – could do to help

After Shukri Ali Said left her house during a mental health crisis on April 23, 2018, her sister called 911 for help. Police found Said standing at an intersection holding a knife. Officers shot her five times in the neck and chest, killing her. That same month, in New York, officers answered a 911 call about a black man waving something that looked like a gun. In fact, it was a pipe. But when Saheed Vassell, a 34-year-old father with mental illness who was well known in his Brooklyn community, pointed it at police, they shot him dead. Vassell and Said are among the hundreds of people with intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses in the United States killed by police every year. According to The Washington Post, 142 of the 752 people shot by police so far in 2019 have had a mental i...
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Outrage in US as photo shows police leading black man by a rope

Critics demand dismissal of officers involved in 'racist' incident saying Texas police chief's apology was inadequate. An NAACP official says the police have an obligation to explain the officers' actions to the public [Courtesy: Adrienne Bell/Twitter] Outrage has erupted across the United States after a photo of two white police officers mounted on horseback walking a handcuffed black man by a rope - recalling the long history of violence, slavery and racism against African Americans during the era of segregation - went viral. Vernon Hale, the police chief of the US city of Galveston in Texas state, issued an apology following the incident, but his statement drew more criticism for being "weak". Hale said the black man in the photo, Donald Neely, who was ...
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Minorities are targets of police brutality in schools

Civil rights and education advocacy groups call for removal of officers from schools despite risk of shootings. A study by civil rights and education advocacy groups in the United States claims minority students are targets of police brutality in schools. The report, published this week, calls for the removal of school police officers, despite the risk of school shootings. by Heidi Zhou-Castro Al Jazeera’s Heidi Zhou-Castro reports from Philadelphia.
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Chicago Police Accused Of Racist Use Of ‘Bait Trucks’ Tactic

The tactic, which sees trucks filled with valuable goods and left unattended, has been criticized for both creating the crimes it catches and for its use in impoverished, minority neighborhoods. The Chicago police department has been accused of targeting some of the city's poorest communities with a controversial tactic. Local activists say police are entrapping young black men with a so-called "bait truck", which is parked on the road with expensive products and left unattended. by John Hendren Al Jazeera's John Hendren reports from Chicago.
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