Pages

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Killer Cops Go To Trial In Albuquerque And Atlanta

"Why Cops Don't Pull Guns In Many Countries Whereas U.S. Cops Are Trained To Kill
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/07/why-police-dont-pull-guns-in-many.html

Harmless schizophrenic James Boyd shot dead 
after killer jokes about killing him.

Shooting Of James Boyd
Wikipedia

"Bad Black People." Why Bill O'Reilly Is Wrong Even When He's Right"
Extrajudicial Execution By Killer Cops: Best Pax Posts

Cop Arrested After Video Shows Her Shoot Unarmed Man in Back Lying Face Down in the Snow

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/04/cop-arrested-after-video-shows-her.html

Open Season On Unarmed American Black Men, A Compendium Of Pax Posts
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/04/open-season-on-american-black-men.html


The Beginning Of The End For Cop-Killer Privilege: "#CrimingWhileWhite"

2 Albuquerque Cops to Stand Trial in Fatal Shooting of Homeless Man James Boyd

An Albuquerque, New Mexico, police officer and a former detective will stand trial in the 2014 shooting death of a homeless man, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Officer Dominique Perez and former Officer Keith Sandy will face second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and battery charges in the death of James Boyd, 38. The homeless man's killing was caught on an officer's lapel camera and sparked outrage in Albuquerque over what some perceived as unnecessary lethal force.


Image:


Albuquerque officer Dominique Perez (l.) and former Albuquerque Detective Keith Sandy (r.) stand up in court on Aug. 3, 2015, after listening to a special prosecutor tell a judge at a preliminary hearing in Albuquerque that they unlawfully shot a homeless camper who posed no threat. Russell Contreras / AP

Boyd was clutching two knives when he was shot while camping in an unauthorized area of the city's Sandia foothills. Police claimed that he was threatening them during a tense standoff. Perez and Sandy fired six shots at Boyd, fatally wounding him. Stun guns and bean bag rounds were also used in the standoff.
Special prosecutor Randi McGinn said during the hearing that Boyd suffered from schizophrenia and argued that Boyd was following officers' orders because he was shot in the back, NBC affiliate KOB reported. "Reasonable people" do not shoot others in the back, McGinn argued.
The officers' defense team said the men acted in order to protect a K9 officer, who was unarmed, and that police are often placed into positions where they must make split-second decisions.
Perez and Sandy will be arraigned at a later date. Sandy retired from the police department in November.
Scrutiny over Boyd's killing came as the city last fall made a deal with the Justice Department over reforming the Albuquerque Police Department following more than two dozen fatal police-involved shootings since 2010.
The force is now independently monitored to make sure it implements new training and protocols for investigating such shootings. 
***

Former Georgia Officers Charged With Murder in Death of Man

A grand jury indicted two former Atlanta-area police officers on murder charges after prosecutors said they used stun guns on a man while his hands were cuffed behind his back.
The indictment filed Monday charges former East Point police Sgt. Marcus Eberhart, 41, and former Cpl. Howard Weems, 49, in the April 2014 death of 24-year-old Gregory Towns Jr. The two did "materially accelerate" Towns' death by repeatedly using their stun guns on Towns, who was "exhibiting signs of fatigue and shortness of breath," the indictment said.
An autopsy by the Fulton County medical examiner's office found Towns died from "hypertensive cardiovascular disease exacerbated by physical exertion and conducted electrical stimulation." The autopsy report lists the manner of death as a homicide.
Eberhart and Weems each face a single count of felony murder, aggravated assault, involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, as well as three counts apiece of violation of oath by a public officer.
No lawyer was listed for either man in an online court file. Calls to a number listed for Eberhart went unanswered. A person who answered the phone at Weems' home said Weems wasn't there and hung up the phone when asked if he could take a message. Lawyers who have previously represented each man did not immediately return phone calls and emails Tuesday.
Eberhart resigned July 9, 2014, and Weems was fired the next day, according to a statement from the office of Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard.
Officers were called to a townhome community on April 11, 2014, on a domestic dispute call involving Towns and his girlfriend, Howard's office said. Towns ran into a nearby wooded area after encountering police in the parking lot, but was quickly caught and handcuffed.
When Eberhart and Weems arrived, they demanded that Towns stand and walk to a patrol car. When Towns said he was "out of breath" and couldn't stand, the offers used their stun guns on him, the statement said. After being repeatedly hit, he became unconscious and later died.
Towns' family in August 2014 filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the two officers and the city of East Point. The city settled the lawsuit for $1 million in November.
Chris Stewart, a lawyer for Towns' family, said the indictment is a step in the right direction.
"We're happy there has been an indictment for both officers, but it's not done yet," Stewart said. "It is an example nationally that officers can be held accountable for their actions."
Towns, who was black, was killed several months before the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, put a national spotlight on how police treat minorities.
Stewart has previously said Towns' case wasn't about race since the officers were also black, but was instead about power and an inappropriate use of force by the officers. Stewart has also praised the police department for quickly taking action against the officers involved and calling in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to examine the circumstances surrounding Towns' death.

No comments:

Post a Comment