DA Won't File Charges Against Cops That Murdered Tamir Rice

According to CopBlock, "County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty has been telling people he will not comply with the recommendation of Cleveland Municipal Judge Ronald Adrine to charge the officers responsible for the death of Tamir Rice, and force them to defend their actions in court. Even worse, he is saying he does not agree with Judge Adrine’s finding that there is probable cause to charge the officers with any crime. He says he has conducted a thorough investigation of the facts in the Nov. 22, 2014 shooting and will present them to the grand jury some time this month and let them decide if charges should be filed. But if he goes to the grand jury with no recommendation or a recommendation that there is no probable cause to indict, or before releasing the second video of the shooting, it is extremely unlikely the grand jury on its own will file charges."

The judge wanted to issue an arrest warrant for the officer who murdered Tamir Rice but it needed to be approved first by the County Prosecutor. Timothy McGinty has decided to place the burden onto the Grand Jury instead of doing the job he was elected to do.

Officer Timothy Loehmann, the man who shot Tamir Rice, claimed he had no choice but to shoot the 12 year old as he felt threatened. If this was the case he had many options. He could have stayed in his vehicle and used the megaphone to order Tamir to place his weapon on the ground and/or to put his hands up. The video shows that Officer Loehmann had a mission to shoot someone.

Please contact prosecutor Timothy McGinty and urge him to press charges on the officers responsible for the murder of Tamir Rice. If he feels pressure from the community perhaps he will do the right thing.

Read the full article here: 

https://www.copblock.org/143320/cleveland-da-refuses-file-charges-against-cops-murdered-tamir-rice/

Missouri Police Misconduct Still At An All Time High

According copblock.org sometime in September 2014 Bernard Scott was arrested in Pine Lawn, Missouri for just over $300 worth of traffic tickets. At some point between being arrested and getting to the jail, Mr. Scott was injured so severely that the police called an ambulance for him to be checked out. Once the paramedics arrived at the jail, they were instantly so concerned for the man, they began paperwork to rush him to the hospital. The jail personnel began getting Bernard dressed into his street clothes to be transported. That’s when a member of the administration called the whole thing off and told the paramedics to leave. The paramedics protested the decision but were overruled by the jail staff. Why? Because he didn’t pay the $300 dollars required for his release.Things just get worse from here. About 20 minutes later, a second ambulance was called for the same man. This time, with a report that he was unresponsive after hanging himself with a shoelace. This man that was so injured he needed immediate care was somehow strong enough to attempt suicide?! Well, that’s what jail staff wanted us to believe. Upon being rushed to the hospital, and worked on for nearly an hour, the man survived! He was in really bad shape and remained in a coma for nearly a month.

Bernard Scott then made a statement about the claims of a suicide attempt “why would I try to kill myself?! It was a traffic ticket!”

Read the full story here:
http://www.copblock.org/140019/missouri-police-misconduct-still-at-an-all-time-high/

Stephen Rankin: the military-trained officer who killed two unarmed men

Young Turks posted a video and you have to see it. "Before Officer Stephen Rankin fatally shot 18-year-old William Chapman, when an autopsy found the first unarmed man he killed was shot 11 times, residents of this city in southern Virginia voiced their dismay on the website of a local newspaper.“Talk to the men and women in our armed forces who face people with weapons every day,” wrote one. “You don’t use deadly force against unarmed citizens – ever.”One commenter, however, stood out for his combative endorsement of Rankin’s actions during the April 2011 encounter with Kirill Denyakin, a 26-year-old Kazakhstani cook."

 See full article here: 

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/01/stephen-rankin-military-trained-officer-william-chapman

Chicago Police Accused of Deleting Video and Threatening Witnesses After Teen’s “Execution"

Many news outlets reporting on the Chicago Police and their efforts to cover up the murder of a 17 year-old boy. The boy was shot 16 times.

Credit: masetv.com

According to Photographyisnotacrime.com on October 20, 2014, McDonald was followed through the parking lot of the Burger King shortly before he was killed by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, the only one of the six police officers present that night who opened fire. The video from the restaurant would not have depicted the actual shooting, but would have shown the moments leading up to it.

Jay Darshane, the manager of the Burger King, told NBC Chicago and MSNBC that he thinks police detectives deleted the video after he told his employees to give them the password and allow them to access it. He said that the cameras were turned on and working properly during the night of the shooting.

“We had no idea they were going to sit there and delete files,” he said. “I mean we were just trying to help the police officers.”

The Independent Police Review Authority, which is responsible for investigating police shootings and misconduct allegations, acknowledged that the footage is missing, but did its best to defend police: “We have no credible evidence at this time that would cause us to believe CPD purged or erased any surveillance video.”

Jeffrey Neslund, one of the family’s attorneys, described the dash cam video to MSNBC:

When Laquan is about 12 to 15 feet away from the officers, the width of an entire lane of the southbound traffic, one officer begins shooting. Laquan immediately spins to the ground and the video then clearly shows that the officer continues to shoot Laquan multiple times as he lays in the street. Sixteen seconds pass from the time Laquan hits the ground until the last visible puff of smoke rises from his torso area. An officer then approaches Laquan, stands over him, and appears to shout something as he kicks the knife out of his hand.

In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Neslund referred to the shooting as an “execution.”

Van Dyke, the officer Prior to the McDonald shooting, Van Dyke had already accumulated 15 complaints, including allegations of police brutality and using racial epithets, but the city never resolved any of the complaints.

Ed Nance, one of the complainants, was awarded $350,000 by a jury after he was injured by Van Dyke in a 2007 police brutality case. Nance broke into tears after he was told about the McDonald shooting, according to the Chicago Tribune.

“It just makes me so sad because it shouldn’t have happened,” he said. “He shouldn’t have been on the street in the first place after my incident.”

Van Dyke has been on paid desk duty since the shooting.

Read the full article here: 

http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/06/chicago-police-accused-of-deleting-video-threatening-witnesses-after-teens-execution/

Mike Eiskant, Former Santa Fe Cop, Accused Of Masturbating In Squad Car While On Duty

The title says it all. We understand that officers are humans to but this is inexcusable. Apparently there is video, more so audio of former Sgt. Mike Eiskant having a  graphic conversation with himself and masturbating while on duty. According to Huffington Post, Eiskant is heard texting someone and looking at naked photos of a woman. Former Sgt. Eiskant also has a reputation of stalking women. With this known reputation it is the department's fault for not nipping this in the bud a long time ago. Even with female officers complaining about him. Whats even worse is that he was given the badge number 69. 

This is not the worse of his offenses. Eiskant has since entered a plea of no contest  to two counts of attempt to commit a felony (false imprisonment), one count of stalking, two counts of harassment and other charges including larceny and possession of marijuana, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Read the full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/mike-eiskant-santa-fe-police-officer-masturbating-squad-car-on-duty_n_1415740.html

White Officer, Michael Slager, actually charged with murder for killing an unarmed black man.

Video has been released of the shooting of Walter Scott. It is clear that officer Michael Slager shot Scott as he was running away. Slager had plenty of time to choose whether to shoot Scott. Not only did Slager shoot 8 times but he did it as Scott was at least 10 feet or more away. It is clear that he was shooting to kill. It is a surprise that officer Slager was actually charged with murder but this is not a victory. He must be convicted. Since the release of the video officer Slager has been fired. Watch the video below and read more on this murder below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/07/officer-michael-slager-shoots-man-in-back-video_n_7021134.html

Officers plant drugs in black owner's store

This is an older story but we still need to share it because it is one of many videos that prove officers do plant evidence for conviction. Also note that the black man shown on the news graphic is the store owner and not a criminal. I would not have used that photo; it seems he is a suspect and not a victim of police harassment. Watch the video below.