Dafuq?
The teabaggers won't answer, Twila. It doesn't fit in their reality.
Yes, there is a war on police
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- Start date
The teabaggers won't answer, Twila. It doesn't fit in their reality.
REALLYTICKEDOFF @SoCalEdgyGal Remember when President Obama prayed with Black leaders to end violence?? Me either!
on the book reading thread I mention the Ruderman-Laker book on police corruption in Philadelphia --- here is a link to NPR which summarizes the story:
The Fresh Air Interview: Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman : NPR
Philadelphia Daily News reporters Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for the 10-month series "Tainted Justice," an expose of alleged corruption among members of an elite narcotics squad on the Philadelphia police force.
During their reporting, Laker and Ruderman uncovered allegations against officers that included committing sexual assaults, disabling surveillance cameras during drug raids to hide their misdeeds, and filing fraudulent warrants. During several raids, the police allegedly stole thousands of dollars in merchandise and money from small retailers.
As a result of Laker and Ruderman's investigation, hundreds of drug cases in Philadelphia have been re-examined, and in some cases thrown out. In addition, the Philadelphia police launched a task force, which includes members of the FBI, the force's Internal Affairs division and the city Inspector General's Office, to investigate the allegations.
Five of the officers involved officers remain on desk duty; more than 15 civil suits have been filed in federal court against members of the force.
Interview Highlights
On informant Ventura Martinez, who alleged that he and narcotics-unit officer Jeffrey Cujdik fabricated evidence in at least two dozen cases
Wendy Ruderman: "He had come into our office looking for protection. He was terrified that he was either going to be killed by a police officer or he was going to be killed by a drug dealer on the street. ... He alleged that ... when [he and Officer Cujdik] couldn't make drug buys out of a house, the officer told him to go buy drugs elsewhere."
On fact-checking Martinez's story
Ruderman: "We went to the homes — every single house — where he said he didn't [really] make the buy [that Cujdik claimed he did in a warrant]. People had been locked up, but we talked to relatives, and we asked them what happened during the raids."
Drug baggies
Mom and pop shops in Philadelphia were busted for selling ziplock baggies like the ones pictured here. Police say the baggies are used to package marijuana and cocaine.
Philadelphia Daily News
On how the victims of the false warrants felt
Ruderman: "They knew that something wasn't right. They had told their attorney something wasn't right. But who's going to believe them? The system is entirely stacked. ... It's the police officer's word against your word, and you can get up there and say, 'Yeah, I sell drugs, but I don't sell that kind of drug' — and you know, who's going to listen to you?"
On finding out about the alleged sexual assaults that took place during some raids
Ruderman: "Just by chance, the wife of the man who was arrested told us that she was home alone at the time with her children, and that this one officer took her to a back room off the kitchen — and none of the other officers were with her — and he fondled her breasts [and] lifted up her shirt. She feared she was going to be raped. He commented on her tattoos. Asked her to pull down her jeans a little so he could see her tattoo. She was petrified. Absolutely petrified."
On the victims of other alleged sexual assaults they found
Ruderman: "Two went on the record. The third we did grant anonymity to, because the allegation was that the officer shoved his hand up her ******. And she was petrified, and went to the hospital that night, and they did a rape kit. Because of that, she was scared, and we granted her anonymity. The other two were courageous women and gave us their names and told us their story with their faces, names and everything."
On the Philadelphia police knowing about the officer's alleged sexual misconduct
Ruderman: "It was like an open secret. It was almost like, 'Well, this is just what that cop does.' And all of the women felt the police department wasn't hearing them, because they couldn't identify the officer by name. But when they went to Internal Affairs, they were shown an array of 80 photographs of police officers, and a lot of the photos dated back years — when the officers first joined the police department — so they didn't look like they looked now."
On alleged thefts during raids against mom and pop stores
Video still from bodega surveillance camerai
A surveillance still from a bodega in Philadelphia shows an officer minutes before he tries to cut the wires. The video stills, says Ruderman, turned "criticism into silence."
Philadelphia Daily News
Ruderman: "The police would record that they [seized] $1,000, but actually the store owners were alleging that, 'No, I had $7,000 in my store.' A lot of these store owners dealt in cash. They paid their vendors in cash. They didn't trust banks. ... So in addition to just having their stores left in shambles, they allege that thousands of dollars were gone. And when they told their attorneys about it, their attorneys said 'Well, everybody says that. Everybody says that all the time. How are you going to prove it? It's your word against their word.' "
On how finding surveillance videos changed that story
Barbara Laker: "A lot of people who were skeptical at first, with the first [cash-theft] story, when they could see visually that these were officers disabling cameras in stores, it was incredible. They could see it and believe it. Any kind of criticism [we had] gotten before from the police department went away."
On how they felt when known drug dealers were released from prison
Laker: "I definitely struggled with it. And it helped when we found the [mom and pop] merchants who had been raided by the same squad. Because they were not drug dealers. It put my mind more at ease. We were on to something that involved innocent people who had been victimized. ... So we did feel guilty about the [drug dealers], but once we found these merchants, I think in my mind and Wendy's mind it relieved our anxiety a little, because we felt like we'd found truly innocent people."
Sad that so many of these victims of police corruption and crimes go unrewarded for their troubles. When viewed objectively there no longer is any secret as to why there is so much distrust towards cops since so many of them are so crooked.
But this situation is hardly unique as every major city in the USA has had to pay truckloads of money in compensation to those lucky enough to get fair hearings in courts.
The Fresh Air Interview: Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman : NPR
Philadelphia Daily News reporters Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for the 10-month series "Tainted Justice," an expose of alleged corruption among members of an elite narcotics squad on the Philadelphia police force.
During their reporting, Laker and Ruderman uncovered allegations against officers that included committing sexual assaults, disabling surveillance cameras during drug raids to hide their misdeeds, and filing fraudulent warrants. During several raids, the police allegedly stole thousands of dollars in merchandise and money from small retailers.
As a result of Laker and Ruderman's investigation, hundreds of drug cases in Philadelphia have been re-examined, and in some cases thrown out. In addition, the Philadelphia police launched a task force, which includes members of the FBI, the force's Internal Affairs division and the city Inspector General's Office, to investigate the allegations.
Five of the officers involved officers remain on desk duty; more than 15 civil suits have been filed in federal court against members of the force.
Interview Highlights
On informant Ventura Martinez, who alleged that he and narcotics-unit officer Jeffrey Cujdik fabricated evidence in at least two dozen cases
Wendy Ruderman: "He had come into our office looking for protection. He was terrified that he was either going to be killed by a police officer or he was going to be killed by a drug dealer on the street. ... He alleged that ... when [he and Officer Cujdik] couldn't make drug buys out of a house, the officer told him to go buy drugs elsewhere."
On fact-checking Martinez's story
Ruderman: "We went to the homes — every single house — where he said he didn't [really] make the buy [that Cujdik claimed he did in a warrant]. People had been locked up, but we talked to relatives, and we asked them what happened during the raids."
Drug baggies
Mom and pop shops in Philadelphia were busted for selling ziplock baggies like the ones pictured here. Police say the baggies are used to package marijuana and cocaine.
Philadelphia Daily News
On how the victims of the false warrants felt
Ruderman: "They knew that something wasn't right. They had told their attorney something wasn't right. But who's going to believe them? The system is entirely stacked. ... It's the police officer's word against your word, and you can get up there and say, 'Yeah, I sell drugs, but I don't sell that kind of drug' — and you know, who's going to listen to you?"
On finding out about the alleged sexual assaults that took place during some raids
Ruderman: "Just by chance, the wife of the man who was arrested told us that she was home alone at the time with her children, and that this one officer took her to a back room off the kitchen — and none of the other officers were with her — and he fondled her breasts [and] lifted up her shirt. She feared she was going to be raped. He commented on her tattoos. Asked her to pull down her jeans a little so he could see her tattoo. She was petrified. Absolutely petrified."
On the victims of other alleged sexual assaults they found
Ruderman: "Two went on the record. The third we did grant anonymity to, because the allegation was that the officer shoved his hand up her ******. And she was petrified, and went to the hospital that night, and they did a rape kit. Because of that, she was scared, and we granted her anonymity. The other two were courageous women and gave us their names and told us their story with their faces, names and everything."
On the Philadelphia police knowing about the officer's alleged sexual misconduct
Ruderman: "It was like an open secret. It was almost like, 'Well, this is just what that cop does.' And all of the women felt the police department wasn't hearing them, because they couldn't identify the officer by name. But when they went to Internal Affairs, they were shown an array of 80 photographs of police officers, and a lot of the photos dated back years — when the officers first joined the police department — so they didn't look like they looked now."
On alleged thefts during raids against mom and pop stores
Video still from bodega surveillance camerai
A surveillance still from a bodega in Philadelphia shows an officer minutes before he tries to cut the wires. The video stills, says Ruderman, turned "criticism into silence."
Philadelphia Daily News
Ruderman: "The police would record that they [seized] $1,000, but actually the store owners were alleging that, 'No, I had $7,000 in my store.' A lot of these store owners dealt in cash. They paid their vendors in cash. They didn't trust banks. ... So in addition to just having their stores left in shambles, they allege that thousands of dollars were gone. And when they told their attorneys about it, their attorneys said 'Well, everybody says that. Everybody says that all the time. How are you going to prove it? It's your word against their word.' "
On how finding surveillance videos changed that story
Barbara Laker: "A lot of people who were skeptical at first, with the first [cash-theft] story, when they could see visually that these were officers disabling cameras in stores, it was incredible. They could see it and believe it. Any kind of criticism [we had] gotten before from the police department went away."
On how they felt when known drug dealers were released from prison
Laker: "I definitely struggled with it. And it helped when we found the [mom and pop] merchants who had been raided by the same squad. Because they were not drug dealers. It put my mind more at ease. We were on to something that involved innocent people who had been victimized. ... So we did feel guilty about the [drug dealers], but once we found these merchants, I think in my mind and Wendy's mind it relieved our anxiety a little, because we felt like we'd found truly innocent people."
Sad that so many of these victims of police corruption and crimes go unrewarded for their troubles. When viewed objectively there no longer is any secret as to why there is so much distrust towards cops since so many of them are so crooked.
But this situation is hardly unique as every major city in the USA has had to pay truckloads of money in compensation to those lucky enough to get fair hearings in courts.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaw little Shrub doing his best eh...he was quite the humanitarian eh....here's another...what a man he was
Remember when President Obama prayed with Black leaders to end violence?? Me either!
equality for all...
Newton's third law of Blasionics:
Thanks, de Blasio: Crime Wave Sweeps NYC Following Execution of Two Cops | Jammie Wearing Fools
Arrests plummet 66% with NYPD in virtual work stoppage | New York Post
It’s not a slowdown — it’s a virtual work stoppage.
NYPD traffic tickets and summonses for minor offenses have dropped off by a staggering 94 percent following the execution of two cops — as officers feel betrayed by the mayor and fear for their safety, The Post has learned.
The dramatic drop comes as Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Mayor de Blasio plan to hold an emergency summit on Tuesday with the heads of the five police unions to try to close the widening rift between cops and the administration.
The unprecedented meeting is being held at the new Police Academy in Queens at 2 p.m., sources said.
Angry union leaders have ordered drastic measures for their members since the Dec. 20 assassination of two NYPD cops in a patrol car, including that two units respond to every call.
It has helped contribute to a nose dive in low-level policing, with overall arrests down 66 percent for the week starting Dec. 22 compared with the same time period in 2013, stats show.
Citations for traffic violations fell by 94 percent, from 10,069 to 587, during that time frame.
Summonses for low-level offenses like public drinking and urination also plunged 94 percent — from 4,831 to 300.
Even parking violations are way down, dropping by 92 percent, from 14,699 to 1,241.
Drug arrests by cops assigned to the NYPD’s Organized Crime Control Bureau — which are part of the overall number — dropped by 84 percent, from 382 to 63.
You can be sure the criminals know this. Speaking of criminals, we haven’t heard from Al Sharpton lately. Must have fled back to his estate in New Jersey.NYPD traffic tickets and summonses for minor offenses have dropped off by a staggering 94 percent following the execution of two cops — as officers feel betrayed by the mayor and fear for their safety, The Post has learned.
The dramatic drop comes as Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Mayor de Blasio plan to hold an emergency summit on Tuesday with the heads of the five police unions to try to close the widening rift between cops and the administration.
The unprecedented meeting is being held at the new Police Academy in Queens at 2 p.m., sources said.
Angry union leaders have ordered drastic measures for their members since the Dec. 20 assassination of two NYPD cops in a patrol car, including that two units respond to every call.
It has helped contribute to a nose dive in low-level policing, with overall arrests down 66 percent for the week starting Dec. 22 compared with the same time period in 2013, stats show.
Citations for traffic violations fell by 94 percent, from 10,069 to 587, during that time frame.
Summonses for low-level offenses like public drinking and urination also plunged 94 percent — from 4,831 to 300.
Even parking violations are way down, dropping by 92 percent, from 14,699 to 1,241.
Drug arrests by cops assigned to the NYPD’s Organized Crime Control Bureau — which are part of the overall number — dropped by 84 percent, from 382 to 63.
Thanks, de Blasio: Crime Wave Sweeps NYC Following Execution of Two Cops | Jammie Wearing Fools
Arrests plummet 66% with NYPD in virtual work stoppage | New York Post
War on police, war on civilians. Seems like some changes need to be made ALL the way around.
Maybe they could create a new departmental think tank to tackle this? Everyone could get 6 figures a year, plus bonus. It would be a great make work project, create work and give everyone another reason to complain and maybe focus their frustrations, which would take it away from the real issue at hand...
Maybe they could create a new departmental think tank to tackle this? Everyone could get 6 figures a year, plus bonus. It would be a great make work project, create work and give everyone another reason to complain and maybe focus their frustrations, which would take it away from the real issue at hand...
Another black cop targeted by white cops:
Black Police Officer Howard Morgan Was Shot 28 Times By Four White Police Officers. Yet, Somehow He’s Guilty. -
In the seemingly never-ending harassment, intimidation, and outright murder of African-Americans by those who are supposedly sworn to “Serve and to protect” one case, largely ignored by the media, stands out.
Meet Howard Morgan.
He was a Chicago police officer for more than eight years, and was also a detective for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad for more than 13 years. In his time as a Chicago police officer, he earned 13 commendations, according to FreeHowardMorgan.com.
None of that, however, was enough to protect him from being shot 28 times from members of his own former department. Then, to rub further salt in those wounds, he was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to jail for 40 years.
To say the evidence in this case is lacking, is perhaps the understatement of the decade.
It all went down like this, depending upon whom you believe:
On his way home, Morgan was pulled over for an alleged traffic violation. Then, after identifying himself as a police officer, he was forced from his vehicle and shot 21 times in the back and seven times in the front by four white police officers.
Three of four officers involved were also shot, but none had life-threatening wounds, The Chicago Sun-Times reported in a 2012 article.
According to police, Morgan became uncooperative while they were trying to handcuff him. They say he grabbed an unregistered Glock 9mm handgun and fired 17 rounds at them.
Morgan told the court that he was “snatched” from his van and searched by the officers. Then, he said, he heard “gun! Gun!” just before being shot by the fusillade of bullets and left unconscious. He told the court he didn’t fire a single shot. For their part, the officers told the court that they pulled Morgan over because he was heading the wrong way down a one-way street with his headlights off. Morgan, they said, exited his van in an “agitated” state, and when they came upon his gun, he shot first and they responded in self-defense, The Huffington Post reports.
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The Cook County state’s attorney’s office believed the four police officers, and Morgan was charged with four counts of attempted murder and firearms offenses.
His wife, Rosalind Morgan knows her husband better.
“Four white officers and one black Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad police man with his weapon on him—around the corner from our home—and he just decided to go crazy? No. That’s ludicrous,” Morgan’s wife, Rosalind Morgan, told the Sun-Times, the Huffington Post reports.
The first time Morgan was put on trial, the jury acquitted him in 2007 of aggravated battery and discharging his weapon, but was deadlocked on four attempted murder charges. That, the Post reports, lead to a retrial, and on April 5, 2012, Judge Clayton Crane sentenced Morgan, 61, to 40 years.
In this instance, the jury was not allowed to hear that Morgan was acquitted of the other charges.
In 2009, a three-judge appellate panel reviewed the evidence and made some interesting findings.
Let’s just say that if this case were a bridge, you couldn’t walk on it. There are Grand Canyon sized holes in it, based on the judges’ discoveries.
What were some of the holes, you ask?
Let’s start with the Huffington Post:
Before it could be tested for finger prints, bullets, and other evidence from the confrontation, police crushed the van that Morgan had been driving.
No fingerprints were found on Morgan’s gun.
The bullets that struck two of the officers weren’t recovered. The officers testified that they didn’t see Morgan fire the bullets and admitted that they were in each other’s line of fire, which means that a jury could reasonably conclude that the officers may well have been hit by “friendly fire.”
The case of the “Now you don’t see it, now you do” bullet
This particular bullet, which became a major focal point in the case against Morgan, seems to have magic powers. Discovered at the hospital when it “fell” from the protective vest of another officer who was at the scene, the officer later claimed that he saw Morgan fire the bullet. It must have lodged in the vest, the officer said, per The Huffington Post. A ballistics expert testified that the bullet wasn’t shot by any of the officers’ guns, which means friendly fire wasn’t its source.
So where did this bullet come from? The ballistics expert wasn’t able to match it to Morgan’s gun, the appellate review found. Yet somehow, with all of the jostling during the shooting, it wasn’t dislodged when the officer claimed he ran for cover. It also didn’t fall from the vest when the officer probed to determine how bad his injuries were. It even remained intact during the ride to the hospital.
Strange.
In fact, the bullet didn’t materialize until three witnesses saw it when the officer undressed at the hospital.
The vest in question?
Police failed to inventory it and prosecutors weren’t able to produce it at the trial. Morgan’s lawyers didn’t fail to point this out, the Post reports.
Now, for the rest of the holes
Courtesy of The Grio:
Charice Rush is the only eyewitness who came forward. She testified at Morgan’s 2007 trial that she saw the officers “snatch” Morgan from his van and “force him onto one knee.” She said she also heard one officer say “oh ****, he has a gun.” Then, she said, they opened fire while Morgan was on the ground.
She said she never saw Morgan fire a gun.
Police evidence technicians took photos of Morgan’s van, and every single photo showed the van was parked with its lights on.
Two Chicago police officers—Richard Pruger and Tom Mitchell–arrived on scene after the shootings. Both testified that the van’s headlights were on. So did Chicago police forensic investigator Maurice Henderson.
Morgan was never tested for gun residue to confirm if he fired a gun.
Benjamin Crump, the attorney representing Rosalind Morgan told The Grio that Morgan’s van was riddled with bullets. The walls of nearby houses and furniture within were absolutely riddled with bullets. Because the van was destroyed, the jury never got the chance to see the evidence.
“While he’s in the hospital fighting for his life, they destroyed the van that was riddled with bullets,” Crump said. “They ordered it demolished. Chicago police destroyed evidence.”
He added:
“Sixty years old, no criminal history, and the judge sentenced him to 40 years,” Crump said. “The [officers] claimed he shot at them. No evidence was ever produced that he fired a shot. One officer claimed a month later that there was a bullet in his vest, but when they came to court, [they produced] no vest, just a replica.”
Illinois Cook County Public Defender has filed an appeal with the Illinois Supreme Court. This case, he told NewsOne, represents the height of racial bias.
Finkle said the appeal will argue on the grounds of double jeopardy—this prohibits a defendant from being tried on the same charges after a legitimate acquittal. He also plans to contend that allegations regarding misconduct by the white police officers should have been allowed in court. Defense lawyers during the second trial were blocked from asking potential jurors regarding their feelings as to whether or not some Chicago police officers have a bias against blacks.
Crump told News One that the case raises questions as to whether the media and the justice system value black lives;
“I just don’t think the white media cares about black life and there has never been a more telling example of that than this Howard Morgan case, because when you really think about it, what more can you do? he said. “You’re a police officer, you don’t commit any crimes, and you’re honorable. What more could he have done? Where is the outrage? Where is the nonstop media coverage?”
Perhaps Rosalind Morgan said it best:
“Trayvon Martin cannot speak from the grave,” she told NewsOne. “I believe his spirit cries out and I believe his spirit has transcended itself through Howard Morgan. If you are in the grave, you cannot speak and say exactly what happened. Mr. Morgan is alive, and he can tell you exactly what happened to him that night. If they take the word and the story of the four Caucasian officers who tried to assassinate him over that of a seasoned African-American police officer with no prior criminal record, what does it say about our justice system? And people, do you really care about another human’s life? This is a human being and he deserves to live again.”
She added:
“Why do they want to kill Mr. Morgan? Why not let him live?”
A Change.org petition calling on Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and Chicago Congressman Danny Davis to free Morgan has garnered nearly 41,000 signatures.
Black Police Officer Howard Morgan Was Shot 28 Times By Four White Police Officers. Yet, Somehow He’s Guilty. -
In the seemingly never-ending harassment, intimidation, and outright murder of African-Americans by those who are supposedly sworn to “Serve and to protect” one case, largely ignored by the media, stands out.
Meet Howard Morgan.
He was a Chicago police officer for more than eight years, and was also a detective for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad for more than 13 years. In his time as a Chicago police officer, he earned 13 commendations, according to FreeHowardMorgan.com.
None of that, however, was enough to protect him from being shot 28 times from members of his own former department. Then, to rub further salt in those wounds, he was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to jail for 40 years.
To say the evidence in this case is lacking, is perhaps the understatement of the decade.
It all went down like this, depending upon whom you believe:
On his way home, Morgan was pulled over for an alleged traffic violation. Then, after identifying himself as a police officer, he was forced from his vehicle and shot 21 times in the back and seven times in the front by four white police officers.
Three of four officers involved were also shot, but none had life-threatening wounds, The Chicago Sun-Times reported in a 2012 article.
According to police, Morgan became uncooperative while they were trying to handcuff him. They say he grabbed an unregistered Glock 9mm handgun and fired 17 rounds at them.
Morgan told the court that he was “snatched” from his van and searched by the officers. Then, he said, he heard “gun! Gun!” just before being shot by the fusillade of bullets and left unconscious. He told the court he didn’t fire a single shot. For their part, the officers told the court that they pulled Morgan over because he was heading the wrong way down a one-way street with his headlights off. Morgan, they said, exited his van in an “agitated” state, and when they came upon his gun, he shot first and they responded in self-defense, The Huffington Post reports.
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The Cook County state’s attorney’s office believed the four police officers, and Morgan was charged with four counts of attempted murder and firearms offenses.
His wife, Rosalind Morgan knows her husband better.
“Four white officers and one black Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad police man with his weapon on him—around the corner from our home—and he just decided to go crazy? No. That’s ludicrous,” Morgan’s wife, Rosalind Morgan, told the Sun-Times, the Huffington Post reports.
The first time Morgan was put on trial, the jury acquitted him in 2007 of aggravated battery and discharging his weapon, but was deadlocked on four attempted murder charges. That, the Post reports, lead to a retrial, and on April 5, 2012, Judge Clayton Crane sentenced Morgan, 61, to 40 years.
In this instance, the jury was not allowed to hear that Morgan was acquitted of the other charges.
In 2009, a three-judge appellate panel reviewed the evidence and made some interesting findings.
Let’s just say that if this case were a bridge, you couldn’t walk on it. There are Grand Canyon sized holes in it, based on the judges’ discoveries.
What were some of the holes, you ask?
Let’s start with the Huffington Post:
Before it could be tested for finger prints, bullets, and other evidence from the confrontation, police crushed the van that Morgan had been driving.
No fingerprints were found on Morgan’s gun.
The bullets that struck two of the officers weren’t recovered. The officers testified that they didn’t see Morgan fire the bullets and admitted that they were in each other’s line of fire, which means that a jury could reasonably conclude that the officers may well have been hit by “friendly fire.”
The case of the “Now you don’t see it, now you do” bullet
This particular bullet, which became a major focal point in the case against Morgan, seems to have magic powers. Discovered at the hospital when it “fell” from the protective vest of another officer who was at the scene, the officer later claimed that he saw Morgan fire the bullet. It must have lodged in the vest, the officer said, per The Huffington Post. A ballistics expert testified that the bullet wasn’t shot by any of the officers’ guns, which means friendly fire wasn’t its source.
So where did this bullet come from? The ballistics expert wasn’t able to match it to Morgan’s gun, the appellate review found. Yet somehow, with all of the jostling during the shooting, it wasn’t dislodged when the officer claimed he ran for cover. It also didn’t fall from the vest when the officer probed to determine how bad his injuries were. It even remained intact during the ride to the hospital.
Strange.
In fact, the bullet didn’t materialize until three witnesses saw it when the officer undressed at the hospital.
The vest in question?
Police failed to inventory it and prosecutors weren’t able to produce it at the trial. Morgan’s lawyers didn’t fail to point this out, the Post reports.
Now, for the rest of the holes
Courtesy of The Grio:
Charice Rush is the only eyewitness who came forward. She testified at Morgan’s 2007 trial that she saw the officers “snatch” Morgan from his van and “force him onto one knee.” She said she also heard one officer say “oh ****, he has a gun.” Then, she said, they opened fire while Morgan was on the ground.
She said she never saw Morgan fire a gun.
Police evidence technicians took photos of Morgan’s van, and every single photo showed the van was parked with its lights on.
Two Chicago police officers—Richard Pruger and Tom Mitchell–arrived on scene after the shootings. Both testified that the van’s headlights were on. So did Chicago police forensic investigator Maurice Henderson.
Morgan was never tested for gun residue to confirm if he fired a gun.
Benjamin Crump, the attorney representing Rosalind Morgan told The Grio that Morgan’s van was riddled with bullets. The walls of nearby houses and furniture within were absolutely riddled with bullets. Because the van was destroyed, the jury never got the chance to see the evidence.
“While he’s in the hospital fighting for his life, they destroyed the van that was riddled with bullets,” Crump said. “They ordered it demolished. Chicago police destroyed evidence.”
He added:
“Sixty years old, no criminal history, and the judge sentenced him to 40 years,” Crump said. “The [officers] claimed he shot at them. No evidence was ever produced that he fired a shot. One officer claimed a month later that there was a bullet in his vest, but when they came to court, [they produced] no vest, just a replica.”
Illinois Cook County Public Defender has filed an appeal with the Illinois Supreme Court. This case, he told NewsOne, represents the height of racial bias.
Finkle said the appeal will argue on the grounds of double jeopardy—this prohibits a defendant from being tried on the same charges after a legitimate acquittal. He also plans to contend that allegations regarding misconduct by the white police officers should have been allowed in court. Defense lawyers during the second trial were blocked from asking potential jurors regarding their feelings as to whether or not some Chicago police officers have a bias against blacks.
Crump told News One that the case raises questions as to whether the media and the justice system value black lives;
“I just don’t think the white media cares about black life and there has never been a more telling example of that than this Howard Morgan case, because when you really think about it, what more can you do? he said. “You’re a police officer, you don’t commit any crimes, and you’re honorable. What more could he have done? Where is the outrage? Where is the nonstop media coverage?”
Perhaps Rosalind Morgan said it best:
“Trayvon Martin cannot speak from the grave,” she told NewsOne. “I believe his spirit cries out and I believe his spirit has transcended itself through Howard Morgan. If you are in the grave, you cannot speak and say exactly what happened. Mr. Morgan is alive, and he can tell you exactly what happened to him that night. If they take the word and the story of the four Caucasian officers who tried to assassinate him over that of a seasoned African-American police officer with no prior criminal record, what does it say about our justice system? And people, do you really care about another human’s life? This is a human being and he deserves to live again.”
She added:
“Why do they want to kill Mr. Morgan? Why not let him live?”
A Change.org petition calling on Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and Chicago Congressman Danny Davis to free Morgan has garnered nearly 41,000 signatures.
Gun deaths of officers jump 56 percent
WASHINGTON – The number of law enforcement officers killed by firearms in the U.S. jumped by 56 percent this year and included 15 ambush assaults, according to a report released Tuesday.
The annual report by the nonprofit National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund found that 50 officers were killed by guns this year, compared to 32 in 2013.
In all, the report found that 126 federal, local, tribal and territorial officers were killed in the line of duty in 2014. That's a 24 percent jump from last year's 102 on-duty deaths. Shootings were the leading cause of officer deaths in 2014 followed by traffic-related fatalities, at 49.
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Report: Gun deaths of officers jump 56 percent | Fox News
WASHINGTON – The number of law enforcement officers killed by firearms in the U.S. jumped by 56 percent this year and included 15 ambush assaults, according to a report released Tuesday.
The annual report by the nonprofit National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund found that 50 officers were killed by guns this year, compared to 32 in 2013.
In all, the report found that 126 federal, local, tribal and territorial officers were killed in the line of duty in 2014. That's a 24 percent jump from last year's 102 on-duty deaths. Shootings were the leading cause of officer deaths in 2014 followed by traffic-related fatalities, at 49.
more
Report: Gun deaths of officers jump 56 percent | Fox News
Firearms-related fatalities among law enforcement officers peaked in 1973, when 156 officers were shot and killed.
Gun-Related Police Deaths Jump 56 Percent in 2014 | CNS News
So, officers shot to death is down by more than 2/3 from 1973.
Good news!
Gun-Related Police Deaths Jump 56 Percent in 2014 | CNS News
So, officers shot to death is down by more than 2/3 from 1973.
Good news!
Hollywood Resistance @BettinaVLA Los Angeles: Anti-Police Protesters Threaten To Set Reporter On Fire Live On Air…
http://ln.is/weaselzippers.us/UN0gy … via @WeaselZippers
Where does everybody think all this escalation in violence is going to end up? Martial law/ Both sides need to calm the phuk down.
Images like this from Bramalea City Centre do little to clear up tension....
Personally, I think people who shoot phone pics in portrait need similar treatment
Personally, I think people who shoot phone pics in portrait need similar treatment
I know why do they turn their f*cking phones sideways so that you only see a bit in the middle with black up the sides...it's aggravating.
beats me....do we care...really...I mean I feel badly for the families of the dead cops...but until management gets it and they are always the slowest on the clue in stage...nothing will happen... nothing can happen...it will just continue until the powers that be respond correctly
management = no response until crisis
hm...but selfies that are vertical come out okey dokey...I've never filmed a happening, I've never seen a happening thank god actually, so are you saying if I do see something worth recording turn my phone lengthwise?