Animal Farm

Two white Texas officers fired for beating black woman over $150 traffic ticket

"Two police officers in Texas have been fired after they were caught on video beating a woman who was being arrested for an unpaid traffic ticket. Video obtained from the Jasper Police Department shows Grissom pushing Diggles up against a wall before Officer Ryan Cunningham comes from behind and slams her head against a counter top. Diggles is then forced to the ground and dragged by her ankle into a nearby cell. 'The amount of force used was abominable,' attorney Cade Bernsen, who is representing Diggles, told Yahoo News. 'She got her hair pulled out, broke a tooth, braces got knocked off… it was brutal.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwo white Texas officers fired for beating black woman over $150 traffic ticket

Female inmates sterilized in California prisons without approval

"Doctors under contract with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sterilized nearly 150 female inmates from 2006 to 2010 without required state approvals. At least 148 women received tubal ligations in violation of prison rules during those five years - and there are perhaps 100 more dating back to the late 1990s. Federal and state laws ban inmate sterilizations if federal funds are used, reflecting concerns that prisoners might feel pressured to comply. California used state funds instead. The allegations echo those made nearly a half-century ago, when forced sterilizations of prisoners, the mentally ill and the poor were commonplace in California." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFemale inmates sterilized in California prisons without approval

Botched circumcisions during initiation ritual kill 30 in South Africa

"Botched circumcisions killed 30 young men and landed almost 300 more in hospital during traditional initiation rites in a South African province, the health department said Sunday. The 30 deaths in rural Eastern Cape province occurred during the annual season when young males undergo a rite of passage into manhood. Ten other youths were hospitalised after being rescued from a forest on Sunday. 'The ten initiates’ private parts are rotten. They are badly damaged. Their condition is scary,' said spokesman Sizwe Kupelo. A further 293 young men were undergoing hospital treatment for dehydration, gangrene and septic wounds. Some had lost their genitals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBotched circumcisions during initiation ritual kill 30 in South Africa

NY Senate passes bill making ‘annoying’ police a crime

"The New York State Senate passed a controversial bill on Wednesday that aims to classify ‘aggravated harassment of a police officer’ as a crime. 'Our system of laws is established to protect the foundations of our society,' Senator Griffo said. 'Police officers who risk their lives every day in our cities and on our highways deserve every possible protection, and those who treat them with disrespect, harass them and create situations that can lead to injuries deserve to pay a price for their actions.' Griffo said that New York police require extra safeguards because 'too many people in our society have lost the respect they need to have for a police officer….'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNY Senate passes bill making ‘annoying’ police a crime

Wrongful conviction lawsuit alleges top New York prosecutor ‘rewarded misconduct’

"Prosecutor Michael Vecchione has denied each and every one of Rudin’s claims, and lawyers for the city have continued to insist that Collins is guilty. Vecchione was scheduled to be deposed by Rudin on Friday. However, Vecchione, who has been a principal character in CBS’ current series 'Brooklyn DA,' had asked to have the deposition postponed because he was busy on a case. Judge Levy, however, ordered that Vecchione be deposed no later than June 24." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWrongful conviction lawsuit alleges top New York prosecutor ‘rewarded misconduct’

Fake 911 caller: ‘I don’t feel guilty about anything’ after cops shoot and kill innocent kid

"A California man will spend three months in jail and could be deported after pleading guilty to lying to a 911 dispatcher, leading police into a fatal encounter with a 19-year-old man. Carrillo has also been named in a lawsuit filed by the family of Kendrec McDade, who was shot and killed by local police in March 2012. Officers mistakenly believed McDade, suspected of stealing Carrillo’s backpack at the time, to be armed after Carrillo told 911 dispatchers he was robbed at gunpoint. Carrillo later admitted to lying about the gun in order to generate a faster police response. The two officers who shot McDade were cleared of any wrongdoing in December 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFake 911 caller: ‘I don’t feel guilty about anything’ after cops shoot and kill innocent kid

NSA Rejecting Every FOIA Request Made by U.S. Citizens

"Seymour had decided to request his NSA file after coming across a recent post of mine instructing Americans on how to properly request such files from the FBI and NSA. A Navy vet and two-time Obama voter who supported the President’s platform of greater governmental transparency, Seymour was shocked by the letter he received. The letter, which first acknowledges the media coverage surrounding its surveillance systems, quickly moves to justify why none of that data can be obtained by an American citizen in a standard FOIA request. Dozens of citizens have emailed me to say they’ve received a similar, if not identical, letter." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA Rejecting Every FOIA Request Made by U.S. Citizens

Angry Protesters Rally Over Dog Killed By Hawthorne Police

"[Note: The man who was being arrested in this video was not obstructing an investigation, he was video taping the police and they threw a false charge at him because they didn’t like it.] Demonstrators are out in front of the Hawthorne Police Department Saturday morning, protesting the shooting of a dog by one of their officers. A handful of people stood with signs, some bringing their own dogs, to express their displeasure with the killing of a dog last Sunday. The incident was caught on video and immediately went viral, with nearly four million views on YouTube." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAngry Protesters Rally Over Dog Killed By Hawthorne Police

Judge Finds Cop Not Guilty of Assault After Refusing to Watch Video of Assault

"A St. Louis cop is caught on video, slamming his forearm across the face of a handcuffed teenage suspect. However, when Bruce stepped in front of the judge to be tried this week, the judge refused to watch the video that came from a surveillance camera from the back of a police transport vehicle. As a result, Judge Theresa Counts Burke found him not guilty. But the head of the police union, Jeff Roorda, who is also a Missouri state representative, fully agreed with her decision not to view the video because he believes videos should only be used to protect police, not hold them accountable. Roorda is now going to help Bruce get his job back." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Finds Cop Not Guilty of Assault After Refusing to Watch Video of Assault

“Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”: The new warrior cop is out of control

"Sal Culosi is dead because he bet on a football game — but it wasn’t a bookie or a loan shark who killed him. His local government killed him, ostensibly to protect him from his gambling habit. Fairfax County, Virginia, detective David Baucum overheard the thirty-eight-year-old optometrist and some friends wagering on a college football game. Baucum befriended Culosi as a cover to begin investigating him. On the night of January 24, 2006, Baucum called Culosi and arranged a time to drop by to collect his winnings. When Culosi, barefoot and clad in a T-shirt and jeans, stepped out of his house to meet the man he thought was a friend, the SWAT team began to move in." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”: The new warrior cop is out of control