From The Government And Here To Help

Neighbor Gets Tased While Cops Investigate Suicide Attempt

"The Blondins got within about 37 feet of the scene, heard Jack moaning and saw him pinned on the ground. Donald Blondin said, 'What are you doing to Jack?' and faced a barrage of orders to get back. When he didn’t move, or didn’t move enough, Sgt. Jeff Shelton rushed him with Taser drawn. A witness said that Blondin seemed to be 'frozen with fear.' Shelton warned Blondin that he was about to be Tased, but fired before he finished saying it, according to the ruling. The lower court threw out the Blondins’ lawsuit, saying the officer was 'immune' from suit in these circumstances." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNeighbor Gets Tased While Cops Investigate Suicide Attempt

Officer convicted of assault after shooting and killing man and his dog

"Virgillo’s version of events had Chrisman barging into the trailer after Rodriguez had asked for a warrant, with Chrisman putting his weapon to Rodriguez’s head and responding that the gun served as his warrant. Rodriguez’s mother, Elvira Fernandez, took the witness stand when jurors were asked to determine whether Chrisman’s decision to point a gun at the head of Rodriguez caused emotional distress for Rodriguez’s family. Fernandez was moved to tears as she described her guilt over calling police that afternoon to report that her son had thrown something against the wall of their trailer and scared her, telling jurors that she thinks every day of her decision to call police." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOfficer convicted of assault after shooting and killing man and his dog

Aide To Mentally Handicapped Man Murdered By Police Speaks Out

"It happened after three deputies removed him from a Frederick movie theater for not having a $12 ticket. Ethan's aide who was with him that night shared her story only with WUSA9's, Debra Alfarone. She says when she heard that Ethan had died, 'I just started crying.' She says she's done so many more times since that fateful January night. She asked that we not identify her, nor show her face on camera. She is 18, and was Ethan Saylor's aide for the last 3 months of his life. Now, hers will never be the same. Today, she joined the Saylor family as they delivered 340,000 signatures to Governor Martin O'Malley, asking for an independent investigation into his death," Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAide To Mentally Handicapped Man Murdered By Police Speaks Out

Cops pepper-sprayed and arrested man as his teen daughter died

"A Missouri man insists he did nothing to deserve being pepper-sprayed and arrested the night his teenage daughter shot herself. Kevin Russell, of Joplin, said he won’t accept an offer to plead guilty to assault because he doesn’t want to admit he did anything wrong when he screamed at emergency crews tending to his 16-year-old daughter, Brooke. Russell and his son, 19-year-old Brant, found the girl unconscious from a single gunshot wound to the head in a park near their home, and they loaded her into their car and met an ambulance at the police department. " Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCops pepper-sprayed and arrested man as his teen daughter died

Theaters brace for new federal rules on accommodating blind, deaf

"Movie-house owners -- as well as disability advocates -- are anxiously awaiting the release of an Obama administration proposal that would require theaters to install expensive technology so deaf and blind patrons can enjoy their films. Theater owners -- particularly those with small, independent houses -- say they cannot afford the technology shift which starts with converting to digital cinema. The cost of that is about $70,000 per screen, though most theaters have already gone digital. Theaters then would have to purchase the headsets that narrate films for the blind and glasses that provide the closed-captioning for the deaf, at an additional cost." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTheaters brace for new federal rules on accommodating blind, deaf

Cop fired 12 shots, hit unarmed man 10 times, Charlotte police say

"Jonathon Ferrell, a 24-year-old North Carolina man, suffered a severe late-night car crash. His car slipped into a ravine. He had to kick his way out the back windshield. He managed to get out of the car and go to a nearby home, where he knocked on the door repeatedly for help. When police arrived, he approached them -- and one shot him repeatedly, killing him on the spot. Now the officer is charged with manslaughter. Police say he had no cause to shoot Ferrell." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCop fired 12 shots, hit unarmed man 10 times, Charlotte police say

“You Know How to Leave”: Scenes from a Police Riot in Idaho Falls

"The initial police contact – to investigate a noise complaint, recall – occurred at around 10:49 PM. Within about twenty minutes, the air was thick with shouting and screaming, and a fleet of about a dozen police cars had converged on the address. Lund’s attack on Dindo left the living room floor filled with shattered furniture. So in the interests of preserving the 'peace,' Lund and his costumed buddies assaulted two unresisting men, committed felonious battery on a 79-year-old woman and a pregnant mother, destroyed property, terrorized a completely innocent next-door neighbor, and disrupted an entire city block. The Madrigals were able to post unedited video of most of the episode on-line." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“You Know How to Leave”: Scenes from a Police Riot in Idaho Falls

Police Officer Fired for Repeated Use of Taser on Senior With Alzheimer’s

"Doug Martin, an officer in Peru, Ind., had been summoned to Miller's Merry Manor on June 17, 2012, after a nurse called 911 for help in transporting a patient who had hit his roommate, a nurse and a nursing assistant. Martin and his partner, Officer Jeremy Brindle, entered the Alzheimer's ward to find 64-year-old James Howard sitting in a chair, wearing socks and nothing else. Howard refused the officers' command to lie on a gurney and advanced toward Brindle, who tried to handcuff Howard. When Brindle lost control of one of Howard's wrists, Martin yelled 'Taser' and deployed it on Howard's torso. Martin zapped Howard five times for a total of 31 seconds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Officer Fired for Repeated Use of Taser on Senior With Alzheimer’s

Police Cruiser Slams Into Couple On Bike, Couple Flies Over Trooper’s Car

"A cop's dash-cam shows him slamming his car into a couple on a motorcycle. The impact was extremely violent and you can see the couple go flying. After the office realized what happens he stops his car and gets out. He then go out of his car and the video shows it looks like he seemed to be more concerned with his car than the couple he just seriously injured. He very calmly asked 'You Alright', then he checked on his vehicle a few times." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Cruiser Slams Into Couple On Bike, Couple Flies Over Trooper’s Car

News report on running man seeking help killed by North Carolina Police

"Officers responded to a 911 call of a suspicious man outside a woman's home in Charlotte. The man had been knocking on her door repeatedly. Police say that when they got there, a man matching the caller's description ran toward them. One of the officers pulled out his stun gun, but it malfunctioned. Another officer then opened fire, police said. Jonathan Ferrell died at the scene. He was shot several times. He was unarmed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNews report on running man seeking help killed by North Carolina Police