AND HERE IS WHY THERE WON'T BE A BUSH III IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Wing-Nut presidential candidate Jeb Bush on Thursday flubbed a question from a reporter about Tamir Rice, the black child shot and killed by Cleveland police last year.

When asked by a reporter off-screen, “As you know, the officers that killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice were not indicted. So I’m wondering if you think that people in those communities, those of Tamir Rice and Sandra Bland, do you feel that those people feel we have their back?”

In the video posted by CNN, it appears Bush may have mistaken the case of Tamir Rice with that of Laquan McDonald, who was shot and killed by Chicago police last year. McDonald was shot 16 times. Unlike the case of Rice, McDonald’s killer, Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, has been charged with first degree murder.

VIDEO COURTESY OF CNN

“I think that Chicago’s got a lot of work to do to rebuild trust,” Bush, who was in Lexington, South Carolina, responded. “The level of violence is abhorrent.”

The reporter then cut him off to point out that Tamir Rice lived in Cleveland, Ohio.

“I’m sorry. My bad,” Bush said.

But Bush then added that “the process worked” in the Tamir Rice case. He said if a grand jury looked at a case and didn’t indict, “maybe there’s reason for that. I don’t believe that every grand jury is racist.”

NFTOS

STAFF WRITER

“WE DON’T SECOND GUESS OUR POLICE OFFICERS”

Van Jones obliterated Cuyahoga County, Ohio Prosecutor Timothy McGinty on Monday for what he called his office’s failure to find any reason to charge two police officers in connection with the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice last November.

“That is completely preposterous on its face,” Jones said. “And yet, this prosecutor went above and beyond the call of duty to spend extra money and took extra time to get these cops off. Prosecutors do not act this way under ordinary circumstances. Usually, they throw the book at you and then they tell you, ‘You explain to a judge and jury why you’re innocent. This particular prosecutor did the opposite of most prosecutors in this case.”

McGinty announced on Monday that a grand jury decided not to indict officers Frank Garmback and Timothy Loehmann, who drove close to the boy as he wielded an air pellet gun. Video of the incident shows Loehmann shooting and killing Rice almost instantly after jumping out of his patrol car.





However, Jones said, McGinty brought experts in to testify to the jury on behalf of the officers, a marked departure from the norm.

“To say that nothing happened here, nothing happened that should go to a jury — how about this: no medical aid after the kid is killed? How about criminal medical neglect?” Jones asked. “How about the fact that, under ordinary circumstances, a police officer would never put themselves in peril and then shoot their way out? The fact that the police officer drove into peril and then shot his way out — there’s not a traffic ticket you could issue? There’s not a misdemeanor here?”

“Perfect storm of human error” my ass! This story reeks and is most disgustingly putrid. Killing the kid within seconds of arrival is bad enough, failure to launch if you will - failure to prosecute these killers is beyond the pale of human decency!

NFTOS

Blogger-In-Chief

Roger West

“OBJECTIVELY REASONABLE”

A Cleveland cop was justified in fatally shooting Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy carrying a toy gun, according to a pair of reports released on Saturday.

The reports, which were commissioned by the prosecutor’s office investigating Rice’s death, were prepared by two experts from outside the state: Kimberly Crawford, a retired FBI agent, and S. Lamar Sims, a Colorado-based prosecutor. The reports will be turned over to a grand jury, which will ultimately decide whether to indict the cops involved in Rice’s death.

An attorney for Rice’s family called the reports a “charade” and blasted the prosecutor’s office for “releasing supposed “expert reports” in an effort to absolve the officers involved in Tamir’s death of responsibility.”

In a statement provided on Facebook, Subodh Chandra, Rice’s family attorney, wrote: “These hired guns—all pro-police—dodge the simple fact that the officers rushed Tamir and shot him immediately without assessing the situation in the least. Reasonable jurors could find that conduct unreasonable. But they will never get the chance because the prosecutor is working diligently to ensure that there is no indictment and no accountability.”

Nevertheless, both of the reports released on Saturday concluded that Rice presented a threat to police officer Timothy Loehmann, who opened fire on the 12-year-old boy just seconds after pulling up next to him outside a recreation center in November 2014.

“There can be no doubt that Rice’s death was tragic and, indeed, when one considers his age, heartbreaking,” wrote S. Lamar Sims, the Colorado prosecutor. “However, for all the reasons discussed herein, I conclude that Officer Loehmann’s belief that Rice posed a threat of serious physical harm or death was objectively reasonable as was his response to that perceived threat.”

Rice was gunned down while he was playing with a toy gun, which had its orange safety tip removed, in a park near his house. A man who saw Rice playing in the park called 911 and reported that a man appeared to be pointing and waving around a gun. Although the caller remarked that the gun may have been fake and that the person holding it was “probably a juvenile,” his observations were not passed along to the two the police officers who were later dispatched to the scene.

Crawford, the retired FBI agent, concluded Loehmann’s deadly use of force did not violate Rice’s constitutional rights. “It is my conclusion that Officer Loehmann’s use of deadly force falls within the realm of reasonableness under the dictates of the Fourth Amendment,” she wrote, noting that Loehmann had to make a “split-second” decision after encountering Rice.

“When he exited the police car, the officer was likely focused on Rice’s hands as they moved to his waist and lifted his jacket, and not on Rice’s age. Even if Officer Loehmann was aware of Rice’s age, it would not have made his use of force unreasonable. A 12-year-old with a gun, unquestionably old enough to pull a trigger, poses a threat equal to that of a full-grown adult in a similar situation.”

Grand jury proceedings are not public, and the decision by the prosecutor’s office to release the reports before the grand jury review is unusual.

In a statement released to the New York Times, Rice’s family attorney Jonathan S. Abady expressed concern over the influence of prosecutors and the possibility that “there will be no criminal prosecution.”

“Prosecutors exercise substantial influence over the grand jury process and whether an indictment will issue or not,” Abady said. “The video footage and other evidence readily available from the outset made clear that this was a completely unreasonable use of deadly force against Tamir.”

The two outside reports come despite a local Cleveland municipal Judge’s findings after reviewing all of the available evidence that there is probable cause for charges of murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, and negligent homicide duty against Loehmann.

In December, records released revealed that Loehmann, a rookie cop, admitted on his job application for the Cleveland Police Department that his primary source of income prior to his hiring was “under-the-table jobs.”

Moreover, a troubling letter in Loehmann’s file from the Independence, Ohio Police Department where the officer previously worked, concluded that Loehmann did not possess the maturity necessary to perform well as an officer and recommended that he be “released from the employment of the City of Independence. I do not believe Ptl. Loehmann shows the maturity needed to work in our employment…I do not believe time, nor training, will be able to change or correct these deficiencies.”

[cross-posted from thinkprogress]

NFTOS

STAFF WRITER

137 SHOTS FIRED AND PUNISHMENT FOR CLEVELAND POLICE A CAKE WALK

Back in 2012, an unauthorized car chase ended in the shooting deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, who were both unarmed. Nearly 60 police vehicles were involved in the chase, as was one-third of Cleveland’s police force. When the pursuit ended, 13 officers shot a total of 137 rounds at Russell and Williams. But before Saturday morning’s not-guilty verdict in the case against Cleveland Police Officer Michael Brelo, Brelo was the sole person charged with voluntary manslaughter because he stood on the hood of the victims’ car and shot 15 rounds — many of which were fired after the other officers stopped shooting. In the end, Judge John O’Donnell ruled that Brelo was justified in using lethal force because he feared for his life, and said he could not conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Brelo’s shots killed Russell and Williams.

Even as he faced criminal charges, Brelo remained on unpaid leave pending the outcome of the investigation, and Cleveland hasn’t been able to permanently fire a single officer involved in the incident. Indeed, the ruling and events that transpired after the fatal encounter highlight just how difficult it is to discipline officers who use lethal force.

Out of 100 officers who had a hand in the car chase, 85 officers were disciplined. However, not one of the officers was permanently fired for his or her role in the pursuit or subsequent shootout, despite their tactical blunders and disregard for department rules and instructions. In 2013, 12 supervisors were penalized for various infractions, such as breaking emergency driving protocol, but many disciplinary actions were reversed. For instance, one fired sergeant was rehired after an arbitrator concluded the supervisor was wrongfully terminated. The same arbitrator decided that two demoted supervisors could also return to their previous positions. Both determinations were backed by a county judge.

On the flip side, a contingent of nine “non-African American” officers who shot at Russell and Williams filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging they were unfairly sanctioned due to their race and media bias. According to the lawsuit, the City of Cleveland subjects non-African American officers to stricter disciplinary measures. The plaintiffs point to “assignments to boring and menial tasks in the gym with no of chance overtime, secondary employment, pay for court appearances, no chance to apply for promotions or transfers to specialized units, and being prohibited from engaging in active police work as they had grown accustomed and contracted for,” after the 2012 shooting. Should they win, the officers would receive monetary compensation for damages incurred.

While it may seem unprecedented that all 13 officers who fired at Russell and Williams were allowed to continue their policing duties, that privilege is par for the course. Across the country, officers are terminated - then reinstated with back pay, thanks to police unions and the arbitration process — a problem that persists in Cleveland, according to the DOJ. Through the arbitration process, independent mediators, or arbitrators, meet to review excessive force cases to determine whether or not officers are guilty or deserving of disciplinary action. In many cases, they reverse charges and disciplinary measures.

During its investigation of the CPD, the DOJ found that very few officers are disciplined for use of force, despite rampant police brutality. In fact, most punishments were doled out for smaller procedural violations, like not completing an official report. Last February, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, decried the arbitration process, claiming the system makes ridding the CPD of troublesome officers extremely difficult. For instance, Officer Shani Hannah stabbed her boyfriend multiple times, after which she was charged with felonious assault, sentenced to 6 months of jail time, and fired. After a police union rallied for her reinstatement, however, an arbitrator decided Hannah could return to her job.

The tendency for arbitrators to overturn police attempts to impose discipline is so strong that even Washington, D.C.’s Chief of Police Cathy Lanier has lamented that she can’t fire cops. “The arbitrator also limits what I can and can’t do with them…Some of the decisions they say I have to put them back in their old assignment. So, as the Chief of Police I’m not really the one making the decisions here,” she said.

Nevertheless, in response to the DOJ’s findings, the city of Cleveland agreed to implement systematic changes to police procedures. Under the consent decree, the CPD will alter its hiring and recruitment policies, reorient its crisis intervention strategy, and push for “bias-free policing.” Every officer will be equipped with a body camera by year’s end. And the department’s progress will also be closely monitored by a federal court. But the extent to which those changes can and will impact police accountability remains to be seen, especially with the pending investigation into 12-year-old Tamir Rice’s death.

Let's be real readers. For all the flag-waving talk about preserving freedoms and keeping government small and less obtrusive, a great number of Americans, mostly "Don't Tread On Me" tea nuts, prefer an authoritarian surveillance state with mass imprisonment and lengthy, mandatory sentencing as long as the authoritarianism is selective enough to only put the hammer down on people of color and the poor of any color. It's as simple as that.

[h/t thinkprogress]

NFTOS

Blogger-In-Chief

Roger West

"BY THE BOOK"

THIS IS WHY THE NYPD HAS THEIR PANTIES ALL WADDED UP?

Bill Maher is back from vacation, and he does not disappoint in his New Rules section from last night.

Maher takes a harsh look into why police circa 2015, why they need to "man-up".

Maher went off on the NYPD for “throwing a tantrum” at Mayor Bill de Blasio and asked when they started “suffering from PMS.”

Maher repeatedly clarified that he supports the police, but he’s a little annoyed that “New York’s whiniest” engaged in a slowdown because they felt “unloved” by their mayor.

He tied this into a broader theme of police officers as these ‘infallible” forces that will justify anything as “by the book.” Maher suggested they should “get a new book,” pointing to cases like Eric Garner and Tamir Rice. And the way some police unions have been particularly ardent about defending the cops struck Maher as the same kind of “union bullshit” that explains why people hate unions in the first place.

Video Courtesy of HBO




Now I am positive that the police will take umbrage to this blog, why, because its a factual depiction of policing.

During a previous segment in last nights show, Salman Rushdie and Maher were discussing the Al Qeada Paris attacks - and Maher stated, [speaking on a few bad apples in the Muslim faith] "when there are this many bad apples, there's something wrong with the orchards". I think this is also very fitting to the bad apples in our police forces today.






NFTOS
Blogger-In-Chief

Roger West

POLICE IN CLEVELAND DEMAND APOLOGY

ANDREW HAWKINS SUPPORTING TAMIR RICE AND JOHN CRAWFORD

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins became the latest player to join on-field protests against recent police shootings of black men on Sunday, when he walked onto the field with a t-shirt that read “Justice for Tamir Rice and John Crawford” over his jersey.

Rice was the 12-year-old who Cleveland police shot in November after they received calls that he was playing with a toy gun in a park near his home; Crawford was killed by police in August in an Ohio while holding an air gun in a Walmart. Both were black.

Now, the Cleveland police union is demanding an apology from Hawkins and the Browns, saying that players like Hawkins don’t understand the law enough to take a stand.

“It’s pretty pathetic when athletes think they know the law,” Jeff Follman, the president of the Police Patrolman Union in Cleveland, said in a statement to Cleveland news station newsnet5. “They should stick to what they know best on the field. The Cleveland Police protect and serve the Browns stadium and the Browns organization owes us an apology.”

“He’s an athlete. He’s someone with no facts of the case whatsoever,” Follmer said later, according to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. “He’s disrespecting the police on a job that we had to do and make a split-second decision.”

The union statement is similar to one issued by the St. Louis police union after five Rams players walked onto the field before a game displaying the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” gesture to protest a grand jury’s decision not to indict Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo. police officer who shot and killed black teenager Michael Brown in August. In that instance, the union called on the team and the NFL to discipline the five players. Though neither the Rams nor the NFL did so, the Rams last week made a donation to a local police charity.

The Browns responded to Follmer and the union in a statement, saying: “We have great respect for the Cleveland Police Department and the work that they do to protect and serve our city. We also respect our players’ rights to project their support and bring awareness to issues that are important to them if done so in a responsible manner.”

After the Rams players protested, similar gestures spread across sports, especially after a grand jury in New York declined to bring charges against a police officer in the death of Eric Garner, a black man who was choked to death by police in Staten Island. Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose took the court the next weekend wearing a shirt that read, “I Can’t Breathe,” which were among Garner’s last words and has become a rallying cry in protests across the country. Multiple NFL players, including Hawkins’ teammate Johnson Bademosi, wore similar shirts last weekend as the protests spread across the sports world. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and other players have worn the shirts too.

The protests continued through the week and into this weekend, spreading to the ranks of college basketball. Notre Dame’s women’s basketball team and Georgetown’s men’s team were among those that wore “I Can’t Breathe” shirts before a game this weekend. The University of California women’s basketball team took the court Saturday wearing handmade shirts that bore the names of black men and teens killed recently by police.

It should be a cold day in hell before this inept derelict police department gets an apology from anyone, let alone the Cleveland Browns. 

NFTOS 

Blogger-In-Chief

Roger West

UNTITED STATES OF WHAT THE FUCK

What police problem you ask? So bad is the Cleveland police department, that once again, a second time in ten years, Cleveland's entire police department is directed to be under an entire reform to be conducted by the Department of Justice.

In a grotesque 59-page report released by the United States Department of Justice on Thursday reveals widespread, excessive use of force by police officers in Cleveland. Cleveland is the city where cops recently killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice while he was carrying a toy gun on a playground, and just before that, Tanesha Anderson died in police hands when cops were supposed to be transporting her for mental health treatment.

DOJ STEPS IS ON CLEVELAND PD Video Courtesy of MSNBC




The overarching conclusion of the report is that Cleveland police “too often use unnecessary and unreasonable force in violation of the Constitution,” and that “supervisors tolerate this behavior and, in some cases, endorse it.” The report points to a “pattern or practice of using unreasonable force in violation of the Fourth Amendment,” including the “unnecessary and excessive use of deadly force,” similar use of non-deadly force, and “excessive force against persons who are mentally ill or in crisis.”


CLEVELAND OFFICER FOUND TO BE INCAPABLE OF POLICING, GETS TO POLICE AND KILL. Video Courtesy of MSNBC

A press release accompanying the report announces that “the Justice Department and the city of Cleveland have signed a statement of principles committing them to develop a court enforceable consent decree that will include a requirement for an independent monitor who will oversee and ensure necessary reforms.” A consent decree is an agreement negotiated between DOJ and the city that can be overseen and potentially enforced by a federal court once it is finalized.

These above scathing reports show a police department so corrupt, that its unfathomable that in circa 2014, that this type of shit can be ongoing. What police problem?

If this blog is not proof positive that police forces have issues, if after reading this blog and viewing the horrible policing videos in Cleveland - that you say this is OK, that these actions are indeed acceptable in our towns and cities, then you are dumber than I give credit for.

In no way shape or form is the acceptable, we don't even treat our enemy combatants this horrible.

Pro-tip to all officers of law, maybe just maybe, let me suggest to you, the practice of letting unarmed citizens live.

I sit ashamed shaking my head.

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” ~ Ben Franklin

"I CAN'T BREATHE"!


NFTOS
Blogger-In-Chief
Roger West

COP KILLS IN LESS THAN FOUR SECONDS, THEN DOESN'T PROVIDE FIRST AID FOR OVER FOUR MINUTES

Protecting and Serving the shit out of us:

The Cleveland officers who shot a 12-year-old boy holding a toy gun then failed to give him first aid for nearly four minutes. The boy was finally administered first aid when a detective and FBI agent arrived at the scene.

But it was too late. The boy, Tamir Rice, died after being transported to the hospital.

According to newly surveillance video, Rice was shot by the officers within two seconds of their arrival at the scene.




A department spokesman told a local ABC station he “was unsure of the policy related to how and when officers are required to provide medical assistance.” The officers’ conduct is “under investigation.”

The officers believed that the 12-year-old Rice was a “black male” who appeared “about 20.”

The family is outspoken in their belief that their son’s death was avoidable, had the police officers acted appropriately. The U.S. Justice Department has an ongoing investigation into the Cleveland Police “over allegations of excessive and unreasonable deadly force.”

As per the norm in this country, whether it be cops or gun huggers, its shoot first ask questions later.

Bundy Militia Aiming At Federal Agents

At the Bundy ranch we had white men aiming rifles at federal agents - the Second Amendment doesn't apply to black people. White men with guns equals Second Amendment right, black men with guns equals thugs who deserve a death sentence.

What kind of human, let alone a man sworn to protect and serve the shit out of us, takes four minutes to save a live, your answer, an in-human one.

The NRA and GOP [Guns Over People] have reduced America to armchair Judge's, Jury's and executioners. Selling our soul's to the lowest bidders. Maybe this officer, like Darren Wilson, saw demons and thought this twelve year old looked like Hulk Hogan?

What an utter clusterfuck this is. What cop barrels up like the A-Team within 3 feet of an armed suspect, despite their age? The cops yelled three times for him to drop the gun? Not likely. With the mentality of police of late, maybe first aid was withheld because these incompetent cops began to realize that dead men (kids) tell no tales.

Too often is the case, many American cops think its their duty to carry out a final solution to the Black problem.

America is at a golden age, where authoritarian incompetence has run rampant. Being a cop is not a license to kill, its a license to protect. When the mentality exists - "that we trust no one", that you are guilty before proven innocent - herein lies the problem.

This is the second story of late, where an African American with a toy gun has been peppered with bullets by over zealots with a badge and gun.

Utterly fucking Disgusting people!





NFTOS
Blogger-In-Chief
Roger West