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Peart initially explains that even though his mother gave him an ominous warning about the police at the precocious age of 9 — “She cautioned me to carry ID and never run away from the police or I could be shot” — he still thought police officers were “cool.” Nearly 10 years later, Peart’s perception of New York’s finest was irrevocably changed after his 18th birthday celebration, when he was brutally harassed:

… Out of nowhere, squad cars surrounded us. A policeman yelled from the window, ‘Get on the ground!’ I was stunned. And I was scared. Then I was on the ground — with a gun pointed at me. I couldn’t see what was happening, but I could feel a policeman’s hand reach in to my pocket and remove my wallet. Apparently he looked through and found the ID I kept there. ‘Happy Birthday,’ he said sarcastically.

Unfortunately for Peart — and many other blacks and Latinos — this would be the beginning of an increasingly abusive affair with the police. Peart, for his part, would be harassed at least three more times between his birthday-turned-target practice in 2006 and his most recent run-in in 2010. An officer took Peart’s keys and attempted to enter his apartment without his permission, while yet another officer forced him into a squad car, handcuffed. Naturally, Peart has become increasingly paranoid about the police:

These experiences changed the way I felt about the police. After the third incident I worried when police cars drove by; I was afraid I would be stopped and searched or that something worse would happen. I dress better if I go downtown. I don’t hang out with friends outside my neighborhood in Harlem as much as I used to. Essentially, I incorporated into my daily life the sense that I might find myself up against a wall or on the ground with an officer’s gun at my head. For a black man in his 20s like me, it’s just a fact of life in New York.

Thankfully, Peart isn’t taking this blatant discrimination and abuse lying down. He is a member of Harlem’s Brotherhood/Sister Sol, which works to empower youths about their rights while teaching them mechanisms to stay alive, and is a witness in the Center for Constitutional Rights lawsuit, which seeks to bring racist cops to task for racial profiling.

While it is criminal that a young black college student is STILL having to ask this question in 2011, it is yet another testament that the black and brown people of this nation are still regarded as second-class citizens.

Read the rest of Peart’s article here.

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Arapahoe County chief judge William Sylvester on Wednesday doubled the bond for the county’s former sheriff, Patrick Sullivan. The judge also ordered Sullivan not to try to contact anyone who may be involved in the case.

Sullivan’s attorney protested the increase because no charges have been filed.

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Sullivan appeared at the court hearing dressed in an orange jail uniform. The 68-year-old walked with a cane and still had handcuffs around his wrists that were attached to a chain around his waist.

Sullivan came to the attention of law enforcement after an Oct. 4 call to authorities from a home in Centennial, according to an arrest affidavit. The deputy who responded had worked for Sullivan and knew who he was.

After investigating further, the deputy learned from two confidential informants that Sullivan was dealing meth but would sell it only if they had sex with him, the document stated. He was arrested after police set up a sting at a home.

Deputies found that Sullivan had handed someone a bag of methamphetamine and had another bag on him when he was searched, according to the affidavit. Both bags together weighed less than a gram.

Sullivan was sheriff of the suburban Denver county from 1984 until he retired in 2002.

Arapahoe County’s jail is named for the former lawman, the Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. Detention Facility.

In 2002, Sullivan was praised by U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo in the congressional record on his retirement. Tancredo cited Sullivan’s work in promoting homeland security, for being named Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriff’s Association in 2001, and for his work as law enforcement chairman of the Colorado George W. Bush for President committee.

In 1989, he was hailed as a hero after he rescued two deputies after crashing his truck through a fence and protecting them while they were loaded into the vehicle. Arapahoe County Deputy Daniel Thomas and Deputy Arthur Hilton were treated at a hospital for gunshot wounds and shrapnel wounds from flying glass.

During the rampage, Eugene Thompson Jr., described by authorities as a 20-year-old man with an insatiable appetite for cocaine, killed two women with a semiautomatic machine pistol, raped another woman, and wounded two deputies

After his retirement, Sullivan became head of security for the Cherry Creek School District.

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Police corruption happens in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans and every major U.S. city and is conducted by officers of all races, creeds and colors.

Here is our list of the top 5 most corrupt U.S. police officers of all-time.

5. Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa

Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa worked for the NYPD but in reality, they worked for the mafia. Caracappa was a member of the Organized Crime Homicide Unit investigating the very people he was working for.

The two former partners were taking orders for the Lucchese crime family and served as hitmen as well as moles in the NYPD. In 2006,  Eppolito and Caracappa were convicted of racketeering, obstruction of justice, extortion and eight counts of murder and conspiracy.

4.  Joseph Miedzianowski

Joseph Miedzianowski was a Chicago police officer labeled as the most corrupt cop. Miedzianowski served as both police officer and drug kingpin using his knowledge of the streets and gangs to shake down drug dealers.

For most of his 22-year career, Miedzianowski would run the Chicago Gangs Unit, while running his own drug gang at the same time. Miedzianowski would be convicted of 10 counts including drug conspiracy and racketeering in 2001.

3. David Mack And Rafael Perez

David Mack and Rafael Perez worked together for the LAPD Rampart division, but also worked for Death Row Records and were members of the Bloods gang.

Mack would receive the LAPD Medal Of Honor for killing a drug dealer who allegedly pulled a gun on him. But he would also later be  convicted of robbing a bank and be implicated in the murder of rapper, Notorious BIG.

Perez shot and framed an unarmed gang member during his tenure, and stole eight pounds of cocaine from an LAPD evidence locker.

2. Jon Burge

Jon Burge is a former Chicago Police Department detective who oversaw the torture of hundreds of Black men resulting in false confessions between 1972 and 1991.

Burge would burn suspects with radiators and cigarettes, and electrocute their testicles.

Although Burge was protected by the statute of limitations for his crimes, he was convicted for lying about the torture in January of this year.

1. Robert Gisevius, Kenneth Bowen, and Anthony Villavaso

Robert Gisevius, Kenneth Bowen, and Anthony Villavaso were members of the New Orleans police department during Hurricane Katrina. They were charged with first degree murder for killing seventeen-year-old James Brissette who was innocent and unarmed during Hurricane Katrina on the Danzinger bridge. Brisette was simply looking for shelter in the Hurricane and cops pounced on him.

Bowen, Gisevius, Faulcon, Villavaso were found guilty of falsifying reports and false prosecution in the conspiracy to cover-up the shooting and may face the death penalty.

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Santa Fe Police have not released the name of the officer but claim they are investigating the matter.

KOB.com reports:

KOB has blurred out the woman’s image, but you can see it’s during daylight hours and the officer is still wearing his utility belt.

The Santa Fe Sheriff’s office released the pictures to KOB after we filed a public records request. They say they also gave them to State Police over a week ago.

Read More At KOB.com

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Heinz Hoffman and Thomas Buckley filed a lawsuit complaint Aug. 16, stating “The city has a longstanding custom and practice in discriminating against white males.”

According to the complaint in Hoffman v. SF, San Francisco, the SFPD changed its promotion exam policies in response to a 1978 court order, thanks to a 1973 anti-discrimination lawsuit filed by African American SFPD employees calling themselves Officers for Justice.

The court order expired in 1998. But, the complaint says, the Police Department continued to employ a promotions system Hoffman and Buckley says unfairly discriminates against white males.

Read more at the Huffington Post.

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Detroit is seeing a housing crisis that was sparked by a huge decline in the population. The city’s population decreased 25% in the past decade, according to Census Bureau.

Nation columnist and MSNBC contributor Melissa Harris-Perry, said because Detroit is a city that’s struggling in a lot of ways, this brilliant program. “Police officers are valuable in our communities. We want to get them into our communities,” she said.

Read more at TheGrio.com

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Via CNN

A man distraught about his mother’s health shot and wounded a doctor at Baltimore’s prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital on Thursday before killing his mother and taking his own life, police said.

The gunman was getting an update on his mother’s medical condition “when he became emotionally distraught” and pulled a pistol out of his waistband, Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld said. He shot the doctor, then retreated to his mother’s room, Bealefeld told reporters.

Bealefeld identified the gunman as 50-year-old Warren Davis, and the mother as Jean Davis. But police later said “Warren Davis was an alias,” and the gunman’s real name was unknown. They continued to identify the dead woman as the gunman’s mother.

Hospital officials said they could not disclose any details about what illness afflicted the gunman’s mother, citing federal privacy laws.

Police moved in and closed off the floor shortly after the 11 a.m. shooting. About 1:30 p.m., officers moved into the room to find the man and his mother dead from single gunshot wounds to the head, Bealefeld said.

“At this point we are treating this case as a murder-suicide,” Bealefeld said.

Read the entire story here

VIA MYFOXDC:

There is a new warning from police. Robbers are hip to new chat technology. A seemingly innocent meeting with someone could prove dangerous.

Prince William County Police are investigating a case that happened April 12. A 28-year-old Manassas man downloaded a text chat application to his cell phone. Police said he exchanged pictures and text messages with a man he agreed to meet at 2:30 a.m.

The man he was messaging arrived in a car with another man. The men drove him to a dead-end area of Colton Lane in Manassas. They started walking towards the townhomes when one of the men pulled out a gun and robbed him. He was unhurt.

Investigators have a picture but no name to go with the suspect.

This has not been the only case. Last month, D.C. middle school principal Brian Betts was found shot to death in his Silver Spring home. Police said he had been robbed by someone he met on a phone chat line.

Back in December, Anthony Perkins was found shot to death in his car in Southeast D.C. Investigators said he met his alleged killer on a phone chat line.

Source

VIA WTOP:

Prince George’s County Police suspended a second officer after a video showed police repeatedly striking a student with batons following a University of Maryland basketball game against Duke University.

The tape has outraged people across the country.

Police say they have identified all officers in the tape and will suspend at least two others.

Police identified Sean McAleavey as the officer who filed the charging documents against two students, including John McKenna who was beaten. Prosecutors later dropped the charges against the students.

McAlveavey is suspended. After all of the suspensions are in place, police say they will publicly identify the suspended officers.

“We’re being very deliberate as we move forward,” says Prince George’s County Maj. Andy Ellis.

Police say that the video has received so much attention that they have received threatening phone calls from around the country and are concerned about the officers’ safety.

Read more here

VIA THE WASHINGTON POST:

Prince George’s prosecutors have begun a criminal investigation of three county police officers who beat an unarmed University of Maryland student with their batons after a basketball game last month in an incident that was caught on video and surfaced publicly Monday, authorities said.

County police also ordered an internal affairs investigation of the three officers, Maj. Andy Ellis said. Ellis said the inquiry would also focus on a county officer who filed official charging documents that are contradicted by the video.

“The video shows the charging documents were nothing more than a cover, a fairy tale they made up to cover for the officers’ misconduct,” said Christopher A. Griffiths, a lawyer for the student. “The video shows gratuitous violence against a defenseless individual.”

Police Chief Roberto L. Hylton said that one of the three officers had been identified and that his police powers have been suspended during the investigation. The other two officers will also be suspended as soon as they are identified, Hylton said.

“I’m outraged and disappointed after viewing the video,” Hylton said. “That’s not the type of professional conduct we promote. Any employee who uses excessive force will be held accountable.”

Griffiths released the video Monday after county prosecutors dropped charges against John J. McKenna, 21. McKenna and a co-defendant, Benjamin C. Donat, 19, had been charged with felonies on suspicion of assaulting officers on horseback and their mounts. On Friday, a prosecutor dropped charges against Donat, also a U-Md. student. Griffiths is also representing Donat.

The incident occurred March 3 near the university’s College Park campus after the Maryland men’s basketball team defeated Duke. After the game, students took to the streets to celebrate. Twenty-eight people were arrested or cited, sparking a debate between police and students over how and when it is appropriate to break up a group of revelers.

At least part of the incident with McKenna was videotaped by another student. The video, which lasts about one minute, is a continuous shot. It was discovered by Sharon Weidenfeld, a private investigator who worked on behalf of McKenna and Donat. The video does not show Donat, although Officer Sean McAleavey’s charging documents say the two men acted together.

The video shows about two dozen students milling about on Knox Road near Route 1. About a half-dozen of them are pointing their cellphone cameras at riot police who are gathered between the students and Route 1.

The video shows McKenna on the sidewalk as he skips and throws his arms in the air. He stops about five feet from an officer on horseback, the video shows. In the video, McKenna’s arms appear to be in front of him, but he does not appear to touch the officer or the horse. His hands are empty.

McKenna backs up, then two county police riot officers rush toward him from the street, the video shows. The officers slam McKenna against a wall and beat him with their batons. McKenna crumples to the ground.

As McKenna falls, a third county police riot officer strikes his legs and torso with his baton. The video shows the officers striking an unresisting McKenna about the head, torso and legs — more than a dozen blows in all.

Because they are wearing riot gear, the officers who hit McKenna are not easily identifiable.

In the video, county police officers and officers on horseback from the Maryland-National Capital Park Police are seen nearby. They do not intervene in the incident with McKenna. The officers form a line and move toward the students who had been milling about, the video shows, and the students move back.

Charging documents say McKenna and Donat provoked the beating by attacking officers on horseback. The video clearly shows the officers rushing McKenna and beating him, although the teenager had not touched any of the mounted units.

The charging documents also say that the horses injured McKenna and Donat and make no mention of the beating by the officers. The video shows no aggression by the horses.

The documents sworn by McAleavey allege that McKenna and Donat were running and screaming in the middle of Route 1, prompting an unruly crowd to form.

As two officers on horseback from the Maryland-National Capital Park Police tried to regain order, McKenna and Donat “struck those officers and their horses causing minor injuries,” McAleavey wrote.

McKenna and Donat “were both kicked by the horses and sustained minor injuries,” the charging documents say. Griffiths said Donat was beaten by county police with batons about a block away from where McKenna was beaten. The lawyer said the two do not know each other. Griffiths said both men suffered concussions from police baton blows.

McAleavey did not return calls for comment.

Lt. Stanley Johnson, a spokesman for the Maryland-National Capital Park Police, said that McKenna and Donat did not attack any of his officers or horses and that none of the department’s horses kicked or struck McKenna or Donat. The charges against McKenna were dropped Monday without comment, Griffiths said.

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