Tag: police shootings

It started as a noise complaint. It ended in another fatal Phoenix police shooting

Ryan Whitaker had heard a stranger knock on his Ahwatukee apartment door in the middle of the night earlier in May. So when he heard a similar knock on a Thursday after 10 p.m. later that same week, he answered the door holding his 9 mm gun.

Holding the gun in his right hand, he was confronted by two Phoenix police officers standing on either side of the door. They appeared surprised by the sight of the firearm, body camera footage shows.

Three seconds after Whitaker opened the door, Phoenix Officer Jeff Cooke shot Whitaker in the back at least two times, killing the 40-year-old man. 

The deadly episode, which happened on May 21, is part of a string of Phoenix police shootings this year that has, yet again, reinvigorated criticism from advocates who say officers are too quick to use deadly force to resolve incidents.

Keep reading

7 Ways To Keep Fighting For Breonna Taylor

In the four months after Taylor’s death, both local and national changes inspired by Taylor. As of June 11, an ordinance called “Breonna’s Law,” banning no-knock search warrants and mandating that officers wear body cameras during searches was unanimously passed in Louisville, Kentucky, according to CNN. That same day, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul introduced the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act, a bill prohibiting no-knock warrants entirely in the U.S.

Following the death of David McAtee, a Black restaurant owner who was shot and killed by the Kentucky National Guard during a June 1 protest in Louisville honoring the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Steve Conrad, the Louisville police chief, was fired. On June 23, the city’s new police chief, Robert Schroeder, fired Brett Hankison, an officer-involved with Taylor’s unlawful death.

While these efforts are an important step in combating police brutality and systemic racism, no formal arrests or charges have been made. Here is how to continue to fight for justice for Breonna Taylor.

Keep reading

Good Cop Forced Out for Exposing Secret Club that Celebrated Killer Cops with Parties

After the wholesale execution of Willie McCoy — a rapper who was killed by police as he slept in the Drive Thru of a Taco Bell — a disturbing practice by the department who killed him came to light. SWAT team commander with two master’s degrees, Captain John Whitney exposed the celebratory practice of beers, barbecues, and badge bending to commemorate killer cops. After this decorated cop exposed this practice, he was forced out of the job.

According to a shocking investigation by Open Vallejo, for years, a secretive clique inside the Vallejo Police Department has commemorated fatal shootings with beers, backyard barbecues, and by bending the points of their badges each time they kill in the line of duty

Keep reading

‘I Can’t See Any Weapons’: Video Shows Cops Kill 6yo Boy While Executing an Unarmed Woman

In December 2017, the Free Thought Project reported on the tragic death of 6-year-old Kameron Prescott whose life was stolen from him when police opened fire on an unarmed woman suspected of stealing a car. In June of 2018, the family of the little boy who was gunned down by police found out that the cops who killed their son all went back to work. Then, in March of last year, the family found out that none of the officers responsible for the death of her son would face charges. After the system refused to hold itself accountable, the family filed a lawsuit against Bexar county and have been getting the run-around ever since.

This month, the family announced in a letter that it is now calling on Bexar County to settle the lawsuit. According to KENS5, in a 16-page letter sent to county commissioners, attorneys for Prescott’s father and mother, Christopher and Rubi Prescott, laid out what they had discovered since filing suit against the county, writing that while they are “confident in our case,” the Prescott family is “willing to accept, at this time, a fraction of what a jury would likely award as damages.”

The letter reveals new details of Prescott’s killing, including the release of a video which proves a DPS trooper informed the officer that the woman police were shooting at, had no weapons. Also, the letter states that police falsely claimed the suspect, Amanda Jones, was involved in a vehicle burglary which they claim prompted the chase. In reality, according to the letter, a bounty hunter had tipped off police that Jones was in the area.

Keep reading

Cop Goes onto Man’s Property, Kills Dog as it Walks Up to Him, Tail Wagging

An officer with Scotts Bluff County Sheriff’s Department shot and killed a seemingly friendly dog because it approached him while he was on its owner’s property. The incident was caught on video, and shows the dog approach the police officer while wagging its tail.

As the video shows, the officer begins to back up and reach for his gun, but naturally, the dog is interested in learning more about the new guest on its property and it continues to approach the officer. After just a few seconds, the officer pulled his gun and shot the animal in the face, killing him.

Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman later released a video of the shooting, along with a press release defending the actions of the officer, and claiming that the dog was aggressive.

Keep reading