Tag: police shootings

Ilhan Omar: ICE Carrying Out State-Sanctioned Violence ‘Tragically Led to this Murder’

Wednesday on CNN’s “The Lead,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) described an ICE agent shooting a woman in Minneapolis as a “murder” caused by “state-sanctioned violence.”

Host Jake Tapper said, “I’m sure you’re hearing from so many of your constituents in a statement you put out when you described your anger over the tragic shooting, you described the victim, Renee Goode, as a legal observer of the ICE operation. What more can you tell us about her?”

Omar said, “Yeah, that’s the information that we have gotten. There might be new information coming out. But it is a completely tragic day for us here in Minneapolis and in Minnesota. To see this kind of, terrorizing of our community, really is, is harmful. And I pray for the loved ones of, Renee today as they are dealing with the loss of life in their family.”

She added, “ICE has been carrying out state-sanctioned violence in our communities. We have seen them terrorize so many of citizens in the Fifth District and across Minnesota. And that has tragically led to this murder that we all watched on TV. And so, it is not helpful for us to have ICE agents unlawfully just carrying out these ridiculous raids that are not resulting in any sort of arrests, that have no explanation of why they are there. They are disturbing peaceful communities that are just trying to live out their lives. And I join our mayor and our senator in asking them to get the heck out of our city.”

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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Loses It and Starts Cussing During Crazy CNN Interview

In an unhinged appearance on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” Wednesday night, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey unleashed an expletive-filled tirade against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over their characterization of the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good as she attempted to ram her car into an ICE agent.

Good was shot during an anti-ICE protest, in which she was using her vehicle to impede the operation, in a residential Minneapolis neighborhood.

According to DHS, Good attempted to “weaponize” her vehicle by trying to ram into agents, prompting one officer to fire three “defensive shots” in fear for his life and the safety of others.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem went even further and labeled Good’s actions as an act of “domestic terrorism” and defended the agent’s response as justified.

During a press conference after the shooting, Frey had called the claim of domestic terrorism “bullsh-t.”

Frey repeated the comment while speaking to Cooper in the evening.

The mayor claimed that Good was trying to make a three-point turn when she was shot, despite the fact that footage shows her driving right into an agent. He claimed it was “clearly not [done] with any sort of intention to run someone over.”

Frey insisted Good was just trying to “get out of there.”

“You don’t need a legal degree to know that that doesn’t authorize a use of deadly force,” Frey stated.

“That, and I’ll say it again, is bulls–t. That is bulls–t. The way that they’ve been conducting themselves is also bulls–t, and we need to be very clear-eyed about what is happening,” Frey said.

Frey claimed ICE is “terrorizing communities and ripping families apart,” once again villainizing the brave agents who are out risking their lives to arrest these criminals.

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Armed police who shot synagogue terror victims, killing one and injuring another, could face criminal charges

Armed police involved in the fatal shooting of Manchester synagogue terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie may face criminal charges.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) admitted one of the victims of Thursday’s attack died after apparently being injured by a police gunshot. His family tonight described him as a hero.

Another person was also injured as police sought to contain the terror threat.

It is believed both victims were standing behind a door at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall when they were hit.

Al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead at the scene wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest. The device was later discovered not to be viable.

But police do not believe Al-Shamie was armed, meaning the two gunshot injuries were likely from police firearms.

In a statement, Emily Barry, director of engagement at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said the watchdog would now investigate.

She said: ‘Our thoughts remain with the victims and their families, as well as all those affected by yesterday’s horrific events.

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No Charges for Cops Who Executed Innocent Grandpa on His Own Property—With a Bullet in His Back

Another day, another state-sanctioned killing swept under the rug. This time, it’s the story of Osvaldo Cueli, a 59-year-old grandfather who was shot and killed by two plainclothes Miami-Dade police detectives on his own land. There were no body cams, no warning, and no charges.

According to a closeout memo from the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, detectives Mario Fernandez and Jorge Sanchez won’t face any consequences for killing Cueli. The memo claims there wasn’t enough “competent evidence” to determine whether the shooting was justified. That’s always the excuse, isn’t it?

Despite the nine bullet holes in the windshield of the officers’ unmarked truck, originally spun as proof Cueli had fired on them, it turns out those shots were fired from inside the truck. The cops fired through their own windshield. They were in unmarked vehicles with tinted windows and, according to the family, never announced themselves.

Cueli had walked out to the edge of his property with a firearm holstered at his waist. He thought he saw trespassers. His daughter said he rarely carried a gun but had grown concerned about safety. That day, two black trucks pulled up to the gate. According to his son, they blocked the entrance and opened fire without warning. His father never raised his weapon. They didn’t identify themselves. They didn’t turn on any lights. They just started shooting.

“They both came really close to the trees, and they blocked us in,” Osvaldo, Cueli’s son, told New Times. “They started shooting from inside the car, and they didn’t have any lights on. They didn’t announce themselves. They didn’t put down the windows, and the windows were blacked out.”

Cueli was shot in the back. The autopsy confirmed it. The bullet passed through his aorta and lung before lodging in his arm. The cops say they found a pistol two feet from his body. But the family says there was no gun near him in the video footage. Their attorney is calling out the memo for its omissions and contradictions.

As Cueli lay bleeding on the ground, one of the officers casually stepped over his body and said, “We identified ourselves.” His daughter captured the moment on video.

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A Federal Judge Says New Mexico Cops Reasonably Killed an Innocent Man at the Wrong House

Around 11:30 on a Wednesday night in April 2023, three police officers repeatedly knocked on the door of Robert Dotson’s house at 5305 Valley View Avenue in Farmington, New Mexico. They were responding to a report of “a possible
domestic violence situation,” but they were in the wrong place: They were supposed to be at 5308 Valley View Avenue, which was on the opposite side of the street. When Dotson, a 52-year-old father of two, came to the door with a gun in his hand, the cops shot and killed him.

That response, a federal judge in New Mexico ruled last week, was reasonable in the circumstances and therefore did not violate Dotson’s Fourth Amendment rights. The officers “reasonably believed that Dotson posed a severe risk of imminent harm” to them, U.S. District Judge Matthew Garcia writes in response to a federal civil rights lawsuit that Dotson’s family filed in September 2023. Garcia rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that the officers—Daniel Estrada, Dylan Goodluck, and Waylon Wasson—”recklessly created the need to apply deadly force by going to the wrong address.”

Garcia concedes that the defendants’ conduct prior to the shooting was “not a paragon of careful policework,” which is quite an understatement. When the cops were dispatched to 5308 Valley View Avenue, he notes, Wasson “utilized his service vehicle’s mobile data terminal” to “locate the address, incorrectly placing the [house] on the right (south) side of the street.” Meanwhile, Goodluck, who was in a separate vehicle, “searched Google Maps to locate the property,” and that search correctly located the house as “being situated on the left (north) side of Valley View Avenue.”

When the officers arrived at the scene, Goodluck “continued to question whether [they] were headed to the correct residence,” Garcia says, but “he deferred to Officer Wasson’s seniority and said nothing.” After Wasson knocked on the front door of Dotson’s house three times without getting a response, Goodluck “finally voiced his concern that the Defendant officers went to the wrong address.” Pointing across the street, he said, “It might have been 5308. Right there.” Wasson was puzzled: “Is this not 5308? That’s what it said right there, right?” No, Goodluck replied: “This is 5305, isn’t it?”

Wasson then asked the dispatcher to confirm the correct address. After the dispatcher said “5308 Valley View Avenue,” Wasson jokingly said, “Don’t tell me I’m wrong, Dylan.” By this point, the plaintiffs say, the cops “were realizing they were at the wrong residence and were laughing about it.”

According to the lawsuit, Dotson and his wife, Kimberly, were upstairs in their bedroom when Wasson knocked on the front door. “The knock was not loud, and his announcement ‘Farmington Police’ could not be heard” on the second story, the complaint says. “The police vehicles were parked down the street and did not have their lights on.” But the couple “believed that they heard a knock,” so Dotson “put on his robe and went downstairs.” For “personal protection,” he “picked up the handgun which was kept on top of the refrigerator in the Dotson residence, not knowing what he might encounter at that late hour.”

When Dotson “opened his front door,” the lawsuit says, he “was blinded by police flashlights.” At that point, “the police did not announce themselves,” and Dotson “had no idea who was in his yard shining bright lights at him.” According to the lawsuit, Wasson, upon seeing Dotson’s gun, “opened fire instantly,” and “the other officers, Estrada and Goodluck, immediately followed by firing their guns.” Dotson was struck by 12 rounds.

Hearing the shots, Kimberly Dotson rushed downstairs and “saw her husband lying in his blood in the doorway,” the lawsuit says. She “still did not know what had happened [or] that police officers were in her front yard.” She “fired outside at whoever had shot her husband,” and the officers “each fired at Mrs. Dotson—another 19 rounds. Fortunately, she was not hit.”

At that point, according to the complaint, the officers “finally announced themselves, and Kimberly Dotson told them that someone had shot her husband and requested their help.” She “did not realize even at that moment that the three police officers had killed her husband,” which she did not learn “until she was finally told eight hours later at the police station where she was detained.”

After the shooting, the lawsuit says, “the officers involved did not disclose to investigators that they were at the wrong address, which was the error leading to the tragic result and without which it would not have occurred.” The mistake “was discovered by other officers who arrived at the scene.”

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Supreme Court Rules Police No Longer Immune In Escalated Deadly Force Encounters

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a legal doctrine that helped shield police from accountability for recklessly escalating confrontations and then using deadly force.

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Barnes v. Felix makes clear that when determining whether an officer’s use of deadly force was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment, courts must examine the entire sequence of events—not just the split second in which an officer claims to perceive a threat before firing a weapon. The decision strikes down the so-called “moment-of-threat doctrine,” which allowed officers to escape scrutiny for their own prior misconduct and reckless provocation. Going forward, judges must weigh all relevant circumstances, including the severity of the alleged offense, the officer’s actions leading up to the use of force, and the actual threat posed by the individual. The Rutherford Institute filed an amicus brief urging the Court to overturn the moment-of-threat rule, arguing that it violated longstanding constitutional principles and fostered a culture of impunity among law enforcement.

“For too long, our justice system has enabled a kind of legalized lawlessness, where police are empowered to escalate encounters and then respond with deadly force, knowing the courts will look the other way,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. “This decision is a powerful counterbalance to the Trump Administration’s efforts to shield police from the consequences of unconstitutional behavior. While the executive branch attempts to entrench a culture of impunity, the Supreme Court has hopefully drawn a constitutional line in the sand—one that signals a long-overdue shift in how police can use deadly force.”

On April 28, 2016, a police officer in Harris County, Texas, stopped Ashtian Barnes based on a report of unpaid tolls linked to his license plate. When asked for proof of insurance, Barnes explained that the car had been rented a week earlier by his girlfriend and the paperwork might be in the trunk. Claiming to smell marijuana, the officer ordered Barnes to open the trunk and exit the vehicle. Barnes opened his door but also turned the ignition back on. At that point, the officer shouted at Barnes not to move, stepped onto the driver-side doorsill, and shoved his gun into Barnes’s head. The car started to move, and the officer fired two shots into the car, killing Barnes. The incident was captured on video. Although Barnes’s mother sued, lower courts dismissed the case—ruling that the moment of threat during the two seconds when the officer was standing on the moving vehicle justified deadly force, without considering the officer’s role in creating the danger.

The Supreme Court’s decision sends the case back to the lower courts for reconsideration under the proper constitutional standard. The Barnes decision comes as the nation reckons with the 30-year legacy of the 1994 Crime Bill, which dramatically expanded the power and protection of law enforcement at the expense of constitutional rights. As The Rutherford Institute has warned, the Crime Bill ushered in an era of “zero tolerance” policing and mass incarceration, laying the groundwork for the militarized and unaccountable police culture we see today. “The Court’s decision is an overdue course correction. But it is only a first step,” Whitehead said. “Law enforcement should not be allowed to operate beyond the reach of the Constitution.”

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Ohio Guard shootings at Kent State 55 years ago fueled protests at Ohio State, across U.S.

On this date 55 years ago, May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guard members fired on student protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.

The students were protesting the escalation of the Vietnam War into Cambodia. The shootings became a pivotal moment in the anti-Vietnam War movement, highlighting the deep divisions and tensions in the country at the time over U.S. involvement and the loss of lives.

An investigation was conducted into the Kent State shootings by the Ohio National Guard, who were sent to the university and nearby town by Ohio Gov. James Rhodes at the request of town officials in response to violence May 1, 1970, in which downtown businesses were damaged.

Eight guardsmen were later indicted by a federal grand jury for their involvement in the May 4 shootings. But U.S. District Court Judge Frank Battisti dismissed the case in the middle of the trial, claiming the government’s case was so weak the attorneys for the guardsmen didn’t even have to present a defense.

Students at Ohio State, along with many other universities across the country, were deeply affected by the shootings at Kent State and the broader issues surrounding the Vietnam War. Protests at Ohio State intensified immediately after the Kent State shootings, leading to clashes between students and authorities there. The campus saw large demonstrations, sit-ins, and strikes as students expressed their outrage and demanded changes.

These protests were part of a nationwide wave of student activism that sought to address not only the Vietnam War but also issues of civil rights and social justice.

Several days before Kent State, on April 29, 1970, Ohio State students boycotted classes after administrators rejected calls to add Black and women’s studies courses to the university curriculum. Columbus Mayor M.E. “Jack” Sensenbrenner declared a state of emergency and a curfew was put in place on April 30, 1970

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Renowned Metal Guitarist Passes Away In Shootout With Police

A guitarist described as a pioneer in the death metal genre passed away after getting into a shootout with police in San Francisco.

Brian Montana, 60, an original guitarist for the band Possessed, reportedly pulled a gun on his neighbor during an argument.

“Police say the incident began when Montana became enraged over tree debris from a neighbor’s yard and escalated into a shooting that left one resident injured and the neighborhood temporarily under lockdown,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Police responded to the scene and exchanged gunfire with Montana for over 25 minutes.

“On 4/28/25 at approx. 5:52 PM, SSFPD responded to a 911 call on the 300 block of Arroyo Dr. reporting a suspect brandishing a firearm at a neighbor. Officers arrived within minutes and quickly requested backup as the suspect began firing into an occupied home,” the South San Francisco Police Department stated.

“The armed suspect repositioned into a neighboring driveway and fired multiple times at officers using a handgun, shotgun, and rifle—taking cover behind vehicles and landscaping. Officers used patrol cars as cover and returned fire. The suspect was struck and ultimately pronounced deceased at the scene,” it added.

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Texas Cop Pleads Guilty After Shooting Wife In The Face

A disgraced Texas police officer cut a deal after facing charges of shooting his wife in the head, and now the ex-cop will spend the next two decades behind bars.

Galib Chowdhury, 33, was arrested in June 2023 by the same police department that employed him as an officer. Shortly after he admitted to what he described as accidentally shooting his wife, Sadaf Iqbal, then 31, the Houston Police Department fired him. An investigation into the incident revealed a troubled history between the two, including texts Chowdhury sent to Iqbal shortly before that fateful night.

According to reporting by KPRC, a local NBC affiliate, Chowdhury was the one who reported the shooting after midnight on June 12, 2023. At the time, he claimed that he was trying to shoot an intruder and Iqbal got in the way. However, KPRC reported that investigators were suspicious about his story; he reportedly didn’t have any physical description of the supposed suspect, nor did he say where they ran. There was also no damage to the home that would indicate a break-in.

Iqbal sustained a gunshot wound to the head that she survived. According to a GoFundMe page set up for her medical expenses, she is still recovering from her injuries. When she was taken to the hospital, she reportedly refused to give a statement to police and stated that the shooting was an accident. Investigators reportedly suspected domestic violence and asked to search her cellphone, to which she consented.

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Trump Vows To Probe Ashli Babbitt Homicide, Consider Comp Fund For Pardoned J6ers

President Trump on Tuesday vowed that he would bring new scrutiny to the Department of Justice’s handling of the killing of Ashli Babbitt by a Capitol police officer during the Jan 6, 2021 riot, and to explore the possibility of a compensation fund for the 1,500 Capitol riot defendants he pardoned.   

Trump’s promises came in a Roosevelt Room interview with Newsmax’s Greg Kelly. When Kelly asked Trump about the DOJ continuing to mount a defense against a $30 million wrongful death claim filed by Babbitt’s husband, Trump said he wasn’t aware of it but would look into the matter: 

“Well, I’ll look into that. I mean, you’re just telling me that for the first time, I haven’t heard that. I’m a big fan of Ashli Babbitt. And Ashli Babbitt was a really good person who was a big MAGA fan, Trump fan. And she was innocently standing there; they even say trying to sort of hold back the crowd. And a man did something to her that was unthinkable when he shot her. And I think it’s a disgrace. I’m going to look into that. I did not know that.”

Babbitt was shot and killed by US Capitol Police (USCP) Lieutenant Michael Byrd as she attempted to climb through a broken window that was part of an interior doorway close to the House chamber. Though the unarmed, 5’2″, 115-pound Babbitt posed no imminent threat of inflicting death or serious injury as she awkwardly navigated the narrow space — with a furniture barricade still ahead of her —  Boyd opted against using any type of nonlethal force, and instead shot her from an ambush position, killing her with a bullet that perforated her trachea and lung. 

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