An encounter between San Francisco police officers and several residents of a public housing complex in the Mission District was caught on camera Friday, and the video, which has since spread online, is sparking claims of excessive force.

Police officials, though, said officers used reasonable force against suspects who resisted.






The video shows police making arrests at the Valencia Gardens apartments. At one point, amid a crowd of angry onlookers, a plainclothes officer in a dark baseball cap appears to throw punches at a man, and strike him again after he has been taken to the ground by police. The man is soon put in a patrol car with what appears to be a bloody face.

The video captures only the end of the incident. But residents of the complex, including the sister of one of the men arrested, say police had no reason to act with such a heavy hand.

San Francisco police officials on Monday defended the officers’ actions.

http://blog.sfgate.com/crime/2013/11/18/video-prompts-cries-of-s-f-police-brutality/

Leak Claims Jackson Shooting Accidental; Austin Police Union Calls For Probe

The shooting death of Larry Eugene Jackson Jr. has resulted in a call from the Austin Police Association for an independent investigation: Not into the shooting itself, but into who leaked a statement from the officer that killed him saying the death was accidental.

http://kut.org/post/leak-claims-jackson-shooting-accidental-austin-police-union-calls-probe

Police said that Kleinert, dressed in plain clothes and displaying his APD credentials on his shirt collar, took off on foot after Jackson – why, exactly, Kleinert felt the need to initiate the pursuit remains unclear. (With video of Jackson and info about his "fictitious" ID in hand it would seem Jackson could be found later.) Manley said that Kleinert's reasons for taking immediate action would be explored during the department's criminal and administrative inquiries into the shooting. The department will "have a better idea [of] what his intentions were" and "what was his mindset" as the investigation proceeds, Manley said. And although it's not illegal to do so, it's "really not a good idea to run from police," he said.

Manley also provided a bit more information about that pursuit, including that although Kleinert did initially follow Jackson on foot he later stopped a "motorist and enlisted their aid," which is legal under state law.

While that may be true, a source tells the Chronicle that the motorist in question, sitting in a car in a parking lot near the bank, was unnerved by Kleinert's commandeering of the person's car. Indeed, the source said that Kleinert was "out of control" and did not effectively identify himself before directing the motorist to drive him around near the bank. The motorist implored Kleinert to calm down and explain what was happening, the source said; Kleinert declined to do so, the source said, instead telling the motorist to "Go! Go! Go!" When the pair drove up to a bridge that spans Shoal Creek, Kleinert spotted Jackson, who the source said was merely walking along the sidewalk. Kleinert reportedly said, "There he is!" before jumping out of the car. Shaken, the motorist drove away and subsequently called police.

According to Manley, Kleinert followed Jackson under the bridge near the Shoal Creek Trail and there a scuffle ensued; Jackson was shot once, in the back of the neck. He died just before 4:30 pm, police said. Manley said police are still trying to determine what happened during the altercation and whether Kleinert's gun was fired "intentionally or accidentally."

http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/news/2013-08-05/apd-searching-for-witness-to-fatal-officer-involved-shooting/

Fire, Arrest, and Indict sheriff Eric Gelhaus, immediately!

https://www.change.org/petitions/fire-arrest-and-indict-deputy-eric-gelhaus

Ethan Oliver is the witness who first appeared in front of TV cameras to say that Erick Gelhaus continued to fire at Andy Lopez after the boy had fallen to the ground. Speaking in front of his house four days after the shooting, he reiterated what he saw from his front porch on Moorland Avenue.

Though the autopsy eventually bore out his statements about how many shots were fired, Oliver says that in the days following his statements on TV, he's been targeted by law enforcement.

"I've been harassed real bad over this," he says. "I've been arrested twice in one day, and then I just caught a bogus DUI for nothing because they said they had a report of a drunk driver, which wasn't the case. They saw me, and then they had six cops follow me. Six cops for a traffic stop. And then twice, they got me. The other one, you know, I kind of understand where their standpoint was on that, because I got pretty extensively verbally violent with them. But to me, it's still harassment."

Oliver also notes that the field where Lopez was shot is a common play area for kids with toy guns, where neighborhood children "play with their paint-ball guns all the time." Oliver's little brother often played with Lopez, a boy that Oliver describes as a "real good kid."

http://www.bohemian.com/northbay/gun-crazy/Content?oid=2502580&storyPage=3

Owner Of Dog Shot And Killed By Police Suing For $1 Million In Damages

Any pet owner will tell you that their pet is not just an animal, but a part of their family. So when police unnecessarily shoot a pet, as has become all too common lately, it should be no surprise that its owner wants some justice.

Gary Branson is the former owner of a chocolate lab/pit bull mix named Chloe. Video went viral a while back of Chloe being shot five times by Commerce City, Colorado police officers. Many who watched the video (see below) believe the Commerce City officer used excessive force when he shot and killed Chloe.

The police officers were at Branson’s house in response to a call from a neighbor who said a “territorial and aggressive” dog was roaming the community. On the video, Chloe is seen in a garage barking at officers. After several minutes, one of the officers managed to place Chloe in a catch pole. Once restrained, the officer shot the dog five times. The end of the video shows Chloe lying dead on the ground. All of the officers involved in the shooting were cleared of any wrongdoing.

&feature=player_embedded

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/guns/owner-dog-shot-and-killed-police-suing-1-million-damages

13 Year Old Boy with Toy Gun Killed by Police | Interview with Arnoldo Casillas

Abby Martin speaks with Arnoldo Casillas, attorney for the family of Andy Lopez, a 13 year old who was killed by Santa Rosa police while holding a toy gun. They discuss the community reaction to Andy's death and the lawsuit to hold officers accountable for the murder.

Witnesses: Cops Only Shouted Once at 13-Year-Old Before Opening Fire

Two women who claim to have witnessed the shooting death of a 13-year-old boy carrying an imitation assault rifle in Santa Rosa, Calif., said deputies only shouted at the teen once before they opened fire.

<snip>

The women said they heard the deputies shout, "Drop the gun" just once, before opening their car doors and firing at Lopez without giving him a chance to act, KGO-TV reported.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/witnesses-cops-shouted-13-year-opening-fire/story?id=20697613

Santa Rosa police said Lopez, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, had his back turned toward the officers and they did not realize he was a boy. The deputy twice ordered the Lopez to "drop the gun," but said he instead raised it and pointed it in their direction.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/witnesses-cops-shouted-13-year-opening-fire/story?id=20697613

“We are aware that there were witnesses that the police never interviewed, there have been witnesses that have been harassed after speaking to the media and there are other citizens stepping forward about the mental state of Erick Gelhaus.

http://sfbayview.com/2013/national-day-of-protest-saturday-for-andy-lopez-13-murdered-by-santa-rosa-deputy-sheriff/

A six-foot-tall, nearly 300-pound probation officer Antoine Jones shot and killed a 12-pound dog during a routine visit, claiming he was frightened for his life.

Georgia probation officers Ronnie Simmons and Antoine Jones visited Sherry Shelton’s home at the Loblolly Estates Mobile Home Park to check on her son. When Sherry Shelton opened the door, her 2-year-old Jack Russell terrier/Cocker Spaniel mix named Patches started barking at Jones. She told the officer that Patches wouldn’t bite, but before she could react, Jones drew his gun and shot the dog through her chest. Some 30 minutes later, Patches died.

When terrified Shelton asked Jones for an explanation, he responded that he was afraid for his life.



http://www.policebrutality.info/2013/11/officer-shoots-12-pound-dog-claiming-it-threatened-his-life.html

Another case of death by police beatings, this time in Bakersfield California, has the community in an outrage! On May 8th, Kern Country officers beat an inebriated David Silva for so long and so hard that the man eventually passed out and later died from baton hits to his head.

Various witness accounts recall that the officers were violently beating the man as he lay in the street and continued to beat him even after he went silent and seemed unresponsive. His bleeding body was then left in the street for a rather prolonged period of time until the ambulance came, but by then any CPR that the paramedics attempted was redundant, because Silva was already dead.

A 911 call from a distressed witness, Selena, said that officers were beating a man to death.“There’s a man laying on the floor, and your police officers beat the (expletive) out of him and killed him,” said Selena, according to reports. She also insists that the man did nothing to deserve such harsh treatment.

A young man, Ruben Ceballos, was woken from his sleep by the screams and loud noises of the police beating Silva. When he looked outside to see what was happening, Ceballos also claimed that the police officers were brutally beating on the man and after several minutes, the beaten man stopped screaming and seemed unresponsive. Ceballos, too, says that the Silva did nothing to provoke such aggression from the officers.

http://www.policebrutality.info/2013/05/officers-beat-man-to-death-harass-witnesses-and-take-evidence.html

The Tuscaloosa Police officer who shot a family’s pet earlier this month has filed a lawsuit against a neighbor, claiming that she made untrue statements about the situation.

TPD Officer Mike Azwell is asking for $10,000 from Deborah Bosch, who lives next door to his mother in the Eastern Hills subdivision in Tuscaloosa County. Bosch is not the owner of the dog that was killed, but she did call Tuscaloosa Police and made statements about the incident, according to the suit filed in Tuscaloosa County District Court Friday afternoon.

<snip>

The owners of the dog that was killed placed fliers around the neighborhood looking for their eight-year-old chocolate Labrador, Sonic. A neighbor called and said that he had been shot.

Owner Rebecca James said Tuesday that the white dog that was with Sonic is a Boxer that lives nearby. She said that she has never witnessed either of the two dogs act aggressively.

http://crime.blogs.tuscaloosanews.com/16558/tpd-officer-who-shot-dog-files-lawsuit-seeking-10000-from-neighbor/?tc=ar

Police shoot therapy dog as they raid wrong address looking for man with expired vehicle registration

LEANDER, TX — Leander Police went to the home of James and Renata Simmons acting on a warrant for unpaid vehicle registration on June 17, 2013. The warrant, however, was for a completely different town – Cedar Park, TX, and was for a person named Bradly Neal Simpson, someone the Simmons family, who have lived at this address for the past nine years, have never even heard of.

Officers walking around the rear of the property saw Vinny, a German Shepherd therapy dog, running free within his fence along with another German Shepherd. Police fired at Vinny, firing 3 times with one bullet hitting him in the back of his neck.



http://www.policestateusa.com/2013/police-shoot-therapy-dog-as-they-raid-wrong-home-looking-for-man-with-expired-vehicle-registration/#prettyPhoto