General Police Abuse Thread

[Flagg]

That's pretty standard. Hell, if 2 13 year olds fuck the are both guilty of sexually assaulting a minor and if convicted would have to register as sexual predators. For life. AMERICA!!! FUCK YEAH Only if at or older than age of consent and no video or photography takes place if under 18!!!

[Flagg]

Also, this isn't really a "police abusing their power" issue. They could easily be subjecting their municipality to lawsuits and putting their jobs at risk were they to not take action.

[Dominus Atheos]

I consider this to the the "judicial system abuse" thread.

[Alyrium Denryle]

I consider this to the the "judicial system abuse" thread.

Your opinion does not matter. Mine does. This thread is an omnibus repository for discussions regarding abuses by police. Not the judicial system having its hands tied by bad legislation and miscarrying justice thereby. In future, such matters will be put in their own thread. I will let this discussion slide for now however, because it would be a pain in the ass to split it.

[Flagg]

I consider this to the the "judicial system abuse" thread.

Your opinion does not matter. Mine does. This thread is an omnibus repository for discussions regarding abuses by police. Not the judicial system having its hands tied by bad legislation and miscarrying justice thereby. In future, such matters will be put in their own thread. I will let this discussion slide for now however, because it would be a pain in the ass to split it.

You liked my Team America reference is what it is. Admit it. DON'T WAIT FOR THE TRANSLATION!!!

Anyway, In News that should shock no one (NBCNews)

St. Louis Protests Turn Violent After Ex-Officer Acquitted in Killing of Black Man
by Corky Siemaszko and Phil McCausland
Police in St. Louis used tear gas to disperse protesters who threw rocks and broke a window in the mayor's home Friday night — hours after a white former officer was acquitted in the 2011 shooting death of a black man.
At least 32 people were arrested and nine city officers were injured as hundreds took to the streets in largely peaceful demonstrations against the verdict, Interim St. Louis Police Chief Lawrence O'Toole said early Saturday. In addition, a St. Louis County police officer and a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper were hurt.
Some officers were hurt by thrown bricks, police said, and they had to use tear gas and pepper balls on the crowd.

Former officer Jason Stockley was found not guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action charges by St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson, who presided over the racially charged case.
Stockley escaped what could have been a lengthy prison sentence despite the fact that he was recorded on an internal video camera during the pursuit apparently saying he intended to kill Anthony Lamar Smith.
Demonstrators took to the streets shortly after Stockley was acquitted and protests continued throughout the day and into the night. Friday night hundreds marched downtown and a group tried to march onto an interstate but were thwarted by police who blocked their path.
"We have been informed by the St. Louis Police Department that they are not in a position to provide the standard protection for our audience as would be expected for an event of this size. We have also been informed that local crowd security personnel would not be at full capacity. "

"Many of the demonstrators were peaceful," O’Toole said in a video message early Saturday. “However, after dark many agitators began to destroy property and assault police officers."
He said injuries to police officers include a possible broken jaw and a dislocated shoulder. Officials also said they had recovered a firearm from the demonstration.
St. Louis police said on Twitter shortly before 10 p.m. local time that "agitators have converged on Mayor Krewson's house. Throwing rocks and breaking windows, despite being instructed not to." Protesters broke a window and splattered paint on Mayor Lyda Krewson's house. The assembly was declared unlawful and tear gas was used, police said.
Earlier some sections of downtown were closed off and there was sporadic violence as protesters pelted police officers with water bottles and rocks and ignored repeated orders to disperse, St. Louis police reported.

Wells Fargo, Stifel, Nestle and some of St. Louis' other big employers sent thousands of workers home early as a precaution. Krewson earlier urged St. Louis residents to "show each other compassion."
"My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Anthony Lamar Smith, our police, judge, prosecutor, our citizens who find no comfort or justice, and everyone involved in this difficult case," Krewson said in a statement. "I am appalled by what happened to Anthony Lamar Smith. I am sobered by this outcome."

The Stockley case rekindled racial tensions not seen in the St. Louis-area since 2014 when sometimes violent unrest erupted in nearby Ferguson, Missouri, after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown. Activists backed by many of St. Louis' black clergy had vowed to stage protests if Wilson acquitted Stockley.
Smith was 24, a new dad and engaged to be married when he was killed. But in his ruling, the judge called him an "urban heroin dealer" while noting that Stockley was a West Point graduate who had served in Iraq and suffered a back injury during a Baghdad hotel bombing.
In their initial report, police said Smith was doing a drug deal behind a fried chicken restaurant north of downtown St. Louis when he took off in a silver Buick, twice crashing into a police vehicle.

In Wilson's ruling and in documents obtained by NBC affiliate KSDK, Stockley could be heard saying "we're killing this (expletive), don't you know."
But the judge said this was not proof Stockley wanted to kill Smith, calling the remark "ambiguous."
"People say all kinds of things in the heat of the moment or while in stressful situations," he wrote.
Wilson also wrote that Stockley "did not approach the Buick and immediately shoot Smith multiple times."
Instead, the judge said Stockley "ordered Smith to open the door and to show his hands."
"The defense does not deny that Stockley shot and killed Smith," the judge wrote. "Rather, the defense contends Stockley acted in self-defense."

In May 2016, when Stockley was charged with first-degree murder, prosecutors said that a gun found in Smith's car had only Stockley's DNA on it.
Wilson also said there was no evidence to suggest Stockley "planted the handgun found in the Buick." He said the state's own witnesses "testified that the absence of a person's DNA on a gun does not mean that person did not touch the gun."
"Finally, the Court observes, based on its nearly 30 years on the bench, that an urban heroin dealer not in possession of a firearm would be an anomaly," Wilson wrote.
The prosecutor, Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, said she was "disappointed with the court's decision."
"In light of the verdict, it’s time to take a harder look at how officer-involved shootings are addressed in our city," she said.

In May 2016, when Stockley was charged with first-degree murder, prosecutors said that a gun found in Smith's car had only Stockley's DNA on it.
Wilson also said there was no evidence to suggest Stockley "planted the handgun found in the Buick." He said the state's own witnesses "testified that the absence of a person's DNA on a gun does not mean that person did not touch the gun."
"Finally, the Court observes, based on its nearly 30 years on the bench, that an urban heroin dealer not in possession of a firearm would be an anomaly," Wilson wrote.
The prosecutor, Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, said she was "disappointed with the court's decision."
"In light of the verdict, it’s time to take a harder look at how officer-involved shootings are addressed in our city," she said.

I miss the good old days when riots erupted after cops were acquitted despite video evidence of undeniable police brutality. Now they straight up have video and recordings of them stating their intent to murder someone, obviously plant a gun, and a Judge (because one corrupt fucker is easier to sway than 12 morons) lets them off.

[Dominus Atheos]

I consider this to the the "judicial system abuse" thread.

Your opinion does not matter. Mine does. This thread is an omnibus repository for discussions regarding abuses by police. Not the judicial system having its hands tied by bad legislation and miscarrying justice thereby. In future, such matters will be put in their own thread. I will let this discussion slide for now however, because it would be a pain in the ass to split it.

This is the complete opposite of the way I have understood the rules of this thread to be since it's creation.

I've posted topics about mandatory minimums, criminalization of poverty, bad rulings about police abuse, prison abuse, bad police protocols, police unions, no-knock warrants, bad laws being applied and upheld, and prosecutorial misconduct in this thread.

Which, if any, of those didn't belong?

[Alyrium Denryle]

I consider this to the the "judicial system abuse" thread.

Your opinion does not matter. Mine does. This thread is an omnibus repository for discussions regarding abuses by police. Not the judicial system having its hands tied by bad legislation and miscarrying justice thereby. In future, such matters will be put in their own thread. I will let this discussion slide for now however, because it would be a pain in the ass to split it.

This is the complete opposite of the way I have understood the rules of this thread to be since it's creation.

I've posted topics about mandatory minimums, criminalization of poverty, bad rulings about police abuse, prison abuse, bad police protocols, police unions, no-knock warrants, bad laws being applied and upheld, and prosecutorial misconduct in this thread.

Which, if any, of those didn't belong?

I don't always notice things. Police abuse, bad protocols and fuckery involving police unions are fair game. Bad laws being upheld and prosecutorial misconduct have typically gotten their own threads as I remember, but if they have slipped through the cracks (again, I don't always notice)... that really ought not go here unless it directly pertains to the subject of this thread (for instance, a prosecutor throwing his case when prosecuting a police officer).

[Simon_Jester]

I miss the good old days when riots erupted after cops were acquitted despite video evidence of undeniable police brutality. Now they straight up have video and recordings of them stating their intent to murder someone, obviously plant a gun, and a Judge (because one corrupt fucker is easier to sway than 12 morons) lets them off.

And, consequently, riots happen. Not surprising.

Was this a case where the policeman was making an appeal (thus placing things in the hands of the judge) or is there another reason no jury is referenced in the article?

[Terralthra]

The policeman in question waived his right to a trial by jury in favor of a bench trial, which is any defendant's right to waive. Few do so as often as police, who tend to have better luck with it. The judge's comment that the policeman can't have planted the gun because "An urban heroin dealer not in possession of a firearm would be an anomaly." The judge also said, amazingly, that saying "I'm going to kill this motherfucker," isn't clear indication of intent, that one might say such a thing in anger without meaning it. In order to show intent, one would have to look at the outcome. In this case, the person in question saying "I'm going to kill this motherfucker", then killing him less than a minute later, was insufficient of an outcome to show intent.

[Kamakazie Sith]

The policeman in question waived his right to a trial by jury in favor of a bench trial, which is any defendant's right to waive. Few do so as often as police, who tend to have better luck with it. The judge's comment that the policeman can't have planted the gun because "An urban heroin dealer not in possession of a firearm would be an anomaly." The judge also said, amazingly, that saying "I'm going to kill this motherfucker," isn't clear indication of intent, that one might say such a thing in anger without meaning it. In order to show intent, one would have to look at the outcome. In this case, the person in question saying "I'm going to kill this motherfucker", then killing him less than a minute later, was insufficient of an outcome to show intent.

There's a bit more to it than that. The prosecutions own DNA expert testified that the absence of DNA does not mean that a person did not touch something and Stockley claims he touched it to render it safe. Then there was also the fact that none of the video recorded Stockley planting the firearm though those videos also did not rule it out.

A couple things about the DNA transfer. Stockley should never have touched the firearm. I'm assuming St. Louis PD operates off of up to date evidence handling procedure in which case him touching a firearm after being directly involved in a shooting is highly inappropriate but even if for some reason he felt he had to violate this rule then why didn't he wear any gloves to prevent transfer?

The most important issue about the DNA is where it was recovered from the firearm. It was recovered from underneath a screw in the handle. Now I'm not familiar with this type of weapon but I've been told that to gain access would require someone to disassemble it. Meaning it is likely Stockley's firearm.

[Flagg]

Yeah, if a heroin dealer has a gun with none of his own DNA on it they should have a PHD in psychiatrictry to testify that he had been diagnosed with OCD and had an MA testify they found a portable bottle of Purell up his rectum for a Judge not to get disbarred for that.

[Terralthra]

There's a reason police officers tend to have better luck with bench trials than the average perp. Criminal judges don't tend to see that many petty drug dealers or minor possession charges, because those defendants plead out. Judges see the worst cases, thus have a heavy selection and confirmation bias to assuming the worst of "criminals". Contrastingly, since police action and testimony are the ones catching these criminals and convicting them, judges tend to have high opinions of said officers.

[JLTucker]

GA tech student was shot and ultimately died after he refused to stop wielding a knife and heading toward the police.

The campus cops there are given guns but not tasers. I don’t understand that at all.

I’ll provide a link soon.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/us/g ... udent.html

A video captured the interaction between Scout Schultz, a student at Georgia Tech, and campus police officers before Schultz was shot and killed.

Maxim Mints, via Associated Press

A campus police officer shot and killed the president of a gay and transgender student group outside a Georgia Tech dormitory in Atlanta on Sunday. A cellphone video shared widely online showed the student, who was believed to be holding a knife, yelling “shoot me” at the officers before one opened fire.

The student, Scout Schultz, 21, died at a local hospital from a single gunshot wound, according to a statement by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the altercation.

The killing, which happened in full view of students in the dormitory, immediately raised questions about why the campus police were so quick to use deadly force.

After what the university called a peaceful vigil for Schultz on Monday night at Georgia Tech, about 50 people marched to the campus Police Department, where a police car was set on fire and two officers received minor injuries, the authorities said. Three people were arrested on charges of inciting a riot and battery of an officer. At one point, the university urged students to stay inside because of the violence.

The statement released earlier by the Bureau of Investigation referred to Schultz as male. According to the website of the Georgia Tech Pride Alliance, the student identified as “bisexual, nonbinary, and intersex” and used the pronoun “they.” Intersex is a condition in which a person’s physical sex characteristics do not align with typical notions of male and female.

It was Schultz who called 911 to report a suspicious white male with long blonde hair on campus holding a knife and possibly a gun, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. After the shooting, investigators found three suicide notes in the student’s dorm room, the agency said.

In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lynne Schultz, the student’s mother, asked why the police were so quick to kill her child, who she said suffered from depression and had attempted suicide in the past.

“Why didn’t they use some nonlethal force, like pepper spray or Tasers?” Ms. Schultz asked the paper.

Lance Wallace, a university spokesman, said Georgia Tech campus police do not carry Tasers but they do carry pepper spray. L. Chris Stewart, a lawyer for the Schultz family, criticized the university for not providing officers with more nonlethal tools and said the killing would not have happened if campus police officers were properly trained to handle mental illness.

“From the video you can see Scout is in the middle of the mental breakdown and telling the officers to shoot,” he said. “Four of them did not listen to that and continued to do their job, to de-escalate the situation, but one of them decided to take Scout’s life.”

“If someone says shoot me or writes a letter or whatever it is, you don’t assist them with that,” he added.

Mr. Wallace said he was not able to answer questions about the killing on Monday, although he did say the campus police had not shot anyone on campus “in at least 20 years and perhaps never.”

The episode began before midnight on Saturday when the campus police received the 911 call at 11:17 p.m., according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

[Simon_Jester]

I will say that as members of the category "police abuse" go, this is a borderline case and not a central example of the type.

I will further say that this death is very obviously a tragedy that should not have occurred. It would be vastly better if they had, as noted, de-escalated the situation in any of a variety of ways. In future they should be equipped with nonlethal weapons for that purpose.

[Flagg]

GA tech student was shot and ultimately died after he refused to stop wielding a knife and heading toward the police.

The campus cops there are given guns but not tasers. I don’t understand that at all.

I’ll provide a link soon.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/us/g ... udent.html

A video captured the interaction between Scout Schultz, a student at Georgia Tech, and campus police officers before Schultz was shot and killed.

Maxim Mints, via Associated Press

A campus police officer shot and killed the president of a gay and transgender student group outside a Georgia Tech dormitory in Atlanta on Sunday. A cellphone video shared widely online showed the student, who was believed to be holding a knife, yelling “shoot me” at the officers before one opened fire.

The student, Scout Schultz, 21, died at a local hospital from a single gunshot wound, according to a statement by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the altercation.

The killing, which happened in full view of students in the dormitory, immediately raised questions about why the campus police were so quick to use deadly force.

After what the university called a peaceful vigil for Schultz on Monday night at Georgia Tech, about 50 people marched to the campus Police Department, where a police car was set on fire and two officers received minor injuries, the authorities said. Three people were arrested on charges of inciting a riot and battery of an officer. At one point, the university urged students to stay inside because of the violence.

The statement released earlier by the Bureau of Investigation referred to Schultz as male. According to the website of the Georgia Tech Pride Alliance, the student identified as “bisexual, nonbinary, and intersex” and used the pronoun “they.” Intersex is a condition in which a person’s physical sex characteristics do not align with typical notions of male and female.

It was Schultz who called 911 to report a suspicious white male with long blonde hair on campus holding a knife and possibly a gun, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. After the shooting, investigators found three suicide notes in the student’s dorm room, the agency said.

In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Lynne Schultz, the student’s mother, asked why the police were so quick to kill her child, who she said suffered from depression and had attempted suicide in the past.

“Why didn’t they use some nonlethal force, like pepper spray or Tasers?” Ms. Schultz asked the paper.

Lance Wallace, a university spokesman, said Georgia Tech campus police do not carry Tasers but they do carry pepper spray. L. Chris Stewart, a lawyer for the Schultz family, criticized the university for not providing officers with more nonlethal tools and said the killing would not have happened if campus police officers were properly trained to handle mental illness.

“From the video you can see Scout is in the middle of the mental breakdown and telling the officers to shoot,” he said. “Four of them did not listen to that and continued to do their job, to de-escalate the situation, but one of them decided to take Scout’s life.”

“If someone says shoot me or writes a letter or whatever it is, you don’t assist them with that,” he added.

Mr. Wallace said he was not able to answer questions about the killing on Monday, although he did say the campus police had not shot anyone on campus “in at least 20 years and perhaps never.”

The episode began before midnight on Saturday when the campus police received the 911 call at 11:17 p.m., according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Even with TASERS they can justifiably blow you away for having a knife. I don't know how cops in the U.K. Manage not getting massacred.

[Kamakazie Sith]

GA tech student was shot and ultimately died after he refused to stop wielding a knife and heading toward the police.

The campus cops there are given guns but not tasers. I don’t understand that at all.

I’ll provide a link soon.

Them not being equipped with tasers could be due to a number of reasons like unpopularity, reliability, danger, etc.

Even with TASERS they can justifiably blow you away for having a knife. I don't know how cops in the U.K. Manage not getting massacred.

UK police do have multiple incidents of a number of officers being seriously injured by a single attacker but those involves a determined attacker. The student was not determined and the UK has excellent tactics for dealing with people like this. US police should be required to adopt those tactics and required to use them. Shooting an undetermined person with a knife should not be acceptable for the police even if it is justified under law.

That being said do not underestimate anyone with a knife.

[Flagg]

Them not being equipped with tasers could be due to a number of reasons like unpopularity, reliability, danger, etc.
those involves a determined attacker. The student was not determined and the UK has excellent tactics for dealing with people like this. US police should be required to adopt those tactics and required to use them. Shooting an undetermined person with a knife should not be acceptable for the police even if it is justified under law.

The company that introduced TASERS is getting sued by police officers who used it on people only for them to shrug it off and attack the cop.

[mr friendly guy]

Remember that cop that arrested a nurse who refused to draw blood on an unconscious patient because its illegal? Well that cop has been fired from both the police force and his job as a part time paramedic.

This has been reported on numerous sites, so I will just link the first one that comes on a google search
http://nypost.com/2017/10/10/cop-who-fo ... -is-fired/

Cop who forcibly arrested nurse for refusing to draw blood is fired
By Associated Press October 10, 2017 |

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah police officer who was caught on video roughly handcuffing a nurse because she refused to allow a blood draw was fired Tuesday in a case that became a flashpoint in the ongoing national conversation about police use of force.

Modal Trigger
Jeff PayneAP
Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown made the decision after an internal investigation found evidence Detective Jeff Payne violated department policies when he arrested nurse Alex Wubbels and dragged her out of the hospital as she screamed on July 26, said Sgt. Brandon Shearer, a spokesman for the department.

Attorney Greg Skordas has said Payne served the department well for nearly three decades and questioned whether his behavior warranted termination. He couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

Payne’s supervisor, Lt. James Tracy, was also demoted to officer. His lawyer, Ed Brass, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

Modal Trigger
James TracyAP
The case received widespread attention after the body-camera video was released by Wubbels and her lawyer in late August. Her lawyer didn’t have immediate comment on the decision to fire Payne.

It showed her explaining that hospital policy required a warrant or formal consent to draw blood from the patient who had been injured in a car crash.

The patient wasn’t suspected of wrongdoing. He was an off-duty reserve Idaho police officer driving a semitrailer when he was hit by a man fleeing police in a pickup truck.

Payne nevertheless insisted, saying the evidence would protect the man. Payne told Wubbels his supervisor said he should arrest her if she didn’t allow the blood draw. Tracy arrived on scene after the arrest and forcefully told a handcuffed Wubbels that she should have allowed the blood draw. She was later released without charge.

Both officers came under investigation and were placed on paid administrative leave after the video became public. Salt Lake City police also apologized and changed their policies in line with Wubbels’ position.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, opened a criminal investigation into the arrest and asked the FBI to probe for possible civil rights violations.

Payne was also fired from a part-time job as a paramedic after he was caught on camera saying he’d take transient patients to the University of Utah hospital where Wubbels worked and take the “good patients” elsewhere as retribution.

Payne had previously been disciplined in 2013 after internal-affairs investigators confirmed that he sexually harassed a female co-worker in a “persistent and severe” way.

His tenure has also brought commendations for solving burglary cases as recently as 2011 and a being shot in the shoulder during a traffic stop in 1998.

Tracy, meanwhile, has risen to through the ranks since he was hired in 1995, earning commendations for drug and burglary investigations. He was reprimanded in 1997 for moving two handcuffed people from one location to another a few miles away and releasing them without documenting the incident.

And he is gone.

[Crazedwraith]

Good news for once for this thread.

[MKSheppard]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryla ... story.html

Baltimore Police Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. was found not guilty Tuesday of all 21 administrative charges against him in the 2015 arrest and death of Freddie Gray.

The verdict absolves Goodson once and for all in the high-profile case, and allows him to continue his career in the city police force.

Goodson, 48, the driver of the police van in which Gray was found with severe and ultimately fatal spinal cord injuries in April 2015, had faced possible termination if any of the charges against him was sustained. He was charged with neglecting his duty by failing to ensure Gray’s safety, including by not securing a handcuffed and shackled Gray in a seat belt and not calling Gray a medic after he requested one. He was also charged with making false statements to investigators.

The decision clearing him of all charges, which was unanimous among the three law enforcement officials who presided over the six-day administrative trial, follows his acquittal on all charges, including second-degree depraved-heart murder, at a separate criminal trial last year.

“This is a vindication of this officer,” said Sean Malone, one of Goodson’s attorneys, shortly after the verdict was read during a brief reconvening of the panel at the University of Baltimore about 1 p.m. Tuesday. “This is a tragic accident that happened, and we’re sorry for the loss of Mr. Gray, but we’re glad that our client is not going to be the face of this incident.”

The panel’s decision is final and cannot be challenged by the city or the Police Department.

Malone said Goodson did not want to comment himself, but intends to “take care of his family” by continuing his 18-year career with the department until retirement.

“Officer Goodson is just ready to get on. This is three years. He had a murder charge over his head, he’s had this over his head. He’s a quiet man, he’s a hard-working man, he’s just happy to resume his life,” Malone said. “This has been hard on him and his family, and it’s nice to get his life back.”

In delivering the verdict, Prince George’s County Police Maj. Rosa Guixens, the chair of the panel, read out “not guilty” 21 times in a row before abruptly closing the proceedings.

Goodson was stoic until the very last “not guilty” was read out, when he broke into a smile. He then hugged his attorneys, who congratulated each other and slapped one another on the back.

Outside the hearing room, Goodson’s father, Caesar Goodson Sr., who had sat through the entire trial, said “the family is glad it’s over.”

“My son is a good son and a good officer,” he said. “We hope no other officer has to go through that.”

“He’s a working-class man, and he’s going to work hard and finish his career with honor,” Malone said. Malone said Goodson was “wrongfully charged,” and the panel made the correct decision.

William H. “Billy” Murphy, the Gray family’s attorney, could not immediately be reached for comment. The city previously reached a $6.4 million settlement with Gray’s family.

Lawrence Grandpre, of a local grass-roots think tank, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, and an advocate for police reform, watched the proceedings and said the verdict did not come as a surprise.

“It’s nothing unexpected. We’ve been trying to reform these trial boards for three or four years,” he said, noting his organization’s efforts to add citizens to the panels.

Grandpre said he is concerned officers serving on the panels are partial to the officers who they have been tasked with passing judgment on, because “they are thinking, ‘That could be me.’ ”

Guixens declined to comment after the verdict, as did another member, Baltimore Police Detective Ryan Diener, who investigates homicides. The third panel member, Baltimore Police Maj. Steve Hohman, head of the Special Investigations Section that investigates sex crimes, could not be reached.

Gray, 25, was found unconscious and suffering from severe spinal cord injuries in the back of the van after a circuitous ride in the van , and died a week later.

Goodson also faced charges that he made false statements to detectives from Montgomery and Howard counties who conducted an outside investigation into Gray’s death on behalf of the city and the Police Department, and that he failed to properly document his actions on the day of Gray’s arrest.

Goodson is the first officer to face a trial board in the case.

Six officers were charged criminally in the Gray case; none was convicted. Goodson, Lt. Brian Rice and Officer Edward Nero were all acquitted at bench trials, and Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby then dropped all remaining charges against the other three officers.

Five of those officers were subsequently charged administratively in the case. Two — Nero and Officer Garrett Miller — have accepted “minor” discipline in the case and are back at work with the department, according to a police union attorney. Under Maryland law, punishments officers receive are kept private.

Two others — Rice and Sgt. Alicia White — are fighting the charges against them.

Rice’s administrative trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 13. White’s is scheduled to begin Dec. 5.

Malone, Goodson’s attorney, said Monday that the panel’s decision to clear Goodson on all charges should make the city reconsider the still-pending administrative charges against Rice and White.

“I think the department has an obligation to take a look at the remaining charges with these officers and determine if they want to go forward based on the evidence that simply has not been put forth,” Malone said.

City and police officials gave no indication Tuesday that they were reconsidering the charges against Rice or White.

Baltimore Sun reporter Jessica Anderson contributed to this article.

[Dominus Atheos]

A jury saw that video and found the cop innocent. Also, the cop had the words "you're fucked" engraved on the barrel.

https://thinkprogress.org/arizona-cop-w ... m=webfeeds

[Kamakazie Sith]

I would like to see a review of this case, and many others, to evaluate how it was presented and defended. At least that murdering piece of shit Slager got 20 years.

[White Haven]

Okay, usually? Usually I'm pretty down on the sort of Flagg/Laan rhetoric. But that piece of shit is a murdering scumbag, and deserves summary execution on the spot, no questions asked. Now, there are legal problems involved (hence deserves, not should have received, as that wouldn't be anywhere close to legal), thus vigorous prosecution. The fact that a jury could possibly declare him innocent with that footage on display makes me seriously question more or less every protection that jury members presently enjoy.

Absolutely everyone involved in that on-camera murder and the defense of same needs to suffer any and every possible penalty as a warning to the next ten generations that some corruption comes at too high a price.

...Corruption is the wrong word here, but I'm having trouble coming up with a more appropriate one despite that. It's not corruption, because nobody is paying that officer to kill people. Well, the taxpayers are, but that's another story. I may hate corruption, but I understand it. This kind of shit I just absolutely fail to fathom. This isn't a military, where you're locked in for a given duration barring severe penalties. This is a civilian employment option. If a police officer is so utterly wired, so hair-triggered that he's one step from snapping and gunning someone down out of something between sheer howling terror and apoplectic fury, nothing whatsoever is stopping him from quitting. Unemployment has got to be less frightening than that.

[TheFeniX]

I'd agree with a ban on AR derivatives if it also meant cops couldn't get them anymore.

[Highlord Laan]

A jury saw that video and found the cop innocent. Also, the cop had the words "you're fucked" engraved on the barrel.

https://thinkprogress.org/arizona-cop-w ... m=webfeeds

PROTECTING AND SERVING!

Nothing like having a trigger happy dipshit ON PATROL. And of course the jury didn't convict. You expected otherwise?

Frankly, I hope the shitbag ends up in a fight he can't finish. The courts obviously don't give a single shit about justice, so it's up to others.