Civil Unrest & Protests

Rick Hunter

Celestial
That was my thought exactly, you can get Wanton Endangerment for merely pointing a gun at someone. Some additional things about this case that really bother me:

The cops were trying to serve a search warrant for drugs on several residences, pretty routine work. Why exactly did this call for a no-knock warrant breaking down the door after midnight in an apartment complex? Wouldn't this put a whole lot of people in danger? Wouldn't it be safer to do the raid in the daytime?

Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Walker fired at the cops, who then returned fire. However, their bullets struck Taylor who was standing outside the apartment in the hallway and did not have a weapon. Detective Hankinson, (who is charged with wanton endangerment) fired at least 10 times. Walker was the person in the apartment who fired at the cops, so if Hankinson was shooting at Walker then how did Walker emerge unscathed but someone standing outside got killed?
 

Area201

cold fusion
In regard to the Taylor death.

So a procedure issued by the state and the officer blotches it or abuses with bad outcomes.. Chauvin's choke hold was also legal.. So instead of burning down PDs or defunding the police, maybe ban these type of dangerous policies?

It seems policy is the key problem in at least some of these cases (they vary each one with unique circumstances). But most irrelevant or least of a factor appears to be race. And that unfortunately is the #1 factor used as fuel as it's most divisive.
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
without knowing who is in it)

Because if you do it's attempted murder like Oswald and Walker .

There is a gap between legal reality and the emotional news cycle and maybe this charge is appropriate, I don't know. That's for the lawyers who are privy to the case. But if I were a black Louisville I'd be pissed and out protesting; a cool legal explanation isn't going to quell that.

Contrary to the news conditioning we've been subject to a protest is a protest and a riot is a riot regardless of what instigated it.
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
All I can say is, this has been weighing me down something awful. As usual, people I know are firmly planting themselves on one side or another. BLM is 100% good or bad, the cops are 100% good or bad. Nobody wants to consider the notion that there is good and bad on both sides, and people are people regardless of the color of their skin or whether they wear a badge. So sick and tired of this shit.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Yeah nothing can go wrong here...x...3

...

Seattle pays ex-pimp $150,000 to offer ‘alternatives to policing’

Seattle now has on its payroll a convicted pimp who once vowed to “go to war” with the city — a $150,000 “street czar” whose mission is to come up with “alternatives to policing,” reports said.

Andre Taylor — who appeared in the documentary “American Pimp” about his life as “Gorgeous Dre” — is getting $12,500 per month for a year, along with an office in Seattle’s Municipal Tower, according to the contract published by PubliCola.

It comes just a year after his organization, Not This Time, was paid $100,000 to sponsor a speaker series that was called “Conversations with the Streets.”

Taylor led one of the first rallies in Seattle after the police-custody death of George Floyd, the Seattle Times said.

(More on the link)

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AD1184

Celestial
The charges against Hankison in the Breonna Taylor shooting case relate to endangerment of occupants of a neighbouring apartment to the one that Breonna Taylor was in when she was killed. It seems from this article:

Breonna Taylor Shooting: Officer accused of shooting through windows with blinds closed

that Hankison remained outside of the apartment building and fired into it. It seems also that he fired into the wrong apartment. The apartment with the bullet holes in the window in the pictures in the article is likely the apartment of Chelsey Napper, and these shots are likely what he faces charges of wanton endangerment for (three charges, so is that one charge for each of three bullets fired?).

The other two police officers, Mattingly and Cosgrove, it seems are the ones who killed Breonna Taylor when they answered fire from her boyfriend Kenneth Walker from the hallway outside of the apartment. Or at least, one of them fired the fatal shots, if not both of them.

I can't find any source to corroborate that Taylor was shot in the hallway outside of the apartment as suggested a few posts earlier in this thread by Rick. I have read somewhere that she died in the hallway of the apartment (which could be a room within the apartment itself which connects to other rooms, thus possibly being described as a hallway).

According to this article from the London Evening Standard:

US grand jury indicts police officer over Breonna Taylor shooting

[state Attorney General Daniel Cameron] said the police shots fired in Ms Taylor's apartment were "justified" under the law.

He said Hankison and the two other officers announced themselves before entering Ms Taylor's apartment and did not use a no-knock warrant.

Mr Cameron told reporters: "According to Kentucky law, the use of force by (Officers Jonathan Mattingly and (Myles) Cosgrove was justified to protect themselves. This justification bars us from pursuing criminal charges in Miss Breonna Taylor's death."

The authorities were quick to press charges of attempted murder and assault against Kenneth Walker (which were later dropped) and apparently did not await the verdict of a grand jury trial of the available evidence. As they say, justice delayed is justice denied. I wonder if Kentucky law says that it is justifiable to use force against armed intruders looking to break into your house in the dead of night unannounced (the fact of the police announcing themselves before knocking the door in with a battering ram is disputed).

Is it really justifiable self defence to fire at a target you cannot see in an occupied apartment building? If a police officer were firing his weapon on the street and did not take sufficient care and killed a bystander behind his intended target, is that also a 'justifiable' homicide?
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
I'm just reading news reports like everyone else, hopefully more official documents will be forthcoming. Not counting on it though. Yes, it is perfectly justifiable here to use deadly force against someone forcing their way into your home. In felony cases, you can be charged with a crime by the police and/or commonwealth's attorney, however you will not be tried until you are indicted by the grand jury. If the grand jury fails to indict, then double jeopardy applies. The charges against Walker were dropped before they could be presented to the grand jury.

On the question of an innocent bystander getting killed by a police bullet, it is not "justifiable" but would more likely be ruled accidental. There are plenty of cases of coppers handling their weapons in a totally negligent manner and shooting people with no charges filed. Or, endangering others by spraying an area with bullets. There is an unspoken double standard at work here, in which police are more likely to receive positive outcomes from the courts in these incidents, as I have alluded to in the 1994 case where a man died after being shot by a cop with a "malfunctioning" gun.

Politicians on both sides are already spinning this case to their maximum advantage, 'cause thats what they do!
 

nivek

As Above So Below
What a shocker...not...

...

Atlanta activist spent $200G in Black Lives Matter donations on house, personal expenses: FBI

The FBI has arrested the founder of a Black Lives Matter group in Atlanta on fraud and money laundering charges.

Sir Maejor Page, 32, was accused Friday of misappropriating $200,000 in donations he solicited through Facebook on behalf of Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta, Fox 5 Atlanta reported Friday.

Page was arrested in Toledo and released on bond after appearing before a judge via video. He did not immediately return messages Saturday from Fox News.

The Toledo FBI office opened an investigation last year after a cooperating witness submitted a fraud complaint against Page, whose real name is Tyree Conyers-Page, FBI agent Matthew Desorbo said in the complaint.

Page founded Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta in 2016 and this year took in more than $466,000 in donations in June, July and August, Desorbo said.

"In sum, Page has spent over $200,000 on personal items generated from
donations received through BLMGA Facebook page with no identifiable purchase or expenditure for social or racial justice," he said.

The FBI in Toledo said Page pledged to use those donations "for George Floyd" but instead used the money make purchases related to food, dining, entertainment, clothing, furniture, a home security system, tailored suits and accessories.

According to the bureau, Page also used $112,000 of the donated money to purchase a house for himself in Toledo, Ohio. The transaction took place last month.

(More on the link)

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Rick Hunter

Celestial
Alot of those donations probably came from poor people and/or those who have been bona fide victims of racism. May he rot in hell.
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
Alot of those donations probably came from poor people and/or those who have been bona fide victims of racism. May he rot in hell.

Totally unrelated to that, yesterday I saw one of my neighbors in my old home town set up a tiny food bank on her front porch and saw people going in and out.

Just when you want to lose faith in humanity, or rather be totally convinced of its true nature, you see something small like that. A bit sappy but I admit it got my attention. I'll probably go put in some of the stuff we bought out of fear when this first started and will never use .
 

nivek

As Above So Below
ACTOR RICK MORANIS SUCKER-PUNCHED IN HEAD ON UPPER WEST SIDE OF MANHATTAN

UPPER WEST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Police are searching for the man wanted in a random and violent attack on actor Rick Moranis on the Upper West Side. Video shows the moment the man sucker-punched a 67-year-old actor in the head.

It happened Thursday at 7:24 a.m. on West 70th street near Central Park West. The attacker continued walking away after throwing the punch. Moranis hurt his head, back, and hip in the attack and went to the hospital for evaluation.

Moranis may be best known for his work on "Ghostbusters," "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," "Little Shop of Horrors," among many others.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782)


 

nivek

As Above So Below
 

Rick Hunter

Celestial
ACTOR RICK MORANIS SUCKER-PUNCHED IN HEAD ON UPPER WEST SIDE OF MANHATTAN

UPPER WEST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Police are searching for the man wanted in a random and violent attack on actor Rick Moranis on the Upper West Side. Video shows the moment the man sucker-punched a 67-year-old actor in the head.

It happened Thursday at 7:24 a.m. on West 70th street near Central Park West. The attacker continued walking away after throwing the punch. Moranis hurt his head, back, and hip in the attack and went to the hospital for evaluation.

Moranis may be best known for his work on "Ghostbusters," "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," "Little Shop of Horrors," among many others.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782)




Rick Moranis attacked in New York City? Heresy!!
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
After everything we've seen, WTF is up with THIS ????????? At least they were instantly fired.
I guess when its actual human beings involved the response is more equivocal.
Perhaps the porcupines weren't following the instructions of uniformed officers.

Fired Rockland cops allegedly beat porcupines to death while on duty

Fired Rockland cops allegedly beat porcupines to death while on duty

October 6, 2020

Addison Cox, 27, of Warren and Michael Rolerson, 30, of Searsmont have been charged with aggravated animal cruelty and night hunting. Cox also faces a charge of unlawful use or possession of implements or aids, while Rolerson faces a charge of illuminating wild animals or birds.


Both officers were fired on Sept. 22. They are scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 9.

The alleged animal abuse was revealed in late August after another officer reported the killings to superiors, according to a Maine Warden Service report obtained by the Courier Gazette.


Cox and Rolerson beat porcupines to death with the batons on multiple occasions while on duty, the newspaper reported.

One apparent beating was posted to Snapchat groups — RPD Underground and the Night Crew — used by Rockland police primarily to share family photos to boost morale. In the video, Rolerson beat something on the ground with his baton, saying “I got it” as he returned to his cruiser. A photo of a dead porcupine was then posted, the Gazette reported, citing the investigative report.

Officer Kenneth Smith allegedly filmed and posted the video to the Snapchat group. Smith was placed on administrative leave. (There is also a Sgt. Kenneth Smith in the department.) He denies posting the video, the newspaper reported.

That was one of multiple acts of cruelty outlined in the warden service report. Rolerson allegedly told other officers that he sometimes pepper-sprayed porcupines before or after beating them.

One officer upon learning of the beatings drove to the scene of one on Bog Road, where he found, seven hours later, a beaten porcupine, still alive and twitching. The officer told investigators he was unsure whether to shoot the porcupine to end its suffering, the Gazette reported.

A sergeant, Scott Redmun II, called the beatings “shameful” in a report to the department’s chief, Christopher Young.

“Residents of the city of Rockland recently were victimized by an individual breaking into their homes and stealing valuable items in the middle of the night. During this time, you have uniformed officers on the Bog Road brutally torturing and killing innocent animals,” the Gazette quoted Redmun as saying in the report.

Cox and Rolerson reportedly admitted to the beatings and expressed regret. Rolerson estimated he killed eight porcupines and Cox three, according to the Gazette.


Young said last month that he learned of the allegations of misconduct on Aug. 28 and placed the two officers on administrative leave within 24 hours.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office conducted the internal investigation, while the Maine Warden Service conducted the criminal investigation.

Cox and Rolerson have filed a grievance through the police union challenging their firing.
 
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