Last Monday, a Los Angeles police officer was charged with assault by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office for kicking Clinton Alford, Jr. so hard he lost a filling following an arrest on October 16. Richard Garcia, who was removed from field duty by supervisors following the arrest, could face up to three years in jail if convicted of assault by a public officer. In the October arrest, police approached the 22-year-old because he allegedly matched the description of a robbery suspect, and he fled. Garcia assaulted him as he was on the ground, prosecutors said. Alford was initially charged with possession of rock cocaine and resisting arrest, but the charges were later dismissed. Authorities have surveillance video of the arrest, but they have not publicly released it, according to the Los Angeles police spokesman Lieutenant John Jenal. The LAPD said worked with the District Attorney’s Office on filing the charges, and that they are continuing their own investigation into the arrest within the department.
Over 1000 people took to the streets of Baltimore to protest the death of Freddie Gray, whose spine was severely severed while in police custody. Members of the Bloods and Crips street gangs reportedly agreed to a truce and joined in the protest together. Though the weekend’s demonstrations were mostly peaceful, there were a number of reports of conflicts sparked by local residents who disagreed with protestors. The Baltimore PD tweeted about damage to police cars, which only further enraged those who reminded them that the damaged vehicles were not comparable to the loss of Gray’s life.
An 18-year-old mother was shot by Minneapolis police last week and then allegedly handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car before receiving medical attention. The Minneapolis City Pages reports that Tania Harris was shot twice in the stomach as police approached her for brandishing a knife. Family members say she had been confronted by a group of women who came to her home to fight her and that she had the weapon to protect herself and her 8-month-old child; they also dispute the police claim that Harris was running with the knife when she was shot and say that she was standing still.
On April 21, LAPD officers reported to 3400 block of Manitou Avenue where they shot and killed Luis Molina Martinez after a frantic 911 call from the Martinez’s wife, who told dispatchers her husband was stabbing himself, Aguilar said. When they arrived, the 35-year-old still gripped a large hunting knife. According to Detective Meghan Aguilar, officers told him to put the knife down but he charged at them instead so they opened fire. Martinez was pronounced died at his home at 4:30pm on Tuesday. The identities of the officers who fired may be released after Chief Charlie Beck is informed of the details of the incident early this week, officials said.
Daniel Wolfe, 35, was shot and killed by a New Jersey state trooper last Tuesday after he allegedly rammed a stolen Jeep into a parked vehicle and then sped toward the trooper. Troopers from the State Police’s Interstate Theft North Unit were alerted to the location of the Jeep, which had been reported carjacked from its owner April 13 in Bloomfield, the state Attorney General’s Office said. Police attempted to block the Jeep to arrest Wolfe when he reversed the car and rammed a parked vehicle. He then allegedly accelerated forward in the direction of a trooper. The trooper fired multiple rounds and struck him in the shoulder and chest. Troopers removed Wolfe and provided him with medical aid. He was pronounced dead at University Hospital in Newark. Three troopers involved in the incident were taken to Overlook Medical Center in Summit, where they were examined and released, authorities said. The troopers have not been identified, citing ongoing interviews. The case is under investigation by the attorney general’s Shooting Response Team, which reviews cases of deadly force by State Police troopers.
Last Wednesday, a Portsmouth officer shot and killed an 18-year-old in a Walmart parking lot. On the morning of April 22, police were responding to a call from Walmart security shoplifting attempt. Police stated that William L. Chapman crossed the parking lot on foot when an officer approached him. The officer’s name has not been released. State police say a struggle ensued between the officer and Chapman.
A 24-year-old Seattle woman filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court alleging assault, false arrest and violation of her civil rights after she was punched in the face by a Seattle police officer and spent several days in jail but was never charged with a crime. Miyekko Durden-Bosley, filed a $1 million claim, a precursor to a lawsuit in January. Video showed Officer Adley Shepherd punching Durden-Bosley after she kicked him in the jaw early on June 22, 2014. She suffered a fractured orbital bone in one eye and a severe concussion from the incident. Durden-Bosley was initially arrested for suspicion of domestic violence. According to The Seattle Times, she spent several days in the King County Jail “before being released without the filing of any charges against her.” The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office did not bring a felony assault charge against Shepherd in December, citing that state law allows police the power to use “all necessary means,” up to and including deadly force, to make an arrest or overcome resistance to arrest. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle and the FBI are separately conducting a criminal review of the matter to determine if Durden-Bosley’s civil rights were violated. The Seattle Police Department’s internal investigation into whether Shepherd violated department policy has been put on hold.
