WAVY-TV reports that a man died at the scene of an officer-involved shooting early morning on July 4 in Newport News, Virginia. An off-duty Newport News Detective who worked overnight security at the Stuart Gardens Apartments was allegedly told that 23-year-old Kawanza Jamal Beaty carried a shotgun. The officer then called backup. A K-9 Officer and a South Precinct sergeant arrived on the scene. The three Newport News police officers approached Beaty to question him. That’s when police said he fled. Police caught up with Beaty and one officer claims that Beaty was hiding something in his coat. Officers said he revealed the shotgun and pointed at them. Newport News Police Chief Richard Myers said that at least one officer commanded Beaty to drop the weapon. One officer fired three shots at Beaty. Beaty died at the scene. The officers were not hurt during the shooting, said Newport News Police spokesman Lou Thurston. The shotgun was recovered at the scene. A report revealed it was stolen during a burglary a few weeks ago in another town. A criminal investigation by the Newport News Police Department’s Homicide Unit and an internal investigation by Internal Affairs will be conducted, Thurston said. The three officers have been placed on administrative leave with pay. Beaty’s mother, Melisa Dargan said she couldn’t believe her son was armed with a shotgun. “He had a baby on the way,” Dargan said. “He’d been in that lifestyle. He just found out his baby’s mama was pregnant. He was turning his life around. He was getting his life together.”
The Independent Police Monitor’s Office released surveillance video of a New Orleans police officer and a 16-year-old girl that turned violent inside a holding cell. According to WDSU-TV, footage shows Terrance Saulny entering the holding cell with handcuffs for the unidentified teenager. Moments later, Saulny is seen pushing the girl into the bench and then into a wall. He is also seen striking the girl with the handcuffs. According to the NOPD, the incident happened on September 23 and involved a 16-year-old girl being held at the NOPD’s Juvenile Bureau. Following the incident, Saulny reported the use of force to his supervisor, who later contacted the Public Integrity Bureau to investigate the incident. Through surveillance video and body-worn camera video, authorities said Saulny used excessive force while processing the teen. Terrance Saulny denied using vulgarity during the incident, but investigators said the evidence revealed he did. Saulny was fired in June for unauthorized use of force and lying, according to the New Orleans Police Department.
A Fort Lauderdale police officer was suspended earlier last month and will be fired this Friday for allegedly posting racist material to his Facebook account, according to WPLG-Miami. The FLPD sent a letter to Officer Jeffrey Feldewert, dated June 11, that he will be suspended immediately with pay for 20 days, and his termination will be effective July 10. Feldwert’s suspension stemmed from a comment from December 18, 2014, in which he responded to a post about three Black involved in a bar fight. Felderwert wrote “Typical Hoodrat Behavior,” accompanied with a photo of a Black man being arrested by White police officers. The photo also included the caption, “Black People. Because without them the evening news wouldn’t be as much fun to watch.”
Three Stonecrest Mall security guards have been suspended without pay and prohibited from the mall after a video circulated online showed the men beating a teenager, reported WSB-TV. The incident happened at the mall in Lithonia, Georgia on June 27 just before 7 p.m. Mall security attempted to get a group of teenagers to leave the mall when the security guards began shouting profanities at the group, according to witnesses. When one teenager spoke up, witnesses told DeKalb County police a security guard threw the first punch at the 15-year-old. The video also revealed another teen hitting a security guard with a belt. The security guard suffered minor injuries from that attack. The police report indicated the other teen was trying to “defend his friend.” The teen was hospitalized after the incident, but appears to be fine according to the teen’s mother. No charges have been filed against anyone involved in the altercation. The identity of the teen in the video has not been released because he is a minor. Stonecrest Mall management sent Johnson the following statement: “The Mall at Stonecrest and Securitas, the third party company that provides the mall with security services, is currently working with the DeKalb Police Department while this incident is under investigation. The cellphone video went viral last week as it was posted on Facebook.
