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Police Discretion in Hawaii during COVID-19

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Police Discretion in Hawaii during COVID-19

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Title: VIDEO: Honolulu Police Department has issued 60,000 coronavirus-related violations
Link: https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/10/28/breaking-news/watch-live-honolulu-police-department-deputy-chief-john-mccarthy-joins-honolulu-star-advertisers-spotlight-hawaii/

This article deals with police officers in Honolulu giving out citations for COVID-19 related reasonings including non-essential travel, not wearing face masks, and not social distancing.  However, this does not mean the number of citations given out as citations can have multiple violations on them. They also have the ability to arrest the person if they believe it is need. It is considered a misdemeanor which means up to $5,000 in fines and a year in jail.  Ethical considerations are that that this time, Oahu had about 20,000 cases and people were throwing huge parties which would risk the spread of COVID-19 which the police was trying to prevent. However, many people in the comments believe that it is a waste of time and money to prosecute each violation and how the police only listen to politicians or are corrupt. Another point that is brought up is that the county of Honolulu is bankrupt and this would bring in much need funds.

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In 2015, Mario Woods had just stabbed a woman and was standing with the bloody knife when five police officers shot and killed him. Although the Department of Police Accountability found that the officers used "unnecessary force," the officers received no discipline since they had not deviated from any policies that were in place then. The DPA concluded that the "shooting revealed wide-ranging lapses in the SFPD's policy at the time" and since the officers had not technically broken any rules, the DPA had no grounds to recommend discipline. The report also explained that the police department did not have an implemented de-escalation policy at the time of the incident. But since then, the DPA has made 17 additional policy recommendations, many of them aimed at how police investigate and evaluate the shootings after they happen.
The police officers involved in the killing of Mario Woods faced no repercussions because they hadn't technically broken any policies. But all five officers decided to shoot Woods at the same time when he started heading in the direction of a populated bus stop. They shot him a total of 27 times, immediately killing him. They had been deploying earlier "less-lethal" force on him and so this did not coordinate with the escalation resulting in the use of excessive force. As other news outlets reported, this incident was "part of a long history of racial tension in San Francisco." Some called the death of Woods at the hands of police San Francisco's "George Floyd" moment.
- Thresia V.

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The Department of Police Accountability has found that five officers who shot and killed Mario Woods in December 2015 all used "unnecessary force" - but ultimately concluded that the officers should receive no discipline, as they deviated from no policies at the time.

That is according to a report released Thursday by the Department of Police Accountability, the civilian oversight agency that conducted an independent investigation of the police shooting. Instead of finding that the officers' use of deadly force on Woods was a result of misconduct, the DPA concluded that the shooting revealed wide-ranging lapses in the SFPD's policy at the time.

"Arguably, the named officers' conduct at the moment they used deadly force could be found in policy in light of the Department's Use of Firearms policy that existed at the time of the incident," the report states. "In fact, SFPD did find the officers' conduct in policy. However, when considering the entire chain of events that led to the officers' use of lethal force, the DPA concludes that the excessive force allegation is the result of a policy failure."

In other words, the officers did not break any rules at the time, and the DPA had no grounds to recommend discipline.

The report explained that the police department did not have a codified de-escalation policy at the time of the incident. De-escalation, which the department implemented in December 2016, requires officers to use "time and distance" and "utilize cover" to diminish the likelihood of a tense situation where deadly force becomes more likely. Revised partly as a result of Woods' killing, the policy also stresses proportional use of force and that officers exhaust all necessary alternatives before resorting to deadly force.

Since that policy went into effect, overall use-of-force incidents have dropped precipitously. Moreover, the SFPD has not fatally shot a civilian since March 2018.

Nevertheless, as part of its report on the Woods shooting, the DPA made 17 additional policy recommendations, many of them aimed at how police investigate and evaluate the shootings after they happen.

Read the Department of Police Accountability's full report here.

For example, the DPA recommended that officers involved in a shooting be interviewed before they view their body-worn camera footage of the incident. It also recommended that, during their investigation of the shootings, higher-ups carefully factor in the phenomenon of "contagious fire," a reference to multiple shots being fired. That happened in the case of Woods - when officers shot at him 27 times - and in the case of Jesus Delgado, who officers shot at 99 times in the Mission in 2018.

In addition to the findings of unnecessary force in the killing of Woods, the DPA concluded that the officers who earlier deployed "less-lethal" force on Woods - pepper spray and beanbag rounds - did not coordinate, resulting in the use of excessive force.

"It did not appear that there was any communication, coordination or plan as to whether or when to use less lethal force," the report says.

Throughout 2020, the Mission has been the center of the pandemic in San Francisco.

Mission Local has been here to cover it.

Your generosity spilled over - we raised 108 percent of our goal!

Thank you & here is to a glorious

New Year!

Despite these failures, the DPA found that their conduct was "in policy," as there was no established policy at the time for these officers to break. The DPA blamed the resulting excessive force on a "policy failure."

"The DPA recommends that whenever less lethal force is used in conjunction with a deadly force incident, the officer-involved shooting review process should include a detailed analysis of whether the deployment of less lethal force is consistent with policy and training," the report says.

Although the SFPD's killing of Woods rocked San Francisco, prompting a U.S. Department of Justice review and changes in SFPD policy, there have been few consequences for the officers who shot him.

All five of the officers who shot woods - Charles August, Winson Seto, Nicholas Cuevas, Scott Phillips, Antonio Santos - remain with the SFPD, said police spokesman Officer Robert Rueca.

In addition, then-District Attorney George Gascón declined to file criminal charges against the officers in May 2018. And in June 2019, Gwen Woods, Mario's mother, settled a lawsuit with the city for $400,000 - a settlement that may have been larger if a judge hadn't granted the officers qualified immunity.

Reacting to the news, Nancy Pili, a Mission District police accountability activist, repeated an often-used chant: "If there are no consequences, there's no confidence."

"If you can execute a person with eight different officers surrounding him, and get away with it, then I have no confidence," she said.

Without serious consequences for these officers, she added, the SFPD is "a beast with no reins."
Keep coming back, and if you haven't already, support Mission Local's reporting.

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Officers who killed Mario Woods used 'unnecessary force' - but will face no discipline - Mission Local

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The Department of Police Accountability has found that five officers who shot and killed Mario Woods in December 2015 all used "unnecessary force" - but ultimately concluded that the officers should receive no discipline, as they deviated from no policies at the time.

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Some additional notes from the articles 

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Some additional notes from the articles 

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I was unable to add onto my last post so Ill put them here
“Hong Kong police have been granted sweeping new powers, including the ability to conduct raids without a warrant”. This gives police too much power and leeway that can become dangerous and unfair to the general population. “They also allow police to enter and search premises for evidence without a warrant
”. In a sense, this could be beneficial due to the fact that if someone was truly very dangerous, then the police wouldn’t have to wait for a warrant that could possibly take time away from detaining a suspect. “The new powers were revealed when Hong Kong authorities released “implementation rules” late on Monday and swiftly used them to crack down on democratic behaviors, such as holding a protest sign.”

It would be different if it were a violent protest but, if people are peaceful there is no reason to fine or detain someone for expressing their political views in public

Source 2
I believe that the stop and frisk technique is very unconstitutional. People should not have to be stopped and searched by an official without a true cause or if they haven’t seen someone committing a crime.It violates them in a way and if it is in public snd they are doing nothing wrong it can be very embarrassing and hurt someone’s ego or self-esteem. “It gives police license to racially profile people, and that minority residents are disproportionately targeted.” This is a very common case where minorities like African Americans and Latinos are more likely to be stopped and check than Caucasians Trump thinking that this could stop crimes before they are committed could be true but it can also be exposing and scary to the younger population who are commonly targets

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Police Discressoin in New Mexico During Covid 19

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Police Discressoin in New Mexico During Covid 19

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During the covid -19 pandemic New Mexico's main jail has Benn heavily impacted by the covid 19 pandemic. The Jail had severe outbreaks towards the middle of October resulting in 343 inmates testing positive for Covid on Oct. 16th. In response to this Cops around the Metropolitan area were instructed to use they're descension to decide to Let people off with warnings, or fine them for minor crimes such as drug offences. Its crazy that Covid 19 has created buy products in new Mexico at least that relate to our prior unit of Mass Incarceration, seemingly as a part time fix or at least a measure to help the issue.

https://www.koat.com/article/as-pandemic-slams-mdc-cops-asked-to-use-discretion-when-making-arrests/34388599

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This article, though not going into great depth about what occurred, has links to numerous other sources that go into greater depth. Sadly all of those are in French, so I decided to link this one instead.
On the 3rd of January 2020, a man called Cédric Chouviat was strangled as he was held to the ground by police officers, and was pronounced dead just 48 hours later. To paint a picture, this  article compares what happened to him, to what occurred in the United States with George Floyd just 142 days later. The police murdered this father of five, simply because he had said a few words about them, such as calling them "clowns" and "fools." Even as his skin was turning blue and he was telling them they were suffocating him, these officers acted on their frustration rather than in an organized legal way. They went in with the mindset that he was guilty, as they had previously stopped him for using his phone while riding his scooter, and having a dirty license plate.
- Alicia van 't Riet

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France's controversial new Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin prompted fresh anger on Wednesday by saying accusations of police brutality made him "choke", thereby echoing the words of a man who died January 5 after being pinned to the ground by French police while repeatedly pleading: "I am choking."

It was a scandal that shook France before the death of George Floyd in May sparked global protests against police brutality and systemic racial inequality.

Cédric Chouviat, a Frenchman of North African origin, died in hospital two days after a heated exchange with police. Officers pinned Chouviat, who was still wearing his scooter helmet, for about 20 seconds as he was being detained near the Eiffel Tower. The 42-year-old delivery man died of asphyxiation and his larynx was fractured.

Video of the incident showed him saying, " I'm choking," seven times before his body went limp.

The interior minister's declaration at the National Assembly (lower house) on Wednesday came as he was defending police against allegations of brutality, saying they use " legitimate violence".

"When I hear the term 'police violence', personally I choke," Darmanin told lawmakers.

Darminin used the term " Je m'étouffe", the same verb ( étouffer) used by Chouviat as he pleaded with police, which can mean to choke or suffocate but can also be used to express shock.

Darmanin's choice of words has "deeply scandalised and upset" the loved ones of the late Cédric Chouviat, lawyers for his family said in a statement.

"Everyone must consider what these words indicate about the contempt and cynicism the interior minister has for the families left bereaved or wounded by police violence," the lawyers said.

Three police officers have been charged with manslaughter over Chouviat's death.
Read also: 'Black and treated as such': Anti-racism protests expose the myth of a colour-blind France 'No ulterior motive'
Darmanin's appointment earlier this month despite an ongoing rape investigation against him sparked widespread anger and protests by women's rights groups. Appeals judges in Paris last month ordered a new investigation into claims that Darmanin raped a woman in 2009 after she sought his help to have a criminal record expunged. At the time, Darmanin was a legal affairs adviser.

He took over from Christophe Castaner as France's "top cop" at a time when the country is reeling from demonstrations against alleged police racism and brutality.

A new round of anti-police protests erupted in France in recent months after a report cleared the officers involved in another high-profile police brutality case. Adama Traoré, a 24-year-old black man, died in police custody in 2016 after allegedly also being pinned to the ground.

A report released by Human Rights Watch last month said that French police have " overly broad" discretion when it comes to conducting what it called "discriminatory and abusive checks on black and Arab boys and men".

A member of Darmanin's team told AFP the minister had simply employed "a commonly used French expression, understood by all" and that there had been "no ulterior motive" in his choice of words.

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said the minister's choice of words was "clearly not linked" to Chouviat's death and said the country should not get bogged down in "semantic battles".

But some derided the lack of sensitivity shown by Darmanin, even if unintentional.

Greens politician David Corman accused the minister of seeking to divert attention from his own legal troubles while Senator Laurence Rossignol tweeted simply, "#WordsKill".

"Those who have suffocated from police violence are unfortunately no longer here to talk about it," tweeted leftist European Parliament MP Manon Aubry, adding: "A terrible choice of words for a terribly guilty denial."

Ceux qui ont étouffé des violences policières ne sont malheureusement plus là pour en parler.

Terrible choix des mots pour un terrible déni coupable. https://t.co/L13duF8OSD
- Manon Aubry (@ManonAubryFr) July 28, 2020
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

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After choking incidents, French minister sparks anger by saying claims of police brutality make him 'choke'

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France's controversial new Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin prompted fresh anger on Wednesday by saying accusations of police brutality made him "choke", thereby echoing the words of a man who died January 5 after being pinned to the ground by French police while repeatedly pleading: "I am choking."

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https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-police-protesters-kettling-margaret-hunt-hill-bridge-11916828

police discretion in dallas
In this case, in a series of protest over the summer, police officers ushered protestors onto a bridge leading away from a rally. Then they used a technique referred to as kettling to essentially trap all of the protestors, and made nearly 700 arrests of the indivudals whom had found themselves on the highway. The discretion in this instance was the officers use of this technique, prior to the march they had decided that these indivudals were commiting a crime, and thus cornered them and arrested a very large portion of them.

However, at a later point in time, the Dallas Police Chief decided that they were not going to pursue charges on the individuals. In this instance i think the secondary instance of police discretion was ethical even though it was largely prompted by public outrage and pressure.  - Micaiah Kapumba

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This article talks about the many instances of police discretion in Pittsburgh, all the way back to August of 1841. This article was full of many different occasions, but I chose to focus on more recent ones. On December 22, 2019, police officers were called to a scene on the corner of Wood and Penn where there were reportedly two men with guns. When they were about two blocks away, they saw a man that they believed to fit the description of one of the other two men, and began a foot chase. The police claim that he turned and fired at him, and they then fired back. This man was named Romir "Rome" Talley, and he was shot seven times and died at the scene. Many people questioned the shooting, as the police did not have body cams or dash cams. This was also a case of mistaken identity, as Rome Talley wasn't one of the men that was originally reported to the police. At his vigil, an Allegheny County Councilwoman said this incident “…is yet another example of needed police oversight." I think that the police discretionary of assuming the identity of this man was wrong in this case, and that they should have made sure that they knew which men were apart of the armed dispute before they started chasing someone. - Sophia Linhardt

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A Pittsburgh Current Special Report
By Jody DiPerna and Elaine Frantz
Jody@pittsburghcurrent.com
Editor's Note: This story contains descriptions of violence and photos of people of color suffering abuse at the hands of police. Digital edition of the Pittsburgh Current can be found here.
L ike most of America, Pittsburgh's Black community has borne the brunt of more than its fair share of police brutality. Antwon Rose, II, Leon Ford, Jordan Miles, Jonny Gammage and Ernest T. Williams are names that may be familiar, and for the very worst reasons.

When law enforcement and race converge, the results are often alarming, maddening and tragic.

The Pittsburgh Current has compiled some of the key events in the painful history of police violence against the Black community in Pittsburgh.

About The Authors

Jody DiPerna is a senior contributing writer for Pittsburgh Current and has been published in numerous outlets. She contributed to Belt Publishing's The Pittsburgh Anthology and The Love of Baseball by McFarland Press. She is at work on a project chronicling the history and lives of LGBT folks in industrial Appalachia. A child of Western Pennsylvania, she adores her hometown unreservedly, warts and all.

Elaine Frantz is a Professor of History at Kent State University. She is the author of Manhood Lost: Drunken Men and Redeeming Women in the Nineteenth-Century United States (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002) and Ku-Klux: The Rise of the Klan during Reconstruction (University of North Carolina Press, 2016). She is currently writing a book about the history of policing in Pittsburgh.

Because there are more than 100 different police departments in metropolitan Pittsburgh, we have included incidents from those municipalities, as well as other law enforcement bodies, such as the Port Authority Police and the Pittsburgh Housing Police. It doesn't really matter who is wearing the badge - these incidents represent the very real, very lived-in experience of Black Pittsburghers.

This timeline is meant as a way into the legacy of racially discriminatory law enforcement. We are disheartened that we were unable to chronicle rape and sexual violence cases herein, simply because they are very rarely reported, if at all.

This is our attempt to acknowledge and understand the history and foundations of policing of Black bodies and Black spaces. Our hope is that by examining our history, by searching for the connections and throughlines, we can move forward as a community to a more just and equitable future.

If this timeline contains inaccuracies or omissions, please let us know by emailing: jody@pittsburghcurrent.com

1816-1857
THE FORMATION OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT

O n March 14, 1816, the Pennsylvania Assembly established Pittsburgh as a City. In August, Pittsburgh Common Councils established a 'Night Watch' and set aside $300 for funding.

It was disbanded in March of 1817, although there was some form of watch used to police the city for the next two decades. Via an April, 1836 Ordinance, the Pittsburgh Police Committee was established, staffed by one Captain, two Lieutenants and sixteen watchmen.

***

In 1851, Mayor John B. Guthrie informed the Select and Common Councils that, with the approval of the Police Committee and under powers granted by the 1836 ordinance, he had appointed nineteen additional watchmen. He urged the Councils to consider raising the size of the force to seventy-five, saying, "the lives and property of our citizens are more deserving of greater consideration than many other objects on which large sums of money are expended."

***

In 1857, the Pittsburgh Police Department was founded - a modern force of salaried and full-time officers.

August 1841

The State Convention of Colored Freemen was held in Pittsburgh for the "improvement of the condition of colored people in this State." Similar conventions had been held in Philadelphia and other northern cities in the years leading up to the Civil War and afterwards. The delegates at the conventions consisted of both free and fugitive enslaved people. The conventions were created to provide, "organizational structure through which black men could maintain a distinct black leadership and pursue black abolitionist goals."

December 1860

Officers Munn and Taylor, two night watchmen, encountered a Black man named Alfred Jordan, walking down Liberty Avenue near the train station. To the watchmen, Jordan seemed intoxicated and could not account for what he was doing. They arrested him. He said he had done nothing wrong and resisted, ultimately biting and kicking at them.

They used their maces (what we now call nightsticks or billy clubs) striking him repeatedly, including, striking him after he was down and "apparently in no condition to offer any violence to the officers." Witnesses testified to the beating. Mayor George Wilson fired Munn, whom he had previously warned about excessive violence; he suspended Taylor. The mayor stated that accepting "hard usage" was part of the police's job, and they should only use their mace in extreme circumstances, like apprehending a murderer.

May 1915

T he National Fraternal Order of Police was formed in Pittsburgh, with Fort Pitt Lodge #1. It was intended to "promote the general welfare of its members, to listen to their grievances and to seek better conditions regarding working hours and to eliminate many alleged political abuses to which the men who tramp 'beats' have said they were subjected ..."

Red Summer of 1919

T he Red Summer of 1919 stretched from late-winter to late-summer of that year. Black citizens and communities were targeted by white citizens causing hundreds of Black people to be injured or killed, according to the Equal Justice Initiative.

There were large-scale attacks across the country. Many newspapers and media accounts of the time refer to these acts of violence as so-called race riots. However, history tells a different story.

From the EJI: "NAACP membership nationwide had grown more than tenfold, and many Black people were moving to the North and West searching for work and safety from widespread lynching and Jim Crow segregation in the South. Black veterans especially were targeted by white mobs and police who used racist violence to maintain the racial hierarchy.

"During what became known as the Red Summer of 1919, anti-Black riots erupted in 25 major American cities, including Houston, Texas; East St. Louis and Chicago, Illinois; Washington, D.C.; Omaha, Nebraska; Elaine, Arkansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Charleston, South Carolina. White mobs intent on protecting their economic and social dominance from growing communities of Black workers attacked Black communities, destroyed property, and killed or injured hundreds of Black people.

"Newspapers reported that Black veterans stood "on the front lines" to defend themselves and their communities from these attacks. One of the first victims of Red Summer in Washington, D.C., was a 22-year-old Black veteran named Randall Neal.

"In the fall of 1919, a report on the causes and scope of Red Summer concluded that "the persistence of unpunished lynching" contributed to a mob mentality among white men and fueled a new commitment to self-defense among Black men emboldened by military service."

Between April and November 1919, there were 97 known lynchings.

T he Pittsburgh Courier archives from 1913 to 1922 are missing or were destroyed. Because of the lack of Courier coverage for the summer of 1919, and because Pittsburgh's white papers did not reliably or fairly report violence against Black people, it is hard to get an accurate sense of what violence was visited upon Black Pittsburghers and how police participated in or responded to it. The stories we do have paint a complicated picture, though a terrifying one for Black people in Pittsburgh.

There are stories of notices being posted in Black communities reading, "The war is over, Negroes. Stay in your place. If you don't, we'll put you there."

Two motorcycle officers apparently saved a Black man who was being pursued by a mob of hundreds of white people at Webster Avenue and Washington Street, after a conflict involving gambling. Newspapers were also full of sensational descriptions of alleged atrocities by "Negroes," often ending by describing police as "on the hunt" for the perpetrators. Headlines like, "Negro's Skull Fractured in Resisting Patrolman" were common.

Nationwide, white mobs attacked Black people and Black neighborhoods in a period that is regarded as one of the worst periods of white-on-Black mob violence in U.S. history. Over ten months there were at least 25 riots. More than 250 Black people were killed without repercussion. Victims were lynched, burned, shot and beaten to death. Thousands saw their homes and businesses destroyed.

October 27, 1919

A lbert Jeter, a 60 year-old Black man, was waiting for a streetcar when he was robbed of $50 by a uniformed officer. The patrolman claimed that he searched Jeter because he could 'not give a good account of himself.' ( Read an Essay from Author Deesha Philyaw inspired by this item.)

June 2, 1923

P oliceman William Fullerton, of the 43rd Street Police station, was charged with the murder of Thomas Richardson, a 33 year-old Black man. According to the Pittsburgh Courier, Fullerton had a reputation for violence and shooting. Charlie Richardson, the brother of the victim, told the Courier that Fullerton had arrested Thomas for interfering in police business and as he was walking Thomas to the patrol box, Fullerton shot him.

At his trial in December, 1924, Fullerton claimed that Richardson pulled a gun. The Pittsburgh Press reported that he shot Richardson in the chest, but the Courier reported that he shot Richardson in the back, at close range. The jury deliberated for 10 minutes before acquitting Fullerton.

June 25, 1925

Representatives from the Hill District met with County Council to report systematic police brutality and terrorism against Black residents. Council directed the Director of Public Safety to:"Go up there and clean up; throw out those responsible and put in new ... We don't want you to investigate it - we don't want reports, but we want this handled as it should be handled. ... You have heard what these people said, and we all know that they have not come here just to hear themselves talk."

1928

The ACLU published 'The Shame of Pennsylvania,' which contended that Pennsylvania had, "more police violence, brutality, violations of civil rights ..." than any state in the union; it documented police violence against workers throughout the state, including Pittsburgh. It reasoned:"The industrial conflict in Pennsylvania will continue to be marked by bloodshed and violence as long as the thousands of public and private police are allowed to abuse their powers without inquiry or punishment... [the Governor must act, because] the legislature can do nothing except abolish the police, which is not conceivable."

Dec. 19, 1931

J ohn Thornton was stopped by police near his home. Officer Stanley Fajurski searched him and found an unloaded revolver. The officer then beat Thorton in the head with a mace (billy club/nightstick.) In March of 1932, Officer Fajurski was found guilty of aggravated assault and battery. News of the officer's conviction appeared on page 25 of the March 18, 1932 edition of the Pittsburgh Press.

April 1932

Thomas Phoenix and Thomas Holland were held as theft suspects by the Coraopolis police. Both men, both Black, were beaten unmercifully while at the jail. According to testimony of one of the prisoners, as well as several other members of the police force, Chief Kieszek tightened the handcuffs on Phoenix until his wrists bled. He gagged him, kicked him and beat him in the stomach with a blackjack. The Chief of Police and five other policemen in Coraopolis were dismissed by the Borough council.

June 3, 1933

Police officer Tony Bettors shot wildly on Wylie Avenue and Arthur Street in the Hill District as he chased suspect Roosevelt Jones. Witnesses say that the incident began outside a speakeasy said to be owned by officer Bettors' family. Charges of felonious shooting against officer Bettors were later dismissed.

July 25, 1934

After several high-profile cases of arrestees with cracked skulls, Pittsburgh Mayor William N. McNair considered forbidding police from carrying nightsticks (or maces) and said, "It's too easy for them to use their clubs on people's heads." This marked a reconsideration of prohibition-era policing tactics - in the 1920s, police had often been expected to "use night-sticks freely," particularly when conducting raids on areas like the Hill District.

July 25, 1934

A Black man was arrested because somebody called the police on him for fear that he might attack one of the kids playing nearby. Verbatim reporting from the Pittsburgh Courier titled the incident, 'LUCKY MAN,' and described the event as follows:

"William Lynch, of 402 Adelaide street (sic) was arrested on Melwood Street, after someone sent in a call for the Radio Car. Lynch was supposed to have been playing with some kids and it was feared that he might 'attack' one of the girls.

"When the Radio Car got there, they found Lynch alone and no one to verify the story. He was taken to the Oakland Police Station after a 'number' book was found in his possession. He was charged with gambling, not rape, and fined the next morning." ( Read Caitlyn Hunter's Essay inspired by this item here.)

March 28, 1934

Aloysius Spaulding, a Black man, and an ex-boxer from the Hill District, died of a suspicious suicide in his jail cell three days after he was arrested for killing police officer William Heagy. Mayor David L. Lawrence called for an investigation into charges of widespread police mistreatment of Black prisoners. The investigation found no evidence of foul play.

November 18, 1958

Police created the K-9 Corps. Used widely for guard duties in the Second World War, dogs such as German Shepherds were said to have "psychological value" on would-be lawbreakers.

1965-1967

B lack Pittsburghers fought back against police brutality through local chapters of national organizations like the NAACP, Urban League, CORE and the ACLU but also through local organizations like Citizen's Committee Against Police Brutality, Big Daddies of Beltzhoover, and Civilian Alert Patrols, in order to observe, document, prevent, and protest police violence against Black people.

November 1967

I n November 1967, the police began using chemical mace manufactured by a local company. It was said to be a "more humane" alternative to nightsticks, particularly for suppressing riots. One of its first local uses was against student protesters at Oliver High School.

Spring 1968
Kerner Commission Report Issued in March

The American summer of 1967 was full of racial turbulence as pent-up frustrations boiled over in many poor and poorly-served African-American neighborhoods. There were widespread riots. In Detroit, 43 people died. Twenty-six people died in Newark. Many white Americans blamed the riots on outside agitators or on young Black men, in particular.

President Lyndon B. Johnson constituted the Kerner Commission to identify the causes of the uprisings and unrest. In March 1968, the Kerner Commission released its findings - white racism, not Black anger - was the match that lit the flame. The Kerner Commission warned that the United States was so divided it was poised to fracture into two radically unequal societies.

The commission reported:"White society is deeply implicated in the ghetto. White institutions created it, white institutions maintain it, and white society condones it."

April 4, 1968
Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated

Nationwide protests and unrest were sparked by the assassination of MLK, including actions in traditionally Black neighborhoods in Pittsburgh - the Hill District, Homewood, and the North Side. The Pittsburgh police were deployed and the National Guard was called in to enforce a curfew in the Hill. The week of violence saw one death and 926 arrests.

In the wake of King's assassination, the Pittsburgh Police introduced a 'Tactical Patrol Force' with special equipment and training, aimed at policing, "civil disturbance, labor disputes, demonstrations, and large public gatherings." A Post-Gazette editorial later noted:"By its verbal and physical abuse of arrested persons, the TPF has appeared to use its authority to punish those associated with unpopular causes rather than simply to maintain the peace."

The almost-entirely white force was directed largely at young Black people, sometimes at local high schools, and became extremely controversial. Among Black Pittsburghers, it was sometimes referred to as a 'gestapo' or 'goon squad" The force was eliminated in 1971.

August 27, 1969

In August of 1969, after days of protest, the NAACP wrote to Mayor Joseph Barr about police brutality in the arrests of demonstrators at the Manchester Bridge and Sixth and Liberty Avenues. The demonstrations, organized by Operation Dig and led by Nate Smith, were peaceful protests in response to the hiring of all-white or nearly all-white work crews for the construction of both Three Rivers Stadium and the U.S. Steel Building. Roy Wilkins, executive director of the NAACP, said the organization "vigorously protests unwarranted police brutality, use of Chemical Mace, and the arrests of 131 demonstrators.

February 1970

P ittsburgh created its Narcotics Division, one year before President Richard M. Nixon declared a "War on Drugs." Through the rest of the twentieth century, the Pittsburgh Police would increasingly focus on drug-related arrests, particularly in communities of color.

April 17, 1971

G eorge Cotton, a 19-year-old disabled youth, was beaten by four police officers from 5 Station. The case was brought to light by firefighter Williams Jenkins, who witnessed the beating. Neighborhood Legal Services went public with other such complaints of police brutality, including the beating of 15-year-old Vernon Mitchell, also by officers from 5 Station; and the beating of 19 year-old Terrence McKnight, who suffered a leg fracture while in the custody of 4 Station police.

F.W. Quinlan, president of the local FOP, was quoted as saying that it was all part of a conspiracy to undermine authority by, "those groups of people who have caused the problems in the universities, in the prisons, and on the streets." When asked who those groups of people were, Quinan responded, "I would hope the government knows who they are."

June 22, 1971

P atrolman Howard Landers shot and killed 19 year-old Ernest T. Williams. Landers claimed he thought Williams was another man - escaped murderer, Leonard Moses. A coroner's jury ordered the patrolman to be held for involuntary manslaughter charges. The following day, the police trial board exonerated Landers of improperly discharging his gun.

In September of that same year, after a high-speed chase, police officers shot John Williams, the 17-year-old brother of Ernest Williams, on the Boulevard of the Allies. John Williams survived. His father told the Pittsburgh Press at the time that it was "more than coincidental" that a second son was shot by the police.

November 1971

I n November 1971, District Judge Rabe A. Marsh issued an injunction requiring six white Pittsburgh police officers to stop, "harassing, threatening, intimidating, and beating" Black Pittsburgh residents. Witnesses testified that the officers had beaten Black residents around the East Liberty, Homewood and Brushton neighborhoods with clubs, blackjacks (a piece of metal covered by leather, with a metal handle) and lead-weighted gloves. The six officers were transferred to another station.

The FOP objected to the ruling with President Francis Quinlan claiming: "If the public allows this to continue, the hands of the police will be tied and the death knell of law enforcement shall be rung."

December 1975

F ederal Judge Gerald J. Weber ruled that the hiring practices of the Pittsburgh Police Department showed 'racial and sexual discrimination,' and issued an Order on hiring in the Department. He set new guidelines for the hiring of new officers and said that the city must develop a better system of qualifications 'free from racial and sexual bias.'

November 1978

T he Pennsylvania Justice Department was called in to assist in a fact-finding commission on alleged police brutality in Wilkinsburg. Deputy State Attorney General Michael Louik received 12 complaints regarding six different incidents of police brutality in the municipality. The state hearings were separate from an FBI probe of the beating of three Black men after they were arrested by the Wilkinsburg PD. The three men said they were arrested under false pretenses and beaten while in the Wilkinsburg jail.

August 18, 1979

F ollowing a traffic accident on the night of August 18th, Lillian Sands claimed that Swissvale police officers Nuzzo and Ohrman took her to the station, took $100 out of her purse and refused to return the money. Her son, Willie Sands, came to the station to pick up his mother. She told him that the police had hit her. Willie said that he was hit in the head with a club by a policeman. He needed six stitches to close his head wound. Police charged him with disorderly conduct and assault. [He was acquitted.] In Sept. 1981, the Borough paid $2,000 to Sands and her son to settle out of court.

Sept. 5, 1981

William B. Robison and his son, William Robison, Jr., claim they were attacked by a police dog, beaten and had mace used on them by the Swissvale Police in an altercation in Regent Square. On October 10th, DA Robert Colville approved a request by Robinson's attorney to file criminal charges against several Swissvale police officers. At trial, the police testified that the younger Robinson struck one of the officers during a traffic stop and that the elder Robinson was bitten by a police dog, but only when he was attempting to strike an officer. Both Swissvale officers were acquitted.

April 10, 1984

Anthony Agurs was killed by Pittsburgh police officer Bernard Hont, who struck him with a car in the Stanton Heights Shopping Center parking lot. The 15 year-old Agurs died when he was pinned between two vehicles - a stolen automobile (from which he and two other youths allegedly had been seen running) which Hont was driving and a police automobile. Hont was acquitted of vehicular homicide, but the City paid over $100,000 to Agurs' family to settle a civil lawsuit.

In 1988, Bernard Hont was convicted of five counts of burglary and one count each of conspiracy and theft. In December of 1994, Hont was again sentenced, this time for selling cocaine and paying off on video poker machines at a bar he operated.

Feb. 12, 1992

Wilkinsburg Police shot and killed Duwayne Dixon in a routine drug sweep. They first claimed that he pulled a gun and fired on them. Later, police stated that, though Dixon had a gun, he didn't shoot; rather, as they grabbed him, the gun fell to the ground and went off. Dixon's mother said that her son was handcuffed at the time of the shooting and his death was nothing short of an execution. Wilkinsburg Police chief Daniel Rearick stated that Dixon was not handcuffed at the scene.

August 12, 1993

Anthony Walton, Jr, 33 years old, was shot and killed by an off-duty McKeesport police officer. Officer Javan Wilson, III, was outside a bar in McKeesport when Walton nearly drove his car into another McKeesport officer. Walton's blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit. Wilson got in his car and chased Walton through McKeesport, across the Duquesne Bridge and into Dravosburg. Wilson fired seven shots at Walton, two of which struck and killed him. A coroner's jury recommended involuntary manslaughter charges be brought against officer Wilson. He was acquitted in August 1994.

November 20, 1993

Maneia "Stoney" Bey was shot and killed by police in East Liberty. Eighteen officers were called to the scene. Bey was shot while running from the police. The coroner's reports state that 13 bullets struck Bey in the back. According to the Post-Gazette, after hearing from 33 witnesses over two days, a coroner's jury voted (4-2) to recommend no charges be filed against six officers who fired at Bey.

April 28, 1995

Anthony Starks, 30, of Rockville, Maryland, died after being restrained by city police in an East Liberty apartment building where he had been smoking cocaine and drinking with friends. Police admitted striking Starks on the face and hands, while other witnesses testified that police kicked him in the head and abdomen and beat him with nightsticks. Deputy Coroner Arthur G. Gilkes Jr. ruled that Starks' death while in police custody was accidental. Gilkes concurred with a forensic pathologist who said blunt force trauma played no part in Starks' death - the probable cause was cocaine abuse and heart disease.

April 6, 1995
The pursuit and death of Jerry Jackson

Jerry Jackson was killed in a barrage of bullets in the Armstrong Tunnels after a car chase. At least 51 rounds were fired and Jackson was shot 14 times. Thirteen of the bullets which struck Jackson were fired by Pittsburgh Housing Authority officer John Charmo.

An initial investigation cleared Charmo, but a second investigation, including a second inquest by Cyril Wecht, led to DA Stephen Zappala filing charges. That second investigation only happened because Jerry's mother, Ina, filed a civil lawsuit. During Discovery, it was discovered that a trove of evidence had been suppressed and that disputed Charmo's claims of self-defense. He alleged that Jackson had managed to turn his car around inside the tunnel. Twice. But wheel markings in the Armstrong Tunnels from Jackson's car invalidated that specific claim. On the evening of Jackson's death, the city's top accident recreation specialist was sent away from the scene by then-Homicide Commander Ron Freeman. The reconstructionist, who testified that he knew Charmo's story was a lie, was not allowed to examine the deep tire tracks made by the rim of Jackson's vehicle. A poor-quality video was taken but was never presented to a coroner's inquest jury. During Charmo's trial, nearly all detectives on the scene that night testified that they didn't believe Charmo's story but claimed they didn't tell a superior or the D.A.'s office because they were allegedly never asked.

The Housing Authority officer fired at Jackson with unauthorized Black Talon hollow-point bullets. [In 1993, in an unprecedented move, the Winchester company limited sales of the Black Talon to law enforcement only. These bullets were manufactured to expand on impact, exposing sharp edges to maximize damage to human flesh.]

Charmo pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges on October 11, 2001.He was sentenced to more than 11 months, but because of time served and credit for good behavior, he was home that year by Christmas.

Oct. 12, 1995
The Murder of Jonny Gammage

On October 12, 1995, Jonny Gammage was driving north on Route 51, headed home to his Moon Township apartment. He was driving a 1988 Jaguar that belonged to his cousin, Ray Seals, a defensive end with the Steelers.

Brentwood Police Lieutenant Milton Mulholland started tailing him. Mulholland later testified that the car had an expired Florida registration, but according to Jean Kessner, a reporter who covered the trial for WIXT Syracuse (Gammage's hometown), Mulholland said he thought it was suspicious for someone driving a luxury car to go 10 miles under the speed limit. That was his reason for pulling Gammage over.

Gammage drove for a bit before pulling over and Mulholland called for backup. Brentwood officer John Vojtas responded, as did Whitehall Borough Sergeant Keith Henderson, who was close by. Gammage pulled the Jag over near Frank and Shirley's diner on Route 51, just inside City of Pittsburgh limits.

When Henderson arrived, Mulholland was standing at the driver's side window of the Jag talking to Gammage. Henderson shined his flashlight into the car and saw Gammage on his cell phone inside. He drew his weapon. Vojtas arrived and likewise drew his weapon and began yelling at Gammage to get out of the car.

Gammage got out of the car, his cell phone and date book still in hand. Vojtas knocked the items to the ground using his flashlight and, according to the officers' testimony, Vojtas raised his flashlight and Gammage knocked it from his hand. Vojtas and Henderson tackled Gammage and wrestled him to the ground. Mulholland joined in, helping to pin him down. By this point, officers Michael Albert and Shawn Patterson, of the Baldwin and Whitehall Police departments, respectively, arrived and also got involved.

The officers held Gammage down and one or more of them hit him with flashlights. He was eventually handcuffed and, though cuffed, Henderson and Patterson continued to hold him face-down on the ground. One officer sat on his legs and the other held his upper body down.

Within seven minutes, Gammage was dead.

The autopsy by the Allegheny County medical examiner concluded that Gammage died of "positional asphyxia." Which is to say, the pressure on the young man's back and neck as he was being held face-down made it impossible for him to breathe. His death was ruled a homicide and a coroner's jury recommended homicide charges be brought against all five officers. Instead, the Allegheny County district attorney, Bob Colville, charged Mullholland, Albert and Vojtas with the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.

The case against Mulholland and Albert ended in two mistrials and the case was dismissed. Vojtas was acquitted by an all-white jury.

Pittsburghers old enough to remember Gammage's tragic killing couldn't help but hear his echoes when George Floyd was killed by the police in Minneapolis on May 25 of this year.

Jonny Gammage was just 31 years old.

February 8, 1997

Gerald Potter, 19, was killed by off-duty Pittsburgh police officer Fred Crawford, Jr. in the Small Wood Bar in Homewood, after he displayed an unloaded gun. Witnesses said that Potter had the gun, but that Crawford never identified himself as Pittsburgh police, as he claimed, and that he was wearing a checked flannel jacket over his uniform, so it wasn't obvious he was the police.

Though the deputy coroner ruled Crawford was justified when he shot and killed Potter, he also found Crawford's version of events was not believable. Deputy coroner Timothy Uhlrich stated, "I find no credibility in the testimony of Mr. Crawford."

April 1997
Pittsburgh Police enter into Federal Consent Decree

In April of 1997, a Consent Decree to restructure the City of Pittsburgh Police Department was entered into after the ACLU filed a 1996 class-action lawsuit against the Pittsburgh Police.

The US Justice Department intervened to restructure the city's police department and its citizen complaint system. Pittsburgh had been sued more than 100 times for police civil rights violations during the 1990s, the head of the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said in an interview with the Washington Post. Justice Department officials said it was the content and pattern of suits in Pittsburgh - not the quantity - that prompted federal intervention.

On July 115th, the Citizen Police Review Board opened its doors to community complaints as part of the Consent Decree.

This was the first such consent decree of its kind in the nation and it was hoped that it might be a model for other police departments. While the decree was in place, Pittsburgh curtailed strip searches, began documenting traffic stops, gave officers 'cultural diversity' training and tracked civilian complaints. The New York Times reports that, from the outset:"the police union balked, warning of 'more drive-by shootings, more drugs' and a spike in crime."

Dec. 21, 1998

Deron Grimmit was killed in the Hill District by Pittsburgh police officer Jeffrey Cooperstein. Grimmit, 32, slowed down his car as he passed police officers making a drug arrest. Police said they sought to detain him to ask why he slowed down.

Cooperstein claimed he was afraid Grimmit would run over him with his car and that he fired in self-defense. A coroner's inquest established that Grimmitt was shot through the passenger side window, not head-on, as might be expected if he were driving toward the officer. Cooperstein fired four rounds into the side window of Grimmit's car. The shot that killed Grimmit hit him on the left side of the head, just above his ear.

Cooperstein was a frequent and vocal contributor to the Blue Knight website, posting angry diatribes against a variety of targets, including Pittsburgh Police Chief Robert W.McNeilly, Jr. The Blue Knight webpage routinely blasted the department and defended the five white suburban officers who suffocated Jonny Gammage.

[Cooperstein's Blue Knight alter ego became a focal point in his trial:prosecutors claimed Cooperstein himself was the creator and moderator of the site, not just a person posting comments; he would neither confirm nor deny that he was The Blue Knight.]

In February of 2000, a jury acquitted Cooperstein of homicide in the shooting of Deron Grimmit. In May of that year, the city made payments of $61,000 (back pay) and $150,000 (medical disability) to Cooperstein to get him off the force.

2002

T he 1997 federal consent decree expires.

August 26, 2006

During a traffic stop at Kentucky and Negley Avenues for an expired inspection sticker on Pamela Lawton's car, police officer Eric Tatsuko allegedly pulled a gun on the unarmed woman and reportedly pointed it at her 7-year-old daughter. Joseph K. Williams, attorney for Lawton, contended that the officer threatened to "blow [her daughter's] brains out." Because Lawton's insurance and registration weren't current, her car was towed and she was cited. Weeks after the incident, Lawton received another citation for disorderly conduct. She was acquitted.

May 6, 2008

Justin Jackson, 19 years old, was fatally shot by a Pittsburgh police officer along Arlington Avenue in Mount Oliver. Police said Jackson had a gun in his hands and that the officer released his K-9 partner to subdue him. Police said Mr. Jackson shot the dog dead and the officers returned fire.

Jackson's family disputed the police account and maintained that the teenager did not have a gun. At Jackson's funeral, Bishop Otis L. Carswell said, "There needs to be a reformation in our city, a straightening of something that is not quite right. The status quo can no longer work in our city. No more business as usual in our city."

January 12, 2010
The Beating of Jordan Miles

Around 11 p.m., Jordan Miles was walking from his mom's house to his grandmother's house. An unmarked car pulled up behind him. A man jumped out and asked him to hand over the drugs and hand over his gun. He turned to run. He slipped and fell on the ice. Two other men got out of the car. He struggled with them, but they administered a beating. He thought he was going to die. Eventually, they clicked handcuffs on him.

A police van arrived and they loaded him into it. Until the uniformed cops arrived, Miles says he didn't know the men were police. The police assert that they told him they were police from the jump. And they were certain Miles had a gun on him, that he was acting furtively, and his one coat pocket was heavier than the other. They didn't find a gun on him and despite searching and re-searching the area, they never found a gun.

They charged the 18-year-old CAPA senior with aggravated assault and resisting arrest.

Eventually, Miles was taken to jail and able to call his mom. His mom and grandmother came to pick him up. By this point, his face was so swollen and bruised his mother barely recognized him.

Two months after the incident, the charges against Miles were dropped at a preliminary hearing, a highly unusual event. District Attorney Zappala could have re-filed the charges against Miles and the FOP wanted him to, but he didn't. He also didn't charge the three police officers, after an investigation by his office. The FBI investigated as well but chose not to charge the officers.

Miles sued the police and the city in federal court. During the trial, lawyers representing the officers took turns calling Miles' character into question and belittling him at every opportunity.

Pittsburgh Current Editor Charlie Dei tch wrote at the time: "Jordan Miles' eye is not swollen shut, this time. There is no knot on his head. His hair hasn't been ripped out. But after watching the three-week-long trial in his civil-rights lawsuit against three Pittsburgh police officers, it's hard not to feel like he's been battered all over again."

After two civil trials, Miles was given a settlement of $125,000.00. ( Read about a new book that thoroughly examines the Miles case here.)

December 2012

D uring a traffic stop on the North Side, Anthony Kenney says he was beaten and pistol-whipped by Pittsburgh Police officer Matthew Turko. A federal jury awarded Kenney $105,000 in compensatory and punitive damages after a trial in July 2014.

November 12, 2012The Shooting of Leon Ford

Leon Ford was shot multiple times during a traffic stop in Highland Park. Ford was pulled over by two officers who mistook him for a suspect with a similar name. They thought he might be Lamont Ford, a member of a violent street gang.

Nineteen years old at the time, Leon Ford handed over his license, insurance, and registration, as requested. Later, during the civil trial in Federal Court, he testified that the officers seemed fixated on the idea that he was Lamont, even though he was no relation to him, had no connection to him, and his papers all identified him as Leon Ford, not Lamont Ford.

When officer David Derbish arrived at the scene, he said that he saw a bulge in Ford's pocket that he thought was a gun and Ford was reaching that way. He jumped into the car, very much in violation of police protocol. The engine was still running. According to the officer, Ford grabbed the gearshift and he grabbed Ford's hand with his left hand. The car took off.

Detective Derbish drew his gun and shot Ford five times. The car crashed into a porch a few yards away. The police arrested Ford for aggravated assault. One of the bullets pierced Leon Ford's spine and he was paralyzed.

District Attorney Stephen Zappala pushed forward with prosecuting Ford. The jury acquitted him in 2014 of the most serious charges and deadlocked on five others. He will not be retried

Pittsburgh settled a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Ford for $5.5 million in January of 2018.

Since his shooting, Ford has become an outspoken critic of police brutality and the systemic racism that exists in the Criminal Justice System. He now travels the country telling his story

June 26, 2013

D ennis Henderson was standing outside a building in Homewood. He was talking to journalist Rossano Stewart after attending a meeting about police and community relations. A police car came past a high speed. Henderson said something about it. The officer doubled back, threatened both men and arrested them. Other police who arrived identified Stewart as media and he was released. They took Henderson to jail and charged him with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. DA Zappala dropped the charges a few weeks later.

April 14, 2014

A drian Williams was killed when he was shot six times as he was running away from a Pittsburgh Police Officer. He was in possession of a handgun at the time. Williams was hit twice in the back of the shoulder, under his left arm, under and through his right arm, and above his buttocks. He died at the scene.

March 3, 2015

C hurchill Police Officer Steve Shaulis verbally abused 15 year-old Woodland Hills student, Ahmad Williams in the lobby of Woodland Hills High School where Williams was a student. The officer then arrested Williams for disorderly conduct, put him in a chokehold, slammed him to

the ground and shocked him with a Taser - twice. There is evidence dating back to 2009 that officer Shaulis was violent and abusive to other students at Woodland Hills, with video of him tasering a student. A civil case was brought in Federal Court on behalf of multiple students which settled for more than one-half million dollars.

January 31, 2016

Bruce Kelley, Jr. was killed when more than eight officers responded to a call in Wilkinsburg. Kelley first encountered Port Authority police for the crime of drinking in public at a gazebo. He tried to get away - he was on probation on a burglary charge and was afraid of being sent back to lock-up. He was pepper-sprayed and tasered. He stabbed a K-9 officer. He was shot eight times.Tim Stevens, the chairman of the Black Political Empowerment Project, said an incident that started with a man accused of drinking a beer in public, "shouldn't end with that man dead."

Feb. 11, 2018

Mark Daniels was shot and killed by Pittsburgh police in Homewood. The police say they were alerted to an 'actor with a gun.' The Allegheny County Police Homicide unit investigated the shooting and stated that the Pittsburgh police were simply alerted to a 'man acting suspiciously,' rather than a man 'with a gun.' Both departments claim that Daniels fired at the officers and noted the bullet holes in a nearby downspout to back this up. Daniels retreated. The shot that killed him hit him in the back of the arm as he fled. Daniels' family maintains that he never fired on the officers. This was the third shooting in less than a year involving officer Gino Macioce, although the previous two shootings were not fatal. Mayor Bill Peduto said those shootings were proper and justified.

June 19, 2018
The Killing of Antwon Rose

S eventeen-year-old Antwon Rose ran from the police when the car he was riding in was pulled over in East Pittsburgh. Police officer Michael Rosfeld shot Rose three times as he fled. Rosfeld had pulled over the car because it matched the description of one that was involved in a drive-by shooting in Braddock which had happened just 10 minutes earlier.

Antwon Rose was unarmed. Rosfeld shot him three times.

Just hours earlier. Rosfeld had been sworn in as an East Pittsburgh officer, though he had experience with other departments - Oakmont, Harmar Township and the University of Pittsburgh Police. He left the Pitt job after "discrepancies were found between one of his sworn statements and evidence in an arrest."

On June 26, 2018, Rosfeld was arrested and charged with criminal homicide in the killing of Antwon Rose. DA Stephen Zappala said Rosfeld intentionally shot Rose to death, even though the teen "didn't do anything in furtherance" of a crime in North Braddock or East Pittsburgh.

"It's an intentional act and there's no justification for it," Zappala said during a news conference at the time. "You do not shoot somebody in the back if they are not a threat to you."

At trial, prosecutors argued that Rosfeld gave inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether or not he thought Rose had a gun.

On March 22, 2019, after four days of testimony, Michael Rosfeld was acquitted.

In November 2018, the Borough of East Pittsburgh disbanded its police department. In January of 2020, Michael Rosfeld sued the University of Pittsburgh for his January 2018 firing. In August, that case was dismissed by a Federal Judge.

December 22, 2019

The Wilkinsburg police were called to a dispute at the corner of Penn and Wood and told that there was a man with a gun threatening another man. When they arrived, they spotted a man about two blocks from the intersection who they thought matched the description they were given of the man with the gun. There was a brief foot chase. Police say that the man turned and fired at them and they returned fire.

Romir "Rome" Talley, 24 years old, was shot seven times and died at the scene.

Talley's family questioned the shooting. Paul Jubas, the attorney for Talley's family, called out the Wilkinsburg PD for not having dashcams or body cams. He also said the shooting was a case of mistaken identity - that Romir Talley was not the man with the gun at the corner that police were called to and that he ran rather than interact with police. Jubas further stated that he has evidence that Talley did not fire the first shot.

At a vigil held for Talley, Olivia Bennett, an Allegheny County Councilwoman said this incident "... is yet another example of needed police oversight," and called for a county-wide citizens police review board.

Summer 2020-Today
Brand new protests bring Same Police Reaction

On June 16, the Pittsburgh Current ran a story titled: "Nothing New: Attempts At Much-Needed Police Reform In Pa. Pre-Date George Floyd's Death." It came less than a month after Floyd's May 25th streetside suffocation at the hands of Minneapolis Police officers.

Specifically, the story referred to "new" police reform initiatives that were moving through the Pennsylvania legislature. But the fact is that a group of local Pa. House members, including Summer Lee, Ed Gainey, and Jake Wheatley, sought reforms back in 2018 after the killing of Antwon Rose and redoubled their efforts again after the cop who killed Rose was found not guilty.

But, "nothing new" can also be applied to Floyd's death and the protests and calls for justice which have been demanded in the streets, along with the needlessly aggressive and violent tactics used by police against protesters.

Sadly, what has happened in this city since protests began on May 30th over the death of George Floyd and the systemic racism in our criminal justice system that has allowed acts like this to continue, featured the usual oppressive tactics that police always employ.

On May 30th, a peaceful march and protest over Floyd's death were met by squadrons of officers in riot gear from the beginning of the event. A police car was burned and marchers engaged in acts of civil disobedience, as people have for decades when protesting for change. Pittsburgh Police used tear gas on protesters. Oftentimes the canisters were fired directly at crowds, striking and injuring many. Less lethal projectiles were also used indiscriminately. Many demonstrators were injured, some seriously, including a photographer whose lips were shot off by a projectile.

On June 1st, at a protest in East Liberty, police were even more aggressive and ordered crowds to disperse, then used violent action when they refused. Again, protesters were shot with projectiles, both as they stood still with hands up and as they tried to flee the area. Tear gas was also used that day, even though police officers denied it and Mayor Bill Peduto backed them. A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the city which maintains that the police escalated "a peaceful protest into a scene of pandemonium, panic, violence and bloodshed" and then "disseminated flagrant lies to conceal and/or justify the PBP's shameless use of force against peaceful protesters."

Protests have continued. In recent weeks, protesters have been demonstrating outside the home of Mayor Peduto. On the second night, the Mayor spoke to protesters on his porch;however, those talks broke down. With continued visits to his home, Peduto said on Twitter: "continual denial of law, will end up in arrests. Actions have consequences."

Additionally, police have frequently arrested protesters and have even asked photographers for photos of certain events so they could attempt to build cases.

Protests are expected to continue throughout the fall but don't expect anything new when it comes to police response.

The last 24 pages have chronicled so many unnecessary and avoidable deaths, injuries, and humiliations of Black people at the hands of police in this region since 1857. It's sometimes hard to imagine that anything changes now.

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Violence occurring against Black Pittsburghers today has been happening for more than 150 years - Pittsburgh Current

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A Pittsburgh Current Special Report By Jody DiPerna and Elaine Frantz Jody@pittsburghcurrent.com Editor's Note: This story contains descriptions of violence and photos of people of color suffering abuse at the hands of police. Digital edition of the Pittsburgh Current can be found here.

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https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-police-coronavirus-policy-20200319-7iz2zuwmnbdz5pnrkbiq2r4dre-story.html

This article explains how police in baltimore used discretion for low level arrests to decrease the spread of the corona virus.  The state attorney said that her unit would stop prosecuting cases such as drug possession, trespassing, and minor traffic offenses so that they could avoid a covid outbreak behind bars.  I personally think this is a good idea because they are not going to just stop policing the area obviously, but they are going to cut down on the unnecessary arrests that could increase the spread of the virus to prisoners.(and the officers).  -Johnny Melancon

Additional Notes about police discretion in baltimore, maryland.
"She also wrote Gov. Larry Hogan and asked him to release such prisoners from state corrections facilities." This quotation is a positive one, because it highlights that the police discretion is actually going to make a positive impact in people's lives, because the police are not only going to stop making unnecessary, low-level arrests, but they are also going to start releasing people who are convicted with these crimes, to help with the spread of covid-19.
-Johnny Melancon

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https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/criminal-justice/ct-chicago-police-stop-and-frisk-20191024-2ht2ttwavzaqtaefp2bwkk3ime-story.html

This article addressed an overview of how a former federal judge has noticed a troubling pattern in Chicago police conducting street stops: supervisors assisting officers in reviewing hundreds of reports, sometimes many times, all to make it appear that the stops were lawful. The town agreed to review its street stops information, which controlled this. For each top and such, the police must have a constitutional justification before an officer undertakes it. Since the city feels that so many street arrests are being made by police officers, they have to be reported and have to provide information about the rational belief of the officer that a crime was occurring or about to happen. Supervisors review the reports and mark any reports that do not explain the stop so that the department can decide if the officer needs retraining or whether repeated illegal stops should be punished. Chicago police carried out four times as many stops and frisks as New York City at the height of the stops, and African Americans were stopped at a considerably higher rate. Around 70 percent of the street stops were made by African Americans, while they make up just about a third of the population of Chicago, according to the study. - Trinity Norman

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https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2011-03-28-os-law-you-officer-discretion-20110321-story.html

The Orlando Sentinel is a new source for the greater Orlando area that described an example of police discretion. The article covers an instant in which an officer, instead of giving the driver a DUI, instead drove him home in his vehicle. This is a good example of police discretion because the officer exercised his choice to arrest or not to arrest. The incident occurred when officer Chuck Gregory pulled over attorney William Charles Gula for speeding and swerving on the road. William Charles Gula refused to take a field sobriety test and using officer discretion, Gregory chose not to take him to the station but instead drive him home safely. I believe the use of police discretion should not have been executed here because drunk driving is inexcusable and if the attorney was drunk, he deserves a punishment. While police discretion is good at times, this instance the offender should have been punished because he is now able to do this again and could possibly kill or injure others on the roads.

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Seattle Police Officer Suspended for improper use of discretion

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Seattle Police Officer Suspended for improper use of discretion

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This article is about a police officer whose actions, including improper use of a "ruse," lead to a person of interest's suicide. A man had commited a misdemeanor hit and run where there was only minor damage to vehicles, with no injuries. When this (unnamed) police office tracked down a friend of the suspect, he told them that a woman was badly injured and fighting for her life as a result of the hit and run. The suspect apparently became so distraught that they committed suicide, and after an investigation, the officer was suspended for six days without pay. The Seattle police chief said that “the officer’s actions did not meet SPD’s standards of acceptable use of discretion and were not consistent with the standards of professionalism or training."  The use of the police officer's discretion was definitely an important factor in how this all played out, and he definitely made the ethically wrong decision in this case by choosing a ruse with implications worse than the crime itself. However, the police department said they wanted to institute training on how and when to use a ruse in an investigation. Hopefully they will follow through with that and give officers more guidance on how to implement their discretion in the future, both in similar cases and generally. -Claire Pearson

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SEATTLE - A Seattle police officer who unnecessarily used a ruse to locate a hit-and-run suspect in May 2018 has been suspended for six days after a watchdog agency found that the lie caused the man to take his own life.

The unnamed officer sent word to the man through a friend -- the complainant in the case -- that a woman injured in the crash was in critical condition and might not survive her injuries.

In reality, the crash was a minor fender bender and no one was injured, according to the Office of Police Accountability, an independent investigative office within the Seattle Police Department. Andrew Myerberg, the civilian director of the watchdog, authored the November report on the findings.

The driver, who friends said "was despondent about the fact that he may have killed someone," died by suicide less than a week later.

The OPA findings led to a recommendation of a six-day suspension for the offending officer, whose name was not released. The report also pointed out that, at the time of the incident, the department provided officers no ongoing training on ruses, when they are appropriate and when they "shock fundamental fairness."

When they arrived at the home, they spoke to the woman who lived there.

Before making contact with the woman, however, the offending officer decided to have a little fun at the driver's expense.

The resident told the officers that the driver of the car, a longtime friend, did not live with her but had used her address to register his vehicle because he was homeless, the report stated. She went and got her cellphone to find the man's phone number for the officers.

"Around 15 seconds after the complainant started doing so, (the officer) used a ruse and told her that the reason that they were looking for the subject was that "he was involved in a hit-and-run earlier that left a woman in critical condition and he left her," the report stated.

"The complainant responded, 'God (expletive). When did that happen?'"

The woman's reaction, which was caught on body camera footage, was one of distress, the report stated. She gave the officers the man's phone number, and they left.

The woman called the hit-and-run suspect and left him a voicemail. When he called her back, she told him about the police visit and encouraged him to call a lawyer and his mother, the report said.

Over the next couple of days, the man told the woman repeatedly that he did not remember being in a crash that would have caused an injury. He recalled a "minor fender bender with another vehicle," but said he didn't think anyone had been hurt.

"The complainant searched for information regarding a hit-and-run that resulted in a fatality and found nothing. The absence of information concerned them because they believed that this suggested that it was being withheld because a criminal investigation was ongoing."

The woman told the OPA she spoke to the man one last time before his death and he "seemed increasingly despondent regarding the collision and the possibility that he had killed someone."

Another friend of the hit-and-run suspect recounted how the man was attempting to turn his life around and had gotten a new job and was saving money, the report stated. When the friend talked to the man, he denied being high at the time that his car rolled backward and struck that of another driver.

Office of Police Accountability report

The friend told investigators he "read the subject the riot act" and told him he could go to prison for a long time if he had killed someone, even if he was sober when the crash took place.

"The friend stated that the subject left a bag on a shelf in his garage that continued some of the subject's personal effects and money. A note with the bag told the friend, 'If you don't see me, keep this stuff.'"

The man's roommate told OPA investigators that the man was "freaking out" over the thought that he had killed someone.

On the morning of June 3, the roommate went into the man's room and found him dead.

The complainant, the second friend, the man's roommate and his mother all believed that he was under investigation when he died for killing someone in a hit-and-run. When they looked into the incident further, however, including requesting body camera footage, they learned of the officer's ruse.

The complainant filed a report March 12, 2019, with the OPA, who interviewed her and the other witnesses, as well as the officers involved in the hit-and-run investigation and those who investigated the man's suicide.

The offending officer's partner backed up that assessment. She told the OPA that the complainant, when approached for the hit-and-run driver's information, was cooperative and she said "there was no need to use the ruse to get the desired information from the complainant."

The offending officer disagreed, telling OPA investigators the woman was evasive and "kind of impeding the investigation." He claimed he did not remember the woman getting her phone and willingly giving them the man's contact information.

Myerberg pointed out in the report, however, that the officers were only at the woman's home for five minutes and they left with the information they were seeking.

It was also unclear why the officer "did not have time to wait around" for her to find the phone number.

"Moreover, (the officer) was not asked to immediately apprehend the subject but only to try to locate him."

Read the entire Office of Police Accountability report below.

The report stated that the evidence also shows the officer had already made up his mind to use the ruse before making contact with the complainant. It also stated that the officer never wrote up a supplemental report on the incident and there is no indication he ever relayed the hit-and-run driver's phone number to anyone.

· "There is an exigent threat to life safety or public safety,

· "It is necessary due to the nature of the employee's assignment,

· Or "there is a need to acquire information for a criminal investigation."

Falsely telling the complainant the man had likely killed someone "shocked the conscience and, in OPA's opinion, was inconsistent with the community's expectations of (the officer's) conduct," the report stated.

Myerberg wrote that the officer acted "without any apparent consideration of the possible consequences that could flow from his use of the ruse."

The officer was adamant that he was not responsible for the man's suicide, which he described as an unforeseeable result.

"This incident clearly undermined public trust in the department and in (the offending officer) by multiple individuals, including the complainant, the roommate, and the friend," the report stated. "They were shocked and upset that SPD officers could engage in such actions.

"(The officer) is correct that the subject ... ultimately made the decision to take his own life. However, the witnesses to this case all establish that this decision was based, potentially solely, on the subject's belief that he had killed someone."

The name of the man who committed suicide was withheld from the report.

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andrew myerberg office of police accountability

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seattle police officer suspended following ruse that led to man's suicide

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seattle officer suspended 6 days after ruse that caused man to kill self

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police ruse in hit and run leads to suspect's suicide

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Crystal Bonvillian, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

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Seattle police officer disciplined after lie about hit-and-run leads to suspect's suicide

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The unnamed officer, who has been suspended without pay for six days, lied and said a woman injured in the crash was in critical condition and might not survive her injuries. The truth was that no one was injured in the minor fender bender. Less than a week later, the driver was dead.

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The Seattle Times article I've linked below (just published today!) covers the debate -- and proposed legislation that has emerged out of it -- in the Washington State Congress over excessive force used by police. Although police discretion is not directly mentioned in the article, the legislation seeks to hold by-standing police officers accountable for intervening in situations when they believe their fellow officer has "gone too far." This is a type of police discretion I don't think the article we all read as a class covered: using those of equal rank to limit one another's discretion (and the decision they make to do so is also, I believe, a form of discretion); I think it is a creative way of using police discretion, although not necessarily beneficial given that it would only work if the bystander’s ethical discretion had been properly cultivated. This article also mentions House Bill 504, which endeavors to prohibit police tactics that have been commonly used in racially-biased policing incidents, like chokeholds, tear gas, and no-knock warrants (the chokeholds and no-knock warrant reminded me of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor). These measures would also curb the amount of police discretion, albeit in a more direct manner than that of relying on colleagues; I believe this bill is incredibly necessary, because unnecessary violence is so often linked to police discretion -- a devastating (for lack of a better word) flaw in the system.

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The issue of police accountability has been playing out in the Washington state Legislature over the last two weeks with bills being discussed in the House of Representatives and Senate. Discussions continue Monday, as a bill that would compel officers to intervene and stop excessive force by other officers goes before the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Under new legislation introduced in the Senate, police officers may no longer be allowed to be bystanders to bad behavior from their colleagues.

Senate Bill 5066 would require any police officer who witnesses another officer engaging or attempting to engage in excessive force to intervene and try to stop it, or risk suspension or decertification.

Washington state has never decertified an officer for using excessive force.

Senate Bill 5066 is part of a broader push for police accountability in the Legislature, led by Democratic lawmakers and community advocates, after the deaths of people of color at the hands of police.

The bill's prime sponsor, Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, said the bill was partially inspired by the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May, where "we saw officers standing around and not intervening." However, police brutality is not something that is unheard of in the state of Washington, she said. She referenced local cases such as the killing of Manuel Ellis in Tacoma, and others.

Democratic legislators have also sponsored House Bill 1054, which would prohibit police tactics like chokeholds and neck restraints, as well as tear gas, no-knock warrants and the use of military gear.

On Thursday, House Bill 1310, which seeks to narrow the set of acceptable circumstances for the use of physical and deadly force by police, will be voted on by the House Committee on Public Safety. Also on Thursday, a House committee is scheduled to vote on House Bill 1267, which would establish an office within the Office of the Governor to investigate potential criminal uses of deadly force by police officers, in-custody deaths and sexual assaults.

But the issue of excessive force is what has garnered much attention from law enforcement, and from activists like Sakara Remmu, who is a member of the Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance. Remmu said excessive force does not always end in death.

Twenty years ago, Remmu said she called the police when a fight broke out at a restaurant near her house. After the scene was cleared, she went out to speak to an officer.

"As soon as he saw me, he grabbed me by the back of my neck and threw me on the hood of his car, without a word," Remmu said. "I was pregnant. His partner did nothing."

"That damaged me," she said.

Remmu testified last week in favor of SB 5066 at its first public hearing, and mentioned racial targeting in the use of force. The bill is a step in the right direction, she said, but will not fully address the systemic racism that exists in law enforcement agencies across the state.

Dhingra told the Senate Law & Justice Committee that she believes most officers are trying to do the right thing. She said this bill would help them to continue to do so by putting them in a position to call out wrongdoing.

"We have to make sure the culture does not enable bad officers to continue," Dhingra said, "so this is making sure we set up policies, procedures, training, to empower those good officers to do the right thing."

That includes a reporting mechanism so that "these things don't just get brushed under the carpet," she said. Officers would be required to report any wrongdoing they see from another officer to that officer's supervisor, and would be protected from discipline or retaliation.

In 2018, lawmakers and voters passed Initiative 940 that removed a decades-old barrier that had made it nearly impossible to bring criminal charges against law enforcement officers deemed to have used deadly force wrongfully. It also required police to receive de-escalation and mental health training, and removed the requirement to prove an officer acted with malice to be convicted.

James Schrimpsher, representing the Washington Fraternal Order of Police, also spoke in support of SB 5066 last week, saying the stipulations are already de facto in most law enforcement agencies around Washington.

He said that the vast majority of police officers already intervene in any wrongdoing that they see, and said "it's in our DNA."

He said that he told an officer about the bill the morning he was to testify, and the officer asked him, "isn't that already a thing?"

"And I said yes, it is already a thing, we're just codifying it," Schrimpsher said.

Officers would go through Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement training, but the specifics of how intervening will look will be up to local law enforcement agencies. Though no one spoke in opposition to the bill, it was modified to clarify that the responsibility to intervene would only apply to "easily-identifiable" officers who are on duty.

Dhingra said the slew of law enforcement bills introduced this session will "work together to create this system where we are holding our officers to a high ethical standard."

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Washington Legislature takes up excessive force by law enforcement

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The issue of police accountability has been playing out in the Washington state Legislature over the last two weeks with bills being discussed in the House of Representatives and Senate. Discussions continue Monday, as a bill that would compel officers to intervene and stop excessive force by other officers goes before the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-city-police-get-new-discretion-over-minor-crimes-1456884530#:~:text=The%20New%20York%20Police%20Department,a%20new%20policy%20outlined%20Tuesday.

This article talks about how police officers in New York City have the discretion to not arrest those who commit minor infractions unless they are a threat to public safety. This could be things like drinking in public or littering. This will help reduce the number of arrests by up to 10,000 everyday. This will allow prosecutors to spend time on more important cases, and on criminals who may be much more a danger than those who were just literring. Instead they will be issues a summons to court, similar to a ticket you would get from speeding. It is overall a much faster process than actually getting arrested. This seems like an overall very beneficial example of police officers having their own discretion as if they chose to arrest, it is the same as the old policy or they can make the process easier by just issuing a summons.

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https://www.nhregister.com/connecticut/article/Connecticut-State-Police-use-discretion-when-11395397.php

In this article it is talking about how police troopers in CT are trying to find a better way to make the distracted driving fines more fair and to help prevent further offenses. Initially not all the trooper cars were equipped to identify drivers based off their license plates to know if this was their first offense. But since then there have been improvements in the system and technology to help identify what the correct punishment should be. Along with that the fines for distracted driving have also been changed where the first offense can cost from $125 to $150, second offense from $250 to $300 and third offense from $400 to $500. The new rules and PSAs that have been put out have decreased the amount of distracted driving by a fair amount "The number of tickets being issued has declined, court records show. Police issued 30,109 in 2012, down from 38,556 tickets in 2011.". Since then the amount of tickets has gone down drastically.

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https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/09/13/us/Roderick-Walker-Georgia-police.amp.html

In September of 2020, 26 year old Roderick Walker was pulled over in Clayton County, Georgia by two sheriff deputies during a routine traffic stop (a broken taillight).  In viral social media footage, the two officers are shown pinning down and beating Mr. Walker in the middle of the street.  The matter of minutes where the situation escalated from a routine traffic stop, to Mr. Walker inquiring about his need for ID (as every American citizen has the right to do), to both of the sheriff deputies pinning him down and beating him until his face is almost unrecognizable, is a vivid example of how police discretion can lead to questionable ethics.  According to the Clayton County sheriff's office, only one of the deputies was placed on unpaid administrative leave and eventually fired only after their office was made aware of the viral video.  This is concerning, because it leads me to believe that if there were no bystanders, then there would be absolutely no accountability.  In that case, what help did the officer’s body cameras offer in this situation or others like it? Also, why were both deputies not facing consequences?

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According to a Chicago Tribune article from September 2020, many young Black men don't believe the police protect them enough, and use their discretion on them way more than other races surveyed. More than 50% reported being stopped in their car by the CPD, 20% reported being questioned, and 19% reported having a gun pointed at them. What's most notable is that all of those reports happened unprovoked by the men, and seemingly at random by the CPD. A story in the article specifically mentions a young Black male who was just walking in his neighborhood when the police stopped him and threatened to taser him, and that he found out police fail to articulate why they stop these young men when filling out contact cards for street stops they make. Overall, police fail to protect the lives of Black men as well as White men or other races, and fail to have real reasons to stop Black men at such rates that they do.

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Many Black Americans' distrust for police, both in Chicago and around the country, has been highlighted repeatedly in 2020, most recently this week with outrage over the controversial result of an investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.

Chicago had its own watershed moment on policing and racism with the 2014 shooting of Black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white officer later convicted of second-degree murder, touching off efforts for sweeping reform. But a recent community survey on policing here that is part of that effort points to a continuing, wide racial divide between how Black and white residents view cops, including a persistent issue: the street stop.

That Black residents are targeted for stops by Chicago police at a higher rate than white residents has been detailed in federal lawsuits by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, the Justice Department and even a police task force chaired by Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

But the problem remains and continues to have an impact on how Black Chicagoans' view the police, according to the survey, which was conducted by the independent monitor who is overseeing the federally court-mandated reform of the Chicago Police Department.

While nearly 80% of white residents surveyed said police make them feel safer, less than half the Black residents who took part felt the same. Just a third of young Black men surveyed felt that way.

Overall, the survey, which included Black, white and Hispanic residents, showed a shared lack of confidence in the department, with only about half of all respondents saying Chicago police officers are trustworthy.

"At this moment in history, when communities across the nation are demanding changes to policing, the findings of this survey give us additional insight into police-community relations in Chicago," wrote Maggie Hickey, the monitor, in a filing to the court. "The overarching implication of these survey results is that the CPD has serious work ahead to gain the trust and confidence of Chicagoans."

The monitor's survey included interviews with 1,000 residents between November 2019 and February 2020 - notably before the May 31 slaying of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest.

The survey found that Hispanic Chicagoans overall closely tracked with the opinions of white residents, but they were more negative on specific questions about police ability to solve crime, community cooperation and fear of retaliation from officers for filing a complaint.

A key takeaway, however, is that Black Chicagoans have the most negative experiences with police, especially for the specific younger demographic the monitor focused on - young Black men between the ages of 18 and 25:

- While 77% of white Chicago residents and 67% of Hispanic residents think police make their neighborhoods safe, only 47% of Black residents feel the same. That figure fell to 34% among a group of young Black men who were surveyed separately in a pool of 346 respondents.

- 37% of young Black men and 15% of Black Chicagoans overall reported being stopped by Chicago police while walking on the street during the past year, compared with 4% for white Chicagoans and 2% for Hispanics.

- For stops in cars, young Black men again reported the highest rates at 52%, followed by 34% for Black Chicagoans, 19% for Hispanics and 9% of white residents surveyed.

- More young Black men, 19%, reported Chicago police pointing a gun at them, compared with 2% for all those surveyed.

"Black Chicagoans report experiencing and perceiving the CPD much more negatively than other Chicagoans do," the survey report reads. "White Chicagoans consistently rated the CPD most positively, tend to trust CPD officers, report being treated well by the CPD, and generally indicate higher satisfaction with the CPD overall."

A higher number of street stops just for Black residents can have far-reaching impact, experts said, especially for young Black men.

"It impacts their civic participation," said Paul Butler, a professor of law at Georgetown University and former federal prosecutor. "A number of studies have found negative encounters with police and the criminal justice system make people less likely to participate in civil society. ... It has long-term detrimental effect on democracy."

Butler, who wrote the book "Chokehold: Policing Black Men," said the traffic stop data was the "most revealing" data point in the report.

For his criminal procedure class at Georgetown, Butler arranges for interested students to have a ride-along with a police officer to observe traffic stops, including how common a minor traffic violation is.

The point is to show that while many people violate traffic laws, not everyone gets stopped.

"Traffic stops are discretionary and often pretextual, meaning the cops don't care you changed lanes without signaling," Butler said. "They just want to stop someone. ... Study after study has found that police use this power to target young Black men in cars."

'This really does happen'

Rashawn Lindsey is one of several plaintiffs in one federal lawsuit filed against the city of Chicago and the department on behalf of Black Chicago men who allege they were victims of unconstitutional stops.

He was walking down a street in Englewood when he was stopped in April 2015, according to his lawsuit.

Lindsey, an 18-year-old high school student at the time, had heard plenty of stories from family and friends about harassing stops by the police. But Lindsey said he also believed that police had a tough job and deserved the benefit of the doubt.

"I was under the impression that police are just doing their job, they usually have a split second to make their decision," Lindsey, now 23, said in an interview with the Tribune. "I felt like a lot of people were over-exaggerating the stops. (But) in that moment, right after that moment, I was like, 'it's not an exaggeration. This really does happen. The way it happened to me.'"

Lindsey said he was walking home with his cousin and a friend when an unmarked Chicago police vehicle rolled up from behind back in 2015. He was wearing headphones and didn't immediately understand what was happening until his cousin called out from behind for him to stop.

"I turned around, and there's Tasers on me," Lindsey recalled seeing before hearing the officer say, "'Hands up or we Tase you.'"

Lindsey said he, his cousin and their friend were handcuffed together and placed against the hood of the police squad while officers searched them.

They were not arrested, but before allowing the three to leave, Lindsey said police asked for their names. Lindsey's attorney, Antonio Romanucci, said the stop was documented by the department in a contact card, which is filled out by officers when they make a street stop but not an arrest.

The cards have been controversial. While officers are supposed to document the specific facts that justify the stop, a major review by the ACLU of Illinois showed not only that Black residents were stopped more often but that officers failed to articulate a reason.

Before Lindsey and his friends left, Lindsey said he heard one of the officers remark, "I guess you're one of the good ones."

"We were all like, 'what the hell?'," Lindsey said. "I didn't feel safe and I just wanted to go home."

But the stop has also had more lasting impressions on Lindsey.

"My perspective on police kind of flipped when I got stopped," he said.

He said he now doesn't want to have anything to do with police, and he sees police officers and the entire criminal justice system as "intertwined." He stays home more and takes Ubers to avoid walking around and when he is out, and he is vigilant about where police are.

"I notice every police officer that rolls past me," he said. "If they are sitting somewhere, I notice them all."

Lindsey, who likes playing computer games, is working on getting a technology certification that would allow him to apply for IT jobs. "My dream job is to (design) games at home," he said.

'Transformational reform' won't happen overnight

The community survey conducted by Hickey and her team is the first to be done under the court-mandated reform. It will be used to assess police performance and repeated every other year, providing a baseline to see whether the department improves its relationships with residents.

For anyone following policing in Chicago, the survey findings may not be surprising.

The city has already entered into an agreement with the ACLU to better track and document all investigatory street stops and protective pat-downs, a process that was overseen by a retired federal judge until Hickey assumed oversight of that legal action as well.

Meanwhile, the department has started to work toward implementing sweeping changes laid out in the consent decree, which was entered into after the Department of Justice found in 2017 that Chicago police had engaged in widespread civil rights abuses.

But Romanucci argued that what this year has shown is what happens after years of over-policing in Black communities.

Chicago was among the cities to see widespread protests over the death of Floyd in Minneapolis, as well as looting during civil unrest. The survey was released the week of racially charged events in Kenosha, where police shot a Black man in the back during an arrest attempt caught on video, sparking violence.

This week Chicago and cities across America saw marches over the end of the investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor, which saw no police officers directly charged in her fatal shooting in her home during the execution of a "no-knock" warrant.

Romanucci said part of the reason for Lindsey's lawsuit is to apply pressure for change.

"Stop-and-frisk is part of the systemic marginalization of Black people that also includes redlining, food desserts," he said. "These are random stops to harass and destroy trust."

When asked by the Tribune about the findings of the survey, the CPD issued a statement, saying the report reflects how the "transformational reform and trust that we are working towards cannot be achieved overnight."

The statement also noted recent department efforts to establish trust in city neighborhoods, including having police recruits tour them with a youth organization and partnering with other city departments on weekly cleanup efforts in some areas.

"We remain diligent in our efforts to build a more transparent, accountable and professional police force," the statement continued.

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Doubt about police in Chicago manifests itself on racial lines in monitor's survey, legal challenges over street stops

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Many Black Americans' distrust for police, both in Chicago and around the country, has been highlighted repeatedly in 2020, most recently this week with outrage over the controversial result of an investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.