RT News | July 15, 2015
A federal judge has ordered the release of the dashcam video that shows the shooting and killing of Ricardo Diaz Zeferino, an unarmed man who had been helping a friend looking for a stolen bike, by to Los Angeles police officers. RT’s Lindsay France has more on the case.
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RT News | Jun 23, 2015
The Los Angeles Police Department is looking for witness and information concerning an officer involved shooting that left an unarmed man critically injured after police opened fire on the man, mistaking his towel for a weapon. Lindsay France has more from our LA studio.
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That eye in the sky is hardly going to make residents feel safe. (photo: Elliott Brown/flickr)
Hamid Khan | Guardian UK | Reader Supported News | March 15, 2015
This “preventive policing” tactic is not innovative – it’s offensive
he Los Angeles Police Department recently revealed that it is using helicopters to fly over high-crime areas as a way of deterring criminals. This tactic is being touted as “cutting edge” by the police – but it is anything but that. It will further criminalize and violate the privacy of black communities, as well as other people of color, who are already disproportionately affected by police abuses in the city.
This isn’t the first time that overhead surveillance has been used to collect information on communities of color in the greater Los Angeles area. The Atlantic revealed last year that in 2012, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department had secretly used a civilian aircraft to spy on Compton residents, who are overwhelmingly people of color. For nine days the department collected high-resolution aerial video footage of the neighborhood, without informing the community.
There is already an overwhelming amount of racial profiling of Los Angeles’ black community – and counterterrorism programs are worsening the situation. The black community has been impacted three times more than non-black Los Angelenos by counter-terrorism programs like Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR).
Two lawsuits by police officers are challenging the systematic use of quotas in ticketing and arrests by departments in major metropolitan cities. RT’s Lindsay France talks to Ben Swann about the history and the current state of these lawsuits, and what they mean for citizens.
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Ezell Ford’s funeral. (photo: CBS Los Angeles)
Jessica Glenza | Guardian UK | Reader Supported News | December 30, 2014
Report on police shooting of unarmed black man finds three gunshot wounds suffered in confrontation with anti-gang officers
n unarmed black man was shot three times by Los Angeles police officers, once each in the back, side and arm, according to a coroner’s report released on Monday, more than four months after his death.
The report also says a muzzle imprint was found around the wound in Ezell Ford’s back and that he had abrasions to his left hand, forearm and elbow.
The autopsy, which was first obtained by the Los Angeles Times, officially classifies Ford’s death as a homicide. It was released ahead of a Wednesday deadline imposed by the city’s mayor.
Ford, a mentally ill 25-year-old, was shot dead 11 August after police say he lunged for an officer’s gun. Police have released few details about why Ford was stopped in his South Los Angeles neighborhood by two officers assigned to the department’s anti-gang unit. A statement released shortly after Ford’s death said two officers attempted to stop him on a sidewalk, but he “continued walking and made suspicious movements” before the interaction escalated.
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Murder of Los Angeles Transgender Woman is Twelfth Anti-Transgender Homicide This Year
National LGBTQ Task Force Outraged with Ongoing String of Homicides Against Transgender Women Taking Place Across the Nation
Los Angeles, CA, December 5, 2014 —The Los Angeles Police Department has announced they are investigating the murder of Deshawnda Sanchez, who was shot and killed in South Los Angeles earlier this week.
“The National LGBTQ Task Force is outraged by the murder of Deshawnda Sanchez and the ongoing homicides targeting transgender women of color taking place throughout the nation. This year alone, twelve transgender African-American and Latina women have been murdered—and there seems to be no end in sight to these ongoing tragedies,” said Rev. Darlene Nipper, deputy executive director at the National LGBTQ Task Force.
“Our country is faced with a deadly epidemic targeting transgender women of color, black youth, and black men that is fueled by hate and discrimination,” added Rev. Nipper. “Together as a nation, we have the moral imperative to dismantle racism, transphobia, homophobia, and every form of discrimination. No one should ever fear for their life and safety simply because of who they are or who they love. We call on local authorities to use every tool in their power to bring justice to Deshawnda, her loved ones, and the entire transgender community.”
Transgender community activists and allies are holding a vigil tonight, December 5, 2014 at 6 p.m. in memory of Deshawnda Sanchez. Participates will gather at Chesterfield Square, 1800 W. Slauson Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90047.
Anyone with information about Deshawnda Sanchez’s murder is asked to call LAPD detectives at the 77th Street Police Station at 213-485-4175 or report it anonymously online at:http://www.lapdonline.org/report_a_crime
Earlier this year, the National LGBTQ Task Force launched #StopTransMurders, a public education campaign to raise the voices of transgender activists and allies working to end anti-transgender violence. On November 18, the organization joined the TransLatin@ Coalition, Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, Lambda Legal, El/LA Para Trans Latinas, and advocates from across the country in a National Day of Action calling for an end to anti-transgender violence and homicides.
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Charles Derber and Yale Magrass | Truthout | February 19, 2013
In the flood of commentary about the Newtown massacre and broader US gun violence, liberals tend to blame failures of gun control while conservatives blame the mentally ill and Hollywood. But they are both missing one important and overlooked explanation: the domestic consequences of a militarized superpower engaged in chronic wars around the world.
The US spends more money on the military than the next ten countries together. It also has the highest level of domestic gun violence in the developed world. Highly militarized societies cannot compartmentalize foreign from domestic violence. They cannot prevent wars – and guns – from coming home.
Christopher Dorner certainly brought the war home. On February 3, 2013, he began a killing rampage, shooting his lawyer’s daughter and her fiancé, firing at three police officers, killing one and issuing a manifesto threatening to kill at least 12 more. Dorner is a former Navy lieutenant, a specialist in undersea warfare, a rifle marksman and a pistol expert who lost his job in the Los Angeles police department. The LAPD announced that the weapons training Dorner received in the Navy makes him a very serious threat.
Marc Ash | Reader Supported News | February 17, 2013
It’s another flaming meltdown for the Los Angeles Police Department. One more in the proud history of America’s most bizarre police force. Words fail.
It bears noting that Christopher Dorner’s now hyper-analyzed manifesto makes perpetual use of military terminology. He makes it plain that he intends to use military tactics against LAPD personnel and their families. His use of the term “warfare” in the manifesto is ubiquitous.
“I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty. I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, I’m terminating yours.“
From where do such thoughts come? War, of course. Christopher Dorner was a Navy Reserve veteran. While not highly decorated, he did receive a number of citations, most notably for rifle marksmanship and pistol expertise, and he did serve in Iraq. His military experience and training were central to his manifesto and his war on the LAPD.
Guardian UK | Reader Suppored News | February 13, 2013
A six-day hunt for a former policeman suspected of a killing spree in California ended on Wednesday when a cabin in the mountains above LA went up in flames.
A body suspected to be that of Christopher Dorner was found in the ruins of the building. Dorner is suspected to have killed four people in a vendetta against LA police officers and their families; the fourth was an officer from San Bernardino County sheriff’s department killed in a shootout at the cabin on Tuesday night.
Dorner had threatened to bring “warfare” to the LAPD, having claimed he had been the subject of racism when he was sacked from his job as a policeman there. Rory Carroll has the full story.
It is not yet clear how the fire at the cabin was started, but some evidence seems to suggest it may have been as a consequence of the tear gas fired by police.
A recording purporting to be of the conversation on police scanners as officers surrounded the cabin where Dorner was hiding seems to show police discussing “going forward with the plan, with, er, with the burn” or “burner”.
Daily Queer News 