Tyre Nichols’ Death, Victim of Horrific Memphis Police Violence
On the night of January 7, Tyre Nichols was driving home when he was pulled over by police for alleged reckless driving. Three days later he was dead. In a statement from Memphis Police on January 8, Nichols was taken into custody after an initial confrontation with two officers. This confrontation led to rapidly escalating […]
New Arizona Law Highlights Complexities within Modern Day Policing
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd cried out the phrase “I can’t breathe.” The immediate aftermath snowballed into large-scale civil unrest, countless public protests, and a nationwide discussion surrounding police brutality and excessive force. Videos similar to George Floyd’s have become increasingly more and more common in the days since Floyd’s death. The presence of […]
DOJ Weighs New Charges For Chauvin As He Awaits Sentences For Floyd’s Death
As the city of Minneapolis begins to simmer after hearing three guilty verdicts last week, the US Justice Department considers charging former Police Officer Derek Chauvin for a 2017 incident involving a Black teenage boy. The prosecution team was preparing for the case where Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd’s neck for 9 minutes and 29 […]
Weekend Review: Hate, Death and Mourning in Wisconsin
Last Sunday, police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin became the latest to fall under scrutiny for using devastating police force against an unarmed Black man. Cell phone video shows the 29-year-old man, Jacob Blake, was walking away from police officers who had their guns drawn. They followed him to his vehicle and shot him in the […]
West Virginia Officers Facing Lawsuit Violated Department Policy, Contrary To Chief’s Statement
WESTOVER, W.Va — An investigation by Caracal Reports has found that two West Virginia police officers facing a lawsuit following a 2019 altercation violated the official Use of Force policy laid out in their department’s policy and procedures, contradicting a public statement from their police chief. The city and it’s police department also attempted to prevent release of the body camera footage to an attorney.
In January 2019, former Westover (W.Va.) resident Andrew Howton was pulled from his home and beaten by Westover Police Department (WPD) officer Zachary Fecsko, and the incident was captured on fellow officer Aaron Dalton’s body camera. The lawsuit alleges Westover Police Chief Richard Panico “publicly condoned the other Defendants’ behavior and stated that it was aligned with the Westover Police Department (WPD) policies,” according to local media sources.
In addition, the encounter isn’t the department’s first brush with excessive use of force or police
misconduct, with investigation yielding previous instances, including one involving current Police Chief Panico. This history and the current lawsuit have raised questions among the community if the persisting problem exists inside the WPD.
Protests Continue Across The US
Protests and riots continue to rage across the country in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. Floyd was a black man in Minneapolis who was arrested for a non-violent crime and was unarmed. One of the four officers involved has been charged in his death. Protests began over Memorial Day weekend and […]
Weekend Review: Floyd Death Shines Spotlight on Police Brutality in the U.S.
The spotlight is back on police brutality in the US following the death of unarmed black man George Floyd. Last Monday, employees at a Cup Foods store in Minneapolis, Minnesota called authorities to report a counterfeit $20 bill. Police arrived on the scene and the employees reportedly directed them to George Floyd, who was sitting […]
How Big Of A Problem Is The Police Use Of Excessive Force Within The United States?
Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was recently found guilty of second-degree-murder from a 2014 shooting of teenager Laquan McDonald. In the now infamous incident, Van Dyke shot the unarmed McDonald — who was seventeen at the time, sixteen times as he was walking away from the officer. A viral dashcam video captured the incident […]