Chumph’s Real Fear of Mueller…Black Jurists

You know the old adage..One black person on the street corner is a thief, two a conspiracy, and three…a Riot.

Seems one of the Chumph’s acolytes who was called in to testify by the Grand Jury was terrified by the fact some black folks were selected for Jury duty.

In Washington, DC – a city with over 50% black population, that means unless you got a Republican KKK appointee for a judge…The jury is going to be at least partially black. You hit the racial Trifecta, and it isn’t out of the realm of possibility it could be all black.

When you are a racist white supremacist, who also happens to be guilty of treason…That is terrifying. White boy justice takes on a whole new meaning. No more “poor, pitiful, rich white boy” raping women wantonly and getting a wrist slap.

Your criminal white ass is going to jail.

Not surprisingly the white-wing press is “shocked” and visibly shaken that they would allow black jurors on a case prosecuting a white person!

Things were definitely much better under slavery and Jim Crow!

Nt your typical Jim Crow Jury

The New York Post embraces Trump propaganda with ‘Black Lives Matter’ comment

News properties owned by Rupert Murdoch have done admirable work in chiseling away at cornerstones of U.S. democracy in service to President Trump. Opinionators at Fox News, for example, have advanced the administration’s plans to deconstruct the administrative state by dissing government in general and the FBI in particular.

Now Murdoch’s New York Post is going a step further, to the extent that’s possible. Here’s the headline on Richard Johnson’s Tuesday story on Page Six: “Russia probe grand jury looks like ‘a Black Lives Matter rally,’ says witness.” Based on the input of a single witness who testified before the Russia grand jury that’s hearing testimony in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation, Johnson writes:

Of the 20 jurors, 11 are African-Americans and two were wearing “peace T-shirts,” the witness said. “There was only one white male in the room, and he was a prosecutor.” Mueller was not present.

And:

My source said, “That room isn’t a room where POTUS gets a fair shake.”

From the sound of things, a Trump loyalist came face to face with a group of black people seated together and didn’t like it. So the loyalist leaked to the New York Post, which was happy to get a New Year’s jump on fresh approaches to discrediting the investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. While at the same time weakening confidence in the U.S. criminal-justice system, of course.

When questioned about the piece via phone, Johnson responded, “I respectfully have no comment at this time. I don’t give interviews unless I get permission.”

 

 

Mueller Impanels Grand Jury! Chump and Associates Panic

Uh Oh! Independent Counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a Grand Jury in his investigation of Putin’s Bitch.

This suggesting he is seeking ‘large-scale series of prosecutions’.

It would seem that Mueller has indeed gotten to the bottom of what has made the Chumph so nervous the last months. It also suggests a number of Chumph cohorts and fellow connivers are going down with the Chumph Scow.

 

Special Counsel Mueller Impanels Washington Grand Jury in Russia Probe

Expansion beyond Flynn grand jury is a sign the investigation in election meddling is ramping up

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in Washington to investigate Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections, a sign that his inquiry is growing in intensity and entering a new phase, according to people familiar with the matter.

The grand jury, which began its work in recent weeks, is a sign that Mr. Mueller’s inquiry is ramping up and that it will likely continue for months. Mr. Mueller is investigating Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 election and whether President Donald Trump’s campaign or associates colluded with the Kremlin as part of that effort…

Grand juries are powerful investigative tools that allow prosecutors to subpoena documents, put witnesses under oath and seek indictments, if there is evidence of a crime. Legal experts said that the decision by Mr. Mueller to impanel a grand jury suggests he believes he will need to subpoena records and take testimony from witnesses…

“This is yet a further sign that there is a long-term, large-scale series of prosecutions being contemplated and being pursued by the special counsel,” said Stephen I. Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas. “If there was already a grand jury in Alexandria looking at Flynn, there would be no need to reinvent the wheel for the same guy. This suggests that the investigation is bigger and wider than Flynn, perhaps substantially so.”…

 

Depiddy Lawn Jockey Faces Criminal Investigation

Wonder if they will give the boy an orange cowboy hat to go with his new uniform?

Sheriff David Clarke, who is really the supervisor of the jail in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin is in serious trouble. At least four deaths have occurred in his jails under questionable circumstances. There appears to be a pattern of prisoner abuse and brutality at the jail, including an incident where a pregnant prisoner was chained to a bed during childbirth. In a case resulting in a Federal Lawsuit, a woman was confined to solitary, without medical attention. She was 8 1/ months pregnant, was denied medical care, and her baby, born alive, died soon after.

Evidence has also come out that the Depiddy also tried to get the County Coroner to cover up the causes of the deaths.

Prosecutors: Milwaukee Jail Inmate Had No Water For 7 Days Before Death

DA Begins Official Inquest Before Considering Charges

Prosecutors say Milwaukee County Jail officers cut off an inmate’s water for seven consecutive days before the man died of dehydration.

Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Kurt Bentley told jurors at an inquest Monday that the inmate, Terrill Thomas, was mentally unstable and unable to ask for help before he died in his cell in April 2016.

The DA’s office is asking a jury for advice on whether there’s probable cause that a crime was committed in Thomas’ death. The medical examiner has already ruled Thomas died because of dehydration.

Testimony and documents at the inquest revealed Thomas was moved to a solitary disciplinary unit where his water was cut off after he used a mattress to flood his cell in another jail unit.

Separately, Thomas’ children have filed a federal civil suit, saying their father’s treatment by Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and his staff amounts to torture.

Attorney Walter Stern represents three of Thomas’ children. As he left the courtroom Monday afternoon, Stern said it was an interesting day.

“There was a police report indicating that this man was asking for, or begging for water,” Stern said. “Put it all together and it looks like there was profound dehydration.”

Thomas’ death was one of four at the Milwaukee County Jail last year, but Clarke won’t be a witness in the inquest. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said don’t read anything into that.

“I don’t think anybody should draw any conclusions. This is really a fact-based investigation,and so, what you try to do is limit yourself to people who have direct knowledge of the incident itself,” Chisholm said.

The inquest may last all week. The prosecutor’s office will then decide whether to file charges.

Terill Thomas, a mentally ill man was placed in solitary, and denied water for 7 days. He died of severe dehydration.

Kristina Fiebrink died on August 28th after she was arrested and booked on August 24th. The lawsuit says “despite exhibiting signs and symptoms of acute heroin and alcohol intoxication, Fiebrink was never placed on preventative detoxification protocol, seen by a doctor, provided withdrawal medication or placed on a heightened observation level.”

Michael Madden died on October 28th. The lawsuit says he was suffering from a heart condition which he had had since birth, as well as a heroin addiction. The lawsuit says he “received little to no health care while in the Justice Facility.” He suffered a seizure, rendering him unconscious, and passed away.

Sade Swazer, a pregnant, mentally ill woman confined to solitary. No medical care was provided – her baby dies soon after birth in the cell.

 

Faux News Racism Suit Gets a Lot Bigger and Adds to Federal Grand Jury Probe

To the white-right types who believe that racial discrimination and sexual harassment don’t have have any real teeth due to years of white-right judges watering down penalties and making the wall of proof required for plaintiffs to make a case much higher…

Guess what?

If the company is publicly traded you could be hit from two directions. The first is a shareholder lawsuit, based on loss of value and irresponsible handling of corporate finances. The second is a Federal charge based on loss of potential revenue, and as such shareholder return due to paying off lawsuits and continuing racist and misogynist behavior.

The fact that the network’s ratings are beginning to crumble reduces the “worth” of the company, and if I were a shareholder right now…I would be looking for some heads to start rolling. The beginning of which would be among the first and second tier senior management. You not only fire the asshole who caused the pain…You fire the assholes who enabled that behavior. Then you take a real close look at the Middle-Management hired by those Senior Managers, because they were likely selected for their sharing the same views.

Few companies are willing to do this sort of top-down housecleaning. Which is why a lot of these companies wind up as side notes of failed corporations in the history books.

The issue here is, you know and I know that AG Jeff Sessions isn’t going to pursue any sort of racial discrimination lawsuit – and likely will try and block the Federal Investigation to protect his KKK friends. He is the bigot’s biggest protector. So, it will  likely wind up that the SEC does the heavy lifting here.

Fox News anchor joins lawsuit alleging racial discrimination, harassment at network

The suit is now headlined by Kelly Wright, a black reporter and anchor who has been with Fox News since 2003. Wright claims that he “has been effectively sidelined and asked to perform the role of a ‘Jim Crow’ — the racist caricature of a Black entertainer.”

Wright’s allegations involve, among others, recently fired Fox News host Bill O’Reilly and current network co-president Bill Shine.

The suit claims that Wright was shunned from O’Reilly’s now-canceled program, “The O’Reilly Factor,” and that Shine “has demonstrated an obsession with race when it comes to discussions with Mr. Wright, including regularly asking him, ‘how do Black people react to you’ and ‘how do you think White viewers look at you?'”

In one alleged example, Wright claims that he was rebuffed in his efforts to show a series of positive stories about the African-American community on the “Factor” because, according to the complaint, “it showed Blacks in ‘too positive’ a light.”

Wright is one of 13 plaintiffs, all people of color who are either current or former Fox News employees, to sue the network in the last month charging racial discrimination.

The litigation began last month, when two black women filed a lawsuit saying they faced “top-down racial harassment” from Judith Slater, Fox’s now-former comptroller.

The two plaintiffs, Tichaona Brown and Tabrese Wright, accused Slater of making a number of racially insensitive remarks. CNNMoney has been unable to reach Slater for comment.

Fox said that it fired Slater on February 28, upon learning of the allegations. Attorneys for the 13 plaintiffs say Fox’s assertion that it acted swiftly is “completely false.”

A separate complaint filed Tuesday on behalf of Adasa Blanco, a former senior disbursement coordinator in Fox News’ accounts payable department, alleges that “Slater was terminated because Fox knew this would become a public matter and wanted to salvage its reputation.”

Blanco, who claims her repeated complaints about Slater’s behavior were ignored, is seeking redress for “substantial monetary damages and severe mental anguish and emotional distress.” The suit targets Fox News’ top lawyer, Dianne Brandi.

Fox News pushed back hard on the allegations levied in each complaint on Tuesday.

“FOX News and Dianne Brandi vehemently deny the race discrimination claims in both lawsuits,” a Fox News spokesperson said. “They are copycat complaints of the original one filed last month. We will vigorously defend these cases.”

The complaints filed Tuesday also included allegations from Musfiq Rahman, described in the court document as “a dark-skinned Bangladeshi” who previously worked in Fox’s payroll department.

Rahman, the complaint asserts, “suffered unconscionable and unrelenting race discrimination,” including an awkward encounter in 2014 with former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes.

According to the complaint, Rahman mistakenly entered Ailes’s office on the second floor.

“The fallout for Mr. Rahman’s ‘mistake’ was swift and severe,” the complaint says. “Ailes was furious and his paranoia about being attacked came to the forefront. That same day, Ailes ordered that a wall be constructed immediately in his personal office to act as a barrier to entry.”

It goes on to say that, the following day, Rahman and “a number of Black employees in the Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable Departments, had their security passes to the second floor revoked.”

Tuesday’s filings represent a continuation of what has been a nightmarish month for Fox News and its parent company, 21st Century Fox. O’Reilly, long the top-rated host in cable news, was ousted last week following a New York Times report detailing settlements paid to five women who had accused him of sexual harassment or verbal abuse. O’Reilly has denied the merits of all the claims against him.

The revelations of O’Reilly’s settlements came nine months after Ailes was forced out of Fox amid sexual harassment allegations against him. Ailes has vigorously denied the allegations.

Douglas Wigdor and Jeanne Christensen, the attorneys representing all 13 plaintiffs, said in a statement Tuesday that 21st Century Fox “has been operating as if it should be called 18th Century Fox.”

“We sincerely hope the filing of this race class action wakes 21st Century Fox from its slumbers and inspires the Company to take a conciliatory and appropriate approach to remedy its wrongs,” the attorneys said.

 

Laquan McDonald Murderer Cop Charged With 16 More Counts

New prosecutors are trying to clean up the mess made by the previous crew’s attempt at coverup of the Police murder of McDonald.

Ain’t it funny how every time a black man is murdered the “find” drugs in his system to justify the murder? Oh! He was a “serial offender!” – he got 4 Parking Tickets and a Jaywalking charge in the last 20 years!

Jason Van Dyke charged with 16 new counts in shooting death of Laquan McDonald

Jason Van Dyke

A new indictment unsealed Thursday in the murder case against Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke added 16 counts of aggravated battery — one for each time the officer shot Laquan McDonald in 2014.

Joseph McMahon, the Kane County state’s attorney who was appointed special prosecutor in the high-profile case, had previously said his office believed that none of the rounds fired by Van Dyke was legally justified.

In the indictment returned March 16 by a new grand jury, Van Dyke is still charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of official misconduct as well.

Van Dyke, who has been suspended without pay since soon after he was first charged in November 2015, pleaded not guilty Thursday to the new indictment through his attorney.

McMahon denied in court that he sought the new indictment to correct what Van Dyke’s attorney, Daniel Herbert, had labeled fatal errors in the initial charges.

“I disagree with Mr. Herbert,” said McMahon, who made it clear, though, that he believed the issues raised by Van Dyke’s motion to dismiss the original indictment “were now moot.”

Herbert had alleged prosecutors misled the original grand jury by instructing them to consider Van Dyke’s actions only under the state’s first-degree murder statute, not under a separate law that governs an officer’s use of force.

He also alleged that prosecutors improperly presented to the grand jury statements that other officers at McDonald’s shooting were required to give by police disciplinary officials. And he also said grand jurors were wrongly told that the 17-year-old McDonald was shot first in the back.

The autopsy report showed that McDonald was shot 16 times in the scalp, neck, both sides of his chest, his back, both arms and his right hand and leg. But authorities have never publicly divulged — if they know — where he was first shot.

Herbert said he planned to file a similar motion to dismiss involving the new indictment after reviewing grand jury testimony given before the indictment was returned March 16.

Through his attorney, Van Dyke again entered a not guilty plea before Judge Vincent Gaughan.

The fallout over the dashboard camera video of the white police officer shooting the black teen has caused the most severe crisis for Mayor Rahm Emanuel in his time in office and led to a blistering report by the U.S. Department of Justice that portrayed a broken Police Department in which officers commit misconduct and use excessive force with little fear of repercussions.

The video showed Van Dyke opening fire within seconds of exiting his police SUV as McDonald walked away from police with a knife in his hand in the middle of the road shortly before 10 p.m. Oct. 20, 2014, contradicting many of the officers’ written accounts that the teen had lunged at police with the knife.

As McDonald walked away from him, Van Dyke took at least one step forward and fired 16 rounds at McDonald in about 14 seconds and was reloading when another officer told him to hold his fire, prosecutors have said.

Hundreds of pages of Chicago police reports showed that Van Dyke and at least five other officers claimed that the McDonald moved or turned threateningly toward officers, even though video of the shooting showed McDonald walking away.

Authorities said McDonald had PCP in his system at the time of his death.

Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson is seeking to fire Van Dyke and four other officers whose accounts did not match the video.

McMahon has asked that the Chicago Police Board, which will decide on the firings, to hold off on hearings until after Van Dyke’s criminal trial to minimize publicity that could affect the trial’s jury selection.

However, most Chicago police officers charged with misconduct have opted to put their fate in the hands of a judge, not a jury.

At Thursday’s hearing, an attorney for the police board said the board has agreed to hold off on an evidentiary hearing in Van Dyke’s case until Gaughan, who is presiding over the officer’s criminal trial, rules on the issue.

Gaughan, who has routinely held lengthy off-the-record discussions with the attorneys in the case in his chambers at each status hearing, held to form Thursday, meeting privately with the attorneys — without a court reporter present — for about 45 minutes. The public discussion in his courtroom then lasted about 15 minutes.

 

Creators of Fake Planned Parenthood Videos Indicted

It really is past time that the justice system goes after these scumbags that create fake videos destroying peoples lives. They let Jame O’Keeffe off with it when he manufactured videos of Acorn, and they let Brietbart get away with it destroying a woman’s life.

I think it’s time to lock the scum up in prisons with other criminals for a long, long time.

Creator of anti-Planned Parenthood videos faces felony charge

A Houston grand jury that was investigating accusations of criminal misconduct against Planned Parenthood on Monday instead indicted the leader of an anti-abortion group that recorded covert videos of the organization’s employees.

Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson said David Daleiden, the director of the Center for Medical Progress, faces a felony charge of tampering with a governmental record and a misdemeanor count related to buying human tissue.

Sandra Merritt, one of Daleiden’s employees, was also indicted on a charge of tampering with a governmental record.

The grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast of any wrongdoing.

“We were called upon to investigate allegations of criminal conduct by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast,” Anderson said in a statement. “As I stated at the outset of this investigation, we must go where the evidence leads us. All the evidence uncovered in the course of this investigation was presented to the grand jury. I respect their decision on this difficult case.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, however, that the inspector general of the state’s Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas attorney general’s office would continue to investigate Planned Parenthood’s actions. “Nothing about today’s announcement in Harris County impacts the state’s ongoing investigation,” Abbott said in a statement. “The State of Texas will continue to protect life, and I will continue to support legislation prohibiting the sale or transfer of fetal tissue.”

The indictment did not reveal how the Center for Medical Process manipulated documents. But earlier this month, Planned Parenthood filed a federal lawsuit against the video creators, asserting the group broke several federal laws in its campaign to defame the health-care centers with mail fraud, invasion of privacy, illegal secret recording and trespassing.

A warrant for Daleiden was issued Monday evening, according to the Harris County District Clerk’s website.

Who are other people in the group that produced the videos who might also be guilty of felony crimes?

• Troy Newman, listed as the center’s secretary, is president of the Kansas-based anti-abortion group Operation Rescue and has posed as a reporter to record conversations with abortion providers in the past.
• Albin Rhomberg, the center’s chief financial officer, was arrested in 1991 for disrupting a church service during the inauguration of Gov. Pete Wilson, an abortion-rights Republican. In 2005, he led an unsuccessful attempt to pass a California ballot measure requiring doctors to notify parents or guardians before performing abortions on minors.
• Nichole Surkala, who is listed as the center’s contact if it is sued, was convicted in California in 2007 of willful cruelty to her 12-year-old son, according to court papers. Police found she kept a horse and seven dogs in a house in Modesto that was filled with animal feces and rotting produce.

 

Tamir Rice Grand Jury Irregularity

It now appears that the Tamir Rice Grand Jury my not have been legal…And that no Vote of the Jury as required by law was ever taken. This further reinforces the belief that the entire thing was a sham, set up by the prosecutor…

Report: Tamir Rice Grand Jury Never Actually Voted on Whether to Indict Officers

The grand jury that declined to indict two police officers in the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice never actually voted on whether to bring charges, an investigative report from Cleveland says, leaving open the question of how the controversial decision was actually reached.

The alt-weekly Cleveland Scene‘s report revolves around the concept of the “no-bill,” which is the name for a grand jury’s formal decision—arrived at by voting—not to bring charges in a given case. (The opposite of a “no-bill” is a “true bill,” i.e. a decision to indict.) When Cuyahoga County prosecutor Timothy McGinty announced on Dec. 28 that officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback would not be charged in Rice’s death, he said only that the grand jury “declined to indict” the officers, leading many observers to assume that a no-bill had been voted on. But the Cleveland Scene‘s reporters could find no documentation of such a decision, and a spokesman for the Cuyahoga prosecutor’s office responded to the publication’s queries by saying that there had been no vote.

Two area law professors told the Scene they had never heard of a grand jury behaving in such a way. What’s more, reporters were unable to find any official documentation in the Cleveland court system of the grand jury having concluded its business:

We were then directed to the Cuyahoga County grand jury office. Wednesday morning, a clerk there told Scene that the “mysterious document” may or may not exist and that, even if it does, it could only be provided to us via court order by Administrative and Presiding Judge John J. Russo … Russo, who spoke to Scene by phone, professed to be as confused as we were. “When you say ‘document,’ I’m not sure what you mean. I don’t know what that is. It’s either a true bill or a no bill,” he said.

But actually, no.

His staff determined Wednesday that a “no-bill” had never been filed.

What any of this means for Rice’s case is unclear. A lawyer representing the Rice family said the lack of a no-bill could constitute another indication that McGinty—who formally recommended against indicting Loehmann and Garmback andpresented expert reports to the grand jury that backed up his recommendation—had not taken the idea of prosecution seriously.

A federal investigation into Rice’s death is reportedly ongoing; Rice’s family has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officers involved.

 

Cop Who Stopped Sandra Bland Indicted for Perjury

Well…Some small progress at least…

Grand jury indicts DPS trooper who arrested Sandra Bland

A Waller County grand jury has indicted Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia – the trooper who arrested Sandra Bland – on perjury charges.

The charge is a Class A misdemeanor. If convicted, Encinia could face up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

The charge stemmed from a statement Encinia made in his report of the arrest, in which said he pulled Bland out of her car to continue the investigation.

Bland, who was from Naperville, Illinois, was stopped on July 10 in Waller County. She was in Texas interviewing for a job at nearby Prairie View A&M University, a historically black college from which she was returning.

A Waller County grand jury has indicted Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Brian Encinia – the trooper who arrested Sandra Bland – on perjury charges.

The charge is a Class A misdemeanor. If convicted, Encinia could face up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

The charge stemmed from a statement Encinia made in his report of the arrest, in which said he pulled Bland out of her car to continue the investigation.

“They just didn’t believe it … a warrant will be issued and we’ll go from there,” he said.

The Office of the Attorney General, which is representing Encinia in a separate wrongful death lawsuit filed by Bland’s family, has not yet returned requests for comment. DPS did not immediately respond to request for comment.

In December, special prosecutors announced that a grand jury convened to review the circumstances surrounding Bland’s detention and death had declined to issue any indictments to jail staff or any members of the Waller County Sheriff’s Office.

The 28-year-old African-American woman was arrested during a traffic stop in July. Three days later, jail staff found her hanging from a noose in her Waller County jail cell. Her death, ruled a suicide by medical examiners, sparked disbelief from her family and outraged civil rights activists across the country, who called for greater accountability on the part of law enforcement.

The subsequent outcry led state lawmakers to call for hearings on jail procedures and safety and for state regulators to change how inmates are evaluated for mental health issues after they are arrested.

 

 

Van Jones and the Tamir Rice Murder Coverup

Activist Laura Cowan –

 

CNN contributor Van Jones slammed Cuyahoga County, Ohio Prosecutor Timothy McGinty on Monday for what he called his office’s failure to find any reason to charge two police officers in connection with the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice last November.

“That is completely preposterous on its face,” Jones said. “And yet, this prosecutor went above and beyond the call of duty to spend extra money and took extra time to get these cops off. Prosecutors do not act this way under ordinary circumstances. Usually, they throw the book at you and then they tell you, ‘You explain to a judge and jury why you’re innocent. This particular prosecutor did the opposite of most prosecutors in this case.”

McGinty announced on Monday that a grand jury decided not to indict officers Frank Garmback and Timothy Loehmann, who drove close to the boy as he wielded an air pellet gun. Video of the incident shows Loehmann shooting and killing Rice almost instantly after jumping out of his patrol car.

However, Jones said, McGinty brought experts in to testify to the jury on behalf of the officers, a marked departure from the norm.

“To say that nothing happened here, nothing happened that should go to a jury — how about this: no medical aid after the kid is killed? How about criminal medical neglect?” Jones asked. “How about the fact that, under ordinary circumstances, a police officer would never put themselves in peril and then shoot their way out? The fact that the police officer drove into peril and then shot his way out — there’s not a traffic ticket you could issue? There’s not a misdemeanor here?”

 

Tamir Rice Murderer Let Off

Here we go again with special injustice…

No Indictment For Cop Who Fatally Shot 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice

The decision came nearly 400 days after the boy was killed while playing in a Cleveland park.

An Ohio grand jury has declined to indict the Cleveland police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black 12-year-old in 2014.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty announced the decision Monday afternoon, nearly 400 days since rookie patrolman Timothy Loehmann shot Tamir Rice after responding to the scene with veteran officer Frank Garmback. The grand jury also declined to indict Garmback.

In statements filed with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, both officers claimed they repeatedly yelled at Tamir to “show me your hands.” But surveillance video shows that Loehmann opened fire within two seconds of emerging from the police cruiser driven by Garmback.

McGinty on Monday called Tamir’s death a “perfect storm of human error,” not a criminal act.

“The outcome will not cheer anyone,” McGinty said, but he noted that Loehmann’s assessment that he was about to be shot was “a mistaken but sincere belief” given the stress of the situation.

“It would be irresponsible and unreasonable if law required a police officer to wait and see if the gun was real,” McGinty said. 

On Nov. 22, 2014, Loehmann and Garmback were dispatched to investigate 911 calls about a “guy with a gun” pulling a weapon from his waistband and pointing it at people. The gun was later determined to be an airsoft pellet gun.

Officers said they believed Tamir to be a man in his 20s, given his size, and said the orange safety tip on his toy gun was missing. An expert hired by McGinty’s office conceded in a November report that dispatchers should have relayed to responding officers the 911 caller’s observations that “the guy with a gun” was “probably a juvenile” and that the gun was “probably fake.”

Tamir’s family reportedly was not briefed on the outcome of the grand jury investigation before Monday’s announcement, but it was an end they had anticipated. 

In a statement released immediately after the announcement of no indictment, Jonathan Abady, an attorney for Tamir’s family, said they were “saddened and disappointed” by the outcome, but not surprised. The family also renewed their calls for the Justice Department to make an independent investigation into the case.

“It has been clear for months now that Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty was abusing and manipulating the grand jury process to orchestrate a vote against indictment,” Abady said in the statement. “Even though video shows the police shooting Tamir in less than one second, Prosecutor McGinty hired so-called expert witnesses to try to exonerate the officers and tell the grand jury their conduct was reasonable and justified. It is unheard of, and highly improper, for a prosecutor to hire ‘experts’ to try to exonerate the targets of a grand jury investigation.”

Tamir’s family and their advocates have been highly critical of McGinty’s office during what they considered an unreasonably lengthy and biased investigation.

McGinty’s office released three expert reports over the past few months, all of which concluded Tamir’s fatal shooting to be “reasonable.”

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) in a statement Monday called Tamir’s death a “heartbreaking tragedy” but urged the community not to give in to “anger and frustration.”

“We have made progress to improve the way communities and police work together in our state, and we’re beginning to see a path to positive change so everyone shares in the safety and success they deserve,” Kasich said.

The Justice Department said Monday it would continue its review of the case and “determine what actions are appropriate, given the strict burdens and requirements imposed by applicable federal civil rights laws.”

In May, the DOJ concluded an 18-month investigation into the Cleveland Police Department. Its scathing report found that officers in Cleveland routinely use unjustifiable force against not only criminals and suspects, but also innocent victims of crimes.

McGinty’s office on Monday took pains to note that officers face deadly threats in the line of duty and called for “deference” to the officer’s on-the-scene judgment of how much force is necessary.

 

Grand Jury Fails Again in Sandra Bland Case

The Legal mambo jumbo is getting so thick you can cut it with a knife – and it always seems to lead to the same conclusion…

Grand Jury Declines to Indict Anyone in Death of Sandra Bland

Grand jurors in Texas declined on Monday to indict anyone in connection to the July death of a Chicago-area woman, Sandra Bland, who was found hanged in her cell at the Waller County jail, one of the special prosecutors assigned to the case said.

But Darrell Jordan, the special prosecutor, said that “the case is still open,” and that grand jurors would reconvene next month to discuss other aspects of it.

Many activists have called for charges against Brian Encinia, the Texas state trooper who arrested Ms. Bland after a routine traffic stop in Prairie View, northwest of Houston, turned contentious. Mr. Jordan said Monday’s decision not to indict anyone related only to Ms. Bland’s death and to the conduct of the jail staff.

“It’s all in the way you phrase it,” said Mr. Jordan, one of five special prosecutors in the case. “The case is not over. That’s what I’m stressing right now. The case is not over.”

Ms. Bland, who was 28 and black, had recently moved to Texas from Illinois to accept a job at Prairie View A&M University, her alma mater, when she was pulled over on July 10. Her death days later attracted international attention and added momentum to a national debate over the treatment of black people by white police officers. Her family has publicly disputed the authorities’ findings that she committed suicide.

Cannon Lambert, a lawyer for the Bland family, said on Monday night that the family was frustrated with the grand jury process and disappointed that it had not received more information about the investigation. Mr. Lambert said the family first learned that there had been no indictment through news media reports.

“We are unfortunately disappointed by the fact that our suspicions regarding this sham of a process have come to fruition,” said Mr. Lambert, who is based in Chicago.

Mr. Lambert said he was unsure of what to make of Mr. Jordan’s statement that the grand jury would return to work in January.

“We would like very much to know what in the heck they’re doing, who they’re targeting and if it has anything to do with Sandy and her circumstances,” Mr. Lambert said.

Mr. Lambert is representing the Bland family in a wrongful-death lawsuit against state and local authorities. That case is scheduled for a jury trial in January 2017.

Ms. Bland grew up in the Chicago suburbs, and she returned there after graduating from Prairie View, a historically black institution where she played in the marching band and was deeply involved in her sorority.

In her final months, Ms. Bland had recorded videos online about racial issues and policing. Pastors and friends at her church in Lisle, Ill., said she had grown up attending services with her mother and siblings, and had volunteered there as an adult.

On July 13, three days after her arrest, Ms. Bland was found hanging from a trash bag in her cell. The medical examiner in Waller County ruled Ms. Bland’s death a suicide, a finding that was met with suspicion by family members and activists.

Outrage about Ms. Bland’s treatment grew when the Texas authorities released a dashboard camera video of her arrest in Prairie View on a charge of assaulting a public servant.

Trooper Encinia had initially pulled her over for failing to signal a lane change. But the encounter turned tense, and Trooper Encinia eventually ordered Ms. Bland out of her vehicle after she refused to put out a cigarette. Ms. Bland at first declined to leave her car, leading to a physical struggle.

At one point, Trooper Encinia pulled out a stun gun and yelled, “I will light you up.”

In a part of the encounter that occurred out of the camera’s view, a scuffle could be heard, and Ms. Bland indicated that she was on the ground. “You just slammed me, knocked my head into the ground,” she said.

Addressing Trooper Encinia with an expletive, Ms. Bland said, “I got epilepsy.”

Trooper Encinia responded, “Good.”

He was placed on administrative leave after her death.

At her funeral in Illinois, where an overflow crowd of hundreds filled the sanctuary and the church basement, Ms. Bland’s mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, said her daughter had hoped to spend her life stopping racial injustice.

“That baby did not take herself out of here,” Ms. Reed-Veal said.

 

Is “The Fix” In on the Tamir Rice Investigation?

Commented that the two “experts” hired by the DA were questionable, at best in my last blog on this. In June, a judge found “ample probable cause” for the DA to file charges…But so far no charges have been filed.

Further, in the Kangaroo Grand Jury, neither officer has been requested to testify.

Things appear to following the path of the Michael Brown Grand Jury.

Outrage Is Growing Over the Tamir Rice Investigation

Is the grand jury process stacked in favor of the cop who killed the 12-year-old?

Tamir Rice’s sister and mother at the park where the 12-year-old was gunned down.

On Saturday, October 10, the prosecutor overseeing the Tamir Rice grand jury investigation released two reports authored by independent experts and concluding that Timothy Loehmann, the cop who killed the 12-year-old African American boy in Cleveland last November, acted within the law. The Cuyahoga County prosecutor, Timothy McGinty, knew this was an unusual move to make during grand jury proceedings. “Historically, the norm in most places has been that there’s an incident, and then a long investigation shrouded in secrecy, followed by a conclusion that sometimes mystifies large segments of the public,” a spokesperson for McGinty’s office told Mother Jones regarding the publication of the two reports. “We’re trying to break that pattern.”

But the reports have sparked outrage from Rice’s family and supporters, who saythe grand jury investigation amounts to “a charade aimed at whitewashing” and are demanding that a special prosecutor take over the case. Some legal experts suggest that the reports could improperly influence the pool of people serving on the grand jury, who began hearing evidence in recent weeks and will ultimately determine whether Loehmann should face charges. The development adds to a cloud of questions hanging over the case ever since Rice’s death almost a year ago—including why Loehmann and his partner who drove the squad car, Frank Garmback, have never spoken to investigators.

Delores Jones-Brown, a former prosecutor in New Jersey and a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, says it was unusual that McGinty enlisted a Colorado prosecutor and a former FBI agent to analyze the evidence and then release their findings. “I have never seen an incident in which that happened before,” she said, adding, “Normally it would be the defense attorney’s responsibility to get those kinds of experts.”

Tim Young, the director of Ohio’s public defenders office, sees McGinty’s release of the reports as “a measured attempt to try and reduce potential backlash” if the grand jury decides to not indict Loehmann. “The idea that this is somehow making it more fair and transparent, I think, is disingenuous. They’re still going to present this case in a private proceeding that you may or may not get to see the transcript of. We won’t know how they present Tamir.”

As fatal officer-involved shootings have fueled a nationwide debate about policing and racial injustice in America, prosecutors and grand juries have come under scrutiny. Some prosecutors have taken unconventional steps in response to criticism; after a grand jury declined to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown, St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCulloch released the evidence reviewed by jurors in that case. In August, California became the first state to ban the use of grand juries in officer-involved shootings.

Prosecutors are now in a tough position, says Dave Klinger, a former police officer and a criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. “No matter what happens, the prosecutor is going to get criticized,” he says. The use of outside investigators by a prosecutor, he adds, is not unheard of in grand jury proceedings. “The goal in a situation like that is to explain to the grand jurors in detail about things that perhaps the prosecutor really doesn’t know him or herself, about police training, practice, or tactics, so that the jurors can have a better understanding of what it is that officers are supposed to do.”

The experts who reviewed Loehmann’s use of deadly force, Colorado prosecutor S. Lamar Sims and former FBI agent Kim Crawford, emphasized that the circumstances leading up to and immediately following the shooting were not relevant to their findings. “To suggest that Officer Garmback should have stopped the car at another location is to engage in exactly the kind of ‘Monday morning quarterbacking’ the case law exhorts us to avoid,” Sims wrote. Some policing experts have said that Garmback’s pulling up to within 10 feet of Rice just seconds before Loehmann shot him was among glaring tactical errors made by the two officers. And neither Sims nor Crawford mentioned the fact that for several minutes following the shooting, Loehmann and Garmback stood around without administering first aid to Rice while he lay bleeding on the ground.

“To say that the actions were constitutional does not [necessarily] relieve the officers of negligence or recklessness,” says Jones-Brown. That decision is ultimately up to the prosecutor and the grand jury, she says, adding that a special prosecutor should be appointed. “I’m afraid the damage may have already been done by disseminating these reports.”…Read the Rest Here…

 

California Drops Grand Juries in the Case of Police Shootings

Progress!

After a string of questionable decision by Grand Juries leading to non-indictments of Policemen being tried for Murder, at least one state has said “Enough” to a corrupt system which illegitimately favors the Police over finding truth.

The Ferguson Grand Jury leading to the release of Officer Wilson even drew the ire of Arch-conservative Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia.

The System needs to be re-evaluated for accountability…And in at leat one State that has happened.

Former Patrolman 1st Class Michael T. Slager shooting a fleeing Walter L. Scott in he back

 

California Bans Use Of Grand Juries In Police Shooting Cases

California will no longer use grand juries in cases involving police shootings of civilians after Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a bill Tuesday banning the secret deliberations.

SB 227, authored by state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), makes California the first state to ban the use of grand juries to decide whether law enforcement should face criminal charges in use-of-force cases. The ban, which will go into effect next year, comes after grand juries failed to indict police officers who killed unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri, and Staten Island, New York, last year, heightening scrutiny of the process.

Mitchell argues that the grand jury process, during which evidence is presented to a panel of civilians in secret, fosters a lack of trust in the system.

“One doesn’t have to be a lawyer to understand why SB227 makes sense,”  Mitchell said in a statement, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “The use of the criminal grand jury process, and the refusal to indict as occurred in Ferguson and other communities of color, has fostered an atmosphere of suspicion that threatens to compromise our justice system.”

Under the new rules, prosecutors must decide whether police officers should face criminal charges for killing someone in the line of duty.

Brown also signed the Right to Record Act Tuesday, which clarifies civilians’ right to record police officers.