9 years after Michael Brown's killing, Ferguson's 'sacred ground' evokes calls for progress

Yeah what … “Defund the police/cops” actually means.

* Get ride of Qualified Immunity, that protection doesn’t exist for the military or the average U.S. citizen.

* Get ride of making the death of a cop a capital felony if it’s not also going to apply to military personnel deaths.


1.) 18 U.S. Code § 1389 - Prohibition on attacks on United States servicemen on account of service
* U.S. Code
* Notes

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(a) In General.—Whoever knowingly assaults or batters a United States serviceman or an immediate family member of a United States serviceman, or who knowingly destroys or injures the property of such serviceman or immediate family member, on account of the military service of that serviceman or status of that individual as a United States serviceman, or who attempts or conspires to do so, shall—

(1) in the case of a simple assault, or destruction or injury to property in which the damage or attempted damage to such property is not more than $500, be fined under this title in an amount not less than $500 nor more than $10,000 and imprisoned not more than 2 years;

(2) in the case of destruction or injury to property in which the damage or attempted damage to such property is more than $500, be fined under this title in an amount not less than $1000 nor more than $100,000 and imprisoned not more than 5 years; and

(3) in the case of a battery, or an assault resulting in bodily injury, be fined under this title in an amount not less than $2500 and imprisoned not less than 6 months nor more than 10 years.

(b) Exception.—
This section shall not apply to conduct by a person who is subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

(c) Definitions.—In this section—
(1) the term “Armed Forces” has the meaning given that term in section 1388;
(2) the term “immediate family member” has the meaning given that term in section 115; and
(3) the term “United States serviceman”—

(A) means a member of the Armed Forces; and
(B) includes a former member of the Armed Forces during the 5-year period beginning on the date of the discharge from the Armed Forces of that member of the Armed Forces.

(Added Pub. L. 111–84, div. E, § 4712(a), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2842.)

SOURCE : https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1389


2.) “The Protect and Serve Act would allow anyone who knowingly causes serious bodily injury to a law enforcement officer to be imprisoned up to 10 years. And it creates even harsher penalties for other criminal acts against police: If a police officer were kidnapped, killed, or faced a threat on their life, then the perpetrator could get a much longer sentence, including potentially life in prison.”

“Qualified immunity is designed to protect all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law. Law enforcement officers are entitled to qualified immunity when their actions do not violate a clearly established statutory or constitutional right.”

For anyone convicted of a capital felony, the law requires a separate sentencing hearing before a judge or jury to weigh mitigating and aggravating factors. The judge or jury cannot impose the death penalty and must sentence the person to life imprisonment without the possibility of release if the mitigating factors outweigh or are of equal weight to the aggravating factors or if any of four automatic bars to the death penalty exist.”

There’s no death penalty, no capital punishment for murdering a military person. {NONE} There is no “Protect and Serve Act” covering soldiers, Who protect and serve ALL Americans citizens.... not a select community, soldiers lives are considered less valuable than police officers who lives the soldiers protect domestically and on foreign soil.

Yet, those police officers ARE NOT HELD to a higher standard for their actions, we soldiers again fall under both civil and the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) for our actions. In life threatening situations we don’t just pull the trigger and say we feared for our lives.

Let’s put that in perspective for those that like to argue how they have a dangerous job and risk it saving lives.

If an Active Duty soldier is murdered by a civilian, a fellow soldier or a cop in uniform or out of, it’s not viewed as a HATE CRIME.... why not?!?   They risk their lives protecting the country including police officers .... I mean they are on duty 24/7/365 right???

Again, they new make laws.... 

[NO ONE LIFE IS MORE VALUABLE THAN ANOTHER BECAUSE OF A JOB POSITION/UNIFORM]. WTF is wrong with you people, seriously???
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CAPITAL FELONIES

The following crimes are capital felonies:

1. murder of a law enforcement officer, sheriff or deputy sheriff, Department of Correction employee, or fire fighter in the line of duty;

2. murder for hire;

3. murder committed by someone who has a previous (a) intentional murder conviction or (b) conviction for murder committed in the course of a felony;

4. murder committed by someone serving a life sentence;

5. murdering a kidnapped person;

6. causing someone's death by selling him hard drugs;

7. murder committed during first-degree sexual assault;

8. murder of two or more people at the same time or in the course of a single transaction; or

9. murder of a person under age 16 (CGS § 53a-54b).

After a person is convicted of a capital felony, the judge or jury considering whether the court should impose the death penalty must determine and state in a special verdict (1) whether one or more aggravating factors outweigh one or more mitigating factors and (2) the existence of any automatic bars to the death penalty. If the mitigating factors outweigh the aggravating factors or are of equal weight, the court must sentence the defendant to life imprisonment without the possibility of release. If the aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors, the sentence is death (CGS § 53a-

SOURCE : https://www.cga.ct.gov/2000/rpt/2000-R-0564.htm

Defund the police means not supporting racist policing, not policing itself.

Defund the police means that they are just citizens with a job to do and aren’t above the laws that govern their fellow citizens when they themselves break the law.

For those with a limited comprehension, I’ve provided the following FACTS of how and why police “defunding the police/police department” actually looks …. Every place that has looked at defunding cops have been the typical trope example the blind faithful love to use :

https://youtu.be/AtTAPwUN2OA

1.) Alabama town abolishes police department after officer's slavery text surfaces

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office will provide emergency services to Vincent after it disbanded its police department
By Michael Lee | Fox News

Source : https://www.foxnews.com/us/alabama-town-abolishes-police-department-officers-slavery-text-surfaces.amp



2.) Alabama town disbands police department after officer's slavery text surfaces
Associated Press

The message, a racist joke about slavery,and recently surfaced on social media. 

SOURCE : https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/08/08/alabama-town-police-department-slavery-text/ [login to see] /



A.) Mississippi police chief fired:Leaked audio captured racist rant, him bragging about killing 13 people

"This has torn this community apart. It doesn't matter what color we are as long as we do right by people," City Councilman Corey Abrams said during Thursday's council meeting.
—————————————————
The chief of police in the predominantly Black town of Lexington, Mississippi, was fired this week after a leaked recording published by an investigative news outlet revealed that the white official bragged about killing 13 people in the line of duty – including shooting one Black man at least 119 times

“A 16-minute audio recording – which was reportedly recorded in April by another officer and provided to a civil rights group – includes now-former police chief Sam Dobbins delivering a racist tirade of admissions.

“I have shot and killed, in the line of duty, 13 different people,” he said, according to the recording, which was obtained by civil rights group JULIAN and first reported by the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting.

The recording was captured by officer Robert Lee Hooker, who resigned from the department citing a toxic work environment under Mr Dobbins, who was promoted to chief last year.”

SOURCE : https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/sam-dobbins-mississippi-police-recording-b2130226.html?amp



B.) Mississippi Center For Investigative Reporting :

“Mississippi police chief linked to racist recording”

JULY 19, 2022

In a recording obtained by MCIR, a Mississippi law enforcement officer can be heard bragging about killing 13 people in the line of duty, saying, “I shot that n----- 119 times, OK?”
In that recording, the supervising officer can be heard using slurs toward those Black or gay and telling another officer, “I don’t give a f--- if you kill a motherf---er in cold blood.”

JULIAN, a civil rights and international human rights organization, shared the recording with MCIR and identified the officer as Sam Dobbins, the White police chief of Lexington, a 85% majority Black town on the edge of the Mississippi Delta.

Contacted for comment, Dobbins said he was unaware of the recording.

Asked whether he killed 13 people in the line of duty, he replied, “That’s something we don’t discuss, period.”

He also denied using slurs. “I don’t talk like that,” he said.

SOURCE : https://www.mississippicir.org/news/mississippi-police-chief-linked-to-racist-recording

The conversations of “Defund the police” is NATIONWIDE because of bad police officers and police departments.

1.) BLOG: "WISCONSIN'S RECORD OF POLICE BRUTALITY AGAINST PEOPLE OF COLOR"

The City of Milwaukee, but also Wisconsin, a place where racial segregation, economic inequality and police brutality against people of color has long since been a problem.

Here are just a few of the people of color killed in police interactions in recent years:
In April, 25-year-old Joel Acevedo died days after an off-duty Milwaukee police officer put him in a 10-minute chokehold during a fight.

Mattioli was charged with first-degree reckless homicide. 
In February, 17-year-old Alvin Cole was fatally shot while fleeing from police outside Mayfair Mall. Police say Cole shot first before officers returned fire. Wauwatosa Police released portions of dashcam footage, but were not equipped with body cameras. This was the third fatal shooting that the officer had been involved in. A charging decision has not yet been made.

On June 15, 2019, 18-year-old Ty’Rese West was fatally shot after a Mount Pleasant Police officer stopped West for not having a light on his bicycle and West fled. The officer claimed West had a gun. There was no body cam footage of the incident, and West’s fingerprints were never found on the gun. The Racine County DA said that the officer’s actions were justified.

In June 2017, 19-year-old Terry Williams was fatally shot by a Milwaukee County Sheriff's Deputy after reportedly attempting to flee from a traffic stop. The deputy fired eight time’s into Williams’ SUV. No charges were filed against the officer.

In May 2017, 22-year-old Adam Trammel died after West Milwaukee Police broke down the door to his apartment and Tasered him 18 times while he was showering. Trammel was pronounced dead when he arrived at the emergency room. The involved officers were not charged.

In August 2016, 23-year-old Sylville Smith was fatally shot by a Milwaukee Police Department officer seconds after body-camera video showed him throwing his weapon over a nearby fence. 
The shooting led to days of protests in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park area. The officer was charged, but  was eventually acquitted.

In June 2016, 25-year-old Jay Anderson Jr. was fatally shot by a Wauwatosa Police officer inside his parked car after the officer said that he saw a gun in the vehicle and Anderson kept reaching for it. Anderson was shot five times in the head. The officer, who was not charged, was not wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting.

In April 2014, 31-year-old unarmed Dontre Hamilton was fatally shot by a Milwaukee Police officer while he was sleeping in Red Arrow Park. Hamilton was shot 14 times. The involved officer was fired, but charged. The decision sparked rage in the community, and led to the Milwaukee Police Department being equipped with body cameras.

It is obvious by these, and countless other examples, that changes need to be made to the infrastructure of policing. In some of these examples, mental health was a major factor. 

A call has been made to ‘defund’ the police, but ‘defund’ is a largely misunderstood word. 
Defunding doesn’t mean eliminating the police department. It means looking at the role police currently play in society, and reallocating resources to include counselors, social workers and other entities who are more suited to deal with the situations that police are involved in each day. Situations, that all too often, result in the death of people of color. 

SOURCE : https://www.aclu-wi.org/en/news/blog-wisconsins-record-police-brutality-against-people-color



2.) Crooked ‘Punisher’ Cops Rumored to Haunt Milwaukee Streets

Newly released documents from the Milwaukee, Wisconsin police department reveal that authoriti have investigated reports of the existence and activities of a "gang" of rogue police officers kno as the Punishers that may have been operating ir the city since at least 2005.

They are alleged to W black gloves, caps and tattoos brandishing skull emblems, inspired by the Marvel Comics vigilante Some of the policemen in question were involved the beating of Frank Jude, Jr. in 2004 and were convicted of civil rights violations and fired.

However, documents released as part of Jude's c action against the city and his attackers reveal thi the Punishers may have remained active through 2008 despite having been stripped of their police authority.

Police reports indicate Captain James Galezewski investigated the Punishers once in 2005 and again in 2007, and identified them as a real threat and that there may have been more than just those involved in the Jude affair. Galezewski wrote in his report:

"This is a group of rogue officers within our agency who I would characterize as brutal and abusive. At least some of the officers involved in the Jude case were associated with this group, although there is reason to believe the membership extended beyond those who were convicted in the case."

Milwaukee's Journal Sentinal reports that beyond the firing of the officers involved with the Jude case, little else was done with respect to the Punishers.

The authority responsible for professional performance did not mention the group in its 82-page report on the beating, and the commander in charge of a new 2008 investigation said he could not confirm the group existed.

However, Galezewski said he was never contacted about his earlier investigations for the 2008 report. Additionally, federal prosecutors did not mention the Punishers in the Jude trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mel Johnson told the Journal Sentinal, "We made a conscious decision not to use [the Punishers evidence]."

Chief Flynn's remarks suggest he is only vaguely aware of Galezewski's reports, in which the Captain was emphatic about the Punishers' existence and the threat they represented to the department. "I am frankly alarmed that a group of officers might think of themselves in this light," Galezewski wrote. "I think a group like that, anything they stand for is pretty much outrageous. It shouldn't have any place in the Milwaukee Police Department."

At least one member of the Punishers identified by Galezewski remains on the force, a man who wears a Punisher skull tattoo.

"He is sending a clear message that he has every intention of exercising his authority as a police officer in an inappropriate and abusive way, and in my judgment, it would be irresponsible to allow him that opportunity."

You can read much more about this situation at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website.

SOURCE : https://comicsalliance.com/crooked-punisher-cops-milwaukee/



***

How Wisconsin is weeding out bad cops

* Police agencies must now report to the state when officers resign amid an internal investigation, quit in lieu of termination or are fired for cause.

* The change is aimed at identifying officers who switch jobs or hop around to different agencies after committing or being accused of wrongdoing.

* An expert on police discipline called the move a "good start" but said Wisconsin could do more to screen out bad cops.

SOURCE : https://www.wausaudailyherald.com/story/news/2017/04/14/how-wisconsin-weeding-out-bad-cops/98867530/


County Jail Staff Wore White Supremacist Symbols

Staff wearing "Punisher" symbol and Spartan helmet, both used by far-right groups.

One of those stories based on FACTS goes back to 2011’ …. Prior to Mike Brown, Prior to George Floyd. It’s been an ongoing issue.

Defund the police = Not doing things the same way when it hurts the overall country as a nation BECAUSE of cops breaking the laws themselves.

USA: Rights experts call for reforms to end police brutality, systemic racism

“Human Rights

Independent UN human rights experts appealed on Friday for the new United States Government to adopt wide ranging reforms to end police violence and address systemic racism and racial discrimination.”

Excessive force used 

African American communities have long decried police brutality and racial profiling. 
The issue gained global attention last year when protests broke out across the US, some of them violent, following the death of George Floyd, the unarmed African American man whose death while in police custody was captured on video. 

The rights experts welcomed a recent report on protest response in the city of Philadelphia which found authorities failed to sufficiently plan for the demonstrations and that excessive force had been used. 

They urged other municipalities to assess their response and allegations of systemic racism. 


Revise laws on use of lethal force 

The experts were also concerned that law enforcement officers in the US are allowed to use lethal force whenever it is deemed “reasonable”.

They called for relevant legal and policy frameworks to be revised urgently to reflect established international human rights standards. 

“The use of potentially lethal force is an extreme measure, which may be resorted to only when strictly necessary to protect life or prevent serious injury from an imminent threat”, they said. “Likewise, less lethal weapons must be employed only subject to strict requirements of necessity and proportionality, in situations where less harmful measures would be ineffective.” 

Relatedly, they called for reform of laws and policies regarding the use of tear gas, pepper spray and other “so-called less-lethal weapons” during protests. 

“The expanding and improperly regulated use of less-lethal weapons raise serious and dramatic concerns for the respect of the right to life and the right to be free from torture and other ill-treatment”, the experts said.

“They can kill and have killed; they can harm and wound horribly, leading to permanent disability.”  

SOURCE : https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/02/1085872