Welcome to the weekly update from the Campaign to End Qualified Immunity! Here, we give you a wrap-up of the latest developments and notable news as we continue our state-focused fight to abolish the unjust rule.
This week, a faith leader questions qualified immunity; Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. seeks accountability for his father; the ACLU of Vermont testifies for public safety; and more!
FEATURED STORY
USA Today: Want to Fix Racist Policing? Take Away Immunity. Give Officers More Ethics Training Instead.
“As a faith leader, [Jim] Wallis believes that police accountability is a question of morality—and that QI is highly immoral. ‘What qualified immunity means morally and practically today in America…is letting white police officers get away with misconduct against Black people.’”
Read more here.
NEW YORK
Journalist Eric Umansky recounts an unsettling incidence of police misconduct he and his family witnessed on the streets of Brooklyn on Halloween 2019—and the subsequent attempt of the NYPD to cover it up: “It was as if the case was being pushed into a fog.”
Read more here.
Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. discusses the new feature film The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, which dramatizes the tragic event that led to his father’s death in 2011 at the hands of rogue cops. “After a decade-long fight…the only thing we can hope for now is some sort of accountability in his killing. That’s what I will continue to push and continue to fight for.”
Read more here.
Watch The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain here.
VERMONT
The ACLU of Vermont provides a legislative update on S.254, the bill to end qualified immunity, which has been heard twice by the Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee. Among those who testified on behalf of the bill was Ret. Lt. Diane Goldstein of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, who said that abolishing the doctrine would “allow judges to hear the facts of the most egregious cases, which are currently causing the public perception that police are above the law.”
Read more here.
WASHINGTON
The rogue cops who fatally shot a distressed man at the Seattle Waterfront last year violated policy and threatened public safety because “they did not engage in any planning or tactical discussions, and their actions undermined the critical principles of time, distance, and shielding,” reports the Seattle Office of Police Accountability.
Read more here.
State lawmakers have introduced a bill that would allow officers to use force against fleeing suspects, regardless of whether they have enough evidence to arrest them. Civil rights advocates, such as Enoka Herat of the ACLU of Washington, have called this “a recipe for trouble.”
Read more here.
A rogue federal agent who brutalized bed-and-breakfast owner Robert Boule in 2014 has yet to face accountability for his abusive actions. “It’s been almost eight years, and Boule has not yet had his day in court.” The victim has now asked the Supreme Court to hear his case.
Read more here.
MARYLAND
The ACLU of Maryland has released a statement from Anton Black’s family following a ruling denying qualified immunity to the rogue cops who killed the 19-year-old in 2019. “This ruling gives us some hope in our hearts that accountability will come, and that our lawsuit may ultimately help other families around the country who are also mourning loved ones whose killings by police were also covered up.”
Read more here.
Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh’s decision to grant qualified immunity to a rogue cop who arrested a resident for filming him at a protest has drawn harsh criticism from legal experts. “Not only is that utterly indefensible as a matter of law,” stated lawyer Cary J. Hansel III, “but it is contrary to [Frosh’s] professed love of the Constitution and civil rights.”
Read more here.
ILLINOIS
When rogue cop Jason Van Dyke fatally shot Black teen Laquan McDonald in 2014, it sparked public outrage and even a federal investigation into the Chicago Police Department. However, “despite efforts on reform, evidence of problem policing is still present” nearly eight years later.
Read more here.
ADDITIONAL NEWS
AP News: Jury Questioning Delayed in Case Related to Breonna Taylor
“[Brett] Hankison, who faces one to five years in prison on each of the wanton endangerment counts, is the only officer facing any criminal charges from the raid.”
Read more here.
The Kansas City Star: Missouri Republican’s Bill Would Give Killers Immunity If They Just Claim Self-Defense
“Senate Bill 666 would place the burden on prosecutors to disprove a self-defense claim. . . . Social justice activists and law enforcement officials from around the state stand firmly against the measure, which would be a disaster for public safety.”
Read more here
Florida Courier: Black Lives Matter, Actress to Participate in Memorial Weekend for Teenager
“Nearly eight years later, no police report exists or documentation showing criminal wrongdoing by Andrew [Joseph]. And local law enforcement continues to use the legal claim of ‘qualified immunity’ to block Andrew’s family from having their day in court.”
Read more here.
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