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, the Justice Dept. uncovers years of abusive policing in Louisville, KY; a New York jail supervisor faces homicide charges; DC demonstrators demand justice for Timothy McCree Johnson; and more!
FEATURED STORY
The New York Times: Justice Dept. Finds Pattern of Discriminatory Policing in Louisville
“In a damning 90-page report, investigators painted a grim portrait of the Louisville Metro Police Department, detailing a variety of serious abuses, including excessive force; searches based on invalid and so-called no-knock warrants; unlawful car stops, detentions and harassment of people during street sweeps; and broad patterns of discrimination against Black people and people with behavioral health problems.”
Read more here.
NEW YORK
Claiming a gag order, the NYPD refused to attend a recent City Council oversight hearing on police misconduct during 2020’s racial justice protests. Turns out, no such order actually existed. “The NYPD is using settlement negotiations as a smokescreen for answering questions from their oversight body about widespread abuse,“ said Molly Biklen from the ACLU of New York.
Read more here.
New York City jail supervisor Rebecca Hillman faces homicide charges for refusing to help inmate Ryan Wilson as he was taking his own life—and later lying about the incident on official paperwork. “Ryan Wilson’s life could have been saved, but for her actions,” said Assistant DA Matthew Sears.
Read more here.
MARYLAND
The City of Baltimore has agreed to pay $6 million to the family of a driver killed during a 2010 chase involving the Gun Trace Task Force. This is Baltimore’s latest payout “resulting from flagrant misconduct by the rogue law enforcement unit.” The city has now spent over $22 million to settle nearly 40 similar cases, with at least five others pending.
Read more here.
ADDITIONAL NEWS
NPR Fresh Air: How The Police Became Untouchable
UCLA law professor Joanna Schwartz challenges the validity of qualified immunity while discussing her new book, Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable, on Fresh Air.
Listen here.
CNN: Memphis Officials to Release More Video from Tyre Nichols’ Deadly Beating Today, After Saying a 7th Officer Was Fired
“The unreleased footage most notably will include audio of what was said after the beating and after an ambulance took Nichols to a hospital, and it could play an investigative role as his office contemplates additional charges, the county prosecutor previously told CNN.”
Read more here.
The Washington Post: Demonstrators Mourn Man Fatally Shot by Fairfax Police Near Tysons Mall
“‘The tragic killing of [Timothy McCree] Johnson reminds us once again how unjust America’s policing truly is,’ said Michelle Leete, the Fairfax County NAACP president. ‘The facts as we know them signal that the officers’ actions were entirely out of step with [the Fairfax police’s] Use of Force policy.’”
Read more here.
DailyBeast: Legal Observer Hit with Terrorism Charges After Mass ‘Cop City’ Arrests
“‘An employee at the SPLC [Southern Poverty Law Center] was arrested while acting—and identifying—as a legal observer on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG),’ the SPLC said in a statement. ‘The employee is an experienced legal observer, and their arrest is not evidence of any crime, but of heavy-handed law enforcement intervention against protesters.’”
Read more here.
The Guardian: Florida Man Sues After Being Paralyzed by Officer Who Mistook Gun for Taser
“The Florida-based civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Ortiz with attorney Hunter Shkolnik, said it was an ‘injustice’ that [Officer Henry] Andrews has been charged with only a misdemeanor. ‘Michael Ortiz needed a helping hand and what he got was a bullet to the back,’ Crump said.”
Read more here.
MLive: Judge Dismisses Lawsuit After Black Realtor, Clients Handcuffed at Gunpoint During House Showing
“Realtor Eric Brown, his prospective buyer, Roy Thorne, and Thorne’s then-15-year-old son contended that police handcuffed them at gunpoint because they are Black. In a case that drew national headlines, they accused police of false arrest, using excessive force and equal-protection violations.”
Read more here.
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