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, Minneapolis strengthens public safety; a California police union executive faces criminal charges; Al Sharpton demands justice for Irvo Otieno; and more!
FEATURED STORY
CNN: Minneapolis Agrees to Policing Plan Overhaul Forged After George Floyd’s Killing
“As part of the agreement, the city and [the Minnesota Department of Human Rights] will have ‘to set and enforce clear policies’ and prioritize ‘organizational culture change to strengthen public safety by requiring the City and/or [the Minneapolis Police Dept.] to provide training, engagement, accountability, and data collection for all policy changes.’”
Read more here.
MARYLAND
Last week, a federal courthouse announced that Prince George’s County will settle Demonte Ward Blake’s mother’s civil rights suit for $7.5 million—the second-largest police brutality payout in the county’s history. Ward Blake, who died in 2021, was left permanently paralyzed after a shockingly vicious traffic stop in 2019.
Read more here.
ADDITIONAL NEWS
CBS Bay Area: San Jose Police Union Executive Charged with Trying to Import, Distribute Valeryl Fentanyl and Other Opioids
“The complaint also alleged that [Joanne Marian] Segovia…used her office at the San Jose Police Officers’ Association to distribute controlled substances and even used the SJPOA’s UPS account for a shipment. According to the complaint, Segovia continued to order controlled substances even after being interviewed by federal investigators last month.”
Read more here.
NPR: Al Sharpton to Focus on Police Mental Health Response After Irvo Otieno’s Death
“Irvo Otieno was killed in custody earlier this month at a psychiatric hospital while experiencing mental health distress. Reverend Al Sharpton says this has to be a turning point….‘[We] would like to see a law… where there is a real kind of instruction on how [police] deal with causal mental health…’”
Read more here.
ABC News: Police Reforms Tested in City Where Officer Killed Black Man
“‘It’s difficult to legislate or control human behavior,’ [activist Jamarhl] Crawford said. ‘They’re never going to create a system where officers are not going to (mess) up. What has to be done is to put in a system and mechanism about what happens when they do—transparent and independent investigations.’”
Read more here.
The Seattle Times: Police Nearly Beat Him to Death. Six Years Later, He’s Being Prosecuted for It. Again.
“[Joseph] Zamora, who says he suffers from seizures, stress, anxiety and severe mental health problems since the beating, thinks the prosecutor is trying to prove a point. ‘They want to make the public feel that what the Moses Lake Police Department did to me—the beating that I took—was just. When it wasn’t,’ Zamora, 41, said.”
Read more here.
CNN: 7 Officers and Nurse Charged with Involuntary Manslaughter in the 2020 Killing of a Man in Police Custody in Los Angeles County
“‘These officers had a legal duty to [Edward] Bronstein,’ [LA County District Attorney George] Gascón said. ‘He was in custody. We believe that they failed their duty and their failure was criminally negligent, causing his death.’ He added that ‘police accountability is essential to public safety.’”
Read more here.
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