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, Axios examines race and policing; an ex-cop faces trial for killing Patrick Lyoya; Ben Crump takes on the LA County Sheriff’s Department; and more!
FEATURED STORY
Axios: Race and Policing: The Path Forward
Race and Policing, the latest installment of Axios’ Hard Truth series, examines how “systemic barriers continue to stall major changes” needed to fully combat racism in law enforcement.
Read more here.
NEW YORK
New York City has bolstered police presence in the subway system, causing an increase in fare-evasion arrests. Civil rights advocates believe that instead of improving public safety, the practice unfairly targets people of color: “Using fear of violent crime on the subways as an excuse to issue tickets and fines…is the worst form of irrational, racially biased criminalization of poverty,” said an attorney at The Legal Aid Society.
Read more here.
MARYLAND
Following the brutal death of a deaf inmate, ACLU representatives conducted an investigation into the Baltimore jail where he died, finding that conditions there for people with disabilities were “harsher than any death row or supermax detention centers they had previously toured.”
Read more here.
ILLINOIS
Public safety advocates rallied in Flossmoor on Saturday demanding justice for Madeline Miller, a 64-year-old woman who was killed by police while undergoing a mental health crisis. Along with calling for the dismissal of the officers who killed Miller, the advocates spoke about the need to change the way crisis calls are handled, “to prevent police killings from happening.”
Read more here.
On Election Day, Chicago residents will vote on an initiative that, if passed, would establish a dispatch system that sends mental health workers instead of cops to answer crisis calls. “Having an [alternative] outlet could definitely be helpful for families…supporting folks who are struggling with mental illness,” said a social worker who favors the measure.
Read more here.
Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability deemed John Cannon, a high-ranking police supervisor, unfit to serve after it was revealed he had posted racist, misogynistic content on social media, undermining his department’s “goals of building community support.” However, Cannon won’t face consequences, as he retired on October 15.
Read more here.
ADDITIONAL NEWS
The Huffington Post: Ex-Grand Rapids Cop Will Face Murder Trial for Killing Patrick Lyoya
“[Judge Nicholas] Ayoub wrote in an opinion that prosecutors had demonstrated evidence that could lead someone to ‘conclude that [Christopher Schurr’s] shooting of Lyoya in the back of the head was not reasonably necessary to prevent his escape.’”
Read more here.
Los Angeles Times: A Violent Arrest by L.A. County Deputies Was Caught on Video. Now the Man Is Seeking Justice
“‘What we’re going to do is demand justice and accountability,’ the attorney [Ben Crump] said. ‘Because if you can’t get accountability for what we saw on that videotape, what can Black people get accountability for against the Los Angeles [County] Sheriff’s Department?’”
Read more here.
Minnesota Star Tribune: U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Qualified Immunity Case From Rural Minnesota
“Attorneys for Central Specialties this week warned that the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear a challenge of the Eighth Circuit ruling…will pave the way for government workers to act more freely outside their job duties while facing no consequences for violating constitutional rights.”
Read more here.
Institute for Justice: Federal Court Allows Lawsuit Against Abusive Brookside Police Officers to Move Forward
“The district court’s denial of qualified immunity is an important step in the efforts of ordinary people to hold Brookside and its officers accountable for violating their constitutional rights.”
Read more here.
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