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, three ex-cops plead guilty for killing Fanta Bility; Vermonters demand less police in their schools; a new report slams subpar officer training; and more!
FEATURED STORY
NBC News: Three Ex-Pennsylvania Police Officers Plead Guilty in Shooting of 8-Year-Old Girl Who Was Killed by Stray Bullet
“‘After much prayer and discussion with our family, we determined that it was in our best interest for the district attorney to ensure that the police officers take responsibility for their actions, admit to their reckless conduct endangering many, and killing our Fanta,’ [Fanta’s uncle] said.”
Read more here.
NEW YORK
Deposition transcripts obtained by the Investigative Post reveal systemic racism in the Buffalo Police Department, which, according to documents, “has unconstitutionally targeted Black people in deeply harmful and dehumanizing ways as a matter of standard operating procedure.”
Read more here.
VERMONT
“No matter how much we want a solution to school shootings, police are not the answer.” The Education Justice Coalition of Vermont has released a video featuring public safety advocates calling on state officials to invest in their communities’ well-being by decreasing police presence in schools.
Watch here.
MARYLAND
Civil rights leaders in Baltimore are demanding accountability after the recent police killing of local rapper and anti-violence activist Tyree Moorehead. “How can we continue to build trust if we continue getting shot down in the streets?” remarked one of the leaders. “The police are supposed to be protecting us.”
Read more here.
ILLINOIS
On Tuesday, prosecutors dropped all charges against Edwin Davila, who spent over two decades in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Davila’s exoneration is “the latest in a string of more than 30 murder cases to be overturned based on allegations of misconduct by former Chicago Police detective Reynaldo Guevara.”
Read more here.
ADDITIONAL NEWS
The Washington Post: New-Officer Training Presents ‘Immediate Crisis for Policing,’ Report Says
“The report describes a system that, even after years of push and pull over change, is ‘built to train officers quickly and cheaply.’ That system then hurries the new officers onto streets across the United States without helping them develop vital skills, including crisis intervention and communication, that they will need on the job, according to the report.”
Read more here.
WECT: NC Police Shot Young Fayetteville Woman 17 times, Autopsy Shows; New Details Emerge from July Death
“The autopsy and toxicology reports returned in the officer-involved shooting death of a young Fayetteville woman are shedding a new light on the case….CBS 17 knew [Jada] Johnson suffered multiple gunshot wounds Sept. 12 after obtaining her death certificate, but was not aware of the details released in Tuesday’s autopsy.”
Read more here.
VICE: Louisiana Sheriff’s Deputy Shot and Killed the Brother of a Fellow Cop During a Traffic Stop
“‘I’m so sorry you had to leave me in such a tragic way,’ [Derek] Kittling’s daughter said in her own Facebook post. ‘You didn’t deserve to be killed […], not by someone who’s supposed to protect us from these crimes.’”
Read more here.
CNN: Retired Detective and Kansas City Drug Kingpin Charged with Conspiring to Run an Underage Sex-Trafficking Operation
“Roger Golubski, a retired 35-year-veteran of the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department allegedly used his position to shield the operation from law enforcement investigations, according to the three-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Topeka.”
Read more here.
Beaver County Times: Good Samaritan’s Death Prompts Investigation After Witnesses Say He Was Forced to Ground
“‘The witness I just spoke to told me [Kenneth Vinyard] was amongst the people that were crowded around the victim,’ [attorney Joel Sansone] said. ‘He had backed off, but he was continuing to try to help. According to the witness, he was in no way belligerent or inappropriate. He was simply a citizen who was attempting to render aid and to continue to be helpful.’”
Read more here.
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