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, Bijan Ghaisar’s family donates their settlement to fight qualified immunity; New York police unions push false narratives to avoid accountability; a San Francisco DA targets police misconduct; and more!
FEATURED STORY
The Hill: Parents of Man Slain by US Park Police Say They Will Donate $5M Payment to Oppose Police Immunity
“‘We’re going to work with lawmakers to overturn qualified immunity,’ Bijan’s mother Kelly Ghaisar said at the Alexandria federal courthouse on Friday, according to The Washington Post. ‘That’s how we can get justice for Bijan.’”
Read more here.
NEW YORK
Over the past three years, New York City has paid out over $270 million for NYPD lawsuits. Yet efforts to pass police reform in the Big Apple have stalled. Many public safety advocates blame police unions for pushing false narratives to avoid accountability.
Read more here.
An analysis of over 100,000 police misconduct complaints reveals that a high percentage of these complaints revolve around rookie cops, who, according to criminal justice expert Felipe Rodriguez, often can’t make good decisions due to a lack of proper supervision.
Read more here.
Eight years ago, a federal court established a consent decree to curb corrections officers’ use of excess force in New York jails. Following a recent assessment, Jeffrey Powell, an assistant US attorney in Manhattan, said the Corrections Dept. has yet to take meaningful action to quell such disturbances.
Read more here.
A pop-up art show presented by the New York Civil Liberties Union displays the staggering emotional and financial costs of aggressive policing in New York City. The show’s title, 29 Million Dreams, represents the $29 million a day the NYCLU says the city spends on policing.
Read more here.
ADDITIONAL NEWS
San Francisco BayView: Alameda County’s New D.A. Price Is Prosecuting Police for Misconduct in a Historic Way
“I ran for District Attorney of Alameda County in response to the startling racial disparities in our County with respect to adult and juvenile prosecutions….The District Attorney has the opportunity to expand on the expectation of accountability across the County and raise the bar on independent investigations of police misconduct.”
Read more here.
Miami New Times: Guess Who’s Back? Javier Ortiz, Miami’s Most Controversial Cop, Is Reinstated
“Ortiz was suspended in 2020 amid an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the FBI involving current and former MPD officers who’d complained that Ortiz had ‘engaged in a pattern of abuse and bias against minorities, primarily African Americans.’”
Read more here.
MPR News: U.N. Panel Hears Minnesotans’ Stories of Systemic Racism in Policing and Prisons
“‘This is a part of an investigation to see what is happening in the US,’ said Salimah Hankins, the director of the U.N. Anti-Racism Coalition, one of the organizations that coordinated the visit. ‘And Minnesota felt like…a key place in that fight, because of what’s happening with the police, and because…of the killing of George Floyd.’”
Read more here.
Los Angeles Times: Does Racism Make You ‘Too Stupid to Be a Cop’? A California Law Says Yes
“[Ash] Kalra, the bill’s author, told me ‘the intent was certainly to root out officers that hold the kind of attitudes that officers in Antioch hold.’ The racial slurs, the misogyny, the disdain are all signs of extremism, he said. Even if the officers in the text chain aren’t explicitly in a hate group, their actions are dangerous because of the power they hold.”
Read more here.
Washington Examiner: Attorney General Merrick Garland Asked to Investigate Fatal Shooting of ‘Cop City’ Protester
“Several Georgia state legislators have requested that…the Justice Department investigate the fatal shooting of a protester who was killed at the planned site of [Cop City]….‘We believe it is essential that a credible investigation be conducted that gathers and releases the necessary information to ensure public confidence in the investigatory and law enforcement process,’ the lawmakers wrote.”
Read more here.
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