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, Jayland Walker’s mother fights to keep his memory alive; public safety advocates stand up for police transparency in Maryland; another rogue cop is held accountable for Breonna Taylor’s death; and more!
FEATURED STORY
The Washington Post: Police Shot Jayland Walker 41 Times. His Mother Is Fighting for His Memory.
“[Pamela Walker] has questions about the shooting and Akron police officers’ response, which left her son dead. She hopes for change in the community she’s spent her whole life in. But most of all, she wants Jayland Walker to be remembered—not as the man who was fatally shot after a car chase, but as the man she raised and loved.”
Read more here.
NEW YORK
“Today marks one year that my baby was taken from me. He was beaten twice and then tortured in solitary confinement…My son died an innocent man.” Brandon Rodriguez died last year while being held in solitary confinement on Rikers Island. On the anniversary of his death, his family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of New York.
Read more here.
Reflecting on the recent killing of Bronx teen Raymond Chaluisant by rogue off-duty corrections officer Dion Middleton, public defender and political commentator Olayemi Olurin has written an op-ed blasting the “deeply rooted moral decay covering every inch of the New York City Department of Correction.”
Read more here.
“Our purpose is to educate the public and put pressure on the politicians regarding police arrest practices, which are starkly racist in their implementation every day.” New York’s Police Reform Organizing Project sounds the alarm on a troubling trend: the skyrocketing arrests of Black individuals due to questionable NYPD policies.
Read more here.
VERMONT
35-year-old Michael Mills is in critical condition after rogue cops shot him in the head following a car pursuit. Mills was experiencing a mental health crisis when this incident—“the third officer-involved shooting in Vermont in the last 30 days”—happened.
Read more here.
MARYLAND
Three years ago, 25 rogue corrections officers were indicted for massive corruption, including promoting “a culture of using excessive force against inmates.” But instead of justice moving forward to hold these bad actors accountable, the case has been dismissed.
Read more here.
Public safety advocates held a conference on August 10 urging for greater transparency concerning new regulations regarding the implementation of state-mandated police accountability boards. “We are here today to ensure that there is a public hearing and a transparent process that will allow community members and their voices to continue to be engaged,” said Lydia Walther-Rodriguez from CASA de Maryland.
Read more here.
ILLINOIS
The family of Lizabeth Urbina, who was shot in the head by an off-duty officer during a car chase, has filed a lawsuit against the rogue cop and the City of Chicago. “Rather than take actions to deescalate the situation, the officer…escalated the situation,” said attorney Richard Dvorak. Urbina remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Read more here.
In what is believed to be “one of the first mass exonerations in the United States,” the Cook County’s State’s Attorney’s office has asked to overturn the murder convictions of eight incarcerated individuals who were the victims of Reynaldo Rivera, a rogue ex-detective accused of, among other crimes, submitting false confessions and manufacturing evidence.
Read more here.
ADDITIONAL NEWS
ABC 13: Former Detective Charged in Breonna Taylor Case to Plead Guilty
“Former Louisville detective Kelly Goodlett will plead guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the civil rights of Breonna Taylor….Goodlett, who was not present during the incident, is being charged for her role in helping falsify an affidavit for the search into Taylor’s apartment.”
Read more here.
WNDU: Protesters Gather Outside South Bend Mayor’s Home Regarding Officer-involved Shooting
“There’s a lot of misstatements that have been made…and we want to correct the record and just underscore that this is about the demands that are being put forward. It’s about the fact that a Black man’s life was taken.”
Read more here.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Court Rejects Civil Rights Suit from Wrongfully Convicted Milwaukee Man Who Served 24 Years in Prison
“Daryl Holloway’s rights may have been violated by Milwaukee police detectives who he says framed him for crimes for which he was wrongfully convicted and served nearly 24 years in prison, a federal appellate court has ruled. The court also decided the officers are protected by qualified immunity and can’t be held liable for damages.”
Read more here.
Arkansas Times: Another Case of ‘Qualified Immunity’ for a Cop’s Use of Force, This Time in Pine Bluff Against a Shoplifter
“The 8th Circuit agreed that a reasonable jury could conclude that Officer Markeith Neal’s use of force in taking down Randy McDaniel was excessive. But it found Neal was protected by qualified immunity because ‘…neither we nor McDaniel can identify a case or body of case law that clearly established…that Neal’s use of force was excessive….Given the Supreme Court’s strict instructions on this point, we are compelled to conclude that Neal is entitled to qualified immunity.’”
Read more here.
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