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, a huge win for the family of Andrew Joseph III; a new report calls out the NYPD’s discriminatory arrest practices; Botham Jean’s sister speaks on police reform; and more!
FEATURED STORY
Fox 13: Family of Andrew Joseph III Awarded $15 Million in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against HCSO
“‘I always said that Andrew would not die in vain,’ Deanna [Joseph] said. ‘And the reason that we engaged in this fight so hard was that we didn’t want any family to ever stand in the shoes that we’re standing in today.’”
Read more here.
NEW YORK
“We urgently need the public outrage that harsh and harmful police practices have regrettably merited for us to achieve what we as Americans and New Yorkers aspire to: a truly just, safe and inclusive city and country.” Robert Gangi, director of the Police Reform Organizing Project, breaks down the findings of the organization’s latest report on arrest practices in New York City—and how those practices disproportionately impact New Yorkers of color.
Read more here.
Rochester’s Police Accountability Board has released a report proposing new policies to bolster public safety, including the implementation of a “robust dataset” on police complaints, which “would allow the public to evaluate patterns of misconduct and discipline.”
Read more here.
“I hope we can get justice from the court. That’s the only hope right now.” Brooklyn cabbie Ishtiaq Ahmed is suing Natasha Moseley-Jones, the rogue NYPD cop who traumatized his family and suspended his livelihood after she falsely arrested him for assault in June 2021. Moseley-Jones has already been disciplined over her questionable practices on two separate occasions.
Read more here.
VERMONT
On July 17, Matthew Davis was fatally shot by Brattleboro police during a confrontation. Following an investigation into the incident, the Vermont Attorney General’s Office announced on Monday that the officers’ deadly use of force was “objectively reasonable and justified.”
Read more here.
MARYLAND
Maryland passed Anton’s Law “to ensure transparency and accountability in policing by granting the public the right to timely access of police misconduct records with very narrow exceptions.” However, in Montgomery County, the Fraternal Order of Police seeks to undermine this intent, warned civil rights activists Yanet Amanuel and Joanna Silver in a recent op-ed.
Read more here.
ILLINOIS
Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) recommended serious suspensions after the watchdog group obtained video of rogue cops brutalizing demonstrators at a 2020 racial justice protest. Trying to evade full accountability, the police superintendent “asked the Chicago Police Board to approve lesser suspensions, which it has done over the objections of COPA.”
Read more here.
ADDITIONAL NEWS
CBS News: Botham Jean’s Sister Speaks About His Legacy, Police Reform and Forgiveness
“[Allisa] Findley believes four years after Jean’s death, there’s still a long way to go. ‘Racism is not something you can train out of so I think one of the big steps we need to make is who we allow to be police officers,’ said Findley.”
Read more here.
The New York Times: Video Shows When Train Hit Patrol Car with Woman Handcuffed Inside
“[Yareni Rios-Gonzalez] saw it coming and could hear the horn….She was trying to get the police officers’ attention, screaming at them. She tried unlocking the door. She had her hands behind her back and was frantically trying to unlock the door.”
Read more here.
WRBL: Attorneys Allege Alabama Inmate Tortured by Department of Corrections
“Prisoners are entitled to the same basic human decency as all other citizens in our country. We have begun working to ensure [Kastellio] Vaughan receives the care his condition requires while investigating whether or not agents of the State of Alabama violated their duty by allowing his medical condition to spiral.”
Read more here.
AP News: Officers to Face Trial in Girl’s Death After Football Game
“Three former police officers charged with killing [Fanta Bility] when they fired 25 shots at a moving car as a nearby crowd left a high school football game will face trial on manslaughter charges, a suburban Philadelphia judge ruled Monday.”
Read more here.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Ex-Philly Police Officer Convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter in Shooting of Unarmed Man
“A jury on Wednesday convicted former Philadelphia police officer Eric Ruch Jr. of voluntary manslaughter in the 2017 shooting of an unarmed man, marking the first such conviction in at least a half-century or more.”
Read more here.
The Huffington Post: Sheriff’s Deputy in Shocking Colorado Shooting Was Already Being Sued For Excessive Force
“Earlier this summer, a sheriff’s deputy in Clear Creek County, Colorado, fatally shot a man who called 911 because he was having car trouble…HuffPost has now learned the deputy, Andrew Buen, is being sued for excessive force over a 2019 incident where he allegedly choked a man and kneeled on his back.”
Read more here.
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