Alabama police officer punches black store owner after mistaking him for robber
DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — An armed business owner who called to report a robbery in his store in Alabama was punched in the face by a responding police officer who mistook him for a suspect, police said.
After the altercation, Kevin Penn, owner of Star Spirits & Beverages in Decatur, suffered a broken jaw, his teeth were knocked out and he needed to get his mouth wired shut, his lawyer, Carl Cole told AL.com.
Though the incident happened on March 15, police released the body camera video on Monday, June 8. The surveillance video also started circulating on social media this weekend.
Decatur Police Chief Nate Allen held a news conference on Monday to show footage of the altercation and to be “transparent” with the public, news outlets reported.
The bodycam video shows responding officers coming into the store and the suspect, later identified to be a person involved in an alleged shoplifting at Penn’s store, lying on the ground.
An officer walks past the suspect and tells Penn to put down his weapon. Penn refuses saying, “I have a right to have my gun.” Allen said that’s when Penn moved his hand over a gun lying on a counter next to him.
“We do know there was a gun there, we do know that the magazines were there, we do know that he was reloading the magazine,” Allen said at the news conference.
Penn’s lawyer said his client previously told police he was holding the suspect at gunpoint and had showed his gun to let them know he was armed. Penn had also removed the clip and ejected the bullets from the weapon, Cole added. The video shows Penn telling officers he’s going to file a complaint as they came close to him.
The body camera footage doesn’t clearly show what happens next, but surveillance video from the store shows an officer punching Penn and being joined by two other officers to wrestle him to the ground. He was arrested on a charge of obstructing a robbery investigation, according to court records.
The name of the officer who punched Penn has not been released. He has been placed on desk duty while the department investigates the altercation, the police chief said. The identity of the shoplifting suspect was also not released.
Penn filed a complaint with the police department over the altercation but has not been given an update on the status of the investigation, his lawyer said. The police chief also added Monday he doesn’t know when the investigation, which started in March, will conclude.
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Texas baby found dead in submerged car, father arrested
A 3-month-old Texas girl was found dead in a submerged car — and her father was arrested in connection with the tragedy, according to a report.
Lyrik Aliyana Brown’s body was recovered Tuesday from the car seat of the vehicle in the Red River in Gainesville, just hours after she went missing and an Amber Alert was issued in her disappearance, news station KVUE reported.
Police said her father, 30-year-old Jeremy Nathaniel Brown, was next to the overturned car and was pulled from the river.
“The vehicle was removed from the river and an infant was located inside the vehicle in a car seat,” police said.
Brown was arrested on charges of assault against a family or house member, the outlet reported.
Lyrik went missing around 9 p.m. Monday and authorities were looking for Brown in connection with her disappearance.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/06/10/texas-baby-found-dead-in-submerged-car-father-arrested/
Photo Credit: Gainesville Police Department
Black man dies after being tased by cops filming reality TV show
A black man stopped by Texas cops being filmed by a reality TV show died after being repeatedly tased as he begged, “I can’t breathe” — with the final bolt coming after he cried, “Save me,” police footage shows.
“I have congested heart failure!” Javier Ambler, 40, repeatedly sobbed as officers ordered him to turn face down on the ground after he was chased for refusing to dim his headlights, the newly released footage shows.
Gasping, the former postal worker then begged several times, “I can’t breathe!,” according to the footage of the fatal arrest in Austin in March 2019 that only emerged this week.
“I’m not resisting … Sir, I can’t breathe! Please. Please!” he sobbed, as the arrest was filmed by a crew from A&E’s “Live PD,” which is being accused of refusing to release the footage to investigators.
“Save me,” Ambler begged, just before a Taser was deployed for the final time.
The death has been ruled a homicide — but no disciplinary action or charges have been filed, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
One of the officers was heard admitting he was “pretty sure I just broke his finger” as they cuffed him — with footage showing officers trying to administer CPR as they failed to find a pulse.
Deputies performed CPR for four minutes, and medics worked another 50 minutes before Ambler was declared dead at an Austin hospital, the paper says. A death-in-custody report said he had never tried to assault any of the deputies or make any threats, the American-Statesman said.
Ambler’s parents — a retired Army veteran and a hospital clerk — said that until last week, they had only been told their son died in police custody. “Live PD” never aired the footage.
The police footage and documents only emerged after media pressure from both the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV, they say.
Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore told both media outlets that she plans to present the case to a grand jury.
She accused both Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody and “Live PD” producers of repeatedly stonewalling efforts to obtain evidence or interviews, the reports said.
The DA was also concerned that the TV crew may have influenced the officers’ tactics. The officer who chased Ambler, Deputy J.J. Johnson — who is black — had a “Live PD” crew with him, as did his first-responding backup, Deputy Zachary Camden, who is white.
“It is of very serious concern to any of us who are in law enforcement that the decision to engage in that chase was driven by more of a need to provide entertainment than to keep Williamson County citizens safe,” Moore told the outlets.
Ambler’s death was ruled a homicide, but there is no indication that the deputies faced any action or were forced to take time off, the reports said.
An autopsy showed he died of congestive heart failure and hypertensive cardiovascular disease associated with morbid obesity “in combination with forcible restraint,” the two outlets said.
Ambler’s mother, Maritza Ambler, told KVUE-TV that she warned him to be wary when dealing with law enforcement. “I would mention it to him, just to remind him, he is a minority,” she said. “You have that against you, your color.”
His father, Javier Ambler Sr., told the station he has needed help for depression because of the death. “Dads should not have to bury their sons,” he said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/06/09/black-man-died-after-being-tased-while-saying-i-cant-breathe/
Photo Credit: Facebook
18-month-old boy dies after drunk mom crashes into golf course pond
An 18-month-old boy died after his mom drove their minivan through a golf course and crashed into a pond in Utah, according to reports.
Police said the toddler’s mom, Brittanie Mae Miloshevsky, admitted to drinking late Sunday, when she was found passed out at Golf The Round golf course in South Salt Lake, Deseret News reported.
Her minivan was nearby, partially submerged in a pond.
Miloshevsky told officers who arrived that her little boy was still in the van, according to Fox 13. Divers went in the water multiple times to get the boy out. He was transported to the hospital and later died.
“The child was submerged for a substantial period of time in cold water,” the police affidavit said. “(Miloshevsky’s) clothing is completely soaked with water and it appears she was in the vehicle at the time it went into the water.”
The mom admitted she had been drinking and said she had driven to the golf course. Police are looking into whether she had taken the van on a joyride. She has no known affiliation with the golf course.
Miloshevsky was charged with child abuse homicide, DUI resulting in serious injury, child endangerment and criminal mischief.
Officials said the pond is part of a wastewater plant, ABC 4 reported.
Police found a hole in a fence leading to the pond.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/06/09/18-month-old-boy-dies-after-drunk-mom-crashes-into-pond-cops/
Photo Credit South Salt Lake Police Department
Three kids arrested after school break-in causes $50K in damage
Oklahoma authorities say three kids broke into a school and trashed the building, leaving more than $50,000 in damages.
Police said Monday the children, ages 6, 8, and 12, broke a glass door to gain access to Altus Intermediate School for the vandalism spree.
“Surveillance cameras inside the school show the juveniles damaging computers, dumping paint on floors and walls, using fire extinguishers inside multiple rooms and damaging interior doors and interior windows,” the Altus Police Department said.
Photos released of the damages showed red and blue paint splattered throughout the building with numerous objects knocked to the floor.
The youngsters were arrested Sunday in connection with the burglary and later released to their parents, police said.
Photo Credit: nypost.com
New York City will name a street ‘Black Lives Matter’ in each borough
(CNN) — New York City will name a street at a “crucial” location in each borough for “Black Lives Matter,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.
“What will be clear — the street name and on the streets of our city — is that message that now this city must fully, fully deeply feel and this nation must as well, that Black Lives Matter,” de Blasio said.
One of the locations will be near City Hall, and the other locations will be decided with participants, activists and city leaders, de Blasio said.
“Black Lives Matter” will also be painted on the streets.
The announcement came after a Sunday meeting with activists, including Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, who died in 2014 after an NYPD officer used a chokehold on him. The officer, Daniel Pantaleo, was fired but did not face criminal charges.
Spurred by the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other black people, protesters have marched in New York City for the past few weeks and called for an end to systemic racism in policing. Some protesters have called to “defund the police,” and de Blasio said Sunday he plans to shift funding from police to youth and social services.
Last week, Washington, DC, painted “Black Lives Matter” in large yellow letters down a busy DC street. Mayor Muriel Bowser also officially deemed the section of 16th Street bearing the mural as “Black Lives Matter Plaza,” complete with a new street sign.
Photo Credit: (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
Virginia Ku Klux Klan leader drove pickup truck into protesters
A Ku Klux Klan leader from Virginia was arrested Sunday for allegedly driving his truck into a crowd of protesters, a report said.
Harry Rogers, 36, is accused of revving his engine and motoring through a group of demonstrators gathered on the median of a Richmond street at about 5:45 p.m., the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, citing a county prosecutor.
One person at the scene was checked out for injuries, but refused medical attention, police said.
Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor called the alleged episode “heinous and despicable” and said her office “will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,” according to the report.
Rogers, who was hit with several charges, including attempted malicious wounding, “is an admitted leader of the Ku Klux Klan and a propagandist for Confederate ideology,” Taylor said.
Her office is weighing the possibility of hate crime charges, the report said.
In an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Rogers’ girlfriend said he was trying to flee from protesters after somebody hit her 14-year-old son, who was riding in the passenger seat of Rogers’ truck.
“He tried to drive over a median to get my son out of danger,” she told the paper.
Police are investigating those accusations.
Rogers went out Sunday after he heard protesters had gathered near the statue of Confederate general A. P. Hill, his girlfriend said.
He planned to “observe” and report to police if the statue was vandalized.
“He did not go there with violent tendencies,” his girlfriend said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/06/08/virginia-kkk-leader-drove-pickup-truck-into-protesters-prosecutor/
Photo Credit: Henrico Sheriff’s Department/AFP
Ohio protester dies two days after exposure to tear gas, pepper spray
A 22-year-old Ohio woman has died two days after she was tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed by police during a George Floyd rally in Columbus, according to a report.
Sarah Grossman attended the demonstration on May 28, when she was “exposed to tear gas and pepper spray” that was “discharged by police as part of crowd control,” her father told the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office on May 31, according to the Dayton Daily News.
The day before, the Centerville woman was found unresponsive by her family about 10 p.m. and was rushed to Sycamore Hospital, where she arrived in cardiac arrest, according to preliminary autopsy results.
The Dayton Daily News reviewed the coroner’s report using a provision of Ohio law that allows the media to review preliminary autopsy records.
The young woman’s cause of death remains under investigation.
An ER nurse reported her death as a suspected overdose, but no toxicology screen has been completed to show drugs in her system and her family denies any history of drug abuse, according to records cited by the outlet.
Grossman’s body showed no signs of lethal trauma and the only medical condition mentioned in the preliminary records is an allergy to peanuts, the paper reported.
“Police did use gasses to disperse crowds that night. We haven’t received an official complaint, nor have investigators in Montgomery County talked to (Columbus police),” city spokeswoman Robin Davis told the Dayton Daily News.
“Again, we encourage anyone who was with her at the protest or on May 29 or 30 before she went to Sycamore to talk to Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office or (Columbus police),” she added.
Grossman’s sister has said online that Sarah may have died from respiratory issues after being exposed to tear gas. Her post has since been edited to remove the reference to tear gas.
Columbus communications manager Melanie Crabill told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Monday that city officials had seen no photos or videos of Grossman at a protest, nor heard from anyone who had been with her.
“We have not received a complaint from the family, the Montgomery County Sheriff or the coroner,” she told the news outlet. “It is tragic any time a young person passes away, but we don’t have much information.”
Grossman graduated from Ohio State University this year with a degree from the school’s Environment, Economy, Development and Sustainability program, according to her obituary.
“It is impossible to find the words to describe her kindness, unique spirit, and unwavering dedication to her convictions,” her family wrote in the obit.
“Sarah was a fierce but compassionate supporter of environmental issues and social justice,” they added. “A genuine friend who loved and cherished her extraordinary friendships. She was the most caring and thoughtful daughter, a beloved granddaughter, and a loving sibling and best friend to her sister Jessa.”
Grossman, who had spent the past couple of summers in Guatemala researching the country’s harvesting industry, “planned to pursue work promoting positive environmental, climate and land use policies, assisting migrant workers and indigenous communities,” the family said.
Her employer, Stauf’s Coffee in Columbus, posted a tribute online saying Grossman made everyone feel comfortable and fought for environmental issues.
“Outside of the store, she fought even harder for issues she cared about, including the Rainforest Alliance, and the Black Lives Matter movement,” the post said.
“As a peaceful protester this weekend, she stood up to end police brutality and was tear gassed as a result. Her death came in the aftermath, but her legacy stands even stronger.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/06/09/ohio-woman-dies-after-exposure-to-tear-gas-pepper-spray/
Photo Credit: Dignity Memorial
Hundreds of people could die from coronavirus for each day of protests
Each day of protests across the US could kill up to 540 people from coronavirus, an expert said while blaming mass arrests and cops’ use of tear gas for “exacerbating” the spread of the virus.
“At the high end … we’d expect 54k downstream infections and 540 eventual deaths,” warned Trevor Bedford, who has been tracking the pandemic since January.
“I’d give a highly speculative ‘more than 50 and less than 500‘ estimate for the number of eventual deaths for each day of protests,” he added in a series of tweets Sunday night modeling the potential dangers of the mass protests.
“These deaths will likely be disproportionately among black individuals,” he also warned.
Bedford, a virus expert at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, said the numbers do not represent “a massive spike in cases” given the US has had almost 2 million infections and more than 110,000 deaths as of Monday morning.
“But it’s still large in absolute numbers,” he said.
The scientist wrote that there is “no doubt that mass gatherings facilitate transmission,” with the concern so bad, New York is opening 15 testing centers solely for protesters.
“Wearing masks and protesting outdoors has to help,” Bedford wrote in a separate thread — while putting the onus on police.
“Current responses of tear gas, pepper spray and jailing after curfew are actively exacerbating it,” he wrote.
Bedford’s warning comes as other studies say tear gas could increase the chances of coronavirus infections — with asymptomatic carriers also likely to suffer worse from the chemicals, Discover magazine noted.
“Police must seek responses that minimize transmission potential … Deescalation is even more critical in light of COVID,” Bedford said of the controversy over heavy-handed tactics in some states.
Bedford fears the protests are just a general trend that “feels as though we’ve largely given up on controlling the epidemic.”
“Because of the pandemic, we’re in a terrible situation where addressing systemic racism and bringing economy back online carry health risks,” he tweeted.
“It is a cruel twist that the US’s inability to control the epidemic has made it dangerous to protest entrenched police brutality,” he said, calling the “harms of systemic racism … real and utterly pernicious.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/06/08/hundreds-could-die-from-coronavirus-for-each-day-of-protests-experts/
Photo Credit: Taidgh Barron/nypost
Tamara Harrian’s husband blames mental illness for ‘indefensible’ Arizona attack
The lawyer husband of the Arizona “Karen” who was slapped by a Native American whom she told to “go back to Mexico” has tearfully apologized for the “indefensible” slur — blaming it on mental illness.
“Karina, I don’t know what to say. I’m just so sorry,” Bob Harrian told Fox 10 Phoenix in a direct appeal to Karina Rodriguez, the woman who slapped his wife during the ugly confrontation caught in a now-viral video.
“I’m just so sorry that this happened. You never walked into that store thinking something like this was going to happen,” he said, breaking into sobs Monday as he sought help for his wife’s mental health problems.
“I understand, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what she said. It was very hateful. It was — it’s indefensible,” he told Fox 10.
“But I just have to tell you this: It’s her mental illness. A year ago, she would … never have even thought of that,” he insisted of his wife, who had falsely claimed to be the store manager during the fight.
The lawyer was so concerned for his wife that he called out a crisis management team that interviewed her for more than an hour, he told the station, which said it confirmed the visit.
His wife had started showing alarming signs of paranoia — making up wild stories — following a break-in at their home last year, he said.
He hopes it may be the wake-up call to get help for his wife.
“This is your spouse you have known and loved for 30 years and she is starting to slip away. And you are trying to get her help but you can’t get her help because she doesn’t think there is anything wrong with her,” he told 12 News in a separate interview.
Harrian also returned to the Phoenix Shell station where the confrontation happened to apologize to staff and customers — and told Fox 10 he has no plans to sue Rodriguez for the slap.
The “Karen” moniker is social media shorthand for white women who call the cops on black people over harmless incidents.
The incident comes nearly two weeks after the “Central Park Karen” fiasco — in which Amy Cooper called the police on black birdwatcher Christian Cooper after he asked her to leash her dog.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/06/09/tamara-harrians-husband-blames-mental-illness-for-arizona-incident/
Photo Credit: nypost.com