The former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd will be allowed to live in a neighboring state due to safety concerns stemming from his involvement in Floyd’s death that was caught on video and became part of a rally cry for police brutality around the country.

Derek Chauvin posted $1 million bail and was released from custody on Wednesday. He was allowed to leave the state while he awaits trial, according to new bail conditions outlined in court records. As part of the order, he must keep his cell phone on him at all times.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections has evidence “supporting safety concerns that have arisen” in his conditional release supervision, according to the amended court order filed Thursday and posted on the Hennepin County Court website Friday.

The order did not go into any detail about safety concerns.

Chauvin faces charges of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s May 25 death.

Videos of the incident show Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for almost eight minutes as Floyd told Chauvin and three other officers that he couldn’t breathe.

Floyd’s death sparked massive, ongoing protests around the country, and protests against Chauvin’s release have taken place in the city over the past two nights.

Chauvin, who was fired from the police department, has no permanent address and “shall establish residency somewhere in the State of Minnesota or a contiguous state as soon as possible and immediately report that address to the conditional release officer assigned” by the state’s department of corrections, according to the amended order.

The address will remain confidential, the order said.

Chauvin must have a cell phone with him at all times and answer all calls from the department of corrections, the order states.

He must also surrender his passport and sign four copies of a waiver of extradition.

Chauvin should not be subjected to “greater or less restrictions than would normally be imposed,” the order said.

John Stiles, the deputy chief of staff for the Minnesota attorney general’s office, said the office had no problem with the amended order.

“We consented to it. We have no objections to it,” Stiles said. “We expect the defendant to abide by all the conditions of his release that the court has imposed and to attend all hearings in the trial.”

CNN has reached out to attorneys for Chauvin and the Floyd family for comment.

Chauvin has asked a judge to dismiss the charges against him, saying there is no probable cause to support them.

The three other officers were fired and are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

They have also asked that those charges be dismissed.

Chauvin’s next court date is set for March 8, according to a notice of appearance.

CNN’s Carma Hassan and Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.

via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/cm/former-officer-charged-george-floyds-204435716.html

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A former Indiana police chief has died after he was attacked by hornets and stung more than 40 times, officials said.

Larry Crenshaw, 59, a former chief of the Anderson Police Department, was hunting with a friend Sunday in Brookville when the bugs went after them, the Herald Bulletin reported.

“They were attacked by numerous hornets,” Rush County Coroner Ron Jarman said. “Larry was stung over 40 times and shortly after began to have issues with shortness of breath and collapsed in the woods.”

Crenshaw’s friend went to get help since neither of the men had a cellphone on them, the coroner said.

The pal called 911 at a nearby home, then got help from other people to get Crenshaw out of the woods, Jarman said.

Crenshaw was taken to Rush Memorial Hospital, where he died a short time later, the outlet reported.

His cause of death was ruled a heart attack due to anaphylactic shock, which is an extreme allergic reaction, the coroner said.

“This was a tragic accident,” Jarman said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Crenshaw family and friends.”

Crenshaw had been a 26-year veteran of the police department and served as chief from 2012 to 2015.

He was working as a detective in the investigations division at the time of his death, the outlet reported.

via: https://nypost.com/2020/10/08/ex-indiana-police-chief-fatally-stung-by-hornets-over-40-times/

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A Pennsylvania professor who was caught on video repeatedly using the N-word during an online course has been fired, his attorney said.

Video posted to Twitter earlier this month showed Duquesne University education professor Gary Shank using the racial slur at least three times during a Sept. 9 Zoom session of his educational psychology course on child and adolescent development.

Shank, who had taught at the Pittsburgh university since 1997, learned of his termination in a letter Wednesday sent by university officials, his attorney told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“I have received the report written by [Education Dean Gretchen Generett] regarding your conduct,” Provost David Dausey wrote in the letter. “I agree with the recommendation it contains. Therefore, pursuant to Section 9.2 of the Faculty Handbook, your employment at Duquesne is terminated for serious misconduct.”

Shank, who argued his usage of the slur was OK since it was being used in an educational setting, had previously been placed on paid leave pending an investigation, a university spokeswoman told The Post earlier this month.

“I’m giving you permission to use the word, OK?” Shank said on the clip. “Because we’re using the word in a pedagogical sense. What’s the one word about race that we’re not allowed to use?”

Shank later apologized to students in an email, saying he realized how “deeply troubling” his conduct was during the remote session, according to the Duquesne Duke, the university’s campus newspaper.

Shank’s attorney, meanwhile, said he plans to file a grievance on behalf of the fired professor.

“We have 30 days to grieve the termination and certainly will do so,” attorney Warner Mariani told the Post-Gazette Wednesday.

University officials declined to comment Thursday on Shank’s employment status, characterizing it as a personnel matter while noting Duquesne took Shank’s “repeated use of a racial slur” seriously.

“Duquesne University is deeply committed to providing a campus and learning experience that is respectful, safe and inclusive for all members of the Duquesne community,” vice president of marketing and communications Gabe Welsh said in a statement.

Shank’s profile on the university’s website was no longer visible Thursday. At least two groups have come to his defense, including the American Association of University Professors and the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

Both groups claim Shank’s use of the slur was protected under the university’s commitment of freedom of expression and academic freedom. Officials at FIRE have also called on the US Department of Education to investigate the matter.

“Duquesne students and faculty will rationally choose to say nothing rather than say something that others might find controversial, as their university won’t bother to defend their rights,” Alexandria Morey, who works in FIRE’s Individual Rights Defense Program, said in a statement to The Post Wednesday. “That’s an unacceptable result at an educational institution of any caliber.”

via: https://nypost.com/2020/10/08/pennsylvania-professor-fired-for-using-n-word-during-lecture/

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A police officer in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, will not face criminal charges in the shooting death of 17-year-old Alvin Cole, the prosecutor reviewing the case said Wednesday.

Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chisholm wrote in a letter to the Wauwatosa police chief that there was “sufficient evidence” showing that officer Joseph Mensah believed deadly force was necessary and “that belief was objectively reasonable.”

“I do not believe that the State could disprove self-defense or defense of others in this case and therefore could not meet the burden required to charge Officer Mensah. With this I conclude my criminal review of the matter,” Chisholm wrote about his decision.

Kim Motley, an attorney for Cole’s family, told CNN the family learned about the decision in a meeting with Chisholm on Wednesday and said the district attorney is not stating Cole’s shooting was justified.

“We’ve always maintained that Officer Joseph Mensah should be held accountable for his actions, and unfortunately today, we disagree with Chisholm’s assessment of what he saw,” the attorney told reporters on Wednesday.

Cole was shot and killed outside a Wauwatosa mall on February 2 when police responded to a disturbance call, police said. Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber told reporters at the time that Cole fired a gun before an officer returned fire.

Weber called Cole’s death a tragedy in a statement on Wednesday and said the department “sympathizes with his family as they, and others, continue to grieve the loss of their loved one.”

“The administration of justice demands a legal and purposeful review of the facts. That was done in this case,” Weber said. “Police officers are put into difficult situations that require a decision to be made in fractions of seconds.”

Family wants officer fired

Motley said she represents Cole’s family and the families of two other people who she said were killed by Mensah. The families are calling for Mensah to be fired and charged in all three cases, Motley said.

All three families have filed formal complaints against Mensah for incidents that took place in Wauwatosa, Motley said.

Motley said Mensah should have never been a police officer.

“He is still getting paid. He’s suspended with pay, and he needs to be removed as an officer immediately,” she said. “We do not have to wait for a hearing. It can happen today, right now.”

Mensah has been on administrative suspension pending a decision by the Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission, Weber said.

CNN has reached out to the district’s attorney office and Mensah’s attorney for additional comment.

Earlier on Wednesday, a former US attorney hired as an independent investigator by the Wauwatosa Police and Fire Commission determined that Mensah is not fit for duty and recommended his termination. Motley shared the investigator’s report with CNN.

“The risk and ensuing consequences to the Wauwatosa Police Department and the City of Wauwatosa of a fourth shooting by this Officer are too great for this Commission to find otherwise,” Steven Biskupic wrote in his report.

City officials have issued a curfew in Wauwatosa in anticipation of possible protests following the announcement in Cole’s case. The curfew will last between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. starting Wednesday and will end Monday morning.

“It is very important to note that the City of Wauwatosa recognizes the importance of peaceful protests and their role in moving society forward. We must balance this with our charge to ensure that our community, lives, and property are protected,” the city said in a statement.

Protesters were already gathering in downtown Milwaukee Wednesday, waiting to hear whether Mensah will face criminal charges. Wauwatosa is a suburb of Milwaukee located west of the city.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has deployed the Wisconsin National Guard to Wauwatosa after “officials there requested the Guard’s assistance to help ensure public safety,” according to a statement from the Wisconsin National Guard.

The Wauwatosa Police Department tweeted Wednesday that police are ready for any protests that may occur within the city.

“Our police and other city services are fully prepared to protect the lives and property of all residents and businesses. Please respect the rights of all citizens, and do your part to maintain safety and order in our community,” the agency tweeted.

via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/cm/wauwatosa-police-officer-wont-face-225324572.html

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An Indiana man who lost an eye after being struck by a police tear gas canister during George Floyd protests is suing the city of Fort Wayne and an unidentified cop — saying the injury “permanently changed his life.”

Police previously claimed that Balin Brake, 21, had ignored orders to leave the May 30 protest and was injured when he tried to pick up a canister to fire back at officers.

But in a federal lawsuit filed Friday, Blake insisted he was “peacefully protesting with his hands in the air” when officers “indiscriminately” fired tear gas “directly into the crowd of peaceful protestors.”

After a first canister hit his foot — and “disintegrated his shoelaces and burned part of his shoe” — a second canister hit him “directly in his right eye,” his lawsuit claimed.

“The impact threw him to the ground where he stayed, coughing from the tear gas and hunched over in pain,” said the complaint, filed in the Northern District of Indiana, Fort Wayne Division, by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and a Chicago law firm.

The suit added that “the force of the impact fractured Mr. Brake’s facial bones in four places, caused two facial lacerations, cut a nerve in his face, and ruptured the globe of Mr. Brake’s right eye,” which had to be removed.

“The loss of Mr. Brake’s right eye has permanently changed his life. He experiences severe headaches, and often feels pain where his eye once was,” the lawsuit said, saying he was also forced to quit his part-time job as a local newspaper editor and drop out of Indiana Tech University.

In addition to the city of Fort Wayne, an officer only identified as John Doe is listed as a defendant for allegedly using excessive force and violating Brake’s constitutional rights.

The action seeks damages for Brake’s injuries, punitive damages against the officer and a judge’s order declaring that the city violated Brake’s First and Fourth Amendment rights.

“At issue in this case is Mr. Brake’s devastating and permanent injury, the protections owed to individuals exercising their free speech rights to assemble and peacefully protest, and the unreasonable and excessive use of force by law enforcement officers in response to these lawful protests,” the suit claimed.

Fort Wayne police had insisted in a May 31 statement that the injured protester had ignored orders to leave and was trying to toss the canister back at officers when he was injured.

“When he bent over, another canister was deployed in the area and that canister skipped and hit the protester in the eye,” police spokeswoman Sofia Rosales-Scatena wrote at the time. “There was no deliberate deployment of gas to any person’s head.”

Brake has denied reaching for a canister to throw and said he didn’t hear warnings to leave.

City spokesman John Perlich declined to comment on the pending litigation.

With Post Wires

via: https://nypost.com/2020/10/05/indiana-protester-who-lost-eye-to-tear-gas-canister-sues-city-cop/

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