Chicago One-Time Uses Stun Gun On Pregnant Black Woman

http://bossip.com/595509/jesus-take-the-taser-chicago-one-time-uses-stun-gun-on-pregnant-black-woman/

What police knew and when they knew it may well be at the center of determining exactly what happened on the South Side Tuesday night where a woman who her family says is eight months pregnant endured a particularly stressful situation. Tiffany Rent’s distress was plain to see early Wednesday.

As the 30-year-old left a court hearing Wednesday morning, she says she was sitting in her car late last night at this Walgreen’s waiting for her boyfriend Joseph Hobbs. That’s when she said Chicago Police ticketed her for parking in a spot for people with disabilities. “When i came out they were writing her a ticket,” Hobbs said. “And she couldn’t understand why she was getting a ticket. She ripped the ticket and got back into the car.

“I got scared and I closed the door,” Rent said. “I didn’t hit him, I didn’t harm him. Anything. He tasered me through the window.” Rent says when Hobbs’ tried to intervene he was arrested and suffered a dislocated his elbow. Both were charged with misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and simple assault. Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said it is sometimes hard to know if a woman is pregnant.

Wednesday afternoon, Rent underwent further medical checks at the UIC Medical Center. “This is excessive,” said Rent’s attorney Keenan J. Saulter. “There is never a situation where an officer should stick his arm into a vehicle someone is sitting there and taser a woman. She is no threat. There’s absolutely no cause for that, and a pregnant woman at that.”

“I ran to the other side of the car, with my hands up, ‘Stop, stop stop, she’s pregnant, don’t hurt her,’” John Muldoon said he is representing another pregnant woman who was stun-gunned by Chicago Police while in custody May 9. He says his client, Charday Wilkins, was three months pregnant and lost her baby.

“Maybe there should be some new policies on physical violence towards women,” Muldoon said. Walgreens says it has video of the incident which has been turned over to police. The investigation is being taken over by the independent police review agency because a firearm was used.

15-year-old boy shot dead by South San Francisco police

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_20795106/reports-teen-shot-by-south-san-francisco-police

By Joshua Melvin

jmelvin@bayareanewsgroup.com

mercurynews.comPosted: 06/06/2012 08:22:53 AM PDT

June 7, 2012 4:13 AM GMTUpdated: 06/06/2012 09:13:20 PM PDT

Police shot a 15-year-old boy to death Tuesday night after he pulled a pistol from his waist band while running from an officer at a South San Francisco gas station, police said.

As the boy, Derrick Gaines, ran in the parking lot of the Arco station at the corner of Westborough and Gellert boulevards, an officer fired once, striking him. Gaines was later pronounced dead at San Francisco General Hospital.

South San Francisco police Capt. Mike Brosnan said the officer, who was not named, opened fire because he feared for his life. However, Gaines' family said the shooting could have been avoided.

The trouble started about 9 p.m. when an officer on patrol spotted Gaines and another teen walking near the gas station, Brosnan said during a news briefing late Wednesday morning. The officer decided the teens were suspicious and got out of his car to talk to them. Brosnan declined to say what was suspicious about the boys.

One teen complied with the officer's order to stop, while Gaines took off running, Brosnan said. The officer gave chase and then opened fire after Gaines allegedly drew a hand gun from under his clothing. Police said they found Gaines' pistol, which they declined to name a make or model of, at the scene and that it had not been fired. No police officers were hurt.

"When we are faced with a deadly force situation, that's precipitated by suspect action," said Brosnan. "It's tragic but it's the result of behavior that's outside of our doing."

Police didn't arrest the other teen and the officer has been place on routine administrative leave.

The boy's parents questioned whether it was necessary for police to shoot his son.

"Derrick mattered and he was loved," said his mother, Rachel Guido-Red, 40, at a gathering of about 80 friends at the service station. "He didn't have to die just because he was black in South San Francisco."

At a growing memorial of candles and stuffed animals, Gaines' friends cried and hugged during a late afternoon gathering.

Earlier in the afternoon, Gaines father, also named Derrick Gaines, said police "are supposed to protect and serve, not shoot. Anybody can get spooked and run."

The father said he wants to see the report in order to judge the facts for himself. In the meantime, the loss of his child is just beginning to hit him.

"I'm in mourning, we're all in mourning," said Gaines.

The shooting happened quickly and left residents and workers in the area feeling off balance. Oliver Chin, who owns the Arco station, said his business has stood on the corner for 24 years and has never been robbed. He feels safe in the area and considered the violence an aberration.

"Yeah, I don't feel good," the 57-year-old Burlingame man added. "He's such a young kid; it's really tragic."

While the last fatal officer-involved shooting was in 1981, authorities said, and the most recent police shooting was about four years ago, several young people have been left dead by gun violence in recent years. One of the most striking incidents was the unsolved shooting death of 14-year-old Joseph Maharaj in September 2011. The boy, who police do not believe had any gang ties, was gunned down as he sat in front of a house with a friend.

"The statistics are on the rise of young suspects carrying weapons," said Brosnan.

Gaines' shooting is being investigated by the San Mateo County District Attorneys Office.

Cops Beat Injured Black Motorist - June 2012 - Philadelphia PA

Philadelphia, PA (June 4, 2012) -- Marcus Warryton, 18, was dazed and confused because he had just been involved in a traffic accident. When four white cops happened upon the scene, which included a car with front-end damage and a deployed airbag, they assumed the worst because Warryton was black. Rather than show compassion and understanding for their injured fellow man, the officers immediately brutally attacked him because he did not instantly obey their self-important command to sit down. There was no evidence whatsoever that Warryton had a weapon or was dangerous in any way, only that he was stunned, disoriented, and in shock from a car wreck (a behavior that cops are trained to recognize.) The damaged car can be seen right next to the police car, so there is no question that the cops knew what was going on. Warryton suffered severe debilitating injuries from the unwarranted attack, including a concussion, multiple broken bones, and lacerations. Much of his scalp is covered with metal staples. As always happens after police assaults, the victim was arrested for the very crimes that the cops perpetrated against him. Warryton has no prior arrest record. Note that the news media blurred out the blood that was pouring from the young black boy.