Tennessee judge orders that parents rename their 7-month-old son

Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew has ordered that Jaleesa Martin change her 7-month-old son's name from "Messiah" to "Martin DeShawn McCullough."

Regardless of the judge's reasoning, it is not her call to make (in a free society).

Texas man sleeping on beach 'brutally beaten by two cops and held underwater' as dash-cam rolled

A Texas man has filed a lawsuit against the Galveston Police Department, claiming that officers savagely beat him and forced his head underwater while he was sleeping on a beach. 

Reginald Deon Davis, 34, filed the federal lawsuit Monday accusing the City of Galveston of failing to properly train its police officers. 

According to the court documents cited by the Courthouse News Service, the incident happened March 19 while Davis was napping in his car on the Galveston seawall.

The suit details how Davis traveled to Galveston the night before to attend a friend's birthday party. Afterwards, the 34-year-old went to a local Denny's restaurant to study for a college exam the next morning.

'Shortly after departing Denny's to go back to his home in La Marque, Mr. Davis realized he was extremely exhausted and decided to pull his car over on the seawall and rest before driving home,' the federal lawsuit reads. 

Davis called his wife to let her know he will be home later than expected, and then he dozed off, allegedly unaware that sleeping in a car parked on the seawall is illegal without a camping permit.

At around 1.45am, the 34-year-old man was allegedly awakened by officer Jose Santos Jr, who asked Davis to get out of his vehicle and place his hands on the hood of the police cruiser.

Instead, Davis ran onto the beach, where he was Tasered in the back and tackled by Santos.

A dashboard camera recorded the incident, showing the 34-year-old man lying face down in the sand with the officer on top of him.

A moment later, the grainy footage shows another officer, identified as Archie Chapman Jr, approach the two men on the beach and allegedly kick Davis in the head multiple times.

Then, both officers proceed to strike Mr. Davis' head numerous times with their fists, according to the complaint.

‘Mr. Davis does not appear to resist until it becomes clear that he is in fear of drowning. In fact, during this entire incident, Mr. Davis can be heard yelling, “I can't breathe” and “You're trying to drown me,”’ the suit goes on to say.

Santos, Chapman and three other officers who arrived on the scene allegedly continued beating the suspect as he lay in the surf and 'forcibly submerged' his head in the tide while kicking him.

In response to the lawsuit seeking damages to be determined by a jury, Galveston Police Chef Henry Porretto told the Houston Chronicle that the plaintiff has a criminal history that includes two drug convictions, and he was possibly facing a third one when he was apprehended by police in March.

According to Porretto, the 34-year-old suspect was seen by officers grabbing something from the seat of his car and stuffing the item into his pocket before attempting to flee the responding officers.

An internal investigation into allegations of police brutally determined that the Galveston officers used necessary force during Davis' arrest, Porretto said.

The lawsuit states that Davis suffered injuries to his arm, neck, shoulders and back, and has continued to experience difficulty sleeping due to headaches caused by a concussion.

The complaint states that the local police department has a long history of brutality, with more than 54 complaints pending against the agency since 2005.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2392394/Man-illegally-camping-Texas-beach-brutally-beaten-cops-held-underwater-dashboard-camera-rolled.html#ixzz2rMqZQBix 

Disabled Boy 'Tortured' With 31 Electric Shocks at Treatment Center

18-year-old Andre McCollins was shocked 31 times by the staff at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Massachusetts, and video footage showing his experience has been released to the public for the first time. McCollins' mother has brought a lawsuit against the Rotenberg Center for what she calls "torture" and "abuse."

The Judge Rotenberg Center is a private school for children with physical and social disabilities. McCollins was a student at the time and had been asked to remove his jacket by staff from the Center. When he did not respond, he was subdued by several staff, and then strapped to a table.

What followed was agonizing for people in the courtroom to watch. Counselors at the Center administered 31 shocks over the next several hours, as McCollins screamed for help. Throughout the trial, the Center asked that the video footage of the incident not be released to the public, but yesterday the judge overseeing the trial ruled against them, and Fox News released the video.

"I never signed up for him to be tortured, terrorized, and abused," McCollins' mother said on the stand yesterday. "I had no idea— no idea— that they tortured the children in the school."

After the electro-shock, McCollins was left in a catatonic state, a stress-induced coma, according to authorities.

"I couldn't turn Andre's head to the left or to the right. He was just staring straight," McCollins' mother said. "I took my hands and went like this (waving her hand in front of his face). He didn't blink."

THIS WAS DONE TO MOSTLY BLACK CHILDREN http://nymag.com/news/features/andre-mccollins-rotenberg-center-2012-9/

http://www.science20.com/countering_tackling_woo/judge_rotenberg_trial_ends_settlement_nothing_changes_jrc_though-89394

Teen dies from restraint at behavioral problems school - Yonkers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8NFMi5_eLM

YONKERS (WABC) -- Police in Westchester County are investigating the death of a teenager at a school for students with emotional difficulties.

Officers were called to the Carol and Frank Biondi Education Center of Leake and Watts in Yonkers around 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Police say a 16-year-old, identified as Corey Foster, was playing basketball when he became involved in a dispute. School officials broke up the fight and briefly restrained Foster, and he fell unconscious and went into cardiac arrest. Foster was quickly attended to by a doctor and nurse, who were on call and present at the location.

Officers also attempted to resuscitate Foster, who was rushed to St. Joseph's Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

The boy was reportedly a resident of the not-for-profit facility.

Police say there is no evidence to suggest that any mechanical restraints were used by school personnel.

Leake and Watts issued the following statement regarding the incident:

"Last evening, a 16-year old resident of the Residential Treatment Center died following basketball play at the school gymnasium. Many staff and residents were present at this recreational activity. As soon as there was any indication that the young man needed medical intervention, on campus medical personnel and 911 were summoned immediately.

"We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and our hearts go out to this young man's family and all who loved him.

"At this time we cannot speak to any of the details of the cause of his death pending the outcome of the police and medical examiner's investigations.

"We are fully cooperating with these investigations and will continue to do so going forward. At this time, out of respect for his family and their privacy, we will not be releasing any personal details of this young man.

The loss of any life, especially one so young, is heart wrenching. We all mourn the tragic death of this young man."

Woman says her 14-year-old son was tortured, tasered in the face while handcuffed

TULLYTOWN, PA -- A woman turned to Facebook and social media for help in seeking justice for her son whom she says was severely injured during his violent encounter with the police and then isolated from her for three days. She says that her son was "brutally tortured" by Bucks County police officers after being arrested, handcuffed, and shocked in the face by a Taser.

The extensive lacerations, bruising, and black eyes were allegedly the result of the teen being tasered -- while handcuffed -- and falling once to the pavement. This was done because officers feared for his safety as he was close to traffic.

Joey William's mother, Marissa Sargeant, alleges that her son is the victim of excessive force used by the police to torture and brutalize him while he was handcuffed, and that they then frightened him to keep him from telling anyone. She is convinced that he was struck in the face by the Taser barb and "punched" several times in the face causing a nasal fracture as he left Walmart and was approached by authorities. Told of Heckler's explanation of falling as the cause of the severity of his injuries, Sargeant responded: "That's impossible. Did he get up and fall 15 more times?"

Every driver who refuses to blow is strapped to a table, put in a headlock, blood forcibly taken

GEORGIA -- In some Georgia counties, as well as all over the USA, drivers are getting their blood forcibly stolen from them. As shown in this video, every driver who refuses to give the police a blow, even for misdemeanor offenses, is strapped to a table, put into a headlock by a police officer, and their blood forcibly taken.

Father sentenced to 6 months in jail for over-paying child support

HOUSTON, TX — A father will spend half of 2014 behind bars for doing too much for his son. After overpaying child support and seeing his son too often — breaking terms that were secretly modified without his knowledge — a judge decided that no good deed should go unpunished and sentenced him to a lengthy jail sentence.

The New N Word Is All Over Twitter | Richard Sherman Rant Update

"Richard Sherman's own words may have made him the center of attention but it is the language of his critics that is now under fire. The Seattle Seahawks' talented and talkative cornerback struck back at those who called him a "thug" for his demeanor during a loud and proud post-game interview after the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.

"The only reason it bothers me is because it seems like it's the accepted way of calling somebody the N-word nowadays," Sherman said during a press conference on Wednesday. "It's like everyone else said the N-word and they said 'Thug' and they're like, 'Ah, that's fine.' That's where it kind of takes me aback and it's kind of disappointing."

Sherman stepped into the national spotlight by following up a win-sealing defensive play with a boastful, postgame rant directed at San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree."* The Young Turks hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian break it down.