Bay Area Rapid Tranist (B.A.R.T.) Officer Kills man in Cold Blood

     On January 1st 2009, during the early hours of the morning, BART officer Johannes Meheserle fatally shot and killed an unarmed civilian in Okland, California. The Officer was responding to a call of a fight on a crowded train platform.
The events were captured on multiple digital video and cell phone cameras. The footage was disseminated to media outlets and to various websites, where it was watched hundreds of thousands of times. The following days were followed by both peaceful and violent protests.
     Oscar Grant, the shooting victim, had been celebrating New Year's Eve with his friends on the Embarcadero in San Francisco, and was returning to East Bay on a BART train bound for Fruitvale. At approximately 2:00am. PST, BART Police responded to reports that up to 12 people were involved in a fight on an incoming train from the West Oakland BART Station and the participants were intoxicated and under the influence of a substance. When officers arived, they removed Grant and several other men suspected of fighting from the train and detained them on the platform. Grant and another man ran back onto the train after being detained, but Grant voluntarily returned to the platform when officer Tony Pirone grabbed the other man and dragged him from the train. Pirone handcuffed Grant's friend, angering other riders. Pirone then lined up Grant and two other men against the wall. When five other officers, including Johannes Mehserle, arrived at the Fruitvale station, they found the situation chaotic. Mehserle's partner on duty, Officer Jon Woffinden, said the "incident was one of the most frightening he had experienced in his 12 years as a police officer."
     The shooting has been variously labeled an involuntary manslaughter and a summary execution. On January 13, Alameda County prosecutors charged Mehserle with murder for the shooting. He resigned his position and pleaded not guilty. The trial began on June 10, 2010. Michael Rains, Mehserle's criminal defense attorney, has claimed Mehserle intended to fire his Taser, but mistakenly shot Grant with a pistol when he thought Grant was reaching for a gun. Pretrial filings argue that his client did not commit first-degree murder and asked a Los Angeles judge to instruct the jury to limit its deliberations to either second-degree murder or acquittal.


 


Sources-
http://www.topix.com/forum/city/mountain-view-ca/T4FFIMDF6TG0QBHIN/p79
http://www.ktvu.com/bartshooting/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BART_Police_shooting_of_Oscar_Grant
Video Source - http://blutube.policeone.com/Media/3462-Video-of-BART-officer-involved-shooting/

The Sean Bell Case. New York City 2006-07

On November 25, 2006, during the early hours of the morning, outside a Queens night club, Sean Bell was gunned down by NYPD Undercover and Plain Clothes officers. Undercover cops fired at least 50 rounds of bullets into a car carrying Sean Bell and two of his friends as they left Bell's bachelor party in the Jamaica, Queens. The club where the bachelor party was held was under police surveillance, inside and outside the building. When Bell's car left the club, it accidently ran into an unmarked van carrying some of the cops involved in the surveillance, than the cops responded with a barrage of deadly gunfire Killing Sean Bell on his wedding day. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly reported that one of his men, MIKE OLIVER, fired his weapon 31 times, emptying two full magazines.  Sean Bell was shot in the neck, shoulder and right arm and died at the hospital. Two of Bell's friends who were also in the car, 21-year-old Joseph Guzman and 23-year-old Trent Benefield, were hospitalized with multiple gun shot wounds. NYC Mayor Bloomberg called for calm and said it was too early to draw any conclusions about the incident. But many people remember how in 1999 NYPD cops killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant, shooting him 19 times. And many people are responding to this killing with grief and outrage.

On the night of the shooting, Gescard Isnora, the undercover officer who fired his weapon first, followed Mr Bell and his two friends to Mr Bell’s car, believing they went to get a gun to settle a dispute at the club. He opened fire after being grazed by Sean Bell's car. The other officers reached Mr Bell’s car after the initial confrontation and said they believed that their colleague was being fired at from inside the vehicle. The two survivors said that they never heard Gescard Isnora identify himself as a police officer as he approached the car, with his gun drawn.


Over 17 months after the incident, and at the end of a two-month trial, Justice Arthur Cooperman of the State Supreme Court delivered a not-guilty verdict in front of a courtoom packed with spectators and the  victim's fiancee and parents. The case generated outrage in New York’s black community, even though two of the officers are black. The Police prepared for potential unrest after the announcement of the verdict, posting 1,000 officers around the court house. Officials said however that they did not expect violence because numerous demonstrations against the perceived police brutality had remained peaceful.
Delivering his verdict, Judge Cooperman said that the charges could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. “Questions of carelessness and incompetence must be left to other forums,” he added.
The trial centred on whether the detectives had reason to believe they faced imminent danger and whether they made it clear to Mr Bell and the two survivors, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, that they were police officers. Every last one of the 50+ Shots were Justified and all officers were acquitted.

IS THIS OUTRAGE AND MISCONDUCT OR IS IT NOT ENOUGH TO BE CALLED SUCH ?


 

Sources-
http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Sean+Bell
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/item_kf8Lye0S3tBVdJvrro36TL
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Bell_shooting_incident

Aung San Su Ki (class assignment)

   

Aung San Suu Kyi is the leading face of the pro-democracy movement and a leader of the National League for Democracy in Myanmar. Suu Kyi is one of the world's most famous and most respected freedom fighters and advocates of nonviolence. She has spent more than 15 years in prison, most of it under house arrest. She was released from her current third period of detention on Saturday 13th November 2010.


In 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi returned to Burma mother. By coincidence, That same year, the long-time military leader of Burma and head of the ruling party, General Ne Win, stepped down. Mass demonstrations for democracy rose on 8 August 1988  which were violently suppressed in what came to be known as the 8888 Uprising. On 26 August 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi addressed half a million people at a mass rally in front of the Shwedagon Pagoda in the capital, calling for a democratic government. However in September, a new military junta took power. Later the same month, 24 September 1988, the National League for Democracy (NLD) was formed, with Suu Kyi as general secretary.

Influenced by both Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence^] and by more specifically Buddhist concepts, Aung San Suu Kyi entered politics to work for democratization, helped found the National League for Democracy on 24 September 1988, and was put under house arrest on 20 July 1989. She was offered freedom if she left the country, but she refused. In 1990, the military junta called a general election, in which the National League for Democracy (NLD) received 59% of the votes, guaranteeing NLD 80% of the parliament seats. Being the NLD's candidate, Aung San Suu Kyi under normal circumstances would have assumed the office of Prime Minister.  Instead, the results were nullified, and the military refused to hand over power. This resulted in an international outcry. Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest.

When is a police officer or law enforcement official allowed to use physical/deadly force? How far are they allowed to go?

Physcial or Deadly force is the force which a person uses, or that a person knows, or should know, would create a substantial risk of causing death or serious harm. The use of deadly/physical force is justified only under extreme cercomstances of necessity  and as a persons last resort, when all other means have failed and nothing else can be done. The "Use of deadly force" is often granted to police when the person is believed to be an immediate danger to people around them.
A police or law enforcment officer may use physical force, in the course of attempting to effect an arrest, or preventing or attempting to prevent the escape of a person who the officer reasonably believes to have committed a crime or offense. The officer may use the force to the extent he or she believes to be necessary to effect the arrest, or to prevent the escape. Officers my also use physical force in self-defense or to defend a third person.





Sources-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadly_force

What Are Your Legal Rights Against Law Enforcement?

In order to stop you, a police officer must have a specific reason to suspect your involvement in a specific crime and should be able to tell you that reason. This is called reasonable suspicion.  These reasons can be as petty as a police officer pulling you over for some type of traffic violation, such as speeding or maybe not using your blinker. Sometimes even spitting on the ground or tossing a gum rapper and officer my stop  you and issue a ticket for littering. Than the officer has the right to run your name searching for any warrants and asking you all sorts of personal questions.

Although limited, you have legal rights when being stopped by a police officer at anytime. Upon being stopped by a police officer, you have the right to question why you are being stopped. The officer must tell you. NEVER TALK TO A POLICE OFFICER. The only information that you need to provide to the police is your name, date of birth and address. Most of the time this information is on your ID. If a police officer speaks to you, you have the right to simply tell them, "I am Going To Remain Silent Officer," and dont say another word. Keep in Mind, ANYTHING YOU SAY CAN AND WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU IN THE COURT OF LAW.

Stay calm. Don't run. Don't argue, resist or obstruct the police, even if you are innocent or police are violating your rights. Keep your hands where police can see them.
You have the right to ask the Officer if you are free to leave. If the officer says yes, calmly walk away. If you are being detained or under arrest, you have a right to know why.

Upon being arrested, you have the right to remain silent and cannot be punished for refusing to answer questions. If you wish to remain silent, tell the officer out loud "I would like to remain silent." In some states, you must give your name if asked to identify yourself.

You do not have to consent to a search of yourself or your belongings, but police may "pat down" your clothing if they suspect a weapon. You should not physically resist, but you have the right to refuse consent for any further search.