Arizona Cop Terrifies Tourists.

Artist Ken Walton ad daughter Wren -- Facebook.

Artist Ken Walton ad daughter Wren — Facebook.

In a post going viral on Facebook, Ken Walton describes being arrested at gunpoint by an Arizona Highway Patrol officer who threatened to shoot him in the back in front of his 7-year-old daughter.

Here’s what Ken says happened:

My daughter and I are from San Francisco, on vacation, traveling through the Southwest. Today we were driving from Hoover Dam to the Grand Canyon in a Toyota Camry we’d rented from Fox Car Rental in Las Vegas. In Williams, Arizona, as I exited Interstate 40 to head north toward the Canyon rim, I was pulled over by an AHP officer who’d been tailing me for a couple of miles. I hadn’t been speeding, so I wondered if perhaps the car had a broken taillight or something. I rolled down my window and waited.

Suddenly, the officer rapped on the rear passenger side window with his pistol. My daughter, who was sitting inches from the barrel of his gun, jumped with fear as the officer yelled at me to roll down the front passenger window, his service weapon pointed directly at me. I knew something was terribly awry and I tried to remain calm, keeping my hands visible as I slowly fumbled for the window controls in an unfamiliar car. My daughter rolled down her window and I explained that we were in a rental car, that we had no weapons, and I was having trouble figuring out how to roll down the front passenger window from my driver’s side door. The officer didn’t listen, and kept yelling louder and more insistently, ordering me to comply with his request as he leered at me down the barrel of his pistol. My daughter panicked and tried to get out of her booster seat to reach forward to roll down the front window, and the officer screamed at her not to move as he pointed his pistol at her.

[Read more…]

Trump Confederacy in Kissimmee.

confederate-flag-at-the-trump-rally-x750

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The most controversial moment of a Donald Trump rally here Thursday night may have come before the bombastic candidate took the stage. For a solid 20 minutes, a Confederate flag with the words “Trump 2016” hung from the railing in the Silver Spurs Arena.

It was easily visible even as public figures like Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Pastor Mark Burns gave warm-up speeches before the Republican presidential nominee took the stage. Then minutes before Trump began his speech, organizers asked the supporters who brought the flag into the venue to furl it.

The imagery harkens back to a heated debate throughout the South over the flag’s racist meaning after another mass shooting, in Charleston, S.C., which ended with the flag being removed from the capitol grounds. It also harkens back to a New York Times video that recently went viral that recorded unfiltered remarks by Trump supporters that were unabashedly racist, misogynistic, and xenophobic. Confederate symbolism makes an apperance there as well.

The media doesn’t often focus on the attitude of the Trump crowds. Even in this latest case, as tends to happen at Trump rallies, such symbolism got brushed aside as the crowd got whipped up over other matters.

[…]

Most importantly, Trump was speaking in a suburb of Orlando two months after the Pulse massacre and hours after meeting with pastors and evangelicals during an event critics have called an anti-LGBT gathering. Trump made mention of the Orlando attack, saying more people should have reported shooter Omar Mateen to the FBI: “People knew he was demented.” In fact, Mateen was interviewed multiple times by the FBI based on complaints placed by those who knew him.

Clearly building off the closed-door discussions with leaders at the American Renewal Project conference in Orlando earlier in the day, Trump appealed to social conservatives in the room. “The evangelicals took me to a point that I never even thought we could reach,” he said. “All around the country we did well.”

The Advocate has the full story. Speaking of the intense anti-LGBT gathering in Orlando, again, Marco Rubio just will not shut up about being a keynote speaker, and keeps on attempting to defend his stance, while at the same time, telling people not to be judgmental. Hypocrisy knows no limit where Rubio is concerned:

 

ORLANDO — In a speech laden with scripture, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio on Friday compelled church leaders at a conference here to “abandon the spirit of judgment” against LGBT neighbors. The remarks came on the two-month anniversary of a shooting at the Pulse night club located about 10 miles from the religious gathering.

[…]

Rubio was the headline speaker for The American Renewal Project’s two-day event in Orlando, and on Friday devoted much of a 30-minute speech to encouraging preachers to create an accepting environment free of discrimination. “In order to love people, we have to listen to them,” he said. “When it comes to our brothers and our sisters, our fellow Americans, our neighbors in the LGBT community, we should recognize that our nation, while the greatest nation in the history of  mankind, is one with a history that has been marred by the discrimination against and the rejection of gays and lesbians.”

He also emphasized his continued opposition to marriage equality, saying his faith called for the elevation of the “union of one man and one woman.” But he said Christian leaders should understand many gays and lesbians felt “angry and humiliated” that the law until recently did not recognize their own loving relationships. “Many have experienced sometimes severe condemnation and judgment from some Christians,” Rubio said. “They have heard some say that the reason God will bring condemnation on America is because of them. As if somehow God was willing to put up with adultery and gluttony and greed and pride, but now this is the last straw.”

[…]

Rubio’s anti-LGBT record is lengthy. The senator doesn’t support the Equality Act proposed in Congress, for example. It would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the 1967 Civil Rights Act, ensuring protection from discrimination in housing and employment. When he had a chance to vote in 2013, Rubio voted against passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which some moderate Republicans helped pass 64-32 in the Senate, though it would stall in the House. But his discriminatory policy stands don’t stop there. Rubio has in the past said letting LGBT people adopt children is a “social experiment” that he opposes. He also opposed reversing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that required LGBT people to stay closeted while serving in the U.S. military.

The Advocate has the full story.

John Lott: Oh So Fraudulent.

JOhn_Lott_screencap-800x430

Think Progress has an excellent, in depth look at the fall and rise of John Lott, the so-called academic of the NRA and gun fondlers everywhere. Apparently, his fraudulent, unethical past has not stopped people from taking this scary side quack seriously, once again.

The United States seems to be in a perpetual cycle mourning mass shootings in the country. This year alone, there have already been 233 mass shootings, where four or more victims were shot, leaving 310 dead and 930 injured. But every time another shooting happens, advocates pop up arguing that more guns don’t actually lead to more violence and stall the much-needed conversation about gun control.

John Lott is, if not the most influential, certainly the most prolific “academic” in the gun debate. He has authored weekly columns in local newspapers on the horrors of gun free zones, published widely-distributed books on the ostensible benefits of right-to-carry laws, and his newest book The War on Guns has received rave reviews by prominent conservatives, like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Newt Gingrich.

Before Lott’s flurry of activity, it was difficult to find anybody arguing that widespread gun ownership made societies safer — even the NRA was reticent to make such a bold claim, defending gun ownership with reference to the constitution, not criminology.

But Lott’s recent successes belie a far more shadowy past. A little over a decade ago, he was disgraced and his career was in tatters. Not only was Lott’s assertion that more guns leads to more safety formally repudiated by a National Research Council panel, but he had also been caught pushing studies with severe statistical errors on numerous occasions. An investigation uncovered that he had almost certainly fabricated an entire survey on defensive gun use. And a blogger revealed that Mary Rosh, an online commentator claiming to be a former student of Lott’s who would frequently post about how amazing he was, was in fact John Lott himself. He was all but excommunicated from academia.

Despite his ethical failings, Lott rose from the ashes in the wake of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School to once more become a prominent voice in the gun debate.

Perhaps unaware of Lott’s previous transgressions, or believing he had turned a new page by founding the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), many in the media who were desperate for an authoritative, pro-gun academic voice seized on Lott’s credentials and provided him with a new platform. In the past few years, Lott and his organization have been cited by dozens of media outlets as an authority on gun violence statistics, including the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, LA Times, Politifact, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and many others.

However, the media’s newfound faith in John Lott is deeply misguided. Rather than turn a new page, Lott has instead returned to his old playbook and used his platform to deceive the public. Our own multi-year investigation into Lott and his organization has uncovered a startling array of new ethical violations, ranging from the profoundly bizarre to the outright fraudulent.

Devin Hughes and Evan DeFilippis have a breakdown of the five most troubling incidents at Think Progress. Highly recommended reading, because way too many people believe this absolute bullshit, clinging to it, because this confirms what they so desperately want to believe, that the good cowboy with the gun can come blazing in to save the day against any odds, no matter how overwhelming. In a country so stuffed with guns, it doesn’t do to simply dismiss the high amount of fantasists with guns, they are dangerous, and becoming more dangerous every day, and it’s well to remember that many of those gun happy fantasists are cops, who play their little fantasies out every day. It pays to be well informed, especially when it comes to a con-man happily shilling for the NRA, and assuring all those fantasists they are so very right.

Full story here.

Facebook, Oh Facebook, Part V.

Corey Multer (LinkedIn)

Corey Multer (LinkedIn)

Content Warning: contains social media posts that some may find offensive.

Yet another person who just could not manage to reign in their bigotry and hatred. This time it’s one Corey Multer, a managing director for New York Life Insurance Co. Well, make that former managing director. It looks like New York Life Insurance makes a concerted effort to be a diverse company, but any person of colour working with or near Mr. Multer couldn’t have had an easy time of it, given his attitude and views.

Shanelle Matthews, director of communications with the Black Lives Matter organization, was verbally attacked on Facebook by Corey Multer, a managing director of New York Life Insurance Co.

Multer wrote:

You f–king racist pig whore. The world would be a much better place if you jumped in front of a moving train. Die!

facebook

Ms. Matthews had quite the response, and it was most excellent. For those of you who aren’t on facebook, her complete response is under the fold.

After a brief back and forth with New York Life Insurance, this was tweeted:

Good for Ms. Matthews for fighting the good fight, and refusing to back down. And good on New York Life Insurance Co too, for putting their money where their mouth is, so to speak.

[Read more…]

Cop Who Killed 73 year old: record of excessive force.

Punta Gorda Police Officer Lee Coel is pictured in this undated handout photo, received August 11, 2016. Punta Gorda Police Department/Handout via Reuters.

Punta Gorda Police Officer Lee Coel is pictured in this undated handout photo, received August 11, 2016. Punta Gorda Police Department/Handout via Reuters.

A Florida police officer who mistakenly killed a 73-year-old woman during a role-play exercise this week has been the subject of excessive force complaints in the past, according to a police official and media reports.

[…]

Punta Gorda police have released few details about what led to Knowlton being shot by a live round, and Lewis declined to answer questions at the news conference.

He acknowledged reports that Coel, a K-9 police officer, had been accused of allowing his police dog to attack a man while on patrol in October last year.

“This officer was involved in a K-9 apprehension incident,” Lewis said. “Currently that incident is in civil litigation.”

Lawyer Scott Weinberg said Coel intended to cite his client, Richard Shumacher, for riding a bike at night without a headlight or taillight when the attack occurred.

Weinberg, who has filed a notice of intent to sue the city and the police department, released a police dash-cam video of the incident earlier this year. In it, Coel can be seen holding Shumacher down while the dog mauled him.

“The bottom line is that when I released this video two months ago, I had warned everybody that this man was going to kill somebody,” Weinberg said in a phone interview. “I told the chief to his face that this man was dangerous.”

Coel also was accused of excessive force in April 2013 while working as a police officer for Miramar, Florida police, court records show.

That incident and another case led investigators to determined Coel had violated department policies, and he was forced to resign, the Miami Herald reported.

Is anyone surprised by this? Anyone? Why, every single time, does it take multiple incidents, and at least one death to kick an evil asshole out of a cop shop? And lately, even murdering people isn’t enough to get cops fired. This is so wrong. Beyond wrong. Beyond fractally wrong. This has to stop. A cop gets investigated for excessive force? That’s it, you’re out, and you lose everything, job, pension, all of it. Maybe, just maybe, cops might start getting the message that a badge is not a license to do whatever they want.

Via Raw Story.

“Until I am out of ammo or out of blood, I WILL FIGHT”

trump-rnc-afp-800x430A lawsuit has been filed by a Trump campaign staffer, because it seems NC campaign director Earl Phillip was fond of motivating staffers with a gun. Phillip was relieved of his job just last week.

According to WBTV in Charlotte, when Vincent Bordini approached higher-ups in the campaign, they did nothing. Another campaign official confided to Bordini that he, too, had been threatened at gunpoint by Phillip.

WBTV’s Nick Ochsner posted the first page of Bordini’s complaint on Twitter. The incident took place in Phillip’s Jeep in February of this year, reportedly, when Phillip “produced a pistol, put his right index finger on the trigger, and drove the barrel into Vincent’s knee cap.”

Bordini went straight to campaign officials, the suit says, speaking first to the Trump campaign’s regional director of western North Carolina. “The Director told Vincent that he, too, had been brandished upon by Phillip,” the lawsuit says. “He was terrified.”

According to Ochsner, “campaign leadership, including then-camp mngr Lewandowski, refused to act.”

[…]

Phillip’s Facebook timeline is littered with pro-gun memes. “Until I am out of ammo or out of blood, I WILL FIGHT,” says one post.

“Life is about kicking ass,” says one image depicting an Army special forces operative brandishing an assault weapon, “not kissing it.”

Via Raw Story. I don’t have words for this, I really don’t. At this point, I’m not the least bit surprised, and like most everyone else, the constant stream of awful has left me numb. I know that’s bad, but I’m having trouble maintaining an effective sense of outrage. At this point, I’m just grateful this doucheweasel didn’t manage to kill or maim anyone.

Darnell Wicker.

Darnell Wicker (Photo: Family of Darnell Wicker).

Darnell Wicker (Photo: Family of Darnell Wicker).

Darnell Wicker was pronounced dead around 2 a.m. from multiple shots to his torso, upper right extremity and lower extremities after police officers opened fire on him. The Jefferson County Coroner’s office in Louisville, KY admitted that they don’t know exactly how many times the 57-year-old man was shot.

Police officers Taylor Banks and Beau Gadegaard were responding to a domestic violence call when Wicker came outside holding a knife and a tree saw, according to WDRB.

“He came outside — he came out the door and was holding a knife in his hand, he started kind of swinging it around a little bit and he kind of came at us and so we shot,” an officer explains on the video.

Two women who witnessed the event tell a different story, however. Anita Jones, Wicker’s girlfriend and Denita Jones blame the police.

“They just ran up past him — around him — and just said, ‘Drop your weapon!’ Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!” Anita Jones described police not waiting for Wicker to drop the items. “He had no chance to drop the weapon.”

“The officers jumped out, came around, pushed her out of the way,” said Denita Jones. “I was far enough over here that he ran beside me, pushed her out of the way, said, ‘Ma’am move!’ ran up, the other one went that way. ‘Put it down!’ Pop! Pop! Pop!”

The officers also didn’t perform any kind of first aid on Wicker and the EMTs arrived nine minutes after he was shot.

“I was the person who actually had called them, and I didn’t want that to actually happen,” Denita Jones said. “That was my thing. I just wanted the situation to be okay.”

Once again, you have cops shooting someone, and once again, you have cops who refuse to render aid, even the simple act of calling for an ambulance. This has happened time and time again. Michael Brown. Paul O’Neal. And so many more. Pretty much all the people shot by cops. This is a demonstration of ingrained callousness, the dehumanization of bigotry. Body cam footage is below the fold, and it is graphic, so all the warnings.

[Read more…]

Some Cops Fired.

Riot police holding their position during a protest in Baltimore, Maryland against the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody, on April 25, 2015 (AFP Photo/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds).

Riot police holding their position during a protest in Baltimore, Maryland against the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody, on April 25, 2015 (AFP Photo/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds).

Some Baltimore bigots have been fired, which is a good thing, but I want to address a different part:

Baltimore police have fired some officers in the wake of a scathing review by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Kevin Davis, the city’s police commissioner, said Wednesday that the department has already fired officers who committed the most egregious violations outlined in the federal report, the Associated Press reported.

The report found that Baltimore police officers routinely target and discriminate against black people, use excessive force and are not adequately disciplined for misconduct.

The Justice Department is seeking a court order to force the police department to commit to improving its procedures to avoid a lawsuit.

There, that last sentence. Why does the justice department need a court order and the threat of a lawsuit to get one cop shop to do the right thing? If this does not highlight how utterly rotten the police system is, I don’t know what will get through to people, to make them wake the fuck up. Considering the current state of police – citizen relationship right now, I’d think they would be eager to clean house without being threatened, if for no other reason, for appearance’s sake. Naturally, there was the all too expected mealy-mouthed cop response:

Davis said the department was committed to making meaningful changes, but he said those could take some time.

Right. Go fuck yourself, Davis, and after that, clean house.

Via Raw Story.

Lethal Incompetence.

Mary Knowlton.

Mary Knowlton.

A 73 year old librarian was shot to death by a cop in what I suppose you could call friendly fire, but is a clear case of lethal incompetence. It is quite clear that cops cannot be trusted with guns, anymore than they can be trusted with cameras, or trusted to tell the truth.

Mary Knowlton arrived at the Punta Gorda, Fla., police station Tuesday night to learn how to be a community steward.

The 73-year-old was there as a student in the citizen police academy, a two-hour course intended to give an intimate look at what makes the department in the quaint Florida town work. On this night, the group of 35 would tour the station and talk with officers, an essential part of academy curriculum that has gained popularity across the country amid a heated national debate about police violence.

When it came time to get involved, Knowlton volunteered.

The hosting officers chose two students to role-play in a lethal force simulation, a scenario intended to demonstrate how and when officers decide to pull the trigger. Knowlton played the victim, Charlotte Sun photographer Sue Paquin told the newspaper, and a Punta Gorda police officer played a “bad guy.” These scenarios are usually safe, acted out with either fake or empty weapons.

But when the officer’s gun was fired, Knowlton — a mother, wife and career librarian — was hit with live ammunition.

She was rushed to a local hospital and pronounced dead.

The article goes on, much “deeply shocked, prayers”, along with a remarkable use of the passive voice, as if this just sort of happened, without any cop involved. It’s also noteworthy just how protective the statements are of the shooter. Cops and guns, a seriously bad combination.

Via the Washington Post. UPDATED.

Emoji: Goodbye, Gun.

The new water pistol emoji and the old gun emoji by Apple. Photograph: Apple.

The new water pistol emoji and the old gun emoji by Apple. Photograph: Apple.

Apple has replaced its hand gun emoji with a water pistol – reflecting growing despair in America and worldwide over gun crime.

The change comes in the wake of continuing gun violence in the US, including the killing of two black men by police and the resulting spate of deadly attacks against officers.

The new green and orange emoji, with white plastic trigger, looks distinctly like a harmless toy and will replace the black and silver revolver.

The change, which comes into effect from September, was announced as Apple released 100 new emoji, including a rainbow flag, female athletes, police officers and construction workers and single-parent families.

[…]

Apple has previously pushed back against violent emojis. Earlier this year Apple and Microsoft successfully argued against the addition of a rifle emoji.

Via The Guardian. A longer, more thoughtful look at this change is on Upworthy.

I don’t use emoticons, I find them annoying, but I’m in favour of this change, and I wish all the weapon emoticons would also be disappeared.

Black Lives Matter Is Silly.

Getty Images.

Getty Images.

So sayeth former NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly.

“I think these demonstrations are counter-productive, they’re silly,” Kelly said.

Speaking on John Gambling’s AM 970 radio show, Kelly specifically addressed last week’s demonstrations outside City Hall, during which protesters organized in part by Millions March NYC called for the divestment of the NYPD, paid reparations to the families of victims of police shootings, and the resignation of Commissioner Bill Bratton (the last of which actually happened).

When asked, Kelly characterized the protests as “so ridiculous and myopic. If there’s on group that’s concerned about black lives more than any other group it clearly is the police department not only in New York City but really throughout America.” He also complained that rallies and marches criticizing police conduct can really “depress” working cops.

People get damn depressed over cops committing willful murder at a very high rate, commish. People who lost a loved one to aggressive, bigoted, hyped up stormtroopers just might get damned depressed. Angry, too. Angry enough to make the point that murderous cops must go, and that policing as it stands here in uStates has to change. The current model breeds bias, bigotry, and corruption. Let’s not forget about all those murderers being churned out from cop school.

“[Police] think they’re doing a good job, and then you see these demonstrations,” he said.

It’s worth noting that that under Kelly’s leadership, NYPD officers routinely violated New Yorkers’ constitutional rights.

Well, there’s a surprise. :eyeroll:

Later in his interview, Kelly—who now makes an undisclosed salary as an executive at K2 Intelligence—blamed some cities’ rising crime rates on the so-called “Ferguson effect,” in which officers frightened by investigations and national calls for justice apparently refrain from doing their pledged duty of policing neighborhoods and keeping civilians safe. Kelly also reiterated his affection for stop-and-frisk. “Stopping and questioning people who are acting suspiciously,” is “perfectly reasonable and authorized in the law,” he said.

Actually, commish, crime rates are down, except for all the ones being committed by cops. Those are going up. The “Ferguson Effect” was waking people the fuck up, and no, cops don’t like that. You’re at least right about something.

Via Gothamist.

Imagine.

London police brawl with men during traffic stop (YouTube).

London police brawl with men during traffic stop (YouTube).

A video showing British police officers brawling with a group of unruly men shows how violent attacks can be stopped without gunfire or even serious injury.

The video shows officers arguing with a group of increasingly aggressive men during a traffic stop in London, reported the Independent.

The men surround the officers as they try to remove two friends from police custody, and then a fight breaks out.

One officer is pulled to the ground during the fracas, and police use chemical irritant spray to subdue the men until backup arrives.

Online commenters at Reddit noticed how the officers were able to take the assailants into custody without shooting or seriously harming anyone.

“Imagine how differently this would have been if this happened in America,” said one Reddit user.

Another commenter pointed out that police even warned the men they would use chemical irritant despite the lengthy scuffle.

“Top of Form British police officers making American police officers look unprofessional, as usual – after 5 minutes of scuffle, the police STILL warns the guy ‘One more step and I will spray you.’ Nobody got seriously hurt that day,” the Reddit user said.

Two of the police constables were treated for minor injuries, and four of the men were arrested on a variety of charges, including assault on police.

[Read more…]

Cops: High Fivin’

5

The behaviour of the cops who murdered Paul O’Neal just get worse. They actually high fived after murdering an unarmed young man, and it was this moment that one cop expressed annoyance over a probable 30 day suspension. These people are utterly despicable, and placing them on administrative leave is not nearly enough. This is outright murder, and the murderers should be punished.

CBS Chicago’s Charlie De Mar saw the video and reported that it shows one officer high fiving another before saying “F***, I’m going to be on desk duty now for 30 days”; and one officer saying to another, “Make sure this (body-camera) is off.”

“We just came from watching Chicago police officers execute Paul O’Neal. … It is one of the most horrific things that I have seen, aside from being in a movie. These police officers decided to play judge, jury and executioner,” he said. “It is amazing to me. It is horrific, it is tragic, that these officers did what they did and took their street justice in their own hands—the things that they are trying to prevent, or supposed to prevent.”

I seriously advise people to avoid the comments on that tweet. There’s a whole lot of poison there. Full story here.