OFF THE WIRE
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According to the Stanford University Criminal Justice Center, more than 14,000 police agencies are estimated to use Tasers, despite the fact that the United Nations and Amnesty International have declared them "torture devices". Thegrio.com
Highlights
In 2010, there were at least 2,541 reports of misconduct by U.S. police. policebrutality.info
African-Americans are the most likely group to be shot by law enforcement and to have Taser guns used against them. thegrio.com
Recent Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reports confirm that prison guard brutality is common in the U.S. bookrags.com
Soaring police brutality in America
Recent statistics published by the Stolen Lives Project estimate that the number of cases in the United States relating to police brutality has reached the thousands. Phillipsinjurylawyers.com
Recent Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reports confirm that prison guard brutality is common in the U.S. Bookrags.com
An extensive report prepared for the United Nations Human Rights Committee tabled in 2006 states that police brutality and abuse persist unabated and undeterred across the country. Theadvocatesforhumanrights.org
An off-duty officer caught on video slapping and punching a woman was placed on administrative leave days after the incident at IHOP. Examiner.com
The Atlanta Police Department has launched an internal investigation after a shocking video surfaced showing a cop slugging a woman in the face during a late-night scuffle at one of the pancake chain's restaurants. Nydailynews.com
Police misconduct report
From April 2009 to June 2010 reports of police misconducts reported in the United States were 5,986. Policebrutality.info
From April 2009 to June 2010 fatalities linked to police misconduct stood at 382. Policebrutality.info
From April 2009 to June 2010, 10.6% of reported police brutality were sexual misconducts. Policebrutality.info
From April 2009 to June 2010, the five U.S. states with most instances of police misconduct were Oklahoma, Montana, Vermont, West Virginia and Tennessee. Policebrutality.info
In early 2010, Injustice Everywhere published an April - mid-December 2009 (8.5 months) Police Misconduct Report, from figures compiled in its National Police Misconduct Statistics Reporting Project (NPMSRP).
There were 3,445 police misconduct reports, 4,012 officers were charged with 258 fatalities reported. Mwcnews.net
An April, 2007 study of the Chicago Police Department found that out of more than 10,000 police abuse complaints filed between 2002 and 2003, only 19 resulted in meaningful disciplinary action. Thepeoplesvoice.org
An extensive U.S. Department of Justice report on police use of force released in 2001 indicated that in 1999, "approximately 422,000 people 16 years old and older were estimated to have had contact with police in which force or the threat of force was used." Examiner.com
Instances of police brutality
Reports of police misconduct tracked in National Police Misconduct News Feed for April 2011:
A Houston TX police officer is the subject of a lawsuit filed by a man who was unarmed when the officer shot him in the neck during a traffic stop for failure to signal a turn. Injusticeeverywhere.com
3 Philadelphia PA police officers have been indicted on federal charges over their alleged participation in an steroid distribution ring where the highest ranked officer is also accused of being the ringleader. Injusticeeverywhere.com
A Richmond VA deputy has been arrested on an indecent liberties charge after he allegedly threatened to rape two 14-year-old girls. Injusticeeverywhere.com
On January 1, 2009 Oscar Grant, unarmed, offering no resistance, was thrust face-down on the ground, shot in the back, and killed, the incident was videotaped on at least four cameras for irrefutable proof. Phillyimc.org
His killer was Oakland, CA transit officer, Johannes Mehserle, who was tried for the killing. The jury told to consider four possible verdicts - innocent, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, or involuntary manslaughter, jurors deciding the latter. Mathaba.net
In 2011, decades after young black men in Chicago first began claiming that a white policeman shocked, burned and suffocated them to get confessions, former officer Jon Burge is headed to federal prison for four and a half years. Thegrio.com
In August 2009, a report titled, "The Persistence of Racial Profiling in the United States" quoted Rep. John Conyers (D. MI) saying "Since (9/11), our nation has engaged in a policy of institutionalized racial and ethnic profiling." Phillyimc.org
A 2008 study of Taser use in Houston found that African-American and Latino residents were disproportionately impacted by the use of Tasers, and that white and Latino officers were more likely than African-American officers to use their Tasers on African-American suspects. Thegrio.com