After all of the videos put on YouTube and WorldStarHipHop of people getting jumped on and clocked by police officers for the most random of things, I think we should all know by now that it pays to play crazy and move as far away from them or any chaos that involves the police as possible. Standing around and trying to be nosy or just trying to break it up when there’s a police presence is just asking for trouble. You can ask Aida Guzman, who was punched in the face by Lt. Jonathan Josey in Philly at the Puerto Rican Day Parade last year as a melee broke out with folks throwing bottles. Sadly, she received no justice. But you can also ask the young woman in the video below, who was punched square in the face like a man when it seems she was trying to get a man caught up in a fight that broke out to calm down.

Please excuse the tomfoolery of the young woman pulling out the camera and screaming “Wooooooorldstar!” as her girlfriend comes over and says “b***hes ’bout to get f**ked up!” But as you can see from the video, there seems to be a small fight breaking out. The man in the white button down and vest is involved for a hot minute, and then walks out, visibly upset. The woman in red who we presume was a romantic companion of some sort (since it sounds like she was saying, “Papi! Papi!” but I could be making that up) runs to him and grabs his head to get him to calm down. But in the midst of all that, a cop runs over, grabs the man to throw him on the ground (even though he was no longer tussling with anyone or irate), and the woman in the red ends up in the middle. In the end, the cop struggles with her as it seems she was trying to get the officer to leave the man be, and he winds up punching her in the face as she crumples to the ground.

Said officer is STILL on active duty, even as the situation is investigated by police in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

While she probably shouldn’t have intervened, was a punch to the face necessary? Check it out for yourself and let us know if the officer overreacted or if she overstepped her boundaries.

Last week, an ex-Philadelphia police officer, who was caught cold-cocking a woman in the face during the city’s Puerto Rican Day Parade last year was found not guilty of simple assault.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the courtroom, which was packed with fellow Philadelphia police officers, erupted into cheers when the judge read his verdict of not guilty in the assault case against ex-police Lt. Jonathan Josey, who had been seen striking Aida Guzman in a 36-second video, which was uploaded onto YouTube and went viral. Writes the Inquirer, while the judge in the case “remained troubled by Josey’s actions” he also noted the ex-officer’s testimony, which included Josey stating that he was, “trying to swipe a beer bottle from Guzman’s hand and accidentally hit her.”

As to the videotape itself, which in my opinion doesn’t really jive with Josey’s accidental-punch theory, the Inquirer reports that the judge in the case didn’t feel that the video was enough proof of intent to harm and said: “This is not a social media contest, this is not trial by video.”

Yeah, thank goodness this is not a social media contest because then we might have folks actually voting for guilt based upon what their two eyes saw in the actual video, as opposed to the magic beer bottle theory, invented by a police officer on trial for assault.

However, this is all kind of ironic when you think about how just last week, the nation was patting itself on the back over the sharp decline of incarceration rates for black Americans, particularly women, who have seen their rate of imprisonment fall from its high of six times the rate of white women to now just 2.8 percent. Likewise, the rates of imprisonment for whites and Hispanics have risen over the same decade. I guess that is considered progress, right? And perhaps now that more white people are starting to get locked up, we’ll finally start seeing some real reform in how our society carries out justice.

This is particularly true of women who find themselves the victims of police brutality, albeit less visible than their male counterparts. Like Tamika Williams, the 13-year old Akron, Ohio student, who had her arm broken by a school resource officer after she was detained for allegedly swearing and tearing papers off the school’s walls. Or the case of Linette Vazquez, who was violently slammed to the ground by police while handcuffed and sitting on a bench in a holding cell.

Sometimes the misconduct goes a lot further than abuse, such as the case of a male Sacramento patrol officer, who is currently on trial for allegedly raping and kidnapping six women, or the case of the Texas officer, who is currently awaiting charges of aggravated sexual assault for allegedly handcuffing an immigrant waitress and sexually assaulting her on the hood of his police cruiser. Sometimes these incidences of police brutality prove to be fatal, including the case of Alesia Thomas, a 35-year-old mother of two, who suffocated while in custody of the LAPD, or in the case of Rekia Boyd, who was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer.

While there are no real hard numbers about the rate of reported incidences of police brutality among women, according to a report issued by feminist women of color group INCITE, women who are likely to be viewed as “masculine” —including African American, working-class and low-income women, who routinely are systematically devalued — “are consistently treated by police as potentially violent, predatory, or non-compliant regardless of their actual conduct or circumstances, no matter how old. young, disabled, small, or ill.” Because of this delineation, these women are more likely to be subjected to abusive language in interaction; have their handcuffs tightened excessively and treated with greater physical harshness by law enforcement officers than women, who are white and perceived to be of a higher class.

The INCITE report also cites two studies by the Sex Workers’ Project in New York City, which state that 30 percent of street-based sex workers and 14 percent of indoor sex workers interviewed reported violence by police officers. Moreover, the report says the following. “Reported incidents included officers physically grabbing and kicking prostitutes, as well as beating them; one incident of rape; one woman was stalked by a police officer; arid throwing food. Sexual harassment included fondling of body parts; giving women cigarettes in exchange for sex; and police offering not to arrest a prostitute in exchange for sexual services.”

In this country, the crimes against the poor by authority figures such as the police are often unnoticed or even punished. That is why it’s important we not see these incidences as solely a gender or even a racial issue, but rather an abuse of power issue, relegated by people of all colors (as seen in the Josey/Guzman case, which was a black cop striking a Latina woman) against people from the most vulnerable parts of our society.

Do you guys remember the other day when we told you about the fool cop who punched a woman in the face at the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Philly on Sunday? Here’s a quick re-summary of what happened:

During the celebration of the Puerto Rican Day parade in Philly on Sunday, as you can see in the video, cops proceeded to handcuff a man on a car as a crowd surrounded the melee. During the arrest, someone outside of the frame can be seen throwing water at the officers, and as this is done, a woman can be seen walking up to where the officers are to get a glimpse of the drama, and then quickly turning around when she sees chaos ensuing. Unfortunately for her, she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Lt. Jonathan Josey II confused this woman for the individual who threw water at the officers, probably because she just so happened to have a bottle of liquid in her hands, and in a fury, he followed the woman, walked up to her, and literally blindsided her with a sharp punch to the face.

Of course, we told you that Lt. Josey was put on administrative duty (desk work) while an investigation was done. And usually, these things take a good amount of time before a ruling is made, folks can go back to their posts and so on and so forth. But surprise, surprise, the Philadelphia Police commissioner decided to put the hammer down on Josey and fire him. According to Philly’s ABC affiliate, after Commissioner Charles Ramsey viewed the YouTube video, he quickly put out a statement saying that Josey will be suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss. According to reports, the investigation was still going on and all the details about what happened before the water was thrown and the woman was punched wasn’t brought to light. But I guess we can all see that Commissioner Ramsey just wasn’t about that woman-punching life, and thought Josey’s behavior was unacceptable.

On a happy sidenote, those disorderly conduct charges against the woman who was punched were dropped. The lady, whose name is Aida Guzman, is a 39-year-old mother of three who was just out to have a good time and celebrate her heritage. In an interview with Philly’s ABC affiliate, WPVI-TV, she said, “I feel so happy. Before, I got a lot of pain in my body, but I feel so happy. I want to say thank you everybody for the support.” But at the same time, Guzman and her lawyer say she wasn’t looking to get Josey fired necessarily, but that wasn’t up to her. Josey, a 19-year veteran who was very decorated for his work, also had a long list of complaints against him (13, count ‘em), ranging from verbal to physical abuse. Safe to say that he thought he was slick with his treatment of people, and it’s clear that he got what was coming to him.

But John McNesby, the head of the Fraternal Order of Police in the city, doesn’t think it’s fair. “I think it stinks, it stinks. It sends a bad message to the police out there on the streets.” He says the union will try and have the case reopened and looked at, and he thinks that Lt. Josey will be able to get his job back, since he thinks the firing was wrong.

“She’s never asked for this officer to be fired. She never asked for anything other than just respect and have the charges dropped,” said her attorney, Enrique Latoison. “We still expect a formal apology of some sort. It’s important to the Hispanic community. It’s important to my client.”

Well there it is folks, this is what happens when you like to run around punching people. And it’s probably safe to say that he’s still out here looking for his Mrs. Right, because a man with an attitude!? I don’t know what woman could deal with him…

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Actually, the cop did have think he had a reason, but it wasn’t a good enough reason to punch her like she was a dude in the street.

During the celebration of the Puerto Rican Day parade in Philly on Sunday, as you can see in the video, cops proceeded to handcuff a man on a car as a crowd surrounded the melee. During the arrest, someone outside of the frame can be seen throwing water at the officers, and as this is done, a woman can be seen walking up to where the officers are to get a glimpse of the drama, and then quickly turning around when she sees chaos ensuing. Unfortunately for her, she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Lt. Jonathan Josey II confused this woman for the individual who threw water at the officers, probably because she just so happened to have a bottle of liquid in her hands, and in a fury, he followed the woman, walked up to her, and literally blindsided her with a sharp punch to the face.

The crowd can be heard reacting to the unnecessary attack, and as the unidentified woman hit the ground, she was arrested and taken away by other officers. Footage shows that she received a bloody mouth from the punch, and seemed very much confused about why she was being arrested. Though she didn’t throw the water, the woman was still given a disorderly conduct citation for her involvement in the incident (whatever that involvement was, outside of being punched). Because of the incident, Lt. Josey has been taken off the streets temporarily while an investigation is being done, and has been put on administrative duty. Lt. Ray Evers responded to the controversy the video has brought:

“We were made aware of the video very, very early this morning. Internal Affairs opened up an investigation in reference to the incident and the actions of that officer. The incident is being fully investigated.”

According to reports, the Puerto Rican Day Parade in the city usually goes on without any problems, but this temperamental officer definitely turned things upside down and inside out. Not really sure what the consequences of his actions should be at this point, but I’m just very tired of watching officers of the law use their powers to bring chaos rather than peace. Even if she had been the individual to throw water their way, would a punch still have been necessary? The use of excessive force in this situation was disgusting, and this man needs to take some anger management classes until he can get his mind right.

On an interesting side note, News One found out that Lt. Josey tried to nominate himself to be a “Daily News Swexy Single” in 2006, and for the photo submission, he sent the following pic. Areola all ringed up thinking he was looking too cute.

“He told the paper in 2006 that, his most outstanding features were his “charm and magnetic personality.” He said he was looking for a “Swexy, Swexy, Swexy” woman and was sick of meeting women that act like girls.”

The above video proves that this fool is anything but charming.

Do you think he took things too far? Or was the woman in the wrong?

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Rodney King, the man who was at the center of the infamous Los Angeles riots — was found dead this morning in Rialito, CA. He was 47. According to our sources, King’s fiancée found him dead at the bottom of a pool.

The story is still unfolding, however you can read more here…

(Colorlines) — Detroit Police Officer Joseph Weekley has been arraigned on charges of involuntary manslaughter and careless and reckless discharge of a firearm in the death of Aiyana Stanley Jones. The 7-year-old girl was shot and killed during a police raid in May of 2010.  The shooting made national headlines because police were accompanied by a camera crew filming the A&E reality cop drama “First 48.”  Weekley is a 14-year veteran who had been a member of the department’s Special Response Team (SRT) since 2004. He reportedly told his sergeant moments after the shooting, “A woman inside grabbed my gun. It fired. The bullet hit a child.”

Read More…

(New York Times) — Kirsten John Foy says that everything happens for a reason — and that the reason he and a black New York City councilman, Jumaane D. Williams, were briefly detained by the police at a parade on Sept. 5 was to call attention to racial bias in policing.  But the event also had a secondary effect: It pushed Mr. Foy, a charismatic former aide to the Rev. Al Sharpton, into the political spotlight.  At a news conference on the steps of City Hall the day after he and Mr. Williams were handcuffed, Mr. Foy, 35, who is an aide to the city’s public advocate, Bill de Blasio, grabbed the crowd’s attention, describing with a preacher’s cadences and vivid turns of phrase the stop-and-frisk practices he said the police used “to terrorize our communities.”  Before he had finished speaking, some were already talking about whether he might consider a run for the City Council.

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Melvin Williams

By Bruce A. Dixon

Last year, East Dublin, GA police officer Jeffrey Deal pulled into a driveway behind the parked car of one Melvin Williams.  Deal’s police dashboard video shows no evidence of the traffic violation the officer claims Williams committed, nor anything like a pursuit.  It does show the officer running to the drivers side of the parked car, and shouting just off camera.  Williams backs into the picture, throwing punches at the officer.  The officer backs out of camera range.  Williams follows.  A shot is heard.  Williams falls, the top of his head coming to rest just inside the frame.  Officer Deal is heard saying “I shot one.”

The local district attorney quickly ruled the killing justifiable.  But emerging facts around the police killing of Williams, a young and unarmed black man, have called into question the police powers and legal status of hundreds of Georgia officers and could pave the way for legal challenges leading to thousands of their arrests.

Like most states, Georgia requires police officers to complete yearly trainings in the use of deadly force and other subjects to retain their police powers.  An investigation by Rev. Kenneth Glasgow of TOPS, The Ordinary Peoples Society, on behalf of the victim’s family discovered that Officer Deal and most of his department, including Chief William Leutke had legally forfeited their police powers due to non-compliance with these laws.

“We kept after the local DA,” Glasgow told The Atlanta Post, “until he called in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.  GBI confirmed that five of East Dublin’s 8 police officers, including its chief were out of compliance with state training requirements, some of them for all of 2010 and years at a time before that.  Chief Leutke turned out to be a habitual offender, either violating or requesting waivers from the law five or six times since the 1980s.

“When officers are out of compliance the beginning of a calendar year, they lose their police powers,” Glasgow pointed out.  “They ought to lose public confidence and trust as well.  We take this very seriously.”

So did Georgia’s Peace Officer Standards Training Council (POST), the agency that enforces police training requirements.  At a September 7 hearing, Chief Leutke offered a litany of excuses for himself and his officers.  “We’re just an eight man department,” he testified under oath, “not even a secretary to help out…”  Some of the paperwork certifying his and his subordinates’ coursework, he claimed, had been mailed on time, even if POST received it far too late.  When an incredulous hearing officer asked if the chief was saying his stuff got lost in the mail, Leutke’s attorney doubled down on his client’s childish excuse.

“With the US Postal Service,” he offered, palms up, “anything is possible.”

(Chicago Tribune) — Attorneys representing a man who says he was tortured as part of an alleged police brutality conspiracy under former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge on Tuesday continued to press the city to make formerMayor Richard Daley available to answer questions about what he knew about the widespread scandal.  The pressure to question Daley under oath came after the rare decision by a federal judge that Daley could remain a defendant on the case brought against him and several others by Michael Tillman, who says he was tortured into a confession and then served nearly 24 years in prison before charges against him were vacated.  Several lawsuits have stemmed from the abuse scandal that unfolded under Burge, and Daley has been sued before, only to be dropped from the suits later.

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(Reuters) – Sylvia McKenzie has seen it all in her New Orleans neighborhood where she was once held up at gunpoint on her front step: Drug deals, shootings and even prostitution on a nearby street.  What she has not seen much of, she says, are police officers who she believes could clean up the area she has lived in for 40 years if they so chose but who face an uphill battle gaining residents’ trust after a series of missteps.  ”Those streets have been bad for years and nothing has changed,” she said in her eastern New Orleans neighborhood, damaged in Hurricane Katrina, where she complained blighted homes and overgrown lots were inviting crime. “You’re taking a chance every time you come out your door.”

Read More…