http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-missouri-st-louis-police-shooting-teen-20140811-story.html#page=1

Protesters and police face off in St. Louis suburb over shooting

 

 

The protesters, almost all of them black, raised their fists and chanted, “We shall not be moved!”

Down the hill, advancing against them late Monday night, were police officers in gas masks and riot gear, most of them white.

“Don’t shoot!” some of the demonstrators yelled, inching closer to the barely visible police line. One man drifted several dozen feet closer with his arms up, lifting his shirt and spinning around as if to say: Look, no gun.

Then an older woman in a dust mask to shield her a bit from the swirling tear gas spotted him and shouted, “Get your ass back here!”

The two sides were locked in confrontation in this working-class suburb of St. Louis, where the police shooting of an unarmed young black man triggered a night of looting Sunday — and demands for justice from a predominantly black population.

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Blacks in Ferguson are twice as likely to be stopped by police as whites, according to an annual report on racial profiling by the Missouri attorney general. Last year, 93% of arrests following car stops in Ferguson were of blacks. Ninety-two percent of searches and 80% of car stops involved blacks, the report said.
 

Toy gun waved by child mistaken for weapon

"POMONA (AP/CBS 8) - A frightening afternoon for a family in Chino after police charged at their minivan, guns aimed at them and their children.

The 7-year old boy's parents requested News 8 doesn't show his face or give their names.

Police were called after someone saw the little boy playing with a toy gun in the backseat. Sheriff's Sgt. R. Causey says the motorist thought it was a real gun, but deputies could tell it was a toy.

They were stopped in a parking lot and police approached with guns drawn.

The parents were hauled into the back of a squad car and police ignored their request to be cautious with the child, who just had surgery and was in a wheelchair.

"I was trying to tell them, you can be forcing him on his feet, he's not even supposed to be, he doesn't even stand on his feet."

After the toy gun was found, police released the family, who say they were on their way to Chuck-E-Cheese.

No arrests were made."

http://www.cbs8.com/story/16025582/toy-gun-waved-by-child-mistaken-for-weapon

Costumed reveler with fake gun shot by S.J. police

A drunken Halloween party-goer rousted by San Jose police on a hotel stairwell was shot by officers after he reached for a fake gun he had tucked into his surgeon's costume, authorities said.

Javier Gonzales-Guerrero, 25, of San Jose was shot by officers who confronted him at the Extended Stay Deluxe Hotel at 55 East Brokaw Road shortly before 8 a.m. Sunday, police said.

Officers found Gonzales-Guerrero either passed out or sleeping in a stairwell, said police Sgt. Jason Dwyer. They could see the butt of a gun in his waistband, Dwyer said.

They called out to him, and he awoke and reached for what turned out to be a gold-color fake firearm, police said.

Fearing he was going to shoot them, Sgt. Brian Johst and officers Mark Stephens, Gary Petrakovitz and Tim Stephens all fired at Gonzales-Guerrero, hitting him numerous times but not inflicting any life-threatening wounds, Dwyer said.

Investigators determined that Gonzales-Guerrero had attended a Halloween party dressed in medical scrubs.

The officers who shot their weapons have served between 13 and 20 years with the department.

The incident is the seventh San Jose officer-involved shooting this year, three of which have resulted in deaths. Police and the Santa Clara County district attorney are investigating the latest shooting.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/25/BAPJ1LM13V.DTL#ixzz1bpMdnBj2

Phoenix police shoot, kill man in wheelchair

"Phoenix police fatally shot a man in a wheelchair who they said had pointed a gun at them early Saturday morning.

Sgt. Steve Martos said two officers, whose names were not released, responded around 2:20 a.m. to the downtown bus and light-rail depot at 100 W. Van Buren St. after witnesses reported that shots had been fired by a man assaulting a female believed to be his girlfriend.

"Two officers approached the suspect and his girlfriend," Martos said. "As they approached the male suspect, he wheeled away from the officers and became belligerent. The suspect then turned back towards the officers and began approaching them."

The man then reached into his waistband and pulled out a handgun, pointing it at the officers, Martos said. The officers repeatedly commanded him to drop the weapon, Martos said, and when he refused, they shot him.

The man was pronounced dead on the scene. Neither officer was injured. The man's name was not released.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2011/10/15/20111015phoenix-police-shoot-man-in-wheelchair-brk.html#ixzz1axtrRiV2
"

Oakland officer videotapes his killing of suspect

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/03/MNGR1LBKEQ.DTL

"In a Bay Area first, a fatal shooting by police in East Oakland was captured on video - not by a bystander with a camcorder or a smart phone but by the officer himself, who wore a city-issued camera on his chest.

Oakland police officials will not say what the footage from Sept. 25 depicts, citing an ongoing investigation. But the fact that the shooting was captured at all illustrates a profound change in law enforcement, with officers increasingly strapping on cameras along with their guns, radios and handcuffs.

The incident is already raising thorny questions, principally this: When an officer films his own killing of a suspect, should that officer be allowed to review the footage before making a statement to investigators?

Then there's this: In the weeks and months ahead, will the video be made available to the public or the media?

The shooting happened shortly before 5 p.m. on the 9900 block of Cherry Street. Police officials said the trouble began when two officers, who have not been identified, pulled over a car for an unspecified violation, only to watch the passenger flee on foot.

One officer caught the suspect, who had a gun and drugs, and shot him during a struggle, police said. The department has refused to identify the man, and the Alameda County coroner will not give his name without police permission.

At some point, the officer had turned on the camera, which is about the size of a pager and was clipped to his chest, by sliding down a lens cover.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/02/MNGR1LBKEQ.DTL#ixzz1Zjx3izfa

After the shooting, neither the officer nor his partner was allowed to view the footage from the camera before speaking to investigators, said sources familiar with the matter.

That led to a dispute, the sources said, over whether the department followed policies adopted after the city bought 350 wearable cameras late last year from Vievu of Seattle for $540,000.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/02/MNGR1LBKEQ.DTL#ixzz1ZjxAKqfw


Police watchdogs were surprised to hear of Oakland's position - that the officers should have been allowed to view the video first - saying it seemed to violate basic investigatory principals.

John Burris, an Oakland attorney who specializes in police misconduct cases and supports use of the body cameras, said officers who shoot suspects should not have access to such a video.

"Absolutely not," Burris said. "I think it's contrary to the importance of the video. If you view the video beforehand, you have an opportunity to change your story to match the video."

Michael Risher, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney in San Francisco, said, "In any investigation, it is not a good practice to show a tape to a witness before an interview. ... I think any police officer will tell you that."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/02/MNGR1LBKEQ.DTL#ixzz1ZjxFnF00
"

Half of L.A. County deputies' 'waistband shootings' involve unarmed people

"Almost half the people shot at by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies after reaching toward their waistbands turned out to be unarmed, according to a study released Thursday.

"Waistband shootings" are particularly controversial because the justification for the shootings can conceivably be fabricated after the fact, according to the county monitor's report, which was commissioned by the county Board of Supervisors and which analyzed six years of shooting data.

The monitor was careful to point out that the report wasn't indicating that deputies were being dishonest, simply that those shootings left the department vulnerable to criticism.

Merrick Bobb, who was hired as a special counsel to county supervisors after a 1992 report exposed serious problems in the department, also found an increase in shootings in which deputies didn't see an actual gun before firing. In those cases, the suspects may have had a weapon but never brandished it.

Those shootings jumped from nine in 2009 to 15 last year, according to the report. Last year also saw the highest proportion of people shot by deputies who turned out to be unarmed altogether."

"In one case, deputies came across a narcotics suspect sitting in his car outside his house. When the 35-year-old man saw the deputies, he appeared to reach under his seat. One of the deputies thought he saw a gun, covered by a piece of cloth. The man then sat up, holding the object to his chest, prompting the deputy to shoot him. The man was killed but no drugs or weapons were found, only a pair of jeans. The county eventually paid $750,000 to the victim's family.

The analysis also found that 61% of suspects who were shot at by deputies were Latino, 29% black and 10% white. Even compared to Sheriff's Department arrest rates, Latinos and blacks are overrepresented, the study concluded.

In shootings in which deputies shot at a suspect before seeing an actual gun, all but two of the suspects were black or Latino."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-unarmed-shootings-20110923,0,2452551.story