Does anyone know what time it is?
Does anyone in the city know what anniversary it is today?
If you ask that question of the Riverside City Council, its members may shake their heads and crinkle their foreheads in confusion. Think, not too hard, but at least a little bit and see if you or they can remember.
For anyone who is trying to figure out what in the blazes I'm writing about, here is a collection of links to keep you occupied in the meantime.
Oh, and there's a hint at the bottom of the page.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office has filed charges against Los Angeles Police Department officer Sean Meade for assaulting a teenager in an interrogation room and also for writing a false report about the incident.
Officer charged in teen beating
A surveillance video camera captured Meade choking and hitting the 16-year-old Latino who had been arrested for a curfew violation, while he was handcuffed. That camera had allegedly been set up to help the department determine who had been vandalizing furniture in that area, but it caught alleged criminal behavior of another form instead.
There is no shortage of camcorders in Los Angeles as the police department in that city is well aware of by now, but it's unusual for one of the department's own cameras to catch an officer committing an assault under the color of authority. So if you're an LAPD officer with a person in your custody at a station, be on your best behavior because you just never know where a camera may be watching.
Atlanta, Georgia will be getting its civilian review board, after the city council voted 14-0 to approve it, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
City council approves civilian review board
The outcry for civilian review in Atlanta began after the fatal officer-involved shooting of Kathryn Johnston. Three police officers have been told by a county prosecutor to expect to be indicted for murder in that incident. Eight officers in total have been placed on administrative leave.
The process of selecting commissioners is that roughly half of them will be representing community organizations, the other half will be appointed by city officials. The reason, was because community members did not trust the ability of their elected officials to be responsible for all the commission appointments. In fact, several new positions were added to lessen the influence of the individuals who had been selected by city officials.
And yes, the local police union has already threatened to file a law suit against the fledgling body before it even gets out of the gate. But then that's not really news anymore.
And it's decisions like the following that make risk management divisions of cities nervous. A study done has shown that some states put untrained officers onduty . About 30 states allow law enforcement officers to work without having received little or any training.
Fortunately, California isn't one of them. But that just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, only in some of those states that put neophytes onduty, there really isn't much of a waiting period.
The Arizona Republic has been publishing a series of articles on tasers and their usage, including this one that lists every fatality that's occurred after a taser has been used and there has been 167 total within eight years . Coroners have exonerated tasers in 35 of those cases, but for 27 of these deaths, the taser was at least partly to blame or its role could not be ruled out. The newspaper is still awaiting coroner reports in at least 50 cases.
Taser worries have sprung up elsewhere including in Howard County, Maryland, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Taser policy sparks worry
Two elected officials wanted the policy in place to be tightened amidst concerns about several recent deaths involving individuals who had been tased.
Councilwoman Courtney Watson wanted the county's policy on tasers to more clearly mirror the policy recommended by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and asked why there were no restrictions in place regarding the use of tasers on minors and the multiple tasings of individuals.
Police Chief William J. McMahon compared the current taser policy to how the FDA handles the issue of approving new legal drugs.
(excerpt)
"The FDA rarely approves a drug that has no risks," McMahon said. "They approve drugs when the risks are far outweighed by the potential benefits."
And often drugs that have already been approved by the FDA are held up to further examination and scrutiny if any deaths or injuries are associated with their usage. This is one example of a similar process being followed here.
In Houston, Texas, state legislators are considering the passage of bills that would limit taser use, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Checks sought on use of stun guns
One bill would impose a one year moratorium on the use of tasers by law enforcement officers, while the state legislation came up with guidelines governing their use.
Rep. Garnet Coleman is one sponsor of a bill directed at tasers.
(excerpt)
"We need a one-year moratorium on Tasers to ensure the public safety of our citizens," Coleman said. "At times, Tasers have been used improperly by law enforcement officers to subdue individuals who do not pose a serious danger to themselves or others, including the mentally ill."
Provisions in the bills include the following.
(excerpt)
His bills would require police agencies to develop a Taser use policy and to report all Taser incidents; direct the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education to create a statewide Taser training program; prohibit private citizens from carrying stun guns without training and a license; and require medical exams and treatment, if necessary, for Taser victims.
This news just in on the political front in Riverside. Councilman Dom Betro has been endorsed by four city council members and Mayor Ron Loveridge. The council members are Ed Adkison, Frank Schiavone, Nancy Hart and Andrew Melendrez.
The Riverside Firefighers' Association is also endorsing Betro in the upcoming election. Whether other labor unions in the city will follow remains to be seen, as the election season is still quite young.
Information on Betro's upcoming fundraiser can be found here.
If you ask that question of the Riverside City Council, its members may shake their heads and crinkle their foreheads in confusion. Think, not too hard, but at least a little bit and see if you or they can remember.
For anyone who is trying to figure out what in the blazes I'm writing about, here is a collection of links to keep you occupied in the meantime.
Oh, and there's a hint at the bottom of the page.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office has filed charges against Los Angeles Police Department officer Sean Meade for assaulting a teenager in an interrogation room and also for writing a false report about the incident.
Officer charged in teen beating
A surveillance video camera captured Meade choking and hitting the 16-year-old Latino who had been arrested for a curfew violation, while he was handcuffed. That camera had allegedly been set up to help the department determine who had been vandalizing furniture in that area, but it caught alleged criminal behavior of another form instead.
There is no shortage of camcorders in Los Angeles as the police department in that city is well aware of by now, but it's unusual for one of the department's own cameras to catch an officer committing an assault under the color of authority. So if you're an LAPD officer with a person in your custody at a station, be on your best behavior because you just never know where a camera may be watching.
Atlanta, Georgia will be getting its civilian review board, after the city council voted 14-0 to approve it, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
City council approves civilian review board
The outcry for civilian review in Atlanta began after the fatal officer-involved shooting of Kathryn Johnston. Three police officers have been told by a county prosecutor to expect to be indicted for murder in that incident. Eight officers in total have been placed on administrative leave.
The process of selecting commissioners is that roughly half of them will be representing community organizations, the other half will be appointed by city officials. The reason, was because community members did not trust the ability of their elected officials to be responsible for all the commission appointments. In fact, several new positions were added to lessen the influence of the individuals who had been selected by city officials.
And yes, the local police union has already threatened to file a law suit against the fledgling body before it even gets out of the gate. But then that's not really news anymore.
And it's decisions like the following that make risk management divisions of cities nervous. A study done has shown that some states put untrained officers onduty . About 30 states allow law enforcement officers to work without having received little or any training.
Fortunately, California isn't one of them. But that just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, only in some of those states that put neophytes onduty, there really isn't much of a waiting period.
The Arizona Republic has been publishing a series of articles on tasers and their usage, including this one that lists every fatality that's occurred after a taser has been used and there has been 167 total within eight years . Coroners have exonerated tasers in 35 of those cases, but for 27 of these deaths, the taser was at least partly to blame or its role could not be ruled out. The newspaper is still awaiting coroner reports in at least 50 cases.
Taser worries have sprung up elsewhere including in Howard County, Maryland, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Taser policy sparks worry
Two elected officials wanted the policy in place to be tightened amidst concerns about several recent deaths involving individuals who had been tased.
Councilwoman Courtney Watson wanted the county's policy on tasers to more clearly mirror the policy recommended by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and asked why there were no restrictions in place regarding the use of tasers on minors and the multiple tasings of individuals.
Police Chief William J. McMahon compared the current taser policy to how the FDA handles the issue of approving new legal drugs.
(excerpt)
"The FDA rarely approves a drug that has no risks," McMahon said. "They approve drugs when the risks are far outweighed by the potential benefits."
And often drugs that have already been approved by the FDA are held up to further examination and scrutiny if any deaths or injuries are associated with their usage. This is one example of a similar process being followed here.
In Houston, Texas, state legislators are considering the passage of bills that would limit taser use, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Checks sought on use of stun guns
One bill would impose a one year moratorium on the use of tasers by law enforcement officers, while the state legislation came up with guidelines governing their use.
Rep. Garnet Coleman is one sponsor of a bill directed at tasers.
(excerpt)
"We need a one-year moratorium on Tasers to ensure the public safety of our citizens," Coleman said. "At times, Tasers have been used improperly by law enforcement officers to subdue individuals who do not pose a serious danger to themselves or others, including the mentally ill."
Provisions in the bills include the following.
(excerpt)
His bills would require police agencies to develop a Taser use policy and to report all Taser incidents; direct the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education to create a statewide Taser training program; prohibit private citizens from carrying stun guns without training and a license; and require medical exams and treatment, if necessary, for Taser victims.
This news just in on the political front in Riverside. Councilman Dom Betro has been endorsed by four city council members and Mayor Ron Loveridge. The council members are Ed Adkison, Frank Schiavone, Nancy Hart and Andrew Melendrez.
The Riverside Firefighers' Association is also endorsing Betro in the upcoming election. Whether other labor unions in the city will follow remains to be seen, as the election season is still quite young.
Information on Betro's upcoming fundraiser can be found here.
Labels: civilian review spreads, consent decrees and other adventures
posted by Five Before Midnight | 6:53 AM
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