DOCSLIB.ORG

Baysiders Torture Maid: DA Proposal Met Police Seek Help in Search for Third Suspect in Alleged Kidnapping, Assault with Criticism by TOM MOMBERG

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Baysiders Torture Maid: DA Proposal Met Police Seek Help in Search for Third Suspect in Alleged Kidnapping, Assault with Criticism by TOM MOMBERG LARGEST AUDITED COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER • LITTLE NECK LEDGER IN QUEENS • WHITESTONE TIMES Mar. 6–12, 2015 Your Neighborhood — Your News® FREE ALSO COVERING AUBURNDALE, COLLEGE POINT, DOUGLASTON, GLEN OAKS, FLORAL PARK Plane group Baysiders torture maid: DA proposal met Police seek help in search for third suspect in alleged kidnapping, assault with criticism BY TOM MOMBERG BY MADINA TOURE ALL FOR KATY The Bayside couple ac- cused of holding their maid A new Port Authority pro- against her will and tortur- posal for a roundtable to ad- ing her appeared in Queens dress jet noise and pollution Criminal Court this week for a around Queens’ two major scheduling hearing. The third airports has drawn mixed re- suspect still actions from advocates and had not been apprehended. residents. After setting a plea hearing The PA has proposed one for April 8, the couple’s Man- New York Airports Commu- hattan attorney, Lawrence nity Roundtable with two Fisher, tried to appeal to the separate airport committees, judge, Dorothy Chin-Brandt, one for JFK and the other for to set bail for defendant De- LaGuardia. vanand Lachman. Each airport committee During the couple’s ar- will have 32 voting members, raignment, Lachman was held with representative geograph- without bail. His wife, Ambar ic coverage of communities af- Lachman, who is four months’ fected by the airport. The com- pregnant, was released on bined membership will vote $50,000 bail. The judge extend- for an executive committee, ed Devanand Lachman’s bail which will be charged with waiver to April 22, denying formulating and approving Fisher’s request. the roundtable bylaws. Com- The Lachmans are charged mittee members would vote on in a Feb. 13 incident in which the adoption of the bylaws. Devanand Lachman, 32, al- The PA and the Federal legedly proceeded to beat, Aviation Administration will burn and torture the couple’s attend each of the committee’s 54-year-old house maid until meetings as well as the execu- she admitted to stealing items tive committee’s sessions and from the couple’s home, ac- serve in an advisory capacity, cording to the criminal com- but will not be voting mem- plaint filed by the Queens dis- bers. trict attorney’s office. “After extensive outreach Holy Cross students and faculty are bringing their money and support to the table for Katy Strarck It was unclear whether to stakeholders in Queens, Monte, the wife of a 2005 graduate and courageous figure behind the #OomphForKaty phenon- the maid had actually stolen Brooklyn, the Bronx and Nas- menon on Twitter. See story on Page 3. Photo courtesy of Holy Cross anything from the Lachmans, Continued on Page 61 Continued on Page 61 Halloran gets 10 years for bribery BY SADEF ALI KULLY the arguments leading up to tised him for taking bribes as his sentencing. Halloran was a public official. He is sched- Disgraced former City found guilty by a White Plains uled to report to prison April Councilman Daniel Hal- jury of bribery, fraud, and per- 17 at noon as his lawyer ap- loran, red-faced in a charcoal jury back in July. The judge peals the verdict. gray suit, sat in federal court sentenced Halloran to 10 years Former City Councilman Dan Halloran is sentenced for his role in a brib- Wednesday in front of Judge and one month in prison, two See story on Page 2 ery scheme that rocked Queens politics all the way to Albany. Kenneth Karas listening to years of probation and chas- A CNG Publication Vol. 81 No. 10 68 total pages Halloran heads to jail CB 11: No clubhouse Judge hands down 10 years for bribery conviction at Windsor Oaks site BY TOM MOMBERG approve the amendment. They BY SADEF ALI KULLY said new information brought Community Board 11 shot forward during Monday’s pub- Former Bayside City Coun- down Windsor Oaks Tenants’ lic hearing had made them cilman Dan Halloran was Corporation’s application change their minds. sentenced to 10 years and one Monday night, which would Windsor Oaks may take the month in prison Wednesday amend a 1950 variance and al- amendment directly to Queens for his role in a bribery scheme low new construction to abut Borough President Melinda to secure a spot on the Repub- 77th Avenue residences in Katz next. Upon her review, lican line for former state Sen. Oakland Gardens. the site plan may yet go in front Malcolm Smith in the 2013 The strip of land in ques- of the city’s Board of Standards mayoral race. tion is between Bell Boulevard and Appeals. Representatives Halloran showed up at fed- and Springfield Boulevard from Katz’ office attended both eral court in White Plains in across from the bike path. the committee and community a dark-colored suit and a baby Strong community and board meetings. If a hearing blue tie alongside one of his Former city councilman Dan Halloran (r) and his lawyer leave the court- shareholder opposition was takes place before the BSA, brothers and lawyer Jonathan house in Westchester after sentencing for his role in a bribery scheme. apparent during the commu- residents said they would con- Edelstein, who was hired after Photo by Sadef Kully nity board’s regular monthly tinue to argue their case. the trial was over. meeting. Many were against a Windsor Oaks President Federal Judge Kenneth the trial alone and was found another party line, and Hal- site plan for a 5,000-square-foot Ronald Kaye was prepared Karas imposed the prison sen- guilty in July. Smith and Ta- loran should not be punished club house and 98 additional for overwhelming opposi- tence following Halloran’s jury bone went on trial in Janu- harshly because the legality of parking spaces as well as to tion, having said that such conviction last summer on ary on charges of bribery and the Wilson-Pakula is “a gray clear cutting a 100-foot-wide opposition would have arisen five counts involving Smith’s fraud and were convicted after area.” Towards the end, Edel- section of trees that Windsor out of any similar project mayoral bid and the council- a five-week trial. stein fell back on Halloran’s Oaks agreed to maintain as in any geographic location. man’s plot to direct city money Halloran played the liaison years of public service, which part of the original variance. “The objection here is sim- to a sham charity in exchange between Smith and Tabone included his experience as The tenants’ corporation ple: ‘not in my backyard.’ But, for support for his failing con- in the bribery scheme to get an Eagle Scout, to try to gain secured a loan in 2011 to be as far as residents of Wind- gressional campaign. Smith the Republican nomina- sympathy from the court. able to provide additional ame- sor Oaks are concerned, that The sentencing hearing be- tion for the 2013 mayoral race. “He lied and lied, for five nities. The loan was just refi- land belongs to all sharehold- gan with examining the level In exchange Halloran accepted days, it was troublesome and nanced in its fourth and final ers,” Kaye said. “If this proj- of charges against Halloran, almost $25,000 in bribes and offensive,” Karas said before he year to build the club house. ect was proposed for another which were doubled because also promised to reallocate announced the sentence. “Pub- Only one of roughly two property, we would have had he took bribes as a public of- $80,000 from public funding to lic officials need to understand dozen board members voted in an entirely different group of ficial, had the intent of taking bribe other players. that they cannot take bribes.” favor of the amendment, which residents expressing ‘not in additional bribes, and he per- Edelstein, Halloran’s defense The judge said the 121-month had been previously denied my backyard.’ It isn’t a good jured himself repeatedly dur- attorney, contended the penalty sentence was well below recom- by the Central/South Bayside enough reason not to have ing the five day trial. and fines Halloran was facing mended guidelines. Zoning Committee, 5-2. The this project go forward.” “The jury clearly found Mr. should be lessened because Throughout the hearing, two committee members who As many as 15 residences Halloran dishonest. I had a front he did not know he was com- Halloran sat with his hands had previously voted in favor border the proposed site plan row seat. I watched his body mitting a crime by accepting a folded over his mouth at the of the project flipped their where trees would be de- language, his body languages bribe, which Halloran viewed defense table next to his law- votes during CB 11’s motion to Continued on Page 17 said everything and his an- as a political consultant fee. yer. swers were even worse,” Karas Karas disregarded the argu- He also will be required to said.“There is no question about ment due to hours of video and serve two years’ probation af- his level of involvement.” audio evidence that showed ter his sentence is completed, The judge presided over Halloran well aware of his posi- but the judge said the disgraced the original trial of Halloran, tion he was playing in the ma- Republican legislator would not Smith and former Queens GOP neuver to get Smith, a former be charged any fines because he leader Vincent Tabone, but Democratic majority leader in does not have the money to pay granted a mistrial June 2014 Albany, a spot on the Republi- them.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Police Prosecutions and Punitive Instincts
    Washington University Law Review Volume 98 Issue 4 2021 Police Prosecutions and Punitive Instincts Kate Levine Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Law and Race Commons, and the Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons Recommended Citation Kate Levine, Police Prosecutions and Punitive Instincts, 98 WASH. U. L. REV. 0997 (2021). Available at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview/vol98/iss4/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Law Review by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Washington University Law Review VOLUME 98 NUMBER 4 2021 POLICE PROSECUTIONS AND PUNITIVE INSTINCTS KATE LEVINE* ABSTRACT This Article makes two contributions to the fields of policing and criminal legal scholarship. First, it sounds a cautionary note about the use of individual prosecutions to remedy police brutality. It argues that the calls for ways to ease the path to more police prosecutions from legal scholars, reformers, and advocates who, at the same time, advocate for a dramatic reduction of the criminal legal system’s footprint, are deeply problematic. It shows that police prosecutions legitimize the criminal legal system while at the same time displaying the same racism and ineffectiveness that have been shown to pervade our prison-backed criminal machinery. The Article looks at three recent trials and convictions of police officers of color, Peter Liang, Mohammed Noor, and Nouman Raja, in order to underscore the argument that the criminal legal system’s race problems are * Associate Professor of Law, Benjamin N.
    [Show full text]
  • Racing the Pandemic: Anti-Asian Racism Amid COVID-19
    9 Racing the Pandemic Anti-Asian Racism amid COVID-19 Christine R. Yano How does race shape the experience of the current and ongoing global pandemic? How does the pandemic shape the experience of race—in politics and in everyday lives? How have histories of racialization and racism in the United States and elsewhere allowed for the targeting of Asian Americans? How might we develop effective strategies that counter xenophobic racisms surrounding COVID-19? And in an ideal world seeking meaningful change, how might critical empathy—that is, reaching out to others with hearts, minds, bodies, and actions—play a crucial role?1 These questions structure my approach to discussing anti-Asian racism amid the pandemic with the goal of developing strategies of action for the targets of such racism, as well as for others for whom race-based violence is anathema. The Black Lives Matter movement has compelled us to thoughts and actions at a time when systemic racism can no longer be ignored. What the movement reminds us of is the ongoing salience of race as a basis for institutionalized and interpersonal actions, as these shape overt macroaggressions as well as more covert microaggressions. “China virus.” “Wuhan virus.” “Kung-flu.” These labels, uttered by people at the highest political echelons of the United States during one of the worst public health disasters within most people’s lifetimes, give permission for racial discrimination and violence, bringing anti-Asian racism into public light once again. Yellow Peril rears its ugly head—in earlier periods as a fear of Asians invading white worlds, 124 : THE PANDEMIC: PERSPECTIVES ON ASIA and here as an epidemiological fear of an Asian virus unleashed upon the world.2 In the words of psychiatrist Ravi Chandra, these pandemic labels, especially uttered by those in power, “disinhibit” the public from racist emotions and expressions.3 In using the term “disinhibit,” Chandra implies that anti-Asian racism lurks historically and broadly just below the surface, suppressed in the name of more rational or humane discourse.
    [Show full text]
  • The Underreporting of Police Justifiable Homicides
    ISSUE 21:1 SPRING 2016 When Numbers Lie: the Under- reporting of Police Justifiable Homicides TIFFANY R. MURPHY* The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is tasked with tracking the number of police-involved homicides in a given year. Over a ten-year period, the BJS published the average number of police-involved homicides at 400 annually. However, the BJS’s ability to provide accurate information in this area is woefully lacking because of systemic failures in its data collection from law enforcement agencies. These deficiencies result in hundreds of police-involved homicides being unreported. What results is an incomplete picture for local, state, and federal agencies to make assessments as to how the over 18,000 law enforcement agencies are performing concerning the use of force, training, and de-escalation techniques. Several non-profits and news agencies have filled in the gap created by the BJS to portray an accurate picture of how many lives are taken by police officers in a given year. Their efforts show that close to 1,000 people are killed by police under the use of force doctrine—a figure over twice as high as the BJS published. A growing concern over law enforcement’s use-of-deadly force prompted Congress to enact the Death-in-Custody Reporting Act (DCRA), signed into law in December 2014. The simplicity of the DCRA should allow the BJS to collect accurate data in the future. However, the DCRA still relies solely on self-reporting from law enforcement agencies as a base for its data analysis.
    [Show full text]
  • The Civil Rights Implications of "Broken Windows" Policing in NYC and General NYPD Accountability to the Public
    The Civil Rights Implications of "Broken Windows" Policing in NYC and General NYPD Accountability to the Public A Briefing Report of the New York Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights March 2018 Advisory Committees to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights By law, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has established an advisory Committee in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. These Committees are composed of state/district citizens who serve without compensation; they are tasked with advising the Commission of civil rights issues in their states/district that are within the Commission’s jurisdiction. Committees are authorized to advise the Commission in writing of any knowledge or information they have of any alleged deprivation of voting rights and alleged discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, national origin, or in the administration of justice; advise the Commission on matters of their state or district’s concern in the preparation of Commission reports to the President and the Congress; receive reports, suggestions, and recommendations from individuals, public officials, and representatives of public and private organizations to Committee inquiries; forward advice and recommendations to the Commission, as requested; and observe any open hearing or conference conducted by the Commission in their states/district. Acknowledgements The New York Advisory Committee thanks all of the participants in the March 20 and 21, 2017 briefings for sharing their expertise. The Committee also thanks the senior leadership of the NYPD for taking the time to share their expertise with us on the several days of interviews we conducted with them.
    [Show full text]
  • Police Body-Worn Cameras Seth W
    NORTH CAROLINA LAW REVIEW Volume 96 Number 5 Badge Cams as Data and Deterrent: Article 5 Enforcement, the Public, and the Press in the Age of Digital Video 6-1-2018 Police Body-Worn Cameras Seth W. Stoughton Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Seth W. Stoughton, Police Body-Worn Cameras, 96 N.C. L. Rev. 1363 (2018). Available at: https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr/vol96/iss5/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in North Carolina Law Review by an authorized editor of Carolina Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 96 N.C. L. REV. 1363 (2018) POLICE BODY-WORN CAMERAS* SETH W. STOUGHTON** Since the summer of 2014, community members, politicians, and police executives across the country have called for greater police accountability and improvements in police-community relations. Body-worn cameras (“BWCs”) are widely seen as serving both ends. Today, thousands of police agencies are exploring, adopting, and implementing body-cam programs. BWCs are here, and more are coming. Legal scholars have largely responded to this burgeoning new technology by addressing it through the framework of traditional discussions about privacy, police accountability, or the rules of evidence. Relatively few articles have gone further by identifying the potential benefits of BWCs and critically examining whether the adoption of this technology by police agencies can truly do what many proponents claim. This Article falls solidly into the latter camp.
    [Show full text]
  • African American Law Enforcers' Perceptions About Crime in Minority
    Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2020 African American Law Enforcers’ Perceptions About Crime in Minority Communities Shantae Coppock Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations Part of the African American Studies Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Walden University College of Social and Behavioral Sciences This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by Shantae' Coppock has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Carolyn Dennis, Committee Chairperson, Public Policy and Administration Faculty Dr. Michael Klemp-North, Committee Member, Public Policy and Administration Faculty Dr. Victor Ferreros, University Reviewer, Public Policy and Administration Faculty Chief Academic Officer and Provost Sue Subocz, Ph.D. Walden University 2020 Abstract African American Law Enforcers’ Perceptions About Crime in Minority Communities by Shantae’ Coppock MPhil, Walden University, 2020 MHS, Lincoln University, 2012 BS, Lincoln University, 2010 Dissertation in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Policy and Administration with a Specialization in Criminal Justice Walden University November 2020 Abstract There is a problem with law enforcement and the African American community in the United States, and African American law enforcement employees perpetuate more tension in these communities.
    [Show full text]
  • Amicus Briefs
    No. 19-292 IN THE Supreme Court of the United States ROXANNE TORRES, Petitioner, v. JANICE MADRID AND RICHARD WILLIAMSON, Respondents. On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER SHERRILYN A. IFILL DANIEL HARAWA Director-Counsel Of Counsel JANAI S. NELSON NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & SAMUEL SPITAL EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. JIN HEE LEE* 700 14TH ST, NW SUITE 600 KEVIN E. JASON WASHINGTON, DC 20005 ASHOK CHANDRAN NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE & Counsel for Amicus Curiae NAACP Legal Defense & EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. Educational Fund, Inc. 40 Rector St., 5th Floor New York, NY 10006 *Counsel of Record (212) 965-2200 [email protected] February 7, 2020 i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page(s) TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ..................................... iii INTEREST OF AMICUS CURIAE ............................ 1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT ......................................................... 2 ARGUMENT ............................................................... 5 I. A Police Officer’s Discharge of A Firearm Is A Quintessential Fourth Amendment Seizure................................................................... 5 II. The Decision Below Risks Eviscerating the Primary Vehicles for Ensuring Accountability for Egregious Police Misconduct. ........................................................... 8 III. Preserving This Court’s Longstanding Precedent Regarding Fourth Amendment Seizure Is Especially Important Given Law Enforcement’s Historically Oppressive Use of Weapons in African- American Communities. ..................................... 12 A. Law Enforcement Historically Employed Oppressive Practices, Including Use of Firearms, to Control and Intimidate African Americans Before and After Emancipation. ................. 12 B. African-American Civil Unrest in the Mid-Twentieth Century, a Response in ii Part to Unconstitutional Police Violence, Led to the Expansive Use of Weaponry by Police. .................................... 17 C.
    [Show full text]
  • Shooting of Tamir Rice
    Shooting of Tamir Rice The shooting of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy (June relayed to the dispatched officers, Loehmann and Garm- 25, 2002 – November 23, 2014), occurred on Novem- back, and it was later revealed that the dispatcher did not ber 22, 2014, in Cleveland, Ohio. Two police officers, elaborate beyond referencing “a gun.”[12][18] According 26-year-old Timothy Loehmann and 46-year-old Frank to one report, the 9-1-1 responder twice asked whether Garmback, responded after receiving a police dispatch the boy was black or white[19] before dispatching officers call “of a male black sitting on a swing and pointing a to the park at around 3:30 p.m.[17] The actual recording gun at people” in a city park.[1][2][3] A caller reported that of the phone call reveals that the 9-1-1 responder asked a male was pointing “a pistol” at random people in the whether the boy was black or white three times; however, Cudell Recreation Center. At the beginning of the call the question was repeated only after the caller continued and again in the middle he says of the pistol “it’s probably describing the color of Rice’s clothing.[20] The caller then fake.”[4] Toward the end of the two-minute call, the caller left the gazebo, and Rice sat down in it sometime later.[18] [5] stated “he is probably a juvenile.” However, this infor- According to information reported to the press on the day mation was not relayed to Loehmann or Garmback on [6][7] of the shooting by Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Associ- the initial dispatch.
    [Show full text]
  • My Trip to the Shooting Simulator
    The Perspective of the Reasonable Officer on the Scene: My Trip to the Shooting Simulator Tung Yin Controversy over police officer shootings of unarmed civilians is not a new phenomenon, but the advent of social media and readily available video recordings via smartphones has focused public attention on a string of such killings since 2014. Further fueling public concern, if not outrage, is the fact that in nearly all of the high-profile incidents, the officers were white while the victims were African- American men.1 One indicator of the degree of concern and outrage over these incidents is the rise and popularity of movements such as Black Lives Matter. Typically, the police officer is absolved of wrongdoing on the grounds that the shooting was justifiable,2 even when it turns out that the officer was mistaken about believing that the suspect/victim was armed. Stating the blackletter law on the constitutional use of deadly force is easy: “[S]uch force may not be used unless it is necessary to prevent the escape [of an unarmed felon] and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.”3 When evaluating civil rights claims for excessive force, “[t]he ‘reasonableness’ of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.”4 Moreover, the trier of fact must consider “the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second judgments—in circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving—about the amount of force that is necessary in a particular situation.”5 Professor of Law, Lewis & Clark Law School.
    [Show full text]
  • Review Essay: “What’S Going On?”
    Review Essay: “What’s Going On?” Harvey Gee* Jeff Chang, We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation, New York: Picador, 2016. Pp. 192. $16.00. Table of Contents Introduction .......................................................................................................19 I. Just Sayin’: Narratives on Race and Resegregation .........................21 II. Ferguson, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the Prosecution of N.Y.P.D. Officer Peter Liang ......................................27 III. FISHER V. UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ..................................................................33 IV. Post–FISHER V. TEXAS: Discrimination Against Asian Americans at Elite Universities Redux? .................................................................37 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................42 Introduction In We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation (“We Gon’ Be Alright”),1 Jeff Chang, Executive Director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford University, relies on his vast knowledge of the cultural his- tory of race in America, hip-hop music, and civil rights to comment on racial progress and race relations, bringing “renewed attention to questions of equi- ty.” 2 In his brisk volume, Chang explains why inequality persists and how resegregation is still happening today. Chang’s book is timely, as ongoing violence against young African American men across the country and the debates over immigration and affir- mative action, destroys any professed color-blind vision of America. Chang ultimately eviscerates the notion held by some that this country entered a “post-racial” era after President Obama’s election.3 Justice Sotomayor * The author is an attorney in San Francisco. He previously served as an Attorney with the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Las Vegas and Pittsburgh, the Federal Defenders of the Middle District of Georgia, and the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender.
    [Show full text]
  • Reporting of Police Justifiable Homicides
    ISSUE 21:1 SPRING 2016 When Numbers Lie: the Under- reporting of Police Justifiable Homicides TIFFANY R. MURPHY* The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is tasked with tracking the number of police-involved homicides in a given year. Over a ten-year period, the BJS published the average number of police-involved homicides at 400 annually. However, the BJS’s ability to provide accurate information in this area is woefully lacking because of systemic failures in its data collection from law enforcement agencies. These deficiencies result in hundreds of police-involved homicides being unreported. What results is an incomplete picture for local, state, and federal agencies to make assessments as to how the over 18,000 law enforcement agencies are performing concerning the use of force, training, and de-escalation techniques. Several non-profits and news agencies have filled in the gap created by the BJS to portray an accurate picture of how many lives are taken by police officers in a given year. Their efforts show that close to 1,000 people are killed by police under the use of force doctrine—a figure over twice as high as the BJS published. A growing concern over law enforcement’s use-of-deadly force prompted Congress to enact the Death-in-Custody Reporting Act (DCRA), signed into law in December 2014. The simplicity of the DCRA should allow the BJS to collect accurate data in the future. However, the DCRA still relies solely on self-reporting from law enforcement agencies as a base for its data analysis.
    [Show full text]
  • Visibly (Un)Just: the Optics of Grand Jury Secrecy and Police Violence
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works Publications and Research CUNY School of Law 2018 Visibly (Un)Just: The Optics of Grand Jury Secrecy and Police Violence Nicole Smith Futrell CUNY School of Law How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cl_pubs/339 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] \\jciprod01\productn\D\DIK\123-1\DIK101.txt unknown Seq: 1 19-OCT-18 13:50 Articles Visibly (Un)Just: The Optics of Grand Jury Secrecy and Police Violence Nicole Smith Futrell* ABSTRACT Police violence has become more visible to the public through racial justice activism and social justice advocates’ use of technology. Yet, the heightened visibility of policing has had lim- ited impact on transparency and accountability in the legal pro- cess, particularly when a grand jury is empaneled to determine whether to issue an indictment in a case of police violence. When a grand jury decides not to indict, the requirement of grand jury secrecy prevents public disclosure of the testimony, witnesses, and evidence presented to the grand jury. Grand jury secrecy leaves those who have seen and experienced the act of police violence through activism and social media with no way of * Associate Professor, The City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law. I thank Anna Roberts, Amna Akbar, Babe Howell, Bahar Ansari, Darian Futrell, Donna Lee, Jocelyn Simonson, Naz Ahmed, Nermeen Arastu, Priscilla Ocen, Ruthann Robson, and Steve Zeidman for their support and encouragement.
    [Show full text]