A popular tour guide in New Orleans’ French Quarter has filed a complaint with the New Orleans Police Department, claiming he was the victim of a beating by a police officer in November. Fifty-year-old Randy Bibb alleges that Office Willie Gant punched him twice in the jaw before taking him into custody on November 25th. Gant says Bibb was arrested because he was blocking traffic while on his bicycle. Gant says when he honked his horn, Bibb uttered a profanity and told the officer to go around. Gant says when he approached Bibb, he noticed the subject had been drinking. Bibb claims Gant struck him twice in the jaw. The NOPD Public Integrity Bureau is investigating Bibb’s complaint.

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Three police officers surrendered and were charged with felonies Tuesday for an attack on a tattoo parlor worker who authorities say was sodomized with a baton in a subway station.

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes announced an indictment charging Officer Richard Kern with aggravated sexual abuse and assault for allegedly ramming the baton into the victim’s anus. Fellow officers Alex Cruz and Andrew Morales were charged with hindering prosecution and official misconduct for allegedly covering up the crime.

DNA recovered from the baton “was matched to the victim,” prosecutor Charles Guria said during a court appearance at which the officers pleaded not guilty.

If convicted, Kern could face up to 25 years in prison; the others could face up to four years.

Defense attorneys say the officers didn’t do anything wrong.

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Irma Marquez, the day after her confrontation with Officer Wayne Simoes.

The lawyer for a Yonkers police officer accused of brutalizing a woman said today that a videotape of the incident appears to have been doctored.

Attorney Andrew Quinn said during a hearing in U.S. District Court in White Plains that he intends to ask for a dismissal of the indictment against the suspended police officer, Wayne Simoes.

Quinn said a videotape of the incident at La Fonda Restaurant appears to have been sped up to show a much faster interaction between Simoes and Irma Marquez, the 44-year-old home health care attendant who suffered severe bruising and a concussion when Simoes allegedly slammed her to the floor of the restaurant.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the officer, declined to comment.

Simoes, 39, was charged in June with violating Marquez’ rights in the March 3, 2007, incident. He was arrested by FBI agents a month after Marquez filed an $11.3 million civil rights lawsuit against the city and the videotape was splashed all over the media.

Marquez filed the lawsuit after she was cleared by a Yonkers jury of two misdemeanor charges.

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The Human Rights Watch Reports…..

Turkey’s persistent failure to penalize police brutality has led to an increase in cases of violence by officers, including fatal shootings, since 2007, a leading US-based human rights group said Friday.

“Historically, law enforcement officials were rarely if ever held to account … Today, despite increased legal safeguards, law enforcement officers who flout them can still enjoy effective impunity when they are alleged to have abused or even unlawfully killed victims”

The findings came in an 80-page report that examines 28 cases of police abuse in Istanbul. The cases include fatal and nonfatal shootings, ill-treatment and excessive use of force against demonstrators, and ill-treatment during or following identity checks.

HRW said the problem was exacerbated by changes made to the law on police powers in June 2007, which give police excessively broad discretion to use lethal force and encourage arbitrary stops and searches by police.

“It has become a routine occurrence for those who file complaints against the police to be put on trial for having forcibly resisted the police”.

Investigations into allegations of police abuse were mired in difficulties and lacked independence, thoroughness, and effectiveness, the report said, adding that police often attempted to conceal, contaminate or plant evidence.

In many cases, prosecutors fail to initiate proceedings despite ample public evidence and even if they do, the probes proceed very slowly, generally taking many months and even years.

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An Orlando police officer Tasered an autistic middle school student after the teen refused to leave a bathroom and broke the officer’s hand.

The incident happened Friday at Glenridge Middle School after a teacher called police. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound student was washing his hands when an officer confronted him. The boy then swung around an punched the officer in the face and struck his hand.

Police say the student was not injured but that they would ask prosecutors to charge the student with battery.

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In a vicious racist attack last week portraying the extent of anti-Muslim tactics employed by police in Britain today, a 46 year old Muslim father picking up his children from school was brutally attacked by police officers in Leicestershire over what started off as a parking dispute. Mr Baddru Musani, was incredibly assaulted outside Spinney Hill Primary School on the afternoon of Thursday the 2nd of October 2008 at approximately 3:30pm, in the North Evington area of Leicester. Police officers were so outraged by the fact that Mr Musani wanted to remain on a yellow line for a minute longer to pick up his primary school children that they not only grabbed him in a head-lock and pushed him to the floor but also deliberately reached into the back of the car and pepper-spraying his two young daughters, one of which is just 8 years old! There was understandable panic and shock among the large number of children, parents and local residents who witnessed this, at how the police could possible justify such outrageous behaviour, many of whom have promised to come forward as witnesses should this matter reach the courts.

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An African-American Chicago family has filed an Illinois police brutality lawsuit accusing four unnamed cops of hate crimes, excessive use of force, and battery. The incident allegedly occurred on Election Night, while the rest of the United States was celebrating the election of Barack Obama as the country’s first black president.

According to Christine Ballard and Cornelius Voss, they were cheering the victory of President-Elect Obama while riding in their car with their two daughters and a niece on West Division Street at around 10:30pm when a man in the vehicle next to theirs called them the “n-word,” said “white power,” and assaulted them with pepper spray.

Voss says his wife and the girls were screaming and crying because the pepper spray got in their eyes, and he took them to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park for treatment of their injuries. He and Ballard say that they believe the four men riding in the car next to them were Chicago cops because of the vehicle’s license plate.

The family tried filing a complaint with the Austin District police that night. However, they were told that they could not do so because all of the district’s cops were working the streets. They again experienced difficulties when they tried reporting the incident to police on Wednesday. The family finally filed a report with the Independent Police Review Authority.

Ballard and Voss are seeking over $150,000 in damages.

According to the Chicago IPRA, this was not the only allegation they received accusing Chicago cops of using pepper spray on civilians on Election night. There are up to 50 unconfirmed reports of similar incidents in the Austin area last Tuesday that allegedly involved police officers.

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Sean Edwards, the victim of a cruel act of police brutality on Saturday 11/08/2008, is experiencing severe pain secondary to his injuries. His face is swollen and the scars on his face are red and raw (see attached photo). He is taking pain killers (tramadol and Ibuprofen) to ease the pain.
An official complaint was filed today by Sean and his mother, June Paul, against Sgt. Bratton at the Henry County Police Precinct. Also, copies of the pursuit and arrest video were requested from the precinct.
Sean will also meet with Decatur-based criminal defense attorney Chris Flynn to engage his services for this case.
A notice is being circulated in the Eagle’s Landing community where the assault occurred asking anyone who witnessed the incident to contact Sean at 770 389 9616 or email jpaul591@hotmail.com
An interview is scheduled today at 5:00 pm with FoxNews Atlanta’s Diedra Dukes.
POST INTERVIEW:
Diedra Dukes and her camera man arrived at our home promptly at 5:00 pm and interviewed Sean. Please tune in to Fox News Atlanta at 10;00 pm or 11:00 pm for the interview. Sean was articulate and composed as he recapped what he described as “the worst experience of his life”.
When asked what he wanted from this trial, Sean responded that he wanted justice to prevail and Sgt. Bratton to be exposed for the liar and rogue cop he is, and ultimately dismissed from the Henry County police force.

Riot police beat dozens of students and pro-democracy activists marching Tuesday in Zimbabwe’s capital to demand a new government to tackle the country’s worsening economic and political crisis.

Dozens of university students and activists from the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), a pro-democracy pressure group, held hands as they marched through downtown Harare.

Riot police used to batons to break up the protesters, chasing them through the streets and beating passersby along the way, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

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