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Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke convicted of second-degree murder in shooting of Laquan McDonald

A jury has convicted Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke of second degree murder for the shooting of Laquan McDonald.

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Laquan McDonald
Laquan McDonald/Former Chicago officer Jason Van Dyke

A jury has convicted Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke of second degree murder for the shooting death of Laquan McDonald.

Jason Van Dyke convicted

Van Dyke was charged with first degree murder but convicted of second degree murder.

In October 2014, Van Dyke shot the 17-year-old 16 times shortly after arriving on the scene, claiming he feared for his life as McDonald was armed with a knife.

Van Dyke was arrested in 2015 after dash cam footage appeared to show him fatally shooting Laquan McDonald as he moved away from officers, contradicting official accounts.

Video footage

A judge ordered police to release the dashcam footage in November 2015 after the administration of Chicago’s Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel fought to withhold the video for a year.

According to prosecutors, Laquan McDonald was holding a knife with a 3in (7.6cm) blade when he was stopped by police.

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Police said he had slashed a tire on a patrol car, resulting in a stand-off between the teenager and officers.

Jason Van Dyke was not among the first officers to arrive – the policeman who was on scene first told prosecutors he saw no need to use force with McDonald.

Prosecutors say Van Dyke proceeded to open fire on McDonald less than six seconds after he exited his patrol car, and he was the only officer who used his weapon.

See also  Officer who killed Oscar Grant wins civil lawsuit

McDonald still had a pulse when paramedics arrived, but was declared dead at the hospital.

He now faces more than 15 years in prison, with the possibility of probation.


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Unheard Voices is an award-winning news magazine that started in 2004 as a local Black newsletter in the Asbury Park, Neptune, and Long Branch, NJ areas to now broaden into a recognized Black online media outlet. They are the recipient of the NAACP Unsung Hero Award and CV Magazine's Innovator Award for Best Social Justice Communications Company.

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Crime & Justice

New Jersey detective shot and killed after suspects kicked in front door of her home

Monica Mosley, a revered detective in South New Jersey, was shot and killed during a home invasion at her residence, authorities said.

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Monica Mosley
Det. Sgt. Monica Mosley is seen in a photo released by the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office.

Monica Mosley, a revered detective in South New Jersey, was shot and killed during a home invasion at her residence, authorities said.

New Jersey detective Monica Mosley killed

Detective Sgt. Monica Mosley, with the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, was fatally shot at her home in Bridgeton on Tuesday night, according to police.

The incident

Bridgeton Police responded to the home around 10:30 p.m. for a report of “several subjects kicking in a front door at a residence,” the Bridgeton Police Department said in a press release.

Mosley, 51, died at the scene, police said.

An individual who had been treated for a gunshot wound at a nearby hospital was detained for questioning in connection with the incident, police said. No additional information on the individual was released.

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Law enforcement career

Mosley began her career in 2006 at the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office as a paralegal specialist. She then became a county detective in 2009, “where she served our community with honor, dignity and respect before her untimely passing,” Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said in a statement.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy expressed he was “outraged and heartbroken by the murder” of Mosley.

“As a detective with the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, Sgt. Mosley served her community with distinction, working every day to ensure the safety and well-being of the people of Cumberland County,” he said in a statement. “This act of violence impacts our entire law enforcement community and all of New Jersey.”

See also  Baltimore man detained with Freddie Gray speaks out : "Police are using me to ‘cover their a--’

No arrests have been made or charges filed in the case, police said.

Multiple agencies are investigating the deadly shooting, including the State Police Major Crime Bureau, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and the Bridgeton Police Department Criminal Investigation Bureau.


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Police

Phoenix police officers punch, taser deaf Black man with cerebral palsy under false claims

A Black man, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, is facing felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest charges after he was repeatedly punched and tasered by a pair of Phoenix police officers.

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Tyron McAlpin deaf Black man tased and punched by Phoenix police officers
Screenshot via ABC15 Arizona

Update October 19: All charges have been dismissed against Tyron McAlpin.

Original story

Tyron McAlpin, a Black man, who is deaf and has cerebral palsy, is facing felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest charges after he was repeatedly punched and tasered by a pair of Phoenix police officers.

Tyron McAlpin Phoenix deaf Black man police incident

Acting on false claims from a white man under investigation, body camera video recently released to the public shows officers unexpectedly go after McAlpin, punch him in the head at least 10 times, Taser him four times, and wrap their arms around his neck.

Internal investigation

Despite the incident August 19 being the subject of an internal investigation, Phoenix police and Maricopa County prosecutors continue to pursue a criminal case against McAlpin.

Body camera video of Tyron McAlpin police incident

According to ABC15, Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Nick Saccone found there was probable cause for his Aug. 19, 2024, arrest, stating McAlpin fought officers and didn’t comply.

Video of the incident shows officers immediately getting out of their vehicle and attacking McAlpin as he was walking.

McAlpin allegedly attempted to defend himself and fight back against the officers as he was being attacked. As a result, he was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault and resisting arrest, according to ABC15 Arizona.

According to the police report, McAlpin was arrested by Officers Benjamin Harris and Kyle Sue.

See also  Officer killed in Virginia Tech shooting identified

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Claims are false says attorneys

McAlpin’s attorneys said body camera video and surveillance footage show the officers’ claims are false and said there’s an obvious explanation for why he couldn’t comply.

“The answer is easy. He’s deaf. He couldn’t understand what they were doing. And he had done nothing wrong,” Showalter told ABC15 Arizona.

“Everything I see in that video is Tyron just trying to avoid being harmed by these officers and that only makes them increase the escalation and the violence that they’re using.”

Tyron McAlpin’s arrest

The arrest stems from a morning call from Circle K convenience store employees who reported that a white man was causing problems and wouldn’t leave the store, records show.

While being trespassed, the man claimed he was assaulted by a Black man and pointed across the street at McAlpin.

Officers Harris and Sue never confirmed the validity of the man’s claims and left him to go after McAlpin.

ABC15 Arizona reports the man’s assault claim was later refuted by store employees and surveillance video, records show.

After reportedly handcuffing McAlpin, his wife arrived at the arrest and told the officers that he was deaf and had cerebral palsy, according to body camera footage. None of the officers at the scene included any information about McAplin’s disabilities.

See also  Independent Autopsy of Andrew Brown Says He Was Shot In The Back Of The Head

McAlpin’s initial pretrial conference is scheduled for November 13, and his trial is scheduled for late February.


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Police

Judge rules Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend caused her death, dismisses major charges against former Louisville officers

U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson’s ruling declared that the actions of Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker, who fired a shot at police the night of the raid, were the legal cause of her death, not a warrant.

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Kenneth Walker lawsuit settled
Breonna Taylor/Kenneth Walker

A federal judge has ruled that Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend was responsible for the beloved EMT’s death.

From the case, the judge also dismissed major felony charges against two former Louisville officers accused of falsifying a warrant that led police to Breonna Taylor’s door before they fatally shot her.

Judge rules Breonna Taylor’s death was not from warrant

U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson’s ruling declared that the actions of Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker, who fired a shot at police the night of the raid, were the legal cause of her death, not a warrant.

Charges dismissed

Federal charges against former Louisville Police Detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany were filed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022. Garland accused Jaynes and Meany, who were not present at the botched raid, of knowing they had falsified part of the warrant and put Taylor in a precarious situation by sending armed officers to her apartment.

But Simpson wrote in the Aug 27 Tuesday ruling that “there is no direct link between the warrantless entry and Taylor’s death.” Simpson’s ruling effectively reduced the civil rights violation charges against Jaynes and Meany, which had carried a maximum sentence of life in prison, to misdemeanors.

The judge did not dismiss the conspiracy charge against Jaynes and another charge against Meany, who is accused of making false statements to investigators.

Botched raid

When police executed a drug warrant and broke down Taylor’s door in March 2020, Walker fired a shot that struck an officer in the leg. Walker said he believed an intruder was bursting in. Officers returned fire, striking and killing 26-year-old Taylor in her hallway.

See also  15 men exonerated in cases linked to corrupt Chicago cop

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Simpson resolved that Walker’s “conduct became the proximate, or legal, cause of Taylor’s death.”

“While the indictment alleges that Jaynes and Meany set off a series of events that ended in Taylor’s death, it also alleges that (Walker) disrupted those events when he decided to open fire” on the police, Simpson wrote.

Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend lawsuit

Walker was initially arrested and charged with attempted murder of a police officer.

The charge was later dismissed after his attorneys successfully argued Walker didn’t know he was firing at police.

He later filed a federal lawsuit against the city and police and received a $2 million settlement.

CBS reports a U.S. Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to the news outlet that the department is reviewing the judge’s decision and assessing next steps.

 

 


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