Police Beat Motivational Speaker at Event for Asking If Something Was Wrong

July 25, 2014


During TedEx talks, “speakers cover topics from sanitation to technological wizadry to deep policy issues to, well, designing boots for beetles.” Among the speakers to have graced the TedEx stage is Nate Howard, a 23 year old motivational speaker who graduated from USC’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.


Considering his background, it is a given that Howard isn’t a threat to society, but he has been harassed by police on several occasions, and recently, he was physical attacked by police, reports The Free Thought Project.


The problems began after Howard gave the commencement speech at San Jose State University and hosted a gathering afterward. By all accounts, the mood was jovial and celebratory, but once police arrived, things changed. Not understanding why police were at the venue, Howard attempted to ask police if there was a problem and that’s when the officers allegedly reacted with violence:

When Howard approached the police to ask what the problem was they responded with hostility, hitting him with a baton and throwing him to the ground. Howard was then immediately placed into handcuffs and taken into custody, even though he was not charged with any crimes and video evidence clearly shows that he was no threat to the officers.

http://breakingbrown.com/2014/07/motivational-speaker-allegedly-beaten-by-police-for-asking-questions/

Man Shot, Paralyzed Over Unpaid Parking Tickets

July 28, 2014
A Pennsylvania man will likely never walk again after he was shot by a Lehigh County constable who was attempting to serve a warrant over unpaid parking tickets.
NBC Philadelphia reports that the constable says he shot 38 year old Kevin McCullers because the he felt his life was in danger.
McCullers, who has several outstanding parking tickets,  was shot as he attempting to back out of his driveway at 7:30am on Thursday morning. His girlfriend says McCullers was on his way to Dunkin Donuts.
“They never knocked on the door! No nothing! I just heard the gunshots! He pulled the car out of the garage and all I heard were gunshots,” said Hafeezah Muhammad, who added that McCullers was shot in the back and may never walk again. “For parking tickets?! It’s insane.”
http://breakingbrown.com/2014/07/man-shot-paralyzed-by-police-over-unpaid-parking-tickets/

Police State Alert: NYPD Target Man Who Only Videotaped Them Choking Man to Death

T
he 22-year-old bystander who filmed Eric Garner’s fatal arrest was arrested Saturday on a charge of gun possession, Staten Live reports.

The man, Ramsey Orta, and a teenage woman, identified by police as Alba Lekaj, were arrested about 10 p.m. after leaving a hotel in Staten Island, N.Y., the report says.

The arrests came after officers from the 120th Precinct Narcotics Unit observed the pair leaving the hotel, which is known for drug activity, a New York Police Department spokeswoman told Staten Island Live. As the officers approached the pair for questioning, they reportedly saw Orta place an object in Lekaj's waistband, the spokeswoman told the news site.

The object was identified as “a loaded .25 caliber handgun that had been reported stolen in Michigan in 2007,” the report says.  Officers also found marijuana in Lekaj’s possession, the report says.
Mr. orta's wife emphatically defends her husband, saying although he is not perfect, he did not do any of the things the police alleged he did. Al Sharpton also weighed in, saying he didn't hear anything in Mr. Orta's words that demonized police, as NYPD suggested earlier. The tape speaks for itself, says Sharpton.
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/08/ramsey_orta_who_filmed_eric_garner_video_arrested_on_weapons_charge.html

Ohio Police Come Up With False Pretense to Do Unwarranted Search and Seizure

Can police officers trick automobile drivers with bogus traffic stops? Cops in a small Ohio town seem to think so, and now they’re under attack for trying to sweep the city of drugs using a creative little loophole.
The Mayfield Heights, Ohio Police Department is under fire after the city recently decided to establish a “drug checkpoint” on Interstate 271. Randomly stopping cars and combing them for contraband is illegal, though, so law enforcement has been using the next best thing: fake checkpoints.
Cops in the Cleveland suburb of only 19,000 have been placing warning signs ahead of a bogus stop and then monitoring the behavior of drivers. If any cars demonstrate suspicious activity after being alerted of the phony roadblock, police say that’s enough to stop and search them.
Police tried the trick last week when they erected signs reading "Drug Checkpoint Ahead," "Police K9 Dog In Use" and "Prepare to Stop." When they spotted cars trying to turn around, officers were deployed to find out why.
Dominic Vitantonio, an assistant prosecutor for Mayfield Heights, told the Cleveland Plain-Dealer that the local police department netted arrests and even seized drugs as a result of the unorthodox tactic.
"We should be applauded for doing this," he told the paper. "It's a good thing."
Others aren’t so sure, however, including one long-haired motorist who said he was singled out. Bill Peters, a 53-year-old heavy metal radio show host, told the Plain-Dealer that he pulled over recently after seeing one of the signs in order to check his phone for directions. As he was parked on the side of the road, police officers approached his car and asked if he was holding drugs. He wasn’t, and they didn’t find any either.
"The last time I checked, it is not against the law to pull over to the side of the road to check directions," Peters told the paper. According to Vitantonio, though, that gave police enough reasonable suspicion to investigate further.

http://rt.com/usa/fake-drug-ohio-police-502/

2013: California City Militarizes Police

Police in Salinas, California are under fire after the department acquired a heavily armored military vehicle for SWAT team operations.
The $650,000 vehicle was gifted to the Salinas Police Department from the government through the 1033 program, which redistributes used equipment to other agencies. According to KSBW, the truck was used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to numerous outlets, police stated their SWAT team was in desperate need of a new vehicle. KSBW added that the new truck, built to withstand rifle fire and minefield explosions, has already aided officers looking to arrest a dangerous suspect. The individual was apparently spotted via the vehicle’s high observation deck.
While Police Chief Kelly McMillin believes the vehicle “provides a high capability of protection for our officers and the community,” other members of the community have been outspoken in their disagreement.
Posting on the police department’s Facebook page, citizens criticized the acquisition as excessive, as well as a sign of the militarization of law enforcement.
“That vehicle is made for war,” wrote one commenter. “Do not use my safety to justify that vehicle,” another one wrote. “The Salinas Police Department is just a bunch of cowards that want to use that vehicle as intimidation and to terrorize the citizens of this city.”
“To stop gang members?” asked a commenter. “Hmmm gang members don't riot in mass numbers. It's right in front of our faces and we don't see it. Why would the ARMY!!! give something like that for FREE!!! Let's think for once people.”

http://rt.com/usa/californians-outraged-police-armored-vehicle-689/

Dangerous Trend in Militarized Police: Michigan Township Residents Fight Against Police Militarization

DELTON — Early morning May 10, Jack Nadwornik stepped behind Tujax Tavern, the bar and restaurant he has owned for 30 years in this small, western Michigan town.
Nadwornik, out drinking with friends for his 58th birthday, urinated in a corner of the empty parking lot because the bar was locked up.
Within seconds, two Barry Township police cars and three officers — two of them unpaid reserves — confronted him as he was zipping up his pants. What happened next is up for debate: Police said he resisted arrest. Nadwornick said he didn’t, and a waitress who was leaving work agreed.
What everyone does agree on is the aftermath: Nadwornik had a broken hand from a police baton, bloody elbows, and he had been kneed in the back. He was handcuffed, jailed and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, a two-year felony.
His treatment outraged many Delton residents who know Nadwornik for his food drives at local churches. They’ve packed recent township board meetings, demanding a Michigan State Police investigation.

... 

Pierce’s critics say there have been other examples of aggressive policing lately, and question why Pierce needs nearly three dozen, non-certified reserve officers to protect a population of 3,900 with the most serious crimes generally theft and burglary.
The department also has two Humvees and two armored personnel carriers received free of charge from the U.S. Department of Defense for a township with only four full-time officers.

...

Until a couple of years ago, the police in the community were a comfortable presence, providing a gentle reminder to pay attention to the rules. The township employed two or three full-time officers. Few speeding tickets were issued, residents recall. Instead, the officer would flash his lights and tell the motorist to slow down.
Jacobs remembers, as a teenager, being picked up for drinking. The officer gave him a lecture and handed him over to his parents.
But shortly after the last Barry Township police chief, Mark Kik, died in 2009, things began to change. There were more reports of teenage drivers being pulled over for minor transgressions, like dice hanging from the rearview mirror. Cars were towed even when owners offered to move them. 

 

http://www.freep.com/article/20140804/NEWS06/308040024/Berry-Township-aggressive-policing

NY Police At it Again: Cops Drag Innocent Wife and Grandmother w/Asthma Out of Home For Wrong Reason

A Brooklyn grandmother who had just taken a shower was dragged from her apartment by about 12 cops who then stood by for more than two minutes while she was naked in the hallway, according to video that emerged Friday.
Denise Stewart was in her Brownsville apartment on July 13 when police — responding to a domestic disturbance call at the building — pounded on her door at 11:45 p.m. and demanded entry.
Stewart, 48, cracked the door wearing only a towel wrapped around her body and underpants — and was yanked into the hallway by cops over the screams of her family and neighbors.
The video shows a chaotic scene as a dozen or so male officers burst into Stewart’s apartment, while several others struggle to subdue and cuff the nearly naked woman in the hallway outside.
Stewart’s towel got lost in the scuffle, leaving the grandmother dressed only in underpants.
“Oxygen, get my oxygen,” the mother of four can be heard saying to the cops, as they propped her bare body against the wall.
...

Diamond Stewart’s 4-year-old son was also pepper sprayed, the family said.

 

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/nypd-officers-drag-naked-brooklyn-woman-apartment-video-article-1.1889292#ixzz39UVFWcBp