LA Police Shoot in the Back, Kill Unarmed Man Who Was Laying On Ground

Family members said Tuesday that a 25-year-old man was complying with police orders when he was fatally shot by LAPD officers in the Florence neighborhood South Los Angeles.
Officers responded to a report of a possible officer-involved shooting at the intersection of West 65th Street and South Broadway (map) at 8:12 p.m. Monday, Lt. Ellis Imaizumi of the Los Angeles Police Department said Monday evening.
Patrol officers had “conducted an investigative stop” in the 200 block of 65th Street, and “during the stop a struggle ensued” and police opened fire, an LAPD news release issued midmorning Tuesday stated.
The man was transported to a hospital where he underwent surgery, according to Officer Sara Faden, spokeswoman for the LAPD. He later succumbed to his injuries, police confirmed.
...
Her son was lying on the ground and complying with the officers’ commands when he was shot three times, Tritobia Ford said.
In the aftermath of the shooting, she said, police refused to inform her of where Ezell Ford was hospitalized.
...
“They laid him out and for whatever reason, they shot him in the back, knowing mentally, he has complications. Every officer in this area, from the Newton Division, knows that — that this child has mental problems,” the man said.
“The excessive force … there was no purpose for it. The multiple shootings in the back while he’s laying down? No. Then when the mom comes, they don’t try to console her … they pull the billy clubs out.”
http://ktla.com/2014/08/12/man-hospitalized-after-being-shot-by-police-in-south-l-a/

Ferguson, MO is a Complete Police State Nightmare

Amid the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., a second police-involved shooting was reported overnight, Fox 2 Now reported.
Around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, St. Louis County police responded to reports of shots being fired and four or five armed suspects, wearing ski masks, running near the intersection of Chambers Road and Sheffingdel Court in Ferguson, Valerie Schremp Hahn, a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, reported.
Officers arrived on the scene, saw "multiple subjects running" and gave chase, police spokesman Officer Brian Schellman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Upon approaching one of the suspects, the man allegedly pointed a handgun at the officer, police said. In response, the officer opened fire.
A gun was reportedly recovered at the scene.
The suspect, who was critically wounded, was taken to an area hospital. The officer was not injured.
There is no word yet on the location of the other suspects.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/13/police-involved-shooting-ferguson_n_5674173.html

Police shoot man pointing gun at officers in Ferguson; woman shot in drive-by

FERGUSON (KTVI) — There has been another police shooting in Ferguson overnight.
Around 1 a.m., four men in ski masks armed with shotguns approached a crowd at Sheffingdell Ct. and Chambers Rd.
Police arrived to hear shots fired, and see people running.  One officer chased a suspected shooter.
Officers say the gunman pointed his handgun at the officer. The officer shot the man.
The suspect was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Police recovered the suspect’s handgun. The officer was not injured.
In a separate shooting at around 12:20 a.m., a woman was shot in the head in a drive-by shooting on Highmont Dr. in Ferguson. She’s expected to survive.
Police are looking for four to five men who were in a white sedan.
FOX 2 was emailed what is believed to be an alert from the FBI. It says a new Black Panther Party member is advocating violence against law enforcement in response to the shooting of Michael Brown.
http://fox2now.com/2014/08/13/another-police-shooting-in-ferguson/ 

Police Kill Compliant Man in Walmart Playing Video Game,Toy Gun

Relatives of John Crawford, the man shot dead by police at a Beavercreek Walmart, say they’ve contacted civil rights organizations because they believe the shooting was not justified.
They believe he was killed possibly after he picked up a toy gun in the store.
Crawford, 22, of Ridge Drive in Fairfield, was identified as the man Beavercreek police shot and killed Tuesday night.
LeeCee Johnson, who said she is the mother of Crawford’s children, said she was on a cell phone call with Crawford when he was shot by officers. She said Crawford went to the area to visit family members.
“We was just talking. He said he was at the video games playing videos and he went over there by the toy section where the toy guns were. And the next thing I know, he said ‘It’s not real,’ and the police start shooting and they said ‘Get on the ground,’ but he was already on the ground because they had shot him,” she said, adding: “And I could hear him just crying and screaming. I feel like they shot him down like he was not even human.”
Beavercreek Police Chief Dennis Evers did not answer questions Wednesday but said officers acted appropriately.
Johnson said she has two children with Crawford: John Crawford IV, who is 1, and Jayden Crawford, who is 4 months old. She just found out she is pregnant with a third child, but never got the chance to tell Crawford.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/man-police-shot-in-walmart-killed-over-fake-gun-fa/ngw77/

NSA Asked Judge to Delete 'Classified' Testimony Without Public Awareness

Note: Wake up, America...

The National Security Agency worked behind the scenes to remove a section of a court transcript after suspecting one of its lawyers inadvertently disclosed secret information in a court case over alleged illegal surveillance.
Has the wall of secrecy protecting US intelligence-gathering methods become so severe and repressive that even to acknowledge the redaction of sensitive information from public documents is now thought to be revealing too much?
It seems the United States may be heading in that dark direction following a recent session of the Jewel v. NSA case, in which the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is challenging the NSA’s power to monitor foreign citizens’ US-based communications and social media accounts.
In the course of the ongoing case, which has gained public attention in light of the Snowden revelations, the government told US District Judge Jeffrey White that one of its lawyers may have accidentally spilled the beans on sensitive information, the Daily Caller reported.
US authorities wrote a letter to Judge White asking him to remove in camera the classified information from the transcripts, without notifying the public to the change. White not only ignored the government’s request to delete portions of the transcript, but informed the plaintiffs’ attorneys of the government’s request, allowing them to respond in kind.

http://rt.com/usa/179260-nsa-court-delete-testimony/

Fatal Police Shooting of Unarmed College Bound Teen in Missouri Sparks Protests

(CNN) -- Protests in Missouri around the death of an unarmed teen turned violent late Sunday.
A gas station was looted, and police called for additional units to back up officers already on the street, said Brian Schellman, spokesman with the St. Louis County Police Department.
Video from the scene showed police in riot gear. No injuries were immediately reported.
"They are sending in more officers to try and get the situation under control," Schellman said.
Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson said that at least 20 police cars were damaged and that the use of tear gas was a high possibility.
A friend and witnesses say Missouri teen Michael Brown was unarmed and had his hands in the air when a Ferguson police officer shot and killed him, but that account is in dispute.
"The genesis of this was a physical confrontation," Jon Belmar, chief of the St. Louis County Police Department, said at a Sunday news conference.
The officer tried to leave his vehicle just before the shooting on Saturday afternoon, but Brown pushed him back into the car, "where he physically assaulted the police officer" and struggled over the officer's weapon, Belmar said.
A shot was fired inside the police car, and Brown was eventually shot about 35 feet away from the vehicle, Belmar said, adding few details because he didn't want to "prejudice" the case.
All shell casings collected at the scene were from the officer's weapon, Belmar said. He further said the medical examiner would issue a ruling on how many times Brown was shot, but "it was more than just a couple."
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/10/justice/missouri-police-involved-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

http://fox2now.com/2014/08/10/report-michael-brown-protesters-damage-police-vehicles-on-west-florissant/?replytocom=110058#respond

May 2013: St. Louis Police Shoots Honor Student 25 Times Over Traffic Violation, Killing Him

Protesters rallied in St. Louis, MO on Wednesday over the death of 25-year-old Cary Ball Jr, who was  shot 25 times by police officers last month. Police say Ball refused to pull over for a traffic stop, eventually crashed into a parked car, and started running. According to police, Ball pointed a semi-automatic handgun at the officers, prompting them to open fire.
Several witnesses who spoke to the family, however, say Ball threw his gun on the ground and was walking toward police with his hands up to surrender when he was shot. Some  unverified reports say 7 of the 25 shots hit him in the back. Police say there was no surveillance video in the area to verify exactly what happened.
Ball was an honor student with a 3.86 GPA, majoring in human services at Forest Park Community College, where he had been celebrated as an “emerging scholar.” According to family and friends, Ball was working to reform his life after being convicted of armed robbery when he was 17. His older brother, Carlos Ball, said Cary probably ran from the police because, as an ex-convict, it was illegal for him to possess a gun.
The two officers have been placed on administrative leave as homicide detectives investigate the shooting, but this is hardly the first time questions have been raised over the St. Louis Police Department’s conduct. In February, a city cop was accused of choking a man in a wheelchair, who was then arrested immediately after testifying at the officer’s disciplinary hearing. A video showing a cop  beating and pepper-spraying a man went viral in 2011, revealing that the cop had stayed on the force despite multiple lawsuits alleging brutality.

http://www.alternet.org/st-louis-police-shoot-black-honor-student-25-times

Two Tulsa Police Officers Shoot, Kill Daughter's Boyfriend for No Reason

TULSA - The 18-year-old daughter of two police officers who were arrested in connection with the murder of her boyfriend says she is devastated.
UPDATE: Gina Kepler has been suspended with pay on two separate occasions while with Tulsa Police Department. Shannon Kepler has not been the subject of disciplinary action.
Lisa Kepler told 2NEWS she met 19-year-old Jeremey Lake at a homeless shelter in downtown Tulsa.
"My parents kicked me out a week ago," said Kepler.
Kepler said she met Lake at the shelter and the two began dating immediately.
"He was just really sweet and caring and he didn't pretend," said Kepler.
Kepler said Lake's family allowed her to stay with them.
On Tuesday night, she said her father, Shannon Kepler, a 24-year veteran of the Tulsa Police Department, found the two of them outside Lake's house.
"We were outside for five minutes and that's when my dad pulled up," she said. "There was no argument. I walked away and Jeremey introduced himself and my dad shot him."

http://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/daughter-of-officers-shannon-kepler-gina-kepler-talks-about-events-leading-up-to-boyfriends-murder

Police report: Tulsa officer fatally shoots daughter's boyfriend
Lisa Kepler said her father shouted at her and that as Lake attempted to introduce himself, Shannon Kepler shot Lake.
Lisa Kepler said she had attempted to stop the shooting but then ran and hid behind a large rose bush in the front yard as her father fired a shot at her that missed. Lisa Kepler said she told authorities it was her dad who was the triggerman.
"I'm not scared of my dad," she said, in tears and openly wondering why he would shoot someone he didn't know.
Josh Mills, 23, a friend of Lake's, said he was also at the scene during the shooting. He said Shannon Kepler also fired a shot at Lake's 13-year-old brother, who was sitting on the front porch. The bullet ricocheted and grazed the boy in the upper arm, Mills said.
Mills said he had paramedic training and tried to stem Lake's bleeding and locate the bullet wounds. Mills said it appeared Lake had been shot in the chest and neck from about 3-feet away. Mills and Lake hadn't known each other long but had become close.
"He was like a brother to me for two weeks," Mills said, tearing up as he described how Lake died in his arms.
Lisa Kepler said her parents had kicked her out of their home recently because of poor "life decisions" she had made and dropped her off at the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless. Lisa Kepler declined to say what those life decisions were.
"I really hope they rot in prison for a very long time," Lisa Kepler said of her parents.
...
Sandra Lewis, executive director of the Day Center, said Lake had never been a volunteer or employee with, nor a client of the center.
Lewis said she knew of Lake and that he "came around" sometimes. There weren't any incident reports involving him, she said. Lake would help carry in donations or pick up trash.
"He was always very helpful," Lewis said.
Wilkins, 50, said Lake had "a lot of love" for people, including those in the homeless community. She said her nephew was "the life of the party."
"No matter if we argued, he never let a day go by without saying, 'I love you,'" Wilkins said.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/crimewatch/police-report-tulsa-officer-fatally-shoots-daughter-s-boyfriend/article_c99c71e0-c77a-5c55-8b6a-30ca3a4f0b84.html