Angelo Quinto Was Killed By Police with a Knee to the Neck

Family files wrongful death lawsuit against Antioch Police Department.



Family files wrongful death claim alleging police killed son with knee to neck
In Antioch, California, the family of a 30-year-old man who died after police responded to their home in December filed a wrongful death legal claim against the city, saying officers asphyxiated the man by putting a knee on his neck. Angelo Quinto was experiencing mental health problems when police were called to their home. By the time officers arrived, he had calmed down, but they restrained him. According to his mother, one officer held Quinto's legs while another officer had his knee on the back of his neck, ignoring his pleas of "Please don't kill me." Then he passed out and never regained consciousness. The Antioch Police Department never issued a press release or statement about the case when it happened. The family is hoping their legal claim will help get them some answers.

Oh good. They arrested this asshole.

Daniel Sohn, found sleeping in his car, arrested for impersonating a police officer.



Remember this guy? He was recently caught on camera repeatedly saying "white power" and throwing up white power signs at a group of Black Lives Matter protestors in Hollywood. So here's an update on this piece of shit. He was arrested last week for impersonating a police officer.

Man In Viral Video Seen Wearing LAPD Shirt, Shouting ‘White Power’ Found Sleeping In His Car

Daniel Sohn was arrested early Friday morning in West Hollywood after sheriff's deputies found him sleeping in a car, which was illegally parked overnight on a commercial property. When deputies approached the car, they discovered Sohn wearing a long sleeve shirt with a "LAPD" logo on the front and patches on the sleeves.

According to authorities, the deputies recognized Sohn from his recent "performance" on social media. You're famous, bro. After verifying he was not an officer of any law enforcement agency, deputies took him into custody on suspicion of impersonating a police officer.

[UPDATE] The guy who yelled "white power" at Black Lives Matter protestors is also cruel to dogs

Hey, man. You're a piece of shit.



Oh, hell no.

This video, circulating on social media, shows an Asian man -- reportedly an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department [EDIT: or, more likely, just a regular idiot asshole civilian in a police t-shirt] -- repeatedly saying "white power" and throwing up white power signs to antagonize a group of Black Lives Matter protestors demonstrating outside of a 24-Hour Fitness in Hollywood on Thursday morning.

Asian American police officers say they were 'routinely' subjected to slurs, stereotypes

Lawsuit claims San Gabriel police maintained a "racially hostile" work environment.



From the San Gabriel Valley Tribune: A group of current and former Asian American officers of the San Gabriel Police Department claim they were routinely harassed and discriminated against -- both by other officers using slurs and stereotypes and by the department’s leadership, who they say passed them up for promotion after complaining about the alleged abuses, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The lawsuit claims San Gabriel police maintained a "racially hostile" work environment in which they were demeaned "on a nearly daily basis," including other officers using "mock Asian accents" when speaking to them, as well as comments on their physical appearance and stereotypes about Asian culture.

More here: 5 San Gabriel police officers say they were ‘routinely’ subjected to Asian-Americans slurs, stereotypes

Still few answers in police shooting of Tommy Le

Seattle's Vietnamese American community experiencing a political awakening around Le's death



Police say he was holding a weapon. It turned out to be a pen. Officers claimed they fired after he charged at them. An autopsy revealed he had been shot in the back. It's been four months since 20-year-old Tommy Le was fatally shot by King County Sheriff's deputies, and there are still few answers about his death.

While public awareness around Le's death seemed relatively quiet, the Vietnamese American community in Seattle has begun to experience a political awakening around Le and the movement against police violence.

"His death has become a catalyst for a campaign by activists to make it easier in Washington state to prosecute police officers in shooting cases," the Los Angeles Times reports. "It has also emerged as a key example in a wider push to require police dash and body cameras, which were not in place when Le was killed."

More here: He was 20 and unarmed. A police shooting brings Seattle's Vietnamese Americans into the world of activism

Autopsy: Tommy Le Shot Twice in Back by Police for Holding a Pen | #JusticeforTommyLe

By Jenn Fang. Cross-Posted from Reappropriate.



On June 14th, twenty-year-old Tommy Le was shot and killed just outside of Seattle, Washington by King County Sheriff’s deputy Cesar Molina. After the shooting, Molina insisted that Le was shot for approaching police aggressively while wielding an object that appeared to be a knife, and that Le further refused to comply with officer orders to drop the weapon.

That version of events is now in serious doubt after an investigation revealed that Le was actually holding a pen, not a knife, when he was shot and killed; and now, an autopsy of Le’s body further shows that Le was actually shot twice in the back, and a third time in the back of the hand. Those findings are incompatible with Molina’s insistence that Le was approaching police when he was killed.

Finally, toxicology reports show that Le was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. Although it remains possible that Le was suffering a mental health crisis at the time of his killing, Le’s family say that he had no history of mental illness.

"Tommy deserves justice and closure."

Donate to the family of Tommy Le, who was killed by police while holding a pen.


Photo Credit: seattlepi.com
In Washington state, 20-year-old Tommy Le was shot and killed by King County Sheriff's deputies on June 13 -- the day before he was supposed to graduate from an alternative high school program. Officers were responding to a call about a man armed with what they thought was a knife. He turned out to be holding a pen.

'My baby is kind': Family tries to make sense of young man's killing by deputies in Burien

It's been over a month since the shooting, but Le's family and the local Vietnamese American community still don't have satisfactory answers about what transpired on the night he died. Last week, community members held a public forum to seek answers from the sheriff's office and other elected officials about Le's death.

Many in attendance at the forum questioned King County Sheriff John Urquhart on the details of shooting, pointing out inconsistencies in the deputies' account. Others urged for increased de-escalation training and accountability for police in cases of deadly force.

Urquhart said that the Sheriff's Office will ask the FBI to take over investigation of the shooting.

Police fatally shoot man wielding "what they thought was a knife." It was a pen.

20-year-old Tommy Le was killed by a King County Sheriff's deputy on June 14.



In Washington state, a 20-year-old student was shot and killed by police responding to reports of a man wielding a knife. He turned out to be carrying a pen. Now his family and community members want answers.

Man killed by King County deputy was carrying a pen, not a knife as initially reported

Tommy Le, who had just graduated from an alternative high school completion program at South Seattle College, was fatally shot by a King's County Sheriff's deputy on June 14.

Sheriff's deputies were reportedly summoned to a Burien neighborhood by several 911 calls about a man threatening residents with a knife or "sharp object." Deputies say they found that a homeowner had fired a "warning shot" in an attempt to scare off a man -- later identified to be Le -- who had been chasing his friend.

When Le continued to approach, the homeowner fled back inside his house. Le, who was barefoot, then pounded on the door and stabbed it, screaming he was "The Creator." Deputies say Le refused to comply with orders to drop "what they thought was a knife," and that firing tasers "had no effect." When Le moved toward officers, Deputy Cesar Molina shot him three times. He died of his injuries at the hospital.

A week after the shooting, the sheriff's office revealed that the "sharp object" in Le's hand was a pen.

Officer, at least unbuckle his seat belt before you unjustly beat the shit out of him.

Dash cam video of Minnesota traffic stop shows police officer violently assaulting motorist.



The ACLU of Minnesota is calling for an investigation into the police officers who pulled over a motorist and violently assaulted him. Dash cam footage shows one officer viciously beating the young man who is still buckled in his car seat, while another officer purposely turns off the camera's audio.

In the Blink of an Eye, Police Officers Turned This Traffic Stop Into an Unnecessarily Violent Encounter

Anthony Promvongsa was driving in Worthington, Minnesota on July 28, 2016 when Agent Joe Joswiak of the Buffalo Ridge Drug Task Force pulled him over and proceeded to beat the shit out of him. Well, first Joswiak threw open Promvongsa's door and screamed "Get the fuck out of the car, motherfucker!" Then he beat the shit out of him. Promvongsa didn't even get a chance to unbuckle his seat belt before Joswiak started swinging.

In police dash cam footage obtained by the ACLU, Joswiak can be seen punching, kicking and elbowing Promvongsa several times in the back before yanking him out of the driver's seat of his Honda Pilot, throwing him to the ground. Then he presses his knee to the back of Promvongsa's neck, pinning him face down on the pavement while he and Sgt. Tim Gaul of the Worthington Police Department handcuffed him.

At some point, Gaul intentionally turns off the audio of the encounter. After he is placed inside the squad car, Promvongsa can be heard breathing heavily and sobbing.

Elderly woman attacked by police dog in her own backyard

Coon Rapids Police mistook 81-year-old Choua Xiong for a burglar.



In Minnesota, community members are demanding answers and accountability from the Coon Rapids Police Department after an elderly Hmong woman was attacked and bitten by a police K-9 in her own backyard.

Coon Rapids police unleash dog on 82-year-old grandma cleaning her shed

81-year-old Choua Xiong was doing some work in her backyard shed early Sunday morning when officers, responding to a burglary call, unleashed a police dog on her. Note: she was in her own shed, in her own backyard. Xiong suffered bites to her arm and was hospitalized.

Police say officers received a 911 call from a woman who said she saw an intruder in a black coat in her backyard, and heard a loud noise coming from somewhere in the back of her residence. Officer arrived on the scene and spotted someone in a shed next door with a flashlight.

Suspecting a burglary was underway, they yelled to the shed and ordered the "suspect" to come out, but got no response. So they unleashed to police dog to take down whoever was inside.

The "suspect" turned out to be Xiong. She apparently does not speak English, is hard of hearing, and didn't understand the officer's commands. Congratulations, officers. You and your friggin' attack dog just busted an 81-year-old grandma "intruding" on her own property.

San Diego police officer killed in shooting

Officer Jonathan "JD" DeGuzman, a 16-year police veteran, was shot multiple times during a stop.



In San Diego, a veteran police officer was shot and killed and another was injured as they tried to make a stop on Thursday night, leading to one suspect's arrest and an extensive hunt for other suspects.

Police identify 2 officers shot overnight in Southcrest

Officer Jonathan "JD" DeGuzman, a 16-year-department veteran and father of two, was killed. Officer Wade Irwin, a nine-year veteran, was shot and hospitalized in serious condition, but is expected to survive.

53-year-old Jesse Michael Gomez was charged in the shootings. He was shot during the confrontation and was in critical condition at the hospital. Another man, 41-year-old Marcus Antonio Cassani, was arrested after a standoff with police and is being held as a potential second suspect.

Chinese restaurant receives threats after "misunderstanding" with sheriff's department

Skagit County Sheriff's Office says Lucky Teriyaki banned cops; owner says it was a misunderstanding.



Last week in Washington state, the Skagit County Sheriff's Office put a local Chinese restaurant on blast, declaring that law enforcement officers were no longer welcome at the restaurant. The sheriff's announcement, posted to social media, claims that the eatery's owner asked deputies not to eat there anymore.

But it turns out the whole thing might have been a misunderstanding due to a language barrier.

Chinese restaurant owner deluged with threats after sheriff wrongly accuses him of banning cops

On Thursday, the Skagit County Sheriff's Office's official Facebook page posted a status about an encounter that several officers reportedly had at the Lucky Teriyaki restaurant in Sedro-Woolley. The deputies claim the owner asked them to leave, saying they were no longer welcome there because they upset other customers. So of course, the most responsible course of action for a law enforcement agency in this situation: publicly blast the business on Facebook. The Sheriff's post effectively called for a public boycott of the restaurant.

"I understand a business owner has a right to refuse service if he wants to," Sheriff Will Reichardt said. "I also understand that as customers we all have the right to find some other restaurant to take our lunch break in."

Video captures aftermath of police shooting in Minnesota

This is not someone else's problem.



In Minnesota, police shot and killed a man during a traffic stop Wednesday evening, in the second fatal encounter between police and an African-American man to gain national attention this week.

32-year-old Philando Castile was shot by a police officer in suburban St. Paul. Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, streamed video of the incident on Facebook Live immediately after the shooting, showing Castile bleeding from a wound to his chest area and the officer with his gun still visible through the window.

Reynolds had been riding in the car with Castile and her 4-year-old daughter. In the video, she said Castile was stopped for a broken tail light, had informed the officer that he had a gun in the car and was licensed to carry, and was reaching for his wallet at the officer's request. And yet he was still shot.

Details are still emerging, but in the video, Reynolds says the police officer is Asian.

Call Governor McCrory to #VetoHB972!

Cross-Posted from 18 Million Rising.



Police recordings -- taken on vehicle dashboard cameras and body-worn cameras -- are a matter of public record vital to preserving civil liberties. Under most states' laws, it's up to city government to decide whether or not to release them in cases of public interest, like when an officer uses deadly force against a civilian.

In North Carolina this week, the state legislature passed House Bill 972: a bill that gives police departments direct control, and greater discretion, over how and under which circumstances this crucial video footage is released to the public. We have 10 days to convince Gov. Pat McCrory to veto the bill -- or it becomes the law.

Laws like HB972 will make it harder for families to find justice for their loved ones. It already took the family of Chieu Di Thi Vo, a Vietnamese woman with bipolar disorder, two years to see video footage of her last moments of life after she was shot and killed by Greensboro Police Department (GPD) officer T.J. Bloch.

Her family repeatedly requested to see Officer Bloch's body camera footage. The Greensboro Police Department denied their requests while publicly claiming that "Chieu Di lunged at officer Bloch [with a knife], yelled that she would "gut" the police officer in Vietnamese, and that Chieu Di's mother's life was in danger."

Last month, the footage was finally released revealing that the police had lied.

Woman sues police for roughing her up in church parking lot

62-year-old Ok Jin Jun has filed a lawsuit against the LAPD, the city of Los Angeles and two police officers.



In Los Angeles, a 62-year-old woman has filed a lawsuit against police officers who she says roughed her up during an early morning encounter last month in a Koreatown church parking lot.

Woman, 62, Sues LAPD For Allegedly Roughing Her Up In Church Parking Lot

Ok Jin Jun is suing the Los Angeles Police Department, the city of Los Angeles and two police officers.

The altercation was captured on surveillance video. Footage shows an LAPD SUV following Mrs. Jun's car as she pulled into her church's parking lot for early morning prayer service on April 14. Mrs. Jun says the officers followed her after she honked her horn at them because they were blocking the church driveway.

But this was not a traffic stop, and Mrs. Jun was not being pulled over.

#RedefineSecurity: Policing & Profiling in Asian & Pacific Islander Communities

Guest Post by Sasha W., National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance



When a queer Pakistani Muslim person tries to fly to India, she is deemed a security risk and subjected to an invasive pat-down. Her brown skin is considered a flight risk.

When a Samoan trans woman is targeted by the police for prostitution, her gender identity is disrespected and disregarded. She is seen as a threat, while those who attack and kill trans women are routinely allowed to walk free.

When a gender non-conforming East Asian person tries to fly, they are stopped by security time and time again. Their body is not legible, too confusing to be safe.

When a queer Southeast Asian person is stopped by the police, in a car full of young people, the police care more about impounding her car than the safety of brown youth. Her car is seen as an inconvenience; her safety is deemed unimportant.

These are stories I have heard from friends in just the past few weeks. In our communities, these stories are endless and often go untold. From police officers to TSA agents to FBI informants, people in our API communities are being targeted for state violence, and we need to fight back.

Racist messages emerge in SFPD texting scandal

Former San Francisco Police Officer Jason Lai allegedly sent racist and homophobic text messages.



The San Francisco Police Department has been embroiled in an ongoing scandal involving more than a dozen officers who allegedly wrote and sent racist and homophobic text messages. This week, new disturbing messages emerged from a former officer at the center of the scandal.

New Racist, Homophobic Texts Emerge In Ongoing SFPD Scandal

CNN has obtained a list of dozens of offensive texts sent to and from Officer Jason Lai, who used slurs that included a derogatory term for Hispanics, a shortened version of the n-word, and a message calling Indian people "disgusting," as well as homophobic language to refer to gay officers.

Lai's texts also made several references to "hak gwai," a derogatory Cantonese phrase for African Americans:

How Oklahoma cops took $53,000 from a Burmese Christian rock band

Muskogee County Sheriff's Office seized $53,234 intended for an orphanage and a religious college.



In Oklahoma, authorities announced that they would be returning over $53,000 in seized assets that it took from Eh Wah, a man who was pulled over in February while carrying the cash for a Burmese Christian rock band that had been raising funds for an orphanage in Thailand. They've also dropped a felony criminal charge against Eh Wah, who had been falsely accused of "acquiring proceeds from drug activity."

How police took $53,000 from a Christian band, an orphanage and a church

Not-so-coincidentally, the announcement came shortly after The Washington Post published a report about Eh Wah's plight. On February 27, a sheriff's deputy seized $53,234 in cash from Eh Wah, the volunteer tour manager for Klo & Kweh Music Team, a Burmese Christian music group on a tour of the United States.

Eh Wah had been driving with a broken tail light, and the deputy who pulled him over suspected that he was carrying drug money, despite having found no drugs or paraphernalia in his car. The cash was from concert ticket and merchandise sales and donations, much of it earmarked for an orphanage in Thailand, and some for a religious college back in Burma. Absolutely none of the money was derived from drug sales.

Again: no drugs, paraphernalia or weapons in the car. Eh Wah tried to explain where the cash came from -- it was difficult because English isn't his first language -- but officers weren't satisfied. He was taken to the police station for more questioning, and after six hours, eventually let go without any charges.

But the officers kept the money.

No jail time for Peter Liang in fatal shooting of Akai Gurley

Judge reduces ex-NYPD cop's manslaughter conviction to criminally negligent homicide.



BREAKING: Former NYPD police officer Peter Liang will receive no jail time for the fatal shooting of Akai Gurley. A judge has reduced his manslaughter conviction to criminally negligent homicide.

On November 20, 2014, Liang and his partner were patrolling the Louis H. Pink Houses in Brooklyn. At one point, Liang opened a door into an unlit stairwell and his gun went off. The bullet ricocheted off a wall and hit 28-year-old Akai Gurley, who was walking down the stairs, piercing his heart.

In February, a jury convicted Liang of second-degree manslaughter and official misconduct for failing to help Gurley after he had been shot. He could have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

But last month, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office announced that it would not seek prison time for Liang, advising the judge that "a prison sentence is not warranted," and instead recommending probation, home confinement and community service.

On Tuesday, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun sentenced Liang to five years probation and at least 800 hours community service for Gurley's death.

More here: No Jail Time for Ex-NYPD Officer Peter Liang After Manslaughter Conviction Reduced to Criminally Negligent Homicide

Prosecutor recommends no prison time for Peter Liang

Former NYPD officer was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Akai Gurley.



On Wednesday, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office announced that it would not seek prison time for former NYPD police officer Peter Liang when he is sentenced for the shooting death of Akai Gurley.

Prosecutor Won't Seek Prison for Peter Liang, Ex-Officer Convicted in Killing

Instead of jail time, Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson advised that Liang serve five years' probation and six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring, and perform 500 hours of community service.

The rookie officer and his partner were conducting a vertical patrol in a stairwell in the Louis H. Pink Houses in Brooklyn on November 20, 2014, when Liang's gun fired and a ricocheting bullet struck and killed 28-year-old Akai Gurley, who was visiting his girlfriend.

Last month, Liang was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter and official misconduct, and could be sentenced to as much as 15 years in prison.