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Tag: policing and police forces

  • Arrests over alleged secret ‘police station’ deepen showdown between Washington and Beijing | CNN

    Arrests over alleged secret ‘police station’ deepen showdown between Washington and Beijing | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    “We don’t need or want a secret police station in our great city,” said Breon Peace, the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York on Monday – expressing the likely feeling of many Americans at the news that the FBI has arrested two alleged agents for the Chinese government accused of working to harass and silence its critics in the US.

    The Justice Department also charged 34 officers of China’s national police, all of whom are believed to live in China, with related offenses.

    The revelations threaten to pitch already sour US-China relations into further crisis, and had the immediate effect of hardening bipartisan suspicion about Beijing on Capitol Hill in a way that will have serious diplomatic implications.

    Prosecutors allege that China opened an “undeclared police station” in New York City that was used at least once to track down a pro-democracy activist of Chinese descent living in California.

    The two men Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping — both US citizens — allegedly created the “first known overseas police station in the United States,” on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, according to the Justice Department.

    The FBI also accused a group of Chinese officers of flooding an online video conference, screaming at and threatening Chinese dissidents in the US who were discussing democracy.

    This is not unsurprising activity by a foreign intelligence agency on foreign soil; Washington’s penchant for engaging democracy activists in totalitarian countries has, for instance, long been seen as meddling by repressive governments.

    And the FBI has outposts in many foreign embassies.

    The bureau’s work, however, involves fighting organized crime, combating terrorism and drug trafficking, and forging links with local police and law enforcement. It isn’t designed to monitor US expats and police their political activity.

    If proven, the two agents’ alleged activities represent an attempt by the Communist Party in Beijing to extend its crackdown on dissent and democracy outside the country and onto the soil of a nation where such freedoms are protected.

    “The efforts of the PRC to export authoritarian methods to stifle free expression in the United States is a threat to America’s democracy that we will not abide,” said David Newman, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the National Security Division of the Department of Justice.

    There has so far been no comment from Beijing on the charges.

    But the notion that Beijing is operating foreign police stations is not new.

    According to a new report by Madrid-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders shared with CNN last year, President Xi Jinping’s government set up more than 100 such posts to monitor the activity of large Chinese diasporas, using bilateral security arrangements as a cover.

    Beijing has denied such allegations, arguing the offices help expat citizens with services like the issuing of new drivers licenses. Any activity that goes beyond consular services and targets Chinese exiles would infringe international law.

    While China has police patrol agreements with several nations, including Italy and South Africa, reports of the undeclared police posts have prompted investigations in at least 13 other countries including Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.

    The revelations by authorities in New York on Monday are already having a detrimental impact on China’s already tarnished reputation in Washington and will further complicate efforts by the Biden administration to defuse spiraling tensions with Xi.

    The alleged police station scheme is seen as another example of China’s growing global reach, perceived threat to the United States and its values, and willingness to curtail political enemies wherever they might be.

    “This is absolutely absurd that the Chinese Communist Party thinks that they can set up their own police station in a place like New York City,” Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton, a member of the new House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, told CNN.

    “The story out there that the Americans and Chinese are ratcheting up tensions is really not accurate. This is China ratcheting up tensions. This is the Chinese Communist Party trying to exact their repressive regime all over the globe.”

    The arrests contribute to a sense in Washington that China is indulging in increasingly provocative behavior and is ever disdainful of American sovereignty.

    They follow the flight of a suspected Chinese spy balloon across the North American mainland earlier this year that was viewed by many Americans as an insult and was a first tangible sign of how a potential new Cold War could unfold with a new superpower foe.

    Monday’s developments are also likely to increase uncertainty — some might say paranoia — about the level of clandestine activity China might be conducting on US soil.

    Every elevation of the standoff between Beijing and Washington takes a diplomatic toll.

    The level of antipathy towards China is so strong on Capitol Hill that it makes it hard for President Joe Biden — who is ultimately in charge of managing this critical diplomatic relationship — not to toughen his stance. This in turn causes diplomatic and political after shocks in Beijing, whipping up more anti-US rhetoric and behavior.

    To dispute the idea that the US and China are barreling towards a confrontation increasingly looks like heresy in Washington. This is a dangerous new reality since it narrows the room for sober, strategic reasoning about the implications of a potential generations-long showdown across the Pacific.

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  • FBI arrests two alleged Chinese agents and charges dozens with working inside US to silence dissidents | CNN Politics

    FBI arrests two alleged Chinese agents and charges dozens with working inside US to silence dissidents | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    The FBI has arrested two alleged Chinese agents and federal prosecutors have charged dozens of others with working to silence and harass dissidents within the United States – with some even operating an “undeclared police station” in New York City.

    Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping allegedly operated the police station in New York City’s Chinatown. Both men are US citizens and have been charged with conspiring to act as agents of the Chinese government and obstructing justice. The police station has been shut down since a search warrant was executed at the location last fall, according to John Marzulli, a spokesman for the US Attorney in the Eastern District of New York.

    The two men appeared in court Monday, with Lu being released on a $250,000 bond and Chen on a $400,000 bond. They are not permitted to travel within half a mile of the Chinese consulate nor mission or communicate with co-conspirators. Neither has entered a plea.

    Lu retained counsel but was represented in the proceeding by a public defender, and a public defender was appointed to represent Chen. Both of the public defenders at the hearing declined to comment.

    The Justice Department also announced charges against 34 officers of the national police of the People’s Republic of China with harassing Chinese nationals in the US critical of the Chinese government.

    All 34 are believed to live in China and remain at large, according to Justice Department. The officers were part of an effort by the Chinese government called the “912 Special Project Working Group” to influence global perceptions of the People’s Republic of China, or PRC.

    The agents allegedly used social media to post favorably about the PRC and to attack their “perceived adversaries,” including the United States and Chinese pro-democracy activists around the world, the Justice Department said. The illegal police operation is the “first known overseas police station in the United States” set up on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, or MPS, the Justice Department said.

    The agents were allegedly directed by the MPS to create and maintain accounts that looked like they were run by American citizens. Topics of their propaganda machine include US foreign policy, human rights issues in Hong Kong, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Covid-19 and racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd, according to prosecutors.

    Agents also posted videos and articles targeting Chinese pro-democracy advocates in the US, the Justice Department alleged, some of which included explicit death threats. In addition, the agents allegedly used threats to intimidate people into skipping pro-democracy protests within the United States.

    “The PRC, through its repressive security apparatus, established a secret physical presence in New York City to monitor and intimidate dissidents and those critical of its government,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said in a statement. “The PRC’s actions go far beyond the bounds of acceptable nation-state conduct. We will resolutely defend the freedoms of all those living in our country from the threat of authoritarian repression.”

    In another case, federal prosecutors allege that an executive at a videoconferencing company conspired with others to disrupt a meeting on the platform commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre at the direction of the Chinese government.

    Though the videoconferencing company was not named in court documents, CNN has previously reported the company is Zoom.

    The executive, Xinjiang “Julien” Jin, was previously charged by the Justice Department for the alleged plot. The new complaint adds charges against nine additional individuals, including six Ministry of Public Security officers and two officials with the Cyberspace Administration of China.

    According to the Justice Department, the executive, who is based in China, and his codefendants repeatedly sought in 2018 to interfere with video calls organized by a Chinese dissident living in New York City after a request from the Chinese government to do so. Jin also tried to identify any other account associated with that dissident and place them in a server with lagging response times, prosecutors say.

    In 2019, Jin and his codefendants allegedly worked with the Chinese government to block accounts seeking to commemorate the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

    According to court documents, the secret police station was set up in early 2022 to identify, track and intimidate Chinese dissidents within the United States.

    Prosecutors say one such victim was an unnamed person living in California who was a “PRC dissident and PRC pro-democracy advocate” who “reported to the FBI that he/she served as an adviser to a 2022 congressional candidate from New York State” who also was the target of a PRC pressure campaign.

    That victim told the FBI that they have received threatening phone calls and social media messages from people they believe are associated with the Chinese government, and that person’s car was broken into immediately after that person gave a pro-democracy speech.

    During an interview with the FBI, Lu said that he had established the office, which he called an “oversees service center,” to help Chinese nationals living in the United States “renew Chinese government documents.” Lu told investigators during the interview that Chen acted as the primary point of contact with officials back in China.

    During a separate interview, Chen initially denied having any direct contact with the Chinese government, according to court documents, though he later recanted.

    Investigators say that during that interview, Chen took a seven-minute bathroom break, during which an agent repeatedly warned him through the bathroom door not to delete anything on his phone. When agents later searched the phone, they found that chat logs with MPS officials had been cleared.

    Both Lu and Chen later acknowledged deleting messages between themselves and their liaison in the MPS, according to court documents.

    This story has been updated with additional details.

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  • Opinion: A rookie officer ran toward semi-automatic gunfire. It was his job | CNN

    Opinion: A rookie officer ran toward semi-automatic gunfire. It was his job | CNN

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    Editor’s Note: Michael Fanone, a former Washington, DC, police officer, is the author of a memoir, “Hold the Line: The Insurrection and One Cop’s Battle for America’s Soul.” He is a CNN law enforcement analyst, a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, an avid hunter and sport shooting enthusiast. The opinions expressed here are his own. Read more opinion at CNN.



    CNN
     — 

    A friend of mine recently asked me about last week’s mass shooting in Louisville, Kentucky — one of the 160-odd mass shootings we’ve experienced in this country as of mid-April. The one where a guy in his mid-20s purchased an AR-15-style, semi-automatic rifle equipped with a magazine capable of delivering 30 rounds of ammunition in a matter of seconds. A weapon like ones we send our service members overseas to kill with.

    The shooter purchased this devastating weapon of war just days before he entered his place of employment and unleashed his fury in the form of .223-caliber bullets that penetrated the bodies of his targets and likely the walls behind them. One of the victims was a 26-year-old rookie cop named Nickolas Wilt, who is still in critical condition after being shot in the head while responding to the shooting. Shot in the head running toward the gunfire.

    This brings me back to the question my friend posed. “It seems so unusual to me to send a kid who’s been out of the academy for a matter of a few days into the most harrowing, challenging kind of policing situation one can imagine.”

    My response? “That’s the job.”

    Policing is a profession mostly learned through experience. That’s certainly the way I approached it during my 20-year career as a beat cop. There was no way for my instructors in the academy to prepare me for each and every situation encountered. Facing those sometimes harrowing experiences on the job did.

    During the course of my day-to-day, I was introduced to police tactics that I employed to fit each incident I faced. I learned the policy and procedure, rules and guidelines that I used to carry out my responsibilities.

    In the past few days, we have felt the heartbreak of learning that Wilt was gravely injured in the line of duty while trying to save innocent lives. And just a few weeks ago, we also saw what the American police officer can do when equipped with the right training, the right equipment and most importantly, the right mindset.

    At a school in Tennessee last month, officers responded to an active shooter who had taken the lives of teachers and their young students. They entered immediately with no regard for their own safety and shot and killed the assailant. This is the job.

    As was the case in Louisville and Tennessee, men and women just like us are asked to set aside their own personal safety to maintain order in our “civilized society.” I will never say that police are above reproach and that reforms are not needed in our criminal justice system, but I will say that the actions of these brave officers are the rule and not the exception.

    As a cop, I have witnessed countless acts of bravery and selflessness performed by my colleagues. I can count on one hand the times I saw them betray their oaths. We owe it to these officers to provide them with the best training and afford them the ability to train often. Frequency builds muscle memory. And when you are asked to make complex decisions in a matter of seconds, muscle memory could save the officer’s life or allow them to save yours.

    Police officers also deserve state-of-the-art protective equipment. The job carries unavoidable risks, but to the extent that we can keep them safe we owe them that much.

    Too many times toward the end of my career I heard politicians, media pundits and even executives in my own department prioritize optics over officer safety. Police need some of the heavy armament that some people criticize as excessive. Yes, armored cars look scary, but they are just bullet-resistant vehicles that keep cops safe.

    Finally, we owe it to these officers to reduce the likelihood that they will have to encounter firearms wielded by criminals or those suffering from mental health issues. We need to require background checks for the transfer of all firearms in the United States. Background checks aren’t federally mandated when guns are given as gifts, but they should be. As a gun owner who plans to one day transfer my firearms to my children, I would gladly pay the nominal fee and undergo the slight inconvenience of visiting a local licensed federal firearms dealer to complete that transaction.

    In fact, every single firearms transfer in this country should begin with a background check. It takes only a few minutes, and the fees are nominal. It’s a small inconvenience that should be borne by all gun buyers if it means helping keep our fellow Americans safe.

    We are all going to have to give a little for the betterment of our country. It’s called compromise. Red flag laws aren’t perfect, but they work. We should embrace them, rather than write them off.

    The average gun owner will never convince me that they need an AR-15. You want one because you want one. That’s it. It’s time Americans start placing their public safety needs over their recreational desires. There are many firearm platforms available that serve the same purpose and can be used to accomplish the same goal.

    As I thought about Officer Wilt, I recalled my own experiences as a rookie cop working in the inner city.

    By the time I was 25, I had seen the effects of gun violence firsthand. The countless shooting scenes in which men, women and children’s bodies were torn apart by bullets. I buried several colleagues, including my former partner James McBride, who died during a training event. Listening to the dispatcher call James’ “End of Watch” was one of the most emotional moments of my life.

    Over the course of my two decades as a police officer, I saw the body of an infant who had been killed by the child’s father, who was high on PCP. I fought for my life and the lives of my co-workers, and I stared down the barrel of a gun wielded by a young teenager.

    This is the job, and this is what is asked of these officers. Every single goddamn day.

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  • Minneapolis reaches settlements in 2 suits alleging then-officer Derek Chauvin used excessive force years before George Floyd’s killing | CNN

    Minneapolis reaches settlements in 2 suits alleging then-officer Derek Chauvin used excessive force years before George Floyd’s killing | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The city of Minneapolis has reached settlements totaling more than $8.8 million in two civil lawsuits that accuse former police officer Derek Chauvin of using excessive force in two incidents that happened nearly three years before he killed George Floyd during an arrest.

    The plaintiffs, John Pope and Zoya Code – both Black – said Chauvin restrained them on the ground with his knee on their necks, a move similar to the one he would later deploy on Floyd and which was determined be a contributing factor in his death.

    Chauvin was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for Floyd’s 2020 murder, during which the former officer knelt on the 46-year-old Black man’s neck for more than nine minutes as he cried out, “I can’t breathe.”

    The Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted Thursday to approve a $7.5 million settlement in Pope’s case and a $1.375 million in Code’s case, the city said in a release.

    Their lawsuits alleged that the Minneapolis Police Department’s failure to intervene in Chauvin’s pattern of excessive force ultimately led to Floyd’s killing. The two suits collectively named seven other Minneapolis police officers who were present during the arrests as defendants.

    “Derek Chauvin is exactly where he should be, which is in federal prison,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said during a media conference on Thursday. “He should have been fired in 2017. He should have been held accountable in 2017. … If the supervisors had done the right thing, George Floyd would not have been murdered.”

    Frey went on to apologize to Pope, Code and any others who have “experienced this kind of egregious conduct at the hands of Derek Chauvin.”

    The attorney who represented Pope and Code, Bob Bennett, said Thursday that problem far exceeds Chauvin.

    “Beware the ease of blaming Chauvin alone. While he is a blunt instrument of police brutality and racism, he could never flourish in a police agency that lived up to its mission statement,” Bennett said in a statement.

    They urged people to “focus instead on the MPD rank and file who supported Chauvin with their unquestioning obedience, failure to intervene to stop his heinous acts, and their failure to report them per policy and human conscience.”

    Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara apologized Thursday to Pope and Code and called Chauvin “a national embarrassment to the policing profession.”

    “This is an example of the cancer that has infected this department,” O’Hara said. “Today is not a day for excuses or attempts at justification. The notion that we are dealing with the bad actions of one employee is false. We are dealing with the ugly consequences stemming from a systemic failure within the Minneapolis Police Department that has allowed for, and at times encouraged, unjust and brutal policing.”

    The US Department of Justice launched a federal civil investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department’s practices in April 2021.

    CNN has attempted to reach out to Chauvin’s attorney for comment.

    Code encountered Chauvin on June 25, 2017, when he and another officer responded to a call in which Code’s mother reported her daughter assaulted her, the lawsuit states.

    While in the home, the officers forced Code to the ground and handcuffed her “without incident,” according to the lawsuit. Chauvin then carried her out of the house by her arms, which were handcuffed behind her back, it says.

    “Outside the residence, Defendant Chauvin gratuitously slammed Zoya’s unprotected head on the ground. Then he immediately took his signature pose, kneeing on the back of Zoya’s neck,” the lawsuit states. The city said in its Thursday release that Chauvin knelt on her for several minutes, even after she had been restrained by a hobble.

    Chauvin later lied about the encounter in his police report and “left out critical information about the interaction,” the city said.

    Code’s experience was “strikingly similar” to that of Pope, who was 14 years old at the time of his September 4, 2017 arrest, their attorneys said.

    While responding to a domestic dispute call, Chauvin repeatedly struck Pope in the head with a metal flashlight and pinned him to the floor with his knee on Pope’s upper back and neck for more than 15 minutes, the lawsuit states.

    “Many significant details in the officers’ reports are not consistent with what happened,” during their interaction with Pope that day, the city said.

    That encounter led to a federal civil rights indictment against Chauvin, who pleaded guilty to all charges in December 2021, admitting to using “unreasonable and excessive force.”

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  • What we know about the fatal police shooting of Jayland Walker as grand jury considers the case | CNN

    What we know about the fatal police shooting of Jayland Walker as grand jury considers the case | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The city of Akron, Ohio, is bracing for the findings of a special grand jury, which has been tasked with deciding if any of the eight police officers directly involved in the fatal shooting of Jayland Walker last summer will face criminal charges.

    The shooting – in which Walker, who was Black, was shot dozens of times – came after police said the 25-year-old fled an attempted traffic stop early one morning last June. Walker’s death prompted an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, along with protests over racial injustice and police use of force – a few of which erupted into violence, resulting in damage to local businesses, according to Akron police.

    Walker was unarmed at the time he was killed, according to police, though a gun was found in his vehicle after the shooting, and officers said Walker fired a gun from his vehicle during the car chase.

    The Ohio BCI investigation has been completed and was referred to the special prosecutor, a spokesperson for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office confirmed to CNN last month. The office declined to comment on any matters related to grand jury proceedings.

    The city and attorneys for Walker’s family, however, acknowledged the grand jury review was underway in statements to CNN, with the latter criticizing the process as one that favored the police.

    “Today an Akron grand jury began its process of determining whether the officers who gunned down Jayland Walker last summer will be held criminally accountable for their actions,” attorney Bobby DiCello said in a statement Monday.

    “As part of that process, as Ohio law allows, the officers will be invited to testify before the grand jury on their behalf. Keep in mind that if any other Akron citizen was accused of a crime, they would not necessarily be afforded that same privilege,” he said. “Simply put, it’s a process that favors the officers.”

    City officials hosted public meetings to address concerns about the grand jury proceedings and how any decision might impact the community. At one, Police Chief Stephen Mylett said he was “anticipating that there is going to be a response from Akron and beyond.”

    The city also has established a demonstration zone downtown, along with temporary barriers and fencing around court and municipal buildings – moves a city spokesperson described as purely precautionary.

    Here’s what we know about the shooting of Jayland Walker:

    Walker was killed in a burst of gunfire early June 27, 2022, following a vehicle pursuit and foot chase that started when officers tried to stop him for traffic and equipment violations.

    Walker fled the stop and officers gave chase, according to a narrated video timeline police played at a news conference July 3, when police released parts of body camera videos from 13 officers at the scene.

    About 40 seconds after the start of the pursuit, the narrated video said, “a sound consistent with a gunshot can be heard” in body camera footage, and the officers told dispatch a gunshot had been fired from Walker’s vehicle. Police also showed still images taken from traffic cameras that showed “a flash of light” – purportedly a muzzle flash – along the driver’s side of the car.

    “That changes the whole nature” of the incident, Mylett said at the time, turning a “routine traffic stop” into a “public safety issue.”

    After several minutes, Walker’s vehicle slowed and he exited and ran, police said. Several police officers got out of their patrol cars and chased him, and officers deployed Tasers in an effort to stop him, police said, but were unsuccessful.

    Moments later, police said, Walker “stopped and quickly turned towards the pursuing officers.” Mylett told reporters officers believed Walker was reaching towards his waist and they “felt that Mr. Walker had turned and was motioning and moving into a firing position,” Mylett said, and officers opened fire, killing him.

    Walker was handcuffed behind his back after the shooting – a move Mylett said was in accordance with department policy. Mylett indicated at a community event in late March that adjustments would be made to the policy.

    Walker suffered 46 gunshot entrance or graze wounds, according to an autopsy by Summit County Medical Examiner Dr. Lisa Kohler, who found the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.

    Per Kohler, the wounds included:

    • 15 on Walker’s torso, where he had internal injuries to his heart, lungs, liver, spleen, left kidney, intestines and multiple ribs.

    • 17 on his pelvis and upper legs, where the right major artery going to the leg and the bladder were injured and the pelvis and both femurs were broken.

    • One on his face, where the jaw broke.

    • Eight on his arms and right hand.

    • Five on his knees, right lower leg and right foot.

    Though police accused Walker of firing a gunshot out his vehicle’s window, a gunshot residue test was not performed as part of the autopsy, Kohler said, explaining gunshot residue testing can detect specific particles related to the discharge of a firearm “but the results of that testing is not conclusive as to whether the person did or did not fire a weapon.”

    The FBI discontinued this testing in 2006, and Kohler said her office discontinued the collection of that sampling a decade later and no longer purchases collection kits.

    Eight police officers “directly involved” in the shooting were initially placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation, according to department protocol, Mylett said.

    They were reinstated by October 10, a decision Mylett attributed to “staffing issues” in comments to CNN affiliate WEWS, acknowledging “there may be some community concern.”

    While back at work, the officers were not in uniform or responding to service calls, the Akron Police Department said.

    According to information released by the city, seven of the eight officers are White and one is Black.

    “The decision to deploy lethal force as well as the number of shots fired is consistent with use of force protocols and officers’ training,” the Fraternal Order of Police Akron Lodge 7 said in a statement last year.

    The week following the shooting, police released 13 videos from officers’ body cameras – eight from the officers directly involved in the shooting and five others from others who were at the scene.

    The videos were released according to a city ordinance requiring video footage documenting an active police officer’s use of force to be released within seven days of the incident.

    Toward the end of the pursuit, some of the footage shows the silver car Walker was driving stopping before he begins to exit the driver’s side.

    At least one officer shouts, “Let me see your hands,” and tells him not to move. The video shows Walker getting back into the car, which slowly moves forward. He is then seen getting out of the passenger side door and running from officers.

    At least one officer again yells for Walker to show his hands, one video shows. The foot chase continued for several seconds, before a series of gunshots ring out over seven seconds.

    The videos end right after the gunshots were fired and do not depict police officers’ efforts to provide medical care, though police say they attempted first aid after the shooting.

    Walker was declared dead at the scene.

    Through a Freedom of Information Act request, CNN obtained in early September 24 more heavily redacted video clips showing more than four hours of the shooting and its immediate aftermath.

    Each video contains several sections where the footage is blurred or blacked out, or where audio is muted. The city told CNN at the time this was done to redact officers’ identifying information.

    In several videos, gunfire is heard for seven to eight seconds, followed by officers’ attempts to determine whether Walker is armed while he lies face-up and non-responsive on the ground.

    “Can anyone see the gun?” one officer is heard repeatedly asking, as a group of officers stand with guns still aimed at Walker. “Where is the weapon at?” one is heard asking in several videos.

    Several officers are heard rendering first aid, shouting for light and asking for tourniquets and packing gauze.

    None of the videos showed the inside of Walker’s car, though some show officers approaching the vehicle after the shooting. “It’s got a firearm in it,” one officer is heard saying.

    Police are seen in other footage trying to sequester police who fired at Walker while discussing collecting their body-worn cameras.

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  • ‘Our city is heartbroken’: Louisville holding vigil today to mourn 5 killed in bank shooting | CNN

    ‘Our city is heartbroken’: Louisville holding vigil today to mourn 5 killed in bank shooting | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Louisville is set to host a vigil Wednesday to let community members grieve the five people killed this week in a downtown bank shooting, as the public absorbs fresh details that investigators are releasing about how the massacre unfolded.

    The vigil comes a day after police released dramatic police body camera footage of Monday’s shooting at Old National Bank, in which authorities say a 25-year-old employee opened fire on his colleagues who were in a staff meeting and then engaged in a shootout with police before he was shot dead.

    The attacker killed five of his coworkers around 8:30 a.m. in Kentucky’s most populous city, about 30 minutes before the facility was to open, a gruesome assault that the shooter livestreamed online, authorities said. Several others were hospitalized, including a rookie police officer who was shot in the head and was in critical condition Tuesday.

    “Our city is heartbroken,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday evening. “These five victims should not be dead – just like everyone else who was killed by gun violence in our city, in our country, should not be dead.”

    Police say they’re still trying to determine the shooter’s motive. As an investigation continues, officials expect to release audio Wednesday of 911 calls about the shooting, the mayor said.

    And the city will hold a vigil at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, the mayor said.

    The vigil will “acknowledge the wounds, physical and emotional, that gun violence leaves behind,” Greenberg told reporters Tuesday. “It will be an interfaith opportunity for our entire community to come together – to grieve, to heal, to begin to move forward.”

    On Tuesday, Louisville police released bodycam video from the officers who responded to yet another mass shooting in the US.

    The public footage begins with a video from Officer Nickolas Wilt – a 26-year-old rookie who’d graduated from a police academy just 10 days prior – who drove up to the scene with his training officer, Cory “CJ” Galloway.

    As Wilt ran toward the gunshots that officers faced upon arrival, Wilt was shot in the head, police said. The released version of Wilt’s footage cuts off before he is shot.

    Body camera footage from Galloway shows him taking fire, and then retreating to a safe position behind a planter as officers talk about how they can’t see the gunman, and that the gunman is shooting through windows in the front of the bank. At some point, Galloway was also shot.

    Police eventually took down the shooter after he broke the bank’s lobby glass windows, giving officers a vision on his location, Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey said.

    The entire situation – from when the gunman began firing his assault weapon to when he was killed by police – lasted for about nine minutes, according to Louisville police Lt. Col. Aaron Cromwell.

    Those killed in the shooting were Joshua Barrick, 40; Juliana Farmer, 45; Deana Eckert, 57; Tommy Elliott, 63; and James Tutt, 64, police said.

    Nine people – including Eckert, before she died Monday – were hospitalized after the shooting, officials said. Among the eight current survivors, five had been discharged as of Tuesday, a hospital spokesperson said.

    The three victims who remain hospitalized include Wilt, who underwent brain surgery and was in critical condition Tuesday, and two others who were in fair condition, the hospital spokesperson said.

    Monday’s massacre in Louisville was one of at least 147 mass shootings this year in the US, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which like CNN defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot, not including the shooter.

    It took the assailant one minute to complete the bloodbath before he stopped and waited for police to arrive, according to footage of the massacre described by a city official to CNN.

    The shooter, identified by police as 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon, had livestreamed the gruesome attack on Instagram – the video has since been taken down.

    The Instagram video begins by showing an AR-15-style weapon, followed by a worker in the bank saying good morning to the gunman, the official said.

    The gunman then tries to shoot her in the back but fails because the safety is on and the weapon still needs to be loaded, the official said. Once the shooter loads the weapon properly and takes the safety off, he shoots the worker in the back, the official said.

    The assailant then continues his rampage, firing at workers while they tried to outrun him, the official said. The shooter does not go to other populated floors of the bank, the official said.

    Once the shooter finishes firing, he sits in the lobby area that looks out onto the street, apparently waiting for police, the official said.

    Police arrive about a minute and half later, the official said, at which point a gunfire exchange ensues before police eventually shoot and kill the gunman.

    Sturgeon used an AR-15-style rifle in the shooting, police said. Six days before the killings, he legally purchased the rifle from a local gun dealership, the interim Louisville police chief said Tuesday.

    Sturgeon had interned at the bank for three summers and been employed there full-time for about two years, his LinkedIn profile showed. The assailant had been notified that he was going to be fired from the bank, a law enforcement source said Monday.

    The mayor, however, said doesn’t believe the shooter was given a notice of termination.

    “From what I have been told from an official at the bank, that is not accurate,” Greenberg told reporters Tuesday.

    A former high school classmate of Sturgeon’s who knew him and his family well said he never saw any “sort of red flag or signal that this could ever happen.”

    “This is a total shock. He was a really good kid who came from a really good family,” said the classmate, who asked not to be identified and has not spoken with Sturgeon in recent years. “I can’t even say how much this doesn’t make sense. I can’t believe it.”

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  • Louisiana state troopers involved in deadly Ronald Greene arrest plead not guilty | CNN

    Louisiana state troopers involved in deadly Ronald Greene arrest plead not guilty | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The five Louisiana law enforcement officers charged in the May 2019 violent arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene pleaded not guilty at their arraignment on Tuesday.

    The five defendants were all present in court with their respective attorneys, according to J. Michael Small, who is representing Kory York, one of the Louisiana State troopers involved in Greene’s arrest.

    York is facing a charge of negligent homicide. The charges for the three other troopers and one Union Parish deputy range from malfeasance in office to obstruction of justice, according to a copy of the indictment provided to CNN by Union Parish District Attorney John Belton.

    Speaking to CNN before the hearing, Mona Hardin, Greene’s mother, said, “Justice delayed is not justice denied. Louisiana, right your wrongs!”

    Greene, 49, died during the overnight hours of May 10, 2019, after police said he resisted arrest and struggled with officers. His family has said they were initially told Greene died in a car crash after a police chase.

    Videos of the arrest – released by the Associated Press and then by state police in May 2021 – revealed graphic details of the violent struggle, showing officers kicking, punching and using a Taser on Greene before he died in their custody.

    It took more than three years after Greene’s death, which one Louisiana State Police member described as “torture and murder,” for the officers to be indicted.

    The next court hearing will be held May 12, during which the sufficiency to clarify the details in the indictment will be heard, according to Small.

    The family has filed a wrongful-death civil lawsuit against the troopers involved in the incident and their superiors. The family is seeking damages for all medical and funeral expenses.

    Troopers York and Dakota DeMoss were both shown in the arrest video, along with Trooper Chris Hollingsworth, who died in a car crash in September 2020, according to the Ouachita Parish Coroner’s Office.

    York initially received a 50-hour suspension for his role, according to state police. After serving his suspension, he returned to active duty pending the outcome of the review by federal and state authorities.

    In May 2021, DeMoss was fired over an excessive force incident not involving Greene, according to a Louisiana state official with knowledge of the investigation.

    Charles Racer, an attorney for DeMoss, told CNN he had “no comment” about the arraignment and referred all inquiries to the Louisiana State Police.

    CNN has reached out to the attorneys for the other officers charged.

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  • As Louisville police investigate what led up to bank shooting that left 5 dead, several victims remain hospitalized | CNN

    As Louisville police investigate what led up to bank shooting that left 5 dead, several victims remain hospitalized | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    As Louisville investigators piece together what led up to a mass shooting inside a downtown bank that left five people dead, several victims remain hospitalized, including a police officer in critical condition after a shootout with the 25-year-old gunman.

    The gunman, identified by police as employee Connor Sturgeon, was livestreaming online as he carried out the shooting at Old National Bank, officials said. He opened fire inside a conference room during a morning staff meeting, Rebecca Buchheit-Sims, a manager at the bank, told CNN.

    Buchheit-Sims, who was attending the meeting virtually, watched in horror as the shooting played out on her computer screen, saying the incident “happened very quickly.”

    “I witnessed people being murdered. I don’t know how else to say that,” she said.

    One of the hospitalized victims, 57-year-old Deana Eckert, died later Monday, police announced, though it is unclear if she was among the three people in critical condition earlier in the day.

    The four other victims, who died Monday morning, were identified by police as Joshua Barrick, 40; Juliana Farmer, 45; Tommy Elliott, 63; and James Tutt, 64.

    Sturgeon, whose LinkedIn profile showed he had interned at the bank for three summers and been employed there full-time for close to two years, had been notified that he was going to be fired from his job at the bank, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.

    The source said the gunman left behind a note for his parents and a friend indicating he planned to carrying out a shooting at his workplace, though it is unclear when the message was found.

    The gunman, who was still firing when police arrived, was killed in a shootout with officers, police officials said. At least two officers, including one who was shot in the head, were injured during the gunfire.

    Monday’s massacre is the 146th mass shooting so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, as such tragedies continue to strike at the hearts of American communities while they go about their daily lives. It also falls exactly two weeks after three children and three adults were killed in a shooting at a Christian school in neighboring Tennessee, fueling a fierce fight between Democratic and Republican state lawmakers over gun control.

    Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has ordered flags across the state to fly at half-staff until Friday evening in honor of the victims, but some Democratic lawmakers are concerned that the expressions of grief will come and go without meaningful gun violence solutions.

    “My worry is that everybody will raise their fists in anger and mourn and then in six weeks, eight weeks we go back to doing the same – nothing,” state Sen. David Yates told CNN Monday. “I hope that they all don’t have to die in vain like so many of the other victims of these mass shootings. Maybe something positive can come from it.”

    President Joe Biden also echoed his repeated push for gun reform legislation and called on Republican lawmakers to take action.

    “Too many Americans are paying for the price of inaction with their lives. When will Republicans in Congress act to protect our communities?,” the president said in a tweet.

    Members of the Old National Bank executive team, including CEO Jim Ryan, were in Louisville Monday on the heels of the shooting, the company said on Facebook.

    “As we await more details, we are deploying employee assistance support and keeping everyone affected by this tragedy in our thoughts and prayers,” Ryan said in a statement that morning.

    Two people embrace outside the building where a mass shooting happened in Louisville on Monday.

    The shooting began around 8:30 a.m., police said, about 30 minutes before the bank opens to the public. Bank staff were holding their morning meeting in a conference room when the shooter opened fire, Buchheit-Sims, the bank manager, said.

    One bank employee frantically called her husband as she sheltered inside a locked vault, the husband, Caleb Goodlett told CNN affiiliate WLKY. By the time he called 911, police were already aware of the shooting, he said.

    “Just a very traumatic phone call to get,” Goodlett told the affiliate, adding that he has since seen his wife and she is okay.

    The gunman died at the scene after being shot by police during an exchange of gunfire, officials said.

    Nickolas Wilt, a 26-year-old rookie officer, ran toward the gunfire and was shot in the head, interim Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said. He had graduated from the police academy just 10 days before the shooting.

    Wilt underwent brain surgery and was in critical but stable condition as of Monday afternoon, the chief said.

    The gun used in the shooting was an AR-15-style rifle, a federal law enforcement source told CNN. The semi-automatic rifle is the most popular sporting rifle in the US, and 30% of gun owners reported having owned an AR-15 or similar-style rifle, according to the 2021 National Firearms Survey. The AR-15 and its offshoots have been the weapon of choice in many of the most horrific mass shootings in recent memory, including the Covenant school shooting in Nashville just two weeks ago.

    The bank sits on the fringe of Louisville’s developing downtown business district, state Sen. Gerald Neal, who represents the district where the shooting happened, told CNN. “You wouldn’t really expect anything to happen at this location,” he said.

    Despite the shock of the shooting in Kentucky’s most populated city, Neal believes discussions about gun control in the state will still be an “uphill battle.”

    “This is not a state that’s friendly to those who would think about gun reform … or gun control in some way or even reasonable, as you might consider, gun steps that we could take in terms of restricting them. This is not that state. However, the effort continues.”

    Thomas Elliott

    One of the shooting victims, bank senior vice president Tommy Elliot, was remembered by several local and state leaders as a close mentor and beloved community leader.

    “Tommy was a great man. He cared about finding good people and putting them in positions to do great things. He embraced me when I was very young and interested in politics,” state senator Yates told CNN. “He was about lifting people up, building them up.”

    Elliot was also close friends with Gov. Beshear and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, who said he spent Monday morning at the hospital with Elliot’s wife.

    “It is painful, painful for all of the families I know,” Greenberg said while speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “It just hits home in a unique way when you know one of the victims so well.”

    Beshear remembered Elliot an “incredible friend” and also called the others who were killed “amazing people” who will be missed and mourned by their communities.

    The city is setting up a family assistance center in collaboration with the American Red Cross to provide support for those impacted, Greenberg said.

    “To the survivors and the families, our entire city is here to wrap our arms around you,” Greenberg added.

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  • 13-year-old leads California police on chase in stolen car and crashes, leaving 1 person dead and nearly a dozen injured | CNN

    13-year-old leads California police on chase in stolen car and crashes, leaving 1 person dead and nearly a dozen injured | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    One person has died and nearly a dozen more were injured after a 13-year-old crashed into two other vehicles while leading police on a chase in a stolen vehicle in California, authorities said.

    A Woodland Police Department officer spotted a vehicle being driven erratically on Saturday afternoon, according to a news release from the agency. Woodland is located about 15 miles northwest of Sacramento.

    The officer attempted to pull the vehicle over and a pursuit followed, Woodland police said. The car then collided with two other vehicles, causing two cars to catch fire.

    Four ambulances were requested to the scene – one person died and “nearly a dozen” people were injured, according to the release. The extent of their injuries was still being assessed Saturday evening.

    Police later determined that the driver of the vehicle involved in the pursuit was a 13-year-old boy driving a stolen car.

    California Highway Patrol is now investigating the cause of the crash, police said.

    CNN has reached out to Woodland police for additional information.

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  • 2 Wisconsin police officers and another person were killed in a gunfire exchange during a traffic stop, authorities say | CNN

    2 Wisconsin police officers and another person were killed in a gunfire exchange during a traffic stop, authorities say | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Two police officers and another person were killed in an exchange of gunfire during a traffic stop in northwestern Wisconsin on Saturday, authorities said.

    The gunfire erupted after an officer from the Chetek Police Department conducted a traffic stop in Cameron around 3:38 p.m. local time, according to a news release from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

    A Chetek officer and an officer from the Village of Cameron Police Department were both pronounced dead at the scene, the state agency said.

    The “involved individual” was taken to a hospital and was later also pronounced dead, the news release said.

    Neither the officers nor the third person killed have been publicly identified. Authorities did not provide information on what prompted the traffic stop or how the shooting unfolded.

    The Wisconsin Department of Justice said it is investigating the “officer involved critical incident.”

    The department’s Division of Criminal Investigation “is continuing to review evidence and determine the facts of this incident and will turn over investigative reports to the Barron County District Attorney when the investigation concludes,” the news release said.

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  • ‘We need your help’: $10,000 reward offered for tips that lead to arrest of third suspect in Florida triple homicide | CNN

    ‘We need your help’: $10,000 reward offered for tips that lead to arrest of third suspect in Florida triple homicide | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Officials are offering a total of $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest of 16-year-old Tahj Brewton, the third suspect sought in connection with the recent shooting deaths of three Florida teenagers.

    The Florida Sheriff’s Association Criminal Apprehension Assistance Program and the US Marshals Service are offering $5,000 each – for a total of $10,000 – for tips that lead to Brewton’s capture, according to a Friday Facebook post from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

    Three teenagers were found shot in Marion County in Central Florida at the end of March. Police have named one of the victims as 16-year-old Layla Silvernail, who was found on the side of the road in the Forest Lakes Park area on March 30 and later died of her injuries. A 17-year-old male was found on the side of the road the next morning, and a third female victim was found in the trunk of Silvernail’s car, which was partially submerged in a lake. Police have not named the other two victims.

    The three suspects are all teenagers as well. Police have said they believe the victims and the suspects were allegedly affiliated with criminal gangs.

    Robert Le’Andrew Robinson, 17, and Christopher De’l Atkins, 12, have already been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said Friday. Brewton is still at large, and “this is where we need your help,” the sheriff’s office said.

    The Marion County Sheriff’s Office released a photo of Brewton on Facebook. He is also wanted in connection with several unrelated felonies, including carjacking with a firearm, aggravated assault, and grand theft of a motor vehicle.

    Brewton should be considered “armed and dangerous,” according to the sheriff’s office.

    The sheriff’s office advised those with information to call (352) 732-9111 or the Crime Stoppers of Marion County at (352) 368-STOP (7867), “and reference 23-22 in your tip.”

    CNN has reached out for comment. It is not clear if the suspects will be tried in the juvenile or adult system.

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  • Ex-cop, a former prison cellmate of Jeffrey Epstein, convicted for murdering 4 men | CNN

    Ex-cop, a former prison cellmate of Jeffrey Epstein, convicted for murdering 4 men | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    A former New York police officer and cellmate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was found guilty Thursday of killing four men in 2015, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced.

    Nicholas Tartaglione, who is described by US Attorney Damien Williams as “a former police officer-turned drug dealer,” faces a possible life sentence in federal prison after a jury found him guilty of killing Martin Luna, Miguel Luna, Urbano Santiago and Hector Gutierrez, according to a Thursday news release.

    In 2015, Tartaglione suspected Martin Luna had stolen money from him and planned to confront him during an in-person meeting, to which Martin brought along his nephews, Miguel Luna and Urbano and his family friend Gutierrez, the release said. But the meeting was a “deadly trap,” according to Williams, and the events that came thereafter “could only be described as pure terror.”

    Tartaglione tortured Martin and then forced one of Martin’s nephews to watch as he strangled him to death with a zip-tie, according to the US Attorney’s Office statement.

    The former officer and two of his associates then brought Miguel Luna, Urbano and Gutierrez to a remote wooded location, forced them to kneel and fatally shot them in the back of the head before burying their bodies in a mass grave, the release said.

    The three men were “simply at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Williams said.

    The four bodies were found in December 2016 on a property belonging to Tartaglione, located about an hour north of New York City, according to the Chester Police Department.

    Tartaglione pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment charging him with the four murders and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, CNN previously reported.

    Lawyers for Tartaglione have not responded to CNN’s request for comment.

    “Tartaglione’s heinous acts represent a broader betrayal, as he was a former police officer who once swore to protect the very community he devastated,” Williams said in a statement.

    Tartaglione shared a prison cell with Epstein at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City and had been moved before Epstein’s suicide in August 2019, CNN previously reported.

    The former officer was one of the first people FBI agents sought to interview after Epstein, 66, was found dead in the special housing unit of the prison. Epstein was awaiting trial on federal charges accusing him of operating a sex trafficking ring from 2002 to 2005 at his Manhattan mansion and his Palm Beach estate in which he paid girls as young as 14 for sex.

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  • Despite high profile killing, San Francisco has far fewer homicides than other similarly-sized cities | CNN

    Despite high profile killing, San Francisco has far fewer homicides than other similarly-sized cities | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The stabbing death of CashApp founder Bob Lee has prompted comments perpetuating the notion that San Francisco is dangerous and crime-riddled, but data shows violent crime – especially homicides – are well below that of many other cities of a similar size.

    George Tita, a criminal justice professor at the University of California, Irvine, believes the perception has more to do with the profile of those involved in certain crimes than the actual data.

    “When a very high profile tech person is murdered, it is just going to get more publicity than if it was an impoverished person in a neighborhood of color,” Tita said. “It’s just low-hanging fruit. Nobody wants to look at actual statistics. Most of the states and counties with the highest level of crime statistics are in red states versus blue states.”

    Lee died after a stabbing attack in the Rincon Hill area of the city. Police officers responded to the report of a stabbing early Tuesday morning, according to a statement from the San Francisco Police Department. They found “a 43-year-old adult male victim suffering from apparent stab wounds.”

    “Officers rendered aid and summoned medics to the scene,” the police statement said. “The victim was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Despite efforts by first responders and medical personnel, the victim succumbed to his injuries.”

    San Francisco recorded 56 homicides each in 2022 and 2021, up over 36% from 2019, when there were 41 homicides, according to police department data. Despite the increase, the number of homicides in San Francisco is well below that of other cities of a similar size, data from the Major Cities Police Chiefs Association shows.

    Indianapolis, for example, witnessed 271 homicides in 2021 and 226 in 2022. Jacksonville, Florida, meanwhile, saw 129 homicides in 2021 and 154 in 2022, while 204 homicides took place in Columbus, Ohio, in 2021 and 140 in 2022.

    Violent crimes in San Francisco, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, reached a high in 2013 with 7,164 violent crimes, according to California Department of Justice data. But they have tapered off significantly in the past couple of years. San Francisco now falls in the lower middle of the pack when compared with several cities of a similar population, according to data from the Major Cities Police Chiefs Association.

    Property crimes in San Francisco, however, tell a different story, as seen in several attention-grabbing videos. Though still well below levels seen in 2017, the city saw a 23% increase in property crimes between 2020 and 2022, with spikes in burglary and larceny theft headlining the surge, according to San Francisco PD data.

    “People who believe that housing is bad, that crime is always up, they believe that based on their world view and dogma and not on facts,” Tita said. “All we can do is provide unbiased, carefully-constructed data. At the end of the day, there are some people who don’t care about the facts.”

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  • Police in Washington, DC, release bodycam video from the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Dalaneo Martin by an officer | CNN

    Police in Washington, DC, release bodycam video from the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Dalaneo Martin by an officer | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    US Park Police and Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police have released body-worn camera videos showing the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Dalaneo Martin by a Park Police officer last month after the teen was found sleeping in an allegedly stolen vehicle.

    The videos from both agencies were released Tuesday, less than three weeks after the March 18 shooting in northeast Washington, DC.

    The release of the videos comes amid nationwide scrutiny of police use of force, sparked by the release of bodycam footage in several cases where an interaction with police resulted in death or injury, including the fatal February shooting of Alonzo Bagley in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the beating death of Tyre Nichols by officers in Memphis, Tennessee.

    Officers from both the Park Police and the Metropolitan Police were responding to a report of a stolen vehicle just before 9 a.m. when the shooting of Martin happened, they said.

    An MPD officer arrived first and “observed the occupant of the vehicle was asleep and the ignition was punched. The officer determined the vehicle was stolen and then called for additional units,” Park Police said in a statement.

    Several officers from both agencies arrived and began discussing how to approach the situation, including the possibility of breaking the window and pulling the driver out.

    “Once you break it, he’s gonna wake up, start it and put it in drive to go. We don’t want nobody to get hurt,” one officer is heard telling another officer in Park Police bodycam footage.

    As the officers continue to strategize, an MPD officer can be heard in the bodycam footage saying, “So, here’s the plan. He’s knocked out. The back window is just a plastic. I’m going to try to cut that out quietly, unlock the door. If he doesn’t get startled, doesn’t wake up then we’re going to try to get in there, grab him before he puts that car in gear.”

    The officer continues, “If he does take off, just let him go.”

    Officers from both agencies eventually approach the vehicle and try to pull the driver out as the footage shows a Park Police officer jump into the backseat and yell, “Police, don’t move. Don’t move. Don’t move.”

    The vehicle then suddenly drives off as the Park Police officer is still in the backseat, the footage shows. The officer yells, “Stop!” The vehicle keeps going and the officer yells, “Stop man, just let me out. Let me go!”

    Then the officer then yells, “Stop. Stop or I’ll shoot!”

    “The driver did not comply” and the officer “discharged his firearm,” Park Police said.

    Seconds later, the vehicle crashes into a house and the officer jumps out, the footage shows.

    Officers pulled the driver out of the vehicle, called for medical assistance and began administering aid, including doing chest compressions.

    US Park Police said the driver, identified as Martin, died at the scene and a gun was recovered inside the vehicle. No one inside the house was injured.

    The officer who shot Martin and a second Park Police officer were transported to an area hospital for treatment, the Park Police said.

    “The investigation into this incident is being handled by the Metropolitan Police Department and reviewed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. An administrative review of this incident is being conducted by the Department of the Interior,” Park Police said.

    None of the officers involved have been identified by either police agency and their faces are blurred in the bodycam videos.

    An attorney for Martin’s family, Jade Mathis, told The Washington Post the family reviewed the videos shortly before they were released to the public.

    “Their initial reaction was tears and then it turned to anger,” Mathis told the Post. “But it was also relief because they have more answers than they had before.”

    The family wants the Park Police officer who shot Martin to be identified, prosecuted and terminated, Mathis told the Post.

    CNN has reached out to Mathis for comment.

    Park Police would not confirm the status of the officer who shot Martin. “Pursuant to applicable law and department policy, we do not publicly disclose information about personnel actions concerning our employees,” a Park Police spokesperson told CNN.

    The head of the Park Police union, Kenneth Spencer, defended the officer who shot Martin, telling the Post, “There is a lawful reason for him to be in the car, the use of force was justified and the union stands behind the actions the officers took.”

    The Metropolitan Police told CNN in a statement, “The preliminary investigation by our Internal Affairs Division has been sent to the (US Attorney’s Office) for their independent review.”

    CNN has reached out to the US Attorney’s office for Washington, DC, and the Department of the Interior for comment.

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  • Progressive Brandon Johnson will be elected Chicago mayor, succeeding Lori Lightfoot, CNN projects | CNN Politics

    Progressive Brandon Johnson will be elected Chicago mayor, succeeding Lori Lightfoot, CNN projects | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    Chicago voters will choose Brandon Johnson, a progressive Cook County commissioner backed by the powerful teachers union, as the city’s next mayor, CNN projects.

    Johnson will win Tuesday’s runoff election over Paul Vallas, a moderate former city schools superintendent who had campaigned on a pro-police message in a race where concerns about violent crime were central.

    Johnson told supporters his victory had “ushered in a new chapter in the history of our city” and demonstrated a “bold, progressive movement” that he said should be a blueprint for the country.

    “Now, Chicago will begin to work for its people – all the people. Because tonight is a gateway to a new future for our city; a city where you can thrive no matter who you love or how much money you have in your bank account,” he said.

    Vallas said at his election night event that he had called Johnson to concede the race.

    “This campaign I ran to bring the city together would not be a campaign that fulfilled my ambitions if this election is going to divide us more. So it’s critically important that we use this opportunity to come together, and I’ve offered him my full support on his transition,” Vallas said.

    Vallas and Johnson were competing to replace Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose bid for a second term ended when she finished third in the nine-candidate February 28 first round – failing to advance to the top-two runoff.

    Lightfoot had sparred with two of the most powerful forces in this year’s mayor’s race: the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, which endorsed Vallas, and the Chicago Teachers Union, which backs Johnson – a former teacher and union organizer.

    The clash between those two unions is part of a larger battle over how the city handled the Covid-19 pandemic – a period during which violent crime increased and schools were shut down.

    Vallas campaigned on a pro-police, tough-on-crime message. He vowed to fill hundreds of vacancies in the Chicago Police Department, and said he would emphasize community policing and place officers on public transit, after a recent violent crime spike at the Chicago Transit Authority’s trains and stations alarmed many commuters.

    He also highlighted Johnson’s history of supporting calls to “defund the police” – a message that became popular with progressives in 2020 in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd but that has since receded amid violent crime increases in Chicago and other cities. Top Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have long rejected the slogan.

    Johnson said during the campaign that he did not want to slash police spending. He said he would promote 200 new detectives, arguing that solving more crimes would increase Chicago residents’ trust in police and deter crime.

    In his victory speech Tuesday night, Johnson nodded to his clashes with Vallas over crime and policing. He said he envisions “a city that’s safer for everyone by investing in what actually works to prevent crime. And that means youth employment, mental health centers, ensuring that law enforcement has the resources to solve and prevent crimes.”

    Vallas and Johnson spent the weeks leading up to the runoff courting the approximately 45% of the electorate that did not vote for either candidate in February.

    They were particularly focused on Black and Latino voters outside of Johnson’s progressive base and Vallas’ support in White ethnic neighborhoods and the northwestern portion of the city.

    Vallas featured Black mainstays of Chicago politics, including former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and former US Rep. Bobby Rush, in his closing television advertisement touting his Democratic credentials.

    Johnson had argued that Vallas was too conservative for the electorate of a city where 83% of voters backed the Democratic presidential ticket in 2020. He highlighted donations Vallas’ campaign received from business interests and Republicans, as well as digital ads paid for by a PAC with ties to former Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

    “When you take dollars from Trump supporters and try to pass yourself as a part of the progressive movement – man, sit down,” Johnson said at a rally in Chicago with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders last week.

    This story has been updated with additional developments.

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  • 8 bodies discovered by police and Canadian Coast Guard in a Mohawk Nation territory near US border | CNN

    8 bodies discovered by police and Canadian Coast Guard in a Mohawk Nation territory near US border | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Police in Canada said Friday they have recovered eight bodies in Akwesasne, the Mohawk Nation territory that straddles the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario along the banks of the St. Lawrence River.

    Authorities said all of people were attempting to enter the US from Canada illegally and there’s no threat to the public.

    Six bodies were initially discovered in waters of Akwesasne during a Canadian Coast Guard air search for a missing person named Casey Oakes on Thursday afternoon, according to a statement from the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service.

    The bodies are those of six adults and two children: one under the age of 3 who had a Canadian passport, the other an infant who was also a Canadian citizen, Akwesasne Mohawk Police Chief Shawn Dulude said at a Friday news conference, according to CNN news partner CBC.

    They are believed to have been a Romanian family and an Indian family, according to police.

    Police and Immigration Canada are also working to contact next of kin, AMP Deputy Chief LeeAnn O’Brien said during the news conference Friday.

    Authorities are continuing to search for Oakes but didn’t confirm if the two situations are related, according to a statement.

    There have been 48 separate incidents of people trying to cross the border since January, O’Brien added.

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  • Bolsonaro greeted by small group of supporters on return to Brazil for first time since riots | CNN

    Bolsonaro greeted by small group of supporters on return to Brazil for first time since riots | CNN

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    Brasilia, Brazil
    CNN
     — 

    Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro returned to the country on Thursday for the first time since his election defeat that culminated in thousands of his supporters rioting in protest at the result.

    The far-right politician flew back to Brasilia from Florida, where he stayed for three months in self-imposed exile after he failed to win reelection in last year’s presidential election. Bolsonaro has never formally conceded defeat and filed a petition contesting the result, but it was rejected by the country’s electoral court.

    Military police were on high alert in and around the airport, setting up checkpoints on the main road as about 50 Bolsonaro supporters gathered to welcome him. Authorities had earlier asked supporters to stay away from the airport.

    The small group of supporters at the airport’s international arrival hall all wore yellow and green Brazilian soccer jerseys, some draped in flags.

    One man on a motorcycle carrying a large Brazilian flag was turned away by police at the checkpoint, a CNN team on the ground reported, in line with the tight security plan announced by authorities Wednesday.

    Bolsonaro then traveled to the headquarters of his center-right Liberal Party in Brasilia, where a small group of supporters were waiting outside to greet him.

    He was set to attend a reception hosted by his party before traveling to his residence, CNN Brasil reported.

    Bolsonaro waves from the Liberal Party headquarters in Brasilia on Thursday.

    Bolsonaro, who denies inciting violent attacks in the capital Brasilia on January 8, faces an investigation into his alleged involvement upon his return, among other legal troubles.

    Speaking to CNN affiliate CNN Brasil at Florida’s Orlando airport late Wednesday, Bolsonaro said he would not lead the opposition to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva on his return – despite rallying support from conservative activists and far-right groups during his three-month stay in the United States.

    “You don’t have to oppose this government. This government is an opposition in itself,” Bolsonaro told CNN Brasil.

    Instead, Bolsonaro said he planned to help his party center-right Liberal Party “as an experienced person,” collaborating with “whatever they wish,” CNN Brasil quoted the former president as saying. He added that he will tour the country in preparation for next year’s municipal elections.

    Bolsonaro’s return comes as political divisions run deep in Brazil after he left the country in December last year just days before Lula’s inauguration.

    Though he denounced the invasion of Brasilia by his supporters, in the days following the election he welcomed peaceful demonstrations while his party filed petitions for an audit of voting machines, alleging fraud. He fed his followers crumbs of misinformation about election fraud and made vague comments hinting at a potential coup.

    The attacks in Brasilia bore similarities to the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, when supporters of ex-US President Donald Trump – a close ally of Bolsonaro – stormed Congress in an effort to prevent the certification of his election defeat.

    Brazil’s Supreme Court is investigating Bolsonaro’s alleged involvement in the Brasilia riots, particularly to find out who or how far-right mobs that support the ex-leader ended up ransacking the seats of government.

    Bolsonaro is also under scrutiny over jewelry he allegedly received as a gift from the Saudi Arabian government while in office. On Wednesday, he denied any “irregularities,” stating that “the objects were registered,” CNN Brasil reported.

    Brazilian federal prosecutors are also investigating whether Bolsonaro tried to smuggle two sets of diamond jewels into the country without paying import taxes.

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  • As more details emerge about how the Nashville school shooting unfolded, expert says the quick thinking of teachers saved lives | CNN

    As more details emerge about how the Nashville school shooting unfolded, expert says the quick thinking of teachers saved lives | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    As more details emerge about how a deadly mass shooting unfolded inside a private Christian school in Nashville, a former police officer who provided active shooter training at the school said the quick-thinking actions of teachers who locked down classrooms helped save lives.

    The shooter who got into The Covenant School on Monday fired multiple rounds into several classrooms but didn’t hit any students inside the classrooms, “because the teachers knew exactly what to do, how to fortify their doors and where to place their children in those rooms,” security consultant Brink Fidler told CNN.

    “Their ability to execute literally flawlessly under that amount of stress while somebody trying to murder them and their children, that is what made the difference here,” Fidler said.

    “These teachers are the reason those kids went home to their families,” he added.

    Six people were killed in the Monday morning school shooting. They were three 9-year-old students: Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs. The adults killed were Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher; Katherine Koonce, the 60-year-old head of the school; and Mike Hill, a 61-year-old custodian, police said.

    All of the victims who were struck by gunfire had been in an open area or hallway, said Fidler, who did a walk-through of the school with officials Wednesday.

    “The only victims this shooter was able to get to were victims that were stuck in some sort of open area or hallway,” Fidler said. “Several were able to evarocuate safely. The ones that couldn’t do that safely did exactly what they were taught and trained to do.”

    While the shooter had targeted the school, it’s believed the victims were fired upon at random, police have said.

    Also credited with saving lives are the officers who rushed into the school and fatally shot the attacker, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, ending the 14 minutes of terror that unfolded at the school.

    “We had heroic officers that went in harm’s way to stop this and we could have been talking about more tragedy than what we are,” Drake told CNN Wednesday.

    The law enforcement response in Nashville stands in contrast with the response in Uvalde, Texas, where there was a delay of more than an hour before authorities confronted and killed the gunman. The attack in Uvalde left 21 people dead.

    Monday’s school shooting in Nashville was the deadliest US school shooting since last May’s massacre in Uvalde. It also marked the 19th shooting at a school or university in just the past three months that left at least one person wounded, a CNN count shows.

    A Nashville city councilman also said a witness told him Koonce, the head of The Covenant School, spent her last moments trying to protect the children in her care.

    “The witness said Katherine Koonce was on a Zoom call, heard the shots and abruptly ended the Zoom call and left the office. The assumption from there is that she headed towards the shooter,” Councilman Russ Pulley said. He did not identify the witness.

    Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said he can’t confirm how Koonce died but said, “I do know she was in the hallway by herself. There was a confrontation, I’m sure. You can tell the way she is lying in the hallway.”

    Fidler said that Koonce had been adamant about training school staff on how to respond during an active shooter situation.

    “She understood the severity of the topic and the severity of the teachers needing to have the knowledge of what to do in that situation,” he said.

    Koonce and the other victims were honored at a citywide vigil in Nashville Wednesday, where residents came together to pray and grieve.

    “It’s such a tragedy and felt so deeply by everyone here,” Nashville resident Eliza Hughes said. “Nashville is a close tight-knit community. We definitely feel the tragedy. It’s an awful situation.”

    After the shooting, police found that Hale had detailed maps of The Covenant School – which the shooter had attended as a child – and “quite a bit” of writings related to the shooting, according to the police chief.

    The FBI, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and police have been combing through the maps and writings Hale left, including looking at a notebook, Drake said.

    Authorities have called the attack “calculated,” with Drake saying Wednesday that the maps “did have a display of entry into the school, a route that would be taken for whatever was going to be carried out.”

    The shooter is also believed to have had weapons training and had arrived at the school heavily armed and prepared for a confrontation with law enforcement, police have said.

    But as details of the pre-planning are uncovered, it’s still unclear what motivated the attack. Drake said police have met with the school and found no indication that Hale had any problems while attending The Covenant.

    Hale had been under care for an emotional disorder and legally bought seven guns in the past three years, but they were kept hidden from Hale’s parents, Drake said. Three of the weapons, including an AR-15 rifle, were used in the attack Monday.

    Tennessee does not have a “red flag” law that would allow a judge to temporarily seize guns from someone who is believed to be a threat to themselves or others.

    The police chief said law enforcement was not contacted about the shooter previously, and Hale was never committed to an institution.

    Hale’s childhood friend, Averianna Patton, told CNN on Tuesday the killer sent her disturbing messages minutes before the attack, saying “I’m planning to die today” and it would be on the news.

    Patton called the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office in Nashville but was on hold for “maybe like 7 minutes,” she said. By then, the shooting had already started.

    Asked about the messages, Drake told CNN, “If their timeline was accurate, the actual call came in after the officer had already arrived on the scene. So, it plays no bearing on that.”

    “The moment we got the call, we responded immediately to the scene. Officers pulled up, were taking gunfire, pulled the gun out, went inside, did not wait,” Drake said.

    The shooter entered the school by firing at glass doors and climbing through to get inside, surveillance video shows. The first call about the shooting came in at 10:13 a.m., and police arrived on scene at 10:24 a.m., according to the police chief.

    Body-camera footage from the first responding officers shows them rushing in and clearing classrooms before racing to the second floor of the school, where an officer armed with an assault-style rifle shot the assailant multiple times. The shooter was dead at 10:27 a.m., police said.

    Police have referred to Hale as a “female shooter,” and later said Hale was transgender. Hale used male pronouns on a social media profile, a spokesperson told CNN when asked to clarify.

    The Covenant School shooting victims (top row) Katherine Koonce, Mike Hill, Cynthia Peak, (bottom row) Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney.

    Nashville residents came together for a citywide vigil Wednesday to mourn the victims, pray and sharex in the heartache.

    First lady Jill Biden was in attendance, as was singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, who performed her song “I Shall Believe” to the grieving crowd.

    “Nashville has had its worst today,” Mayor John Cooper told the crowd. “Our heart is broken. Our city united as we mourn together.”

    The police chief also addressed the community, saying that a school shooting like the one officers faced at The Covenant School on Monday is a moment officers have trained for but hoped would never come.

    “Our police officers have cried and are crying with Nashville and the world,” Drake said.

    As the community grieves, families are mourning loved ones lost in the shooting.

    First Lady Jill Biden at the Nashville Remembers candlelight vigil Wednesday.

    William, one of the children killed, had an “unflappable spirit,” friends of the Kinney family shared on GoFundMe.

    Hallie’s aunt Kara Arnold said the 9-year-old had “a love for life that kept her smiling and running and jumping and playing and always on the go.”

    Evelyn’s family called her “a shining light in this world.”

    The family of Hill, a father of seven children and grandfather to 14, remembered his love for cooking and spending time with his family.

    “Violence has visited our city and brought heartache and pain. In the midst of sorrow, we are yet looking for hope,” said Tennessee Representative Rev. Harold M. Love, Jr. as he ended the vigil with a prayer.

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  • At Irvo Otieno’s funeral, calls for reform on treating those with mental illness | CNN

    At Irvo Otieno’s funeral, calls for reform on treating those with mental illness | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Irvo Otieno had a million-dollar smile, respected others and stood up for what he believed was right, family and friends said Wednesday at the funeral for the man who died after he was pinned to the floor by security officers at a Virginia mental health hospital.

    Now it’s time for society to stand for what is right – by implementing law enforcement and mental health care reforms, speakers told mourners during Otieno’s service at First Baptist Church of South Richmond.

    Seven sheriff’s deputies and three hospital employees are accused of second-degree murder in the March 6 death of the aspiring musician, 28, who prosecutors say was smothered during what the family said was a mental health crisis.

    “What kind of sickness would make men pile on a man that’s already handcuffed and shackled?” Rev. Al Sharpton said during the eulogy.

    “He had an illness. He should have been doctored to, not treated with brutality,” Sharpton said.

    The minister and family attorney Ben Crump said police need to be better equipped to deal with those with mental illness.

    They also encouraged Virginia officials to make reforms.

    “We can develop mental health courts where they will be treated like they have illness and not like they are criminals and degenerates not worthy of dignity and respect,” Crump told mourners. “Irvo deserved dignity and respect.”

    On March 3, Henrico Police responded to a report of a possible burglary and encountered Otieno. Police officers – along with the county’s crisis intervention team – put Otieno under an emergency custody order due to their interactions with and observations of him, police said.

    According to Virginia law, a person can be placed under an emergency custody order when there is reason to believe they could hurt themselves or others as a result of mental illness.

    The officers transported Otieno to a hospital where authorities say he assaulted three officers. Police took him to county jail and he was booked. At around 4 p.m. on March 6, Otieno was taken to Central State Hospital, a state-run mental health facility south of Richmond, by the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office, according to the commonwealth attorney’s office. It’s not clear why deputies transferred Otieno.

    State police investigators were later told Otieno became “combative” and was “physically restrained” during the intake process, the commonwealth attorney’s office said on March 14.

    Surveillance video recently released by a prosecutor shows Otieno being pinned to the floor.

    Dinwiddie County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ann Cabell Baskervill’s office released 911 calls about the incident in which a caller described Otieno as “very aggressive” and repeatedly asked for an ambulance, saying he was not breathing.

    The video begins as Otieno, bound by his hands and feet, is forcibly taken into a room and dragged into an upright seated position on the floor with his back against a chair. Ten minutes later, after Otieno has turned onto his side with three people holding him, his body jerks, and five more deputies and workers move to pin Otieno to the floor.

    A clear view of Otieno is blocked in much of the video, but one deputy appears to be lying across Otieno for most of the incident as he is forced onto his stomach. Eventually, Otieno is rolled onto his back, where several deputies appear to be restraining him with their knees. One deputy holds Otieno’s head still by grabbing his braided hair.

    After 12 minutes of Otieno being pinned to the ground, one deputy can be seen shaking Otieno’s hair and attempting to take a neck pulse, but Otieno is unresponsive. Three more minutes pass before CPR begins, with Otieno’s limbs still shackled.

    Medical workers from the hospital are seen converging on the room as CPR continues for nearly an hour. After he is pronounced dead, Otieno is covered in a white sheet, still lying on the floor, his body briefly left alone in the room.

    An attorney for one of the deputies charged in the case told CNN he’s “disappointed” the prosecutor released the video because he thinks it could influence the jury pool.

    Seven Henrico County deputies, who turned themselves in to state police earlier this month, are on administrative leave as investigations by their agency and state police continue, Henrico County Sheriff Alisa Gregory said in a statement.

    CNN has sought comment from the deputies. Caleb Kershner, deputy Randy Joseph Boyer’s attorney, told CNN recently that they had yet to see video but claimed “nothing was outside of the ordinary” in the lead-up to Otieno’s death.

    “They delivered him as fast as they could because obviously this was a man in tremendous need of some sort of medical attention,” Kershner said. He added that his client said they had dealt with Otieno “for a long time and he had a significant amount of violent noncompliance.”

    exp TSR.Todd.Henrico.deputies.charged.prosecutor.speaks_00020801.png

    Prosecutor describes VA death in custody

    Three Central State Hospital workers who were arrested were placed on leave “pending the results of the legal proceedings,” the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and Central State Hospital said in a statement. Officials said they will ensure the family receives information about “the tragic events at the hospital.”

    The Henrico Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 4, the local law enforcement officers’ union, “stands behind” the deputies, it said in a statement on Facebook.

    CNN has reached out to attorneys, the hospital and jail for additional comment.

    Crump has said Otieno was not being aggressive or resisting during the incident. “He was trying to breathe,” he told reporters. “If you were down there, restrained and all of these people on top of you, you would be trying to breathe. You would try to move, too, to let your lungs expand.”

    The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks at Irvo Otieno's funeral at a Richmond area church on March 29.

    The attorney told those attending Wednesday’s funeral that the situation should have been treated differently.

    “When Black people in America have mental health issues, we cannot treat them like criminal issues,” Crump said.

    Sharpton said Otieno was a man of talent whose life was unnecessarily cut short.

    “If he’d been cared for, rather than cared-less law enforcement, he could have been a shining example of how people, despite their challenges, can be productive anyway.”

    The musician’s mother spoke near the end of the service, saying her son had character and will be missed.

    “May your spirit lead us in this pursuit of truth and justice. I will miss your infectious smile and your big hugs,” said Caroline Ouko. “We will get to the bottom of what happened to you.”

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  • Justice Department moves to end consent decree with Seattle Police Department | CNN Politics

    Justice Department moves to end consent decree with Seattle Police Department | CNN Politics

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    Washington
    CNN
     — 

    The Justice Department moved Tuesday to end a consent decree with the Seattle Police Department, bringing to a close more than a decade of federal supervision of the police department.

    The Seattle consent decree was established under the Obama administration in 2012 after a Justice Department investigation found that the police department there had a pattern of using excessive force.

    Specifically, the Justice Department found at the time that the police department used weapons either excessively or unnecessarily more than half the time during arrests, and that officers engaged in a pattern of discriminatory policing during pedestrian encounters.

    The Seattle Police Department has made “far-reaching reforms” since the institution of the consent decree and is now a “transformed organization,” the city of Seattle and the Justice Department said in a court filing Tuesday.

    The Seattle Police Department “achieved remarkable progress,” they said, highlighting that the department has complied with stringent use of force policies and implemented a crisis intervention program, the filing said. “Any pattern or practice of unconstitutional force that existed has been eliminated.”

    The request will go to the federal judge in Washington state who oversaw the police department’s progress and compliance in implementing police reform since the consent decree was signed in 2012.

    If approved, the end of the consent decree will mark a significant milestone in the function of federally supervised implementation of police reforms. There are several similar and ongoing consent decrees with police departments across the country, as well as pattern-and-practice investigations like the one conducted in Seattle.

    Critics of consent decrees point to the years-long agreements as proof that federal oversight and investigations can last several years. Early in the Biden administration, the Justice Department implemented new reforms to try and curtail the length of the federal oversight.

    Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division said during a news conference Tuesday that the Seattle Police Department “reached and sustained compliance with our consent decree by consistently implementing reforms necessary to change policing in this city.”

    “Seattle stands as a model for the kind of change and reform that can be achieved when communities, police departments, and cities come together to repair and address systemic misconduct,” Clarke said.

    She continued: “The overall message today is that policing in Seattle looks dramatically different today than it did 10 years ago. The consent degree in Seattle has provided the strong medicine necessary to cure the problems and improve the way policing is carried out across the city of Seattle.”

    The city established a community policing commission and fostered better trust between residents and the police department, Clarke said. The use of force has become rare, appearing in “fewer than one quarter of one percent” of instances, she said. In addition, the department has adopted a “bias-free policing policy,” and more than 90% of police stops are now supported by “reasonable, articulable suspicion.”

    The police department, Clarke said, has pledged to continue monitoring their reforms.

    The Justice Department and the city of Seattle asked for continued, narrow federal oversight in two instances where they say the police department still struggles, “ensuring a sustainable system of accountability” and “improving the use, reporting, and review of force in crowd settings.” Clarke said Seattle is still reviewing the use of police force during the racial justice protests in 2020, and “that work must be completed before it’s appropriate to fully end court oversight on that issue.”

    “While the Justice Department is opening new pattern or practice investigations into police departments across the country,” Clarke said, “we are also achieving significant progress in cities that have worked for years to institute reforms that are called for by our consent decrees.”

    The Justice Department has initiated several probes, including into the police departments in Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Mount Vernon, New York.

    This story has been updated with additional details.

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