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A young man with Down syndrome was killed by three cops for wanting to watch a movie—cops claim that suing them sets a bad precedent. The three cops facing a wrongful-death suit in connection with the homicide of a young man with Down syndrome are claiming that they shouldn’t be sued because if the case goes forward, it could set a bad precedent. Apparently, holding police officers accountable for escalating unnecessary force to the point of killing a non-violent, unarmed man with Down syndrome could send a message to other officers that violence against those with disabilities is unwelcome. The...

A Washington man is dead after police tasered him four times and beat him with their fists and a flashlight, according to eyewitnesses. Neighbors report that what happened between 44-year-old Ron Hillstrom and University Place police was essentially murder. “You beat this man to death last night for no reason and we caught you, period,” said one of Hillstrom’s neighbors, who saw the incident. Police were called to the parking lot of Hillstrom’s apartment complex in the early morning hours. Hillstrom was having some sort of psychotic episode: He was pacing in a circle and muttering that people were after...

In pursuit of a dangerous black male killer, Los Angeles Police Department officers mistook two Latina woman for the suspect and fired one hundred shots. Then, Torrance Officer Brian McGee thought he saw the suspect’s vehicle and rammed into it at full speed, nearly killing the innocent driver, David Perdue, a white man. McGee also fired three shots at Perdue. But L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey has decided not to press charges against McGee, since his error was “a reasonable mistake.”

Does any FReeper have a link or other news concerning a follow-up investigation on the Dec. 15 chase and police shooting video from KTLA helicopter in this thread? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3102363/posts

“The hour-long pursuit came to an end in downtown Los Angeles when the reckless driver in a silver Corvette slammed into another vehicle. The suspect then stumbled out of the car and was shot dead by police, officials said.” As the driver in an hour-long pursuit fell forward in the hail of gunfire, even the on-air anchors seemed taken aback. Police had just used lethal force to subdue the subject of a high-speed chase….a chase that involved dangerously high speeds and occurred for the most part in residential areas. One thing stands out though. The man for all intents and...

Watch where you step or you might walk into a photobomb beat down. Three people in Denver face charges for beating a man unconscious after he stepped into frame for one of their photos, authorities said. The unidentified victim, 30, suffered facial damage, intracranial hemorrhaging and permanent blindness in his right eye, reported The Denver Channel. In the early morning hours of May 11, that man accidentally stepped into the shot outside a bar and infuriated Bryanna Warren, 25, who started arguing with and pushing the man, according to an arrest affidavit. He pushed back to get Warren off him...

MANKATO, Minn. - Police shot and killed a naked man who apparently broke into an apartment and threatened the officers with broken glass.

[W}hen one is faced with a deadly threat...talk to those who have won in life's ultimate contest, to see what they saw, felt and heard, the rest of us will be better able to understand what to expect and how to prepare for it. Without fail, the people who remember seeing or using their front sight are the ones who were prepared to engage in combat. Good examples of this are soldiers on the field of battle or SWAT cops who know going in that they are quite likely to shoot. These folks kept sights in their "cone of vision"...

NEW ORLEANS — The situation in New Orleans was nearing rock bottom Friday as thousands of National Guardsmen armed with food, water and weapons streamed into the hurricane-ravaged city to bring relief to the suffering multitudes and take back the streets from the looters and armed vigilantes.

Sheriff's office awards Medals of Distinction The Medal of Distinction is given to deputies who perform a distinguished act of courage involving serious risk and danger to save or protect human life or who are exposed to grave personal risk during an investigation and accept those risks. The other deputies who were awarded the medal this year all had used deadly force: Deputy Alan Morrical and his police dog, Chaos, were involved in an incident on April 18, 2004, in Riverton. Morrical fired a shot at Chad Thomson, 32, who had been cornered by Chaos in a neighbor's back yard....

A confrontation between a West Mobile man and a sheriff's deputy turned deadly this afternoon. Investigators say the deputy shot 41 year old Jimmy Booth in Booth's front yard. It happened on Peachtree Avenue around three o'clock. Investigators say Mobile County Chief Deputy Mark Barlow fatally shot booth after Booth charged Barlow with two knives. But neighbors question whether lethal force was necessary. "You don't go to a gun fight with a knife, and it seem like they could have shot him in the knees, they could of you know why shoot him two times in the chest," says neighbor...