Cops Go Free After Violently Beating Teen (Graphic Image)

Organizations hoping to bury unpleasant or potentially controversial news traditionally release information late Friday, in the hope that many folks already in weekend mode miss the development. A classic example: Justice Department reps chose Friday at 6:30 p.m. to inform Alex Landau that they would not be charging the three Denver police officers who brutally beat him with federal civil rights violations. No surprise that Landau is incensed by this turn of events, as are numerous supporters. Look below for details, the lawsuit and more photos from after the incident.
As Joel Warner reported in detail for his 2011 feature article "Black and Blue," Landau was a nineteen-year-old Community College of Denver student when he was pulled over by police on January 15, 2009, allegedly for making an illegal left turn.

Alex Landau's jacket after his beating by police. More photos below. Warning: They're graphic.

Marijuana was subsequently found on Landau's passenger, a fellow student named Addison Hunold, prompting the officers -- identified in the lawsuit as Ricky Nixon, Randy Murr and Tiffany Middleton -- to ask if they could search his trunk. Landau is said to have responded by stepping toward the officers and quizzing them about whether or not they had a warrant -- at which point they began punching him in the face. The attack caused Landau to fall, but the beating continued for several minutes, with one officer yelling, "He's going for the gun." (Landau was unarmed.) Once they finally stopped the assault, one officer reportedly put the following question to him: "Where's that warrant now, you fucking nigger?" A lawsuit over the incident was filed in January 2011, and Landau eventually received a $795,000 settlement from the City of Denver for the damage done to him. But officers Nixon, Murr and Middleton still have not been punished for their actions in the incident. Murr was eventually fired for taking part in another high-profile excessive-force case involving Michael DeHerrera, and Nixon, too, was canned in connection with his role in an alleged assault on four women at the Denver Diner, also in 2009. However, he was later reinstated and remains on the Denver police force, as does Middleton.
Last week, a Denver judge ruled that the city could be put on trial for police brutality over the Denver Diner case -- and the officers who pummeled Landau could still face punishment resulting from a Manager of Safety inquiry whose results were delayed due to the federal investigation. But this prospect offers little solace to Landau.
Look below to see a Landau's statement, included in a release by the Colorado Progressive Coalition, with which he now works; that release also features comments by CPC racial justice and civil rights program director Mu Son Chi. In addition, we've got remarks from Holland, Holland, Edwards & Grossman, the law firm that represents Landau. extremely graphic.
The decision by the Federal Bureau of Investigation not to charge officers with civil rights violations in investigation of the Alex Landau beating by no means lessens Colorado Progressive Coalitions resolve to see officers Tiffany Middleton, Randy Murr and Ricky Nixon removed from the force. While the investigation did not find sufficient evidence to prove the civil rights of Landau had been infringed upon, the decision does not vindicate officers who are still under investigation by the Denver Police Department for the beating that left Landau with neurological damage and in shock was proper.

"What is justice? If the Department of Justice, guided by the FBI probe cannot prove enough evidence in such a blatant case of police brutality, police misconduct, and racial discrimination to produce charges against these officers, then I don't believe our justice system has come far enough.
"In 2009, when I was a 19-year-old college student, I was pulled over by Denver Police. When I calmly asked to see a warrant after officers had already patted me down, I was grabbed, punched repeatedly, brought to the ground, hit in the face with a radio, hit in the face with a flashlight, had a service revolver pressed to my head, my life threatened, and thrown into the gutter. I lost consciousness and I awoke to officers laughing at me. I was asked, 'Where's that warrant now you fucking nigger.' I was dragged across the grass and left on a police jacket to bleed. I wouldn't allow any medical treatment until I got photos and, because of that, went into shock on the way to the hospital. My witness was coerced into writing a false statement. I was falsely charged with felony criminal intent to disarm a police officer. Officers falsified testimony, evidence, and documents to try to cover up their actions. When I went to file a complaint with Internal Affairs, I was told to own up to my actions as a man and that it's not always a good idea to play the race card. My case has been mishandled from the beginning."
"I attended the first day of college with 45 stiches, a broken nose, a concussion, and a brain injury. But none of this is considered sufficient evidence by the Department of Justice or the FBI to bring civil rights violations against these officers who beat me almost to death and then laughed about it. Our community is not laughing. After over 4 years of delay I am concerned that this may be used as a way to overlook officer discipline yet again. In my mind and the eyes of the community, these officers will never be vindicated of their actions. Officers who have assaulted our community need to be taken off the streets."
Mu Son Chi, Colorado Progressive Coalition's Racial Justice and Civil Rights Program Director, explained that the community continues to wait on the Denver Police Department to hand out discipline to the officers involved in Landau's case.
"We have called on the federal government for years to join us in seeking justice for our community. Perhaps they will join us some day. In the meantime, we are not waiting on anyone to continue the fight for justice with Alex Landau and others who have had their lives negatively impacted by racial profiling and police violence.
"We acknowledge the work done by the city to expedite the process for discipline and to streamline the appeals process. However, we are still waiting on discipline in this case. Alex Landau is still waiting after over four years for officers to be disciplined. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the recent rules changes by the city do not change that fact."
CPC is calling on community members to join them on Feb. 16 at 3:30 to attend a meeting in which survivors of police misconduct and brutality, including Landau, will be speaking. During the event, CPC will release its Truth and Justice Report, which details police misconduct data collected through its Racial Profiling Hotline. The event will occur at the CPC offices at 1029 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO 80204.
"Today, we will call on our community to join our members in the fight for justice," said Chi.

Handcuffed Man Shot, Killed Himself In Cop Car?

This story is shocking and I don't have the words to describe the injustice that I feel is being perpertrated on this poor family. Based on the little evidence we do know about what happened that day, it seems that something does not quite add up with the polices recolection of the incident. I do not see how a man handcuffed behind his back, manages to shoot himself near the front of his head. Not only does that defy physic, it defies common sense. Not all the facts are evident yet, but so far it seems like this police department has not even bothered to make up a credible story in defense of their actions. The spokesperson was so nonchalant about how his  police department routinely miss contraband during pat-downs. To begin, that is nothing to be proud of and as a police department, I would hope those in charge would realize that it is not an excuse but a liability.   If does turn out that the officer did miss a firearm during a so called routine pat down, and it turns out that the police were correct in their recollection of that day's event they are still somewhat culpable due to their failure to do an insential and now in hindsight life saving aspect of their duties as Police Officers!

Obama a 'Metrosexual Abe Lincoln'? Absurd GOP Attack Plan Exposed - YouTube

Obama a 'Metrosexual Abe Lincoln'? Absurd GOP Attack Plan Exposed - YouTube

  WASHINGTON — A group of high-profile Republican strategists is working with a conservative billionaire on a proposal to mount one of the most provocative campaigns of the “super PAC” era and attack President Obama in ways that Republicans have so far shied away from.

Timed to upend the Democratic National Convention in September, the plan would “do exactly what John McCain would not let us do,” the strategists wrote.

The plan, which is awaiting approval, calls for running commercials linking Mr. Obama to incendiary comments by his former spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., whose race-related sermons made him a highly charged figure in the 2008 campaign.

“The world is about to see Jeremiah Wright and understand his influence on Barack Obama for the first time in a big, attention-arresting way,” says the proposal, which was overseen by Fred Davis and commissioned by Joe Ricketts, the founder of the brokerage firm TD Ameritrade. Mr. Ricketts is increasingly putting his fortune to work in conservative politics.

The $10 million plan, one of several being studied by Mr. Ricketts, includes preparations for how to respond to the charges of race-baiting it envisions if it highlights Mr. Obama’s former ties to Mr. Wright, who espouses what is known as “black liberation theology.”

The group suggested hiring as a spokesman an “extremely literate conservative African-American” who can argue that Mr. Obama misled the nation by presenting himself as what the proposal calls a “metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln.”

A copy of a detailed advertising plan was obtained by The New York Times through a person not connected to the proposal who was alarmed by its tone. It is titled “The Defeat of Barack Hussein Obama: The Ricketts Plan to End His Spending for Good.”

The proposal was presented last week in Chicago to associates and family members of Mr. Ricketts, who is also the patriarch of the family that owns the Chicago Cubs.

Brian Baker, president and general counsel of a super PAC called the Ending Spending Action Fund, said Mr. Ricketts had studied several advertising proposals in recent months and had not signed off on a specific approach to taking on Mr. Obama.

“Joe Ricketts is prepared to spend significant resources in the 2012 election in both the presidential race and Congressional races,” Mr. Baker said in an interview Wednesday. “He is very concerned about the future direction of the country and plans to take a stand.”

The document makes clear that the effort is only in the planning stages and awaiting full approval from Mr. Ricketts. People involved in the planning said the publicity now certain to surround it could send the strategists back to the drawing board.

But it serves as a rare, detailed look at the birth of the sort of political sneak attack that has traditionally been hatched in the shadows and has become a staple of presidential politics.

It also shows how a single individual can create his own movement and spend unlimited sums to have major influence on a presidential election in a campaign finance environment in which groups operating independently of candidates are flourishing.

Should the plan proceed, it would run counter to the strategy being employed by Mitt Romney’s team, which has so far avoided such attacks. The Romney campaign has sought to focus attention on the economy, and has concluded that personal attacks on Mr. Obama, who is still well liked personally by most independent voters surveyed for polls, could backfire.

Mr. Ricketts has become an increasingly active player in Republican politics through several political action committees, including Ending Spending. He has a son, Pete, who is a member of the Republican National Committee from Nebraska and a daughter, Laura, who is a top contributor to Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign. She has not been involved in her father’s political efforts.

The 54-page proposal was professionally bound and illustrated with color photographs, indicating that it is far beyond a mere discussion. The strategists have already contacted Larry Elder, a black conservative radio host in Los Angeles, about serving as a spokesman, and the plan calls for a group of black business leaders to endorse the effort. The strategists have also registered a domain name, Character Matters. 

Read the Rest of the article at the NEW YORK TIMES here -  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/us/politics/gop-super-pac-weighs-hard-line-attack-on-obama.html?_r=1

Trayvon Martin Smear Campaign - YouTube

The Trayvon Martin Smear Campaign/ Victim Misinformation! 

Here is the link to the original YouTube discussion. Please feel free to leave any comments!
Trayvon Martin Smear Campaign - YouTube

George Zimmerman Police Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPMF9gfQm9g&feature=uploademail

White People, You Will Never Look Suspicious! by Michael Skolnik Read more: http://globalgrind.com/node/828497#ixzz1pohlPZCn

 



I will never look suspicious to you. Even if I have a black hoodie, a pair of jeans and white sneakers on...in fact, that is what I wore yesterday...I still will never look suspicious. No matter how much the hoodie covers my face or how baggie my jeans are, I will never look out of place to you.  I will never watch a taxi cab pass me by to pick someone else up. I will never witness someone clutch their purse tightly against their body as they walk by me.  I won't have to worry about a police car following me for two miles, so they can "run my plates."  I will never have to pay before I eat. And I certainly will never get "stopped and frisked."  I will never look suspicious to you, because of one thing and one thing only.  The color of my skin.  I am white.
I was born white.  It was the card I was dealt.  No choice in the matter.  Just the card handed out by the dealer. I have lived my whole life privileged. Privileged to be born without a glass ceiling. Privileged to grow up in the richest country in the world.  Privileged to never look suspicious.  I have no guilt for the color of my skin or the privilege that I have.  Remember, it was just the next card that came out of the deck.  But, I have choices.  I got choices on how I play the hand I was dealt.  I got a lot of options.  The ball is in my court.
So, today I decided to hit the ball.  Making a choice.  A choice to stand up for Trayvon Martin. 17 years old. black. innocent. murdered with a bag of skittles and a bottle of ice tea in his hands. "Suspicious." that is what the guy who killed him said he looked like cause he had on a black hoodie, a pair of jeans and white sneakers.  But, remember I had on that same outfit yesterday.  And yes my Air Force Ones were "brand-new" clean.  After all, I was raised in hip-hop...part of our dress code.  I digress.  Back to Trayvon and the gated community in Sanford, Florida, where he was visiting his father.
I got a lot of emails about Trayvon.  I have read a lot of articles.  I have seen a lot of

Read more: http://globalgrind.com/node/828497#ixzz1poiF0wNW