This is the moment the film-maker Christopher Frierson was pepper-sprayed by police while recording anti-racism protests in Brooklyn, New York. The footage shows toxic fumes hitting the camera lens; simultaneously you hear Frierson's visceral groans of pain as he stumbles and falls to the ground. Within moments he was dragged by protesters to the side of the road. The 37-year-old was unable to see for 10 minutes after the incident
Continue reading...Category Archives: Police
‘They have killed us more than corona’: Kenyans protest against police brutality
Peaceful demonstration in Nairobi a response to increase in violence and killings during the coronavirus curfew
Photographs by Ed Ram
A crowd of up to 200 people peacefully marched through Mathare slum in Nairobi on Monday to protest against police brutality and an increase in extrajudicial killings in the Kenyan capital.
The march was organised by three grassroots organisations from the area in response to a rise in the number of police killings since a dusk-till-dawn curfew was enforced in March to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. It was also organised to show solidarity with movements worldwide to protest against police brutality.
Continue reading...How Hollywood has tried, and mostly failed, to tackle police racism
From Birth of a Nation to Watchmen, the big and small screens have tried to wrestle with racial tensions within law enforcement with mixed results
As we’ve all seen, when it comes to American police brutality, the gloves are now off and the masks too. Faced with yet more incontrovertible evidence of brutal and racist policing – both the killing of George Floyd and others, and some forces’ response to the public protests – it has become virtually impossible to maintain the image of American law enforcement officers as straightforward protectors and servers of the people.
Related: George Floyd protests: fired officer to appear in court as calls to defund police sweep US – live
Continue reading...‘Shame!’: Minneapolis mayor heckled by protesters – video
Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, was heckled by a crowd of protesters telling him to 'go home' on Saturday after he ruled out defunding the police department during a demonstration.
A majority of the Minneapolis city council pledged on Sunday to disband the police department, with a veto-proof majority, council members declared their intent to 'dismantle' and 'abolish' the embattled police agency responsible for George Floyd’s death
- Minneapolis lawmakers vow to disband police department in historic move
- George Floyd protests enter third week as push for change sweeps America
‘We’ll disappear you’: Mexican protesters recount terror of police abduction
Five friends were seized en route to a rally against police brutality, which followed the death of a man arrested for not wearing a face mask
Jésus* and four friends were heading to a protest against police brutality when they were seized by a group of plain-clothes officers and forced into an unmarked pickup truck.
They had planned to join a demonstration in Guadalajara, prompted by the case of Giovanni López, a construction worker who was found dead after he was arrested for not wearing a face-mask.
Continue reading...German suspect in Madeleine McCann case linked to two more child disappearances
Father of six-year-old who vanished in Portugal in 1996 hopes to finally learn what happened to his son
The father of a six-year-old German boy who disappeared on holiday in Portugal nearly 24 years ago says the recent dramatic developments in the Madeleine McCann case have given him hope he will finally learn what happened to his son.
Andreas Hasee said a German investigator called him on Friday to confirm they were reopening the case of his missing son, René, following the identification of the prime suspect in the 2007 disappearance of three-year old Madeleine.
Continue reading...Canada police under scrutiny after two women die after encounters with officers
Agency faces criticism over its capacity to de-escalate situations involving racial minorities or those with mental health issues
Police in Canada are facing growing scrutiny after two women – both members of ethnic minorities and both suffering mental health problems – died following encounters with officers.
The deaths come as tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in the US in protest over police violence against racial minorities, prompted by the police killing of George Floyd.
Continue reading...‘Get your knee off our necks’: Al Sharpton delivers eulogy at George Floyd memorial – video
Delivering the eulogy at a memorial service for George Floyd in Minneapolis, the Reverend Al Sharpton said: 'George Floyd's story has been the story of black folks.' In an emotive speech punctuated by several standing ovations, Sharpton said the sight of diverse crowds of protesters across the world gave him hope that real change would come to the criminal justice system
Continue reading...‘Sing his name’: thousands gather in London for George Floyd protest – video
Thousands of protesters have marched through central London in an overwhelmingly peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration that culminated in passionate crowds gathering at the heart of Westminster.
The demonstrators, the vast majority of whom were under 30, chanted: 'No justice, no peace, no racist police', 'I can’t breathe' and 'the UK is not innocent', in a lockdown-defying demonstration that was largely organised through word of mouth and social media away from established anti-racism groups.
Continue reading...Met feared ‘serious disorder’ if lockdown rules were enforced at racism protest
Scotland Yard chief Cressida Dick also calls for justice and accountability following death of George Floyd
Britain’s top officer has said police feared there would be violence if they tried to intervene with protesters in London angered by the brutal death of George Floyd at the hands of an American officer.
Demonstrators at protests in London on Sunday and Tuesday flouted coronavirus lockdown rules on how many people can gather together.
Continue reading...RAC hits out at ‘truly shocking’ lockdown speeding offences
Data reveals police recorded seven incidents of motorists in UK driving over 130mph
Two-thirds of Britain’s police forces caught people driving in excess of 100mph during the first three weeks of the coronavirus lockdown, new data has shown.
The extreme speeds were not confined to motorways, as drivers also took the drop in traffic as an invitation to break the law on urban roads, thus endangering lives, police said.
Continue reading...George Floyd protests: New York police cars filmed driving into crowd – video
Footage of two police SUVs driving into a crowd of demonstrators in Brooklyn has been widely shared on social media. The incident involving NYPD vehicles occurred near Prospect Park on 30 May, as protests took place across the US following the death of George Floyd, an African American who died after a police officer kneeled on his neck in Minneapolis. New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: 'Running SUVs in crowds of people should never, ever be normalised. No matter who does it, no matter why.'
Continue reading...Killer Mike: ‘You have a duty not to burn your own house down’ – video
Rapper Killer Mike addressed demonstrators in Atlanta asking them not to destroy the city but to 'plot, plan, strategise, organise and mobilise' for political change.
'I'm mad as Hell,' he said, tearful at a news conference on Friday night, urging protesters to seek political reform instead of destroying the city of Atlanta
- Protests rock cities across US as anger over killing spreads
- Atlanta police chief: ‘black lives being diminished’
George Floyd: aerial footage shows protesters block LA highway – video
Protests after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis grew as demonstrators rallied in Los Angeles, marching through the city and blocking both sides of a freeway.
Floyd, who was black, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, which was captured on video
- George Floyd killing: sister says officers should face murder charge as protests grow
- Hundreds demand justice in Minneapolis after police killing of George Floyd
‘I realised my body was burning’: police brutality in Uganda lockdown
Street vendor Alanyo Joyce says she was about to close her fried chicken stall for curfew when an official kicked a pan of boiling oil over her
In her small home in Gulu, northern Uganda, Alanyo Joyce dabs at her bare breasts. In some areas, pink and oozing, the skin has been burnt off. It hurts, deeply, from the bone, she says. She is also grappling with her new appearance – the burns extend across her face, arms and legs, as well as her chest.
On Wednesday, 8 April, the softly-spoken 31-year-old was cooking chips and chicken at her usual spot in the city when she realised it was approaching 7pm. A nationwide curfew had been in place for just a week, as part of Uganda’s coronavirus lockdown.
Continue reading...Lockdown violators using Cummings as excuse, say police
Police commissioner warns of public pushback over Covid-19 containment measures
Lockdown rule-breakers are using the controversial actions of the prime minister’s top adviser, Dominic Cummings, as an excuse, a police and crime commissioner has warned.
The West Midlands PCC, David Jamieson, revealed he had received intelligence that officers are getting “pushback” from members of the public breaching Covid-19 containment measures after Downing Street’s defence of Cummings’ 264-mile lockdown trip.
Continue reading...Met police officer investigated after man shot with Taser stun gun is left paralysed
Outcry after man, 23, fell from wall after stun gun was fired in Haringey, north London
A police officer has been placed under criminal investigation after a man was shot with a Taser weapon and left paralysed from the waist down, the Guardian has learned.
The man, 23, was shot by an officer using a stun gun as he jumped over a wall and fell as officers tried to detain him in Haringey, north London.
Continue reading...Police watchdog investigates London stun gun shooting
Concerns raised about ‘disproportionate’ use of force after young black man is seriously injured
The police watchdog has launched an investigation into the conduct of three officers after a black man in his 20s was left with a life-changing injury in an incident in north London where he was shot with a stun gun.
Police on patrol in Haringey chased the man on Monday after he ran away from them following an approach, it is understood. They used the stun gun as he jumped over a wall and he fell, suffering serious back injuries, which his family fear could leave him at least partially paralysed.
Continue reading...No 10 battles to regain control of lockdown messaging amid fierce criticism
PM’s roadmap announcement thrown into chaos by newspaper headlines heralding significant easing
The government was on Thursday evening urgently trying to regain control of the next phase of the pandemic crisis as it faced fierce criticism and warnings that mixed messaging was priming the public to give up on the lockdown.
Related: PM will announce modest changes to UK lockdown, says Raab
Continue reading...EU wants UK to share more data before it grants access to crime-fighting system
European committee says Britain should share same amount of fingerprint data as member states
The UK should be denied access to an EU crime-fighting system until it agrees to share more fingerprint data with member states, a European parliamentary committee has said.
The vote, in the European parliament’s justice and home affairs committee on Thursday, is not binding on EU decision-makers, but could prove influential as the UK seeks to negotiate a permanent deal on the exchange of fingerprint, DNA and other data as part of a long-term security relationship with the EU.
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