Milwaukee Endures Two Nights of Unrest after Police Shooting: Two nights of violent protests in Milwaukee, following the fatal shooting of an armed black man by a police officer on Saturday, has resulted in 11 wounded officers, a teen seriously injured by gunfire, 14 arrests for disorderly conduct and significant damage to the city. Fox News reports that nearly a dozen officers were wounded after demonstrators turned violent, hurling chunks of concrete and rocks at them and shattering squad car windows. The city's ShotSpotter system recorded 48 instances of gunfire on Saturday and 30 on Sunday, with one of those instances injuring an 18-year-old man who had to be retrieved by an armored vehicle. Businesses were looted and burned on Saturday and on Sunday, three squad cars were damaged, a police BearCat was struck by two bullets, a car and several dumpsters were set on fire and a store's window was smashed. The violence erupted following the death of Sylville Smith, who was shot by an officer during a traffic stop on Saturday after he refused to drop his gun when the officer ordered him to. Police Chief Edward Flynn declined to identify the officer but said he is black, and his body camera footage clearly shows a gun in Smith's hand and he "was raising up with it. The officer "certainly appeared to be within lawful bounds," said Flynn. An investigation into the shooting is still ongoing.
GA Officer Fatally Shot, Suspect on the Loose: A Georgia police officer was fatally shot over the weekend by a suspect who is still at large. The AP reports that Eastman Patrol Officer Tim Smith, 31, was shot and killed Saturday evening while responding to a call of a suspicious person and encountering Royheem Delshawn Deeds, 24, who then fled the scene. Smith was a father of three children and had been with the Eastman Police Department since 2011. His death came just hours before two teenage suspects were arrested after opening fire at three officers outside Atlanta. Officer Scott Davis, a 10-year veteran, was shot in the leg and is recovering in the hospital. A manhunt is underway for Deeds.
Audit of CA Gang Database Finds Numerous Errors: An audit of California's gang database, CalGang, found several problems regarding privacy issues, transparency and control. CBS reports that the state began compiling a database of known gangsters and gang affiliates in 2003 so law enforcement agencies could access it for the purpose of adding people to gang injunctions, supporting arguments for sentencing enhancements in court and even disqualifying families from living in public housing. The recent audit, conducted by State Auditor Elaine M. Howle, found numerous issues with CalGang, the most egregious of which was 42 individuals added to the list "whose birthdates indicated that they were less than one year old at the time their information was entered, 28 of whom were entered into the system in part because they admitted to being gang members." Other problems included: adding individuals without sufficient evidence, difficulty removing individuals despite sufficient evidence, the illegal use of the database for employment screening and inadequate parental notification for juveniles put on the list, violating a 2013 law. CalGang is state-funded and overseen by an executive board and advisory committee comprised of local law enforcement with no statutory authority.
GA Officer Fatally Shot, Suspect on the Loose: A Georgia police officer was fatally shot over the weekend by a suspect who is still at large. The AP reports that Eastman Patrol Officer Tim Smith, 31, was shot and killed Saturday evening while responding to a call of a suspicious person and encountering Royheem Delshawn Deeds, 24, who then fled the scene. Smith was a father of three children and had been with the Eastman Police Department since 2011. His death came just hours before two teenage suspects were arrested after opening fire at three officers outside Atlanta. Officer Scott Davis, a 10-year veteran, was shot in the leg and is recovering in the hospital. A manhunt is underway for Deeds.
Audit of CA Gang Database Finds Numerous Errors: An audit of California's gang database, CalGang, found several problems regarding privacy issues, transparency and control. CBS reports that the state began compiling a database of known gangsters and gang affiliates in 2003 so law enforcement agencies could access it for the purpose of adding people to gang injunctions, supporting arguments for sentencing enhancements in court and even disqualifying families from living in public housing. The recent audit, conducted by State Auditor Elaine M. Howle, found numerous issues with CalGang, the most egregious of which was 42 individuals added to the list "whose birthdates indicated that they were less than one year old at the time their information was entered, 28 of whom were entered into the system in part because they admitted to being gang members." Other problems included: adding individuals without sufficient evidence, difficulty removing individuals despite sufficient evidence, the illegal use of the database for employment screening and inadequate parental notification for juveniles put on the list, violating a 2013 law. CalGang is state-funded and overseen by an executive board and advisory committee comprised of local law enforcement with no statutory authority.
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