Police Shootings / Possible Abuse Threads [merged] (4 Viewers)

[Optimus Prime]

The chief of police in Portland, Oregon, acknowledged this week that the force had misled the public about a deadly attack on traffic-safety volunteers before a Black Lives Matter protest in 2022, by wrongly telling the media that the gunman had been confronted by “armed protesters”.

In fact, as a visual investigation by the research group Forensic Architecture first published by the Guardian last year showed, the traffic-safety volunteers at the 19 February 2022 protest were unarmed, and trying to de-escalate the rightwing gunman when he opened fire.

The mass shooting, which claimed the lives of two people and left three others injured, was stopped by a volunteer armed guard for the protest who rushed to the scene, shot the gunman in the hip and disarmed him.


In a recorded video statement posted online Wednesday, Bob Day, the Portland police bureau chief, issued a public apology for the misinformation about the attack provided to the media by the police. “I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the incredible pain and trauma this tragedy has caused,” Day said. “In addition, I want to recognize the role the Portland police bureau played in exacerbating that pain.”

“Following the shooting, PPB issued a news release calling the perpetrator of this violent act a homeowner, when in fact he was not,” Day said. “Additionally, the victims were mischaracterized as armed protesters when, in fact, they were unarmed traffic-safety volunteers”.……..

Portland police chief apologizes to mass shooting victims falsely said to be armed

Investigation first published by the Guardian proved volunteers at 2022 Black Lives Matter protest were unarmed

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

An Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been charged with murder after fatally shooting a Black woman who called 911 to report a possible prowler.

Sangamon county deputy Sean Grayson, who’s white, shot 36-year-old Sonya Massey in the face in her home in Springfield, Illinois – about 200 miles south of Chicago – after deputies responded to her 6 July call.

Prosecutors alleged that after Grayson, 30, allowed Massey to move a pot of water heating on the stove and set it on a counter. Grayson then “aggressively yelled” at Massey over the pot and pulled his 9mm pistol. Massey then put her hands in the air, declared “I’m sorry” and ducked for cover before being shot in the face.

In its statement issued the day of the incident, the Sangamon county sheriff’s office initially said “deputies immediately administered first aid until EMS arrived” after Massey was shot, but prosecutors allege Grayson discouraged the other deputy from getting his medical kit to save her.……

Illinois deputy charged with murder after shooting a Black woman

Sonya Massey called 911 to report a prowler when Sean Grayson ‘aggressively yelled’ and fatally shot her in face

www.theguardian.com

The family of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who was shot dead by a white police officer in Illinois last summer after she called 911, has reached a $10 million settlement over her death, according to reports.

After “extensive confidential discussion” between attorneys for Massey’s family and officials in Sangamon County, the two parties have agreed to settle through mediation, according to a memo seen by CBS News.

Massey, 36, was shot and killed by Sean Grayson, a former sheriff’s deputy, in her own home on July 6, 2024, after calling 911 to report a potential intruder.…….

Family of Sonya Massey, woman shot dead by cop, reach $10 million settlement

Sonya Massey was fatally shot by a police officer in her own home last summer

www.independent.co.uk