Rise of the Warrior Cop

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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby seemslikeadream » Mon Sep 08, 2014 9:04 am

The Pentagon gave local cops nearly 12,000 bayonets over the past 8 years
Updated by German Lopez on September 3, 2014, 3:30 p.m. ET @germanrlopez german@vox.com

Through the 1033 program, the federal government has geared America's local police departments with military-grade equipment — ranging from airplanes to bayonets — worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

NPR combed through the transaction data for the program to find out where the equipment went and what kind of gear was involved. Since 2006, the Pentagon distributed more than 79,000 assault rifles, 205 grenade launchers, nearly 12,000 bayonets, nearly 4,000 combat knives, 50 airplanes, 479 bomb detonator robots, and much more to America's local cops.

One chart from NPR shows the counties that got the most guns per 1,000 people through the program:

guns per 1,000 people 1033 program
Image
(NPR)

It's not immediately clear why some of these places would need so much military-grade equipment. With the notable exception of Starr County, Texas, the counties and states on the list have modest crime rates, and they aren't hotbeds for drug or terrorist activity — the two main targets of the federal government's police militarization schemes.*

The proliferation of such weapons could soon come to an end. Following outcry against police militarization during the August protests in Ferguson, Missouri, the Obama administration ordered a review that will consider whether local police should have the equipment, whether they need to receive more training if they obtain the gear, and how the federal government can better oversee the equipment's use. The Pentagon said it could even take back some of the equipment if it's deemed necessary.

To learn more about the militarization of police and how it relates to Ferguson, read the full explainer on the 1033 program, the full card stack on Ferguson, and watch the short video below:



*Update: This description was updated to include all counties on the chart, instead of just the first two.

CARD 10 OF 13 LAUNCH CARDS
Why do police have military-grade equipment in the first place?
The federal government has been arming local police departments with military-grade equipment for decades through multiple federal schemes, particularly the 1033 program.

The 1033 program transfers surplus military-grade equipment from the Pentagon to local police. It does not, however, provide training or oversight for the equipment's use.

The program is also loaded with what many experts view as a perverse incentive: to keep the equipment, local police must use it within a year. This incentive, some experts argue, might encourage police to use the weapons even when they're not necessary.

Ferguson protests police

Police watch over demonstrators in Ferguson. (Scott Olson / Getty Images News)

Law enforcement in Ferguson and surrounding St. Louis County have received several pieces of equipment through the 1033 program, including rifles, night vision goggles, and utility trucks. The mine-resistant trucks seen in Ferguson reportedly came from another unnamed source, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Public Safety told Newsweek.

The 1033 program is only one of several policies arming local police departments with this kind of equipment. Other programs from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice also subsidize or supply the gear to police.

The programs helped lead to a proliferation of SWAT teams across the country. With the new teams and equipment, local police have conducted more SWAT raids. A report from the American Civil Liberties Union found these raids are much more likely to hit predominantly black neighborhoods, while white neighborhoods are much less likely to be affected.

In response to outcry against police militarization following the events in Ferguson, the Obama administration ordered a comprehensive review of the policies that supplied local police departments with military-grade equipment. The review will consider whether local police should have the equipment, whether they need to receive more training if they obtain the gear, and how the federal government can better oversee the equipment's use.
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby stefano » Tue Oct 21, 2014 7:09 am

stefano » Thu Aug 14, 2014 3:33 pm wrote:
The Derp and the Horror

Made me think of a snarky crack from The Economist earlier this year (whole article very good on this subject):

These programmes provide useful defensive equipment, such as body armour and helmets. But it is hard to see why Fargo, North Dakota—a city that averages fewer than two murders a year—needs an armoured personnel-carrier with a rotating turret. Keene, a small town in New Hampshire which had three homicides between 1999 and 2012, spent nearly $286,000 on an armoured personnel-carrier known as a BearCat. The local police chief said it would be used to patrol Keene’s “Pumpkin Festival and other dangerous situations”.
[...]
No one wants to eliminate SWAT teams. Imminent threats to human life require a swift, forceful response. That, say critics, is what SWAT teams should be used for: not for serving warrants on people suspected of nonviolent crimes, breaking up poker games or seeing that the Pumpkin Festival doesn’t get out of hand.


Hilariously, the Keene Pumpkin Festival did get out of hand at the weekend, with scores of disaffected white youths going on the rampage. Police turned out in their riot kit.

Brian Fleurantin @BrFleurantin
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Where are the leaders in the white community? They need to speak out #pumpkinfest
6:19 AM - 19 Oct 2014


Kevin Gosztola @kgosztola
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How many of the defiant white youth causing mayhem & destruction come from fatherless families? #PumpkinRiot


Katje @silentkpants
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If white people continue to glorify pumpkin violence in their culture they deserve the spice-latte thug stereotypes.
6:58 AM - 19 Oct 2014
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby Luther Blissett » Mon Nov 24, 2014 4:25 pm

Ohio is an open-carry state, and Tamir Rice was sitting on a swing when he was murdered by the pigs, who told him "drop the gun" (which wasn't in his hands at the time) and "put your hands up" simultaneously right before gunning him down.
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby Luther Blissett » Wed Dec 03, 2014 3:57 pm

8bitagent » Tue Aug 12, 2014 3:26 pm wrote:
Wombaticus Rex » Mon Aug 11, 2014 4:11 pm wrote:
I don't think that situation is going to calm down anytime soon; even if it does, this is an early signal that the big one is close.



It made me so effing mad what happened to that Eric Garner guy. The cops didn't care one bit cellphone cameras were rolling as they choked him to death. Just like when New Orleans cops
massacred those fleeing black people on the bridge during Katrina in the back.

Now from multiple angles, from multiple witnesses they all say the same thing: Brown, even while shot and unarmed, was hobbling to flee a maniac cop who gunned him down. Unlike the murky details of Trayvon,
this one has no mystery or speculation.


Now I'm just mad. I can't believe it.

I can't even wrap my head around whatever kind of manifestation of whatever cultural shift this is. I've been too optimistic.
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby Luther Blissett » Wed Dec 03, 2014 4:49 pm

Something will burn tonight.
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby seemslikeadream » Thu Dec 04, 2014 10:09 pm

The massive chase, involving at least 62 police vehicles,

some of them unmarked, lasted 25 minutes at speeds as high as 100 miles an hour.

13 officers fired 137 shots at the car, killing both of them.




Justice Dept. finds Cleveland police use excessive force
Justice report blasts Cleveland police practices
The Justice Department has found that the Cleveland police engage in "a pattern of practice of the use of excessive force" and that outside, independent monitoring is required.
By Tribune wire reports CrimeEric HolderU.S. Department of Justice

Justice Dept. finds Cleveland police systematically engage in excessive use of force.
Cleveland officer who killed Rice left past job after 'dismal' review
An investigation by the U.S. Justice Department has found the Cleveland Police Department systematically engages in excessive use of force against civilians, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday.

The investigation began in March 2013 and carries added weight after an incident last month when a Cleveland police officer shot dead a 12-year-old boy named Tamir Rice who was carrying what turned out to be a toy gun on a playground.

The Cleveland probe was opened after a local newspaper, the Plain Dealer, revealed in May 2011 that six officers accused of brutality had used force on 29 suspects during a two-year period.

The paper also reported that police management often “overlooked” conflicting statements in use-of-force investigations, leading to a high clearance rate for abusive officers.

But the most egregious incident cited by the Justice Department occurred on Nov. 29, 2012, when more than 100 officers launched the high speed-chase that killed Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams. The pair had driven by the local Justice Center in downtown Cleveland when officers heard a noise they took to be gunfire.

The massive chase, involving at least 62 police vehicles, some of them unmarked, lasted 25 minutes at speeds as high as 100 miles an hour. When Russell and Williams were finally cornered outside the city limits, 13 officers fired 137 shots at the car, killing both of them.

In all, about 37 percent of the on-duty force was involved in the incident. It turned out the initial “gunshots” were actually from the car’s muffler backfiring.

Taken together, the incidents in Ohio’s second-largest city, the Justice Department concluded, have led to a situation where “avoidable force becomes inevitable.”

“The investigation concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that Cleveland police engage in a pattern or practice of unreasonable force in violation of the 4th Amendment,” Holder said Thursday. “Our investigation revealed that the causes of these patterns or practices were systemic and resulted from organizational deficiencies.”

The findings will prompt federally mandated reforms, which have yet to be determined, but carry no criminal charges.

The announcement comes at a tense moment between law enforcement and communities they serve, particularly low-income black communities.

Two grand jury decisions not to indict officers who killed unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri, and in New York City have triggered racially charged protests throughout the United States.


"Accountability and legitimacy are essential for communities to trust their police departments and for there to be genuine collaboration between police and the citizens they serve," Holder said in prepared remarks.

Cleveland officer who killed Rice left past job after 'dismal' review

The Cleveland police officer who fatally shot Rice last month left his previous job with a suburban police department after a string of problems, including immaturity and "dismal" handgun performance, personnel records showed.

A memo written by Independence, Ohio, deputy police chief Jim Polak in November 2012 showed Timothy Loehmann, the officer who fatally shot Rice, was beset with emotional issues during his brief stint with the department, according to records provided by the Independence police.

The memo, which recommended Loehmann's release from the department, highlighted a "dangerous loss of composure" during a handgun training event where Loehmann was said to be "distracted and weepy" over a girlfriend issue. It said his "handgun performance was dismal."

During Loehmann's background check, Cleveland Police detectives did not review his Independence personnel file, Cleveland police spokesman Ali Pillow said in an email.

Polak also wrote that Loehmann once kept his firearm in an unsecured locker, despite being told to lock it, and lied to a superior about abandoning part of his orientation at the city's police dispatch center.


The incidents "show a pattern of a lack of maturity, indiscretion and not following instructions," he said.

"I do not believe time, nor training, will be able to change or correct these deficiencies," Polak wrote.

Loehmann decided to resign after Polak recommended his release, the memo said.

Loehmann, who Cleveland police said is on leave, was not available for comment. Nor was Joseph Delguyd, attorney for the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, which represents police officers.

Pillow said Cleveland detectives interviewed Independence's human resources director during Loehmann's background check, and were not told of any past problems.

About 200 people attended Rice's funeral on Wednesday.




Read the full DOJ report here.
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby DrEvil » Thu Dec 04, 2014 10:46 pm

The GOP seems pretty happy to bash unions whenever they can. Why not the police unions? They seem to be a huge part of the problem.
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby MinM » Sat Dec 06, 2014 8:59 am

Image@DeadlineDetroit: @DetroitScanner Mil surplus bayonets for cops are PR stumble, as you say. A reader posts this reaction on our FB pg
Image

***
DrEvil » Thu Dec 04, 2014 9:46 pm wrote:The GOP seems pretty happy to bash unions whenever they can. Why not the police unions? They seem to be a huge part of the problem.

Probably because cops are pretty reliably authoritarian/conservative. Which also explains why the State of Michigan exempted police unions from recently enacted 'Right to Work' laws.
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Jan 16, 2015 11:09 am

Family outraged after son's mug shot found used in target practice by Miami police
A bullet-riddled photo of Woody Deant was discovered by his own sister last month when she visited the shooting range. North Miami Beach Police Chief J. Scott Dennis has defended the use of mug shots for target practice, saying it's vital for facial recognition drills.
BY NINA GOLGOWSKI NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Thursday, January 15, 2015, 8:14 PM A A A
Image
These six mug shots were being used for target practice by North Miami Beach Police last month when a National Guard soldier discovered the face of her own brother among them.
NBC MIAMI

A trip to a Florida gun range left a National Guard soldier in tears when the face of her own brother was found being used as target practice by Miami police.

The extremely disturbing sight, showing a then-18-year-old Woody Deant with bullet holes in his eye and forehead, joined several other booking photos entirely of African American men, Deant's outraged family told NBC Miami.

Sgt. Valerie Deant, who plays clarinet in the National Guard's 13th Army Band, said she broke down after spotting it last month among fellow soldiers. Then she called her brother.

"She said, 'Oh my God they used you as target practice,'" he recalled that emotional phone call to NBC.
Image
Woody Deant, whose face was pictured after an arrest 15 years ago at the age of 18, described himself as appalled by the discovery. The arrest was for drag racing, which led to two people being killed.
NBC MIAMI

The booking photo of Deant was taken 15 years ago after he was arrested for drag racing. The race ended with two people dead and Deant serving four years behind bars.

Today he says he's a father, a husband, and nothing like how he's being perceived when his picture is hung up for shooting.

North Miami Beach Police Chief J. Scott Dennis took responsibility for the photos but also defended their use.
Image
Army Sgt. Valerie Deant said she broke down when she showed up to practice at the gun range and discovered her brother's photo, riddled with bullet holes.
NBC MIAMI

"Our policies were not violated," he told the station. "There is no discipline forthcoming from the individuals who were involved with this."

That's because using photos of real human beings is vital for facial recognition drills, he said.

Still, photos of people arrested by his department should not have been used and all of the photos should have been removed from the range afterward, he added.


Also the use of African American men was just a random sampling, he said. They use a range of photos, of all races and sex.

Sgt. Deant doesn't feel that Dennis' explanation is enough, however, and her family has reached out to an attorney.
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby Joe Hillshoist » Sat Jan 17, 2015 1:33 am

That's because using photos of real human beings is vital for facial recognition drills, he said.


Thats right - see that colour on those photos...

Also the use of African American men was just a random sampling, he said. They use a range of photos, of all races and sex.


A random sampling of criminals in the US is likely to be mostly black men cos they're the ones the cops profile and target the most. Because see the colour on those photos...
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby Luther Blissett » Tue Mar 03, 2015 12:49 pm

I didn't see any posts about the LAPD shooting victim who went by the street name Africa (no real name known, yet), so I wanted to add something about him to this thread.

LAPD Caught On Video Shooting Homeless Man To Death

Los Angeles police fatally shot a homeless man on Sunday in a disturbing encounter that was caught on video.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the man, whom witnesses called "Africa," was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The incident, which occurred around noon in the city's Skid Row area, was captured on video and briefly uploaded to Facebook. WARNING: content is disturbing.

LAPD spokesman Sgt. Barry Montgomery said the officers were responding to a robbery call on the 500 block of San Pedro Street.

The video shows a confrontation in which the homeless man appears to throw a punch at police as officers try to contain him. One officer drops his nightstick, which a woman picks up off the ground. Two officers push her to the ground to restrain her. Meanwhile, several officers fight the man to the ground. At least one officer can be heard repeatedly shouting, "Drop the gun," after which five gunshots can be heard.

One witness, Yolanda Young, told CBS2 that the altercation occurred over an argument in a tent.

“Next thing I know, dude swung on a cop and the cop swung back. And they were hitting on him and then two other cop cars pulled up and they got out of the car and ran over there, and they had three Tasers out," Young said.

Africa had spent 10 years at a mental facility before settling into Skid Row four or five months ago, neighbor Ina Murphy told the LA Times. Another resident also said that police had asked Africa multiple times to dismantle his tent, in accordance with a court ruling that allows folks to sleep on Skid Row at night as long as they take down their tents during the day.

Cmdr. Andrew Smith told the LA Times that two officers were treated for injuries sustained in the struggle.

There will be an investigation to determine if the use of force was properly deployed. Investigators are looking for additional video that captured the incident, including footage from the body cameras some of the officers may have been wearing. At least one officer was wearing a body camera, Smith told the newspaper.

Around 10:45 p.m. Pacific time, the LAPD took to Twitter to comment on the shooting:

LAPD HQ ✔ @LAPDHQ
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An officer involved shooting occurred today when #LAPD Officers responded to a radio call of a robbery in @LAPDCentralArea.
1:44 AM - 2 Mar 2015


LAPD HQ ✔ @LAPDHQ
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It's important to #LAPD that the facts related to this and all officer involved shootings are shared with the community.
1:45 AM - 2 Mar 2015


LAPD HQ ✔ @LAPDHQ
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An #LAPD #PIO has been at scene of the investigation to answer questions as well as Commander Smith who has made himself available @LAPDHQ
1:47 AM - 2 Mar 2015


LAPD HQ ✔ @LAPDHQ
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During the events of the radio call of a robbery, #lapd officers made contact with a suspect who immediately began fighting officers
1:53 AM - 2 Mar 2015


LAPD HQ ✔ @LAPDHQ
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#lapd officers attempted to use a #TASER to subdue suspect but suspect continued fighting and resisting. Suspect fell to the ground...
1:55 AM - 2 Mar 2015


LAPD HQ ✔ @LAPDHQ
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While on the ground,suspect and #lapd officers struggled over one of officer's handgun at which point an officer involved shooting occurred
1:57 AM - 2 Mar 2015


LAPD HQ ✔ @LAPDHQ
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We will continue to keep you updated on this investigation in an effort to continue to enhance transparency between the #LAPD and Community.
2:01 AM - 2 Mar 2015
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby Twyla LaSarc » Tue Mar 03, 2015 1:37 pm

First, Gov Reagan has a lot of blood on his hands. And that's just as governor.

Second, I do not know if there is a formal 'curfew' for street dwellers around here, but I notice they all pack up at the same time of the morning. I have the queasy feeling now that that is reinforced physically if necessary.

Third, I never paid attention to B action movies (well, most action movies) for a long time. I have been watching a few rifftrax lately for cheap laughs and there are several; remixes of 'terminator' and 'robocop', that remind me that the rest of the country didn't spend the eighties catching up on the foreign films of the last couple of decades on video.

It's almost a HMW moment here: the normalization of cops in enhanced gear with advanced technology was established in movies and video games a while back now. It sunk in to a lot of minds since then, to whom it is part of the scenery. When it became normal there, it became normal here.

Be careful what you wish for, those evil things always reboot themselves for a sequel in the end. :zomg
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby Searcher08 » Thu Mar 05, 2015 9:59 am

Engaging in a behaviour that is flagged as a 'variance' along with an interaction with a police officer seems to have become a very dangerous life-limiting combination, this reminded me of the story of the elderly Indian man walking around his son's area during a visit to the US, being stopped by cops who called in more because he was brown and dressed funny and maybe hated their freedoms and they ended up killing him when they tried to take him away. 'Suspicion of being brown', probably.
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby Iamwhomiam » Sat Mar 07, 2015 8:43 pm

So what types of fruit do they pick to be warrior cops? And what rare gardens can such choice pickins be found? Well, the Auxiliary Police. And they give them badges.

Now, no one can be held responsible for their gene pool, but dang if this guy doesn't give me the creeps, and yet, someone thought him a good prospect to cultivate to become a New York City policeman:
Image

His partner affords me no comfort, either.

A Thick Trail of Breadcrumbs Leads to Aspiring New York Police Officers

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/07/nyregion/a-thick-trail-of-breadcrumbs-leads-to-aspiring-new-york-police-officers.html
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Re: Rise of the Warrior Cop

Postby Iamwhomiam » Sat Mar 07, 2015 8:56 pm

Man Shot Dead by Police After Scuffle in Wisconsin

By ASHLEY SOUTHALL MARCH 7, 2015

Image
The police investigated the scene of a shooting in Madison, Wis., on Saturday. Credit Steve Apps/The Capital Times, via Associated Press

A 19-year-old Wisconsin man was shot and killed Friday by a police officer during a scuffle inside an apartment in Madison, police officials said. The shooting prompted protests that continued on Saturday and led officials to call for restraint while the shooting is investigated.

The shooting occurred Friday evening after the police received calls for a man who had committed battery and was jumping in and out of traffic, Michael C. Koval, the Madison chief of police, said. A police officer followed the man to an apartment on Williamson Street and forced his way in after hearing a disturbance inside, the chief said. The man then assaulted the officer, who shot the man, according to Chief Koval, who spoke Friday evening at a news conference in Madison.

The officer immediately began rendering first aid, but the man died at a hospital, Chief Koval said. The authorities did not immediately release the man’s name, but friends and relatives identified him as Anthony Robinson, an African-American who graduated from high school in 2014.

“My son has never been a violent person,” Andrea Irwin, who identified herself as Mr. Robinson’s mother, told WKOW, a Madison television station. “And to die in such a violent, violent way, it baffles me.”

Chief Koval described the scuffle between the officer and the man as “mutual combat,” but he said he did not know if the man had been armed. Initial findings “did not reflect a gun or anything of that nature would have been used by the subject,” he said.

The police did not identify the officer or release any details about his time on the force. Chief Koval later said the officer had suffered minor injuries from the altercation, in which he was struck in the head and knocked down.

Chief Koval said the officer had fired more than one shot, but he did not say how many times the man had been wounded.

Friday’s altercation was the third fatal shooting involving a Madison police officer since a law was adopted in April requiring police shootings to be investigated by an outside agency, according to The Wisconsin State Journal.

It happened amid a public debate over how the police use lethal force in encounters with unarmed civilians, especially African-Americans, and the subsequent absence of charges or convictions for the officers involved. The refrain “Black lives matter” became the rallying cry of nationwide protests over the deaths of Eric Garner in Staten Island and Michael Brown of Ferguson, Mo., and others who died at the hands of police officers who were later cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

On Friday night, demonstrators gathered at the scene around a police blockade, drumming and chanting, “Black lives matter.” On Saturday, a crowd of protesters gathered for a rally at a downtown building that houses the Madison Police Department’s Central District and marched to Williamson Street, where the shooting happened.

Their protests coincided with the 50th anniversary commemoration of the civil rights march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery, the state capital. Representative John Lewis of Georgia, who participated in the Selma march in 1965 and introduced President Obama there on Saturday, urged others to “get out there and push and pull until we redeem the soul of America.”

The police said that the protests in Madison had been peaceful and that there were no arrests connected to the demonstrations.

Mayor Paul Soglin of Madison said that he met with the man’s relatives on Friday and that the shooting had caused a great deal of sadness and anger for the family and the larger community.

“The parents have encountered the worst imaginable outcome of anything in life, which is to lose a child,” he said. “They’re angry. They want answers.”

Mr. Soglin said that as far as he could tell, the man was “a nonviolent kid,” but he would not confirm his name. “He was a teenager,” he said. “He was congenial, had a lot of friends. He certainly wasn’t a kid that one would worry about as we do with some kids with gang affiliations. There is none of that, as far as I know.”

A memorial service was planned for Sunday evening.

Some people vented about the shooting on Twitter, using the hashtags #Justice4Tony and #WillyStreet to refer to Williamson Street.

“Praying for Madison tonight,” wrote Shane Claiborne, a peace activist and a founder of the Simple Way, a faith community based in Philadelphia. “Stand up, sit in, walk out — until u get answers. And until there are no more hashtag eulogies.”

Zellie Imani, who writes about the intersection of politics, education, race and social change at Black-Culture.com, compared the shooting to the death in 2010 of 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones in Detroit. The girl was fatally shot by a police officer during a late-night police raid in search of a murder suspect. The police officer who shot her was charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment with a gun. After two mistrials, the final charge against him was dismissed in January.

“You should’ve learned from the killing” of Aiyana, he wrote on Twitter, “that even being Black in Your House isn’t safe.”

Chief Koval said it was “absolutely appropriate” for the protesters to express their feelings, but called for restraint. The shooting was being investigated by the Division of Criminal Investigation, an arm of the State Department of Justice that looks into police shootings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/08/us/man-shot-dead-by-police-after-scuffle-in-wisconsin.html
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