Rania Khalek Dispatches from the Underclass
(Photo by Jonathan Gibby/Getty Images)

A line of Orange County Police Officers block a freeway overpass leading to Disneyland during a protest to show outrage for the several officer involved shootings on July 29, 2012 in Anaheim. (Photo by Jonathan Gibby/Getty Images)

Today is day one of Urban Shield, an annual gathering of SWAT teams, law enforcement agencies and military contractors from around the world. The three-day long event, hosted by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, includes a trade show, competitions and training exercises involving simulations of SWAT team raids and mock protests to test out suppression techniques, all in the name of “disaster preparedness” to fight terrorism. Read More

Journalist Matthew Power wrote a chilling piece for GQ profiling Brandon Bryant, a former drone operator who flew Predator drones for the US Air Force until his conscience couldn’t take it anymore. I highly recommend reading the entire article because it sheds much needed light on the secretive drone strike process. Nevertheless, I’ve highlighted the parts that stood out to me the most. Read More

Lakisha Gaither, 35, fired a single round into the air from her lawfully owned firearm over the weekend in an effort to scare away a group of boys who were attacking her 15-year-old daughter, Brianna Stewart. Brianna has since gone missing and Gaither is frantically searching for her daughter as she prepares for her arraignment on October 30. That’s right, she was charged for shooting into the air in a state that loves guns! Read More

Andy Lopez, 13 (Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

Andy Lopez, 13 (Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies in northern California shot and killed 13-year-old Andy Lopez while he walked home from school Tuesday afternoon carrying a toy rifle.

According to Lt. Dennis O’Leary, two deputies on patrol spotted a “male subject” walking in the area carrying what they believed to be a rifle, at which point they called for backup and told him to drop the weapon.

“At some point immediately thereafter, the deputies fired several rounds from their handguns at the subject, striking him several times,” O’Leary said, adding that Lopez fell down and “landed on top of the rifle he was carrying.” But they didn’t stop there. Though Lopez was unresponsive and bleeding out, the officers handcuffed him before administering first aid and calling the paramedics. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Read More

Israeli man confronts an African asylum seeker after an anti-African rally in south Tel Aviv, December 31, 2012 (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Israeli man confronts an African asylum seeker after an anti-African rally in south Tel Aviv, December 31, 2012 (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

You can tell a lot about a media outlet by how it covers Israel. A recent case in point is the New York TimesRead More

LeonFordjr

Leon Ford Jr. (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Leon Ford Jr. was unarmed when pulled over by Pittsburgh police on the night of November 11, 2012.  Read More

Cleveland police officers involved in last November’s deadly high speed car chase that ended in the firing of 137 bullets at an unarmed black couple, will remain on the force despite being found guilty of breaking policy.

Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath said Tuesday that a series of disciplinary hearings surrounding the chase found 64 officers guilty of “administrative charges ranging from excessive speed to insubordination.”

However, “No one will be fired, and the longest suspension will be 10 days,” reports 19 Action News, adding that several officers were cleared of any wrongdoing.

The car chase was provoked by a car backfire, which police mistook for a gunshot aimed at officers. In the end, the bodies of Timothy Russell, 43, and Malissa Williams, 30, were riddled with two dozen bullet holes each, and almost immediately, they were painted by police and the media as career criminals who had it coming.

With the incident still under review by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, it remains to be seen whether criminal charges will be filed against any of the dozens of officers involved.

Darrell Andre Niles, 17, was killed in April 2010 by Shannon Anthony Scott.

Darrell Andre Niles, 17, was killed in April 2010 by Shannon Anthony Scott. (Facebook)

In 2010, Shannon Anthony Scott, then 33, was arrested for the murder of 17-year-old Darrell Andre Niles, an unarmed black teen who was found shot to death in his car around 2:30 am on April 18 of that year.

However, Richland County Judge Maite Murphy has thrown out those charges, ruling on Wednesday that Scott reasonably believed his life was in danger and is therefore immune from prosecution by the state’s 2006 Protection of Persons and Property ACT, South Carolina’s version of “Stand Your Ground”, a law that gives private citizens the right to use deadly force whenever and wherever they feel threatened. Read More

On Friday afternoon, 43-year-old Jack Lamar Roberson was shot to death by Waycross police officers in front of his mother, fiancé and 8-year-old daughter. Read More