Topic

Police Accountability

53 petitions
3,805 new supporters this week

Petition to Illinois, Illinois Governor

Justice for Kenneka Jenkins

Body of teen found in Rosemont Hotel Late last Friday, 19-year-old Kenneka went to a party at a Crowne Plaza Hotel outside of Chicago. She never returned home. There is now national outrage as the hotel stands in the way of Kenneka's family getting justice for the brutal murder of their daughter. The hotel isn't releasing camera footage and people across the country are speaking out. Keenaka's body was discovered in an industrial walk-in freezer at the hotel, almost 24 hours after a party-goer posted a live video on Facebook showing her sitting on a bed in a hotel room with a group of people surrounding her, loud music playing as she reportedly begs onlookers for help. Upon hearing of her daughter’s disappearance, Kenneka’s mother went to the hotel to search for her and attempted to get police involved, but hotel staff refused to let her inside and asked her to leave the premises. The hotel refused to review surveillance camera footage without a missing person’s report from the police. Later, their initial footage review claimed that there was no sign of Kenneka in the facility. Police later told Kenneka’s mother that her daughter “apparently let herself into an [10 degrees below zero] industrial freezer while inebriated and died inside.” Her family is outraged and is demanding answers from the hotel and police. They believe they might’ve reached Kenneka sooner if their pleas were taken seriously by authorities. Please sign this petition to get Crowne Plaza Hotel to show the family the camera footage and help them get #JusticeForKenneka.

Jocee A. Avila
133,644 supporters
114 new supporters this week

Petition to U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives

Support The Police Training and Independent Review Act of 2017 

In 2016, research comparing minimum training hours mandated by states for police and cosmetologists revealed a shocking disparity. A police officer, who has enormous power over people’s lives, is required to have only a fraction of the training required of someone working as a professional hair stylist. There are no federally mandated training minimums for our nation’s police. Each state has some training requirements but these require less hours than cosmetologists, electricians, or plumbers. My name is Randy Shrewsberry and I am the Executive Director of The Institute for Criminal Justice Training Reform. I’ve spent nearly three decades working in the justice system, first as a police officer and later a forensics investigator in the private sector. Throughout my career I had the opportunity to attend four basic training academies in three states. Though my training overwhelmingly taught me how to protect myself from injury or death, I found that I was ineptly prepared for the complexities of criminality, human behavior, implicit bias, and mental health crisis. Trainings left me feeling as if I was a preparing as a soldier for war, instead of as a peace officer to protect and serve my community. The Police Training and Independent Review Act of 2017 is new legislation that would encourage states to provide training to law enforcement officers on understanding ethnic and racial bias and interacting with disabled or mentally ill people. It would also incentivize States to enact laws requiring the independent investigation and prosecution of the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers. I was shocked to learn that a friend who was a cosmetologist was required by the state to receive twice the amount of training as I did as a police officer. I learned that this is consistently true in every state. In addition, some officers receive no on-the-job training beyond classroom and tactical training, and there is little oversight or review. The State of Hawaii has no training requirements for their police officers. There are even 23 states that allow officers to delay their basic training for, on average, one year. Every 7 hours, police will kill a citizen, disproportionately black or brown and more than a fourth who are in a mental health crisis. These are not metrics by which anyone can credibly say the system is working. Please sign my petition asking Congress to pass The Police Training and Independent Review Act of 2017.

The Institute for Criminal Justice Training Reform
21,808 supporters
67 new supporters this week

Petition to Kamala Harris, Jerry Brown, Maxine Waters, David Valadao, Kevin McCarthy, Andy Vidak, Karen Goh, Bakersfield Police Department, Lisa Green

Justice for 19 yr old girl beaten by police and maliciously attacked by K9 police dog.

Tatyana Hargrove is a 19 yr old girl who was beaten by Bakersfield police and maliciously attacked by a K9 police dog while riding her bike home. The reason? Police say they mistook her for an adult male suspect but throughout the encounter, Tatyana was never told why she was being arrested. “After they beat me and threw me in the cop car, that’s when they told me,” she said. Tatyana stopped for a moment while riding her bike when  she saw three police cars and an officer pointing a gun at here. Police asked if she was just a grocery store where earlier that day police received a report of a man with a machete who attempted to stab an employee. They were looking for a 30-year-old black male nearly 6 feet tall with shaved head and goatee and weighing 160lbs. Tatyana is 5 feet, 2 inches tall and only weighs 120 pounds.  When Tatyana said she wasn’t at the grocery store, the police demanded to see her backpack: “I looked behind me and it was a big K-9 dog,” she said. “I then got scared and then I was like ‘Here just take the backpack.’” Tatyana says one officer then grabbed her wrist and neck and punched her in the mouth. “He then threw me onto the ground and then that’s when the K-9 came and started eating at my leg.”  One officer put his knees on her back. Over and over she yelled “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.” It wasn’t long before officers realized they had the wrong person but by then Tatyana had been punched, shoved, and severely bitten by a dog. She was taken to a hospital where she called her father who was told by an officer “it was mistaken identity.”  We’re calling for immediate action to be taken to help find justice for Tatyana:  1. BPD To Put Officers On Administrative Leave Immediately2. The D.A. to File Charges Against The Officers3. City Council To Adopt An Effective Community Police Oversight Committee4. City Council To Approve The Budget For Body Cameras5. FBI & US. Attorney Office To File Charges Against The Officers under Title 18 U.S. Code § 242 - Deprivation of rights under color of law 6. Attorney General To Include This Pattern Of Behavior In Their Investigation7. Falsified Charges To Be Dismissed  Please sign this petition and watch video of Tatyana explaining what happened and also support her GoFundMe page. 

NAACP Bakersfield
50,943 supporters
44 new supporters this week

Petition to Department of Justice

arrest former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke

I want sheriff David Clarke to held accountable for his actions. Sheriff David Clarke is a corrupt sheriff. He claims Black lives matter is a hate group which is not. Clarke has been repeatedly accused of abusing detainees at the county jail. Following the deaths of four inmates at the jail in six months, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation of the jail. Milwaukee County chief medical examiner Brian Peterson accused Clarke of verbally harassing and threatening him in an October 2016 telephone conversation after Peterson's office made the mysterious deaths of two inmates at the jail earlier that year public. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Clarke also attracted attention for temper-related incidents: "He once berated a 911 dispatcher for not being professional, threatened to arrest the new House of Correction chief and called a sergeant a 'terrorist' and 'cancer' in a two-hour, expletive-filled rant".  The Milwaukee County Jail turned the water off to inmate Terrill Thomas' cell, resulting in his death by dehydration on April 24, 2016. According to inmates, the water was turned off for six days and the staff refused to provide water to Thomas. On September 15, 2016, the Milwaukee medical examiner ruled Thomas's death a homicide. Later that day Clarke's office sent out a press release which stated it would be "withholding employee internal investigations and will not be commenting on this matter until the completion of all [sic] investigative and review processes, and any resultant civil litigation." Asked about the lawsuit in March 2017, Clarke said that he had no comment on the lawsuit but noted Thomas' criminal background. In 2014, a woman who was handcuffed and shackled for 21 hours while in labor sued the county.In 2017, a second lawsuit was filed by another woman who was shackled while giving birth, and while hospitalized for prenatal care and postpartum treatment. The suit contends that the jail has a blanket policy of shackling all hospitalized inmates, "regardless of their criminal or medical history," and that at least 40 women were shackled in this manner. In June 2017, a federal jury awarded $6.7 million in a lawsuit by a woman who accused a Milwaukee County Jail guard of raping her on at least five occasions when she was 19 years old and pregnant.Criminal charges of sexual assault had been dropped against the guard after he pled no contest to lesser charges in 2014. In July 2016, a pregnant inmate at the jail with serious mental illness went into labor and the newborn baby died. The mother filed a federal lawsuit against the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, stating that she was denied medical attention before her pregnancy, had medical appointments canceled, received prenatal vitamins only once, and was "laughed at" by guards after going into labor. In February 2017, a Detroit-area man, Dan Black, filed a harassment lawsuit against Clarke after Milwaukee deputies detained the man at the Milwaukee airport in January. The man had asked Clarke about his football team preference and shook his head at Clarke. After Black filed a complaint with Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, Clarke responded by taunting and threatening Black via Facebook. Black's counsel states that Clarke engaged in a "gross and arbitrary abuse of power" and ordered an unlawful stop and detention. What needs to happen is that the city of Milwaukee which is his county needs to know what his true colors are, they need to know who he really is, an abuser. The department of justice needs to do a through investigation of him and make sure he is arrested. I care because cops need to be held accountable 

Abraham Alrai
47 supporters
Started 7 hours ago

Petition to Penny Vought, Kris Markeson

Disciplinary action against Officer Andrew Harren to protect YOUTH rights!

I demand Officer Andrew Harren receive disciplinary action and a public apology  for the emotional distress he has caused my family. On numerous occasions, Officer Harren has used verbal aggression to coerce and intimidate my 17 year old twin boys. He has called them names and informed them that they will be nothing but drop outs. This takes place without the presence of a parent or guardian. However other officers have witnessed these interactions. On Oct 21st around 1230 a.m., I was able to witness an interaction with Officer Harren and both boys. Although  Officer Harren came to my home in regards to another teenager, he chose to verbally attach both my boys by using foul language and hostility. At one point he made a comment in regards to  a recent underage consumption party and accused both of having "something" to do with it. This is one of many example of many accusations  based on nothing more than assumption. He preceded to express the inconvience of having to deal with my children and there friends. He continued to taunt them until I made both boys go in our home and shut the door.  This interaction alone has caused great distress to our family. I am asking for your support to ensure this doesn't continue to happen to such a vulnerable population within our community. Stand up for our YOUTH!! 

Nichole Fett
23 supporters
Started 3 days ago

Petition to Jeff Landry, John Bel Edwards

JUSTICE NOW FOR ALTON STERLING - PETITION TO LOUISIANA AG JEFF LANDRY

On July 5, 2016, 37-year-old Baton Rouge native Alton Sterling, Sr. was shot several times at close range while held down on the ground by Baton Rouge Police Department officers, Howie Lake II and Blane Salamoni.   The shooting was recorded by multiple witnesses, viewed by millions worldwide and ultimately led to a civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Department of Justice investigated but in May 2017 decided that it would not file criminal charges against the police officers. After this decision was made by the Department of Justice, Louisiana State Attorney General Jeff Landry, said the state of Louisiana would open an investigation into the shooting once the Department of Justice releases the physical evidence.  As citizens of EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, STATE OF LOUISIANA we demand a decision in regards to the state investigation into the killing of Alton Sterling, Sr. on July 5, 2016, by Baton Rouge Police Officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II. We are calling on State Attorney General Jeff Landry to conduct a public meeting to inform the citizens of EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH on the current status of any an all internal or external investigations and that a decision is rendered forthwith.

National Alliance for Social Justice
10 supporters
Started 3 days ago

Petition to Department of Justice

arrest former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke

I want sheriff David Clarke to held accountable for his actions. Sheriff David Clarke is a corrupt sheriff. He claims Black lives matter is a hate group which is not. Clarke has been repeatedly accused of abusing detainees at the county jail. Following the deaths of four inmates at the jail in six months, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation of the jail. Milwaukee County chief medical examiner Brian Peterson accused Clarke of verbally harassing and threatening him in an October 2016 telephone conversation after Peterson's office made the mysterious deaths of two inmates at the jail earlier that year public. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Clarke also attracted attention for temper-related incidents: "He once berated a 911 dispatcher for not being professional, threatened to arrest the new House of Correction chief and called a sergeant a 'terrorist' and 'cancer' in a two-hour, expletive-filled rant".  The Milwaukee County Jail turned the water off to inmate Terrill Thomas' cell, resulting in his death by dehydration on April 24, 2016. According to inmates, the water was turned off for six days and the staff refused to provide water to Thomas. On September 15, 2016, the Milwaukee medical examiner ruled Thomas's death a homicide. Later that day Clarke's office sent out a press release which stated it would be "withholding employee internal investigations and will not be commenting on this matter until the completion of all [sic] investigative and review processes, and any resultant civil litigation." Asked about the lawsuit in March 2017, Clarke said that he had no comment on the lawsuit but noted Thomas' criminal background. In 2014, a woman who was handcuffed and shackled for 21 hours while in labor sued the county.In 2017, a second lawsuit was filed by another woman who was shackled while giving birth, and while hospitalized for prenatal care and postpartum treatment. The suit contends that the jail has a blanket policy of shackling all hospitalized inmates, "regardless of their criminal or medical history," and that at least 40 women were shackled in this manner. In June 2017, a federal jury awarded $6.7 million in a lawsuit by a woman who accused a Milwaukee County Jail guard of raping her on at least five occasions when she was 19 years old and pregnant.Criminal charges of sexual assault had been dropped against the guard after he pled no contest to lesser charges in 2014. In July 2016, a pregnant inmate at the jail with serious mental illness went into labor and the newborn baby died. The mother filed a federal lawsuit against the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, stating that she was denied medical attention before her pregnancy, had medical appointments canceled, received prenatal vitamins only once, and was "laughed at" by guards after going into labor. In February 2017, a Detroit-area man, Dan Black, filed a harassment lawsuit against Clarke after Milwaukee deputies detained the man at the Milwaukee airport in January. The man had asked Clarke about his football team preference and shook his head at Clarke. After Black filed a complaint with Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, Clarke responded by taunting and threatening Black via Facebook. Black's counsel states that Clarke engaged in a "gross and arbitrary abuse of power" and ordered an unlawful stop and detention. What needs to happen is that the city of Milwaukee which is his county needs to know what his true colors are, they need to know who he really is, an abuser. The department of justice needs to do a through investigation of him and make sure he is arrested. I care because cops need to be held accountable 

Abraham Alrai
47 supporters
Update posted 1 week ago

Petition to Andover Police, Andover Residents, Paul J. Salafia, Andrew Flanagan, Massachusetts residents, Elizabeth Warren, Barbara L'Italien, James Lyons, Massachusetts Governor, Edward Markey, Russell Holmes, John Keenan, Sheldon Berman, Patrick Keefe, M. Colford, Philip Conrad, Director , Cory Booker

63y Black Woman Attacked by Andover Mass. Chief of Police Patrick Keefe. Sign for Resign!

READ WHAT HAPPENED HERE When I entered the Andover public safety building on October 5, 2017, and declared that I would remain there until someone speaks with me about the concerns that I had expressed over the phone, I essentially triggered the First Amendment. Subsequently, any action by any police officer to infringe upon my Firs Amendment guarantees, was going to necessarily be unconstitutional, including any attempt to physically remove or arrest me. The bottom line is that if I were to be removed by any means other than due process of law, at that time, such action was bound to collide with the First, Fourth, Fifth, and the Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. See U.S. Supreme Court Tennessee v. Garner (1985). Police Perversion of the United States Constitution and The Bill of Rights After their racially-driven and unconstitutional arrests, fraudulent use of the civil commitment law, hoax criminal charges and harassment, all failed to deter me from demanding accountability from the Town of Andover and its Police Department and Fire and Rescue Department, a Chief Commander who also should be fired, called the Police Chief when he was off-duty, to come into the police station to handle something such “so-called” Chief Commander should have been able to manage by himself, especially, since I had written down for them two of several ways they could have legally brought my protest to an end: (1) A police officer, or anyone else, for that matter, could have come into the lobby and talk to me. I would have waited if they were busy, and that would have addressed and resolved the reason for my protest in the first place; or (2)They had the means and a dedicated video and audio set up to seek an immediate injunction within the comfort of the building, people like me contribute to pay for. Had they chosen to use that readily available mean, and they prevailed, I would have gone home to appeal any such injunction, but I would waited at home for the Appeals Court’s decision. What is really ironic, and almost Shakespearean, is that they were very likely to get injunctive relief, even on my appeal, in which case, the ruling judge would have framed the parameters for my protest, for not even a judge can tell anyone that they have to stop protesting. How Did a Chief of Police Go so Berserk? The Chief Commander and the Chief of Police did not want to do anything that would fall under the legal jurisdiction of the court. I am holding back on mentioning the names of these individuals for now, out of a sense of deference for the residents of the Town of Andover. I want to afford Andover Town residents the kind of benefits Andover Town officials have intentionally and recklessly denied me.That is a chance to finally do the right thing. I did give this Town and every official, police and otherwise, the benefit of the doubt for 7 years, until I did not. Now, I am re-instating that benefit to them temporarily, to see if they have the capacity to earn it back. They also had the option to make up some false pretense, as they are very good at doing, and had done before, to arrest me. That would have been unconstitutional, but at least, it would not have been the brutal felony assault and battery this unfit Chief of Police and his co-conspiring Commander ended up perpetuating on me. What they did was, rather than taking any of the several legal routes at their fingertips, they chose to scrape the very bottom of their dirty bag of tricks for the last, filthiest, and illegal trick: The illegal use of force, resulting in severe injury to me. The Residents of Any Town Must Be Too Proud for This! No Town deserves a Police Chief who so obviously shows himself or herself to be a possible danger to its residents. There are too many elephants laying around in our police departments, our legislatures, our courts, and in town offices. We all know where they are. Ignoring them will not make them go away. They will simply continue to undermine and compromise the structure and foundation of the rights, privileges, and immunities, the Founding Fathers built into the checks and balances system, and left behind. Those are the best things we have going for us, and the only things that makes America Great in any meaningful way. To allow this particular Police Chief to get away with such reckless act and illegal conduct, along with the violation of well-established rights, would defile the sacrifices of those who have fought to secure life, liberty, and justice for all in this country. These are ideals that we are still trying to achieve. It will take time, even more sacrifices by my many — some famous and others unsung heroes, as well as determination and staying-power to help give birth to, thus contribute to the formation of that more Perfect Union. In order to safeguard the integrity of the Town of Andover, the community at large and the nation must demand accountability from this Police Department and Town officials. Chief Patrick Keefe must be made to resign, be fired, or undergo a mental health evaluation to ensure that, under the right set of circumstances, he will not attack and injure anyone else who is freely and peacefully exercising rights that are guaranteed by the United States Constitution, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Get Involved! Holding Police Accountable for Misconduct Requires An All-Hands on Deck Strategy Call and Demand Reform and Accountability from Andover Officials by Contacting: Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Paul J. Salafia at 978-623-8200 Town Manager Andrew Flanagan: 978-623-8210 Andover Police Department: (978) 475-0411 Andover Chief of Police Patrick Keefe at 978-475-0411 ext. 1005 Andover Fire and Rescue Chief Michael Mansfield: 978-475-1281 Town Clerk Lawrence Murphy: 978-623-8230 Tweet: @AndrewPFlanagan @AndoverMassPD #Andover @AndoverMaGov @Town_Mgr_Maylor #customerservice CONTACTS FOR MASSACHUSETTS ELECTED OFFICIALS Andover State Senators:  Barbara L’italien: (617) 722-1612 Email: barbara.l'italien@masenate.gov James Lyons: (617)722-2460 Email: James.Lyons@mahouse.gov U.S. Senators: Markey, Edward J. 255 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510(202) 224-2742Contact: www.markey.senate.gov/contact  Warren, Elizabeth 317 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510(202) 224-4543Contact: www.warren.senate.gov/contact Massachusetts Governor: Charlie Bake: 617-725-4005 Massachusetts Attorney General: Maura Healey: (617)7274765 Massachusetts Senate:   President Stanley C. Rosenberg: (617) 722-1500 Email: Stan.Rosenberg@masenate.gov  Citizen Engagement Committee Chairs: Harriette Chandler: (617) 722-1544 Email: Harriette.Chandler@masenate.gov  Senator Bruce Tarr: (617) 722-1600 Email: Bruce.Tarr@masenate.gov Joint Committee on the Judiciary Senate William Brownsberger: (617) 722-1280  Email: William.Brownsberger@masenate.gov andoverma.govSonia Chang Diaz: (617) 722-1673 Email: Sonia.Chang-Diaz@masenate.gov House Claire Cronin; (617) 722-2396 Email: Claire.Cronin@mahouse.gov James Cantwell: (617) 722-2396 Email: James.Cantwell@mahouse.gov              #civil #civilrights #uniteforcivilrights #vetstakeknee #lawyers #committee #RaceForward #RacialJustice #iwalkforjustice #abaday #outatwork #lebronjames #BlackLivesMatter #colinkeapernik #WeAllWeGot #RoadRiverRail #PatersonRaised #NAACP #nojusticenopeace #eagletribune #andoverhighschool #andover #mshs #nawebnews #billerica #tewksbury #hastags #andoverpatch #northandover #massstatepolice  Follow me on Twitter https://twitter.com/jesuieserenity    

MarieYolette Winfield
8 supporters