Author: scott prell

Excessive force and community trust: Seattle Police Department’s 12 years of federal oversight ends | CapitolHillSeattle.com

Excessive force and community trust: Seattle Police Department’s 12 years of federal oversight ends | CapitolHillSeattle.com
— Read on www.capitolhillseattle.com/2023/09/excessive-force-and-community-trust-seattle-police-departments-12-years-of-federal-oversight-ends/

Settlement – In Re: New York City Policing During Summer 2020 Demonstrations

An agreement was announced Tuesday between the New York Attorney General, the NYPD and civil liberties advocates to reform how protests are policed. See more HERE

The Significance of this agreement is that it could impact every police department in New York State. All future policing of First Amendment Activity, protests, or riots can be compared to the agreement reached between the NYPD, The NY Attorney General, and the ACLU.
This is unfair to policing for several reasons: NYPD and the protest events they face are unique, NYPD has resources and capabilities that no other police departments in America (maybe the World) have available to them, Home Rule allows for each police department to establish their own policy and procedures, having the protestor dictate the rules to police protests/riots seems counterintuitive, especially when the protestors/rioters have no rules to follow.
A copy of the agreement is available HERE

Payne et al. v de Blasio et al.

The New York Civil Liberties Union and The Legal Aid Society filed a lawsuit against Mayor Bill de Blasio, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, Chief of Department Terence Monahan, the City of New York, and several individual police officers for their roles in the indiscriminate brutalizing of peaceful protestors during the protests following the police killing of George Floyd. The suit addresses the first month of protests between May 28 and June 28, where swarming officers used batons, pepper spray, and other aggressive techniques to retaliate against New Yorkers for showing their support of Black lives and demanding an end to police violence. Such uses of excessive force against these demonstrators violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights.

The suit claims the mayor and city instituted a de facto policy allowing individual officers to violently target protesters by repeatedly approving forceful deployments and refusing discipline or repercussions for blatant officer misconduct. See more HERE

Get a copy of the Complaint HERE

Interesting Illustration of the “21-foot Rule” in police use of force

Check out a recent article from Police1: “Incident analysis: Hammer attack on Conn. detective offers lessons in responding to a close quarters attack” it is an excellent illustration of the 21-foot rule for police use of force.

The article covers 10 points that a police officer should consider when confronting an citizen armed with a blunt weapon.

Watch: Mich. officer saves child in middle of traffic

AWESOME JOB as Officer Brendan Fraser springs into action to save a choking baby. This shows how police have to many times confront the unexpected.

As the officer pulled up behind a speeding car at a traffic light, the child’s mother hopped out of the car and screamed, “Help! We got a baby in here dying!”
— Read on www.police1.com/police-heroes/articles/watch-mich-officer-saves-child-in-middle-of-traffic-qKwmLbTRvpN5Lv9w/

U.S. Sentencing Commission Votes to Allow Retroactive Sentence Reductions

The US Sentencing Commission conducted an interesting and eventful public meeting earlier this afternoon (which can be watched here).   This new USSC press release provides the highlights in its first paragraph:

Today the Commission, by a majority vote, allowed for delayed retroactive application of Amendment 821 relating to criminal history — meaning that certain currently incarcerated individuals could be eligible for reduced sentences made effective beginning on February 1, 2024 (unofficial text).  The Commission also adopted its next set of policy priorities that include, among other things, reviewing and potentially amending how the guidelines treat acquitted conduct for purposes of sentencing as well as assessing the degree to which certain Bureau of Prisons practices are effective in meeting the purposes of sentencing. 

Here are more of the details from the press release on what the criminal history retroactivity piece of the story means:

Equipped with a quorum of commissioners for the first time since 2018, the Commission voted in April to promulgate amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines — including Amendment 821 providing for targeted, evidence-based changes to certain criminal history rules.  Because two parts of that amendment reduce the sentencing range of future defendants, the Commission is required by law to consider whether judges can extend those reductions to previously sentenced individuals.

The Commission voted to delay implementation of any order granting such reduced sentences to ensure that, to the extent practicable, all individuals who are to be released have the opportunity to participate in reentry programs and transitional services that will increase the likelihood of successful reentry to society.

U.S. District Judge Carlton W. Reeves, Chair of the Commission said, “Our decision today is one that brings hope to thousands of currently incarcerated people and their families.  We listened to a full spectrum of views and considered the full costs associated with incarceration balanced with the time needed to review petitions and prepare for successful reentry.”

Part A of Amendment 821 limits the overall criminal history impact of “Status Points” at §4A1.1. Part B, Subpart 1 of Amendment 821 creates a new Chapter Four guideline at §4C1.1 decreasing by two the offense levels for defendants who did not receive any criminal history points and whose instant offense did not involve specific aggravating factors.

Judge Reeves added, “These prospective changes to the criminal history rules made by the Commission in April reflect evidence-based policy determinations that apply with equal force to previously sentenced individuals.  Applying these changes retroactively will increase fairness in sentencing.  At the same time, the 3-month delay will help ensure that individuals released based on our decision today receive the benefit of reentry programs and transitional services essential to support their successful reentry to society, which at the same time promotes public safety.”

The Commission estimated in its July 2023 Impact Analysis that retroactive application would carry a meaningful impact for many currently incarcerated individuals:

  • 11,495 incarcerated individuals will have a lower sentencing range under Part A of Amendment 821 relating to “Status Points” with a possible sentence reduction of 11.7%, on average.
     
  • 7,272 incarcerated individuals would be eligible for a lower sentencing range based upon the established criteria under Part B of Amendment 821 relating to “Zero-Point Offenders” with a possible sentence reduction of 17.6%, on average.

Today’s vote concludes two months of deliberations and the first amendment year of policy work for the commissioners, who were all confirmed last August.  As part of its deliberations, the Commission received expert testimony and public comment from a wide spectrum of stakeholders, including senators, judges, lawyers, religious leaders, doctors, professors, advocates, victims, families, and incarcerated individuals.

This year’s guideline amendments are with Congress for a 180-day review period ending November 1, 2023.  If Congress does not act to disapprove the amendments, courts can begin considering petitions for sentence reductions and could order a reduced term of imprisonment effective February 1, 2024 or later.

See more Here
Press Release Here
Public Hearing on Retroactivity July 19, 2023
Public Comment from June 23, 2023

Retail Theft: A Hidden Crisis

Retail stores should install “Air Tag” technology on most wanted items so the items can be traced by Police when stolen. This would allow a map of the thief, secondary markets & buyers, product recovery, and arrest & prosecution.

In this article, read as Tom Meehan delves into how retail theft is often undiscussed due to the violation happening in public versus in our homes, cars, etc., and strategies to combat the problem.
— Read on losspreventionmedia.com/retail-theft-hidden-problem/