(Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
A few weeks ago, the Department of Justice released findings from a “pattern and practice” review of the Baltimore Police Department. Amnesty International USA welcomed these findings as an important step towards transparency and accountability and expressed concern regarding alarming revelations about the use of deadly force by the Baltimore Police Department. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
TOPSHOT – Baltimore County Sheriffs officers gather after Baltimore Officer Caesar Goodson Jr. was acquitted of all charges in his murder trial for the death of Freddie Gray at the Mitchell Court House June 23, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
When the U.S. Department of Justice published a report Aug. 10 that documented “widespread constitutional violations, discriminatory enforcement, and culture of retaliation” within the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), there was rightly a general reaction of outrage.
But what hasn’t received as much attention is where Baltimore police received training on crowd control, use of force and surveillance: Israel’s national police, military and intelligence services. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
Rekia Boyd, Eric Garner, Ezell Ford, Tamir Rice and Michael Brown are among the countless lives that have been lost at the hands of law enforcement officers across the country. The reports of unnecessary or excessive force by police continue to mount, captured by body cameras, dashboard cameras, cell phones and eyewitnesses. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
On December 8, 2014, the Department of Justice released its revised “Guidance on the Use of Race” by law enforcement officials. Just in time for Human Rights Day (and you thought the feds only cared about the Constitution).
The revised guidance expanded the classes protected from discriminatory policing from just race and ethnicity to include gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin and religion. It not only covers federal law enforcement officers performing federal law enforcement activities, including those related to national security and intelligence, but also local and state law enforcement officers who are participating in federal law enforcement task forces. While not providing a private right of action, it does require each agency to collect data on complaints made under the guidelines. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its ninth periodic oversight hearing of the Department of Justice on Wednesday, March 6th at 9 a.m. with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (Photo credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images).
On Wednesday March 6th at 9 a.m., the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its ninth periodic oversight hearing of the Department of Justice with Attorney General Eric Holder. It’s not a hearing on drones and the Obama administration’s counter terrorism policy, but it should be.
As we saw with the Senate Intelligence Committee’s confirmation hearing with John Brennan several weeks ago, the Obama administration’s killing program remains shrouded in secrecy and the little information we do know gives grounds to conclude that the program as a whole allows for the use of lethal force that violates the right to life under international law.
Join us in Washington DC on January 11th for a march to close Guantanamo! We’ll gather at the White House at 11AM for some short speeches and then march to the Department of Justice.
We’ll have orange jumpsuits for people to wear, “No Kangaroo Courts at Guantanamo” signs, and banners urging the government to either charge or release detainees, including Shaker Aamer, who has been held without charge over 8 years, despite the UK government requesting his return.
Speakers at the rally will include: Tom Parker , Amnesty International USA’s advocacy and policy director of terrorism, counterterrorism and human rights, Valerie Lucznikowska, September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, historian Andy Worthington, Pardiss Kebriaei, staff attorney, the Center for Constitutional Rights representing Guantanamo detainees and Frida Berrigan, Witness Against Torture.
Why January 11? It’s the 9th anniversary of detainees arriving at Guantanamo to face torture, indefinite detention and unfair military commission “trials”–seen around the world as kangaroo courts.
EVENT: Rally to Close Guantanamo Bay Prison
DATE: Tuesday, January 11, 2011
TIME: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
WHERE: In front of the White House, Washington, DC
MORE INFO: [email protected]
