Latest news with #Dilley
4 days ago
Louisiana to pay $9 million to man shot by state trooper during traffic stop
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana authorities have agreed to pay $9 million to a man who was partially paralyzed from the waist down after a trooper shot him in the back during a 2018 traffic stop in Baton Rouge and then falsely reported it as a Taser discharge. The settlement reached last month is among the largest of its kind in state history and resolves a federal lawsuit by Clifton 'Scotty' Dilley, whose injuries confined him to a wheelchair when he was 19. The terms of the settlement, which were not made public, were provided to The Associated Press by a person with direct knowledge who was not authorized to disclose them and spoke on condition of anonymity. The shooting was mentioned in a U.S. Justice Department report this year that found Louisiana State Police used excessive force during arrests and vehicle pursuits. State police fired Trooper Kasha Domingue after determining she shot Dilley 'without any reliable justification,' failed to activate her body-worn camera and gave inconsistent accounts that were contradicted by surveillance video. The agency also found that her misreporting the incident as a tasing 'delayed the appropriate responses to the shooting,' according to records reviewed by AP. Domingue's explanation for opening fire evolved over the years. Court records show that she alternatively claimed she mistook her firearm for a Taser, pulled the trigger by accident or said the shooting was justified because she feared for her life. Dilley was a passenger in the vehicle that was pulled over. He said the trooper never ordered him to stop fleeing before shooting. Moments after he was struck, he told Domingue he had lost feeling below his waist. 'I was like, 'What's wrong with my legs?'' Dilley said in a deposition. 'She says, 'It's a Taser aftereffect. It will wear off.'' In fact, a bullet struck Dilley's spine. Domingue's initial account fell apart quickly. She told investigators Dilley ran around the stopped vehicle and reached inside it before charging toward her. That claim was contradicted by surveillance video from a nearby store that clearly showed the unarmed man running away from the trooper. 'If that camera wasn't there I don't know how this would've turned out,' Dilley said in the deposition. 'What happened to me that night will forever change my life,' said Dilley, who was represented by former U.S. attorney and Louisiana congressman Don Cazayoux. Dilley said he hopes the 'case will effect change within the state police that will keep this from ever happening again.' An attorney for Domingue, Louis Oubre, declined to comment, as did the state Attorney General's Office. The $9 million settlement is among the largest ever paid in Louisiana in a case involving police violence. Baton Rouge agreed in 2021 to pay $4.5 million to the children of Alton Sterling, a Black man whose fatal shooting by police was captured on video and sparked widespread anger and protests. More than two years after the shooting, prosecutors charged Domingue with aggravated second-degree battery and illegal use of a weapon. She pleaded guilty in 2022 to obstruction of justice, a misdemeanor, avoiding jail but agreeing never again to serve in law enforcement. Her conviction has since been expunged. The civil proceedings raised questions about whether Domingue ever should have become a state trooper, underscoring the liability the state could have faced had the lawsuit gone to trial. State police records show a series of red flags dating back to her time in the training academy, including failed tests and issues on the firing range. The agency allowed her to graduate academy despite those problems, requiring that she complete additional training before receiving her commission. But instructors expressed misgivings about her suitability. One internal report said she 'struggled from the onset of the class, both physically and mentally.' The Justice Department alluded to Domingue in its findings on the state police's widespread use of excessive force. It noted that she remained a trooper for more than two years after the shooting due to a policy of putting off internal investigations while criminal inquiries are underway. 'This can add significant delays to the accountability process,' the report said. Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, criticized the report as an attempt 'to diminish the service and exceptionality of' the state police. The federal probe began in 2022 amid fallout from the in-custody death of Ronald Greene, who was beaten, tased and dragged on a rural road in northern Louisiana.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Louisiana to pay $9 million to a man who was shot in the back by state trooper during traffic stop
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana authorities have agreed to pay $9 million to a man who was partially paralyzed from the waist down after a trooper shot him in the back during a 2018 traffic stop in Baton Rouge and then falsely reported it as a Taser discharge. The settlement reached last month is among the largest of its kind in state history and resolves a federal lawsuit by Clifton 'Scotty' Dilley, whose injuries confined him to a wheelchair when he was 19. The terms of the settlement, which were not made public, were provided to The Associated Press by a person with direct knowledge who was not authorized to disclose them and spoke on condition of anonymity. The shooting was mentioned in a U.S. Justice Department report this year that found Louisiana State Police used excessive force during arrests and vehicle pursuits. State police fired Trooper Kasha Domingue after determining she shot Dilley 'without any reliable justification,' failed to activate her body-worn camera and gave inconsistent accounts that were contradicted by surveillance video. The agency also found that her misreporting the incident as a tasing 'delayed the appropriate responses to the shooting,' according to records reviewed by AP. Domingue's explanation for opening fire evolved over the years. Court records show that she alternatively claimed she mistook her firearm for a Taser, pulled the trigger by accident or said the shooting was justified because she feared for her life. Dilley was a passenger in the vehicle that was pulled over. He said the trooper never ordered him to stop fleeing before shooting. Moments after he was struck, he told Domingue he had lost feeling below his waist. 'I was like, 'What's wrong with my legs?'' Dilley said in a deposition. 'She says, 'It's a Taser aftereffect. It will wear off.'' In fact, a bullet struck Dilley's spine. Domingue's initial account fell apart quickly. She told investigators Dilley ran around the stopped vehicle and reached inside it before charging toward her. That claim was contradicted by surveillance video from a nearby store that clearly showed the unarmed man running away from the trooper. 'If that camera wasn't there I don't know how this would've turned out,' Dilley said in the deposition. 'What happened to me that night will forever change my life,' said Dilley, who was represented by former U.S. attorney and Louisiana congressman Don Cazayoux. Dilley said he hopes the 'case will effect change within the state police that will keep this from ever happening again.' An attorney for Domingue, Louis Oubre, declined to comment, as did the state Attorney General's Office. The $9 million settlement is among the largest ever paid in Louisiana in a case involving police violence. Baton Rouge agreed in 2021 to pay $4.5 million to the children of Alton Sterling, a Black man whose fatal shooting by police was captured on video and sparked widespread anger and protests. More than two years after the shooting, prosecutors charged Domingue with aggravated second-degree battery and illegal use of a weapon. She pleaded guilty in 2022 to obstruction of justice, a misdemeanor, avoiding jail but agreeing never again to serve in law enforcement. Her conviction has since been expunged. The civil proceedings raised questions about whether Domingue ever should have become a state trooper, underscoring the liability the state could have faced had the lawsuit gone to trial. State police records show a series of red flags dating back to her time in the training academy, including failed tests and issues on the firing range. The agency allowed her to graduate academy despite those problems, requiring that she complete additional training before receiving her commission. But instructors expressed misgivings about her suitability. One internal report said she 'struggled from the onset of the class, both physically and mentally.' The Justice Department alluded to Domingue in its findings on the state police's widespread use of excessive force. It noted that she remained a trooper for more than two years after the shooting due to a policy of putting off internal investigations while criminal inquiries are underway. 'This can add significant delays to the accountability process,' the report said. Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, criticized the report as an attempt 'to diminish the service and exceptionality of' the state police. The federal probe began in 2022 amid fallout from the in-custody death of Ronald Greene, who was beaten, tased and dragged on a rural road in northern Louisiana. The DOJ rescinded its findings in May, saying it was ending the 'failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders and police departments.'
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New insight into Texas family detention reveals adults fighting kids for clean water
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Adults fighting kids for clean water, despondent toddlers and a child with swollen feet denied a medical exam — these first-hand accounts from immigrant families at detention centers included in a motion filed by advocates Friday night are offering a glimpse of conditions at Texas facilities. Families shared their testimonies with immigrant advocates filing a lawsuit to prevent the Trump administration from terminating the Flores Settlement Agreement, a '90s-era policy that requires immigrant children detained in federal custody be held in safe and sanitary conditions. The agreement could challenge President Donald Trump's family detention provisions in his 'big, beautiful' bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, which also seeks to make the detention time indefinite and comes as the administration ramps up arrests. 'At a time when Congress is considering funding the indefinite detention of children and families, defending the Flores Settlement is more urgent than ever,' Mishan Wroe, a senior immigration attorney at the National Center for Youth Law, said in a statement Friday. Advocates with the center, as well as the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, RAICES and Children's Rights contacted or visited children and their families held in two Texas family detention centers in Dilley and Karnes, which reopened earlier this year. The conditions of the family detention facilities were undisclosed until immigration attorneys filed an opposing motion before a California federal court. The oversight of the detention facilities was possible because of the settlement, and the visits help ensure standards compliance and transparency, said Sergio Perez, the executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. Without the settlement, those overseeing the facilities would lose access to them and could not document what is happening inside. Out of 90 families who spoke to RAICES since March, 40 expressed medical concerns, according to the court documents. Several testimonies expressed concern over water quantity and quality. Emails seeking comment were sent to the Office of Attorney General Pam Bondi and to CoreCivic and Geo Group, which operate the detention facilities in Dilley and Karnes, Texas, respectively. There was no response from either Bondi's office or Geo Group by midday Saturday. CoreCivic referred questions to ICE. One mother was told she would have to use tap water for formula for her 9-month-old, who had diarrhea for three days after, and a 16-year-old girl described people scrambling over each other for water. 'We don't get enough water. They put out a little case of water, and everyone has to run for it," said the declaration from the girl held with her mother and two younger siblings at the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center. 'An adult here even pushed my little sister out of the way to get to the water first.' Faisal Al-Juburi, chief external affairs officer for RAICES, said Friday in a statement that the conditions 'only serve to reinforce the vital need for transparent and enforceable standards and accountability measures," citing an 'unconscionable obstruction of medical care for those with acute, chronic, and terminal illnesses.' One family with a young boy with cancer said he missed his doctor's appointment after the family was arrested following their attendance to an immigration court hearing. He is now experiencing relapse symptoms, according to the motion. Another family said their 9-month old lost over 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) while in detention for a month. Children spoke openly about their trauma during visits with legal monitors, including a 12-year-old boy with a blood condition. He reported his feet became too inflamed to walk, and even though he saw a doctor, he was denied further testing. Now, he stays mostly off his feet. 'It hurts when I walk,' he said in a court declaration. Arrests have left psychological trauma. A mother of a 3-year-old boy who saw agents go inside his babysitter's home with guns started acting differently after detention. She said he now throws himself on the ground, bruises himself and refuses to eat most days. Growing concerns as ICE ramps up operations Many of the the families in detention were already living in the U.S. which reflects the recent shift from immigration arrests at the border to internal operations. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump's immigration policies, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump's second term. Leecia Welch, the deputy legal director at Children's Rights said that as bad as facility conditions are, they will only get worse as more immigrants are brought in. 'As of early June, the census at Dilley was around 300 and only two of its five areas were open," Welch said of her visits. "With a capacity of around 2,400, it's hard to imagine what it would be like with 2,000 more people.' Pediatricians like Dr. Marsha Griffin with the American Academy of Pediatrics Council said they are concerned and are advocating across the country to allow pediatric monitors with child welfare experts inside the facilities. Future of detention without Flores agreement The Flores agreement is poised to become more relevant if Trump's legislation called the ' One Big Beautiful Bill Act ' passes with the current language allowing the indefinite detention of immigrant families, which is not allowed under the Flores agreement. Trump's legislation approved by the House also proposes setting aside $45 billion in funding, a threefold spending increase, over the next four years to expand ICE detention of adults and families. The Senate is now considering that legislation. Under these increased efforts to add more detention space, GeoGroup, the same corporation operating the detention facility in Karnes, will soon be opening an infamous prison — which housed gangsters Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly — for migrant detention in Leavenworth, Kansas. Immigration advocates argue that if the settlement were terminated, the government would need to create regulations that conform to the agreement's terms. 'Plaintiffs did not settle for policy making— they settled for rulemaking," the motion read. The federal government will have a chance to submit a reply brief. A court hearing is later scheduled for mid-July.
CTV News
21-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
New insight into Texas family detention reveals adults fighting kids for clean water
McALLEN, Texas — Adults fighting kids for clean water, despondent toddlers and a child with swollen feet denied a medical exam — these first-hand accounts from immigrant families at detention centres included in a motion filed by advocates Friday night are offering a glimpse of conditions at Texas facilities. Families shared their testimonies with immigrant advocates filing a lawsuit to prevent the Trump administration from terminating the Flores Settlement Agreement, a '90s-era policy that requires immigrant children detained in federal custody be held in safe and sanitary conditions. The agreement could challenge U.S. President Donald Trump's family detention provisions in his 'big, beautiful' bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, which also seeks to made the detention time indefinite and comes as the administration ramps up arrests. 'At a time when Congress is considering funding the indefinite detention of children and families, defending the Flores Settlement is more urgent than ever,' Mishan Wroe, a senior immigration attorney at the National Centre for Youth Law, said in a statement Friday. Advocates with the centre, as well as the Centre for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, RAICES and Children's Rights contacted or visited children and their families held in two Texas family detention centres in Dilley and Karnes, which reopened earlier this year. The conditions of the family detention facilities were undisclosed until immigration attorneys filed an opposing motion Friday night before a California federal court. The oversight of the detention facilities was possible because of the settlement, and the visits help ensure standards compliance and transparency, said Sergio Perez, the executive director of the Centre for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. Without the settlement, those overseeing the facilities would lose access to them and could not document what is happening inside. Out of 90 families who spoke to RAICES since March, 40 expressed medical concerns, according to the court documents. Several testimonies expressed concern over water quantity and quality. Family Detention FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2014, file photo, detained immigrant children line up in the cafeteria at the Karnes County Residential Center, a detention center for immigrant families, in Karnes City, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) (Eric Gay/AP) Emails seeking comment were sent to the Office of Attorney General Pam Bondi and to CoreCivic and Geo Group, which operate the detention facilities in Dilley and Karnes, Texas, respectively. There was no response from either Bondi's office or the operators of the facilities by midday Saturday. One mother was told she would have to use tap water for formula for her 9-month-old, who had diarrhea for three days after, and a 16-year-old girl described people scrambling over each other for water. 'We don't get enough water. They put out a little case of water, and everyone has to run for it,' said the declaration from the girl held with her mother and two younger siblings at the Karnes County Immigration Processing Centre. 'An adult here even pushed my little sister out of the way to get to the water first.' Faisal Al-Juburi, chief external affairs officer for RAICES, said Friday in a statement that the conditions 'only serve to reinforce the vital need for transparent and enforceable standards and accountability measures,' citing an 'unconscionable obstruction of medical care for those with acute, chronic, and terminal illnesses.' One family with a young boy with cancer said he missed his doctor's appointment after the family was arrested following their attendance to an immigration court hearing. He is now experiencing relapse symptoms, according to the motion. Another family said their 9-month old lost over 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) while in detention for a month. Children spoke openly about their trauma during visits with legal monitors, including a 12-year-old boy with a blood condition. He reported his feet became too inflamed to walk, and even though he saw a doctor, he was denied further testing. Now, he stays mostly off his feet. 'It hurts when I walk,' he said in a court declaration. Arrests have left psychological trauma. A mother of a 3-year-old boy who saw agents go inside his babysitter's home with guns started acting differently after detention. She said he now throws himself on the ground, bruises himself and refuses to eat most days. Growing concerns as ICE ramps up operations Many of the the families in detention were already living in the U.S. which reflects the recent shift from immigration arrests at the border to internal operations. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump's immigration policies, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump's second term. Leecia Welch, the deputy legal director at Children's Rights said that as bad as facility conditions are, they will only get worse as more immigrants are brought in. 'As of early June, the census at Dilley was around 300 and only two of its five areas were open,' Welch said of her visits. 'With a capacity of around 2,400 – it's hard to imagine what it would be like with 2,000 more people.' Pediatricians like Dr. Marsha Griffin with the American Academy of Pediatrics Council said they are concerned and are advocating across the country to allow pediatric monitors with child welfare experts inside the facilities. Future of detention without Flores agreement The Flores agreement is poised to become more relevant if Trump's legislation called the ' One Big Beautiful Bill Act ' passes with the current language allowing the indefinite detention of immigrant families, which is not allowed under the Flores agreement. Trump's legislation approved by the House also proposes setting aside US$45 billion in funding, a threefold spending increase, over the next four years to expand ICE detention of adults and families. The Senate is now considering that legislation. Under these increased efforts to add more detention space, GeoGroup, the same corporation operating the detention facility in Karnes, will soon be opening an infamous prison — which housed gangsters Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly — for migrant detention in Leavenworth, Kansas. Immigration advocates argue that if the settlement were terminated, the government would need to create regulations that conform to the agreement's terms. 'Plaintiffs did not settle for policy making— they settled for rulemaking," the motion read. The federal government will have a chance to submit a reply brief. A court hearing is later scheduled for mid-July. By Valerie Gonzalez.
Al Arabiya
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
New Insight Into Texas Family Detention Reveals Adults Fighting Kids for Clean Water
Adults fighting kids for clean water, despondent toddlers, and a child with swollen feet denied a medical exam – these firsthand accounts from immigrant families at detention centers, included in a motion filed by advocates Friday night, are offering a glimpse of conditions at Texas facilities. Families shared their testimonies with immigrant advocates filing a lawsuit to prevent the Trump administration from terminating the Flores Settlement Agreement, a 1990s-era policy that requires immigrant children detained in federal custody be held in safe and sanitary conditions. The agreement could challenge President Donald Trump's family detention provisions in his 'big, beautiful bill' of tax breaks and spending cuts, which also seeks to make the detention time indefinite and comes as the administration ramps up arrests. 'At a time when Congress is considering funding the indefinite detention of children and families, defending the Flores Settlement is more urgent than ever,' Mishan Wroe, a senior immigration attorney at the National Center for Youth Law, said in a statement Friday. Advocates with the center, as well as the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, RAICES, and Children's Rights, contacted or visited children and their families held in two Texas family detention centers in Dilley and Karnes, which reopened earlier this year. The conditions of the family detention facilities were undisclosed until immigration attorneys filed an opposing motion Friday night before a California federal court. 'The oversight of the detention facilities was possible because of the settlement, and the visits help ensure standards compliance and transparency,' said Sergio Perez, the executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. 'Without the settlement, those overseeing the facilities would lose access to them and could not document what is happening inside.' Out of ninety families who spoke to RAICES since March, forty expressed medical concerns, according to the court documents. Several testimonies expressed concern over water quantity and quality. Emails seeking comment were sent to the Office of Attorney General Pam Bondi and to CoreCivic and GEO Group, which operate the detention facilities in Dilley and Karnes, Texas, respectively. There was no response from either Bondi's office or the operators of the facilities by midday Saturday. One mother was told she would have to use tap water for formula for her nine-month-old, who had diarrhea for three days after, and a sixteen-year-old girl described people scrambling over each other for water. 'We don't get enough water. They put out a little case of water and everyone has to run for it,' said the declaration from the girl held with her mother and two younger siblings at the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center. 'An adult here even pushed my little sister out of the way to get to the water first.' Faisal al-Juburi, chief external affairs officer for RAICES, said Friday in a statement that the conditions 'only serve to reinforce the vital need for transparent and enforceable standards and accountability measures,' citing an 'unconscionable obstruction of medical care for those with acute, chronic, and terminal illnesses.' One family with a young boy with cancer said he missed his doctor's appointment after the family was arrested following their attendance to an immigration court hearing. He is now experiencing relapse symptoms, according to the motion. Another family said their nine-month-old lost over eight pounds (3.6 kilograms) while in detention for a month. Children spoke openly about their trauma during visits with legal monitors, including a twelve-year-old boy with a blood condition. He reported his feet became too inflamed to walk, and even though he saw a doctor, he was denied further testing. 'Now he stays mostly off his feet. It hurts when I walk,' he said in a court declaration. Arrests have left psychological trauma. A mother of a three-year-old boy who saw agents go inside his babysitter's home with guns said he started acting differently after detention. She said he now throws himself on the ground, bruises himself, and refuses to eat most days. Many of the families in detention were already living in the US, which reflects the recent shift from immigration arrests at the border to internal operations. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump's immigration policies, said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump's second term. Leecia Welch, the deputy legal director at Children's Rights, said that as bad as facility conditions are, they will only get worse as more immigrants are brought in. 'As of early June, the census at Dilley was around 300 and only two of its five areas were open,' Welch said of her visits. 'With a capacity of around 2,400 – it's hard to imagine what it would be like with 2,000 more people.' Pediatricians like Dr. Marsha Griffin with the American Academy of Pediatrics Council said they are concerned and are advocating across the country to allow pediatric monitors with child welfare experts inside the facilities. The Flores agreement is poised to become more relevant if Trump's legislation, called the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,' passes with the current language allowing the indefinite detention of immigrant families, which is not allowed under the Flores agreement. Trump's legislation, approved by the House, also proposes setting aside $45 billion in funding, a threefold spending increase over the next four years, to expand ICE detention of adults and families. The Senate is now considering that legislation. Under these increased efforts to add more detention space, GEO Group, the same corporation operating the detention facility in Karnes, will soon be opening an infamous prison – which housed gangsters Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly – for migrant detention in Leavenworth, Kansas. Immigration advocates argue that if the settlement were terminated, the government would need to create regulations that conform to the agreement's terms. 'Plaintiffs did not settle for policymaking – they settled for rulemaking,' the motion read. The federal government will have a chance to submit a reply brief. A court hearing is scheduled for mid-July.
