Latest news with #useofforce
Fox News
3 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
Violent assault on off-duty NYPD rookie uncovers tensions with police safety and force protocols
The brother of 27-year-old New York City Police Department officer Chowdhury Nafees, who was beaten by two men in the Bronx Saturday, told Fox News Digital the suspects in the attack "escalated" their brutality after finding out Nafees was a police officer. That has prompted conversations about use-of-force policies that may prevent law enforcement from protecting themselves. Wayne Lucas, 23, and Taveon Hargrove, 23, were arrested in the assault that left Nafees, who was in uniform on his way home from work, "horribly mutilated." Just before 4 a.m. Saturday, Lucas and Hargrove allegedly forced the off-duty rookie officer to the ground, stomping on his face and causing multiple fractures. They then allegedly held a knife to his throat before forcibly removing his wallet, iPhone and gun and running away. Nafees' partner called the family and told them "something happened," but they remained in the dark until the 45th precinct confirmed he had been rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Chowdhury Navid, Nafees' brother, told Fox News Digital he and his mother went to the hospital and found Nafees unconscious and bleeding from his eyes. "The left eye was completely, horribly mutilated," Navid said. "There was a bootstrap on his face, which was clear that somebody stomped him very, very violently. You can see the tracks on his face. It was a horrible sight to see my brother, who I love the most, and someone who I always look up to … to be in a place where he's completely helpless." Chowdhury suffered severe head trauma and will need reconstructive surgery. His left orbital bone and right cheekbone were also fractured, among other injuries. Navid recounted his father's reaction when he arrived at the hospital a short time later. "My dad is a very strong man," he said. "I never saw him cry ever in his life. This is the first time I saw him break apart." While the attack appeared to be random, Navid said it "escalated dramatically" when the suspects found out his brother was in law enforcement. "My brother recalled with one of the investigators [that the suspects learned he was a police officer because he was] wearing a vest on top of his uniform," he said. "When they found out, my brother said he heard them saying, 'Ah, s---. This is a cop.' After that, everything escalated." "They absolutely hated it," Navid added. "If they could, they would have killed him." Retired NYPD Det. Robert Garland, who is helping the family raise money for Nafees' recovery, called for justice and challenged the department to be proactive in protecting officers. "In an act like this, justice needs to be served," Garland told Fox News Digital. "What I mean by that is not going to jail for three or five years. This is an attack on a police officer … and, in my eyes, this is an attempted murder. They should be in jail for life, or they should be up against the death penalty. Something like this should never happen again." Law enforcement agencies' use-of-force protocols can also lead to an apathetic attitude toward officers and dissuade them from protecting themselves, according to Garland. "That officer was scared about what he would do, about what his actions would be and how the job — the NYPD — would treat him if he took action," he said. "Those perpetrators had a knife to him," Garland added. "Could you imagine if he shot, if he drew his firearm and said, 'Police don't move,' and shot. By law, he had every right to do that. But he's thinking at that moment, 'Should I do that? Am I going to lose my job? Am I going to be held publicly on trial?' … All those things will absolutely happen, and it's terrible. … Officers should be allowed to uphold the law." The same concerns could affect potential recruits' likelihood of taking the oath of office. "People are afraid to take the job because they're afraid of losing it," Gardland said. "They're afraid of repercussions. They're afraid of being transferred in the middle of the night. "The job needs to change, and that camaraderie needs to come back," he added. "Unions, brotherhoods, everything has to come together and [they all need to] be there for one another. Unless that starts now and really gets tighter, no one's going to want this job. … They have to keep intact that thin blue line." Nafees was released from the hospital Wednesday, though his family said he has a long road to recovery. "His condition has improved dramatically over the last four or five days," Navid said. "I'm really, really grateful to NYPD, [NYC] PBA, the people in the hospital, everybody. … It's a miracle what they were able to pull off. I'm going to be honest with you. If it was not in the United States, he would have been dead." Though Nafees is an educated engineer, Navid said his brother wanted to go back to the field "because that's his passion." "He could choose to make a lot of money just by doing [engineering], but he believes that this country needs more people on the street, serving the communities, way more than there is a need for engineers," Navid said. "He's driven by honor, driven by the necessity of the people," he added. "He's one of those few people who will come [to] the front, and take the risk to do what's right for everybody." As of Friday, Fund the First, a fundraising platform started by Garland, raised just over $20,000 in donations for Nafees' family.
CBC
24-05-2025
- CBC
Police officer was 'reckless' when firing plastic bullets that killed woman: OPCC
Social Sharing A police officer in Victoria took "reckless and unnecessary" action when he fired plastic bullets into a smokey room, killing a woman, according to a decision by the Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner (OPCC). The finding, comes from retired judge Wally Oppal, who presided over the OPCC's public hearing into the death of Lisa Rauch, 43. The hearing was ordered by the OPCC after previous investigations by both B.C.'s Internal Investigations Office and an investigation by Vancouver Police found no wrongdoing. The OPCC monitors and investigates municipal police forces and administers discipline according to the Police Act. As a civilian office of the B.C. government it is independent from municipal police forces. The hearing, which ran for 16 days spread out over six months, sought to determine two things: whether Sgt. Ron Kirkwood (then a constable) committed abuse of authority by using unnecessary force against Rauch, and whether he committed neglect of duty by not making notes after the incident. Oppal ruled yes to the first question, and no to the second. He also outlined the series of events leading up to the incident in his decision. In his decision, Oppal outlined the series of events leading up to the incident. Kirkwood was one of the officers who responded to a call on Christmas Day, 2019, when Rauch had locked herself in the room of a supportive housing unit in Victoria where she was visiting a friend. According to witnesses, Rauch was in a drug-induced psychosis and had threatened people with a knife if they entered the suite. Police initially waited in the hallway for crisis communicators to come, but the situation changed when a fire in the room triggered the building's fire alarms. Worried the fire could spread, Kirkwood and other police officers opened the door and gathered at the entry, along with two firefighters. Kirkwood was armed with an anti-riot device called an Arwen gun, which shoots plastic bullets. According to testimony outlined in Oppal's report, police consider it to be a "less lethal" weapon — when it hits someone below the clavicle. The firefighters then used a hose to spray water into the room, and Kirkwood fired three rounds of the Arwen gun, aiming at what he thought was Rauch's abdomen. Because it was smokey, Kirkwood testified he could not see her head, but he thought she was standing. But Rauch was actually seated, facing away from the door, and Kirkwood shot the back of her head, not her stomach. She died in hospital a few days later. CCTV footage shown at the hearing showed it was 46 seconds from when police entered the unit to when they were carrying Rauch out into the hall. In his ruling, Oppal acknowledged that it was a stressful and chaotic situation, with smoke and noise, and Rauch yelling but not responding to attempts from police to speak with her. But, he said testimony from firefighters indicated the fire was lessened by the water, and Kirkwood could see enough of Rauch to know that she wasn't advancing on them — so any immediate risk was gone. "The circumstances were not such, when he identified what he believed to be Ms. Rauch 15 feet away, that he was deprived of a meaningful opportunity to reflect and reassess," wrote Oppal in his report. Given that, Oppal found that Kirkwood committed abuse of authority. He is expected to suggest discipline, and recommend corrective measures to Victoria Police, at a later date that is still to be determined. Decision comes as a surprise Both police and the Rauch family said they were surprised by the decision. Kirkwood stood and left the room as soon as Oppal said that abuse of authority had been committed — while Oppal was still talking. His boss, Victoria police chief Del Manak, shared his surprise with reporters after the hearing concluded. He pointed out that other investigations found Kirkwood had acted accordingly, and said it was a difficult day for everyone. "This has really been tough. It's been tough on our officers. It's been tough on the family. There are no winners in this," Manak said. He said he'll review the report and make recommended changes, but said his officers acted as slowly as they could to try to handle a chaotic situation. Rauch's mother, Audrey Roach, said she and her family had been preparing themselves for a different result. "I'm very grateful for his decision. Sort of shocked that it did turn out this way." She said it has been a long five-and-a-half years since her daughter was killed, and the journey is not over yet. She and her family say they are working with the coroner's office to arrange an inquest into her daughter's death. She also wants people to remember that while Lisa Rauch was troubled, she was also a fun and funny woman.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- BBC News
Use of Taser on 92-year-old Donald Burgess was viable, court told
A police officer who Tasered a 92-year-old amputee who threatened to stab care home staff acted within her training, a court has Rachel Comotto and Stephen Smith are accused of using excessive force on Donald Burgess at a home in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, in June previously heard how Mr Burgess, who had one leg and used a wheelchair, was sprayed in the face, struck with a baton and Tasered within 83 seconds of officers entering his Mills, a use of force expert, told Southwark Crown Court on Friday that using the Taser after other options had failed was a "viable action" and not something he would criticise. Mr Mills told jurors the situation had reached the point where "all the other options have failed" and using a Taser provided a rapid by PC Comotto's barrister, Colin Banham, whether it would have been acceptable for officers to leave Mr Burgess alone with the knife, he said: "That would be criticised." Mr Mills explained that the short Taser burst delivered by PC Comotto was within protocol, and her actions to disarm Mr Burgess and provide reassurance afterwards aligned with her noted that PC Comotto had shouted "Taser, Taser" as required and had pressed and released the trigger within the standard five-second added: "(The Taser) gives off an audible beep."If the trigger had been held down longer, we would have heard the bleep. The fact we didn't indicates a single, appropriate trigger press."Mr Mills said: "The reassurance was excellent, as was the recovery of the Taser. "That is all part of the training for Taser officers." He said the only issue raised was PC Comotto giving Mr Burgess water immediately afterwards, which was a "common misconception" among officers because it can further inflame the effects of the Pava spray."Other than the use of water, everything else was in line with training," he said. PC Smith, 51, denies two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm relating to his use of Pava spray and a Comotto, 36, denies one count for discharging her Burgess was taken to hospital after being contracted Covid-19 and died 22 days later. The PCs are not accused of being responsible for his trial reporting from PA Media
CTV News
21-05-2025
- CTV News
RCMP officer who shot Vancouver Island man twice in head faces possible gun charges
The Independent Investigations Office, B.C.'s police watchdog, has sent a file to the Crown for consideration of charges against an RCMP officer who shot a man twice in the head on Vancouver Island two years ago. It happened near Evans Park in Duncan on the evening of March 28, 2023. According to the IIO, bystanders called Mounties to report a man operating a skid-steer erratically on city streets just after 9 p.m. In a news release at the time, the IIO said the skid-steer collided with police vehicles in the park before police shot the man. Davin Cochrane, 31 at the time, sustained serious injuries and went to hospital in critical condition. His father spoke to CTV News on Tuesday and said an investigator with the IIO told him they would be recommending charges following a two-year investigation into what happened and whether the use of force was justified. 'She informed me that less than five per cent of the time, when these cases are presented to them, that there is wrongful doing on behalf of the RCMP,' Michael Cochrane said of his conversation with the investigator. 'But in this case, there is reasonable justification to move forward with charges against the RCMP.' The IIO announced the conclusion of its investigation in a news release Wednesday morning. It said Chief Civilian Director Jessica Berglund 'reviewed the evidence and determined that reasonable grounds exist to believe that one officer may have committed an offence in relation to the use of a firearm.' It did not say what possible charges are being considered. The file is now in the hands of the B.C. Prosecution Service which must decide if charges will be approved. One threshold in that decision will be whether or not the Crown believes there is a 'substantial likelihood of conviction,' and that prosecution would be required in the public interest. 'There is a sense of relief today, to know that it's being looked at in a real fashion,' Michael Cochrane said. He told CTV News his son still carries physical and emotional trauma from the shooting. 'He still struggles from lifelong injuries. He's had a lot of health issues related to this because of the substantial wounds that he suffered,' he said. According to his father, Davin Cochrane still has bullet fragments in his brain – and some fragments have migrated to organs elsewhere in his body. He said his son has had learn to walk again and continues to receive physical therapy on a daily basis at a facility in Vancouver. Davin Cochrane also receives regular counselling to help him with the trauma that he still experiences as a result of the shooting. 'His life will never be the same. And he's doing his best to get ahead of that and be grateful for every moment,' Michael Cochrane said. Davin Cochrane also has a civil lawsuit pending against two RCMP officers, the national force and B.C.'s Minister of Public Safety and the Solicitor General. The BC RCMP did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the duty status of the officers involved in the shooting.
CBS News
16-05-2025
- CBS News
Miami officer cleared in March 2024 shooting of man in mental health crisis, prosecutors say
The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office has cleared a City of Miami police officer who shot a man experiencing a mental health episode in March of 2024, stating the use of force was justified, according to an eight-page memo released Thursday. Donald Armstrong was shot six times by officer Kassandra Mercado on March 7, 2024, after his mother called police for help. Body camera footage showed Mercado firing at Armstrong and prosecutors say he was armed with an object they believe could have caused serious bodily harm. Prosecutors cite evidence supporting officer's actions The State Attorney's Office said it reviewed extensive evidence in the case, including witness statements, 911 calls, and body camera footage, before concluding that Mercado's actions were legally justified. The memo indicated that Armstrong posed a potential threat at the time of the shooting. Attorney criticizes handling of mental health calls Armstrong's attorney, Larry Handfield, criticized the outcome of the investigation and called for changes in how police respond to mental health emergencies. "We will continue to have this type of experience in our city until we invest in trying to save lives," Handfield said. "It's like we invest in police, make better policing, better law enforcement to protect and serve. We need to make sure that when there is a call for mental health crisis that we have the appropriate people who are trying to respond." Handfield confirmed that Armstrong plans to move forward with a lawsuit against the department. Armstrong spoke with CBS News Miami and will share his account during the 11 p.m. broadcast.
