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Mother sues over US killing of Black jogger Ahmaud Arbery
Washington (AFP) - The mother of Ahmaud Arbery, an African American man shot dead while jogging, filed a lawsuit Tuesday on the anniversary of his killing as President Joe Biden pledged to help make the United States safer for people of color. Wanda Cooper seeks $1 million in damages in the suit that names the three white men charged with killing her 25-year-old son, who was unarmed and out for a run when he was gunned down on February 23, 2020 in the southern US state of Georgia. "A Black man should be able to go for a jog without fearing for his life," Biden said. "Today, we remember Ahmaud...
AFP
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US grand jury declines charges in police death of Black man hooded by officers
New York (AFP) - A US grand jury declined to charge any police officers in the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man who suffocated while being arrested during a mental health emergency in Rochester, New York last year, the state's attorney general Letitia James said Tuesday. "I'm extremely disappointed," James said, while explaining that the jurors have the final say in the matter. The US justice system often sees prosecutors convene a grand jury to study the evidence of a case and decide whether or not to press charges and go to trial. "We sought a different outcome than the one the grand jury...
AFP
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Activist Malcolm X's family calls to reopen investigation into his murder
New York (AFP) - The daughters of prominent Black activist Malcolm X have called to reopen the investigation into his murder in light of new testimony implicating the New York police and the FBI. "Any evidence that provides greatest insight into the truth behind that terrible tragedy should be thoroughly investigated," said Ilyasah Shabazz, one of Malcolm X's six daughters, during a press conference on Saturday. Considered alongside Martin Luther King Jr as one the most influential African Americans in history, Malcolm X was an outspoken Muslim advocate of Black rights, although critics said h...
AFP
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Hong Kong launches public consultation on regulating genuine firearm parts to allow for easier prosecution
The Hong Kong government launched a public consultation on Wednesday on further restricting genuine firearm components to “combat the misuse of arms by criminals in posing threats to citizens’ lives and property.” The proposed amendments seek to amend the Firearms and Ammunition Ordinance to specify certain firearm components so that – in future court cases – the police or prosecution would not have to prove that the parts are being “used or intended to be used to discharge a missile” to fit the definition of “arms.” In the consultation paper, the government said there was a “worrying increase...
Hong Kong Free Press
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Hong Kong police discuss possible use of stun guns, as ban on insults against officers proposed — report
Hong Kong’s Police Commissioner Chris Tang and other force leaders have discussed plans to upgrade weapons, possibly including stun guns, and a proposal to ban insults against police, according to a report. During a two-hour video conference event entitled “Dialogue with the Commissioner” held at Wan Chai police headquarters on Wednesday, Tang revealed that the Security Bureau was considering a legal proposal to outlaw insults not only against police officers, but also all civil servants, Apple Daily newspaper reported. The force would also provide assistance to officers who had been doxxed or...
Hong Kong Free Press
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Anger after US police pepper-spray 9-year-old girl
New York (AFP) - A nine-year-old girl was handcuffed and pepper-sprayed by police in the US city of Rochester, footage released Sunday showed, sparking new outrage over excesses committed by the country's law enforcement. Deputy Police Chief Andre Anderson said Sunday the girl -- who has not been named -- had been suffering from a serious mental health emergency, reportedly threatening to take her own life and that of her mother. Officers called to the scene on Friday eventually responded by handcuffing her, before trying to force her into a car and pepper-spraying her when she resisted, body...
AFP
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US Capitol police officer who died after riot to lie in honor
Washington (AFP) - The US Capitol police officer who died after being injured in the January 6 attack by pro-Trump rioters will lie in honor at the building's Rotunda, lawmakers said Friday, a mark of respect rarely bestowed. Brian Sicknick was reportedly struck in the head with a fire extinguisher while struggling with the rioters who swarmed through the halls of Congress. The 42-year-old member of the force that protects the ground of the Congress returned to his division office where he collapsed and was taken to the hospital, according to the Capitol Police. He died the next day, they said...
AFP
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US Supreme Court declines to wade in on police use of hypnosis
Washington (AFP) - The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to examine the case of a man condemned to death in a trial in which police used hypnosis to bolster the memory of a key witness. The case would have provided the highest court in the country the chance to pronounce on the use by some police departments of the use of the controversial method known as investigative hypnosis. The court's decision leaves intact the death sentence against Charles Flores for the murder of a woman in her sixties in Texas in 1998. During his trial, Flores was identified by a neighbor of the victim, who recall...
AFP
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Hong Kong’s Kim Jong-un impersonator says he was arrested over ‘possession of firearm,’ flat raided
Hong Kong’s Kim Jong-un impersonator says he was arrested by ten police officers who raided his home last October upon suspicion that he was in possession of a firearm without a licence. The lookalike, who also goes by the name “Howard,” said on Facebook that police told him a BB gun had been posted to his address in April 2020, though he never received it: “[T]hey said that particular BB gun had an energy output beyond what was legally allowed and therefore is considered in the same category as a real firearm.” Howard said on Wednesday that nothing was found during the raid last October 20, t...
Hong Kong Free Press
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New York attorney general sues NYPD over 'brutal' protest crackdown
New York (AFP) - New York state's attorney general sued the NYPD on Thursday, accusing America's largest police force of using "brutal" force during last year's massive Black Lives Matter protests. Letitia James said New York City police officers falsely arrested peaceful demonstrators, unlawfully detained legal observers and deployed "indiscriminate, unjustified" repeated use of batons and pepper spray. James, a Democrat, added that the actions "led to significant injuries and violated individuals' basic right to peacefully protest." Tens of thousands of people marched in New York in May and ...
AFP
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