MAN UNLAWFULLY ARRESTED FOR DESECRATING U.S. FLAG

All state and federal criminal laws must be consistent with the U.S. Constitution. An arrest and conviction based on an unconstitutional statute are invalid, unlawful and a violation of the suspect's rights.  See this case from Louisiana.  For more, see this article from Wikipedia.

CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER FACES FEDERAL CHARGES IN SHOOTING

A Chicago police officer is facing federal criminal charges for shooting two black teenagers in 2013, when he fired into a stolen car that was moving away from him in an incident that was recorded on video.

An indictment filed on Thursday and made public on Friday charges Officer Marco Proano with two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, each one carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Both of the teenagers who were shot survived. Video of the encounter, captured by a dashboard camera in the officer’s squad car, became public last year as part of a criminal case against another teenager in the car, after the city had declined to release it.

The Fraternal Order of Police, which has defended Officer Proano’s conduct, declined to comment. In a statement, the Chicago Police Department asserted that it would “have zero tolerance for proven misconduct,” and noted that the officer “was relieved of his police powers last year.”

The Supreme Court has held that the police may not use deadly force to stop a fleeing suspect unless the person poses an imminent threat.

The shooting was one in a string of events that have inflamed relations between the police and the black community in Chicago as police and political leaders have struggled to improve their damaged reputations while fighting a surge in violent crime. The most notorious case was the 2014 death of Laquan McDonald, 17, who was shot 16 times by a Chicago officer, including several rounds fired after he had fallen. He was holding a knife, but was not moving toward the officer, and did not appear to be near enough to pose a threat."

NO PROBABLE CAUSE LEADS TO BAD ARREST

From the DMN:
“Avi Adelman, a photojournalist and prominent Dallas blogger, is suing Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the transit agency police officer who arrested him as he took photos of paramedics responding to a medical emergency in a public plaza.

Adelman spent almost a day in jail in February after DART police Officer Stephanie Branch arrested him for criminal trespass as he photographed paramedics responding to a reported drug overdose in Rosa Parks Plaza downtown. The charges were dropped weeks later.

A subsequent DART police internal affairs investigation concluded that Adelman was within his rights to photograph the incident because he was not interfering, that Branch did not have probable cause to arrest him and that she also entered “false and improper information” in her report of the arrest.

A DART spokesman said the agency had not seen the lawsuit filed Thursday and could not comment. The internal affairs investigation sustained all six complaints against Branch stemming from Adelman’s arrest, but it has not been determined how she’ll be disciplined.”

 

IS THE DEATH PENALTY SLOWLY DYING OUT?

Executions may hit 25-year low.