police custody

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Mentally Ill Man Asphyxiated in Police Car

Officers in Brazil 'turned a car into a gas chamber,' activist says

(Newser) - Anger and protests in Brazil have followed the death of a Black man who was gassed in police custody. After a traffic stop, officers in the city of Umbaúba put the man in the back of a police car, then set off a gas grenade, the Guardian reports. "...

Man Dies After Cops Pin Him Facedown for 5 Minutes

Mario Arenales Gonzalez's April 19 death compared to George Floyd's

(Newser) - Body camera footage just released by authorities in Alameda County, Calif., shows a man died in police custody after he was pinned facedown on the ground for five minutes. Mario Arenales Gonzalez, a Hispanic man, died April 19, one day before former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of...

7 Texas Officers Fired After Death in Custody

Black man arrested for pot misdemeanor died after being restrained

(Newser) - On March 14, a 26-year-old Black man with a history of mental illness was arrested on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge in Allen, Texas. He died after he was taken to the county jail, where he was restrained, pepper-sprayed, and had a "spit hood" placed over his head. Seven...

Suit: While in Custody, Deputies Ripped Off My Hijab

Jennifer Hyatt says Ventura County officers yanked off her hijab while she was in custody

(Newser) - What started out as a husband-wife incident has led to a federal lawsuit against the sheriff's office in California's Ventura County after the wife says deputies forcibly removed her head scarf while in custody. The Los Angeles Times reports on the case of nurse Jennifer Hyatt, 44, who...

Man in Vegas Dies in Police Custody After Neck Restraint

ACLU condemns practice, but department says it wasn't a chokehold

(Newser) - A man's death while in police custody on the Las Vegas Strip is making headlines, in part because of an officer's use of a neck restraint. Police say the incident began when the man approached two officers inside the Venetian hotel and casino about 1am Sunday, reports the...

Police Drop Bombshell About Freddie Gray Arrest

Police reveal officers' statements to the Baltimore Sun

(Newser) - An officer involved in the infamous Freddie Gray arrest—which sparked rioting and political upheaval in Baltimore after Gray died a week later—conceded that the man appeared to need medical help while in police custody, the Baltimore Sun reports. According to officer William Porter, Gray asked for help while...

Sandra Bland Told Jailers of Previous Suicide Attempt

It occurred last year

(Newser) - When Sandra Bland was being booked into jail, she filled out a form saying she had attempted suicide with pills within the past year, the Houston Chronicle reports. For a reason, she wrote "lost baby." Bland also indicated that she was not feeling suicidal at the time of...

Sandra Bland Arrest Video Wasn't Edited, Say Officials

Inconsistencies spotted in dashcam video came from upload glitch: DPS

(Newser) - A rep for the Texas Department of Public Safety says the dashcam video of Sandra Bland's arrest "has not been edited" and that various inconsistencies are the result of a "technical issue during posting," reports the Texas Tribune and NBC News . The DPS earlier said it...

Video: Cop Tells Sandra Bland, 'I Will Light You Up'

Dashcam video shows tense arrest

(Newser) - Authorities in Texas have released the dashcam video of the arrest of Sandra Bland , and it reveals an increasingly hostile encounter between her and trooper Brian Encinia, reports NBC and the New York Times . After an initial exchange, Encinia tells Bland she seems irritated and she answers, "I am....

Asthmatic Dad Dies After Cops Hogtie Him Facedown

Troy Goode's family wants answers as arrest video emerges

(Newser) - Another death in police custody has a Tennessee family scrambling for answers. Family attorney Tim Edwards tells NBC News that Troy Goode, 30, "ingested" something outside a Widespread Panic concert in Southaven, Miss., on Saturday and "got paranoid." The Memphis man, father to a 15-month-old child, reportedly...

Timeline Emerges in Sandra Bland's Jail Cell Death

Bland left alone for 90 minutes before she was found dead: cop

(Newser) - "What happened to Sandy Bland?" read a sign held by a woman camped out yesterday outside the building where the 28-year-old was found dead on July 13. There is still no answer, but there are more details: A timeline of Bland's final hours before she was found dead...

Could Arrest Video Hold Answers in Odd Jail Death?

Family members say Sandra Bland's jail death wasn't suicide

(Newser) - Sandra Bland was supposed to start a new job this week, but she was found dead in a jail cell Monday morning in what police say was a suicide and family members say was something more sinister. The Chicago-area resident was taken into custody after allegedly kicking an officer during...

Student's Death in Police Custody Ruled a Homicide

21-year-old in Georgia found in cell; 9 deputies fired

(Newser) - Another high-profile case with allegations of police brutality has surfaced, this time out of Savannah, Ga. The county coroner has ruled the death of local student and 21-year-old Nigerian native Matthew Ajibade a homicide, reports CNN . Ajibade died in police custody on New Year's Day following his arrest on...

Nigerian Rebel Leader Dies in Police Custody

(Newser) - The leader of an uprising set on introducing Islamic law in Nigeria died in custody today, the BBC reports. Mohammed Yusuf was captured in his in-laws’ goat pen in Maiduguri—and was later seen standing and with no visible injuries by a Reuters reporter. “He has been killed,”...

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