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Black Lives Matter

Black kids are 6 times more likely to be strip-searched, says UK report

Black children in England and Wales were six times more likely to be strip-searched by police, according to a report being released Monday that found children were failed by those sworn to protect them. Children's Commissioner Rachel de Souza found nearly 3,000 children were strip-searched between 2018 and mid-2022 and more than half the searches were conducted without an appropriate adult present. The investigation was launched after a Black 15-year-old girl suspected of having marijuana was strip-searched at a London school in 2020 by two female officers without another adult present. The girl, identified as Child Q, was menstruating and no drugs were found. A previous report said racism was a likely factor for the humiliating search. The bravery of a girl to speak up about a traumatic thing that happened to her led to the report that found widespread noncompliance of safeguards and evidence of a "deeply concerning practice, de Souza said. The findings follow a scathing report la

Updated On : 27 Mar 2023 | 8:31 AM IST

Fate of last ex-cop charged in George Floyd murder lies with judge

The attorney for a former Minneapolis police officer who held back bystanders while his colleagues restrained a dying George Floyd said in court filings Tuesday that his client is innocent of criminal wrongdoing and should be acquitted on state charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. But prosecutors argued in their filings that Tou Thao acted without courage and displayed no compassion despite his nearly nine years of experience and that he disregarded his training even though he could see Floyd's life slowly ebbing away. Tuesday was the deadline for prosecutors and defence attorneys to file final written arguments in the case of Thao, the last of the four former officers facing judgement in Floyd's killing. The state and federal cases against Derek Chauvin and the two other officers involved have largely been resolved, except for Chauvin's appeal of his murder conviction. But Thao asked Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill to decide, based on stipulated evidence, ...

Updated On : 01 Feb 2023 | 10:35 AM IST

Minneapolis ex-cop who kneeled on George Floyd's back gets 3.5-year term

The former Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on George Floyd's back while another officer kneeled on the Black man's neck was sentenced Friday to 3 1/2 years in prison. J. Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty in October to a state count of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. In exchange, a charge of aiding and abetting murder was dropped. Kueng is already serving a federal sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights, and the state and federal sentence will be served at the same time. Kueng, who is already serving a federal sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights, appeared at his sentencing hearing via video from a federal prison in Ohio. When given the chance to address the court, he declined. Floyd's family members had the right to make victim impact statements, but none did. Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after former Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck for 9 1/2 minutes as Floyd repeatedly said he couldn't breathe and eventually went limp. The killing, whi

Updated On : 10 Dec 2022 | 8:41 AM IST

5 officers in Connecticut charged after Black man paralysed in police van

Five Connecticut police officers were charged Monday with cruelly neglecting a Black man after he was partially paralyzed in the back of a police van, despite his repeated and desperate pleas for help. Randy Cox, 36, was being driven to a New Haven police station June 19 for processing on a weapons charge when the driver braked hard at an intersection to avoid a collision, causing Cox to fly headfirst into a metal partition in the van. I can't move. I'm going to die like this. Please, please, please help me, Cox said minutes after the crash. As Cox pleaded for help, some of the officers at the detention center mocked him and accused him of being drunk and faking his injuries, according to dialogue captured by surveillance and body-worn camera footage. Officers dragged Cox by his feet from the van and placed him in a holding cell prior to his eventual transfer to a hospital. I think I cracked my neck, Cox said after the van arrived at the detention center. You didn't crack it, no,