Reformers want California police to stop using a gang database seen as racially biased

Police reform activists this week called on California’s top law enforcement officer to stop use of a secretive and problem-plagued database of suspected gang members, frustrated that it continues to function under rules they say disproportionately target Black and Latino men and that were ordered fixed by the state Legislature nearly three years ago.

The database, known as CalGang, is used by law enforcement agencies across the state to store names and personal details of nearly 90,000 people suspected of being active gang members or possibly associating with them.

In 2016, a state audit found that CalGang was riddled with questionable entries and errors such as the inclusion of year-old children. More recently, the LAPD has investigated officers accused of falsifying information in order to add people to the list. The department announced last week that it was suspending use of CalGang.

But the imposition of statewide regulations — which were legally mandated to be completed by Jan. 1, until California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra extended the deadline for six months — is overdue, with no clear end in sight. This leaves CalGang functioning largely under old rules that some argue constitute racial profiling. Prompted by the protests over the death of George Floyd, police reform activists want to stop agencies from adding names or using existing names for investigations until the system is revised.

“Millions of people exercising their First Amendment rights these past weeks have demonstrated the insufficiency of the California Department of Justice’s actions to meet their longstanding demand that law enforcement treat everyone with respect and dignity,” read a letter sent Monday to Becerra and signed by more than three dozen organizations, including the ACLU. “Nowhere is that more true than in the department’s ineffective effort to reform law enforcement’s use of the CalGang database.”

Becerra’s office said Tuesday it was reviewing the letter and that “the rule-making process takes time.”

“The Legislature directed our office to develop regulations to improve the quality and integrity of CalGang, and the proposed regulations are intended to do just that,” the statement continued.

In 2017, state lawmakers passed a measure to place CalGang under the purview of Becerra’s Department of Justice. Becerra was charged with purging the database of old or inaccurate records and creating new rules for adding people. Advocates hoped those rules would diminish the ability of officers to use only subjective criteria, such as the color of clothing or the area in which a person is seen, as evidence of gang membership. While thousands of records were purged, thousands more have been added in recent years.

“They just crossed out where the deadline goes and put nothing in its place,” said Garcia-Leys. “The idea that this sort of policing would continue … for years after the Legislature put a stop to it is unacceptable.”

Reform advocates also are unhappy with the latest draft of proposed rules, which they argue leave too much discretion for officers. Garcia-Leys and others hope to tighten CalGang’s scope so that people in the orbit of suspected gang members, such as teachers, coaches and romantic partners, could not easily be included.

In a proposal last summer, Becerra suggested cutting back on the reasons a person could be added to CalGang. In December, he reversed on tightening regulations amid objections from law enforcement members, who argued that their expertise in gang identification should be taken into account and that such discretion was necessary because gangs have become more adept at evading scrutiny.

Law enforcement officials have said the database is a valuable tool for investigating gang crimes and presents little risk to those on it because the information cannot be used to initiate police action.

But on Friday, the LAPD announced its own moratorium on all entries into CalGang amid pushes for police reform. That came months after the department announced it was investigating officers from the LAPD’s Metropolitan Division for falsifying field interview cards and entering incorrect information to the database.

As of late May, 18 officers were under scrutiny in the probe.

“Based on recent audits and ongoing complaint investigations, the accuracy of the database has been called into question,” the department said in a statement announcing its suspension of CalGang. “To strengthen community trust and avoid any adverse impact on individuals, particularly in communities of color, the department will no longer use this resource.”

more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-06-24/california-police-urged-to-stop-using-gang-database-deemed-biased

Forbes Caught in Blatant Censoring Act

If you need further proof that the mainstream media is censoring truthful news, look no further than Forbes’ June 7, 2020, article on a Norwegian report that claims to present proof that SARS-CoV-2 is a laboratory creation.

The article was initially published with the headline “Norway Scientist Claims Report Proves Coronavirus Was Lab-Made.” Shortly thereafter, that headline was altered to “Controversial Coronavirus Lab Origin Claims Dismissed by Experts.”

Forbes Pulls a 180

As revealed in the side-by-side screenshots below, the 180-degree turnaround is being justified by citing “scientific consensus on COVID-19” — a consensus that most certainly does not exist as of yet — and evidence showing SARS-CoV-2 is lab-created is being roundly dismissed as “rumor and conspiracy.” If this doesn’t show you just how complicit the media is driving a pre-established narrative, I don’t know what will.

Here's a sample of the changes. The original article states:

“The study from Sørensen and British professor Angus Dalgleish show that the coronavirus's spike protein contains sequences that appear to be artificially inserted. They also highlight the lack of mutation since its discovery, which suggests it was already fully adapted to humans.”

The updated article now reads:

“The authors of a British-Norwegian vaccine study — accepted by the Quarterly Review of Biophysics — claim that the coronavirus's spike protein contains sequences that appear to be artificially inserted.

In their paper, the Norwegian scientist Birger Sørensen and British oncologist Angus Dalgleish claim to have identified ‘inserted sections placed on the SARS-CoV-2 spike surface’ that explains how the virus interacts with cells in the human body. Virologists, however, note that similar sections appear naturally in other viruses.”

Why All-Natural Narrative Is so Important to Maintain

Undoubtedly, the fear of exposure is real, and if you see the words “consensus” or “conspiracy theory,” you are likely seeing an attempt at a cover-up. What are they afraid of?

Well, there are many reasons for protecting the narrative that SARS-CoV-2 is of a natural origin. If it is proven to be a lab creation, the public may demand biosafety/biowarfare research into dangerous pathogens be stopped.

Thousands of scientists involved in such research would lose their jobs if funding came to a halt and biosafety level 4 laboratories were to be shut down to prevent another global manmade pandemic from occurring. These laboratories pose probably one of the greatest of any threats to mankind, and we deserve to have a serious debate about their risks and benefits.

Aside from threatening the future of biosafety/biowarfare research in general, many could potentially face life in prison for violating the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989.

China, of course, has every reason to quell evidence that the pandemic originated in its first BSL4 laboratory, as it could be held legally responsible and restitution claims from affected nations would likely run in the trillions of dollars.

According to tech analyst Ray Wang, founder of Constellation Research Inc., colleagues within the Chinese scientific community told him they were prohibited from discussing the “new strain of flu” that had emerged in China in January 2020, because the Chinese Communist Party wanted to prevent the outbreak from becoming publicly known. According to Wang:

“Nobody wanted to talk about it because there was a dual-use lab. If you’re a government, you don’t want to hurt your own people either. Today, what’s actually happening is they are trying to cover up for that.”

more: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2020/06/24/forbes-censorship-of-coronavirus.aspx

Capitol Hill residents and businesses sue city of Seattle for failing to disband CHOP

A group of Capitol Hill residents and businesses filed a class-action lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Seattle for the “extensive harm” they’ve faced as a result of CHOP, or the Capitol Hill Organized Protest.

Demonstrators have occupied several blocks around the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct and Cal Anderson Park for about two weeks, since the police left the precinct following standoffs and clashes with protesters calling for racial justice and an end to police brutality.

Calfo Eakes LLP, the law firm representing the group, said in a statement the lawsuit is “not a step (their) clients have taken lightly,” adding that they stand with the Black Lives Matter movement and support demonstrators’ right to free speech and assembly. The plaintiffs include owners of apartment buildings in the area and local businesses such as Car Tender, Northwest Liquor and Wine, Sage Physical Therapy and Tattoos and Fortune. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

“This lawsuit does not seek to undermine CHOP participants’ message or present a counter-message,” the lawsuit says. “Rather, this lawsuit is about the constitutional and other legal rights of Plaintiffs … which have been overrun by the City of Seattle’s unprecedented decision to abandon and close off an entire city neighborhood, leaving it unchecked by the police, unserved by fire and emergency health services, and inaccessible to the public at large.”

In a statement to The Seattle Times, a spokesperson for the City Attorney’s office said they haven’t received the lawsuit yet, but when they do, they will “review it and respond accordingly.”

The lawsuit blames the city for aiding CHOP occupants by providing them with stronger barriers, public restroom facilities and medical supplies. It also mentions that residents and business owners now have difficulty accessing their buildings, receiving deliveries and providing services to customers, with elderly and disabled community members facing magnified obstacles.

“The result of the City’s actions has been lawlessness,” the Calfo Eakes statement said. “There is no public safety presence. Police officers will not enter the area unless it is a life-or-death situation, and even in those situations, the response is delayed and muted, if it comes at all.”

Residents and business owners feel unsafe in their neighborhood because of the lack of public-safety assistance, the lawsuit says, citing police’s delayed response times after recent shootings in the area. The complaint also lists individual businesses’ stories.

Car Tender, an auto repair shop on 12th Avenue, has suffered a “dramatic drop” in business since CHOP’s establishment, according to the lawsuit. A man also broke into the shop, started a fire and assaulted the owner’s son with a knife and spike last week, and police never responded despite multiple 911 calls, the lawsuit says. Seattle police Chief Carmen Best said last week that officers “observed the location from a distance” but did not see a disturbance, and could not reach the business owner when they tried to call.

Several other businesses are seeing financial losses due to CHOP, and in one of the apartment buildings, CHOP occupants trespassed on the property and defecated in the building’s lobby, according to the complaint.

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said in a statement sent to The Seattle Times that city officials have been on the ground daily to “determine a path forward that protects the right to peacefully protest and keeps people safe.”

“Recognizing that solutions do not always require police, on the recommendation of community organizations … the City has stood-up a resource hub at Seattle Central College to provide services for individuals who may be living onsite or who visit the site daily, including mental and behavioral health, access to shelter/housing, testing and other essential needs,” the spokesperson said.

He added, “Over the coming days, City and community organizations will continue to work with individuals to encourage them to peacefully depart in the evening for their safety and the safety of the surrounding community, while also encouraging individuals to peacefully demonstrate across the City throughout the daytime hours.”

The law firm, on behalf of the group of businesses and residents, also sent a letter to Mayor Jenny Durkan on Wednesday, asking a series of questions: Does the city have a timeline for removing barricades from streets? When will “normal policing” return to the area? When will the Seattle Police Department resume residence in the East Precinct?

more https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/capitol-hill-residents-and-businesses-sue-city-of-seattle-for-failing-to-disband-chop/

Irate customer erupts, gets into confrontation with county judge over mask rule at San Antonio store

A customer at a San Antonio home improvement store, upset because an employee told him he needed to wear a mask, got into a confrontation with County Judge Nelson Wolff, who just happened to be waiting in line nearby.

The customer, whose name has not been released, could be facing criminal charges, said Sheriff Javier Salazar.

“It was an assault,” Salazar said, “There’s no excuse for it. The employees of the store were really just trying to help this gentleman. The judge was really trying to help him.”

“There’s certainly no cause for assaulting a public servant that’s trying to do his job,” the sheriff said.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

The county judge didn’t give interviews but spoke of the incident at the daily city-county COVID-19 briefing.

“People have a lot of anger in ‘em, and that certainly happened today,” he said. “I think he was having a pretty bad day, and he was angry.”

Wolff, who frequently goes to Lowe’s at Callahan and Interstate 10 to buy plants, issued the order that resulted in the mask requirement this week, something the 6’2”, 240-pound, middle-aged obviously knew, the sheriff said.

According to store video and witness accounts, the customer was at one of the registers when an employee told him about the new order requiring everyone to wear masks.

“The gentleman became irate,” Salazar said. “Judge Wolff did intervene. It appears Judge Wolff was just trying to be helpful.”

Monica Ramos, public information officer for the county, said the confrontation was harsh but that Wolff was OK.

“The man started to become extremely belligerent, was verbally abusive to this cashier,” Ramos said. “The judge saw what was going on, went over there to try to defuse the situation, try to assist, tried to explain the order. The man didn’t want to hear it.”

Wolff, 79, pulled out a business card to give the man, county officials said.

Salazar said the customer “actually smacked the piece of paper out of Judge Wolff’s hand.” Wolff then called the sheriff and put the call on speakerphone.

“I could hear this suspect just berating the judge,” Salazar said. “He knew exactly who he was, he knew exactly who he was dealing with, and he knew he was in violation of the judge’s order.”

The man darted out of the store, but Wolff followed him and wrote down his license plate number.

The county judge said he understands some people are angry over the mask mandate.

https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Irate-customer-erupts-gets-into-confrontation-15364579.php