Calls for PHX Police SGT Schweikert's firing in wake of hunger strike encampment raid.

for a refresher on what happened during the Phoenix Police raid on the PUENTE Hunger Striker encampment last month, see:  

PUENTE hunger strikers undeterred by Phoenix Police violence and arrests.

Below is an excerpt from a press release about the following letter: the SGT Mark Schweikert they refer to supervises the Phoenix Police Department's "protest police" unit, AKA The Red Squad (see this link for more on them).  The reality is that under their cheery "community liason" veneers, their real job is not to protect protesters from traffic or counter-protesters, as they suggest. Their mission is to assure that progressive social movements in the valley don't ever meaningfully disrupt "business as usual"; that's how they "keep the peace" in the community. 

Schweikert and the Red Squad were also behind the repeated arrests of Occupy Phoenix protesters and demolition of our encampments, and divisiveness being spread between groups of activists by maliciously identifying anarchists at one protest as "troublemakers" to the event organizers. Community organizations who think they need the Red Squad's protection and guidance in order to have a "safe protest experience" would be well advised not to trust them, lest they simply become tools in the PHX PD's efforts to protect the status quo.

Sorry this isn't the best copy of this letter:

 Press release from Puente (March 19, 2014):

...Activists arrested at the Not1More Hunger Strike in front of the Phoenix ICE Field Office on February 28 are facing a judge today.  Protestors were supporting hunger strikers with loved ones in detention and facing deportation, when at least 40 Phoenix police officers raided the camp, violently retaliating against a peaceful demonstration for human rights.  This police raid happened at the same time that Jaime Valdez, who was hunger striking from inside Eloy Detention Center, was deported as punishment for fighting back against his deportation. 

In addition to requesting that their charges be dropped, those arrested highlight the continual violations of trust between the migrant community and local law enforcement.  A recent study showed that 50% of Latinos in Maricopa County are less likely to report being a crime victim and that 43% feel less safe because of police-ICE collaboration.  To combat this mistrust, the demonstrators are demanding a meeting with Chief of Police Daniel Garcia, the immediate firing of Community Police Liason Mark Schweikert who led the aggressive police raid against protestors after assuring them they would not be evicted that night, and an end to local police-ICE collaboration....

 

Settling John Loxas: $4.25MIL still doesn't buy Justice.

Previous posts about John Loxas are here.

 valley anarchists, phoenix occupiers, and other everyday people 

gather in Scottsdale  on February 17, 2012 to protest the murder of John Loxas.

 

James Peters should have been prosecuted for 2nd degree murder. Instead he was retired on a fat disability pension that citizens will have to pay for now, and other cops get the green light to do just as he did, once again.


Not that I would want to begrudge a noble policeman from his disability pension when he gets hurt on the job like that. It's so stressful, killing people...I wonder if it bothers Peters at all. I know better men than him spending the rest of their lives in prison who never even tried to take another life; that cop took six before he got to pass go and collect all that dough for his jobs well-done.

Most disturbing about this article below is the part that states John's murder was "justified", according to the Scottsdale PD. They also thought what their cops did to David Hulstedt was justified - the Scottsdale PD and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office arguably emboldened Officer Peters to execute John Loxas as he did by prosecuting David for his mental illness instead of prosecuting his attackers in blue. Perhaps if cops were held accountable for their actions more often John Loxas would be alive...and Danny Rodriguez, and Marty Atencio and Alex Wilson...and oh, so many more.

In any case, I hope John's family gets some measure of relief from getting this settlement behind them, and that David Hulstedt and his family are taken care of, as well, for all the hell they've been through. Thank you, ACLU-AZ, for stepping into these kinds of fights.

 Community activist Jeff Moses, after being prosecuted and fined for blocking traffic 

and upsetting Old Town Scottsdale, demanding "Justice for John!".

Shame on him. 

 Sidewalk Art by Peggy Plews.

(September 18, 2012)

 

-------------------from the AZ Republic----------

Scottsdale to settle police-shooting suit for $4.25 million

Another case involving retired officer who fatally shot 6 is ongoing

By Laurie Merrill The Republic | azcentral.com  

Tue Jun 4, 2013 6:58 PM

 

A $4.25 million tentative settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit over the fatal shooting of an unarmed man by Scottsdale police last year.

In September, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona sued the city on behalf of the relatives of 50-year-old John Loxas, who had his grandson in his arms and was turning back toward his house when Scottsdale SWAT Officer James Peters shot him during a police standoff in February 2012.

The lawsuit alleged that Scottsdale fails to adequately investigate police shootings and promotes use of force because of a “tolerant environment.”

Loxas was the sixth person Peters had fatally shot in the line of duty since 2002, according to records.
“We think it ($4.25 million) is of an amount that will be a deterrent and cause the city of Scottsdale to look at the way that police shootings have been handled,” Dan Pochoda, ACLU of Arizona’s legal director, said Tuesday.

The proposed settlement “is clearly in the best interest of our client ... and I believe it makes sense for the city of Scottsdale,” Pochoda said.

Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane on Tuesday said the tentative agreement is “the result of discussions between the legal staff and the ACLU. It was brought to us as a settlement of the issue by the legal department as their best (solution)” to the lawsuit.

The Scottsdale Police Department found the shootings — including Loxas’ — justified after several boards reviewed the cases. Peters retired from the department on disability several months after Loxas’ shooting.
Loxas’ family originally sought $7.5 million from the city, according to Scottsdale City Council documents.
The council was scheduled to consider the proposal at a meeting Tuesday.

The Maricopa County Superior Court Probate Division also must sign off on the agreement, according to City Council documents.

Both sides saw the wisdom of settling before the case went into a full trial, Pochoda said.

Scottsdale is self-insured in the matter for up to $2 million. The settlement funding would come from the risk management operating budget and the city’s insurance carrier, according to the documents.

The city carries umbrella insurance in such cases, Lane said.

As of November, the City Council had authorized $1.7 million in legal fees for the Loxas case and for the case of David Hulstedt.

Hulstedt became a paraplegic after two Scottsdale officers shot him in the back in 2008 as he was walking toward his house carrying his 2-year-old daughter, according to court records.

Hulstedt was seeking $40 million in damages. The case is ongoing, Lane said.

--------------------

Immigration and Customs Enformement Agency, Phoenix (2012)

The Ghosts of Jan Brewer: Crime Victims in AZ State Custody.

National Crime Victims' Rights Week, 2013:

PLEASE REMEMBER VICTIMS IN AZ STATE CUSTODY,

and DEMAND THAT BREWER BE ACCOUNTABLE...

The Ghosts of Jan Brewer: Victims of Crime and Neglect

 in AZ Department of Corrections' Custody

 (Firehouse Gallery, Phoenix: July 2012)

I wrote the following letter to the administrator for the Arizona Department of Corrections' Victims Services programs two years ago now, with no response to it whatsoever from anyone there - not ever. The violence and despair behind bars in that time has only worsened, too.

As I explained at the time, the questions I posed were not rhetorical - I really needed help for Dana Seawright's mom. Dana was killed in July 2010 by the West Side City Crips in Lewis Prison for having a Mexican boyfriend. His mother, Kini, was devastated by his homicide, lost her job and home and was being victimized by Brewercare and the AHCCCS cuts. She tried to access victims' rights resources for crisis intervention, trauma support, and concrete emergency assistance, but her request was denied by the AZ Attorney General's office. Since her son was in custody at the time he was murdered, she was denied the victims' rights and resources other mothers of murdered children have.
 

That happened thanks to all you victims' rights advocates who helped pass the beloved 1990 Victims' Bill of Rights amendment to the AZ Constitution. It explicitly excluded prisoners from the same rights the rest of us have when raped, beaten, or locked in a cage in the desert to die. Those of you who really care about all crime victims need to look at the consequences of that decision to sell out the voiceless, and help me change the constitution before the state prisoner homicide and suicide rates double again. 

The prosecutors and peace officer unions in this state no doubt played a big role in assuring that people in custody were constitutionally deprived of the rights of victims, as well as their survivors. Few people are liekly aware that the AZ Attorney General's office, which holds the checkbook for most victims rights funds in this state, is the same entity which defends the state against wrongful death suits when mentally ill men like Shannon Palmer are castrated and murdered in state custody, or women like Marcia Powell are left dying in the sun by her guards, or when five officers stand around and videotape a young man bleeding to death without trying to offer first aid. 

It seems to be a conflict of interest for the AZ Attorney General's office to be hailed as champions of victims' rights when the most disempowered, vulnerable populations in the state - the incarcerated mentally ill, elderly, cognitively impaired, physically disabled, and "delinquent" children - aren't protected by their office. The last place many crime victims and their survivors in this state can look to for justice, in fact, is the AZ Attorney General's office.

Start talking to your legislators about this, families. And I hope all you advocates for justice start talking to the crime victims and survivors who you long since excluded from your midst. It is their exile and your indifference to their fate which makes the worst horrors of prison life all the more likely to be perpetrated on them...

SOS from Arizona's Other Death Row: 

 Victims of Crime and Neglect  in AZ Department of Corrections' Custody

 (Firehouse Gallery, Phoenix: July 2012)

-----------------

April 19, 2011

Jan Upchurch, Administrator
Office of Victims' Services
Arizona Department of Corrections
1645 W. Jefferson - MC250
Phoenix, AZ 85007


Dear Ms. Upchurch;

I am a human rights activist, artist and blogger in Phoenix, and have been researching violence and suicide in AZ state prisons over the course of the past 2 years. This has opened my eyes and brought me into considerable more contact with victims of violent crime in ADC custody and their survivors than most members of the public. Do prisoners or the family members of prisoners qualify for victims' services through your office if they/their loved ones are crime victims while imprisoned at the ADC? If not, who advocates for them when prisoners are assaulted, raped, murdered, or neglected and abused (as in the case of Marcia Powell)? Additionally, who fights for policy changes that may prevent further victimization behind bars?

Many of those I see victimized at the ADC are evidently psychiatrically or developmentally disabled, and can't advocate for safer cellmates or protective segregation, or fight abusive COs or policies effectively through the grievance process or other formal systems - which arguably gives rise to more self-injurious behavior and violence out of frustration or sheer terror, a liability even if their inability to access legitimate processes keeps down the grievances and potential lawsuits. Mentally ill prisoners don't seem to be served by either DES' Protective Services Division or the AZ Center for Disability Law when victimized in custody, either. In fact, I believe all parties I just mentioned are in direct violation of the American with Disabilities Act and/or other federal mandates, as they pertain to disabled individuals victimized in custody, regardless of the AZ constitutional limits on their rights as crime victims, per se.

Furthermore, the perpetrators of prison violence and other institutionally-based crime - be they staff or inmate - are apparently seldom street-charged or prosecuted, suggesting that neither the Criminal Investigations Unit nor county attorneys hosting prisons take an aggressive role in promoting the rights of victims in custody, which seems to just tell criminals that it's who they victimize, not what they do to others, that really matters. How does the ADC plan to rectify that?

Given what we spend to keep people locked up, prison is the one place in society where crime should be under control and victims are promptly and professionally accommodated. I see no one who prisoners or families can go to out here when violent crime befalls them in prison, though - without being charged a fee for advocacy or counseling - which means these victims are easily victimized (and perhaps criminalized) again, if you don't serve them either. Even the Attorney General won't help them - he defends the ADC.

These are pointed questions, I know, but they are not rhetorical. I imagine there may be a conflict of interest with your office, but that shouldn't preclude a third party providing those services under contract with the state, just like they do for other crime victims and their families. I need this info ASAP in order to advise people who were victimized (or survived homicides of prisoners) in ADC custody of what resources are available to them; at least one grieving mother I've heard from is living on the verge of homelessness and I'm not sure where to refer her.

I see this as a serious problem underlying the continuation of prison violence, especially against vulnerable adults, made so by the symptoms of their disabilities. James Jennings is a tragic example of someone clearly killed because of their mental illness; both Shannon Palmer and his killer, Jasper Rushing, were reportedly pleading for protection - and both somewhat psychotic - when they were celled so fatefully together. Duron Cunningham reported that he was raped and assaulted before he killed himself. The list goes on.

I plan to begin a public education campaign in the coming weeks to address the issue of victims' rights (or lack thereof, under the state constitution) in custody, particularly as they apply (or don't) to surviving family members. The ADC can hinder that effort with propaganda obscuring the victimization of prisoners, help advance the field of victims' services by exploring and answering these questions thoughtfully, or do nothing but get out of the way. I invite your office into a dialogue about it, however, as I want to believe you serve for good reason. I don't know whether protecting the state or our citizens is your primary concern, though, as I don't know you. It should not have to be mutually exclusive, but seems to be given the litigation expected to follow incidents of violent crime against persons in custody.

Taking responsibility for the harm one causes or allows to be caused to another is part of the ethos of the criminal justice system. Making amends to victims - individuals, businesses, and communities, is seen as central to any kind of restorative justice, which the State of Arizona heartily endorses, as evidenced by the practice of ordering restitution when sentencing, and penalizing offenders further for failing to meet said orders. What does the ADC practice, when it comes to their own crime victims, though? Even if prisoners have no rights as victims, what about the principle of preventing future crime by making an example of perpetrators today? Why should violent criminals be provided with such blanket permission to practice on more victims before they leave prison, where they are supposedly being punished...

...None of this bodes well for how I see the prison privatization project going: the ADC is responsible for Kingman's lack of security, ultimately, and I saw nothing in the RFPs that were put out that indicates a particular concern for victims' rights. In fact, the objective set down by the ADC of making sure that no more than 1% of grievances are ultimately upheld troubles me. Correct me if I read that wrong: it just seems like an incentive to deprive prisoners of due process rights when they are harmed, not to protect them. There's no indication that private prisons would even issue press releases about prisoner deaths or abuse, or be accountable for their health and safety to the public in any transparent way. They're harder to see into than the state prisons are, giving rise to more risk of victimization.

I'm sure that given your position, you can understand my frustration and concern over the constitutionally-diminished value of prisoner's lives and the gravity of their suffering in custody, placing their very survival secondary to the state's interests in cutting costs. It manifests toxins at every level of society, such that ugliness flows from the community into the media whenever a prisoner kills themselves - look at the "comments" after every ADC press release on a suicide. It's tragic, what has become of us since the PLRA and the victims' rights amendments to state constitutions were made exempting prisoners from fundamental protections: our entire society has devolved, and I think I can make the connections.

I also think I can make the case that both these prisoners and their families are deserving of the same constitutional guarantees given all other citizens and non-citizens alike, when it comes to their welfare. Having fought most of my life to keep my own brother out of prison and harm's way - surviving the devastating suicide of a loved one myself, in the process - I'm free to tell that part of my own story, liberating others from the shame that may keep them from telling theirs. I have been a victim of violent crime, and cope now with a mood disorder and the remnants of PTSD; not much frightens me anymore. I've embraced the mothers of ADC's homicide victims, and helped my community bury our dead; I am intimately connected to this struggle. I will not relent until I know that AZ prisoners and their loved ones are getting their needs met, not brutalized, at my expense, in my name, for the sake of my own family's illusion of "safety".

Sorry to greet you so early with this level of frankness, but you seemed like an appropriate person to bring into the conversation. I appreciate your time and what thoughts you may have. I look forward to hearing back from you or the DOC's General Counsel on this matter soon.


Sincerely,


Peggy Plews

--

Margaret J. Plews, Editor
Arizona Prison Watch
P.O. Box 20494
Phoenix, AZ 85036
480-580-6807


"Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness, and our ability to tell our own stories..."

- Arundhati Roy

Scottsdale PD and the Wrongful death of John Loxas.

  RIP John Loxas.

-----------from the American Civil Liberties Union-----

Relatives of Man Killed While Holding His Infant Grandson File Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against the City of Scottsdale

September 24, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

PHOENIX -   The family members of John Loxas, Jr., who was killed instantly after being shot in the forehead while holding his infant grandson, today filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Scottsdale and the Scottsdale Police Department. The 50-year-old Scottsdale man was shot in February by Officer James Peters without warning and despite having no weapon and posing no threat.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Loxas' daughter, Alexandria Loxas, and his father John Loxas, Sr. They are being represented by attorneys with the Chicago-based law firm of Loevy & Loevy and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona. The plaintiffs seek an unspecified amount of damages.
"My father was my best friend," said Alexandria Loxas, 23, whose son, Neo, now 14 months old, fell to the ground after her father was shot. "I felt safe knowing I had him in our lives because he was always there to protect us, and now he's gone forever."

In addition to listing Officer Peters as a defendant, the lawsuit also names Scottsdale Police Chief Alan Rodbell, arguing he failed to implement adequate policies to hold the City of Scottsdale and abusive officers accountable.   Officer Peters was involved in an unprecedented seven shootings over the past ten years - six of them fatal. A Scottsdale Police Department official acknowledged that Peters' history of shooting civilians was "an anomaly in our department, and in most departments." Peters also had a long history of excessive use of force against civilians, including dozens of incidents involving Tasers; he was the subject of four separate citizen complaints in the three months leading up to the fatal shooting of Loxas.

"There may well be no other police officer in the country who has been involved in more fatal shooting incidents over this time period," said attorney John Loevy of Loevy & Lovey. "Our lawsuit alleges that the Department had no business trusting him with a gun after he had killed so many other Scottsdale residents."

The incident that led to Loxas' death occurred shortly after 6 p.m. on February 14th, when police officers showed up at his house after he got into a dispute with his neighbors who called police.  Several Scottsdale police officers arrived at the house and confronted Loxas while he was standing in the doorway of his home. He was unarmed and holding his grandson in his arms. Without any warning, Officer Peters shot Loxas in the forehead with a scope-equipped rifle, killing him instantly. None of the other officers at the scene fired a weapon.

There is no indication that since starting as Police Chief in 2003, Defendant Rodbell has ever determined that a   shooting by a Scottsdale officer that resulted in death was improper or outside of police department policy.  The complaint outlines the inadequacies in the city's internal review process for officer-involved fatal shootings, including the failure to obtain testimony from civilian witnesses and the reliance on the involved officers' self-serving version of events.

For example, on November 7, 2008, two SWAT team officers shot David Hulstedt in the back, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.  Despite the fact that Hulstedt - like Loxas - was unarmed and holding a child in his arms, Rodbell found the shooting justified and "within policy."  A federal court judge later concluded that "no reasonable officer could have believed that shooting David without warning, while he calmly walked back toward his house with the young child over his head, was a proper means of protecting [the child's] safety."

"What we have here is the total absence of meaningful review by the Scottsdale Department and City of Scottsdale even for deadly shootings done without warning and involving unarmed civilians," said ACLU of Arizona Legal Director Daniel Pochoda. "The clear message to Scottsdale officers, including Peters, has been: there will be no consequences, no loss of gun privileges, no matter how questionable or illegal the nature of the shooting."

In addition to Loevy and Pochoda, the plaintiffs also are being represented by Elizabeth Mazur and Elizabeth Wang of Loevy and Loevy, and Kelly J. Flood and James Duff Lyall of the ACLU of Arizona.
Click here to read the complaint that was filed today.

 

police brutality protest in Old Town Scottsdale

February 25, 2012

 

MCSO Brutality: Catching up to the killers of Marty Atencio

I read this and wept. Thank you to Stephen Lemons for staying on it...

Marty Atencio, beaten, tased, stripped and left to die 

by cops and guards in a "safe cell" at the 4th Avenue Jail

Phoenix, December 15 2011

----------from the Phoenix New Times-----------

Jailhouse Goons Make Fun Of and Kill a Mentally Ill Inmate
By Stephen Lemons
Thursday, Jun 14 2012

It takes a twisted individual to delight in the sufferings of the mentally ill. A special type of sick, sadistic bully. The kind employed in spades by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

The December 16 killing of Army veteran Marty Atencio is the latest example of the above, one of the most recent in a string of corpses that punctuates the timeline of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's nearly 20-year career as this county's top lawman.

As reported last week in my Feathered Bastard blog, the Atencio family's attorney, Mike Manning, has filed notices of claim, totaling $20 million, with both the city of Phoenix and Maricopa County in Atencio's brutal demise at the hands of Phoenix cops and MCSO detention officers working in the Fourth Avenue Jail.

Since the 44-year-old's death occurred just hours after the U.S. Department of Justice issued its scathing report on the MCSO's pattern of discriminatory policing, racial profiling, and abuse of Latinos in Joe's gulags, much has been revealed about the circumstances surrounding the Atencio homicide.

The county medical examiner's autopsy noted Atencio's history of mental illness and hospitalization for psychosis.

Toxicology results from specimens, including those taken at St. Joseph's Hospital hours after Atencio's arrest earlier that day, showed no illicit drugs in Atencio's system.

Phoenix Police Department reports reveal that Atencio generally was passive and compliant during the two encounters with Phoenix cops that culminated in his arrest on December 15.

Indeed, Atencio "showed no signs of being a danger to himself or others," according to Phoenix Officer Sarah Roberts.

Rather, Atencio "simply appeared to be not medicated and engaged in very random conversation," Roberts said.

Atencio was arrested in West Phoenix for scaring a resident, Cathy Boyd, after kicking the apartment door of her neighbor.

Manning quotes from Boyd's affidavit recounting details of the incident:

"Marty did not physically threaten me at any time . . . I knew there was something wrong with him, and I just wanted him to . . . get some help."

Apparently, Atencio was treated well until he was taken to Arpaio's infamous jail, where cruelty is king and an idiotic environment pervades.

The most damning evidence of Atencio's mistreatment comes from interviews with detention officers and Phoenix cops carried out within days, sometimes within hours, of Atencio's beat-down and Tasing, referred to euphemistically by the Medical Examiner's Office as a "law enforcement subdual."

The interviews were done by MCSO detectives. Manning's law office obtained them through a public-records request.

Apparently, Atencio's mind at the time was like that of a child's. Disoriented, spouting nonsensical comments, he often referred to himself in the third person as "Tony" and seemed to be mimicking Robin Williams' character in Good Morning, Vietnam.

Some detention officers and cops thought Atencio was on drugs, claiming that he told someone during his stay in Fourth Avenue that he had smoked meth earlier in the day.

But toxicology reports don't lie. Cops and detention officers are another story. Soon after Atencio was taken, brain dead, to St. Joe's, they were making assumptions to rationalize their behavior.

Thing is, the breakdown in law enforcement discipline — including a Phoenix cop's pushing Atencio with his cuffed hands bent awkwardly and painfully — cannot be rationalized.

It also included MCSO detention officers mocking and humiliating Atencio as they took his mug shot.

"They encouraged him to make funny faces and . . . kept saying, 'Let's make this one the Mug Shot of the Week,'" one witness said.

Another witness noted that when they took Atencio's picture, "It was a big joke" and "they all stood around and laughed about it."

This hilarity turned deadly once Atencio was surrounded by officers demanding that he remove his shoes. When in Phoenix custody, cops had gotten Atencio to take off his shoes by just being patient and repeating their request. Here, Phoenix police and MCSO guards were far from patient.

Two Phoenix police officers who were there to help process detainees initiated what Manning calls a "jailers' riot," even though Atencio was standing before them, arms crossed, presenting no threat.

The notice of claim identifies the Phoenix cops as Patrick Hanlon and Nicholas French.

Several MCSO gendarmes joined the fray, in what one onlooker called "a big ol' dog pile." Though Atencio was smothered by officers, MCSO Sergeant Jason Weiers Tased Atencio several times.

Anthony Hatton, a detention officer who since has left the MCSO, punched Atencio in the face three times. Hatton claimed the strikes were necessary, but a couple of his fellow guards did not agree.

"He shouldn't have been punching him," detention Officer Sergio Salinas told investigators. "It was excessive."

Later, after Atencio was hauled to a "safe cell," where he would be stripped of clothing and left to die, Hatton continued the abuse, kneeing Atencio as guards held him down.

Detention officer Blas Gabrial told detectives that he yelled Hatton's name upon seeing the force used on Atencio. When asked why, he said, "Because I didn't think it was necessary."

While Atencio was lying motionless and naked in the safe cell, where he would breathe his last breath without life support, what were many of these men and women of law enforcement doing?

Laughing, joking, and cutting up like teenagers. Video shows two women — one in uniform — dancing and bumping butts. Hatton laughs and demonstrates what looks like a fighting move to other officers. A Phoenix cop eats an orange and grins.

Minutes later, they're all gathering around the door, precious seconds slipping away as they take their time getting it open.

"[Prisoners] play that game a lot," Weiers told an investigator, referring to Atencio's stillness. "You know, playing like they're dead."

Atencio wasn't playing. He already was gone. But CPR was performed, and he was rushed to St. Joe's. On December 20, his family removed him from life support.

If you saw grown men and women abusing a mentally ill or disabled person, would you do something about it?

Likely so. Which is why, ultimately, I blame the voters of Maricopa County for what happened to Atencio.

They've been told about a lot of such brutality in Arpaio's jails over the years and, so far, have looked the other way.

Previous Posts: 

• Joe Arpaio's Victim Marty Atencio Killed by "Law Enforcement Subdual," Among Other Factors, Says Medical Examiner
  May 31, 2012
• Joe Arpaio's Victim Marty Atencio: Family Files Notices of Claim Totaling $20 Million in Wrongful Death Case
  June 8, 2012

Marty Atencio's family fights back and files suit.

Thanks JJ and the AZ Republic for keeping up with this tragic case...and to Marty's family for holding the real bad guys accountable...

Marty Atencio

Marty's memorial page here.

-----------from the Arizona Republic-------------

$20M claim alleges excessive force in AZ inmate's death

by JJ Hensley
Arizona Republic
June 8, 2012

The family of a man who died in December following an altercation with police and detention officers in a Maricopa County jail has filed a $20 million notice of claim against the city of Phoenix, the Sheriff's Office and the county agency responsible for health care in the jails.

The claim, filed Friday, alleges that excessive force, coupled with a series of failures by medical professionals to tend to Ernest "Marty" Atencio, contributed to the 44-year-old's death in December.

Atencio died four days after he was removed from a "safe cell" in the Fourth Avenue Jail.






The notice of claim (WARNING: Contains graphic images)

The Maricopa County medical examiner last week issued a report that concluded that Atencio died of cardiac arrest, acute psychosis, medical problems and "law-enforcement subdual," but the report did not list a manner of death.

Atencio's family believes that the manner of death was homicide, committed at the hands of sheriff's detention officers in an altercation that began when two Phoenix police officers began to struggle with Atencio after he refused to remove his left shoe. They wanted the shoe removed to be scanned as he prepared to enter the jail.

The Phoenix officers took Atencio to the ground, and surveillance footage shows the detention officers dragging Atencio into a safe cell, where the number of officers in the small cell obscured their actions from the camera.
A safe cell is a room designed to reduce inmates' ability to injure themselves or others.

The claim contends that at least one officer punched Atencio and that another officer shocked Atencio with a stun gun six times, with several of those strikes coming within inches of his heart.

The notice of claim is a necessary precursor to a lawsuit against a public entity. State law requires a claim to list a dollar amount for which it can be settled. Atencio's family set that amount at $5 million for Phoenix police and $15 million for the county agencies.

The Sheriff's Office is continuing to investigate the incident and declined comment.

A pair of Phoenix police officers contacted Atencio twice on the night he was detained.

During the first contact, outside a convenience store, officers noticed that Atencio was acting erratically and told him to go home. Moments later, the officers received a call about a man kicking at a woman's apartment door in the 2800 block of West Laurel Lane. The officers recognized Atencio as the man they had encountered outside the convenience store, and they arrested him after the woman requested prosecution.

When Atencio arrived at the Fourth Avenue Jail's intake area -- where inmates are screened for medical and mental-health concerns and the most serious are supposed to receive immediate attention -- officers recognized his signs of mental illness but failed to respond, according to the claim.

"She (mental-health professional Monica Scarpati) admitted that she did not complete a full assessment of Marty and sent him to an isolation cell," the claim states. "Ms. Scarpati and (Correctional Health Services nurse Bill McClean) fell below the applicable standard of care by, in RN McClean's words, 'accepting' Marty into the jail and not doing anything to make sure that Marty got the immediate medical attention that he so obviously needed and deserved."

According to the claim, as Atencio waited for further processing, other officers noticed his mental state and began mocking him. According to an interview with an inmate who was nearby at the time, one officer thought Atencio's mug shot could be featured on the Sheriff's Office website that posts booking photos.

"An MCSO lieutenant stated in an interview that the process of taking Marty's photo was, 'Ah, you know, it's kinda comical,'" according to the claim.

As Atencio prepared to leave the booking area, he became uncooperative with Phoenix officers but was not violent or combative, according to interviews with officers contained in the claim.

Surveillance video shows that when a Phoenix officer placed his arm around Atencio's neck and took him to the ground, nearby officers joined in the effort to subdue Atencio. His family called the events that followed a "jailers' riot."

The claim does not request any damages from the Medical Examiner's Office, but it does allege that the office attempted to shield the county from liability by failing to name a manner of death from one of the four descriptions: suicide, homicide, natural causes or accidental.

"The medical examiner's report is part science and part defensive doublespeak designed to deflect and limit the county's liability," the claim states. "The notion that Marty's manner of death is 'undetermined' is a farcical sleight of hand by the county. The cardiac arrest was induced by the 'law-enforcement subdual,' so it was obviously a 'homicide,' i.e., caused at the hands of other human beings."

Prosecuting Innocence: The Scottsdale Police shooting of David Hulstedt

follow link to:

AUG 8, 2012: UPDATE on HULSTEDT v SCOTTSDALE 

Another victim of Scottsdale police violence has come to my attention this weekend, thanks to one of the local activists hot on the Scottsdale Police Department's tail, who posted the link to this guy's family's website to Facebook.

David has a psychiatric disability, according to court records, and was having a crisis at the time this all happened - they'll try to make that work against him, so don't let that keep you from supporting him. In fact, it makes it all the more imperative that the community embrace him and his family right now to assure that he's not further brutalized by the criminal justice system - at least, not without a world of witnesses. 

Let the following be a lesson to all who own a video camera - keep it out and use it whenever you see the police stop someone. You never know whose life you may save. If we're truly dedicated to fighting police brutality, the place to start would be to see him through the effort to criminally prosecute him after he filed suit against the bastards. 

If David or his family are out there and want some support from other folks who are fighting police and prison violence, let me know. My name is Peggy, my number is 480-580-6807

------this occurred in 2008. David's prosecution is on-going------ 

David Hulstedt: Victim of brutal misconduct by Scottsdale Police.

This is the story of David Hulstedt, the young man shot in the back as he walked away from officers Scottsdale, Arizona police officers on November 7, 2008. David, who was unarmed, and carrying his toddler, is now paralyzed. David's little daughter suffered a fractured skull when she fell to the ground. As widely reported in the media, Mr. Hulstedt was undergoing treatment for a mental health condition when he called 911 asking for help from the Arizona Governor. Instead of responding with calm and caring, a Scottsdale police dispatcher broadcast that there was a "crisis" at the residence, and that a little girl was crying in the background, and that his parents were trying to get the little girl away from David who was refusing to give back the baby.

That little girl was just David's daughter who was crying because she needed a new diaper.

The Inappropriate Police Response.

Within minutes, Scottsdale officers ordered David's parents out of the home. David repeatedly called his father, pleading for him to return to the house. His father asked to go back to the house but police would not let him. David also repeatedly called his brother, Eric. In the video to right, Eric explains that he asked police to let him go to his brother. Police refused. David’s father called his lawyer who tried to speak with David, until Police intervened and ordered him to stop.

As you'll hear and see through the video clips to the right, David's family urged the police to let them help David, but police refused. David said he would give his daughter to his brother. Time after time, the family made progress. But the police did everything the could to stop that progress, and even confiscated the cell phones being used by the family.  Police intentionally isolated David from the very support group that he needed. David was never armed. David never threatened police. David never threatened his family. Minutes after police took away David’s lifeline to his family, lawyer and minister, David in desperation allegedly told police: “If you don’t let my brother come inside, I’ll pile drive my daughter into the ground.” But David would not and did not do that. Over the next 20 minutes police negotiators told David that they were there to help him. They were not going to hurt him. They proclaimed themselves “professionals.” They guaranteed David that they would not hurt him. All he had to do was come out with his daughter.

He did.

The Shooting.

David walked outside the house and asked officers to back up. He wanted to go to his Dad. He wanted to go to the street to see his family, not knowing the family had been held in seclusion by Scottsdale Police. Four officers, staged immediately outside the front door, took a couple of steps back to give David some space.

Arizona police officers are trained to safely resolve problems with people in mental crisis by assigning one person to  calmly speak with the patient. Instead of following training, police yelled at David. He was given opposing commands to put up his hands, put down the baby. He was not told he was under arrest. Confused by the contradictory orders, David raised his daughter up over his head and began to walk to the street. He wanted to be with his family. David and the police negotiators wanted a peaceful resolution. As he walked to the street an officer armed with a military assault rifle yelled at him. From across the street another officer armed with an assault rifle joined in the chorus of shouts. David turned to go back to the safety of the home.

The two officers fired their military assault rifles striking David down after he took 3 to 4 steps back towards the home. He was immediately paralyzed and fell forward. David lost his grip on his daughter and she flew down hitting her head on the concrete front walkway. Police, unbelievably, then DRAGGED David's paralyzed body hundreds of yards over rocks and gravel, ripping through his skin, exposing bone. 

Police Claims.

Police  claimed that the baby was bleeding from her ear when David first walked out of the house. Police claimed they saw blood on the front of David’s shirt. Police claimed that the left side of David’s daughter’s face was deformed and there was blood mixed with mucous coming from her nose. Police claimed that the little girl slid down the front of David and fell from his knee. She fell, police claimed, on the gravel of the front yard. Police told the news media that blood was found inside of the house. Police told medical staff attending to both David and his daughter that David held the girl upside down and threatened to pile drive her into the ground causing police to shoot him. Police dragged David, paralyzed, more than 100 yards over rocks and rough terrain, ripping through his skin and exposing his kneecaps.

Police said David would be arrested when he recovered.  They asked the county prosecutor to charge David with kidnapping and child abuse.

 

Caught On Tape.

Police were unaware for almost two hours after the shooting that the family’s neighbor had videotaped the entire event, including David's attempt at surrender, and the shooting. There was no blood inside the house. There was no blood on the front of David’s shirt. His daughter was not bleeding from either of her ears. But because police told the hospital and Child Protective Services that the little girl was bleeding before David was shot, the little girl was subjected to full body scanning. That proved police fabricated their story. There was no evidence of abuse. 

David is a Victim.

Police have asked that David be criminally charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping and child abuse.  Scottsdale police department's claim that David injured his daughter inside the home was without a basis.  The former Maricopa County Medical Examiner commented that the daughter’s injury was consistent with being caused by falling to the concrete walkway.  The truth that she fell after her father was shot made its way into medical records, despite the false statements made by police officers.  And, the photographic evidence proves how she was injured.

David himself asked  the prosecutor’s office to tell a grand jury the facts, and asked that the two officers who shot him be charged.  Officers who were sworn to protect him, but instead fabricated a crisis situation, then shot him in the back multiple times, ripped skin from his knees -- clear to his bone --  left him paralyzed for life, then created a fictional account for the media about what happened.

About John George Loxas, II...

DIRECT ACTION FRIDAY, FEB 17 - 7pm

March against police murder on 

SCOTTSDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT

FACEBOOK event HERE.

 --------------

On Facebook tonight...people should know more about this murdered man than what the police want you to know. This is apparently from John himself...

------------------

FACEBOOK: About John

"I am a student of life. I have packed 150 years of life into 50 years and I plan to pack in another 300 years of life into the next 50 years.. I have worked hard and I have played hard. I have a non-religious relationship with God. I am a Polymath. My greatest pleasure outside of love, is knowledge.

I have had the honor of single parenting my beautiful daughter, Alexandria from 12 months of age to adulthood. It has been my greatest joy... And then, she doubled that joy the day she gave birth to my first grandson, Neo Amani Loxas. He is a bright new star in my sky.

I believe we live in a UNIVERSE of abundance, yet the greed of a few absorb and control the abundance leaving many innocent hungry, lost and ill. Homelessness, hunger and disease should not exist. I am a strong advocate of TRUE EQUALITY AND BROTHERHOOD OF MANKIND.... a unity of LOVE is our salvation.. and MUSIC is the ambrosia of our spirits.

I believe that the World Bank/International Monetary Fund/Federal Reserve/IRS, mainstream media, corporatism, Zionism and GREED are the true axes of evil whether or not, they know or believe that themselves. Right or wrong, true or untrue; this is MY belief, and I firmly stand by it.

I am not afraid of the unknown; it exhilarates me. I am not afraid of the government. I fear NO man. I fear NO army. I am not afraid to speak the truth, no matter what personal consequences await me. I am not afraid of death. I am not afraid of imprisonment. I am not afraid of God; for no loving God would put fear in my heart and frighten me into believing or loving anything. Free Will baby!!!

My favorite aromas are the ocean's mist, desert rain, a woman's neck, orange blossoms, and any aroma which stimulates fond memories of my past. Thai food is perhaps my favorite food. My body feels its best after a Thai meal, more than any other food combination. The Sing-ha may have something to do with that... YUMO.

I am a fierce fighter, and a fierce lover. I am healthy and strong. I am quick tempered when anyone attempts to betray me. Yet, I am as patient as Father Time with those who are loyal. For I am a loyal man to my family and friends. I will cross mountains and swim seas for any of them.. No amounts of money, power, drugs, or women can buy me. I cannot be bought. I cannot be frightened. Although I am a loving and compassionate human, I do have a dark side... And if you love me, you will never have to see it. If you are my enemy, you will live it.

We must end all WARS... We must end all HUNGER... We must punish only TRUE CRIMES, where actual VICTIMS exist... We must encourage more of the ARTS and SCIENCES and exploration of the cosmos... We MUST allocate charity (not taxation) to our infrastructure so that we can progress.

I have optimistic faith for the future of civilization and humanity..We must unite in order to evolve our civilization.. Infinity awaits us all.

More to follow............ MUCH more."

Watching cops: Scottsdale - another man dead.

DIRECT ACTION FRIDAY, FEB 17 - 7pm

March against police murder on SCOTTSDALE POLICE DEPARTMENT

FACEBOOK event HERE.

---------

This is so wrong. All this poor guy had was a cell phone in his pocket, and the cop shot him in the head when he turned away from him. And look at this guy Peters' record - more than just him is responsible for his belief that this would be a "justified" kill, too. His department has backed him up every other time he's left another person dead. He even got a Medal of Valor for killing a man, so why wouldn't he - and just about every other cop - think this was okay?

John Loxas and grandson

photo lifted from my buddy's blog at OP-NAT Eye -

go check out his take on this...

John Loxas, smiling above with his grandson, is the murder victim, by the way. Apparently you don't even have to have criminal intent to kill someone to be charged with some degrees of homicide in Arizona, so there is a lot of room for how Peters can be charged. Lots of people go to prison for negligent homicide or manslaughter - some even second degree murder - without having had any "criminal" intent at all. The taking of a life is that grave of a business to us here...though we empower virtually anyone to run around with a concealed weapon here - our legislators want them in the schools and bars, even.

Scottsdale Police Officer James Peters

Officer James Peters, shown above in uniform, will probably never be charged with homicide for killing John Loxas. He won't be charged with a thing, is my bet. He probably won't even lose a day's pay. This will go down as an unfortunate but nevertheless "justified" kill. They justified it already by virtue of the type of information released to the media about John's run-ins with his neighbors and the police before. Please remember as you read this stuff that the state is in control of these press releases; the victims of the state have already been silenced, in cases like this, and his survivor's voices will likely never be amplified louder than the suggestion below that even though he wasn't carrying a gun or threatening the cops, he somehow deserved to be shot.

Our condolences to John's loved ones. Feel free to contact me if you want to connect with other families who have survived the loss of a loved one to police or prison violence, either for mutual support or to help change things. 

In any case, please make sure you sue them for this, and go after that cop's state certification. 

 My name is Peggy Plews (480-580-6807). 

You can call any time, or email me at prisonabolitionist@gmail.com

-----------from the Arizona Republic-------------- 

Tuesday's shooting is seventh for Scottsdale police officer

by Ofelia Madrid - Feb. 15, 2012

Arizona Republic

The Scottsdale police officer who shot and killed a man holding a baby Tuesday has been involved in seven shootings since 2002, six of them fatal, police said Wednesday.

Officer James Peters shot 50-year-old John Loxas on Tuesday evening after police were called to a house in the 7700 block of East Garfield Street, near Hayden and McKellips roads.

 Neighbors had called 911 earlier and said Loxas had threatened them with a handgun.

Peters, a former member of the department's SWAT team, was one of six officers who responded to the call. The 12-year police veteran is on administrative leave, which is standard after any police shooting, said Sgt. Mark Clark, a Scottsdale police spokesman.

According to the 911 call, the neighbors said Loxas was pushing his 9-month-old grandson in a stroller and walked over and kicked a neighbor's trash can into the street. When another neighbor went to pick it up, Loxas returned with the baby in his arms and started yelling, "You got a problem with that?" the caller tells the dispatcher. "The guy pulls out a gun, cocks it and aimed it at him."

When officers arrived, Loxas had returned to his house, but came to the door with the baby in his arms, police said. Peters and another officer told investigators that they saw a black object in Loxas' hand. Loxas turned to go back inside when Peters, who was standing 18 feet away at the edge of the driveway, shot him in the head with his patrol rifle, police said.

"(Loxas) was holding the baby in his left arm in front of his upper body and face. Moments later, he reached down to his right, lowering the baby, clearly exposing his head and upper body. Officer Peters responded to the movement with a single shot (to) the suspect's head.

The suspect fell to the ground and the baby was rescued by officers. The suspect died instantly," Clark said.

Peters "felt he had to prevent him from re-entering the house," Clark said. "The intent was to rescue the baby." Investigators later determined that Loxas was not carrying a gun but had a cellphone in his pants pocket.

A search warrant recovered a loaded pistol "a few feet from where the suspect fell inside the residence," Clark said. "It was wedged between the arm and cushion of a chair a few feet away from where he fell." It is the same pistol believed to have been used to threaten neighbors, he said. A loaded shotgun also was found near a chair a few feet from the pistol, Clark said. In addition, police found at least eight "Airsoft" type rifles and pistols, as well as "a functional improvised explosive device," he said.

Loxas lived in the house alone and babysat his grandson often, police said. The home was filled with garbage and clutter and a city inspector determined the home to be uninhabitable Wednesday, Clark said.

In 2010, Scottsdale police were called to the house because Loxas was threatening neighbors with a pistol, police said. He has been arrested at least once, police said. The 911 caller told the dispatcher that this wasn't the first time that Loxas had pointed a gun at neighbors.

On Wednesday, several neighbors said that house parties were frequently held at the man's home, often lasting until 3 a.m. or later. Residents of two nearby homes said they had filed noise complaints with police.

Scottsdale police Chief Alan Rodbell said he is confident that the external review by legal experts will "leave the community with the same sense of confidence that I have in my officers, my detectives and oversight in this very serious incident."

Lyle Mann, executive director of the Arizona Peace Officers and Training Board, a state law enforcement panel, said that he couldn't comment specifically about Peters, because he didn't know the circumstances of the seven shootings. But he said "some are functions of assignment."

"If you are out chasing armed felons every day, there's the probability that they're going to be bad people. While it feels like it clearly is an anomaly in terms of this person being involved in this many discharges, I wouldn't read anything into that," Mann said.

Each of Peters' previous shootings have been determined justified through an internal investigation as well as an external investigation by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

Peters' previous fatal shooting occurred in March 2010, when Peters shot and killed a man suspected in a string of bank robberies. At the time, The Republic reported that the city had settled in 2009 with the family of one of the people involved in a different fatal shooting for $75,000 but denied liability.

In another case, Peters was honored for his actions in responding to a hostage situation and the hostage thanked the officer for saving his life and shooting the suspect.

Peters also was involved in these previous shooting incidents, police confirmed:

Nov. 3, 2002: Peters was one of three SWAT officers who fired at Albert Redford after a nearly four-hour standoff at his north Scottsdale home. Officers had been called out for a report of domestic violence. Officers fired a total of seven shots, striking Redford three times.

March 25, 2003: Peters shot and killed disbarred lawyer Brent Bradshaw, 47, of Scottsdale. Officers responded to shotgun blasts at Bradshaw's home. Three hours later, police found Bradshaw wandering along the Arizona Canal at Miller and Chaparral roads, carrying a shotgun. Officers tried unsuccessfully to get him to put down the gun.

Oct. 10, 2005: Peters shot and killed Mark Wesley Smith, a burglary suspect, during a confrontation outside an auto-body shop near Hayden and McKellips roads. Smith was smashing car windows in a rage outside the body shop. Autopsy reports would later show that he was high on methamphetamine.

April 23, 2006: Peters shot and killed Brian Daniel Brown, 28, who took a Safeway employee hostage after he hijacked a Krispy Kreme delivery truck in Peoria. Peters received a Medal of Valor for this incident in June 2007.

Aug. 30, 2006: Peters and Officer Tom Myers fatally shot Kevin Hutchings after Hutchings fired at least one round at police outside his northeast Mesa home. Scottsdale police were trying to contact Hutchings about a Scottsdale assault earlier that evening with a longtime acquaintance of Hutchings. Hutchings' family sued the city and eventually settled out of court for the $75,000, city officials said.

Feb. 17, 2010, Peters and Scottsdale Detective Scott Galbraith shot Jimmy Hammack Jr., 46, after Hammack drove his truck toward detectives who were investigating him as a suspect in three Scottsdale bank robberies and two in Phoenix. Hammack later died from his injuries.

This is the second time in less than three weeks that a Scottsdale police officer shot and killed a man.

On Jan. 28, Jason Edward Prostrollo, 25, was shot dead after officers were called to the north Scottsdale home of Prostrollo's acquaintances. Police were called in the early morning by a 35-year-old woman saying Prostrollo, a guest in her home, was drunk and fighting with her 50-year-old boyfriend, and had a knife.

Prostrollo, a former Marine with two tours of duties in Iraq, came out of the house with pieces of a pool cue in each hand, police said. He ignored commands to drop the cues and stop walking, police said. A K-9 officer released his dog and a bite from the dog didn't deter Prostrollo, who kept walking toward officers.

That's when Lt. Ron Bayne shot Prostrollo and killed him.

Prostrollo's family and friends have questioned the police department's use of lethal force.

Reporter John Genovese contributed to this article.

-------------

 Roosevelt Street Artwalk: Phoenix

(June 4, 2011)