JUSTICE FOR CHANCE DAVID BAKER

On February 18th, 2017, Chance David Baker purchased an air rifle at a pawn shop. He was visibly intoxicated and in mental distress. A bystander who called police specified that they thought it was a BB gun. He put the air rifle down but picked it up again, at which point Sgt. Nicholas Goodman shot him in the head. At no point were nonlethal arrest methods attempted, and a mental health liason was not called to the scene. Despite having a gunshot wound to the head, Chance was cuffed before being taken to Maine Medical Center, where he was declared dead. This was Sergeant Goodman’s second use of deadly force while on the Portland Police Department, and yet the only consequence he has faced is being put on administrative leave. He remains a community liaison within the Department. The fact that Sergeant Goodman is one of the most highly trained officers in conflict de-escalation in the Portland Police Department and yet did not hesitate to shoot a mentally ill man in the head less than three minutes after arriving on the scene speaks to a larger problem with the Portland Police Department’s training methods.

“There is no such thing as ‘we’re going to shoot the gun out of their hand or shoot them in the thigh,’” said former Portland Police Chief Sauschuck. “I’m not training them to, nor do our policies and procedures state that they should wound somebody. They are trying to hit this individual in a lethal location.” (BDN, Feb. 22, 2017) As Attorney General, Janet Mills established a task force investigating deadly shootings by Maine’s police, but the task force investigated only ten deaths and did not result in meaningful change. To this date, only one officer has ever been found to be at fault by the Attorney General's Office. Janet Mills is now Governor and Michael Sauschuck is Commissioner of Public Safety. Sergeant Nicholas Goodman should be fired immediately without pay and criminally charged for his use of excessive force, and the Portland Police Department’s approach to lethal force should be investigated. (Portland, ME) Please join us in demanding justice for Chance and other victims of police violence! ✊SEND EMAILS FOR CHANCE ✊ tinyurl.com/Email4ChanceBaker

JUSTICE FOR STEPHON CLARK

In 2018, Stephon Clark was heading home when he was followed by police helicopters investigating a report that a man had broken windows in the neighborhood. Officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet arrived in Stephon's yard and found him along the side of the house. They then ordered him to stop and show his hands. Stephon ran into his backyard.

Officers followed him, and when he turned around, fired at him multiple times. Police initially claimed they had thought Stephon advanced towards them with a gun, then later changed their story to say it was a toolbar. The only thing in Stephon's hand was his cell phone.

Officers shot and killed Stephon without trying any de-escalation tactics, and without properly identifying the object in his hand. Stephon's grandmother was still in the house at the time of the incident, and she did not hear any form of order or instruction from the officers. (Sacramento, CA)

Please join us in demanding justice for Stephon and other victims of police violence!

✊SEND EMAILS FOR STEPHON ✊ tinyurl.com/Email4Stephon

JUSTICE FOR RAMON TIMOTHY LOPEZ

On August 4th, 2020, Ramon Timothy Lopez had just left a convenience store when a Phoenix police officer drove up to him because a woman had reported him for acting erratically. Ramon ran from the officer and was chased and tackled onto the roadway.

Two more officers arrived, and joined in restraining him on top of blacktop in 99 degree weather for five whole minutes, as they put handcuffs and leg restraints on him. Ramon was then put in the backseat of the police SUV, and was found unresponsive by the time paramedics arrived. He had sustained a broken arm, what appeared to be a 6-inch cut, and burns on his body. (Phoenix, AZ)

Please join us in demanding justice for Ramon and other victims of police violence!

✊SEND EMAILS FOR RAMON ✊ tinyurl.com/Email4RamonLopez

JUSTICE FOR LAVON KING

At 8:54pm, June 24th 2014,

Lavon King was declared dead after being shot in the chest by police.

Officer Kenneth Bowes and another unidentified officer had begun chasing Lavon about 4 hours earlier, one on foot and the other in a police vehicle. After cornering him in an unlocked shed, they pinned him down. 

Police claim that Lavon tried to disarm Officer Bowes during the struggle, leading Officer Bowes to shoot Lavon in the chest. According to a witness report, Lavon then cried out, "Why did you shoot me?" before he died. 

The actions of these officers are inexcusable, and it is unconscionable that they have not faced charges. A 2015 article reported that Officer Kenneth Bowes has over twenty Use of Force reports. He was one of the only three officers to file 6 use of force reports in 2011; in 2013, he filed 8, all against Black men. His reports show that he overwhelmingly uses force against Black men, with the only exceptions being a Hispanic man and a white woman with a Hispanic surname. 

Officer Bowes has clearly policed in a racially discriminatory way. If he is still with the police force, he must be removed. It is unconscionable that he has not faced charges for homicide. Lavon deserves justice. (Jersey City, NJ)

Please join us in demanding justice for Lavon and other victims of police violence! ✊SEND EMAILS FOR LAVON ✊ tinyurl.com/Email4Lavon

JUSTICE FOR STEVE SALGADO

Steve Salgado was 18 in 2017 when he was confronted by police for obstructing traffic by parking his vehicle in an alleyway. Steve fled from the vehicle and was chased by officer David Prewett, and according to officers, seemed to be gripping something in his right pocket. He was ordered to "drop the gun," but kept running.

Officer Prewett shot him three times in the back, killing him. No weapon was found.

Steve was just a kid, and his whole life was taken from him because of the use of deadly force. The escalation from verbal order to shooting in this case is unacceptable. (Santa Ana, CA) Please join us in demanding justice for Steve and other victims of police violence! ✊SEND EMAILS FOR STEVE ✊ tinyurl.com/Email4Salgado

SITE UPDATE

15 additional cases of police violence documented with pre-written email templates, at our site.

Send emails and demand justice: policeaccountability.neocities.org

JUSTICE FOR FREDDY CENTENO

On September 3, 2015, a neighbor called 911 to report an odd visit by Freddy Centeno. According to the dispatcher, Freddy had knocked on the neighbors door and asked for a man named George, while holding a small black object later identified as a spray nozzle.

Freddy had a known history of mental illness, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and was known for such harmless erratic behavior in the neighborhood. However, the information relayed to the dispatcher, and later on to the officers, was that Freddy had a small gun.

Officers Zebulon Price and Felipe Lucero were dispatched to handle the situation. During the encounter, no attempt was made to determine whether Freddy was actually armed or not; the officers came out of their vehicle armed and confrontational. Just 2 seconds after issuing commands upon encountering Freddy, they opened fire on him. Freddy was shot 10 times and died of his wounds in a hospital 23 days later.  (Fresno, CA)

Please join us in demanding justice for Freddy and other victims of police violence! ✊ SEND EMAILS FOR FREDDY ✊ tinyurl.com/Email4Freddy

JUSTICE FOR CLIFTON ARMSTRONG

In 2013, Clifton Armstrong called the police in a bout of paranoia and hallucinations from methamphetamine. Four police officers arrived and tried to convince him to get into their squad car to take him to the hospital. Clifton initially agreed and was escorted out of the house by family members, but changed his mind and turned back to the house before getting into the car. 

Officers tried to force him into the car, leading to a struggle. At some point during this, Clifton stripped off his clothes. Officers placed Clifton in handcuffs and used belts to restrain his leg movement, a method known as the "maximum restraint hobble system."

Clifton became unresponsive. Paramedics attempted CPR, but he was pronounced dead after 40 minutes. The state medical examiner ruled the death an accident and attributed the cause to “Excited Syndrome due to methamphetamine toxicity,” but noted that Clinton's physical confrontation with police was an "aggravating factor to his death."

There is no excuse for the egregious force that was used against an unarmed, naked man who was clearly not in his right mind. The restraint used includes placing a knee across the upper back while buckling the person in. There are multiple cases where such knee pressure has contributed to death, and this is very likely one of them. There are safer restraint holds such as the ones taught by QBS that can be used if necessary to prevent an emotionally distressed person from harming themselves or others.

Clifton needed medical assistance, not violence. We cannot continue to respond to every disturbance with armed forces, and we cannot allow officers to kill with impunity. None of the four police officers had to answer for their actions, though Daniel Holtzclaw is no longer with the Oklahoma City Police Department after being convicted of 18 counts of rape and sexual assualt in a separate case.

The fact that Daniel Holtzclaw managed to assault at least eight different women while working as an officer, however, casts great doubt upon the Oklahoma City Police Department's ability to hold their officers accountable. (Oklahoma City, OK)

Please join us in demanding justice for Clifton and other victims of police violence!

✊ SEND EMAILS FOR CLIFTON ✊ tinyurl.com/Email4Clifton

JUSTICE FOR MARIA FERNANDA GODINEZ

Maria Godinez was 22 when she spent a girls' weekend in Orlando in 2014. She was at a downtown bar when she was shot by a stray bullet during a police officer's confrontation with an armed man at the bar's entrance.

Officer Eduardo Sanguino was outside of the bar, trying to incapacitate a man named Kody Roach, who had a gun. He fired nine times at Roach and hit him several times, and also hit a fellow police officer. Both Roach and the other police officer survived with injuries, but Maria was killed. Kody Roach's gun turned out to be unloaded.

The death of a bystander due to actions of the police demonstrates an irresponsible use of force, and a failure to deescalate. Even if Maria hadn't been killed, firing nine shots in what was likely a crowded public area is unconscionable. (Orlando, FL)

Please join us in demanding justice for Maria and other victims of police violence!

✊ SEND EMAILS FOR MARIA ✊ tinyurl.com/Email4Maria

JUSTICE FOR ELIUTH NAVA PENALOZA

In 2018, Eliuth Nava Penaloza was sitting in his truck, under the influence of drugs and hallucinating. His parents called 911 to get him help, as they were worried that he had been acting strangely and arguing with a brother. In doing so, they mentioned that Eliuth seemed to have a knife and a gun in his truck. 

When Officers Sean Staymates and Kevin Pedersen arrived, Eliuth drove off, leading to a short chase. Officers claim that they saw Eliuth grab a handgun and point it at them, so they fired at him a total of 76 times in the middle of a busy residential neighborhood. At least 9 bullets hit Eliuth, killing him. Bullets fired by the officers also struck at least one building, a car and a tree. The gun found in Eliuth's vehicle was only an air pistol. This was an absurdly egregious amount of force against an unarmed man who never fired back, and during the incident officers directly put residents at risk. Civil courts have agreed that the officers' actions were ridiculous enough to rule in Eliuth's family's favor, and the Anaheim Police Department fired Pedersen, who fired most of the shots during the incident.

However, this is not enough. It is unconscionable that Staymates and Pedersen have not faced criminal charges for killing an innocent man. Allowing the police to kill with impunity puts our neighborhoods at risk. (Anaheim, CA)

Please join us in demanding justice for Eliuth and other victims of police violence! ✊SEND EMAILS FOR ELIUTH ✊ tinyurl.com/Email4Eliuth

JUSTICE FOR HECTOR MOREJON

In 2015, 19-year-old Hector Morejon was standing against a wall in a vacant and vandalized apartment when Officer Jeffrey Meyer spotted him through an open window and drew his gun. When Hector turned towards Officer Meyer, Officer Meyer immediately shot him dead. Officer Meyer had been investigating a potential break-in, and claimed that he feared for his life because he thought Hector was holding a gun in hand, but no weapon was found.

Prosecutors criticized Officer Meyer for deciding to approach the window alone and drawing his weapon when there were no obvious signs of a public safety threat, which directly put himself and any possible trespassers inside in danger, but neglected to press charges. There is no public record of Officer Meyer having been fired or receiving disciplinary actions.

Though a federal court has ruled in favor of Hector's family, this is not enough. Officer Meyer should face criminal charges for killing an unarmed teenager based purely on suspicion. (Long Beach, CA)

Please join us in demanding justice for Hector and other victims of police violence!

✊SEND EMAILS FOR HECTOR ✊ tinyurl.com/Email4Hector