In the past five years, more Utahns have been killed by police than by gang members.

Or drug dealers. Or from child abuse.

And so far this year, deadly force by police has claimed more lives — 13, including a Saturday shooting in South Jordan — than has violence between spouses and dating partners.

As the tally of fatal police shootings rises, law enforcement watchdogs say it is time to treat deadly force as a potentially serious public safety problem.

"The numbers reflect that there could be an issue, and it’s going to take a deeper understanding of these shootings," said Chris Gebhardt, a former police lieutenant and sergeant who served in Washington, D.C., and in Utah, including six years on SWAT teams and several training duties. "It definitely can’t be written off as citizen groups being upset with law enforcement."

Ferguson corrections officer raped woman in jail, lawsuit alleges

A pregnant woman says she was raped in jail by a Ferguson corrections officer last year, according to a federal lawsuit filed Friday against the city and the officer, Jaris Hayden.

Hayden now faces four felony charges, including sexual contact with a prisoner and acceding to corruption by a public servant.

Hayden posted $10,000 cash bond on Nov. 12, the day he was arrested. Hayden, who is being represented by attorney Scott Rosenblum, is scheduled to appear in St. Louis County court for his arraignment Dec. 3.

J.W., whose full name is withheld from the suit, was stopped by a Ferguson police officer on Oct. 9, 2013 because her license plates were expired, according to the lawsuit.

A Ferguson police officer arrested J.W. and wrote her two tickets after she gave him a false name, according to the suit.

During J.W.'s booking, Hayden said to her, "You smell good," and, "This will teach you a lesson," according to the suit.

After J.W. complained of pain and discharges, Hayden checked with a superior and called an ambulance, according to the suit. After checking J.W.'s vital signs, paramedics told Hayden it was up to him whether they could take J.W., according to the suit.

J.W.'s boyfriend then posted bond, according to the suit, but while J.W. was signing papers, Hayden told her she had traffic warrants from other municipalities.

J.W. said, "I will do anything to go home," according to the suit, which specifies she was not talking about sexual favors.

Hayden then said "follow me," and took J.W. down various hallways, according to the suit.

continued at: http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2014/11/17/ferguson-police-officer-raped-woman-in-jail.html

A video uploaded to YouTube on November 14 has been brought to the attention of the Free Thought Project which allegedly shows Officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department, threatening to arrest a man for filming.

According to the person who took the video he was in fact arrested, and he claims Officer Wilson lied on his report.

“He told me I had permission to ‘record’ him. As soon as I started filming, his attitude changed, and he arrested me,” the man, who wishes to remain anonymous for the time being, tells the Free Though Project in an exclusive interview.

According to the man filming, Wilson put on the report that he only gave him permission to “audio record,” as if actual permission was needed to do either one of these things.

He was then arrested and put into Darren Wilson’s SUV.

This incident happened on October 28, 2013, he tells the Free Thought Project that he waited to release the video because he was scared of retaliation and wanted to move out of Ferguson prior publishing it.

Wilson was at the location asking to look at VIN numbers of two vehicles in the man’s backyard.

In a phone interview with the person who took the video, he tells the Free Thought Project that he was arrested for Failure to Obey an Officer; a charge that would later be dropped.

While we await the grand jury findings and an announcement on whether or not Wilson will be charged for the killing of Mike Brown, this video gives us a rare glimpse of the killer cop, and his threatening demeanor.

UPDATE:
Below is a copy of the police report showing the details of the arrest. It is signed by Darren Wilson.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/shock-video-darren-wilson-violates-1st-amendment-ill-lock-ass-up-arrests-man-filming/#mZEsfwuttYG50a0k.99

Washington (CNN) -- Loretta Lynch, the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, is expected to be President Barack Obama's pick for attorney general, U.S. officials briefed on the matter said.

An announcement is expected in the coming days, though the timing is complicated by the president's plans to travel to Asia this weekend.

...

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/07/politics/new-attorney-general-nominee-loretta-lynch/index.html

Marijuana activists who have longed for decades to end America's drug war pocketed more major victories in the midterm elections Tuesday, with Oregon and the nation's capital approving recreational pot use.

The advocates believed they also had another win, in Alaska, as a legal pot measure held a steady lead.

The only major loss for drug-law reformers came in Florida and even there, a medical marijuana proposal earned 58 percent - just shy of the 60 percent required to pass.

The victories came in a midterm election that saw a low turnout and an electorate that handed Republicans back control of the U.S. Senate for the first time since 2006. The results emboldened marijuana activists as they prepare legalization efforts in California, Massachusetts, Maine and other states in the next presidential election year.

"We're starting work right now for 2016," said Joe Brezny, who's leading a campaign to legalize marijuana in Nevada. "The other side is in trouble if we're doing this well in a Republican midterm year."

When Kim Nguyen called a cab after a few drinks, she thought she was on the right side of the law. But in spite of her best efforts, the 27-year-old pharmacist explains she was thrown from a police cruiser after Los Angeles police officers kidnapped and sexually assaulted her while she was waiting for that cab.

...

Back in 2013, Nguyen explains that officers confronted her along with two male friends outside of a downtown Los Angeles restaurant at 2 am.

The group had been drinking and they knew they shouldn’t drive home. They were trying to do the right thing, making sure not to drink and drive.


But while waiting for the cab, officers told the men to leave them with Nguyen or they would be arrested. Once the men left, the rogue cops kidnapped Nguyen and assaulted her.

In the deposition taped last month it is alleged that the officer in the back of the cruiser with Nguyen had grabbed her left inner thigh. She resisted, but he forced her legs apart.

Then the officer grabbed her chest, and when she tried to push away, he grabbed her by the ear. In the struggle to get him off over her, she explains that officer negligence led to her being ejected from the vehicle at high speeds.

As a result of this, Nguyen spent two weeks in the hospital. Injuries sustained included having to have her jaw wired shut. She also lost all of her teeth from the impact on the street which was caught on video, after she was ejected from the cruiser.

Now, Nguyen has filed a lawsuit against the LAPD, alleging that officers failed to secure her with a seatbelt or lock her door properly. This, her attorney says, is what led to her being ejected from the car.

Nguyen’s attorney, Arnoldo Casillas was able to obtain surveillance footage of the incident. The video of the incident clearly shows Nguyen sprawled on the ground with her dress removed from the waist down.

The video (above) shows the patrol car speeding through a green light. “The video shows that the statement that the police officers gave the paramedics is an unabashed, unequivocal lie,” Casillas said during the press conference.

The LAPD say that they are “investigating,” but that investigation has never concluded. Still, the department says they “will ensure that Ms. Nguyen is made aware of the outcome of the investigation related to this incident,” whenever they finally conclude it.