Body camera policy updated after fatality
Minneapolis police officers will be required to turn on their body cameras as soon as they start responding to 911 calls, part of a policy overhaul announced Wednesday as fallout continues from the fatal shooting of an unarmed Australian woman by an officer who was wearing a camera but not recording.
“What good is a camera if it is not being used when it may be needed the most?” said Medaria Arradondo, the city’s acting police chief.
Questions about the nonuse of body cameras, which were rolled out in Minneapolis last year to much fanfare, have swirled since Justine Damond, the Australian woman, was shot dead in a dark alley by Officer Mohamed Noor on July 15.
Ms. Damond had twice called 911 that night to report what she feared was a sexual assault happening outside her home. Officer Noor’s partner, whose body camera was also turned off, told investigators that he heard a loud noise before Officer Noor fired a shot from inside their patrol car, fatally striking Ms. Damond.
Her death, the latest in a string of high-profile police shootings in and near Minneapolis, reverberated across the world, prompting protests on the streets of Minnesota and a rebuke from the prime minister of Australia.
The Minneapolis police chief, Janee Harteau, was forced to resign last week.
Officers accused of assault
OMAHA, Neb. — Two Omaha police officers will face assault charges in the death of a mentally ill man who was shocked with a stun gun a dozen times and repeatedly punched, even after he was on the ground, a Nebraska prosecutor said Wednesday.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine made the announcement while revealing police video that captured the altercation officers Scotty Payne and Ryan McClarty had with 29year-old Zachary Bearheels at an Omaha convenience store. Kleine said he wouldn’t file more serious charges against the officers because a coroner could not directly link their actions to the Oklahoma man’s death.
Mr. Bearheels, a Native American from Oklahoma, was lost in Omaha after being kicked off an interstate bus going from South Dakota to his home state, according to his family.
The officers, both of whom are black, were fired earlier this month.
Corruption charges detailed
PHILADELPHIA — The mayor of Allentown and the former mayor of Reading have been charged with corruption for a series of payto-play schemes officials likened to putting for-sale signs on their offices while promising political favors to deep-pocketed donors.
Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski and former Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer are charged with multiple counts of bribery and fraud, according to indictments that detail how the two Democrats handed lucrative city contracts to donors who showered them with cash and gifts.
Mr. Pawlowski denied wrongdoing Wednesday.
Also in the nation ...
Gregory Burleson, 53, a participant in the 2014 armed standoff between federal agents and supporters of rancher Cliven Bundy, was sentenced to 68 years in prison Wednesday despite pleas from his lawyer for leniency related to his deteriorating health. ... Missouri’s new governor, Republican Eric Greitens, checked another box on his political resume Wednesday, signing legislation to tighten regulations on abortion clinics.