Tag: After

Breonna Taylor's death: Mistrial declared after jury fails to reach verdict in case of ex-Louisville cop

Jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict on federal civil rights charges Thursday in the trial of a former Louisville police officer charged in the police raid that killed Breonna Taylor, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial.

Brett Hankison was charged with using excessive force that violated the rights of Taylor, her boyfriend and her next-door neighbors. Hankison fired 10 shots into the Black woman’s window and a glass door after officers came under fire during a flawed drug warrant search on March 13, 2020. Some of his shots flew into a neighboring apartment, but none of them struck anyone.

The 12-member, mostly white jury struggled fruitlessly to reach a verdict over several days. On Thursday afternoon, they sent a note to the judge saying they were at an impasse. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings urged them to keep trying, and they returned to deliberations.

FORMER KY OFFICER FACES SECOND CONVICTION ATTEMPT AFTER FIRING INTO BREONNA TAYLOR’S APARTMENT

BREONNA TAYLOR DEATH: FORMER LOUISVILLE DETECTIVE PLEADS GUILTY TO FALSIFYING AFFIDAVIT FOR RAID

The judge reported there were “elevated voices” coming from the jury room at times during deliberations, and court security officials had to visit the room. Jurors then told the judge Thursday they were deadlocked on both counts against Hankison, and could not come to a decision — prompting Jennings’ declaration of a mistrial.

The mistrial could result in a retrial of Hankison, but that would be determined by federal prosecutors at a later date.

Federal prosecutors didn’t immediately respond to an email afterward seeking comment.

Before the mistrial was declared, the lead federal prosecutor, Michael Songer, said in court that it would take “enormous resources … to retry this case.” Songer wanted the jury to keep deliberating.

Jennings said she believed the jury would not be able to reach a verdict. “I think the totality of the circumstances may be beyond repair in this case,” the judge said. “They have a disagreement that they cannot get past.”

Lonita Baker, an attorney for Taylor’s family, said afterward that Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, was disappointed with the outcome but remained encouraged “because a mistrial is not an acquittal. And so we live another day to fight for justice for Breonna.”

Hankison, 47, was acquitted by a Kentucky jury last year on wanton endangerment charges. State prosecutors had alleged he illegally put Taylor’s neighbors in danger. Months after his acquittal last year, the U.S. Department of Justice brought the new charges against Hankison, along with separate charges against a group of other officers involved in crafting the warrant.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHARGES 4 LOUISVILLE POLICE OFFICERS IN BREONNA TAYLOR INVESTIGATION

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Taylor, a 26-year-old nursing student, “should be alive today” when he announced the federal charges in August 2022. The charges that Hankison faced carried a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Hankison was the only officer who fired his weapon the night of the Taylor raid to be criminally charged. Prosecutors determined that two other officers were justified in returning fire after one was shot in the leg.

Songer said Monday in the trial’s closing arguments that Hankison “was a law enforcement officer, but he was not above the law.” Songer argued that Hankison couldn’t see a target and knew firing blindly into the building was wrong.

Hankison’s attorney, Stewart Mathews, countered that he was acting quickly to help his fellow officers, who he believed were being “executed” by a gunman shooting from inside Taylor’s apartment. Taylor’s boyfriend had fired a single shot when police burst through the door. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said he believed an intruder was barging in.

“If his perception was reasonable in the chaos of that moment, that was not criminal,” Mathews said.

The night of the raid, Hankison said he saw the shot from Taylor’s boyfriend in the hallway after her door was breached. He backed up and ran around the corner of the building, firing shots into the side of the apartment.

“I had to react,” he testified. “I had no choice.”

The single shot from Taylor’s boyfriend hit former police Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who dropped to the ground and fired six shots. Another officer, Myles Cosgrove, fired 16 rounds down the hallway, including the bullet that killed Taylor. Mattingly testified as a defense witness for Hankison in the federal trial, while Cosgrove was called to testify by prosecutors.

Cosgrove was fired by Louisville police along with Hankison. Mattingly retired.

BREONNA TAYLOR DEATH: LOUISVILLE POLICE DOCUMENTS SHINE LIGHT INTO INVESTIGATION DETAILS

Taylor’s death didn’t initially garner much attention, but after the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May 2020 and the release of Taylor’s boyfriend’s 911 call, street protests over police brutality erupted around the country. Demonstrators in Louisville shouted Taylor’s name for months, along with high-profile Black celebrities like Oprah and Lebron James who demanded accountability for the police officers involved in the case.

Taylor’s case also cast intense scrutiny on so-called “no-knock” warrants, which were later banned in the city of Louisville. The warrants allow officers to enter a residence without warning, but in the Taylor raid officers said they knocked and announced their presence. The Louisville police chief at the time was subsequently fired because officers had not used body cameras the night of the raid.

Three other former officers involved in drawing up the warrant have been charged in a separate federal case. One of them, Kelly Goodlett, has pleaded guilty to helping falsify the warrant. She is expected to testify against former detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany in their trial next year.

Goodlett’s guilty plea remains the only criminal conviction of a police officer involved in the Taylor case.

Houston police hunt costumed gunman, accomplice after strangers' argument turns deadly

A costumed gunman fatally shot a man during an argument in downtown Houston, and the two “persons of interest” remain on the loose.

The shooter – wearing a “yellow and black costume” with a yellow-and-black-striped tail with a hoodie – shot a man twice in the chest around 1:20 a.m. Thursday, police said. 

The other suspect is described as a man with long, black hair wearing a pink or orange T-shirt.

The victim was a 20-year-old man whose name has not been released. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

REAL-LIFE ‘DEVIL MADE ME DO IT’ CASE OF ARNE CHEYENNE JOHNSON ‘SCARED US S—LESS’: LAWYER

The victim and his family crossed an intersection where one person in a costume and another with a camera and tripod were set up. 

The two groups “exchanged words,” Houston police said during a press conference.

POLICE RESCUE WOMAN FROM SERIAL KIDNAPPER IN SHOCKING BODYCAM VIDEO

It appears as though the tripod was pushed or kicked, Commander Chris Hassig said, although there is no audio on the surveillance video to tell what was said or why it escalated.

After the shooting, the suspects went to “several” bars or restaurants in the area, and investigators continue to work leads, Hassig said. 

WATCH SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE OF SHOOTING

In the surveillance footage that police released, they were spotted getting into a white Mazda hatchback with three stickers on the back left window and another sticker on the rear window. 

“We would like to speak to them to get their version of events,” Hassig said. 

Chief Troy Finner said this was “an isolated incident” at the intersection of Austin and Lamar streets in a bustling area of the city’s downtown, which he stressed is “a safe area.”

He urged the suspects to turn themselves in and for potential witnesses to come forward with tips.

Police are looking for the actual costume, as well, according to Hassig. 

The suspects were spotted in T-shirts as they got in the Mazda and drove off. It is unclear what happened to that costume. 

The investigation remains ongoing. 

Kaitlin Armstrong trial: Colin Strickland knocks camera off journalist's shoulder after 2nd day of testimony

The pro cyclist whose then-girlfriend is accused of killing a former lover last year appears on video shoving a news cameraman’s equipment off his shoulder on his way out of court Monday, after his second day of testimony in an Austin courthouse.

Colin Strickland, 36, went out swimming and to dinner at a bar with Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson, 25, on May 11, 2022, right before her murder.

Shortly after he dropped her off at a friend’s apartment, where she was staying while visiting Texas for a race, a Ring camera outside picked up the sounds of screams and gunshots.

Prosecutors allege it was his then-girlfriend and business partner, 37-year-old Kaitlin Armstrong, who pulled the trigger in a jealous rage.

PRO CYCLIST GRILLED AT KAITLIN ARMSTRONG TRIAL ON HOW HE DUMPED WOMAN WHO ALLEGEDLY KILLED HIS LOVER

She fled the country, got plastic surgery and was arrested in Costa Rica after a 43-day manhunt, according to authorities. Then she tried to escape custody last month, leading corrections officers on a 10-minute foot chase before she was recaptured ahead of trial.

KAITLIN ARMSTRONG TRIAL: PRO CYCLING MURDER SUSPECT STALKED WITH GPS, SHOT VICTIM’S HEART, PROSECUTORS SAY

Armstrong’s murder trial began last week, and Strickland testified on Friday and Monday, where he dropped an F-bomb on the witness stand and came across as uncooperative during the defense team’s cross-examination.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE TRUE CRIME FROM FOX NEWS

Armstrong’s attorney Rick Cofer asked if Strickland received sponsorships because he was popular in the sport of gravel racing. Strickland replied that he got paid because he “won races and sold merchandise.”

Strickland revealed his rocky relationship with Armstrong had been on-and-off since late 2019. He said he broke up with Armstrong the first time because he didn’t think they had enough in common, then turned around later and asked her to stop trying to compete at his races. He took issue with cheap clothes she bought online from China. And, according to a friend who testified later, he didn’t like it when Armstrong showed her support by wearing outfits identical to the ones sponsors sent him.

Another video, taken outside the courthouse, appears to show Strickland stepping on a different cameraman’s foot. He can be heard groaning in pain and has reportedly filed a complaint with Austin police about the encounter.

The Travis County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to questions about the incident.

While he has not been accused of wrongdoing or charged with a crime, his connection to the case cost him a number of those lucrative sponsorships.

Fox News’ Emily Robertson contributed to this report.

Status of AP journalist in Gaza still in doubt after he was benched when anti-Israel postings came to light

The Associated Press sidelined one of its reporters last week after his social media history of attacking Israel, including likening it to the Nazi regime, came to light, and his future with the outlet is still unknown. But one expert says the issue is indicative of the challenges of reporting within an area dominated by Hamas. 

Issam Adwan is a Gaza native with a background in Palestinian activism who joined the AP, one of the world’s most renowned media wire services, in August. HonestReporting, a media watchdog that focuses on anti-Israel bias, uncovered numerous examples of past vitriolic social media postings by Adwan last week.

The AP later told Fox News Digital that Adwan, who had until that point filed several dispatches from Gaza about the war with Israel, had been removed from his reporting duties while it investigated his past work. He has not posted from his X profile since Oct. 10 and not responded to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the AP told Fox News Digital on Sunday that there was no update on the investigation.

“I don’t know what there is to investigate,” Noah Pollak told Fox News Digital. “You have screenshots of numerous posts over the course of many years of this guy openly cheering for terrorism. There’s nothing really to investigate.”

ISRAELI OFFICIAL SAYS MEDIA REPORTS EMPOWERING TERRORISTS: ‘IT’S WHAT TERROR USES’

Pollak, a Washington Free Beacon contributor who previously lived in Israel as a journalist, insisted that Hamas has such a stranglehold over the flow of information that is released from Gaza that “you are only allowed to work for Western media organizations if you are promoting Hamas’ interests.”

“That means you never report critically or publicly criticize anything Hamas does. It means you never ask questions or ask for accountability on anything Hamas does. That means you never talk about how brutal and terrible Hamas is to its own people, to Palestinians who live in Gaza,” Pollak said. “It’s scandalous that Western media outlets employ people in Gaza and call them journalists or reporters or stringers or anything like that.”

“AP journalists in Gaza are providing crucial eyewitness reporting on the Israel-Hamas war, and continue to do so despite incredibly challenging conditions,” an AP spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The outlet has reported on the “savagery” of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel and published a piece last week on the “grisly montage” cut together by the Israeli military of the Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians. It has also noted Hamas is committed to the “destruction of Israel.”

HonestReporting laid out Adwan’s extensive past of shredding Israel last week, including calling it an “apartheid” regime, saying it would be a triumph if it was “overthrown,” and comparing the Jewish state to the Nazis.

In one now-deleted post on X last year, he wrote, the “Palestinian revolt against the Israeli oppression will be a triumph” and “every colonial system will be overthrown. Meanwhile, you should reflect on what you did to contribute to it.”

In another, he stated, “It’s simple to identify which side you take… Supporting colonialism and apartheid is never ok to the human common sense.”

He also told an Israeli in 2019, “Don’t listen to the lies they told you about us. They’re spreading lies and fear to continue with the apartheid system which [separates] us of different races and religions.”

In 2021, he wrote, “To all ignorants playing ‘Hamas/Khamas’ card when we talk about Israeli war crimes/apartheid//ethnic cleansing, Hamas has been established in 1987 while this ongoing genocide happens in 1948. How many massacres and killings Israel did before that? Educate yourselves.” In 2019, he referred to “resistance parties and movements,” in a reply to a then-Twitter post criticizing Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group active in the Gaza Strip.

At another point last year, he compared Israel to Nazis, calling it a “racist regime that is so similar to the Nazis.”

UC-DAVIS PROFESSOR UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR ‘REVOLTING’ POST THREATENING THE CHILDREN OF ‘ZIONIST JOURNALISTS’

HonestReporting also shared a screenshot of him resharing a post by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, accusing Israeli forces of being “involved in a systematic campaign to poison water wells of indigenous Palestinians as part of 1948 ethnic cleansing.” The BDS movement is a Palestinian-led campaign to economically destroy Israel and has been condemned by the Anti-Defamation League as rooted in antisemitism.

Adwan joined the AP in August after prior stints with Middle East Eye and Al Jazeera English. He also served as project manager for “We Are Not Numbers,” a Palestinian storytelling project, and the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution. He has been an advocate throughout his life for Palestinians and what he views as unfair treatment against his people by the Israelis and their allies.

The AP has had its share of issues intertwined with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2021, it hired and then fired a recent Stanford graduate as a news associate, after her history of anti-Israel social media posts emerged.

That same year, the office building that housed the AP’s bureau in Gaza was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. Israel said it destroyed the building because it contained Hamas military intelligence; the AP denied any knowledge of sharing the same building space as the terrorist group.

Press freedom watchdogs cried foul, and an AP story at the time said the destruction of the building “marked a new chapter in the already rocky relationship between the Israeli military and the international media.”

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Reporter jumps into action to save slain friend's children after Hamas attack: 'Absolute chaos'

Journalist Ilana Curiel answered the call to action and saved two of her friend’s children after Hamas terrorists attacked his home. Photojournalist Roy Edan’s son Michael, 8, and daughter Amalya, 6, were barricaded in a closet with their mother’s body for hours when they managed to call their aunt, uncle and the police to tell them … Continue reading Reporter jumps into action to save slain friend's children after Hamas attack: 'Absolute chaos'

Marquez to join Gresini Racing after Honda exit

Marc Marquez will join Gresini Racing for the 2024 season, as the six-time MotoGP world champion leaves Honda at the end of the 2023 campaign.

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At least 20 people killed in 'apocalyptic' crash after bus plunges from bridge

At least 20 people are dead after a bus veered off an overpass near Venice, Italy, on Tuesday evening, authorities said.

Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told Italian state TV channel Rai News24 that there were “at least 20 dead” after a bus veered off the road and fell a few meters close to railway lines in Mestre, a suburb of Venice. Following the crash near railway tracks, the bus caught on fire.

“There are at least 20 dead, but some people are still trapped in the wreckage,” Brugnaro said.

Venice prefect Michele Di Bari said that there were 15 survivors from the crash. 

LOSS OF 12 NEWBORNS SPARKS OUTRAGE AND INQUIRY IN INDIAN HOSPITAL

The cause of the incident is still unclear with emergency crews on the scene accessing the damage.

Following the crash, Brugnaro wrote on X, in a translated post, that the scene of the crash was “apocalyptic” and that he had already ordered the “city to mourn” for the “numerous victims” who were on the bus.

VOLCANIC TREMORS STOKE MASS EVACUATION FEARS IN ITALY

“A huge tragedy struck our community this evening” Brugnaro wrote. “I immediately ordered the city to mourn, in memory of the numerous victims who were on the fallen bus. 

“An apocalyptic scene, there are no words,” he said.

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, gave her condolences to residents, saying that she is close with local government during this time of “profound pain.”

“My deepest condolences to the families of the victims and those injured in the serious accident in Mestre,” Von der Leyen wrote in a translated X post. “I am close to President Mattarella, President Meloni and the mayor of Venice Brugnaro in this moment of profound pain.”

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rhode Island man charged after feds find 26 pounds of cocaine in kayak near Canadian border

A Rhode Island man could face up to 40 years in prison after federal agents found him with 26 pounds of cocaine in a kayak on Lake Champlain in Vermont, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Freddy Rodriguez, 38, of West Warwick, was encountered by federal agents behind a rented camp in Highgate, Vermont, near the Canadian border, on the night of Sept. 18, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Rodriguez was spotted walking to the shores of Lake Champlain with a bag, the agents said in court documents. 

Agents say that after they got word that a vessel had entered the United States on the lake and was traveling south near the camp, they saw Rodriguez load objects from a bag into a kayak and start to drag the boat into the water, the documents state.

NYC DAY CARE FACILITY OWNER’S HUSBAND ARRESTED IN MEXICO IN CONNECTION TO DRUG OPERATION

Rodriguez tried to flee when agents confronted him, but he was apprehended. 

Agents described objects found in the kayak as brick-like packages that contained a white powder. The powder tested presumptively positive for the presence of cocaine, according to federal prosecutors.

DEMOCRAT SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR ANNOUNCES PLAN TO REQUIRE DRUG TESTING, TREATMENT TO RECEIVE HOMELESS SERVICES

The brick-like packages weighed approximately 26.4 pounds.

If convicted, Rodriguez could spend between five and 40 years in prison. He was released on conditions of pre-trial supervision after a detention hearing Monday. 

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JESSE WATTERS: Going after monopolies is dangerous in DC

Jesse Watters discusses how Jeff Bezos has turned on President Biden after more disastrous polling for the president on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”

WASHINGTON POST SET TO LOSE ‘$100 MILLION IN 2023’ ONE DECADE AFTER JEFF BEZOS BOUGHT THE PAPER: REPORT

JESSE WATTERS: Oh, there’s someone sending a message. It’s not just the country. The owner of The Washington Post, Jeff Bezos, is sending a message. The world’s third-richest man has joined the CIA to move the Democrat machine against Biden. But why? Bezos is a Democrat, right? Sure. But this is about business. 

Besides going after the intelligence agencies, going after the monopolies is the most dangerous move in DC. Tomorrow, we expect the Biden administration to file a massive antitrust lawsuit against Jeff Bezos. Biden’s lawsuit against Amazon would bust up Bezos’ $1.3 trillion empire. But Bezos has another reason to put Biden out to pasture. When Amazon workers tried to unionize, the president sided with Amazon workers. 

 That was a declaration of war. And Bezos has gone behind Biden’s back now and formed an alliance with the CIA. You don’t pit the unions against Bezos and try to break up his monopoly without paying a price. Bezos has had the CIA in his back pocket for years. 

Amazon and the intelligence agencies have billions in contracts software, cloud surveillance. Amazon’s board is stacked with former intelligence professionals ready to do Bezos’ bidding, and Bezos wants Biden gone. That poll was a push poll as in push Joe Biden off a cliff and all the billionaires are in on it.

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Jets assistant back after injury at practice brawl

Jets assistant coach Tony Oden’s left arm was in a sling, but he was back to work and in good spirits Thursday, one day after being injured during a practice brawl.

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