Reports: Mueller Impanels Grand Jury In Federal Russia Probe

Robert Mueller, the special counsel overseeing the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, recently impaneled a grand jury as part of the probe, several news outlets reported on Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal reported, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter, that the Washington, D.C. grand jury “began its work in recent weeks” and is separate from the one assisting with the probe into President Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. The impanelment of that jury predated Mueller’s appointment as special counsel.

Reuters confirmed, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter, that Mueller convened a grand jury.

The empanelment of a new, separate grand jury reflects the scope of Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the election and whether any members of Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia.

Reuters also reported that grand jury subpoenas were issued in connection with a meeting between Donald Trump Jr., the President’s eldest son, and a Russian lawyer.

Trump Jr. attended the meeting after he was promised damaging information on Hillary Clinton as part of a Russian government effort to aid his father’s campaign. It was not clear whether those subpoenas were issued by the grand jury Mueller impaneled.

Black Lives Matter demands prosecution of ‘murderous’ police officers

The families of Los Angeles residents fatally shot by law enforcement officers joined Black Lives Matter organizers Monday outside the downtown Hall of Justice to demand that District Attorney Jackie Lacey prosecute some of those officers.

Black Lives Matter organizers have posted a petition at www.bity.ly/BLMLA and on the group’s Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites and said they hope to garner 10,000 signatures in the next 30 days.

“Jackie Lacey has not filed charges against a single police officer,” said BLMLA spokeswoman Melina Abdullah, explaining that the group turned out Monday to “convince her to do her job.”

More than 200 deaths have occurred at the hands of law enforcement since Lacey took office in 2012, according to BLMLA, with one organizer putting the number at 268.

Some officers were judged to have acted “out of policy” by their departments and were subject to administration action. In other cases — like the fatal shootings of James Joseph Byrd and Norma Guzman in unrelated incidents in 2015 — the police commission found that officers violated rules about deadly force, though Beck and union officials disagreed.

And shortly after the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Brendon Glenn in Venice in 2015, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said he hadn’t seen circumstances to justify the use of deadly force.

No criminal charges have been filed in any of those cases.

Lacey’s Justice System Integrity Division filed a formal report finding that the officers who shot Guzman acted in lawful self-defense and defense of others. No reports have yet been published on Byrd or Glenn.

BLM organizers say they have a clear-cut case of criminal misconduct in the shootings of Kisha Michael and Marquintan Sandlin. The five officers involved are no longer with the force, though when the Inglewood Police Department made that announcement in May, it declined to say whether they had resigned or been fired.

Either way, family members see it as evidence of guilt and want the district attorney to prosecute the men.

“We are demanding that District Attorney Jackie Lacey bring charges against police when they kill our people, beginning with the filing of charges against former Inglewood police officers Michael Jaen, Richard Parcella, Jason Cantrell, Sean Reidy and Andrew Cohen who killed Kisha Michael and Marquintan Sandlin while sleeping in their car in February 2016, leaving seven children without their parents,” the petition reads.

“We are demanding that in each (police shooting) case, the District Attorney vigorously pursue charges against murderous and abusive officers rather than deferring to police units rife with scandal and corruption to hold themselves accountable.”

The Inglewood Police Department said that Michael and Sandlin appeared to be unconscious in a car at Manchester Boulevard and Inglewood Avenue when officers approached and that Michael had a gun in her lap. Both had a blood- alcohol content in excess of the legal limit for driving, according to police.

Officers fired into the car, but the department has not released the details of its investigation and exactly what led to the use of deadly force.

BLMLA advocate Justin Marks said it was time for the IPD to pay for body cameras for its officers.

“The Inglewood Police Department is in serious need of some accountability,” Marks said, adding that a city where a $2.6 billion stadium is being built can afford the expense.

“Inglewood does not have a budget crisis, it has a priority crisis,” Marks said.

Abdullah said the group was seeking justice for those “who are not wealthy, who are not white.”

The small crowd outside the Hall of Justice was made up of black, white and Latino faces, including the father of Jesse Romero Jr., a 14-year-old boy shot in Boyle Heights last year.

Romero Sr. stood before a microphone and told reporters, “I want justice for my son,” before he was overcome by grief and had to walk away, sobbing.

An organizer with neighborhood organization Centro CSO took his place, offering a “thank you to Black Lives Matter for standing in solidarity with the Latino families in Boyle Heights.”

A series of family members wearing buttons or carrying photos of their loved ones shared their stories and as the media packed up their cameras and notepads, took handfuls of flyers urging residents to sign the petition.

Public pressure on officials by BLMLA, White People for Black Lives, faith leaders and residents was what led to the dismissal of the Inglewood officers, Abdullah said.

“We recognize that the system that we live with is flawed,” she added. Her goal is “push it as far as we possibly can to get some semblance of justice.”

Lacey has said in the past that she would not bow to public or media pressure and has followed the evidence and the law in each of the police shootings she has reviewed.

Asked for comment Monday, a spokeswoman for Lacey replied via email, “The Inglewood officer-involved shooting remains under review.”

The shooting of an Australian woman by US police has raised serious concerns after it was revealed the officers did not have their body cameras turned on.

Justine Damond, aged 40, was shot dead in Minneapolis about 11:30pm local time on Saturday after two officers responded to a report of a possible assault.
Her stepson Zach Damond, 22, said she called police after hearing a noise in the alleyway near their house in the suburb of Fulton.

"At one point an officer fired their weapon, fatally striking a woman," the police department said.

"Officers were dispatched. When officers responded, an officer-involved shooting occurred, which resulted in one adult female victim who is deceased and which has prompted our callout to the BCA [Bureau of Criminal Apprehension].

"The BCA will now further be conducting this investigation, this officer-involved shooting, from this point forward."

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said in a statement that she was "heartsick and deeply disturbed by the incident".

"I'm seeking answers to the questions we all have, and will make sure to keep the communication flowing," she said.

Ms Hodges said she understood the police body cameras and squad camera, which were introduced to the Minneapolis Police Department last year, were not switched on when the shooting occurred.

The two officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

A rally organised by local activist Mel Reeves was held at the site of the shooting, while other community members gathered for a vigil in Ms Damond's neighbourhood.

Local media say neighbours are mystified as to what occurred.

Zach Damond spoke at the vigil calling for more information and transparency from the authorities.

"Basically my mum is dead because a police officer shot her for reasons I don't know, and I demand answers," Mr Damond said.

"I just know that she heard a sound in the alley so she called the police, and the cops showed up.

"And she probably… thought something bad was happening and then the next thing, they take my best friend's life.

"I'm so done with all this violence, it's so much bullshit.

"America sucks, these cops need to be trained differently and I need to move out of here."
The shooting has reopened a deep rift between community members and the authorities as it comes one year after Minneapolis man Philando Castile was shot and killed by Minneapolis police officer Jeronimo Yanez.

A video from the aftermath of last year's shooting was livestreamed on Facebook.

It showed a woman interacting with an armed officer as the fatally injured man lay on the footpath.

The local community was left reeling after Mr Yanez was acquitted of all charges exactly one month ago and fired by the City of Saint Anthony.

Leslie Redmond, the vice-president for the Minneapolis NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People), has called for a federal investigation into the latest shooting.

"I am shocked and appalled by the limited amount of information available right now. What are they covering up?" she said.

Minnesota newspaper The Star Tribune reports Ms Damond was dressed in her pyjamas when she went to the driver’s side door of the police vehicle that responded to the emergency call.
She was talking to the driver when the officer in the passenger seat pulled out his gun and shot across his fellow officer.

Five officers facing internal discipline by the Baltimore Police Department in connection with the arrest and death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in 2015 will have public departmental trials this fall and winter, according to the online trial board schedule and a police union attorney.

Three of them face termination — the most severe punishment now possible locally after city prosecutors failed to secure a single criminal conviction in the case. Officials have not announced findings in a separate federal investigation into Gray's death.

The administrative trial of Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., the driver of the police van in which prosecutors said Gray suffered his fatal neck injuries, is scheduled for Oct. 30 to Nov. 3.

Lt. Brian Rice’s trial is Nov. 13-17; Sgt. Alicia White’s is Dec. 5-11; Officer Garrett Miller’s is Dec. 18-19; and Officer Edward Nero’s is Dec. 20-21. The officers will attend their hearings.

The department’s online schedule lists the trials, but not the officers’ names. Michael Davey, an attorney for the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3, confirmed the schedule. He otherwise declined to comment.

The specifics of the internal charges are not clear. Davey has previously said the officers are charged with “violations of policy and procedure,” but declined to elaborate.

By law, officers who are charged with internal infractions can accept recommended punishments or contest the charges before a trial board. All five chose trial boards.

The panels, which consist of three police officers, can acquit the officers or uphold the charges. If the charges are upheld, Police Commissioner Kevin Davis would determine the officers’ punishments.

A new state law made trial boards open to the public, but their outcomes remain secret. The trials will be held at City Hall, according to the online schedule.

Davis said Monday that a review of the officers’ actions by two outside police agencies found the officers had committed “several violations” of departmental policies. The discipline trials will provide them “the opportunity to address those findings,” he said.

He otherwise declined to comment. It was not clear who in the department would be leading the proceedings.

William H. “Billy” Murphy, the Gray family attorney, declined to comment.

Tessa Hill-Aston, president of the Baltimore branch of the NAACP, said she is glad the officers are facing discipline.

“The bottom line, like I’ve always said, is that Freddie is dead, and at the hands of the Police Department,” she said. “Someone should be held accountable, and if they couldn’t be held accountable in the court system, they should be held accountable internally.”

In Baltimore and across the country, Hill-Aston said, “we have to let the community see that when police do bad things and do not perform their jobs well, that there are some repercussions.”

The Baltimore Sun first reported in May that the five officers faced internal charges — and that Goodson, Rice and White face firing — after investigators from the Montgomery and Howard County police departments finished their review of the case. Nero and Miller, who made the initial arrest of Gray, face five days suspension without pay.

The Baltimore Police Department had asked the county police departments to conduct the internal investigation to avoid a conflict of interest.

Gray’s death in April 2015 sparked widespread protests in Baltimore, and rioting, looting and arson broke out on the day of his funeral. Millions of dollars in damage occurred in the city, which was put under a weeklong nightly curfew amid the unrest.

The five officers and a sixth were charged criminally in the case, with offenses ranging from misconduct to manslaughter and second-degree murder. All pleaded not guilty and none was convicted. Goodson, Rice and Nero were each acquitted in bench trials. Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby dropped the charges against White, Miller and the sixth officer, William Porter.

Porter had previously gone to trial, which ended with a hung jury and a mistrial.

Porter is not facing any internal discipline based on the findings of the investigation by the two county police agencies.

The police union previously denounced the department’s decision to bring internal charges against the officers and hold trial boards, saying the internal cases will “do nothing more than perpetuate a police force hesitant to exercise judgment when interacting with the public.”

The scheduled duration of the officers’ upcoming trials is unusual. Most trial board proceedings do not last more than one day. However, the cases against the officers charged in Gray’s arrest and death involve huge amounts of evidence, in part because they were tried in criminal court first.

Police reform advocates in the city have long pushed to put civilians on trial boards, but the local police union has rejected that idea and state law prohibits the city from putting civilians on the boards without the union’s consent.

City officials, including Davis and Mayor Catherine Pugh, have said they are pushing for the placement of civilians on the boards as part of the their ongoing contract negotiations with the union.

The officers’ administrative trials follow an investigation into the Baltimore Police Department by the U.S. Department of Justice, launched after Gray’s death and the subsequent unrest. The federal investigation concluded there has been widespread unconstitutional and discriminatory policing within the department. The city is now under a consent decree with the Justice Department mandating sweeping reforms.

On the day of Gray’s funeral and the start of the rioting in Baltimore in April 2015, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced a federal investigation by the Justice Department and the FBI into Gray’s death to determine whether his federal civil rights had been violated. The Justice Department on Monday declined to provide an update on the status of that investigation.

Mayor: St. Louis 'on edge' awaiting police shooting verdict

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The mayor of St. Louis says the city is "on edge" as it awaits a verdict in the first-degree murder trial of former police officer Jason Stockley, in part because of a troubled history of justice in St. Louis and nationwide.

Stockley is accused of fatally shooting Anthony Lamar Smith in 2011. The case was heard last month, but it's unclear when Judge Timothy Wilson will issue a verdict.

Activists have threatened civil disobedience if Stockley, who is white, is acquitted in the death of Smith, who was black.

"We're all on edge because we have watched, in this country and in our region, that legal decisions can and do result in families and sometimes entire communities being left without a sense of justice," Mayor Lyda Krewson said in a statement and video. "That can and has resulted in protests and demonstrations."

The St. Louis region was in the spotlight in 2014 when 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed, was fatally shot by white officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting and a grand jury's decision not to indict Wilson led to months of racially charged protests.

"The worry and anxiety we are feeling today is not without cause, and it did not start with Ferguson," Krewson said. "It has its roots in the story of our country. I hope we will all learn more about the laws and policies that closed the doors for some, while leaving them open for others."

Stockley and his partner saw Smith involved in what they thought was a drug transaction at a fast-food parking lot in December 2011. Smith sped away, nearly striking the officers. After a chase, Stockley shot Smith while Smith was still in his car.

Stockley testified that Smith had a gun, but prosecutors alleged that Stockley planted the weapon found in the car. They also cited dashboard camera video in which Stockley threatened to kill Smith less than a minute before doing so.

Krewson, 64, who is white, was elected earlier this year in part because three black Democratic rivals split the African-American vote. She has pledged to help ease the racial divide in St. Louis. The city has a nearly evenly split population of blacks and whites among its 316,000 residents.

Shortly after her election, Krewson created a position of director of racial equity and priority initiatives. She hired Nicole Hudson, who was previously active in reform efforts in Ferguson.

Alt-Right Commentator Flees United States After Being Outed On Internet

An alt-right activist who took part in the Charlottesville rallies has decided to flee the United States for someplace a bit more “homogenous.”

In a series of direct messages via Twitter with MassLive, Matt Colligan said he initially scarpered off to Japan and then found his way to Mexico. In those messages, speaking of Japan, he wrote:

This is what America needs…a people who look talk and act similar…diversity is our weakness.

Colligan apparently fled the country after his image was plastered all over the internet following the violent “Unite the Right” rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia last month.

In one image, Colligan can be seen smiling, wearing a button-down checkered shirt and some kind of straps while embracing noted anti-Semitic commentator Tim Gionet as a few tiki torches blaze in the background.

After Colligan’s smile went viral, he was personally identified by information vigilantes on the internet. After that, his phone number and those of family members became public knowledge. He apparently received some death threats. The famous Twitter account @YesYoureRacist, made Colligan one of its targets, referring to him as a “white supremacist” with a pedophile mustache.

During his interview with MassLive, he said, “I decided to distance myself from them, distance myself from everything that’s going on right now. And sort of hide out in a place that might not have seen my photo. I might stay out here for maybe a year or so.”

Colligan, for his part, says he is not a neo-Nazi or a member of the Ku Klux Klan. His Twitter account identifies him as a “troll” and is littered with tweets about 9/11 being an “inside job.” One tweet says the Holocaust was an “inside joke.” Another tweet appears to blame Israel for the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Mass shooting victims ID'd as mom of gunman's slain ex-wife speaks out


Police identified the victims as 27-year-old Meredith Emily Hight; 33-year-old Anthony Michael Cross; 24-year-old Olivia Nicole Deffner; 29-year-old James Richard Dunlop; 22-year-old Darryl William Hawkins; 31-year-old Rion Christopher Morgan; 28-year-old Myah Sade Bass; and 25-year-old Caleb Seth Edwards.

PLANO, Texas -- Plano police have identified 32-year-old Spencer James Hight as the gunman who killed eight people at a Plano home Sunday night.


Hight was killed by an officer who responded to the scene, heard gunfire, was confronted by the armed man and shot him.

Police say Hight's 27-year-old ex-wife, Meredith Emily Hight, is among the victims.

The couple's sixth wedding anniversary would have been on Monday, September 11, CBSDFW reported.

Others have been identified as 33-year-old Anthony Michael Cross; 24-year-old Olivia Nicole Deffner; 29-year-old James Richard Dunlop; 22-year-old Darryl William Hawkins; 31-year-old Rion Christopher Morgan; 28-year-old Myah Sade Bass; and 25-year-old Caleb Seth Edwards. Police say their hometowns haven't yet been confirmed.

Meredith Hight's mother has said her daughter owned the home, had recently divorced Hight after six years of marriage and was hosting a party to watch football games.


The shootings remain under investigation.

CBSDFW spoke with Meredith's mother, Debbie Lane, as she drove from her home in Atlanta to Plano.

Lane said her daughter wanted a divorce because Spencer was an alcoholic and was physically abusive. In the divorce papers, Meredith had citied "discord or conflict of personalities" as one of the reasons for the broken marriage.

‪Lane said her daughter did not take the decision to file for divorce lightly. "After two years of trying to get him in treatment, trying to get him to stop, trying to help him… she said, enough is enough. She made every effort she could… and could leave that relationship with no regrets."

Lane said she talked to her daughter the day before the shooting and that she was busy planning and preparing for the football watch party.