LifeAlert Leads to DeathAlert

[VXIII]

We are the police and we are here to Kill You

Kenneth Chamberlain, a 68-year-old former Marine and retired correctional officer with a heart condition, accidentally set off his LifeAid medical alert pendant while sleeping in his White Plains, New York, apartment. Unable to contact Chamberlain via its two-way audio box, LifeAid called the White Plains Department of Public Safety. Police officers arrived to help Chamberlain 17 minutes later. Instead they ended up killing him.

When police knocked on his door, New York Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez reports, a bleary and annoyed Chamberlain told them he was fine and did not need any help. They insisted on coming in anyway, and "a nearly hour-long standoff ensued." According to the official police report, officers "heard loud noises inside and thought someone else might be in danger." As more officers arrived with their guns drawn, Gonzalez says, Chamberlain "became increasingly agitated." Both Chamberlain's niece, who lived in another apartment upstairs, and the LifeAid dispatcher, who heard the whole confrontation via the audio box, offered to mediate but were rebuffed. Police camera footage, as described to Gonzalez by Chamberlain's son and the family's lawyers, shows that when the cops finally forced their way in, Chamberlain was "standing inside his apartment, wearing only boxer shorts, with his arms at his side and his hands empty." Yet the cops immediately tasered the man with a heart condition they had come to help, and later one officer (who so far has not been publicly identified) shot him twice in the chest—a moment the cameras missed.

Police say Chamberlain came at them with a knife. The family's lawyers say he was unarmed. White Plains Public Safety Commissioner David Chong deemed the shooting a "warranted use of deadly force." But on Friday, Gonzalez notes, "White Plains Mayor Tom Roach issued his first public statement of condolences to the dead man’s family," apparently responding to critics who questioned the official account in light of the details that Chamberlain's family has brought to light.

The Daily White Plains reports that "172,134 people have signed a petition urging the district attorney’s office to release audio and video" of the confrontation. On Monday, more than four months after Chamberlain's death, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office confirmed that it will present the case to a grand jury.

4/10/2012

New York Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez reports that the autopsy of Kenneth Chamberlain, the former Marine and retired correctional officer who was killed by White Plains police in November, casts doubt on the official story that Chamberlain was brandishing a knife:


Randolph McLaughlin, attorney for Chamberlain's family, said the trajectory of the fatal bullet [fired by Officer Anthony Carelli] suggests Chamberlain was neither facing the police nor holding up a weapon.

"The report clearly shows that Mr. Chamberlain's arm could not have been raised in a threatening manner with a knife at the moment he was shot," McLaughlin told The News on Monday night.

The report, completed Nov. 21 by acting Westchester County Chief Medical Examiner Kunjlata Ashar, shows the fatal bullet struck Chamberlain [who was right-handed] from the side in the "right upper arm, 4½ inches from the right shoulder."

It went through his arm without hitting bone and entered his right chest, "then passed through the upper lobe of right lung ... through the thoracic vertebra 4 and then through the upper lobe of left lung," the report said.

"The direction of the wound track is from right to left in a straight line," Ashar wrote. Chamberlain died from hemorrhaging in the lungs....

Because the bullet came from the side, not straight on, the report “makes it impossible for him to be holding a knife in his hand and advancing on police," [McLaughlin] said.

Following a public outcry about the case, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office plans to have a grand jury decide whether criminal charges should be brought against Carelli or the other officers, who were responding to an erroneous call indicating that Chamberlain needed medical assistance.

http://reason.com/blog/2012/04/04/we...re-here-to-hel

[TKaz]

All old men who are awoken by police & are only in their boxers are grumpy. I can't think of one man in that age bracket who wouldn't be cantankerous.
If they felt the need, wouldn't it make sense to have one officer poke around where he heard the noise?
I'm just so sad for his family.

[DamagedGoods]

I read about this one a short while ago on another site. It seems ludicrous to me that this case hasn't garnered anywhere NEAR the media attention that Trayvon Martin has, considering the bizarre circumstances. It happened in November last year, and the ONLY reason I knew of it before reading it here is that one of articles I read on Trayvon linked to it.

[newstarshipsmell]

It took me years to outgrow my adolescent distrust of authority in general and law enforcement in particular, as I came to recognize them for the vital asset to society that they are, and then I read shit like this.

[Tundratot]

This is crazy! I understand he was being a surly old bastard, but it sounds like they just got tired of waiting and burst in guns (and tazers) blazing. Especially embarrassing to them that he was was a former corrections officer, and they follow up by trying to cover it up unsuccessfully.

[AngelFire]

Since when being a grumpy, sleepy old man merits being tasered and then shot? This is insane.

[VAS1326]

I would like to hear more about the video. However; that being said why did they have to shoot him? Wasn't tazering enough for an old man with a heart condition??? Sounds like excessive force even if he did hold a knife. My grandpa is in his 80's and paranoid as shit. He fell asleep once when my grandma was out in the evening and when she came home he had awoken to her fumbling to get the key in the door. Being in his half awake state he forgot she had gone out, grabbed his gun and went to confront her. He didn't hurt her obviously but scared the shit out of her. So I can see a grumpy old man grabbing a knife before he knew what was going on.

[VXIII]

If all of this is true I find it disgusting, even elderly ill people are not safe using their LifeAlert. He was buried with full military honors. The video has not been released to the public and the shooting part is missing, but the son is at the link describing what was on the video. If it werent for the LifeAlert operator taping it I wonder if there would be any record at all, Chamberlains son states on the video one officer tells another to shut off the video after they kick in the door. Sounds like the old man was pleading for his life and asking them why are you doing this to me. (see interview at link) Much more information is available in the interview video, its worth watching.

One of the family’s lawyers, Mayo Bartlett, a former Westchester assistant district attorney, said someone can be heard screaming at Chamberlain on the LifeAid tape: “I don’t give a f--k, n----r, open the door!”

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/socie...alert-bracelet

How is it now you get in trouble for filming the cops but they conveniently "lose or damage" the recordings they make> If they dont have anything to hide why are they worried about onlookers taping their actions?

The police knocked on his door and he told them that he did not need assistance and there was no medical emergency. He told them that he did not call them. Despite being told that there was no need for their services, the police refused to leave and insisted that he let them into his home.

Despite telling them he did not need assistance the police continued to insist that they enter the apartment.

Chamberlain later contacted his medical alert service provider while the police were banging on his door and asked them for help.

He told them that the White Plains Police employees were outside his door and were going to kill him.

The medical alert service provider recorded the communications between the police and Chamberlain. The police continued to bang on his door for approximately an hour. During that time they taunted, cursed at him, and called him a nigger.

They ultimately broke through his apartment door and forced their way into his apartment, all without his consent.

Upon entering the apartment police immediately used a Taser on Chamberlain as he stood approximately six to eight feet away from the officers, and he was wearing nothing but boxer shorts when the police began their assault against him.

After using the Taser against him, a scuffle ensued and two 40 caliber rounds were fired into Chamberlain resulting in his death.

The family has asked the Westchester County D.A. to criminally indict as well as the United States Department of Justice, or the New York State Attorney General, to prosecute this as a hate crime since it appears that his killing was motivated by hate.

http://globalgrind.com/news/kenneth-...al-alert-video

I sometimes wonder if this is part of what Einstein was referring to when he said all that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men see and say nothing. Whether anyone realizes it or not, this is how Germany began and ever so slowly stripped its citizens of their rights one at a time.

[AngelFire]

He told them that the White Plains Police employees were outside his door and were going to kill him.

The medical alert service provider recorded the communications between the police and Chamberlain. The police continued to bang on his door for approximately an hour. During that time they taunted, cursed at him, and called him a nigger.

If this is all true, I want each and every single officer involved, to get his. Why, why a defenseless old man, one who clearly told them he was fine and didn't require their "help"?

[VXIII]

2 Police Officers Involved in the Shooting are named... and they have past accusations of abuse.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- When White Plains Police responded to Kenneth Chamberlain's apartment last November, the 68-year-old former marine's medical alert device recorded the entire hour-long fatal stand-off.



Now, an attorney for the family says a transcript of that recording identifies White Plains Police Officer Steven Hart as the one who shouted out a racial slur before Chamberlain was shot and killed by another officer.

"He's tapping on the window, tap tap tap, 'Mr. Chamberlain we need to talk N-word'. The N-word flat out," said Randolph McLaughlin, of the Newman Ferrara Law Firm. Officer Steven Hart is currently fighting allegations of police brutality in a civil lawsuit brought by this man who says Hart used excessive force when arresting him for disorderly conduct outside this bar.

"He grabbed from behind and pushed me to ground, smashing my face in ground four times. All I said is, 'I didn't do anything,'" said Edgar Maurad, plantiff

"He wasn't even charged with resisting arrest. He didn't have to break his nose and cause those injuries," said Michael Joseph, the plantiff's attorney.

The disorderly conduct charges were dismissed. Court documents show Officer Hart denies all allegations of excessive force.

Meanwhile, Officer Anthony Carelli who fired the shots that killed Chamberlain is also facing police brutality allegations in a 2008 civil lawsuit.

"There's a problem with White Plains Police, with supervision, with training, with discipline," McLaughlin said.

The family insists police had no reason to shoot their father. Police say Chamberlain threatened them with a knife.

Eyewitness News has learned that Officer Carelli will testify before the Grand Jury in this case early next week. His attorneys claim evidence before the Grand Jury will prove the shooting was justified. A decision on that is expected in a few weeks

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?se...ors&id=8628513

[AngelFire]

Wow, I am not surprised.

[brokenandtwisted]

Goin' to be the bitch and just say it as it is...this is far more racially important than the overblown Trayvon Martin case. In this situation you have authoritative figures knowingly assaulting (then-murdering) and racially slurring an African-American. A veteran, no less!

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A grand jury has found no crime was committed when an officer shot and killed a 68-year-old ex-Marine who police say was emotionally disturbed and came at them with a hatchet and a knife during a standoff at his apartment.

The decision, announced Thursday, saddened relatives of Kenneth Chamberlain and their lawyer alleged Chamberlain's death was another instance of "discriminatory treatment and brutality in racial matters" by local police. Chamberlain was black. The officer who shot him is white.

Attorney Randolph McLaughlin said the family will file a federal civil rights lawsuit against the White Plains Police Department and others.

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore called the shooting "a tragedy on many levels" but said a grand jury examining Chamberlain's Nov. 19 death found no reasonable cause for an indictment against any of the officers involved in the shooting.

She said the grand jury saw every minute of several audio and video recordings of the confrontation; the shooting itself, however, was not recorded. She said the officer who shot Chamberlain testified before the grand jury without any promise of immunity. The police department has identified him as Officer Anthony Carelli.

"The grand jury heard all the evidence on the use of physical force and deadly physical force by the police in this encounter," the prosecutor said. "The grand jury also heard the evidence of the threatened used of deadly physical force by Mr. Chamberlain."

But Chamberlain's son, Kenneth Chamberlain Jr., said in a statement: "I have to question what evidence was presented to the grand jury. ... No indictment sends a very strong message to the people of Westchester County regarding police misconduct, brutality and criminality."
[...]

Some have drawn comparisons between the Chamberlain case and the shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin because one officer — not the one who shot him — was overheard uttering a racial epithet during the standoff. An online petition demanding a thorough investigation of the Chamberlain shooting received nearly 200,000 signatures shortly after the Martin shooting.

DiFiore said, "The use of a racial epithet in any context is offensive to the dignity of all of us" and is intolerable when used by a police officer. She said the police department assured her it would review the use of the epithet, as well as its policies on the use of force regarding emotionally disturbed individuals. She said uttering the epithet was not deemed criminal.

White Plains Police Commissioner David Chong said: "We recognize that a life was lost and this decision does not diminish that fact." He said the department is conducting an internal review of the shooting.

Police went to Chamberlain's apartment in response to a report that his medical alert had gone off. Chamberlain had a heart condition. Family members said Chamberlain told officers he was OK, but police insisted on seeing him. What followed was apparently nearly two hours of unsuccessful negotiations, culminating with Chamberlain's death. He was shot twice in the chest.

Police released some of the case evidence Thursday. Sgt. Stephen Fottrell wrote that after Chamberlain told police to go away, Fottrell told him that "if he let the EMS staff check him out we would leave him alone."

A report from an Officer Demchuk says he was trying to take down Chamberlain's apartment door when Chamberlain "reached out through the door jamb with an eight inch butcher knife and in doing so was making continuous slashing motions toward my head and face."

Demchuk said Carelli shot Chamberlain after a beanbag gun and a stun gun had no effect and Chamberlain went after an officer "with the butcher knife raised." After he was shot, Chamberlain fell and "placed the knife to his own throat in an attempt to slash his throat. I was able to knock the knife from Chamberlain with my police baton," Demchuk wrote.

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP4916...1c6577ac2.html

[Shadow]

wait, I don't understand this:

A report from an Officer Demchuk says he was trying to take down Chamberlain's apartment door when Chamberlain "reached out through the door jamb with an eight inch butcher knife and in doing so was making continuous slashing motions toward my head and face."

Demchuk said Carelli shot Chamberlain after a beanbag gun and a stun gun had no effect and Chamberlain went after an officer "with the butcher knife raised." After he was shot, Chamberlain fell and "placed the knife to his own throat in an attempt to slash his throat. I was able to knock the knife from Chamberlain with my police baton," Demchuk wrote.

If Chamberlain, a 68yr old man with a heart condition could reach through the door with a knife no less, this suggests the door was at least part way open, WHY were they trying to take the door down? Am I missing something?

Something else that bothers me is there are several different 'reports' of what sort of weapon he supposedly had. A knife, a butcher knife and a hatchet? C'mon, really? holy crow. This dude was 68yrs old . That's nearly 7 decades!

I'm sad for his family.. My mom is 68 and I shudder to think what might be awaiting her should she fall ill. I may very well have to move back home. Stupid, arrogant and overzealous PD.. shame on ya!


~shadow

[Dakota Valkyrie]

This dude was 68yrs old . That's nearly 7 decades!

I'm sad for his family.. My mom is 68 and I shudder to think what might be awaiting her should she fall ill. I may very well have to move back home. Stupid, arrogant and overzealous PD.. shame on ya!

I find it hard to judge someone just by their age. My dad worked until he was nearly 80 despite having COPD. He still travels a lot between his homes (Fargo, Minneapolis, Savannah) and on vacations. His wife is nearly 80 and still has practices in Fargo and Minneapolis. I don't worry about them falling. I worry more of them just falling over dead as they are both like energizer bunnies.

Maybe I'm old as I don't view 68 as "that old". Social Security retirement age for anyone born in 1960 or later is 67.

Sure this guy may have conditions that warrant a LifeAlert, but that is no guarantee he's frail. But then again, even a sickly midget can be deadly with a weapon.

[Shadow]

I find it hard to judge someone just by their age. My dad worked until he was nearly 80 despite having COPD. He still travels a lot between his homes (Fargo, Minneapolis, Savannah) and on vacations. His wife is nearly 80 and still has practices in Fargo and Minneapolis. I don't worry about them falling. I worry more of them just falling over dead as they are both like energizer bunnies.

Maybe I'm old as I don't view 68 as "that old". Social Security retirement age for anyone born in 1960 or later is 67.

Sure this guy may have conditions that warrant a LifeAlert, but that is no guarantee he's frail. But then again, even a sickly midget can be deadly with a weapon.

I see your point @Dakota Valkyrie. I guess because I live in a building where there are a lot of 'older' folks who are frail and ill and likely incapable of defending themselves against a wet blanket, let alone an entire police force.
I still don't see why they tazered and shot him (why both?)... Shoot him in the knee and take him down if he's a threat.. Not in the chest and certainly NOT with a tazer. They were aware of his medical condition prior to this attack?....


I don't think this was justified at all. I do believe it was excessive force. FFS, he didn't go all Rodney King on them.

That police department should change their motto from "to Serve and Protect" to "to Shoot and Tazer"....

~shadow

[princessgrandma]

The shame of the whole thing is that he didn't have to die. He was taunted and killed by two so-called officers who should not have even been wearing badges anymore, and should have been working in a fast food joint or something. They should not still be on the street especially after they have both compounded their wrongdoings by doing the same things over and over. I'm sure they have victims that have not reported what was done b/c they were threatened or something.

After everything he's seen and been through and lived through in his long life, he was denied a dignified death. I don't see how a grand jury could find that there was no crime committed. I just don't get it.

[VXIII]

In a broadcast exclusive, we reveal the name of the police officer who allegedly killed 68-year-old Kenneth Chamberlain, the retired African-American Marine who was shot dead in his own home in White Plains, New York, in November after he inadvertently triggered his medical alert pendant. Documented in audio recordings, the White Plains police reportedly used a racial slur, burst through Chamberlain’s door, tasered him, then shot him dead. "The last time I actually really saw my father, other than the funeral, was at the hospital, with his eyes wide open, his tongue hanging out his mouth, and two bullet holes in his chest," said Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. "And I’m staring at my father, wondering, 'What happened?'"

The alleged shooter, Officer Anthony Carelli, is due in court later this month in an unrelated 2008 police brutality case. He is accused of being the most brutal of a group of officers who allegedly beat two arrestees of Jordanian descent and called them "rag heads."

We speak to Gus Dimopoulos, attorney for Jerry and Sal Hatter. "We allege that the police officers, while in the custody of the White Plains Police Department back at the station, you know, severely beat Jerry while being restrained by handcuffs. They hit him in the face with a nightstick, they kicked, they punched, they punched him, and then essentially charged him with a crime," Dimopoulos said.

Despite repeated requests from Chamberlain’s family for the name of the officer who killed him, White Plains Public Safety Commissioner David Chong only named Carelli as the shooter this morning, after his name appeared in an article written by Democracy Now!'s Juan Gonzalez in the New York Daily News. The White Plains police have refused to say whether Carelli has been disciplined or assigned to desk duty after the fatal shooting of Chamberlain. We get an update on the Chamberlain case from the victim's son, Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr., and his two attorneys,

Beginning in late March and early April 2012, over 200,000 people signed an online petition demanding justice in the Chamberlain case. On March 30, 2012, White Plains Mayor Tom Roach issued a public statement extending condolences to the Chamberlain family.

On April 11, 2012, a grand jury began listening to testimony about the Chamberlain Sr. shooting. The grand jury was convened to decide whether or not criminal charges should be brought in his death.

April 12 would have been Chamberlain Sr.'s 69th birthday. Chamberlain Jr. noted that the family still grieves — and seeks answers. "As far as our family — everyone is holding it together," he commented. "It's very upsetting, all of the media and everything — it's definitely overwhelming, but we have to continue to push this and make the public aware of what's happening."

Chamberlain Jr. also asserts that the Chamberlain family has no bias against law enforcement. "Me and my family are not anti-police," he states. "We are anti-individuals who feel like they can do whatever they want, to whomever they want, then hide behind the badge — but we are not anti-police. My father was [in] law enforcement, so why would we be anti-police?"

The Chamberlain family hoped the convening of the grand jury is a first step toward a satisfactory legal resolution of this case. Chamberlain Jr. said, "We're just very pleased that the evidence is finally being presented to the grand jury. We're just waiting now for what the decision is going to be after they present all the evidence. Hopefully, they'll come back with a criminal indictment. [Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore] has assured me she will present any and all evidence on this case to a grand jury, and we've taken her word on that."

On May 3, a 23-person grand jury voted against an indictment in the Kenneth Chamberlain case. After hearing testimony from 42 people, the grand jury came to the conclusion that there is no reasonable cause for charges to be filed. After hearing the decision, Chamberlain family lawyer Mayo Bartlett said, "It was my belief that at a minimum there would be a consideration at least of the charge of criminally negligent homicide," Bartlett said. "We don't know what charges were considered, we don't know if multiple charges were considered and we don't know who the targets of this investigation were."

The Chamberlain family issued the following statement: "As I have stated before it is hard to put trust in a system that I feel has failed me already and that no indictment sends a very strong message to the people of Westchester County regarding police misconduct, brutality and criminality. There will be justice for Kenneth Chamberlain Sr."

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/n...t-on-tape.html

[VXIII]

They held a National Hoodie Day in protest for Trayvon, not trying to be funny here but we should have a National Boxer Shorts Day to protest this, this is the police that did this, not some dumb paranoid neighborhood watch guy who is going to go into hiding now for the rest of his life while these officers who did much worse will continue in their jobs and it will be swept under the rug,

I am angrier about this because this was a man who had lived a good life, raised his children to be good people, if you havent seen the video of his son explaining everything you should watch it, Mr. Chamberlain followed the rules, lived a good life and to die in fear after being tazed and shot on the floor of his own home is a huge travesty and we should be pissed. The autopsy clearly showed the police version could NOT have happened.

Why can cops murder, rape, maim and the worst that happens is they lose their jobs, rarely do they go to jail, sounds like the one who killed Mr. Chamberlain is just a psychopath but I guess thats what they want in the police force nowadays, anyone with a conscience is considered "not fit"

Believe it or not I am learning so much about life at this site, Im not ready yet though, still some more to learn before I put the puzzle together...