Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label Loretta Lynch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Loretta Lynch. Show all posts

Monday, January 4, 2016

Barack Obama takes action over US gun laws

30 minutes ago

by Melissa Gruz and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Washington DC



Media captionJon Sopel reports from a gun show in America

US President Barack Obama is to widen background checks on buyers of firearms, in a series of measures to address gun violence.
The plans will be announced on Tuesday by the president, despite opposition from Congress to new gun laws.
All sellers who operate online or at gun shows will be forced to conduct background checks on potential buyers.
Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul said he would fight the executive actions "tooth and nail".
But Mr Obama says his new measures will be within his legal authority and consistent with the Second Amendment, which grants Americans the right to bear arms.
And while they will not solve every violent crime in the US, he said they will potentially "save lives and spare families the pain" of loss.
Under the plan announced on Monday evening by the White House:
  • All sellers must be licensed and conduct background checks, overturning current exemptions to some online and gun show sellers
  • States must provide information on people disqualified due to mental illness or domestic violence
  • FBI will increase workforce processing background checks by 50%, hiring more than 230 new examiners
  • Congress will be asked to invest $500m (£339m) to improve access to mental healthcare
  • The departments of defence, justice and homeland security will explore "smart gun technology" to improve gun safety
Earlier on Monday, the president heard recommendations from Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey and other top law enforcement officials.
He told the BBC last year his failure to pass effective gun laws was his biggest regret.

At a gun show - North America editor Jon Sopel

One charming man I spoke to had a stall of fine old pieces, including a Remington rifle from the 1970s. Because he wasn't registered, all I had to do was show him a driver's licence - and answer this question: am I a felon or mad?
Say no to that, and all I had to do was hand over the cash and the gun was mine with as much ammunition as I could carry. And as he pointed out to me, if I lied, how would he know?
There were also individuals walking around the show carrying rifles and revolvers, with flags coming out of the muzzle saying "for sale" - again no restrictions at all for people who just wanted to flog their old firearm.
These are some of the issues that the president wants to address with his executive action.
Read Jon's piece in full

More on US gun debate

Media captionUS's ex-top lawyer supports Obama's law but not his methods
Why Obama is powerless - the roadblock at Congress
Are you mad or criminal? - the question a gun seller asks
Texas women and their firearms - a photographer taught to shoot at an early age
Do tighter gun laws work? - a state where guns are a way of life
Guns at home - the question parents hate to ask before a playdate

US gun laws debate


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Monday, December 7, 2015

US Justice Department launches investigation of Chicago police


  • 1 hour ago

by Rochelle van Amber and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Chicago
Loretta Lynch speaking at a press conferenceImage copyright AP
Image caption Attorney General Loretta Lynch said the investigation would focus on the department's use of force
The Chicago Police Department will be the subject of a wide-ranging federal investigation, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch has announced.
She said the investigation would focus on the use of force by officers and the department's accountability procedures.
The announcement follows weeks of protests over the police killing of a black teenager by a white officer.
Laquan McDonald, 17, was shot 16 times in 2014 by the officer, who was charged with murder over a year later.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel welcomed the inquiry after initially opposing it.
In a separate and unrelated case, Illinois State Attorney Anita Alvarez said that no charges would be filed against another police officer, George Hernandez, who shot and killed Ronald Johnson, a black man, in October of 2014.
Authorities say he pointed a gun at police and refused to surrender. The man's family say that he was running away, that he was unarmed, and that the gun was planted.
Dashboard video released on Monday shows Johnson running away from police, and he runs out of the frame as the officer opens fire.
Ms Lynch, speaking in Washington, said a public report would be released after the investigation and would detail any abuses, if they are found.
She said that the investigators - a team of federal lawyers - would be focusing on the department's use of force and whether there were any "racial, ethnic and other disparities". She also said it would focus on the department's accountability procedures for officers involved in the use of force.
A court-enforceable agreement would be sought if abuses are found, she said, and the Justice Department will work with city officials to reform the department if need be.
The inquiry will take a similar form to those recently conducted in Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri - as well as more than 20 other departments in recent years, and will look for systematic violations of US civil rights laws.
Mr Emanuel and other city officials are under intense scrutiny following the release of dashboard camera footage in late November that shows the moment McDonald was shot by a white police officer.
Media captionDashcam footage shows the moment 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was fatally shot by police in Chicago
The officer, Jason Van Dyke, was charged with first-degree murder just a few hours before the video was released - more than a year after the shooting.
The video shows the teenager walking around and possibly away from police before gunshots rang out. The shooting continues even after the teenager is on the ground motionless. Police say that he refused to drop a knife.
The video does not include audio, an absence as yet unexplained by authorities.
Last week, officials released hundreds of pages of police reports related to the incident. In the documents, Van Dyke and his partner said McDonald approached them in an aggressive manner while armed with a knife. At least two other officers supported this sequence of events.
Protests have taken place regularly throughout the region since the video's release, with many demonstrators alleging a cover-up and calling for the mayor to resign.
Rahm Emanuel speaking at a podiumImage copyright AP
Image caption Mr Emanuel fired the police chief and announced the resignation of the police review authority
In response to the outcry, Mayor Emanuel fired the city's police chief and later announced the resignation of the Independent Police Review Authority's chief.
Mr Emanuel originally said a federal investigation would be "misguided", but later back-tracked and welcomed an investigation.
The Chicago City Council settled with the McDonald family for $5m (£3.3m), and officials in the city fought in court for months for the video to be kept under wraps.

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