Civil rights advocates urge police-probe change
Civil rights advocates urge police-probe change
NEW YORK — A coalition of civil rights advocates on Sunday urged changes in the handling of police misconduct and brutality complaints after the acquittal of three officers involved in the death of an unarmed man shot on his wedding day.
They also called for a permanent state-level special prosecutor to investigate such cases.
Three city police officers were cleared Friday in the November 2006 shooting death of Sean Bell outside a nightclub where he had just left his bachelor party. Two friends were wounded in the volley of 50 shots fired by the undercover officers, who said they thought they were in mortal danger.
Teen held in family deaths
EASLEY, S.C. — A teenager who had recently moved back home after breaking up with his live-in girlfriend is accused of gunning down and killing four family members, stunning friends and neighbors.
Nathaniel Dickson, 18, was arrested Saturday night at a home in Belton about 20 miles from where the bodies of his father, stepmother, stepsister and younger brother were found, authorities said.
Those who knew Dickson grappled with how the quiet teen who loved video games and sports now was charged with four counts of murder.
Truck crash kills 4
PHOENIX — A truck jammed with as many as 60 illegal immigrants crashed and rolled in a remote part of central Arizona on Sunday morning, killing four and injuring 27.
The truck was carrying possibly 50 to 60 people, many of whom ran into the desert, said Vanessa White, spokeswoman for the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office. The driver is believed to be among them.
Plane crashes into house
RICHMOND, Va. — A plane crashed into a house in the Richmond suburbs Sunday morning, killing 2 people on board and injuring one person in the house, state police said.
The crash engulfed the house in flames and scattered debris throughout the neighborhood in Chesterfield County. The plane crashed about 8 miles from the Chesterfield County Airport, from which it had taken off, an airport manager said.
One person in the house was taken to a hospital with burns, said state police Sgt. Tom Cunningham.
Factory owner detained
CASABLANCA, Morocco — Police detained the owner and manager of a Casablanca mattress factory that went up in flames, killing at least 55 people, a police official said Sunday amid accusations of poor safety standards and locked doors that trapped workers.
Rescue workers found one more body Sunday and a sniffer dog was seen uncovering body parts a day after the blaze at the factory, located in a poor industrial neighborhood on the rim of Morocco’s sprawling economic capital.
The latest official death toll was 55, including the most recently discovered body, and six people remained hospitalized, Morocco’s official news agency said.
Assassination try
KABUL, Afghanistan — The attempted assassination Sunday of President Hamid Karzai deepened fears that Islamist militants remain able to penetrate the defenses of security forces here despite a boost in international and Afghan troop strength.
Karzai escaped unhurt after gunfire erupted at a public ceremony attended by him and a number of local and foreign dignitaries, including the U.S. ambassador, who also was unharmed. Three people were killed in the assault — a member of parliament, a tribal chief and a young boy. Officials said about 10 others were wounded, including another lawmaker.
Rocket fire resumes
BAGHDAD, Iraq — A barrage of rocket or mortar fire was aimed at the fortified Green Zone on Sunday as the capital was enveloped in a thick sandstorm.
At least two Iraqis were killed and 25 wounded by projectiles that apparently missed their targets and landed in surrounding neighborhoods, police said. There were no immediate reports of casualties inside the enclave, which houses the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi government offices.
Combined dispatches