After George Floyd’s murder, police built a secretive surveillance machine that lives on

March 8, 2022 Audrey

The next day, school was canceled. In response to the chaos of the previous night, the Brooklyn Center City Council hurried to pass a resolution banning aggressive police tactics such as rubber bullets, tear gas, and “kettling,” in which groups of protesters are blocked into a confined space. A curfew was also put into effect from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. The council’s resolution went into effect by nightfall on the 12th, but police continued using the banned tactics and munitions. That night, approximately 20 businesses in the area were broken into.

As part of the operation, Minneapolis Police also summoned helicopters from Customs and Border Protection (part of the US Department of Homeland Security). The presence of circling aircraft would become a hallmark of Operation Safety Net. During the peak of the protests, the helicopters came and went from a difficult-to-access industrial area near the Mississippi River between Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis, flying at high altitudes to avoid detection.

On at least two nights during the height of the protests, which spanned nearly 10 days, law enforcement briefly detained and took detailed photographs of credentialed members of the press who were covering the events.

The ACLU, along with pro bono lawyers from private law firms Fredrikson & Byron P.A. and Apollo Law, recently settled a class action lawsuit against the Minnesota State Patrol over its treatment of journalists during the protests. The settlement requires the city to pay $825,000 to injured journalists, and a federal judge ordered an injunction lasting six years that prohibits Minnesota policing agencies from attacking and arresting journalists, or ordering them to disperse from the scene of a protest. (Similar allegations are still being pursued against the city of Minneapolis and several officials.)

On April 15, more than 75 community organizations, including the ACLU, issued a joint statement calling for the state to end OSN. “The state’s use of force against Minnesotans exercising their First Amendment rights in Brooklyn Center and militarization of our cities in response to police violence is wrong, traumatizing, and adding to the public health crisis of COVID, police brutality, and systemic racism,” the statement read. It called out the “continued use of militaristic tools of oppression to intimidate and halt peaceful, if justifiably angry, protest.” The NAACP also called for a stop to Operation Safety Net via Twitter.

The Minneapolis Legislative Delegation, a group of state legislators, sent a letter to Minnesota governor Tim Walz condemning OSN and asking for a “reevaluation of tactics.” Congresswoman Ilhan Omar also criticized OSN, likening it to “a military occupation” and calling on Walz and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey to “stop terrorizing people who are protesting the brutality of state sanctioned violence.” On April 22, the US Department of Justice announced an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department, citing a possible pattern of excessive use of force including in response to protests. The investigation is ongoing.

All told, the operation cost tens of millions of public dollars, paid by the participating

How law enforcement ID’d killer in 9-year-outdated girl’s 1959 murder

November 21, 2021 Audrey

The disappearance and murder of 9-year-aged Candice Rogers stunned the Spokane, Clean., community in March 1959. Now, 62 several years afterwards, many thanks to some clothes from the primary crime scene and enhancing DNA technological know-how, police mentioned her killer has lastly been recognized.

Sweet Rogers was providing Camp Fire mints in Spokane’s West Central community and was reported missing when she did not return residence afterwards that night time, according to Spokane Law enforcement Section press launch.

Weeks later on, her human body was found in adjacent woods, she experienced been raped and strangled with a piece of her individual apparel. With out a intercourse offender registry in 1959 and lack of technologies, suspects have been interviewed but the law enforcement hardly ever arrested the killer.

1982 chilly case: Products belonging to lacking teenager located in Massachusetts river human continues to be also identified

Ohio chilly scenario cracked: Human bone uncovered in car related to 20-calendar year-previous missing folks chilly circumstance in Ohio

But the original investigators preserved a sample of semen from the scene which was tested in early 2021. The sample narrowed potential matches down to a few brothers with one of the matches getting John Reigh Hoff, law enforcement claimed.

Investigators contacted Hoff’s daughter who instantly cooperated and supplied a DNA sample. The effects confirmed it was 2.9 million periods extra probably that “Hoff’s daughter’s DNA was associated to the recovered specimen than the normal inhabitants,” in accordance to the launch.

Candice Rogers, acknowledged as Candy to close friends and family members, was murdered in1959. She was just 9-a long time-aged and 62 yrs later he killer was lastly identified by law enforcement.

Hoff was lifeless and with out the risk of a legal trial, the detectives exhumed his system. The DNA received from the semen sample remaining on Rogers’ dresses at the scene 62 decades earlier matched Hoff’s the killer was lastly discovered.

Hoff was 20-many years-outdated at the time of Rogers’ murder and lived about a mile from her in the West Central community. Hoff entered the Military at age 17 and two a long time following Rogers was murdered he was convicted of assaulting a lady, in accordance to the launch.

In the next criminal offense, Hoff forcibly eliminated the victim’s garments, tied her up and strangled her just before leaving the scene. The victim survived, Hoff invest 6 months in jail and was discharged from the Army.

He spent the rest of his lifetime as a door-to-door salesman and worked at a lumber yard right until he committed suicide at the age of 31.

“It took the determination of a community, the evolution of technologies, and the perseverance of generations of detectives to finally solve the secret surrounding the horrific killing of Sweet Rogers. 62-years-afterwards there is finally some semblance of closure,” the law enforcement statement study.

Adhere to Gabriela Miranda on Twitter: @itsgabbymiranda

This report initially appeared on United states Today: How police ID’d the killer in Sweet

The murder trial of Joseph Elledge: Jury hears Elledge’s text conversations days after Ji disappeared | Mid-Missouri News

November 13, 2021 Audrey

COLUMBIA – The court docket reconvened for day 7 of Joseph Elledge’s murder demo around 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Joseph Elledge

The morning began with testimony from Max Lawson, a Missouri Condition Highway Patrol investigator who was part of the crew that exhumed Mengqi Ji’s entire body. He discussed the process for exhuming continues to be, which concerned a number of modest hand shovels.

At a single point for the duration of Lawson’s testimony, prosecuting legal professional Dan Knight laid on the ground and asked Lawson to placement him as carefully to how he identified Ji’s continues to be as achievable.

Lawson positioned Knight on his remaining side with his arms pointing out and bent in front of him, and legs bent with his ft in line with his again.

Lawson also stated the body was observed near tree roots. He stated many roots appeared to have been slice about the place Ji was uncovered. He mentioned there would have been a tree root just in which Ji’s skull was identified.

The courtroom also heard from Christine Edwards, a plant population geneticist who analyzed crops at Ji’s gravesite and compared them to these identified on Elledge’s boots.

Edwards is one of four expert witnesses that the protection tried to exclude from the trial. Judge Brouck Jacobs denied that movement in a pre-demo listening to.

Edwards defined that she and Alex Linan, a soil scientist who testified on Saturday, labored with each other on accumulating samples from the grave web site and matching them to needles discovered in Elledge’s boots.

Edwards said they uncovered 5 samples from Elledge’s boots that matched a few trees close to the grave website. A few samples in the still left boot matched a juniper tree immediately higher than the grave web page. Just one sample from the proper boot matched an additional tree about 20 feet absent, and a person sample matched a tree close to the highway.

In cross examination, the protection questioned Edwards about coincidental matches- where by samples may match despite not getting the very same. Edwards claimed she did not do the calculation to see how probable that would be.

Jurors also read from Jeff Adams, who analyzes details from cell phones and other products. Prosecutor Dan Knight confirmed evidence from:

Mengqi Ji and Joseph Elledge’s mobile phones
Ji’s iPad and computer
A obtain of Elledge’s Google account data

Knight confirmed just about 50 images over the course of a year with Ji and their daughter. Knight also confirmed an argument in a text discussion involving Ji and Elledge. “You are incredibly cold most of the time and your actions to me are not considerate when you are in a chilly stage,” Ji explained to Elledge in the discussion.

Knight then confirmed numerous Google queries from Elledge’s telephone from May possibly 2019, like queries for the

Can new DNA technology help solve the 2015 murder of a Jacksonville grandmother?

October 28, 2021 Audrey

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Years after a grandmother was found beaten to death in her Jacksonville home detectives are hoping for new leads.

The woman’s daughter wants answers, too.

“She was a great mother, she was a phenomenal grandmother, she was my best friend,” said daughter Kara Trimmer.

Thursday will mark six years since Bradla Cook, 61, was murdered and her car was found torched nearby.

Trimmer said what’s concerning about the case is that there was no sign of forced entry at her mom’s home, meaning whoever did this was somebody she trusted.

A cold case detective said they hope advancements in DNA technology will help them find her killer.

A car on fire behind a Winn-Dixie on Blanding Blvd led investigators to Cook’s home about a mile away. Inside, they found Cook’s body.

“Mrs. Cook was 61 years old. She’s your neighbor, she’s your mom, she’s your grandmother. She wasn’t involved in any nefarious activities. She wasn’t doing anything wrong,” Det. Ray Reeves said.

Reeves said the cause of death was blunt force trauma but she’d been stabbed, too.

“This case in particular, we need the community’s help with,” Reeves said. “There were no signs of forced entry, so it was obviously someone who she had some kind of relationship with, that she knew, or she was trying to help.”

He said some electronics were missing, but money was left so they don’t think it was just a robbery.

“It was confusing. Like who would hate my mother so much to be as selfish and jealous to take her from so many people that loved her unconditionally?” Trimmer said.

Trimmer said her mom, known affectionately as “B,” was a loving grandmother who was active in the community.

She said the mourning process has been overshadowed by questions.

Investigators believe someone killed Cook, left her in her car, and dumped it, setting it on fire in an attempt to burn evidence. But Det. Reeves said they didn’t succeed and investigators have troves of evidence from both scenes.

“And through the years, there has been great advancements in technology,” Reeves said. “We have so many items of evidence collected from both scenes, DNA swabs and things like that that we have been able to re-submit over the last few months to our partners at the FDLE and they’re rechecking that evidence for us.”

He said detectives are already following up on the results.

In the meatime, Trimmer has a message for whoever did this.

“Just be an honest human and do the right thing,” Trimmer said.

She is hopeful that fresh eyes from the Cold Case unit will soon get justice for her mom.

Anyone who knows what happened to Cook, or saw anything that October night in 2015, is asked to call JSO.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2021/10/27/can-new-dna-technology-help-solve-the-2015-murder-of-a-jacksonville-grandmother/…