https://twitter.com/scrowder/status/1721545965402726734

THIS VIDEO IS ONE OF THE TAKEDOWN OFFICERS

This video is all in one

Side by side of both body cams synced up

A man who could not accept divorce kidnaps his own son and takes him hostage in the municipality of Sarandi, Paraná.

When the officers entered the house and the father threatened to cut his own son's neck, one of the agents fired a shot and executed the criminal.

https://cbnmaringa.com.br/noticia/homem-que-fazia-filho-refem-e-morto-em-acao-da-gm-e-pc

Above, on the thumbnail,, you see a trophy photo. It shows two brothers, Laith and Ahmad al-Hayali, tortured on the morning of their deaths. The interrogator here is Aba al-Fathil, and, quoting, the tattoo on his arm 'offers clues to sectarian motives — it says “Ya Ali” and includes a representation of a split-blade sword known as a Zulfikar, two important Shia Muslim symbols'.

TL;DR. Ali Arkady (born 1982. is an Iraqi photojournalist who spent months with soldiers from an elite Iraqi unit, the Emergency Response Division (ERD). He was sure it was a 'good side', on which both Sunni and Shia Muslim soldiers were united to fight against ISIS. Eventually, he gained enough trust to assist with documenting the arrests and torture of detainees. Some of them turned out to be innocent civilians whose admission to aiding ISIS was forced. Arkady was asked to edit these parts of the footage, only leaving for publication the proper 'confessions'. At least six separate incidents of human rights violations - technically, war crimes - were documented. However, the unit had been blacklisted in the US in March 2015 under the Leahy Act, so it was already known for human rights violations.

Sections go as follows.

1. Introduction. So when, where and how it started. Includes a 10 mins long documentary from ABC News. It has short clips depicting the abuse, as well as photos, and one execution clip (it skips death; full version is in next section, though).

2. Torture. Includes photos and descriptions, also one execution video.

3. Aftermath. About Arkady having to fleed Iraq, journalism awards and US not giving enough fucks.

4. Sources.

⠀INTRODUCTION (AND DOCUMENTARY)

At first, Ali Arkady planned to produce a 'positive story', focused on the Emergency Response Division (ERD) of Iraq's Ministry of Interior. Previously, is work in Iraq was also focused on a project 'Happy Baghdad'. Quoting a description of his TED talk, 'In hope of showing the other side of life in Iraq, war photographer Ali Arkady worked on a project that revealed the bright aspects of the Iraqi personality'. It has (or had?) a dedicated FB fanpage. The ERD story had a plot twist. Arkady wanted to show that both Shia and Sunni Muslim soldiers can work together in the fight against ISIS. Over time, he gained enough trust to be allowed to record scenes showing the torture of captives. He was even sent a 'field execution' video of a handcuffed prisoner. Even though only 6 incidents were documented, the commander's statements (which you're gonna be familiar with after checking the doc below) clearly show that these actions were normalized. Eventually, Arkady had to flee Iraq. In 2017, the case started to be covered in the media, with longer coverage coming specifically from ABC News and the Toronto Star.

Timestamps are below the short (10 mins long) documentary.

There's not much to timestamp. At 2;25, there's a description of the first incident convincing Ali Arkady that guys are not heroes. 3;30 - another incident is described, about a sheepherder (it will be important in the next section). 4;50 onwards - commander's opinion is presented. 5;55 - another incident, with two brothers. 6;35 - a few days later, the dead bodies of the two brothers were sent (video, I mean) to Arkady (unblurred version is in the next section). 7;15 - about how the US 'does not' provide support for the unit because of the previous (not the one Arkady documented) human rights violations. 8;10 - on Happy Baghdad and how Arkady and two non-heroes made friends. 9;10 - about soldiers providing Arkady a short field execution video.

Quote on the ERD itself:

The mission of the ERD (Emergency Response Division) turned from small to big after the entry of ISIS into Al-Anbar province in Iraq (2014). They fought real battles in Tikrit, Bije, Diala, Al Faluja, and Al Mosul (2014).

ERD consists of three units: reconnaissance, snipers, and task force. Captain Omar Nazar is the head of the Task Force, and Corporal Haider Ali works in the same branch. Their squads were trained by the coalition forces, including various types of raids, as well as day and night operations.

Their mission is to achieve special operations against ISIS on the information provided by reconnaissance (intelligence branch). Omar and Haidar believe that they're fighting against the most fierce enemy in the world — ISIS. But they are confident because they have returned victors after every battle and inflicted huge losses on ISIS' ranks.

Ali Arkady received authorization from the Commander in Chief of the ERD forces (Col. Thamer Mohammed Ismail — battle name Abu Turab) to follow these forces to work on a photo story and a documentary. Arkady followed them from battles in Tikrit, Falluja, and, ultimately, the ongoing battle for Mosul.

(the battle of Mosul was ongoing from October 2016 to July 2017)

⠀TORTURE

Before torture, let's start with the short execution clip. With a watermark, though. It's probably from the Toronto Star channel, and the original video they linked was already deleted.

The exact numbers of photos and videos were not precized. It was only stated that there were 'hundreds of' photos, 'dozens of' videos, 'hours of' footage, and some audio recordings. One project was meant to show 20 photos summarizing the unit's activity in the most comprehensive way possible, chosen from among 450 photos. It's in general, though, not about torture.

Some photos below are 2-3 MB in size, if they don't load, just wait!

First, the mentioned incident with a shepherd. His name was Mehdi Mahmoud, and two soldiers tortured him. He was put on the ground (6th photo) after one hour. Mehdi Mahmoud was displaced from Mosul with his son, 16 yo Ahmed, and arrested upon his arrival. Both of them were tortured and released. Two weeks after the incident, Ali Arkady heard that Ahmed was arrested again and killed with other detainees near Qabr Al-Abd.

Now, time for the nighttime arrest incident. You have clips in the documentary. Photos show the arrest of Rashid. The ERD team entered his home while the whole family was asleep. Rashid's wife, Taghreed, and two children, Hind and Cedara, were left untouched, and he was released the same night. However, Rashid was arrested a week later. Another week passed, and Rashid died in the intelligence center.

Another victim (no torture photos in the source), Raad Hindia. He was married, had two kids, and also worked in a mosque as a cleaner. After the second arrest, he was tortured for three hours and then transferred to the intelligence center. Two weeks later, he was executed without trial

Here is the case of two brothers - Ahmed Abdullah Hassan and Leish Abdullah Hassan. Previously, they were confirmed by the Iraqi special forces to be civilians, not ISIS fighters, and they received permission to enter the Gogjali area. They moved here from Quds, where the fighting started between the Iraqi forces and ISIS. Eventually, the Iraqi Federal Police arrested them and handed them over to the ERD.

Here, fingers are put in Leish's eyes, and knife is put behind Ahmed's ear. About the latter, the soldier claimed that it was US soldiers who taught him which spot right behind the ear is especially painful to pin.

Nervous as the abuse begins, photographer Arkady expects an officer will enter the room at any moment and shut down his cameras. He continues documenting, alternating his camera between still and video mode. Here, we see an interrogator Ali Abdul Hussein gouge his fingers into the eye sockets of detainee Ahmad Abdullah Hassan Mohammed. British soldiers who were found to have tortured Iraqi prisoners in 2003 also used this method, according to an inquiry into the abuse.

(I've already made a post about this, too, that's Basra case - kinda British counterpart of Abu Ghraib)

Here, Ahmed gets finger pushed down inside his mouth. Other descriptions suggest it's pushed under the tongue. If it doesn't look bad for you, try doing it on yourself now In the second photo, it's Ahmed again.

Interrogator Hussein places a gloved hand inside the detainee's mouth, pressing down hard underneath the tongue. “If I push hard enough, I can break your voice this way,” he said aloud, according to photographer Arkady.

Eventually, Ahmed lost consciousness. I didn't see a caption for this second photo (just found it as related to the case), but if you look at the colors of the clothes, it seems that it is Ahmed. Can be one of the trophy photos taken by the perpetrators themselves (more below).

TROPHY PHOTOS: Photos taken by the Iraqi military perpetrators and later shared with photographer Ali Arkady show the torment of brothers Laith and Ahmad al-Hayali on the morning of their deaths. The stylized calligraphy tattooed on interrogator Aba al-Fathil's arm offers clues to sectarian motives — it says “Ya Ali” and includes a representation of a split-blade sword known as a Zulfikar, two important Shia Muslim symbols.

And a promised video.

A 20-second clip showing an Iraqi special forces interrogator looming over the lifeless bodies of two Sunni Muslim brothers after a night of torture, snarling, “We crushed them” in revenge for sins against Iraq's Shiite community.

There was one particularly entertained guy, which you've seen, e.g., in the knife against the skull (spot behind the ear) photo and in the one with pushing a finger down under the tongue.

Interrogator Ali Abdul Hussein is known in the unit as “Mushtaraka” (“Virus”) — so named for his computer skills and overall ability to keep the soldiers connected. The multilingual soldier also spent time as a liaison between the ERD and U.S. forces. Here, we see him press a knife beneath the ear of detained brother Ahmad. He tells photographer Arkady he learned this technique from American soldiers.

This one was mentioned not only as the soul of the party with IT skills, but also as an especially sadistic guy. It's time to get back to the two brothers.

In one of the most brutal scenes captured by Arkrady, two half-brothers, one a used car salesman, the other a falafel stand operator, in the town of Bazwaia were subjected to a seven-hour torture session. As with their previous victim, Arkrady says, E.R.D. officers did not offer any proof that the brothers had any affiliation with the group.

"They were not ISIS," Arkady said.

American special operations forces have advised and coordinated military operations in eastern Mosul, but no Americans appear in the hours of videos shot by Arkady. In this case, however, the particularly sadistic torturer was a man they knew as "Ali Mushtarakah," who E.R.D. officers identified to ABC News as their liaison with Coalition Forces.

He shocked the brothers with live wires, ripped out the beard of one prisoner, and placed a knife behind the ear of the other, pressing it into his flesh while demanding he recite the ISIS pledge.

Mushtarakah, who claimed to have worked as a contractor and interpreter for the American military in Iraq for a decade, boasted to Arkady he had been taught such interrogation methods by American forces.

"Say the pledge of allegiance [to ISIS] or I will make you unable to talk anymore," Mushtarakah shouts at one brother, as he presses the prisoner's face into the floor with his knee.

"I swear, I don't know it,” the prisoner pleads, wincing in pain with each twist of Mushtarakah's blade. “I swear I don't know it.”

But Mushtarakah persisted.

"Say the pledge of allegiance or I'll turn you mute," he said.

It's not just him having fun, as apparently entertainment was the main goal of some torture. Alright, my own opinion time. Why not make anti-ISIS propaganda the main goal? The guys were tortured and later killed for real. You don't need to really hurt and kill someone to make a photo look like there is an ongoing interrogation. If so, it can be 15 minutes, not a whole hour or three on regular. Keeping 'trophies' is a known pattern in such cases, too. People want to believe what they're told is justified. In my opinion, if they were staging the interrogations well enough, some uninformed person would like to believe these were ISIS guys. Just like WPD users who like to believe that the torture they're watching was 'justified' and 'deserved'.

A map of the incidents documented by Arkady or another way getting to him:

⠀AFTERMATH

Although Ali Arkady got enough trust to record the torture, he wasn't sure whether he'd be asked to delete it. In at least one case, he quickly transferred the photos to a hard drive, believing what he had witnessed (it was about these two brothers) could be past the limit. Arkady fled to Europe with his wife and young daughter, afraid of the consequences of betraying the trust of the ERD members. How did he escape? Here's the story, which followed the description of this short execution video.

Nazar and Ali later shared the video with Arkady via WhatsApp.

“They were proud of it. I felt sick. I felt scared. It was crazy,” he said.

The next night, as the soldiers slept, Arkady crept upstairs and called VII Photo on Skype seeking guidance. He knew he had a strong story to tell. He feared the soldiers would turn on him. The photographers advised him to get out. Arkady told the soldiers his daughter was ill, and he fled. Barely a week later, he had made his way to Doha, then onward to Europe. His wife and daughter soon followed. Arrangements were also made for Arkady's parents, though he wants the details to remain secret.

Ali Arkady's courageous photos and video of the brutal torture and killing of Iraqi civilians by a branch of Iraqi special forces speak for themselves. The Toronto Star was approached by VII Photo Agency, which represents Arkady in mid-April [2017] and agreed to publishing the photos and video after we had interviewed Arkady and verifying to our satisfaction their authenticity. Foreign affairs reporter Mitch Potter, national security reporter Michelle Shephard and national bureau chief Bruce Campion-Smith spent several weeks assigned to that task.

(about 'we' - it is quoted from the website of Online News Association, but the context is Toronto Star's project from Arkady, titled Bound. Tortured. Killed.)

News from May 2017 said that there was no proper reaction from the US, even though the unit was already blacklisted.

The unit had already been blacklisted in March 2015 under the Leahy Act, which requires foreign military units to be banned from receiving U.S. military aid if there is "credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.” Top American commanders, however, have continued to praise the successes of the E.R.D. and boast of a "fruitful partnership" between the U.S. military and the unit, including coordinating airstrikes on ISIS.

'What if'?

A spokesperson for the U.S.-led Operation Inherent Resolve in Baghdad said officials were not previously aware of the atrocities documented by Arkady, and the U.S. military has since contacted Iraqi officials to discuss the incidents exposed by ABC News. The spokesperson also defended, however, the U.S. military's legal right to work with a unit deemed essential to the campaign to liberate Mosul.

⠀SOURCES

Longer coverages with photos and links:

https://www.aliarkady.co/kising-death The journalist's home page.

https://projects.thestar.com/iraq-torture-abuse-murder-war-crimes

https://abcnews.go.com/International/deepdive/brian-ross-investigates-the-torture-tapes-47429895

https://theviifoundation.org/vii-photo/projects/strappado - more focused on photos and descriptions than text

The rest:

https://www.thestar.com/trust/how-the-star-vetted-hundreds-of-torture-photos/article_9e80b7ae-9158-5b5b-9167-a8cd4d5c09d4.html

https://abcnews.go.com/International/us-ignores-evidence-atrocities-blacklisted-iraqi-military-unit/story?id=47745913

https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/elite-iraqi-troops-torture-execute-civilians-footage-captured-47655059

Leaders in the law enforcement community and those who train officers praised the work of the Allen, Texas officer who tracked down and eliminated a mass shooter in May 2023.

The Allen Police Department released new police body camera video from the Allen Premium Outlets on May 6th, 2023.

Eight people were killed, including three children, and at least seven others were injured at the open-air mall before an officer, who was in the area on another call, responded.

A Collin County grand jury returned a "no bill" for the use of force by the officer after reviewing the facts of the case.

The "no bill" indicated the use of force was justified under Texas law and no charges will be filed against them.

R.I.P. to the victims who lost their lives, and may their family and friends find peace.

Charges have been filed against Roland Caballero (31), arrested in the shooting of three Houston police officers and is charged with three counts of attempted capital murder of a police officer and one count of aggravated robbery.

(I know this is serious business, but I absolutely love that video, it's like an action movie!)

Modesto, California — The Modesto Police Department released footage of a July 4 shooting where an officer shot a man who charged an officer with a knife. The man was identified as 35-year-old Dylan Harvey.

The cop's a lil lispy

Wasn't a very bright officer

"oh hes blown"

Jacksonville, Florida

A witness saw 33-year-old Frankie Feliciano holding a knife to the neck of a veteran in a wheelchair and went to a nearby business to call police.

i cut out the narration

https://oilcity.news/crime/2023/10/18/thermopolis-officer-involved-in-deadly-shooting-cleared-by-dci/

Be safe

Officer Jonah Hernandez was called to a Las Cruces business early in the evening of Feb. 11 in response to a trespassing call. Surveillance video shows the suspect, Armando Silva, arriving on the property earlier – which led to the call for help.

Las Cruces police said there's a history of trespassing and vandalism at that business.

When Hernandez arrives, he approaches Silva calmly.

Hernandez: How's it going boss? You've been staying here for a while?

Silva: This is my place.

Hernandez: What's up?

Silva: This is my place.

Hernandez: Is this your place? So you're the one who called?

Silva: What?

Hernandez: You're the one who called?

Silva: I didn't call no one.

Hernandez: Huh?

Silva: I didn't call anybody.

Hernandez is just a few feet away when Silva pulls out a kitchen knife. Hernandez turns to get some distance, but he trips. Silva pounces forward and stabs him multiple times.

Seconds after the attack on Hernandez, Silva turns to confront a witness – Issiah Astorga. That confrontation largely happened off camera, but Silva can be heard threatening Astorga, who shoots and kills him.

Astorga rushed to help Hernandez and another man ran to offer aid and use Hernandez's radio to call for help.

Hernandez was taken to the hospital where he died. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

“I will not let Jonah's death be in vain, and we will see positive change,” LCPD Chief Story said.

Story outlined six goals he said would make Las Cruces a safer place. In the short term, he said the department needs to hire 25 officers. He said some unenforceable city ordinances need to be updated, and he wants to establish a real-time crime center.

In the long term, Story said New Mexico needs to address mental competency issues. He said too many people are being arrested and then being released because they are not competent to stand trial.

“There are zero consequences for all this crime, nothing,” Story said. “It's dismissal and that's it. There's no treatment. There is nothing that happens from all this crime.”

Story also demanded changes to New Mexico's bail reform system. He said the state must address the fentanyl crisis, which he said is also driving the increase in crime.

Prosecutors are not charging Astorga with a crime for killing Hernandez's attacker.

Story: https://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-cops-tv-show-staffer-shot-20140826-story.html

The only shots fired were by the police

Original video:

Tukwila, Washington, United States

Seattle police released new bodycam video Friday evening that shows the moments leading up to officers fatally shooting a suspected child predator at a Tukwila hotel earlier this week.

Seattle Police Department (SPD) Chief Adrian Diaz said the 67-year-old child predator suspect arrived at the DoubleTree Suites hotel around 3:13 p.m. on Wednesday under the impression that he was meeting two young girls, ages 7 and 11.

However, unbeknownst to the suspect, multiple SPD officers with the Washington State Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce were undercover and waiting to arrest the man.

The newly released video shows the officers opening the door for the man, who immediately flashed a gun. A scuffle then occurred before police ultimately fatally shot the man. The man was later pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Officials at the scene said a Seattle officer was grazed by a bullet on their leg during the shootout with the man.

https://komonews.com/news/local/child-predator-suspect-67-year-old-man-seattle-police-department-spd-tukwila-doubletree-suites-hotel-washington-state-internet-crimes-against-children-taskforce-7-11-spd-adrian-diaz-scuffle-data-shootout-gun-violence-bodycam-footage-sexual-exploitation

Now in full video bodycam 30 minutes, without watermark and maybe high quality

Info about the man: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd

Minneapolis, Minnesota — The Hennepin County judge Peter Cahill overseeing the George Floyd case has made the body worn cameras from ex-officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng available. The video, taken from the body worn cameras shows Kueng and Lane responding to a convenience store on May 25 on a report that Floyd had allegedly used a fake $20 bill. Their former colleagues, Tou Thao and Derek Chauvin, later showed up to assist. The footage follows Lane and Kueng as they apprehend Floyd and two acquaintances. Lane holds Floyd at gunpoint and handcuffs him, and the officers briefly question the visibly panicked man before attempting to get him into their patrol SUV. After struggling to get him into the police squad, Floyd is eventually held down by officers on the ground. Floyd is heard calling to his mother, repeatedly saying he can't breathe and that everything hurts. After a few minutes, Senior officers Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao arrive and help wrestle him to the ground. Chauvin then places his knee on Floyd's neck, where it stays for over nine minutes. Lane and Kueng hold down Floyd's back and knees as Thao keeps increasingly agitated bystanders at bay. Chauvin gets up after paramedics arrive and load Floyd into an ambulance. Lane accompanies them and administers CPR as they take Floyd to an out-of-the-way street corner, while Kueng goes back into Cup Foods interviewing an employee about the alleged counterfeit $20 bill and collecting evidence.

More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_George_Floyd#:~:text=On May 25, 2020, George,using a counterfeit $20 bill.

More info here: https://twitter.com/rosenwald_eric/status/1573791311945027584?t=FDD9uSwDSbC6nOIbI4VJtQ&s=19

Better quality ..thx to @Tankandgush for the link.

Great work officer...