National Roundup

Alaska
State Supreme Court justices call for system improvements
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The justices of the Alaska Supreme Court have called for improvements within the judicial system to ensure equitable and fair treatment for people of color.

The four justices posted a letter online Friday saying there needs to be systematic improvements for African Americans, Alaska Natives and other groups.

The letter is addressed to “Fellow Alaskans” and signed by Chief Justice Joel Bolger and Justices Daniel Winfree, Peter Maassen and Susan Carney. Justice Craig Stowers retired June 1, and his seat has not yet been filled.

The justices referred to the ongoing social unrest sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Floyd, 46, a black man, died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes while he was handcuffed and lying on the ground. His death prompted protests across the U.S. and around the world against police brutality and racial injustice.

“As we watch events unfolding in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, we are saddened to see again that the ideals on which our society is founded are far from the reality of many people’s lives,” the letter said.

The justices said they must “provide an accessible and impartial forum” for cases.

“We recognize that too often African-Americans, Alaska Natives, and other people of color are not treated with the same dignity and respect as white members of our communities,” the justices wrote. “And we recognize that as community members, lawyers, and especially as judicial officers, we must do more to change this reality.”

They wrote that there needs to be a continued effort to make the court system “reflect the community that we serve.”

The justices said they would continue to work with the court’s advisory Fairness and Access Commission and outreach programs such as The Color of Justice.

“We commit ourselves and the court system to seek always to ensure equal justice under the law,” the justices wrote. “As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so eloquently stated long ago, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ “


Pennsylvania
Police officer surrenders to face charges in protest arrest
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia police officer surrendered Monday to face aggravated assault and other charges stemming from video that shows him striking a student protester in the head with a metal baton.

Police Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna has been suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss him from the department.

Bologna’s attorney said the officer’s actions were justified because the protests had turned violent, and he has drawn the support of many of his colleagues.

Bologna, who is also charged with reckless endangerment and possession of an instrument of crime, was applauded by scores of supporters including officers in and out of uniform who had gathered outside of Lodge 5 of the Fraternal Order of Police in a show of support.

Video circulating widely on Twitter shows Bologna, during a June 1 protest, hitting a 21-year-old Temple University student in the head and neck area with a baton, before the student is knocked to the ground and another officer put his knee on him to keep him down.

Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said Friday that the officer had been taken off street duty pending an internal affairs investigation. Hours later, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced that his office would be charging Bologna with a crime. John McNesby, president of the FOP 5 Lodge, said the union was “disgusted” by that action.

Over the weekend, other officers organized efforts to help cover Bologna’s legal defense, including a GoFundMe page that had collected more than $22,000 as of Monday morning, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The police union also announced on Twitter that it would sell T-shirts saying “Bologna Strong.”

Bologna’s attorney, Fortunato Perri Jr., said the officer’s actions during the protest were justified.

“Last week he worked several consecutive 15-hour shifts to protect the peaceful protesters, residents and business owners from those who used the protests to engage in arson, looting, theft and mayhem,” Perri wrote in an emailed statement. “In the midst of this deadly pandemic, Inspector Bologna and his fellow officers were spit on, sprayed with urine and other chemicals as well as verbally and physically assaulted. His use of force to apprehend an individual, who was trying to thwart a lawful arrest during a melee, was lawful and justified.”

The attorney representing the engineering student, who according to the district attorney’s office needed about 10 staples and 10 stitches, declined to comment on the charges or arrest.

Lawyers, activist groups and others have strongly criticized multiple instances of police use of force during the protests, many recorded by reporters or posted on social media. A confrontation June 1 involving officers firing tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who had gotten on to Interstate 676 and were trying to retreat up a steep embankment drew national attention.

Ohio
Man admits wrapping dead woman’s body plastic, duct tape
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A man has admitted helping to wrap a dead woman’s body in plastic and duct tape in a Dayton home after she had been shot and stabbed.

Daniel Mertz, 48, of Centerville, pleaded guilty to gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence, according to Montgomery County court records. Mertz faces up to four years in prison when he’s sentenced.

Mertz admitted participating in moving Cora Ross Grubb’s body, which was found on Oct. 28. An autopsy determined the 26-year-old had died of gunshot and stab wounds to her neck and head.

A suspect in the case, Erik Evans, 32, died of a self-inflicted gunshot after authorities said he opened fire on a police officer who approached him on the day after Grubb’s body was found.

A note found on Evans indicated that he had killed Grubb, police said.