By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/30/she-killed-her-rapist-after-months-of-abuse-advocates-say-kansas-governor-should-set-her-free/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Sarah Gonzales-McLinn regrets killing Hal Sasko.

She also regrets moving into his 
Lawrence home, where he repeatedly raped her until she channeled a 
lifetime of trauma into psychotic rupture.

On a January night in 2014, she drugged her captor, zip-tied his limbs and slit his throat.

“That is the moment that my pain and 
suffering spilled over onto many different people, even outside of us 
two,” she said in a phone interview from the women’s prison in Topeka. 
“So that moment, yes, I absolutely regret, and I would never do that 
again.”

A jury convicted Gonzales-McLinn of 
first-degree murder in 2015 without knowing about the months of abuse 
that preceded her grisly crime. Now, her advocates hope to get her out 
of prison by convincing the governor to grant her clemency — a longshot 
attempt to correct what they view as injustice.

<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Sarah-Gonzales-McLinn-Clemency-Application.pdf">The clemency application</a>
 focuses on Sasko’s grooming of her from the age of 14, including the 
financial and psychological traps he used to keep her in bondage. New 
details include the revelation that Sasko, at age 52, had started 
grooming 16-year-old twin girls before his death.

Advocates hope her request for 
clemency will elevate public awareness of human trafficking cases so 
that women like Gonzales-McLinn may be better understood by family, 
friends, law enforcement and judges.

“How is it that she can be tried and 
convicted without a jury being fully aware of what was going on in that 
house? How is that not an injustice?” said Dave Ranney, a retired 
journalist who met Gonzales-McLinn as a volunteer for a writing program 
at the women’s prison. “The question isn’t whether she killed him, it’s 
why? And if you don’t know the answer to that, just ask anyone who 
counsels women who find themselves caught up in abusive relationships. 
They can tell you.”

Gonzales-McLinn was sentenced to a 
minimum of 50 years in prison. In 2021, newly elected Douglas County 
District Attorney Suzanne Valdez made a stunning deal. Gonzales-McLinn’s
 sentence was cut in half in exchange for giving up the right to appeal.
 But there is no guarantee a parole board will let her out of prison 
before she dies.

Valdez publicly <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/30/why-a-prosecutor-and-a-defense-attorney-took-an-extraordinary-step-in-a-high-profile-kansas-murder-case/">defended the plea deal</a> but secretly agreed Gonzales-McLinn should be freed.

Interviews, court records, 
confidential police documents, psychological reports, the clemency 
application and other materials obtained by Kansas Reflector provide 
insight into the events surrounding Sasko’s death and the legal 
proceedings that followed.

State corrections officials refused 
to allow an in-person interview with Gonzales-McLinn, citing 
inconvenience for prison staff and a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.doc.ks.gov/kdoc-policies/AdultIMPP/chapter-8/08-104d-media-and-public-access.pdf/view">state agency policy</a>
 that only grants reporters access for stories on “appropriate” topics. 
Instead, corrections officials required Gonzales-McLinn to answer 
sensitive questions over the phone while surrounded by other inmates.

This was her first interview with a reporter, and she was nervous to tell her story.

“I’ve never talked about this with 
anyone outside of attorneys and psychologists — like, not even my 
family,” Gonzales-McLinn said. “But I just feel like it’s time, also. I 
feel like it has been just so hard to talk about because it does still 
hold a certain amount of power over me.”

Gonzales-McLinn welcomed the 
invitation from Sasko to move into his Lawrence home after she graduated
 a year early from Topeka High School. She was 17, and he was 50.

They met three years earlier, when 
she went to work for Sasko at his Cicis Pizza branch in Topeka. He 
stayed in touch as she moved on to other jobs.

Sasko knew about her troubled 
relationship with her parents. He knew she had been violently raped by a
 man who left her with scars from cigarette burns. She had attempted 
suicide and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and 
depression.

“When I moved into that house, I had 
no idea what was in store for me,” Gonzales-McLinn said. “I truly did 
think of him as a father figure to me. I just had no idea.”

The supposed sanctuary included unlimited access to marijuana and alcohol. Cocaine and ecstasy also were available.

Sasko charged her rent, and she 
bought her own food. He slowly gained control over “most everything that
 I did,” Gonzales-McLinn said.

After they had lived together for 
about six months, he told Gonzales-McLinn he loved her. She said she 
“shut it down,” but he continued to make unwanted advances. Eventually, 
he demanded sex as a condition for staying with him.

“I was very crushed the first time that happened, and I just felt completely helpless at that point,” Gonzales-McLinn said.

Sasko commandeered her paychecks, 
telling her she owed money for gas, her phone, car repairs and other 
expenses. He threatened to sue her if she left and told her he would 
wreck her credit rating so that she could never get an apartment or buy a
 car. She would be homeless, he warned.

Family and friends later told police 
that Sasko bragged about how “amazing” it was to “have an 18-year-old.” 
But he complained to Gonzales-McLinn that she wasn’t attractive enough.

He paid for her to get a nose job, 
then added the $6,000 cost to the bill she would have to repay before 
she could stop having sex with him.

He told her that men don’t like 
flat-chested women. She needed a curvier body. He wanted her to have 
breast augmentation surgery, but the doctor said she was too young. He 
arranged for her to have buttocks implants instead. She objected but 
felt she had no choice. He added the $10,000 cost to her bill.

Her last paycheck, from Bed Bath &amp; Beyond, was for $265.56.

Gonzales-McLinn later told a 
psychologist that she would drink herself into a semi-conscious state 
when Sasko required sex. If she tried to resist, he held her arms.

“I would get as drunk as I could and just lay there,” she told the psychologist.

She estimated that he raped her two to three times per week for 10 months.

By late December 2013, 
Gonzales-McLinn had broken from reality. She searched Google for such 
phrases as: “Why do I think so differently?”

She texted her sister: “I feel like a caged animal right now, and it’s making me crazy.”

Greg Kelley told police he visited 
his uncle’s house a month or two before the murder and was alarmed to 
find a skinned rabbit in a bowl in the refrigerator.

Gonzales-McLinn had bought the rabbit
 at a local pet store, signed a waiver saying she would care for it, 
then used a knife to kill and skin the animal. She dug the rabbit’s fur 
out of the trash and demonstrated for Kelley how she stuck the knife 
through the rabbit’s neck. She had put thought into the technique.

She did this, she explained, to learn how to “self survive.”

The rabbit was marinating because she planned to cook and eat it the next day.

Kelley thought to himself: “This chick has problems.”

In clinical terms, Gonzales-McLinn 
was suffering from major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, 
substance abuse and dissociative identity disorder — formerly known as 
multiple personalities.

“To a reasonable degree of 
psychological certainty, Ms. Gonzales McLinn suffers from a number of 
serious mental illnesses,” wrote Marilyn Hutchinson, a psychologist who 
spent 17.5 hours evaluating Gonzales-McLinn after the murder.

Sharon Sullivan, a Washburn 
University professor and expert on human trafficking, said it is 
important to understand the neurological impact of sexual abuse. 
“Survival brain” takes over, Sullivan said, and the part of the brain 
that controls decision making goes offline.

In Gonzales-McLinn’s case, Sullivan 
said, her brain wasn’t even fully developed. She was trapped. She didn’t
 know there were options.

“I can’t even imagine having to deal 
with that at 18 years old, with so little experience of the world,” 
Sullivan said. “And this is someone who’s supposed to love her, called 
her his daughter. How f***ing creepy is that?”

Gonzales-McLinn said she couldn’t find a way to cope with the abuse in a way that made her feel better.

“There was a lot of drugs and alcohol
 in that house, and that was the only relief that I felt the whole 
time,” Gonzales-McLinn said. “That is kind of a dark road to go down.”

Hutchinson’s report said 
Gonzales-McLinn had been molested by a neighbor as a child, and the rape
 at age 16 “was extraordinarily traumatic.” She had nightmares of 
killing herself and the rapist. She felt unavoidable humiliation.

Sasko’s abuse compounded the trauma. 
Gonzales-McLinn came to the conclusion she would have to kill herself or
 kill him. A change in antidepressant medication may have affected her 
thinking, Hutchinson noted.

On the morning of Jan. 14, 2014, 
Sasko texted Gonzales-McLinn to apologize for trying to sleep with her 
again. But at 5:15 that night, he sent a text asking her to put beer in 
the refrigerator. She knew if he was drinking, she would be raped.

Gonzales-McLinn killed Sasko shortly 
before midnight. She drove her car to Florida so she could see the ocean
 before her inevitable arrest.

Lawrence police questioned her after 
she was found 11 days later in Everglades National Park. Detective Jamie
 Lawson wanted to know why she used Sasko’s blood to write “FREEDOM” on 
the wall.

“What was you trying to express when you did that?” Lawson asked.

Later, Gonzales-McLinn told Hutchinson that killing Sasko felt like standing in the sun for the first time.

In a closed-door meeting with the 
trial judge in 2015, prosecutor Charles Branson successfully argued that
 it would be inappropriate for the jury to hear about Sasko’s abuse of 
Gonzales-McLinn.

“Details of those allegations would 
not be proper in front of the jury during the guilt phase of the trial 
because they would be simply information that would be used to create 
sympathy for the defendant,” Branson said, according to a transcript of 
the conversation.

Branson considered the abuse to be 
“irrelevant information.” He also didn’t want the abuse to be made 
public because news outlets would write about it.

Defense attorney Carl Cornwell agreed
 to restrictions on the evidence of abuse he could present at trial. 
Instead, he tried to convince jurors that Gonzales-McLinn was too 
mentally unstable to understand her actions.

The jury rejected Cornwell’s 
arguments, which emphasized the “system of Sarah,” a reference to her 
multiple personalities. Prosecutors said she was exaggerating symptoms 
of mental illness.

Gonzales-McLinn didn’t realize she 
might have to spend the rest of her life in prison. She was shocked and 
confused when evidence of Sasko’s abuse wasn’t presented at trial.

“I never had this mentality of, ‘I’m 
just going to get out scot-free, that’s what I’m fighting for, that’s 
what I want.’ But I did always want what was fair,” Gonzales-McLinn 
said. “If you don’t say everything that happened, how can somebody 
decide what’s fair?”

Douglas County District Judge Paula 
Martin gave Gonzales-McLinn a Hard 50 sentence, meaning she would have 
to serve at least 50 years before the chance of parole. She would be 
nearly 70 years old by then.

Gonzales-McLinn appealed her sentence
 on the grounds that Cornwell provided ineffective counsel. Meanwhile, 
advocates began to prepare a clemency application — and uncovered 
evidence that wasn’t presented to the jury.

Sasko had downloaded hundreds of 
videos of violent pornography on his phone and visited x-rated websites 
that featured children, teens and bestiality. At least 20 times, he 
visited websites that featured men fondling or having sex with women who
 appeared to be sleeping.

Police found a camera and flash 
drives on a desk in Sasko’s bedroom. A detective said images found on 
the flash drives demonstrated that Sasko and Gonzales-McLinn were 
friends who spent time together. Advocates weren’t allowed to view the 
files.

Confidential police reports revealed 
Sasko was grooming 16-year-old twin girls before his death. Their mother
 was furious at the attention and gifts he provided them, including 
cash, gas, clothes, subwoofers for their car, and an unsolicited 
envelope of marijuana. When the mother blocked his number on their 
phones, he bought them new phones. If they ever wanted to run away, he 
told the girls, they could move in with him.

Megan Stuke, executive director of 
The Willow, a domestic violence center in Lawrence, said the concepts of
 “grooming” and “human trafficking” are frequently misunderstood.

“Somebody gets you in a relationship,
 provides you with creature comforts or covering your needs, so that 
then you don’t have any other options but to do what they want — to 
maintain your housing, finance, maybe it’s an addiction that they’ve 
helped you create,” Stuke said. “People can be trafficked by their 
parents. People are trafficked by their boyfriends. It’s not necessarily
 the big ring of bad guys moving people around.”

Valdez, the Douglas County district 
attorney, knew about the abuse when she reached a plea deal in May 2021 
with defense attorney Jonathan Sternberg that would require 
Gonzales-McLinn to spend at least 25 years in prison.

Before his client would drop her appeal, the defense attorney made one last request.

“Can you also confirm that should the
 settlement agreement be accepted by the judge, you personally intend to
 support Sarah obtaining clemency from the Governor when it becomes 
politically appropriate for both you and the Governor?” Sternberg wrote 
in an email. “I know we also discussed that, too, and Sarah wanted me to
 ask you that.”

Valdez declined to comment for this story, but she and Sternberg defended the plea deal in <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/30/why-a-prosecutor-and-a-defense-attorney-took-an-extraordinary-step-in-a-high-profile-kansas-murder-case/">a column published by Kansas Reflector</a>.

“There is a difference between 
zealous advocacy and zealotry,” they wrote. “Zealous advocacy relies on 
facts that are supported by testimony, evidence and arguments that can 
be admitted in a court of law. Zealotry relies almost solely on zeal.”

<a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/07/15/why-the-mother-of-a-woman-who-killed-her-rapist-isnt-happy-with-an-extraordinary-settlement/">Michelle Gonzales responded</a>
 on behalf of her daughter’s advocates: “Valdez and Sternberg may find 
legal comfort in knowing that a young woman who killed her rapist will 
spend at least 25 years in prison. We do not.”

Gonzales-McLinn said her unwanted 
buttocks implants are a constant reminder of the physical and emotional 
pain Sasko inflicted on her.

Shortly after she arrived at prison, she asked to have them removed.

“They were all just curious,” 
Gonzales-McLinn said. “I remember one nurse went and called another 
nurse in and they both touched me.”

The state denied her the medical procedure.

“Yeah, it would be ideal if all of 
the nurses would, you know, follow HIPAA and keep your medical stuff 
private, but they don’t,” Gonzales-McLinn said. “And they told a lot of 
people — a lot of officers, a lot of inmates. That was just very 
traumatic.”

She recently renewed her request to remove the implants and is awaiting an answer.

Advocates, including Ranney, Sullivan
 and Stuke, compiled a lengthy review of her case, with supporting 
documentation, as part of the clemency application they filed in 
December with the Prisoner Review Board. Advocates hired Hutchinson, the
 psychologist, to conduct a new evaluation.

“It is with a great deal of 
psychological certainty that I opine that Sarah Gonzales McLinn has 
achieved rehabilitation and is very capable of maintaining a crime-free 
and productive life,” Hutchinson wrote in a new report.

The board, through a process outlined
 in state law, will gather input from Valdez and Sasko’s family, and 
make a recommendation to Gov. Laura Kelly.

Kelly has <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/24/kansas-governor-grants-clemency-to-8-embracing-political-risk-in-rare-use-of-power/">granted clemency to eight individuals</a>
 through an initiative that reviewed nonviolent drug crimes. Her office 
declined to answer questions for this story about whether that 
initiative is ongoing, or whether consideration should be given to 
someone who suffered sexual abuse.

Stuke said Gonzales-McLinn was acting in self-defense when she killed Sasko.

“When you meet Sarah, it is so clear 
that she is not a vicious killer,” Stuke said. “She is not someone who 
is a danger to society at this point. She was in a particular situation 
with what felt to her like no options.”

Prison has given Gonzales-McLinn a chance to heal.

In a “weird way,” she said, being 
locked up was a relief. She took the time to think about what happened. 
She would write letters to God as a way of trying to process her shame.

She killed her rapist after months of abuse. Advocates say she should be freed

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple requested charges following a vehicle pursuit early&nbsp; Saturday. Just after 4a.m. Saturday, a K9 Unit with the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a stolen maroon 1996 Chevrolet 1500 pickup near SE 29th Street and SE Wisconsin Avenue, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

The driver refused to stop and initiated a pursuit. The pursuit continued through east Topeka and ended near SE 2nd Street and SE Alkire Street when the vehicle crashed. 

The driver fled the scene on foot.&nbsp;&nbsp;The passenger, Brandon L. Taylor, 24, was taken into custody on scene without further incident.

Around 4:40a.m., the driver, Cassy J. Thomas, 22, was taken into custody.

&nbsp;Thomas and Taylor were both booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections. Thomas is being held on requested charges including felony interference with law enforcement. Taylor had three warrants for his arrest and is being held on requested charges of&nbsp; felony flee or attempt to elude, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, possession of stolen property, felony interference with law enforcement, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675030055008.png" alt="Taylor-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Taylor-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on multiple requested charges following a vehicle pursuit early&nbsp; Saturday. Just after 4a.m. Saturday, a K9 Unit with the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a stolen maroon 1996 Chevrolet 1500 pickup near SE 29th Street and SE Wisconsin Avenue, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.The driver refused to stop and initiated a pursuit. The pursuit continued through east Topeka and ended near SE 2nd Street and SE Alkire Street when the vehicle crashed. The driver fled the scene on foot.&nbsp;&nbsp;The passenger, Brandon L. Taylor, 24, was taken into custody on scene without further incident.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675029994428.png" alt="Thomas-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Thomas-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Around 4:40a.m., the driver, Cassy J. Thomas, 22, was taken into custody. &nbsp;Thomas and Taylor were both booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections. Thomas is being held on requested charges including felony interference with law enforcement. Taylor had three warrants for his arrest and is being held on requested charges of&nbsp; felony flee or attempt to elude, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, possession of stolen property, felony interference with law enforcement, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia

Two Kansas men jailed after high-speed chase with stolen pickup

RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a violent incident at a residence in Manhattan.

Just before 11p.m. Saturday, officers responded to the report of a domestic incident in the 700 block of Dondee Drive in Manhattan, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.

A 28-year-old woman told officers a 31-year-old man known to her hit her, took her cell phone and threw it against a well when she attempted to call 911, moved a couch in front of a door to prevent her from leaving, and held a knife at her throat. 

Police found Bryan Mosley, 31,&nbsp; Manhattan on scene and arrested him on requested charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery, domestic battery, criminal threat, intimidation of a witness, and aggravated assault. Mosley remains confined in the Riley County Jail with a total bond of $80,000.

RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a violent incident at a residence in Manhattan.Just before 11p.m. Saturday, officers responded to the report of a domestic incident in the 700 block of Dondee Drive in Manhattan, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.A 28-year-old woman told officers a 31-year-old man known to her hit her, took her cell phone and threw it against a well when she attempted to call 911, moved a couch in front of a door to prevent her from leaving, and held a knife at her throat. Police found Bryan Mosley, 31,&nbsp; Manhattan on scene and arrested him on requested charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery, domestic battery, criminal threat, intimidation of a witness, and aggravated assault. Mosley remains confined in the Riley County Jail with a total bond of $80,000.

RCPD: Manhattan man accused of threatening woman with a knife

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating&nbsp; several shootings including two at Wichita night spots that occurred over the weekend.

Just after 11:30p.m. Saturday, police patrolling the parking lot of Onyx Night Club, at 10001 E Kellogg Drive when several gunshots were fired inside the Night Club. 

Officers ran towards the entrance and were met by a large number of people exiting the business. Officers entered the Night Club and located the 36-year-old victim with several gunshot wounds to his body. Officers began performing life-saving measures and he was transported to a local hospital for treatment. While officers were at the Night Club processing the scene a 35-year-old victim arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg.

The investigation revealed nearly 900 people were inside the Night Club when a physical disturbance occurred between two different groups of people. During this disturbance, someone brandished a gun and fired several rounds striking the two victims. 

Just before 1a.m. Saturday, police&nbsp;were on patrol in the Old Town area of Wichita when they heard multiple gunshots coming from inside Rock Island Live at 101 N. Rock Island Ave, according to Officer Chad Ditch.

As officers arrived, they were met by a large crowd exiting the business.

 A 22-year-old woman ran out with a gunshot wound to her upper arm. Officers took her to safety, and she was transported to a local hospital for treatment. 

Other officers made entry to the business and located a 22-year-old man conscious and breathing with a gunshot wound to his upper torso. Officers began providing life-saving measures and the victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment.&nbsp; Late Saturday morning, he was reported in stable condition, according to Ditch.&nbsp; 

While on scene at the hospital a 22- year-old woman arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound to her foot.

The investigation revealed that 22-year-old Tyra Adair was involved in a physical disturbance with several other women inside the business. Adair then brandished a gun and fire several rounds. 

At this point, police believed that the victims who were struck by gunfire were not the individuals involved in the physical altercation, but innocent bystanders, according to Ditch.

Police located Adair nearby and took her into custody without incident and she was in possession of a gun.&nbsp; <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20055026">She is being held on</a> requested charges of aggravated battery.

Just after 3:30a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 1400 block of South George Washington Blvd in Wichita, according to Officer Chad Ditch.

First responders arrived on the scene and located the 57-year-old victim with a gunshot wound to her upper body. EMS transported her to an area hospital for treatment. She was reported in stable condition.

The investigation revealed several shots were fired at the residence from outside and one round struck the victim. There were three other people in the residence including a 4-year-old girl, a 10-year-old girl and a 36-year-old man. Police have not reported an arrest.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675022145263.png" alt="Adair-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Adair-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating&nbsp; several shootings including two at Wichita night spots that occurred over the weekend.Just after 11:30p.m. Saturday, police patrolling the parking lot of Onyx Night Club, at 10001 E Kellogg Drive when several gunshots were fired inside the Night Club. Officers ran towards the entrance and were met by a large number of people exiting the business. Officers entered the Night Club and located the 36-year-old victim with several gunshot wounds to his body. Officers began performing life-saving measures and he was transported to a local hospital for treatment. While officers were at the Night Club processing the scene a 35-year-old victim arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg.The investigation revealed nearly 900 people were inside the Night Club when a physical disturbance occurred between two different groups of people. During this disturbance, someone brandished a gun and fired several rounds striking the two victims. Just before 1a.m. Saturday, police&nbsp;were on patrol in the Old Town area of Wichita when they heard multiple gunshots coming from inside Rock Island Live at 101 N. Rock Island Ave, according to Officer Chad Ditch.As officers arrived, they were met by a large crowd exiting the business. A 22-year-old woman ran out with a gunshot wound to her upper arm. Officers took her to safety, and she was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Other officers made entry to the business and located a 22-year-old man conscious and breathing with a gunshot wound to his upper torso. Officers began providing life-saving measures and the victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment.&nbsp; Late Saturday morning, he was reported in stable condition, according to Ditch.&nbsp; While on scene at the hospital a 22- year-old woman arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound to her foot.The investigation revealed that 22-year-old Tyra Adair was involved in a physical disturbance with several other women inside the business. Adair then brandished a gun and fire several rounds. At this point, police believed that the victims who were struck by gunfire were not the individuals involved in the physical altercation, but innocent bystanders, according to Ditch.Police located Adair nearby and took her into custody without incident and she was in possession of a gun.&nbsp; <a href="https://ssc.sedgwickcounty.org/sheriffinmates/SheriffInmateDetail.aspx?nameId=20055026">She is being held on</a> requested charges of aggravated battery.Just after 3:30a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 1400 block of South George Washington Blvd in Wichita, according to Officer Chad Ditch.First responders arrived on the scene and located the 57-year-old victim with a gunshot wound to her upper body. EMS transported her to an area hospital for treatment. She was reported in stable condition.The investigation revealed several shots were fired at the residence from outside and one round struck the victim. There were three other people in the residence including a 4-year-old girl, a 10-year-old girl and a 36-year-old man. Police have not reported an arrest.

Six hospitalized after violent weekend of gunfire in Wichita

KANSAS CITY— Protesters and police unions around the country continue to condemn Memphis police after the public release <a href="https://vimeo.com/cityofmemphis">of video</a> showing five officers savagely beating Tyre Nichols, who later died.

Kansas City Kansas Police Chief Karl Oakman released a statement late Saturday with "a sobering reminder to law enforcement that with great authority comes great responsibility."

Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan and the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department also released statements condemning the violence.

Sullivan wrote, "By now I’m sure many of you have <a href="https://vimeo.com/cityofmemphis">seen the video </a>out of Memphis that shows the horrific beating of Mr. Tyre Nichols. I have seen it as well. Like many of you, I am shocked and sickened by the actions of those officers and I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to the entire Nichols family."

"I want to applaud Chief CJ Davis on her handling of this incident. I also want to ensure the citizens of Wichita that the Wichita Police Department stands by you in your anger, sadness, and frustration with this despicable act of violence committed by 5 human beings who disgraced the badge."&nbsp;

"I wish I could say in 40 years of Policing that this is the first time I have seen this type of case, but sadly it’s not. What I can say, is that the Wichita Police Department is not just here for you, we are here with you. We do not support nor defend officers who act like they are above the law and use excessive and unnecessary force against those they swore to protect and serve." The Sedgwick Sheriff’s office said in a statement they were "appalled by the atrocity that occurred to Tyre Nichols at the hands of the former Memphis Officers."

"This is an incredible violation of public trust and this office condemns their actions. The former Memphis Officers have tarnished the badge and betrayed their oath."

"It is the mission of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office to partner with the citizens of Sedgwick County providing effective public service to all in an impartial, ethical and professional manner. We continue to uphold these standards in trying times and fully support the prosecution of the former Memphis Officers."

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — An unarmed Black man dies after a videotaped beating by police. The officers involved are fired. After a thorough review of the evidence, criminal charges are swiftly filed against the offending officers.

Investigation, accountability and charges.

This is often the most Black citizens can hope for as the deaths continue. Nationwide, police have killed roughly three people per day consistently&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-columbus-shootings-police-trials-65a16498f72823a887476486e1f05633">since 2020</a>, according to academics and advocates for police reform who track such deaths.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-profile-memphis-3104f3cdbaf568daf6647eca080d4001">Tyre Nichols'</a>&nbsp;fatal encounter with police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, recorded in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-video-memphis-police-e3ee8e6698faae16df3f41d09234b09f?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_01">video made public Friday night</a>, is a glaring reminder that efforts to reform policing have failed to prevent more flashpoints in an intractable epidemic of brutality.

Nearly 32 years ago, Rodney King’s savage beating by police in Los Angeles prompted heartfelt calls for change. They’ve been repeated in a ceaseless rhythm ever since, punctuated by the deaths of Amadou Diallo in New York, Oscar Grant in Oakland, California, Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and so many others.

George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis in 2020 was so agonizing to watch, it summoned a national reckoning that featured federal legislation proposed in his name and shows of solidarity by corporations and sports leagues. All fell short of the shift in law enforcement culture Black people in America have called for — a culture that promotes freedom from fear, trust in police and mutual respect.

“We need public safety, right? We need law enforcement to combat pervasive crime,” said Jason Turner, senior pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. “Also, we don’t want the people who are sworn to protect and serve us brutalizing us for a simple traffic stop, or any offense.”

The five Black officers are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-police-officers-charged-48d48f2137a2f34482274edb1bd1bab2">now fired and charged</a>&nbsp;with murder and other crimes in the Jan. 10 death of Nichols, a 29-year-old skateboarder, FedEx worker and father to a 4-year-old boy.

From police brass and the district attorney’s office to the White House, officials said Nichols’ killing points to a need for bolder reforms that go beyond simply diversifying the ranks, changing use-of-force rules and encouraging citizens to file complaints.

“The world is watching us,” Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said. “If there is any silver lining to be drawn from this very dark cloud, it’s that perhaps this incident can open a broader conversation about the need for police reform.”

President Joe Biden joined national civil rights leaders in similar calls to action.

“To deliver real change, we must have accountability when law enforcement officers violate their oaths, and we need to build lasting trust between law enforcement, the vast majority of whom wear the badge honorably, and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect,” the president said.

But Memphis, whose 628,000 residents celebrate barbecue and blues music and lament being the place where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, has seen this before. The city took steps advocates called for in a “Reimagine Policing” initiative in 2021, and mirrored a set of policy changes reformers want all departments to implement immediately, known as “8 Can’t Wait.”

De-escalation training is now required. Officers are told to limit uses of force, exhaust all alternatives before resorting to deadly force and report all uses of force. Tennessee also took action: State law now requires officers to intervene to stop abuse and report excessive force by their colleagues.

Showing unusual transparency for a police department, the MPD now publishes accountability reports that include the race of people subjected to use of force each year. They show Black men and women were overwhelmingly targeted for rougher treatment in 2019, 2020 and 2021. They were subject to nearly 86% of the recorded uses of guns, batons, pepper spray, physical beatings and other force in 2021, the total nearly doubling that year to 1,700 cases.

Seven uses of force by Memphis police ended in death during these three years.

“I don’t know how much more cumulative Black death our community should have to pay to convince elected officials that the policing system isn’t broken — it’s working exactly as it was designed to, at the expense of Black life,” said Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, co-executive director of the Highlander Research and Education Center, a Tennessee-based civil rights leadership training school.

The Nichols case — just one of the brutality cases to make national news this month — exposes an uncomfortable truth: More than two years since the deaths of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks touched off protests, policing reforms have not significantly reduced such killings.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-of-george-floyd-amir-locke-richmond-minneapolis-86370ae1c735d44525e37eed80b293b2">States approved nearly 300 police reform bills after Floyd’s murder,</a>&nbsp;creating civilian oversight of police, more anti-bias training, stricter use-of-force limits and alternatives to arrests in cases involving people with mental illnesses, according to a recent analysis by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland.

Despite calls to “defund the police,”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-police-law-enforcement-agencies-local-governments-iowa-420d0714086f72bc255c676bfe214532">an Associated Press review of police funding nationwide</a>&nbsp;found only modest cuts, driven largely by shrinking revenue related to the coronavirus pandemic. Budgets increased and more officers were hired for some large departments, including New York City’s.

Still stuck in Congress is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nyc-state-wire-george-floyd-death-of-george-floyd-police-police-reform-988260d4657103cd968bad7f039b0e19">the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act,</a>&nbsp;which would prohibit racial profiling, ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, limit the transfer of military equipment to police departments, and make it easier to bring charges against offending officers. Biden said he told Nichols’ mother that he would be “making a case” to Congress to pass the Floyd Act “to get this under control.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton said his eulogy at Nichols’ funeral on Wednesday will include a call for new laws. NAACP President Derrick Johnson also took Congress to task.

“By failing to write a piece of legislation, you’re writing another obituary,” Johnson said. “Tell us what you’re going to do to honor Tyre Nichols. … We can name all the victims of police violence, but we can’t name a single law you have passed to address it.”

Advocates want state and federal legislation because local changes vary widely in scope and effect and can be undone by a single election after years of grassroots activism. But some say strict regulations are just the start — and the video of Nichols’ agony proves it.

“Changing a rule doesn’t change a behavior,” said Katie Ryan, chief of staff for Campaign Zero, a group of academics, policing experts and activists working to end police violence. “The culture of a police department has to shift into actually implementing the policies, not just saying there’s a rule in place.”

The five officers charged — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — were part of the so-called Scorpion unit. Scorpion stands for Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods.

The Memphis police chief, Cerelyn “CJ” Davis,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-memphis-crime-law-enforcement-1b7e8fa4ed7120a897086250d5d6da35">disbanded the unit</a>&nbsp;on Saturday.

“It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit,” she said in a statement.

Prior to the move by Davis, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said it was clear that the officers involved in the attack on Nichols violated the department’s policies and training.

“I want to assure you we are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again,” Strickland said in a statement. “We are initiating an outside, independent review of the training, policies and operations of our specialized units.”

The Memphis police union extended condolences to Nichols’ family, saying it “is committed to the administration of justice and NEVER condones the mistreatment of ANY citizen nor ANY abuse of power.” The statement also expressed faith that the justice system would reveal “the totality of circumstances” in the case.

Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, pushed back against the conclusion that policing must change. This was not “legitimate police work or a traffic stop gone wrong,” Yoes said. “This is a criminal assault under the pretext of law.”

Protesters turned out again Friday night after the city released the video footage. Turner, the Memphis pastor, called the images “further proof that our city’s and our nation’s criminal justice systems are in dire need of change.”

“It’s not like we’re short on concrete, reasonable recommendations,” said the Rev. Earle Fisher, senior pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church. “What we’re short on is the political will and the commitment to making the structural changes.”

Protesters gathered in a park near the White House, in Memphis and other cities as <a href="https://vimeo.com/cityofmemphis">the video </a>was released.

In Memphis, protesters chanted: “Say his name! Tyre Nichols!” and several dozen protesters blocked a heavily traveled bridge on Interstate 55 that is one of two main spans connecting Arkansas and Tennessee over the Mississippi River.

Unions in California and Hawaii issued a joint statement calling the actions of the officers “repugnant and the complete antithesis of how honorable law enforcement professionals conduct themselves.”

The Prosecutors Alliance of California calls the killing senseless and in California’s capitol of Sacramento, Mayor Darrell Steinberg said: “I am filled with anger, with sorrow and revulsion.”

— Memphis authorities have released more than an hour of footage of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-video-memphis-police-e3ee8e6698faae16df3f41d09234b09f">the police beating</a>&nbsp;of Tyre Nichols, whose death resulted in murder charges and provoked outrage

— Family and friends remember&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-profile-memphis-3104f3cdbaf568daf6647eca080d4001">Tyre Nichols</a>&nbsp;as a generous, lovable man who worked hard to be a good father to his 4-year-old son

—&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/law-enforcement-police-brutality-memphis-bde48465a79bb20bbb68473c0cc63b1e">Timeline of events</a>&nbsp;in the arrest, death of Tyre Nichols

MEMPHIS —<a href="https://vimeo.com/cityofmemphis"> Video showing</a> five Memphis police officers beating a Black man was made public Friday, one day after they were charged with murder in the death of Tyre Nichols.

The footage shows the Black officers savagely beating the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes in an assault that the Nichols family’s legal team likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.

Cities across the country braced for large demonstrations. Nichols’ relatives urged supporters to protest peacefully. ___

WASHINGTON — The national president of the Fraternal Order of Police has issued a scathing statement over the actions of five former Memphis police officers involved in the arrest of Tyre Nichols.

Patrick Yoes says the officers’ encounter with Nichols “does not constitute legitimate police work or a traffic stop gone wrong.” Instead, Yoes called it a “criminal assault under the pretext of law.”

Nichols died three days after a Jan. 7 confrontation with the officers during a traffic stop.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said he was “very concerned” about the prospect of violence, but called for protests over the death of Tyre Nichols to remain peaceful.

Speaking Friday at the White House before departing for Camp David, the president reflected on his call earlier with Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells.

“I’m obviously very concerned about it,” Biden said when asked if he was worried about violence, “but I think she has made a very strong plea. She’s obviously in enormous pain.”

Biden said that “innocent lives” were at stake Friday as the country awaited the release of police footage of depicting five Memphis officers beating Nichols during a traffic stop.

NEW YORK — In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, said he and other mayors across the country had been briefed by the White House in advance of the video’s release, which he said would “trigger pain and sadness in many of us. It will make us angry.”

He urged demonstrators to “respect the wishes of Mr. Nichols’ mother. If you need to express your anger and outrage, do so peacefully. My message to the NYPD has been, and will continue to be, to exercise restraint.”

Adams, who during his years as a New York Police Department officer co-founded an organization that advocated for diversity in policing and against abuses of power, said he “felt betrayed” by the officers charged in the Memphis death of Nichols.

“Any officer who engages in violence and brutality tarnishes all the work we have done to keep communities safe,” he said. He added: “They make it harder for the brothers and sisters in uniform to accomplish the incredible work they do, day in and day out.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674870163108.png" alt="Image from a pole camera video released Friday night by the city of Memphis" />
 <figcaption>Image from a pole camera video released Friday night by the city of Memphis</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY— Protesters and police unions around the country continue to condemn Memphis police after the public release <a href="https://vimeo.com/cityofmemphis">of video</a> showing five officers savagely beating Tyre Nichols, who later died.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Media Advisory: Thursday, January 27, 2023 Video footage of the incident between Tyre Nichols and the Memphis Police Department Video can be viewed at <a href="https://t.co/rsnlgakz63">https://t.co/rsnlgakz63</a>&mdash; CityofMem_Media (@CityofMem_Media) <a href="https://twitter.com/CityofMem_Media/status/1619123186502889472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">From Chief Karl A. Oakman. <a href="https://t.co/odUwLdGG2J">pic.twitter.com/odUwLdGG2J</a>&mdash; Kansas City, Kansas Police Department (@KCKPDChief) <a href="https://twitter.com/KCKPDChief/status/1619495948937486336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Kansas City Kansas Police Chief Karl Oakman released a statement late Saturday with "a sobering reminder to law enforcement that with great authority comes great responsibility."Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan and the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department also released statements condemning the violence.Sullivan wrote, "By now I’m sure many of you have <a href="https://vimeo.com/cityofmemphis">seen the video </a>out of Memphis that shows the horrific beating of Mr. Tyre Nichols. I have seen it as well. Like many of you, I am shocked and sickened by the actions of those officers and I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to the entire Nichols family.""I want to applaud Chief CJ Davis on her handling of this incident. I also want to ensure the citizens of Wichita that the Wichita Police Department stands by you in your anger, sadness, and frustration with this despicable act of violence committed by 5 human beings who disgraced the badge."&nbsp;"I wish I could say in 40 years of Policing that this is the first time I have seen this type of case, but sadly it’s not. What I can say, is that the Wichita Police Department is not just here for you, we are here with you. We do not support nor defend officers who act like they are above the law and use excessive and unnecessary force against those they swore to protect and serve." The Sedgwick Sheriff’s office said in a statement they were "appalled by the atrocity that occurred to Tyre Nichols at the hands of the former Memphis Officers.""This is an incredible violation of public trust and this office condemns their actions. The former Memphis Officers have tarnished the badge and betrayed their oath.""It is the mission of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office to partner with the citizens of Sedgwick County providing effective public service to all in an impartial, ethical and professional manner. We continue to uphold these standards in trying times and fully support the prosecution of the former Memphis Officers."----------MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — An unarmed Black man dies after a videotaped beating by police. The officers involved are fired. After a thorough review of the evidence, criminal charges are swiftly filed against the offending officers.Investigation, accountability and charges.This is often the most Black citizens can hope for as the deaths continue. Nationwide, police have killed roughly three people per day consistently&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-columbus-shootings-police-trials-65a16498f72823a887476486e1f05633">since 2020</a>, according to academics and advocates for police reform who track such deaths.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-profile-memphis-3104f3cdbaf568daf6647eca080d4001">Tyre Nichols'</a>&nbsp;fatal encounter with police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, recorded in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-video-memphis-police-e3ee8e6698faae16df3f41d09234b09f?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_01">video made public Friday night</a>, is a glaring reminder that efforts to reform policing have failed to prevent more flashpoints in an intractable epidemic of brutality.Nearly 32 years ago, Rodney King’s savage beating by police in Los Angeles prompted heartfelt calls for change. They’ve been repeated in a ceaseless rhythm ever since, punctuated by the deaths of Amadou Diallo in New York, Oscar Grant in Oakland, California, Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and so many others.George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis in 2020 was so agonizing to watch, it summoned a national reckoning that featured federal legislation proposed in his name and shows of solidarity by corporations and sports leagues. All fell short of the shift in law enforcement culture Black people in America have called for — a culture that promotes freedom from fear, trust in police and mutual respect.“We need public safety, right? We need law enforcement to combat pervasive crime,” said Jason Turner, senior pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis. “Also, we don’t want the people who are sworn to protect and serve us brutalizing us for a simple traffic stop, or any offense.”The five Black officers are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-police-officers-charged-48d48f2137a2f34482274edb1bd1bab2">now fired and charged</a>&nbsp;with murder and other crimes in the Jan. 10 death of Nichols, a 29-year-old skateboarder, FedEx worker and father to a 4-year-old boy.From police brass and the district attorney’s office to the White House, officials said Nichols’ killing points to a need for bolder reforms that go beyond simply diversifying the ranks, changing use-of-force rules and encouraging citizens to file complaints.“The world is watching us,” Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said. “If there is any silver lining to be drawn from this very dark cloud, it’s that perhaps this incident can open a broader conversation about the need for police reform.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">My heart goes out to Tyre Nichols’ family and to Americans in Memphis and across the country who are grieving this tremendously painful loss. There are no words to describe the heartbreak and grief of losing a beloved child and young father.⁰⁰Here&#39;s my full statement. <a href="https://t.co/ghROhSGtao">pic.twitter.com/ghROhSGtao</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1619143234034491397?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>President Joe Biden joined national civil rights leaders in similar calls to action.“To deliver real change, we must have accountability when law enforcement officers violate their oaths, and we need to build lasting trust between law enforcement, the vast majority of whom wear the badge honorably, and the communities they are sworn to serve and protect,” the president said.But Memphis, whose 628,000 residents celebrate barbecue and blues music and lament being the place where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, has seen this before. The city took steps advocates called for in a “Reimagine Policing” initiative in 2021, and mirrored a set of policy changes reformers want all departments to implement immediately, known as “8 Can’t Wait.”De-escalation training is now required. Officers are told to limit uses of force, exhaust all alternatives before resorting to deadly force and report all uses of force. Tennessee also took action: State law now requires officers to intervene to stop abuse and report excessive force by their colleagues.Showing unusual transparency for a police department, the MPD now publishes accountability reports that include the race of people subjected to use of force each year. They show Black men and women were overwhelmingly targeted for rougher treatment in 2019, 2020 and 2021. They were subject to nearly 86% of the recorded uses of guns, batons, pepper spray, physical beatings and other force in 2021, the total nearly doubling that year to 1,700 cases.Seven uses of force by Memphis police ended in death during these three years.“I don’t know how much more cumulative Black death our community should have to pay to convince elected officials that the policing system isn’t broken — it’s working exactly as it was designed to, at the expense of Black life,” said Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, co-executive director of the Highlander Research and Education Center, a Tennessee-based civil rights leadership training school.The Nichols case — just one of the brutality cases to make national news this month — exposes an uncomfortable truth: More than two years since the deaths of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks touched off protests, policing reforms have not significantly reduced such killings.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/death-of-george-floyd-amir-locke-richmond-minneapolis-86370ae1c735d44525e37eed80b293b2">States approved nearly 300 police reform bills after Floyd’s murder,</a>&nbsp;creating civilian oversight of police, more anti-bias training, stricter use-of-force limits and alternatives to arrests in cases involving people with mental illnesses, according to a recent analysis by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland.Despite calls to “defund the police,”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-police-law-enforcement-agencies-local-governments-iowa-420d0714086f72bc255c676bfe214532">an Associated Press review of police funding nationwide</a>&nbsp;found only modest cuts, driven largely by shrinking revenue related to the coronavirus pandemic. Budgets increased and more officers were hired for some large departments, including New York City’s.Still stuck in Congress is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nyc-state-wire-george-floyd-death-of-george-floyd-police-police-reform-988260d4657103cd968bad7f039b0e19">the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act,</a>&nbsp;which would prohibit racial profiling, ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, limit the transfer of military equipment to police departments, and make it easier to bring charges against offending officers. Biden said he told Nichols’ mother that he would be “making a case” to Congress to pass the Floyd Act “to get this under control.”The Rev. Al Sharpton said his eulogy at Nichols’ funeral on Wednesday will include a call for new laws. NAACP President Derrick Johnson also took Congress to task.“By failing to write a piece of legislation, you’re writing another obituary,” Johnson said. “Tell us what you’re going to do to honor Tyre Nichols. … We can name all the victims of police violence, but we can’t name a single law you have passed to address it.”Advocates want state and federal legislation because local changes vary widely in scope and effect and can be undone by a single election after years of grassroots activism. But some say strict regulations are just the start — and the video of Nichols’ agony proves it.“Changing a rule doesn’t change a behavior,” said Katie Ryan, chief of staff for Campaign Zero, a group of academics, policing experts and activists working to end police violence. “The culture of a police department has to shift into actually implementing the policies, not just saying there’s a rule in place.”The five officers charged — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith — were part of the so-called Scorpion unit. Scorpion stands for Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in our Neighborhoods.The Memphis police chief, Cerelyn “CJ” Davis,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-memphis-crime-law-enforcement-1b7e8fa4ed7120a897086250d5d6da35">disbanded the unit</a>&nbsp;on Saturday.“It is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the Scorpion unit,” she said in a statement.Prior to the move by Davis, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said it was clear that the officers involved in the attack on Nichols violated the department’s policies and training.“I want to assure you we are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening again,” Strickland said in a statement. “We are initiating an outside, independent review of the training, policies and operations of our specialized units.”The Memphis police union extended condolences to Nichols’ family, saying it “is committed to the administration of justice and NEVER condones the mistreatment of ANY citizen nor ANY abuse of power.” The statement also expressed faith that the justice system would reveal “the totality of circumstances” in the case.Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, pushed back against the conclusion that policing must change. This was not “legitimate police work or a traffic stop gone wrong,” Yoes said. “This is a criminal assault under the pretext of law.”Protesters turned out again Friday night after the city released the video footage. Turner, the Memphis pastor, called the images “further proof that our city’s and our nation’s criminal justice systems are in dire need of change.”“It’s not like we’re short on concrete, reasonable recommendations,” said the Rev. Earle Fisher, senior pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church. “What we’re short on is the political will and the commitment to making the structural changes.”--------Protesters gathered in a park near the White House, in Memphis and other cities as <a href="https://vimeo.com/cityofmemphis">the video </a>was released.In Memphis, protesters chanted: “Say his name! Tyre Nichols!” and several dozen protesters blocked a heavily traveled bridge on Interstate 55 that is one of two main spans connecting Arkansas and Tennessee over the Mississippi River.Unions in California and Hawaii issued a joint statement calling the actions of the officers “repugnant and the complete antithesis of how honorable law enforcement professionals conduct themselves.”The Prosecutors Alliance of California calls the killing senseless and in California’s capitol of Sacramento, Mayor Darrell Steinberg said: “I am filled with anger, with sorrow and revulsion.”KEY DEVELOPMENTS:— Memphis authorities have released more than an hour of footage of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-video-memphis-police-e3ee8e6698faae16df3f41d09234b09f">the police beating</a>&nbsp;of Tyre Nichols, whose death resulted in murder charges and provoked outrage— Family and friends remember&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-profile-memphis-3104f3cdbaf568daf6647eca080d4001">Tyre Nichols</a>&nbsp;as a generous, lovable man who worked hard to be a good father to his 4-year-old son—&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/law-enforcement-police-brutality-memphis-bde48465a79bb20bbb68473c0cc63b1e">Timeline of events</a>&nbsp;in the arrest, death of Tyre Nichols___MEMPHIS —<a href="https://vimeo.com/cityofmemphis"> Video showing</a> five Memphis police officers beating a Black man was made public Friday, one day after they were charged with murder in the death of Tyre Nichols.The footage shows the Black officers savagely beating the 29-year-old FedEx worker for three minutes in an assault that the Nichols family’s legal team likened to the infamous 1991 police beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King.Cities across the country braced for large demonstrations. Nichols’ relatives urged supporters to protest peacefully. ___WASHINGTON — The national president of the Fraternal Order of Police has issued a scathing statement over the actions of five former Memphis police officers involved in the arrest of Tyre Nichols.Patrick Yoes says the officers’ encounter with Nichols “does not constitute legitimate police work or a traffic stop gone wrong.” Instead, Yoes called it a “criminal assault under the pretext of law.”Nichols died three days after a Jan. 7 confrontation with the officers during a traffic stop.___WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said he was “very concerned” about the prospect of violence, but called for protests over the death of Tyre Nichols to remain peaceful.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">My heart goes out to Tyre Nichols’ family and to Americans in Memphis and across the country who are grieving this tremendously painful loss. There are no words to describe the heartbreak and grief of losing a beloved child and young father.⁰⁰Here&#39;s my full statement. <a href="https://t.co/ghROhSGtao">pic.twitter.com/ghROhSGtao</a>&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1619143234034491397?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Speaking Friday at the White House before departing for Camp David, the president reflected on his call earlier with Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells.“I’m obviously very concerned about it,” Biden said when asked if he was worried about violence, “but I think she has made a very strong plea. She’s obviously in enormous pain.”Biden said that “innocent lives” were at stake Friday as the country awaited the release of police footage of depicting five Memphis officers beating Nichols during a traffic stop.___NEW YORK — In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, said he and other mayors across the country had been briefed by the White House in advance of the video’s release, which he said would “trigger pain and sadness in many of us. It will make us angry.”He urged demonstrators to “respect the wishes of Mr. Nichols’ mother. If you need to express your anger and outrage, do so peacefully. My message to the NYPD has been, and will continue to be, to exercise restraint.”Adams, who during his years as a New York Police Department officer co-founded an organization that advocated for diversity in policing and against abuses of power, said he “felt betrayed” by the officers charged in the Memphis death of Nichols.“Any officer who engages in violence and brutality tarnishes all the work we have done to keep communities safe,” he said. He added: “They make it harder for the brothers and sisters in uniform to accomplish the incredible work they do, day in and day out.”

🎥 More Kan. law enforcement respond to video that stuns the nation

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a homicide at a home in Topeka.

Just before 9:30a.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to a medical emergency in the 400 Block of SW Tyler Street, according to Lt. Edward Stanley.

First responders found one victim, later identified as 48-year-old Jeremy Neal of Topeka, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.&nbsp;

Police released no additional details Sunday and have not reported an arrest.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675030639545.png" alt="Police tape at the scene of the homicide investigation-photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Police tape at the scene of the homicide investigation-photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a homicide at a home in Topeka.Just before 9:30a.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to a medical emergency in the 400 Block of SW Tyler Street, according to Lt. Edward Stanley.First responders found one victim, later identified as 48-year-old Jeremy Neal of Topeka, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.&nbsp;Police released no additional details Sunday and have not reported an arrest.

Homicide investigation: 48-year-old dead at Kan. home

JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug and theft allegations.

Just before 10a.m. Friday, a sheriff’s Deputy stopped a Ford Fusion for a traffic infraction near 142nd&nbsp;and U.S. Highway 75, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

 The driver was found to have a suspended license and was subsequently arrested. The passenger, Saleena Rae Masquat, 37, of Mayetta, also had a warrant through Topeka Police Department. 

A third occupant was identified and later released. During the traffic stop, a Jackson County Sheriff’s K-9 was deployed and indicated to the presence of narcotics.

 A search of the vehicle revealed both methamphetamine and marijuana as well as paraphernalia indicating the distribution of methamphetamine. 

Also located in the vehicle was electronic equipment that belonged to a Topeka Walmart store that was confirmed to be stolen. 

Masquat was arrested on requested charges of distribution of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of stolen property. She is being held on a&nbsp;$50,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674934923409.png" alt="Masquat-photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Masquat-photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug and theft allegations.Just before 10a.m. Friday, a sheriff’s Deputy stopped a Ford Fusion for a traffic infraction near 142nd&nbsp;and U.S. Highway 75, according to Sheriff Tim Morse. The driver was found to have a suspended license and was subsequently arrested. The passenger, Saleena Rae Masquat, 37, of Mayetta, also had a warrant through Topeka Police Department. A third occupant was identified and later released. During the traffic stop, a Jackson County Sheriff’s K-9 was deployed and indicated to the presence of narcotics. A search of the vehicle revealed both methamphetamine and marijuana as well as paraphernalia indicating the distribution of methamphetamine. Also located in the vehicle was electronic equipment that belonged to a Topeka Walmart store that was confirmed to be stolen. Masquat was arrested on requested charges of distribution of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of stolen property. She is being held on a&nbsp;$50,000 bond.

Sheriff: Kan. woman was selling meth, had stolen property in car

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a series stolen vehicles and have two suspects in custody.

Just after 7:00 a.m. Thursday, police responded to numerous reports of stolen vehicles across the city of Topeka, including a van from <a href="https://engroffcatering.com/">Engroff Catering,</a> 2127 SW Westport Drive, according to Police Lt. Ron Ekis.

Throughout the course of the investigation, officers were able to locate the van, unoccupied, near SW 37th Street and Fairlawn Road in Topeka as well as a stolen motorcycle.

 Investigators later located an additional stolen vehicle in the area and two suspects, identified as Cody B. Sanchez, 27, of Topeka, and Taylor Reed, 28, of Topeka, who were believed to be involved. 

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674830549286.png" alt="Reed-photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Reed-photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a series stolen vehicles and have two suspects in custody.Just after 7:00 a.m. Thursday, police responded to numerous reports of stolen vehicles across the city of Topeka, including a van from <a href="https://engroffcatering.com/">Engroff Catering,</a> 2127 SW Westport Drive, according to Police Lt. Ron Ekis.Throughout the course of the investigation, officers were able to locate the van, unoccupied, near SW 37th Street and Fairlawn Road in Topeka as well as a stolen motorcycle.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674830414068.png" alt="Sanchez-photo Shawnee County" />
 <figcaption>Sanchez-photo Shawnee County</figcaption>
 </figure> Investigators later located an additional stolen vehicle in the area and two suspects, identified as Cody B. Sanchez, 27, of Topeka, and Taylor Reed, 28, of Topeka, who were believed to be involved. As a result of the investigation, police arrested Sanchez and Reed and booked them into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on requested charges of Auto Theft.