National Roundup

Wisconsin
Parent sues school district after child contracts COVID-19
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — A parent has sued a southeastern Wisconsin school district after her son contracted COVID-19 from a classmate.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported  that Shannon Jensen filed the lawsuit in federal court against the Waukesha School District and school board on Oct. 5. Jensen is seeking an injunction ordering the district to comply with U.S. Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 guidelines.

According to the lawsuit, the board in May removed a student mask requirement and other COVID-19 mitigation measures. One of Jensen’s son’s classmates came to school with symptoms in September and didn’t wear a mask. Jensen’s son was seated next to the sick student and was wearing a mask but still became infected. Jensen’s other two sons later tested positive as well.

School Board President Joseph Como declined comment on the lawsuit.

The Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC is funding the lawsuit. The brewing company is owned by Kirk Bangstad, who has aired his frustrations about how former President Donald Trump’s administration responded to the pandemic. He ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Republican state Rep. Rob Swearingen last year.

Arkansas
City, family of slain Black driver reach settlement
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The city of Little Rock and the family of a Black driver fatally shot by a white police officer during a traffic stop have tentatively reached a settlement, court records show.

U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall on Thursday canceled the trial in the lawsuit the family of Bradley Blackshire had filed, saying the city had informally advised him of a settlement. Marshall’s order did not disclose details of the settlement.

An attorney for Blackshire’s family said in a letter to the court Friday that the settlement still must be approved by the probate court. The city confirmed the tentative agreement but said it would not comment further until it was signed by all parties and approved by the court.

“This settlement is an important step forward; it includes small steps to begin the process of reform within the Little Rock Police Department,” David B. Owens, an attorney for the family said in a statement. “Those steps are just the beginning, however, as we work to eradicate a culture of violence in policing.”

Officer Charles Starks fired his gun at least 15 times through the windshield of a car Blackshire was driving in February 2019.

Police commanders later fired Starks, saying he violated a department policy that requires officers to move out of an oncoming vehicle’s path if possible rather than fire on it. The Arkansas Court of Appeals last month reversed a judge’s order  that the city should reinstate Starks.

Starks resigned last year from the police force after his reinstatement.

Starks pulled over Blackshire because the car he was driving had been reported stolen, though Blackshire’s family has said he borrowed it from a friend. Surveillance and police dashcam footage showed that Starks instructed Blackshire to exit the parked car. Instead, Blackshire began to slowly drive away and bumped Starks, who fired into the windshield four times. The car briefly stopped and Starks got onto its hood and fired at least 11 more times into the car as it continued to move.

A prosecutor declined to file charges against Starks, saying the moving car was an imminent threat that justified the use of deadly force.

Minnesota
State wants leeway on sentencing rules in Daunte Wright case
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors are seeking approval for a more severe penalty than what is outlined in state guidelines if a former suburban Minneapolis police officer is convicted in the shooting death of Daunte Wright.

Former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter is facing charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Wright, who was shot while he was trying to drive away from officers during a traffic stop in April. The sentencing guidelines for first-degree manslaughter range from 6 to 81/2 years in prison.

Potter has pleaded not guilty. She is scheduled to stand trial in December.

The move  is similar to one made by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer convicted in George Floyd’s death. In that case, a judge approved Ellison’s request for an upward departure because Floyd was particularly vulnerable and Chauvin abused his authority as a police officer.

Ellison wrote in a court document filed Wednesday that Potter “caused a greater-than-normal danger to the safety of other people” because she fired into a vehicle with a passenger and two officers were standing close to the vehicle.

Potter is recorded on body-camera video an instant after the shooting saying she mistakenly drew her firearm instead of her stun gun. Potter is white. Wright was Black. His death sparked several nights of protests.

Potter’s attorney, Earl Gray, did not return a phone message left late Friday.

Virginia
Over $33M going to help sexual assault victims in state
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — More than $33 million in U.S. Department of Justice grants has been awarded to 26 Virginia-based public and non-profit organizations to fund programs that address violence against women, a federal prosecutors says.

Acting U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh said in a news release Friday that the grants will provide funding and essential services to vulnerable communities, especially women, people with disabilities, and immigrants who are victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

The department’s Office on Violence Against Women selected organizations from across the Eastern District of Virginia to receive funding through 42 separate grants. The money will allow the organizations to better address a wide variety of needs and issues facing victims of domestic and sexual violence.

The recipients include state government entities that provide services throughout the Commonwealth, as well as non-governmental organizations that provide technical training and assistance nationwide.

In addition, grants were awarded to universities to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campus, Multiple non-profit organizations that provide direct services to victims and survivors in EDVA also received funding.