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“That’s what happens when you don’t answer questions,” a Prince George’s County police officer said as Erica Umana’s dog lay on the ground, paralyzed and bleeding out.

Minutes earlier, on a summer day in 2021, officers had shot Umana’s dog, a boxer mix named Hennessy, during a chaotic confrontation inside Umana’s apartment.

Now Umana and her roommatesErika Sanchez, Dayri Benitez, and Brandon Cuevashave filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Prince George’s County Police Department and several of its officers, saying the police had no right to enter their apartment, shoot their dog, and detain them. The lawsuit seeks over $16 million for allegedly subjecting them to excessive force, unlawful search and seizure, and false arrest.

“This case is an outrage. It is disgusting, disgraceful, and despicable,” William Murphy, an attorney representing the roommates, said in a press release Monday. “These officers outright abused and mistreated our clients, lied to unlawfully break into their house, manhandled them illegally, and shot their dog. And in utter disregard for the severity of their intolerable behavior, they laughed about it.”

The incident began on June 2, 2021, when Prince George’s County police officers arrived at an apartment complex in Landover Hills in response to a 911 call from a woman claiming two dogs had allegedly jumped on her and bit her.

Prince George’s County Cpl. Jason Ball encountered Sanchez sitting outside of the apartments, but she refused to answer any questions. Ball then threatened to arrest Sanchez for trespassing if she didn’t leave. On body camera footage , Ball said into his radio that he believed Sanchez lived in the apartment complex but that he was about to arrest her anyway because she refused to answer his questionsthe first of several retaliatory threats and comments from Ball.

Sanchez walked off, and Ball and his partner went to knock on the door of the apartment where Sanchez, Umana, and the other lawsuit plaintiffs lived. No one answered.

“This would be open by now, by the way, if it wasn’t…,” Ball said to his partner, trailing off and tapping his body camera. “I used to open them all the time.”

“Times have changed,” Ball’s partner responded.

Instead, the officers got a master key from a maintenance worker and returned to open the doorillegally, the lawsuit alleges. The officers were also violating department policy, the lawsuit says. As The Washington Post detailed in a 2021 story on the shooting: The general orders the police employee manual instruct officers to complete a case record for their supervisor if an animal is dangerous but contained. If an animal poses an immediate threat, officers are supposed to find and contain it “without endangering themselves or the public,” then call animal control, according to the protocol.

If officers cannot find the animal, they are to create a case record and give it to the animal management division within 24 hours.

Department protocol also says that officers should assist animal control in enforcing animal-related laws only after a warrant has been issued.

Inside the apartment, Benitez emerged from her bedroom, shouting that the officers had no probable cause to be there. Meanwhile, Sanchez and Umana returned when they realized police were entering their apartment. However, officers blocked them from coming in. When the two women pushed their way past, the police tackled, restrained, and threatened to tase the women.

It was at this point that Hennessy slipped out of the bedroom and ran toward Umana. “Get the dog, get the dog!” one of the officers shouts. Within seconds, two officers shot the dog from behind while a third tased it.

Umana ran to the dog’s side, despite officers threatening to tase her if she did not step away from it.

“I was just begging them, begging them,” Umana told The Washington Post in 2021. “They just had no remorse.”

Benitez called 911, complaining that officers had stormed into her apartment without a warrant.

It was during this bloody aftermath, as Umana cradled her wounded pet in her arms, that Ball said, “That’s what happens when you don’t answer questions.”

The lawsuit claims the roommates were detained for an hour in the back of a police van before being released without being charged. Umana traveled to an animal hospital where Hennessy was being treated. The dog was alive, but permanently paralyzed. Umana chose to have it euthanized. She received an $800 bill.

According to the lawsuit, the county offered to pay the veterinary bill, but only if Umana agreed not to speak out about the shooting or sue the police department. She declined the offer.

At a press conference announcing the lawsuit on Monday, attorneys for the roommates were joined by representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, the NAACP Maryland State Conference, and several other local activist groups, who all said that the incident was part of a long history of civil rights violations by the police department.

“Without a badge, these officers would be trespassers. Without a badge these officers would be called burglars. Without a badge, these officers would be called assailants,” the Maryland NAACP’s NaShona Kess said at the press conference. “With a badge and without a warrant they are trespassers. With a badge and without a warrant they are burglars and assailants.”

After an internal affairs investigation, Ball and Officer Joseph Mihanda were found guilty of violating administrative charges of “conduct unbecoming an officer.” The department referred the case to the local state attorney’s office for possible criminal prosecution, but the office declined to prosecute.

“After reviewing all of the evidence in this matter a determination was made that actions of the officers didn’t generate criminal liability because they were acting in good faith,” the office told The Washington Post .

Officers are rarely disciplined for shooting dogs; supervisors almost always find that shootings are justified by departments’ loose policies, which usually only require that an officer feel threatened by a dog to deploy deadly force. For example, a Reason investigation into a string of dog shootings by Detroit police discovered one officer who had killed more than 80 dogs over the course of his career. In fact, there’s a whole category on Reason ‘s website called ” puppycide ” documenting cases of police wantonly shooting dogs shooting toy breeds including a vicious Pomeranian , shooting dogs at children’s birthday parties , dumping dead pets in ditches and trash cans , and more.

The Prince George’s County Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Kneecap release new single ahead of Wide Awake headline show

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Kneecap release new single ahead of Wide Awake headline show

Kneecap have released a new single ahead of their headline performance at London’s Wide Awake festival, just days after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.

The rap trio from Belfast shared a link to the song – The Recap – which opens with Sky News presenter Wilfred Frost reporting about the counter terrorism police investigation – on Instagram, linking to their WhatsApp channel.

Kneecap performing in Belfast last year. Pic: PA
Image:
Kneecap performing in Belfast last year. Pic: PA

Bandmembers Liam O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh, also thanked the 25,000 fans who had bought tickets for Friday night’s festival.

They also reference Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, with whom they’ve had previous run-ins, writing: “Kemi Badenoch you might wanna sit down for this one, if you’ve any seats left.”

Last year, Kneecap won a discrimination case against the UK government in Belfast High Court after former business secretary Ms Badenoch tried to refuse them a £14,250 funding award when she was a minister.

Ms Badenoch has called for Kneecap to be banned and suggested they should be dropped from the Glastonbury Festival line-up. Some other politicians have made the same demand.

The track mocks Badenoch’s attempts to block their arts funding and the Conservative Party’s election loss. It features DJ Mozey.

It comes after O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged over the alleged display of a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, north London, in November last year, the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the band held a surprise gig at the 100 Club on Oxford Street, where O hAnnaidh could be seen in videos on social media arriving on stage with tape covering his mouth.

He then joked about being careful about what he said, adding that he wanted to thank his lawyer, saying: “I need to thank my lawyer, he’s here tonight as well.”

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Stars talk about risks of speaking out

In video footage posted to YouTube, the band led the audience in a chant of “free Mo Chara” and joked about the police presence at the venue.

Police said they attended to manage visitors to the sold-out event.

The band said on X that the central London event sold out in 90 seconds, with 2,000 people on the waiting list.

O hAnnaidh, 27, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 18 June.

Formed in 2017, the group are known for their provocative lyrics in both Irish and English and proved a critical hit in the 2024 semi-fictionalised band origin story movie Kneecap, starring actor Michael Fassbender.

Their best-known tracks include Get Your Brits Out, Better Way To Live, featuring Grian Chatten from Fontaines DC, and 3Cag.

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Sources: Isles hiring Darche from T.B. as new GM

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Sources: Isles hiring Darche from T.B. as new GM

The New York Islanders have the man to make the first pick in the draft. Sources told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that the team is hiring Lightning assistant general manager Mathieu Darche as its new GM.

Darche played parts of nine seasons in the league with five different teams.

He has worked in Tampa Bay’s front office since 2019, helping the Lightning win two Stanley Cups. This will be the 48-year-old’s first general manager job.

Darche takes over for Lou Lamoriello, who was fired this offseason after seven seasons on the job. New York didn’t make the playoffs this season and hasn’t made it past the first round since 2020-21 — when the Islanders lost in the East semifinals to the Lightning.

The Isles lucked out in the draft lottery, jumping from 10th to the first selection. This will be the first time they’ll have the top pick since taking John Tavares in 2009.

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Nill, Cheveldayoff, Zito up for GM of Year Award

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Nill, Cheveldayoff, Zito up for GM of Year Award

Jim Nill, Kevin Cheveldayoff and Bill Zito have been named finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the NHL announced Friday.

The voting for the award was conducted between league general managers, a panel of executives and media members following the conclusion of the second round of the playoffs.

Nill, 67, has seen his Dallas Stars reach the Western Conference finals for the third straight season. He is a two-time winner of this award (2023, 2024) and five-time finalist

Cheveldayoff, 55, has spent the last 14 seasons with the Winnipeg Jets, who captured the Presidents’ Trophy this season. He also was a finalist for the GM of the Year Award in 2018.

Zito, 60, is looking to guide the Florida Panthers to their third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final. He has been a finalist for the GM of the Year Award in three straight years and four of the last five.

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