August 12, 2020 • No Comments • National News

kali9/iStockBy IVAN PEREIRA, ABC News

(SAVANNAH, Ga.) — The Savannah Police Department announced Wednesday that it terminated two of its officers following a three-month investigation into excessive force used in an arrest.

District Attorney Meg Heap told reporters at a news conference that she will call for a grand jury in September to look into the April incident involving Corporal Daniel Kang and Sergeant Octavio Arango. Heap, the police officers and Mayor Van R. Johnson did not disclose specific details about the incident — which was caught on body cameras — but they did say excessive force was used during a warrant sweep on a suspect who, ultimately, was misidentified.

“Based on my review of the internal investigation and the video, I believe that the conduct of the two members of the Savannah Police Department during this particular incident was totally unacceptable and egregious behavior on their part,” Johnson said at the news conference.

Following the incident, the officers notified their supervisors about the use of force during the arrest, the Savannah Police Department said. The supervisors alerted internal affairs after reviewing the details of the incident and body camera footage, and the officers were put on administrative leave.

In July, internal affairs terminated the officers for “conduct unbecoming of an officer,” and other charges. Savannah Police Department Chief Roy Minter presented the evidence and body camera footage to the Savannah CARES Task Force, which was created last month by the mayor to review current use of force policies and internal affairs data in the police department.

“Last Friday, the CARES Task Force gathered in person and they reviewed the body cam video, and they made a recommendation to the chief that the actions of the officers warranted a referral to the district attorney’s office,” the mayor said.

Arango had been with the department for approximately 15 years and Kang for eight, according to police. Attorney information for the officers wasn’t immediately available.

“We have worked hard to build a rapport with our community and want to strengthen that trust,” Minter said in a statement.

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August 12, 2020 • No Comments • National News

iStock/vesilvioBY: LUIS MARTINEZ

(WASHINGTON) — The FBI is investigating the shooting of a U.S. Air Force helicopter as it flew over northern Virginia on Monday.

One crew member had a minor injury, according to the FBI and the Air Force. The UH-1N Huey helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing at a nearby airport and a bullet was discovered in the airframe.

On Monday afternoon, the helicopter from the 1st Helicopter Squadron at Joint Base Andrews was flying a routine training mission over Middleburg, Virginia, at an altitude of 1,000 feet when it took fire from the ground, said an Air Force spokesperson. McClatchy was the first to report the shooting incident.

Already training for an instrument approach to Manassas Regional Airport, the helicopter quickly diverted to the airport to make an emergency landing.

“The Airport received a call from Manassas Control Tower at 12:20 pm on Monday about a military helicopter inbound that had an on-board emergency and that paramedics would be arriving shortly,” said Pattie Prince, the communications manager for the city of Manassas.

The helicopter landed safely at 12:43 p.m. and “initial findings are that the helicopter was struck by a bullet resulting in a minor injury to an aircrew member and damage to the aircraft,” said the Air Force spokesperson.

“The crew member “sustained a non-threatening injury, for which he was treated and subsequently released from the hospital,” said a spokesperson for the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

“The FBI Washington Field Office (WFO) dispatched special agents and its Evidence Response Team to the Manassas Airport after receiving reports that a helicopter was shot at from the ground nearby,” said the FBI spokesperson.

“WFO is working jointly with our law enforcement partners, including the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident,” said the spokesperson.

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