A newly-released video is showing a handcuffed black man being tazed and eventually dying. The man, Lynwood Lambert Jr., was arrested for causing a disturbance and then ended up being electrocuted and dying.  Watch the video below.

State Rep. Nick Collins said he wants to prevent public scrutiny of all internal investigations of alleged police brutality or misconduct even after an investigation is finished.

Recently a Medford police officer resigned after threatening to put a bullet in the head of a motorist going around a rotary in the wrong direction.

Requests for his record found multiple past suspensions for misconduct.

But Collins said an officer’s credibility in future cases also can be jeopardized.

“They can be discredited during that process when information is being sought about their personnel files while a case is ongoing,” Collins said.

Collins’ bill would keep all internal investigations private — even after the investigation has concluded.

First amendment advocates said this is the wrong message to send police.

“It tells (police) if you’re accused by a citizen of using excessive force, if you’re accused by a citizen of abusing your authority, don’t worry, we’ll keep it under wraps,” said First Amendment media attorney Jeff Pyle. “That is not a good way to discourage police abuse.”

In the age of cellphone videos it’s impossible to keep misconduct under wraps.

Ferguson, Cleveland and Medford are examples of how the public already is skeptical of most police departments policing themselves.

“Which is a big level of trust,” Secretary of State William Galvin said. “We certainly have the right to review how they’ve used that level of trust.”

NewsCenter 5’s Janet Wu asked Collins if the public should be able to know what happened during the course of an investigation.

“Well that’s a conversation we can continue having,” he said. “Again, this bill is starting point. Nothing’s passed. It’s going through the process.”

Collins’ bill is now before the Judiciary Committee and is not expected to go to the floor of the House for a vote until next year, if then.

He said it will not be thrown in with a group of bills requiring more disclosure of other public records.

A grandmother who accused a Worcester police officer of slamming her to the floor in a racially motivated outburst in 2013 has settled her federal lawsuit with the city for $125,000.

The police officer accused in the case is still on the force. City officials Friday declined to state the results of the department’s internal investigation or say whether the officer faced discipline.

“I just wanted to get it over with,” said the woman, 63-year-old Daisy L. Morales, when reached by telephone regarding her decision not to go to trial. She said the prospect of facing Officer James Powers in court was too much to bear.

Ms. Morales alleged in a 2013 lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that Officer Powers, who was described as a department veteran, insulted her race, beat her “mercilessly” and issued false charges to cover up his misdeeds.

According to her lawsuit, Officer Powers went to her Marble Street apartment three times on Feb. 23, 2013, responding to reports of disturbances. The third time, the suit alleges, Officer Powers “barged in” to her apartment and became “enraged” when he believed he was being lied to about a disturbance.

Officer Powers allegedly arrested a house guest of Ms. Morales in a rough manner when she criticized him for the way he spoke to Ms. Morales. Then, Ms. Morales alleged, Officer Powers turned his ire on the 5-foot, 4-inch, 135-pound grandmother after she uttered the words, “Oh my God, police brutality.”

“I will show you police brutality!” the lawsuit accused Officer Powers of saying before he allegedly “charged at the diminutive (woman), picked her off the ground, and body slammed her with all his might.”

Ms. Morales was charged with resisting arrest, keeping a disorderly house and disturbing the peace. She was not booked at the police station but was instead taken directly to the hospital, where, her lawsuit alleges, she was diagnosed with broken bones, including a broken shoulder.

The injuries required “extensive surgical procedures,” states the lawsuit, which demanded $1 million.

The lawsuit was filed four months after a Central District Court jury found Ms. Morales not guilty of the three charges levied against her.

In a statement of facts filed in court, Officer Power alleged that Ms. Morales prompted the arrest by continually screaming obscenities, and then resisted arrest by falling to the ground, balling herself up and refusing to allow her hands to be cuffed.

Court documents indicated that Ms. Morales’ lawyer argued against the resisting arrest charge by saying that Officer Powers used excessive force.

Included in the court file were several photos of Ms. Morales, including one that showed her with a black eye and another that showed extensive bruising to her arm and right breast.

Ms. Morales on Friday stood by her allegations, including her contention that Officer Powers discriminated against her because of her race.

There was no indication from court records that Ms. Morales would have been well-known to police. She was arrested one other time in the city over the past 16 years – a 1999 domestic violence arrest in which the charges against her were dropped.

The Telegram & Gazette on Thursday requested all internal affairs records concerning Officer Powers – records that, under state law, are supposed to be public.

A city spokesman said Friday that the Police Department would treat the request as a public records request, which gives the agency 10 days to respond.

The city’s top lawyer, David M. Moore, confirmed that the Police Department investigates police officers any time a lawsuit is filed. He declined to state the results of the investigation into Officer Powers, saying the city has a policy of not commenting on personnel matters.

Mr. Moore did speak about the process by which police lawsuits are settled – a process which, from a legal standpoint, he said, comes down to risk analysis.

In this case, Mr. Moore, noting that the settlement does not mean the city admits any guilt, acknowledged that several factors would have worked against the city.

He noted that the woman’s advanced age was unusual for a case like this and that she also benefited from the fact that she had been cleared of the charges against her. Also a difficulty, he said, is that while Ms. Morales had witnesses sympathetic to her case, Officer Powers was the only police officer present when the arrest occurred.

Mr. Moore said in a case like this, it was wiser to settle than to “roll the dice” with a jury. An important fact to note, he said, is that if the city loses a jury case – even if the award is only $1 – it is liable to pay attorney’s fees for the other side that could top six figures.

As an example, Mr. Moore said, the city is currently fighting a request for nearly $250,000 in attorney’s fees filed by Wakeelah Cocroft, a woman who sued police alleging brutality in 2008.

Ms. Cocroft prevailed in her lawsuit, Mr. Moore said, but was awarded only $15,000.

“The request is way out of proportion to the judgment,” he noted.

Timothy J. Perry, Ms. Morales’ Boston lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment. Ms. Morales said Friday that her experience caused her to move out of the city and that she is staying with family in another state.

“I hope he doesn’t do this to anyone else,” Ms. Morales said, referring to Officer Powers.

The city in its response denied the allegations in court documents, other than admitting an allegation that another officer after the arrest adjusted Ms. Morales’ handcuffs from behind her to in front of her. Mr. Moore said Friday that race did not play a factor in the arrest.

A grandmother who accused a Worcester police officer of slamming her to the floor in a racially motivated outburst in 2013 has settled her federal lawsuit with the city for $125,000.

The police officer accused in the case is still on the force. City officials Friday declined to state the results of the department’s internal investigation or say whether the officer faced discipline.

“I just wanted to get it over with,” said the woman, 63-year-old Daisy L. Morales, when reached by telephone regarding her decision not to go to trial. She said the prospect of facing Officer James Powers in court was too much to bear.

Ms. Morales alleged in a 2013 lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that Officer Powers, who was described as a department veteran, insulted her race, beat her “mercilessly” and issued false charges to cover up his misdeeds.

According to her lawsuit, Officer Powers went to her Marble Street apartment three times on Feb. 23, 2013, responding to reports of disturbances. The third time, the suit alleges, Officer Powers “barged in” to her apartment and became “enraged” when he believed he was being lied to about a disturbance.

Officer Powers allegedly arrested a house guest of Ms. Morales in a rough manner when she criticized him for the way he spoke to Ms. Morales. Then, Ms. Morales alleged, Officer Powers turned his ire on the 5-foot, 4-inch, 135-pound grandmother after she uttered the words, “Oh my God, police brutality.”

“I will show you police brutality!” the lawsuit accused Officer Powers of saying before he allegedly “charged at the diminutive (woman), picked her off the ground, and body slammed her with all his might.”

Ms. Morales was charged with resisting arrest, keeping a disorderly house and disturbing the peace. She was not booked at the police station but was instead taken directly to the hospital, where, her lawsuit alleges, she was diagnosed with broken bones, including a broken shoulder.

The injuries required “extensive surgical procedures,” states the lawsuit, which demanded $1 million.

The lawsuit was filed four months after a Central District Court jury found Ms. Morales not guilty of the three charges levied against her.

In a statement of facts filed in court, Officer Power alleged that Ms. Morales prompted the arrest by continually screaming obscenities, and then resisted arrest by falling to the ground, balling herself up and refusing to allow her hands to be cuffed.

Court documents indicated that Ms. Morales’ lawyer argued against the resisting arrest charge by saying that Officer Powers used excessive force.

Included in the court file were several photos of Ms. Morales, including one that showed her with a black eye and another that showed extensive bruising to her arm and right breast.

Ms. Morales on Friday stood by her allegations, including her contention that Officer Powers discriminated against her because of her race.

There was no indication from court records that Ms. Morales would have been well-known to police. She was arrested one other time in the city over the past 16 years – a 1999 domestic violence arrest in which the charges against her were dropped.

The Telegram & Gazette on Thursday requested all internal affairs records concerning Officer Powers – records that, under state law, are supposed to be public.

A city spokesman said Friday that the Police Department would treat the request as a public records request, which gives the agency 10 days to respond.

The city’s top lawyer, David M. Moore, confirmed that the Police Department investigates police officers any time a lawsuit is filed. He declined to state the results of the investigation into Officer Powers, saying the city has a policy of not commenting on personnel matters.

Mr. Moore did speak about the process by which police lawsuits are settled – a process which, from a legal standpoint, he said, comes down to risk analysis.

In this case, Mr. Moore, noting that the settlement does not mean the city admits any guilt, acknowledged that several factors would have worked against the city.

He noted that the woman’s advanced age was unusual for a case like this and that she also benefited from the fact that she had been cleared of the charges against her. Also a difficulty, he said, is that while Ms. Morales had witnesses sympathetic to her case, Officer Powers was the only police officer present when the arrest occurred.

Mr. Moore said in a case like this, it was wiser to settle than to “roll the dice” with a jury. An important fact to note, he said, is that if the city loses a jury case – even if the award is only $1 – it is liable to pay attorney’s fees for the other side that could top six figures.

As an example, Mr. Moore said, the city is currently fighting a request for nearly $250,000 in attorney’s fees filed by Wakeelah Cocroft, a woman who sued police alleging brutality in 2008.

Ms. Cocroft prevailed in her lawsuit, Mr. Moore said, but was awarded only $15,000.

“The request is way out of proportion to the judgment,” he noted.

Timothy J. Perry, Ms. Morales’ Boston lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment. Ms. Morales said Friday that her experience caused her to move out of the city and that she is staying with family in another state.

“I hope he doesn’t do this to anyone else,” Ms. Morales said, referring to Officer Powers.

The city in its response denied the allegations in court documents, other than admitting an allegation that another officer after the arrest adjusted Ms. Morales’ handcuffs from behind her to in front of her. Mr. Moore said Friday that race did not play a factor in the arrest.

The Police Department, asked to comment on the investigation into Officer Powers as well as generally on the settlement, deferred to Mr. Moore.

The Police Department, asked to comment on the investigation into Officer Powers as well as generally on the settlement, deferred to Mr. Moore.

A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police officer is under investigation after a video surfaced on Friday showing him hitting an unarmed black woman with a baton and pointing his gun at witnesses. The officer, whose name has not been released, is black. He has been placed on administrative leave.

The incident happened aboard Bus #15 in Boston. The video, which was posted to Facebook by activist group Mass Action Against Police Brutality, begins with the officer hitting the woman with his baton. She grabs it to stop the beating, amid cries from witnesses for the officer to stop. When three women approach to ask the officer to leave the woman alone, he points his gun at them and the passengers flee to the other end of the bus. The young woman attempts to get away from the officer, who repeatedly yells “back up” and “shut the fuck up.” The crowd in turn yells, “Drop the gun” and tells the woman to calm down. When backup arrives, another officer points his gun at the passengers and tells them to get off the bus. After the woman is cuffed, the witnesses yell that one of the officers is pulling her hair. The action is not visible on the video, which by then was being shot through the bus window.

According to audio of a statement from MBTA Lieutenant Richard Sullivan that plays in the second half of the video, the woman had been identified as someone involved in a theft and she did not comply when the officer told her to get off the bus. “If you saw the video in the beginning, the officer asks that woman to step off the bus so he can conduct an investigation. She refused to do so, and became actively non-compliant and assaultive,” he said. That conversation does not appear on the video.

Sullivan goes on to say that the unidentified transit cop is a well-respected veteran officer. He declined to comment on the officer’s use of force or his decision to draw his gun on the passengers. “It wouldn’t be fair or appropriate for me to comment on the actions that took place within the bus because, like I said, it’s going to be investigated,” he said.

The video is below.

(H/t ThinkProgess)