A fired Pittsburgh police sergeant was convicted Friday of violating the civil rights of drunken teenager he beat at a high school football game. Stephen Matakovich, 48, twice pushed and then punched Gabriel Despres, then 19. The confrontation took place just outside Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, during a high school championship football … Read more
Howard University officials have fired two campus police officers and their supervisor involved with dumping a female patient from a wheelchair and leaving her lying on the ground at a bus stop near the university hospital. Two of the officers, a male and female, were terminated; a third, a male supervisor who ordered that the … Read more
A Cleveland County deputy has been fired after allegedly pointing a rifle at his neighbor. Mark Davis faces assault charges after the incident Saturday night in his neighborhood on West Zion Church Road in Shelby. Investigators said that Davis was off-duty and had been drinking when he heard gunfire or fireworks coming from his neighbor’s … Read more
A Lampasas County deputy has been suspended and is now on administrative leave pending the investigation into his arrest of a teenager on Thursday morning. A video clearly shows law enforcement officers pinning the teenager down and punching him several times in the face. Lampasas County Sheriff Jess Ramos said in a press release that … Read more
The disregard for black Americans could scarcely have been more visible: Betty Shelby, a police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is back at work just days after a jury decided that her moment of fear justified the killing of Terrence Crutcher, an unarmed motorist. For those who cried out for justice in this case, it seems … Read more
A Florida police officer has been fired after an internal review found he used excessive force on a 13-year-old boy who had been involved in a fight at a youth shelter. Clearwater police Chief Dan Slaughter said that 33 year old Michael Leonardo made mistakes that “cannot be overlooked” when he responded to the call … Read more
A video has surfaced on several social media sites showing three or four San Antonio police officers forcibly detaining a 14-year-old girl while her mother screams in the background, attempting to help her. The brief video, made by a bystander, caught the attention of several local activists who are outraged by the officers’ actions, saying … Read more
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a man alleging a police dog left him badly injured after he resisted and ran from law enforcement officers. John Michael Vazquez, a United States District judge for the District of New Jersey, dismissed Donald T. Olmo’ lawsuit against the city in late April. Olmo alleged police … Read more
A video has emerged showing a Las Vegas police officer placing a man in an unapproved choke hold after beating and using a stun gun on him seven times in an incident that took away his life. 40-year-old Tashii Brown was disoriented and sweating when he initially approached officer Kenneth Lopera and a partner in … Read more
A Texas family has hired an attorney after they say their 7-year-old son with ADHD was handcuffed and tasered by police officers in his school. April Obin says her son has ADHD and a mood disorder and disrupts class several times a week. The school has counselors who are trained in how to help him … Read more
In the land of the free, if you are in possession of an arbitrary substance deemed illegal by the state, police will claim the legal authority to kidnap, cage, beat, and/or kill you. This scenario plays out like a broken record in towns across America, every minute of every day. Despite police force and violence … Read more
The Chicago Police Department started an investigation into a cellphone video on social media which shows a plainclothes officer repeatedly hitting a black man in the head while he was on the ground. According to NBC Chicago, family members shared the video, which they said was taken around 7:30 p.m. on Monday in the city’s … Read more