WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is preparing to lift restrictions on surplus military equipment that can be passed on to local law enforcement agencies in spite of past concerns that armored vehicles and other gear were escalating confrontations with protesters. Documents obtained by The Associated Press indicate Trump was preparing to sign an executive order … Read more
Miami Herald reporter Doug Hanks noted on Twitter that an armored, military-grade truck was sitting outside county hall yesterday during the special county commission meeting on Venezuela: MDPD seems to understand how powerful an image these vehicles project. The cops repeatedly warn residents to “not be alarmed” and that there is “no heightened state of … Read more
Since 2006, the nation’s largest police departments have fired at least 1,881 officers for misconduct that betrayed the public’s trust, from cheating on overtime to unjustified shootings. But The Washington Post has found that departments have been forced to reinstate more than 450 officers after appeals required by union contracts. Most of the officers regained … Read more
The Denver Police Department has expanded its body-worn-camera program to include members of the SWAT team. However, the policy’s fine print reveals that the cameras won’t be routinely used during tactical operations, when SWAT officers may be put in the position of using force. The man in charge of the DPD’s body-worn camera program justifies … Read more
Antonio Buehler, an activist who helped found the cop-watching Austin organization Peaceful Streets, is suing the city and several Austin police officers, alleging that each time Austin police have arrested him, the arrests have been baseless and retaliatory. Peaceful Streets promotes police accountability and regularly records police encounters on video, Buehler and other organizers have … Read more
The Dutch government is against a parliamentary proposal to only allow police officers in videos and photos if their faces and other identifying features have been blurred out. Minister Stef Blok of Security and Justice called the proposal “undesirable” and “unnecessary” in a letter to the Tweede Kamer on Thursday, NU.nl reports. The proposal was … Read more
The immigration policies that elevated former Sheriff Joe Arpaio to fame were the same that would ultimately lead to his political demise, and now have convicted him of a federal crime. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton found Arpaio guilty of criminal contempt of court, finding that he willfully violated a federal judge’s order. … Read more
President Donald Trump gave a speech at a Long Island community college on Friday during which he encouraged the use of violence. Turns out the audience was comprised of officers in a police department that has been scrutinized for racial profiling, and whose former chief was recently sentenced to prison for beating a man. The … Read more
Some officers at the scene when Long Beach police shot and wounded a parolee Saturday are part of a small group assigned to wear body cameras as part of the department’s pilot program to test the devices, but the officers weren’t wearing their cameras that day because of “technical issues,” according to authorities. If the … Read more
A new report shows how anti-immigrant groups are recruiting county sheriffs, who can expand mass deportation boundaries with little oversight. County sheriffs in the U.S. are increasingly being recruited to the organized anti-immigrant movement and fringe nationalist groups in a bid to implement a dangerous agenda that breaks up families, deports people to their deaths … Read more
Investigators searched Justine Damond’s house for bodily fluids, weapons and drugs after the bride-to-be was shot and killed by a U.S. police officer. According to court records released on Wednesday, investigators asked for two search warrants, one for the alley behind Justine’s house where she reported a potential rape, and another for her house itself. … Read more
Exasperated, Jeffrey Ehrlich paused the true-crime television show every couple of minutes. The same thought kept running through the attorney’s mind: “No, that’s wrong.” The episode of “Killer Instinct” highlighted how the work of a retired FBI profiler had helped convict Ehrlich’s client of killing an 18-year-old woman in a Palmdale parking lot. There were … Read more