Dashboard-camera videos of incidents in which police officers use fatal force must be made available to the public in most circumstances, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a unanimous decision that advocates for open government and transparency are calling a historic victory. Law enforcement agencies must also release the names of the officers … Read more
Wow, what a dumb argument, you may be thinking. Who might be dumb and/or arrogant enough to make such an argument? Well, yes, but besides them. Right! The police. This is the case in which police raided a medical-marijuana shop in southern California (though medical marijuana is legal here, of course), carefully went around smashing … Read more
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Sheriff Eric Watson arrived at the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office on Friday morning, was booked into his own jail and posted bond on six felony counts, then went back to work. The charges — six counts of knowingly holding or using forged or falsified car titles — arise from a Times Free … Read more
The Minneapolis police chief, Janee Harteau, resigned on Friday at the mayor’s request, less than a week after one of the city’s officers fatally shot an unarmed Australian woman who had called 911 for help. Mayor Betsy Hodges said in a statement that “I’ve lost confidence in the chief’s ability to lead us further” and … Read more
Assembly Bill 284 had little chance of passage because it dealt with an actual problem and was getting pushback from some muscular lobbies. There are two rules of thumb to keep in mind when following the California legislature. First, lawmakers love to prattle about pie-in-the-sky issues, such as halting global warming, but steadfastly avoid tackling … Read more
After several miscarriages and the death of a newborn baby, Steve and Chrystal Saechao called their healthy 9-month-old son, Raiden, their “miracle baby.” The child was fatally injured in 2013 when a Sacramento police officer rear-ended the family’s car on Interstate 80. The city of Sacramento has agreed to pay $9.75 million to the couple … Read more
James Bradford Nelson III remembers little about the afternoon last month when he struggled on the hot pavement, its surface searing his bare skin. But records tell the story of how he wound up in the UC Davis Medical Center burn unit, near death with severe wounds on the upper half of his body. The … Read more
A sister of a man shot to death by Chicago police officers last year in a Prairie District park challenged officers’ version of events, saying an officer who was wounded in what police described as an exchange of gunfire actually shot himself. Arlena Love filed a wrongful death suit Monday against the city of Chicago … Read more
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A Charlottesville group connected to counterprotesters is demanding justice after it claims law enforcement engaged in police brutality. Solidarity Cville held a press conference outside the Charlottesville Police Department Friday, July 14. Members of the group are calling on authorities to drop charges against the 22 people arrested Saturday, July 8. Around … Read more
In most of the liberal discussions of the recent police killings of unarmed black men, there is an underlying assumption that the police are supposed to protect and serve the population. That is, after all, what they were created to do. If only the normal, decent relations between the police and the community could be … Read more
There’s a heated debate going on right now in Alaska between the police department and sex workers’ rights advocates over a bill that would make it illegal for police officers to have sexual contact with sex workers before arresting them. If Alaska passes this bill, they’ll become the first state to outlaw any sexual contact … Read more
After more than two dozen complaints — ranging from unprofessional behavior to excessive force — in a 3 1/2-year period, Orlando Police Officer Michael Favorit Jr. was fired in July 2016. But he was rehired nearly a year later and is now assigned to Orlando International Airport, where officers who are “too often in the … Read more