Law Enforcement
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Derek Chauvin Wants to Bar Prosecutors From Using Past Neck and Body Restraints on Suspects as Evidence Against Him
Cops are funny. One minute they’re swearing to whichever god uses a baton and taser to smite people (Zeus maybe?) that their practices in policing are all above board and beyond reproach. Next thing, you know they’re in court requesting that those very practices be hidden from the public as they unfairly make the officer…
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‘I Felt Like There Should’ve Been More Charges’: 3rd Grand Juror in Breonna Taylor Case Speaks Out
Here’s a question: Do any of the grand jurors in Breonna Taylor’s case agree with the grand jury ruling not to charge the officers with her death? I ask because out of the 12 jurors involved in the proceedings in September, three have now spoken out to say that they were never given the option…
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Black Man Exonerated and Released From Nashville Prison After Serving 15 Years for a Murder He Didn't Commit
After spending 15 years in a Nashville, Tenn., prison, a Black man was exonerated of a brutal murder after a judge ruled that he was wrongfully convicted. CNN reports that 41-year-old Joseph Webster was released from prison Tuesday following a four-year effort by his attorneys to have his 2005 conviction overturned and the charges against…
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No Charges for Indianapolis Cop Who Fatally Shot Sean Reed After High Speed Chase
More than six months after 21-year-old Dreasjon “Sean” Reed was fatally shot by an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officer after a live-streamed high-speed chase, Special Prosecutor Rosemary Khoury and other members of law enforcement gathered at the Indiana State Police Museum on Tuesday night to announce whether a grand jury decided to bring criminal charges against…
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The Cops Charged With Killing George Floyd Wanted Separate Trials. A Minnesota Judge Ruled: Nah
A Hennepin County Judge ruled Wednesday that the former Minneapolis police officers charged with killing George Floyd will stand trial together in Minneapolis, rejecting two requests made by their defense attorneys. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill said in the 51-page ruling that trying all four defendants together would ease the burden on state prosecutors and…
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Philadelphia Police Release Body Camera Footage of Walter Wallace Jr. Shooting Death
On Wednesday, Philadelphia police released body camera footage that shows what happened in the moments leading up to the Oct. 26 shooting death of Walter Wallace Jr. NBC News reports that before the footage was released, city officials gave a news conference during which they warned that the video footage—as well as 911 dispatch audio—is…
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If You Still Weren't Sure That Racism Is Pervasive Among Cops: Meet The Louisiana State Police
Though this year (this horrid, horrid year) has been punctuated with ever-multiplying police killings of Black people, you may be one of the depressing faction of Americans who are steadfastly-dedicated to denying that systemic racism is a problem with law enforcement in this country—or in this country at all. Luckily, a bunch of newly released…
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Body and Dash Camera Footage of Marcellis Stinnette Shooting by Illinois Police Released
Last week, The Root reported that 19-year old Marcellis Stinnette was fatally shot by a police officer in Waukegan, Ill.—a suburb of Chicago—while sitting in the passenger seat of a car his girlfriend, Tafara Williams, was driving on Oct. 20. Williams was also shot but survived her wounds, and as she recovered in the hospital…
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Video Shows Philadelphia Police Smash SUV Window With Child in Back Seat During Walter Wallace Unrest
Video footage has surfaced showing that during the first night of civil unrest over the shooting death of Walter Wallace Jr. by Philadelphia police, officers surrounded a slow-moving SUV, smashed its windows, pulled the driver and passenger out of the vehicle, threw them to the ground and then moments later, removed a child from the…
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For 2nd Night, Walter Wallace Protests Rock Philadelphia as National Guard Is Called In
Philadelphians turned out for the second night of protests on Tuesday night in the wake of the fatal police shooting of 27-year-old Walter Wallace Jr. Police and elected officials took a much more aggressive stance against protesters than they did on Monday, with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) enlisting the help of the National Guard…