Law Enforcement
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Citing Costs, Police Departments Drop Use of Body Cameras
Over the past several years, police departments across the country have equipped themselves with body cameras in an attempt to increase accountability and mend relationships with communities who cited a lack of trust between themselves and the officers charged with protecting them. But many departments—particularly those in smaller jurisdictions—are either dumping or pressing pause on…
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This Is Not Justice: Former Chicago Police Officer Sentenced to 6 Years, 9 Months for the Murder of Laquan McDonald
As if we needed more proof of just how much the criminal justice system in the United States does not value the lives of black people, a judge in Chicago gave us a glaring example. The former police officer who murdered 17-year-old Laquan McDonald will serve just 6 years and 9 months for his crime.…
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Police Disciplinary Records in California Are Now Public Information
A new California law that went into effect on Jan. 1 makes it possible for the public to get records on law enforcement officers that up until now were kept secret by their departments. Now that those agencies are required to give that information up, the American Civil Liberties Union is taking full advantage—starting with…
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Here’s How Many People Police Killed in 2018
In March 2018, cops in Sacramento, California, fired at least 20 bullets at 22-year-old Stephon Clark, killing him. He was unarmed and running away. In June 2018, a Pittsburgh police officer killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose, shooting him in the back. He was unarmed and fleeing. In November, a Hoover, Alabama, police officer killed 22-year-old Emantic…
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Civil Rights Lawsuit Accuses California Sheriff’s Deputies of Chipping Woman’s Tooth, Splitting Her Lip
What is it with law enforcement agencies in Sacramento, Calif., and their reported propensity for injuring, maiming, and even killing those citizens they attempt to arrest, book or detain in custody? In a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Dec. 20, 27-year-old Davisha Mitchell accuses two Sacramento sheriff’s deputies of smashing her head into a wall…
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In the Latest Example of Arrested While White, an Unruly Charlottesville Knife-Wielder Was Somehow Detained Without Being Beaten, Shot or Killed
While it’s not a secret that there’s a significant contrast in how black people are treated by police in comparison to our white counterparts, it doesn’t make the end result any less frustrating. Especially since police prove time and time again that they are entirely capable of demonstrating proper decorum and restraint as long as…
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Another 14-Year-Old Slammed to Ground by Police Officers in School, This Time Over a Candy Bar
I try very hard not to start out my posts with “I just wrote this shit,” because I want to make it clear that each case of brutality happening to a minor leads to yet another child traumatized by flagrantly unacceptable police behavior. But I just wrote this shit. According to WGCL-TV, a 14-year-old black…
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2 Former Louisiana Cops Indicted for Slamming 14-Year-Old on Ground, Into Desk
And people wonder why we don’t want more police officers in schools. Surveillance footage from October reveals two then-officers slamming a 14-year-old boy onto the ground and into a desk after he tried to walk away from administrators and out of a school office. In the video, former Officer Anthony Dupre handles the student like…
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State Supreme Court Rules That Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' Law Applies to Police Too
In a landmark decision, Florida’s State Supreme Court ruled Thursday that its police officers can use the state’s “stand your ground” self-defense law. In doing so, officers will be able to shield themselves from prosecution in instances involving disputed shootings. In its ruling, the court determined that police officers have the same rights as other…
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Police Officers Who Manhandled Jazmine Headley and Her 1-Year-Old Baby Will Not Be Punished
If you’re a New York police officer, apparently manhandling women and violently ripping a 1-year-old baby from his mother’s arms isn’t a punishable offense. As according to Politico, an NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau review into Jazmine Headley’s violent arrest last week in Brooklyn found no wrongdoing on the part of the NYPD officers involved. “The…