Police Brutality
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Derek Chauvin’s Attorneys Want to Use 2019 George Floyd Arrest as Evidence That Floyd Caused His Own Death
Attorneys for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin are requesting that a jury be allowed to see evidence from a 2019 arrest of George Floyd, and they’re pretending they want this for any other reason outside of hopes that racism and hatred for those suffering from drug addiction will set their client free. OK, so,…
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'He's Going to Have Nightmares': Louisiana State Troopers Accused of Exchanging Text Messages Bragging About Beating Black Suspect
The “back the blue” community would have us all believe that police brutality is a rare occurrence. But if that’s the case, why is it that many police officers appear to be comfortable discussing their own acts of brutality like it was common water cooler talk? Last month, four Louisiana State Police troopers were arrested…
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Tamika Palmer Files Complaints Against 6 Special Investigations Officers Involved in Breonna Taylor Case
Today marks exactly one year since Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in Louisville, Ky., by reckless police officers who were executing a search warrant that should never have been issued. It’s also been just over five months since it was officially decided that no one murdered Breonna Taylor and that nothing in the way…
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Texas Police Officer Charged With Murder in Fatal Shooting of Michael Ramos
The April 2020 shooting death of Michael Ramos in Austin, Texas, was one of those events that remind us that “back the blue” enthusiasts don’t know what they’re talking about when they say that as long as we follow police instructions, we are sure to walk away from a police confrontation alive and unscathed. It’s…
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Louisiana State Trooper Suspended Without Pay After Video Shows Him Kicking and Dragging Ronald Greene Before He Died in Police Custody
Last October, The Root reported on the mysterious and fatal story of 49-year-old Ronald Greene—a Black man who died in police custody after leading officers on a high-speed chase in Louisiana in 2019. It’s a wild yet familiar story where a Black man is brought to the hospital bruised and bloodied. The cops claimed his…
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Las Vegas Police Say They Fatally Shot BLM Protester After He Raised Rifle. Video Appears to Show Something Different
As a news reporter, my rule of thumb is that the media shouldn’t take police accounts of incidents at face value. Law enforcement officers have every reason to lie just as the civilians they police do, and I’ve covered too many stories where video footage contradicted what officers said happened in their reports. Last June,…
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Grand Jury Declines to Charge Rochester Police Officers in Daniel Prude’s Death
On Tuesday, Rochester, N.Y., continued America’s long-standing tradition of not holding police officers accountable for their careless actions when dealing with Black people. On March 23, last year, Rochester police officers encountered Daniel Prude while he was walking naked in the street. Prude was clearly in need of help, but instead of receiving the care…
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Black Man Sues Chicago Police Accused of Brutalizing Him After Stopping Him Because He Had 'A Shocked Look on His Face'
Another day, another Black man harassed and brutalized by police officers while in the commission of…minding his own business. Leroy Kennedy IV has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department alleging that he was “traumatized” by the actions of officers who arrested him last August while he was walking to the store. Recently released…
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Newly Released Video Shows Altercation Between California Deputies and Fatally Shot Homeless Black Man Stopped for Jaywalking
Time and time again, police officers across America prove that they are utterly useless when it comes to dealing with conflicts involving the most vulnerable among us. It doesn’t have to be all cops; there have been enough instances where officers arrived on scenes where no real potential for violence was evident—particularly situations involving Black…
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Phoenix Cops Caught on Body-Cam Allegedly Upset They Forgot to 'Stomp' and 'Gas' BLM Protesters Who Were 'Leaving'
When it comes to Black Lives Matter protests, a common misconception (among white people) is that the violence that occurs sometimes is always against police officers and it’s never the cops who are willing participants if not the ones who started the violence in the first place. People who believe such “back the blue” nonsense likely…