police misconduct
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Black Man Arrested After Complaining About Workplace Racism; New Report Details the ‘Deeply Flawed’ Police Work Responsible
“Back the blue” enthusiasts—as well as a lot of media outlets—often make the mistake of taking things at face value because they’re in a police report or because law enforcement officials said it themselves. “If a cop said it then it must be true” represents a mentality that needs to die and one that is…
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Federal Court Gives NYC Green Light to Release Police Disciplinary Records. Police Unions Are Predictably Mad
Cops really seem to hate the idea of police disciplinary records being made public. If a civilian has a criminal record, courts, potential employers, renters and others would be able to access that information through the simplest of background checks, but for some reason, police officers appear to think that putting on the uniform should…
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Maryland ACLU Releases ‘Chasing Justice’ Report Detailing Baltimore Police Misconduct Allegations
In 2017, The Root reported that the U.S. Department of Justice and the city of Baltimore reached an agreement on a consent decree to ensure that the city and Baltimore Police Department “protect individuals’ statutory and constitutional rights, treat individuals with dignity and respect, and promote public safety in a manner that is fiscally responsible…
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NYPD Anti-Discrimination Deputy Accused of Online Bigotry Retires Following Suspension
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: The head of the NYPD’s workplace discrimination office has been accused of being racist, misogynistic, homophobic and anti-Semitic. Hilarious, right? I heard they also put a team of canine cops in charge of safeguarding New York’s Kibbles ‘n Bits supply. Seriously though, the head of the discrimination office has…
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Memphis Cop Faces Charges for Kidnapping and Killing Man While on Duty
In case you haven’t said “what the fuck” enough over the past several days, a now-former cop in Memphis is facing charges for kidnapping and killing a man—while on duty. CNN reports that former Memphis Police Officer Patric Ferguson, 29, allegedly forced Robert Howard, 30, into the back of his squad car and drove him…
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California Board Recommends Routine Checks of Police Cell Phones, Computers and Social Media for Racist Content
A state advisory board in California has recommended that police agencies routinely review the cell phones, computers and social media pages of police officers for racist and otherwise offensive content in an effort to weed out officers who are prone to racial profiling. Imagine that: Cops all over the Golden State getting profiled to make…
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Former California Police Officer Charged With Filing a False Report After Arrest of Black Man Accused of Smoking in Public
A former San Diego County police officer is finding out the hard way that—especially considering the national spotlight on systemic racism in policing in America—he can’t just go around handling Black people any kind of way and then lie about what went down in his report. Not only was the officer fired for manhandling a…
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Two Black Men Who Spent Nearly 18 Years in a Michigan Prison for a Crime They Didn't Commit File $160 Million Lawsuit
It’s not always easy being a writer whose main focus is documenting racism and racial injustice in America. It’s a job that consistently requires the covering of sad and often infuriating stories. Among the hardest stories to cover are those that involve Black people spending years and even decades in prison for crimes they didn’t…
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Philadelphia to Pay $9.8 Million to Black Man Exonerated After 28 Years in Prison for Murder. Apparently, This is Happening a Lot in Philly
It appears that for years and even decades the Philadelphia criminal justice system has shown a pattern of locking up Black men for crimes they didn’t commit based on the work of corrupt police officers and conviction-happy courts that never really consider that a Black defendant might be getting railroaded despite a glaring lack of…