police shootings
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A Police Chief Was ‘Concerned’ About How His Department Handled Police Shootings, So He Kept It a Secret
A Kansas police chief said that he was so concerned that his department was “contaminating” police shooting probes that he took several steps to address the issue, including continuing to employ allegedly corrupt officers, keeping broken policies in place and—most importantly—keeping all of this a secret. According to the Associated Press, newly filed documents in…
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Report Suggests Police Use of Deadly Force Is on the Decline in California
According to a new report, police incidents involving the use of deadly force are on the decline in California. The Associated Press reports that in 2018, 146 civilians died during encounters with law enforcement. This tally includes unarmed shooting victim Stephon Clark and denotes a significant decline in comparison to 172 civilians in 2017 and…
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Miami Officer Acquitted of Attempted Manslaughter: 'He Should Have Never Been Charged to Begin With'
Charles Kinsey thought he was good. Despite police on the scene, as he laid on the North Miami sidewalk with his arms extended in the air, he believed he posed no threat. And he thought the same of his group home patient, 23-year-old Arnaldo Rios Soto, who sat beside him while playing with a toy…
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'Expert' Says It Was 'Reasonable' for Cops to Fire 55 Bullets at a Man Sleeping in His Car
An extensive report by a former police apologist officer has surprisingly absolved California police officers of any wrongdoing in a police shooting, concluding that it was reasonable for multiple officers to open fire on a man who fell asleep in his car. On Feb. 9, a Vallejo, Calif., Taco Bell employee called 911 and informed…
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Unarmed Black Woman Yells ‘I’m Pregnant!’ Before Being Shot, Killed by Police
A police officer in Baytown, Texas, fatally shot and killed a black woman while attempting to arrest her at her apartment complex on Monday night. KHOU 11 reports that the shooting occurred after an officer identified a woman with whom he had prior encounters while patrolling her apartment complex. Believing she had outstanding warrants, he…
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Ex-Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger's Frantic 911 Call Released: 'I'm Going to Lose My Job'
We’ve wondered for months what Amber Guyger—the former Dallas police officer who shot and killed 26-year-old Botham Jean in his own apartment—was thinking in the immediate aftermath of Jean’s murder and now we finally have an answer. WFAA-TV has obtained a copy of Guyger’s five-minute 911 call to dispatchers and it’s just as unsettling as…
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Pennsylvania DA Declines Charges Against Cop Who Shot Inmate in Holding Cell
According to Bucks County, Pa. District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, an officer who shot and wounded an unarmed inmate after accidentally drawing his gun instead of his taser will not be charged. According to findings released by the office Friday, Weintraub determined that the officer who shot the inmate was “neither justified, nor criminal, but was…
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#StephonClark: One Year Later, There Is Still No Justice and No Peace
One year ago today, 22-year-old Stephon Clark was shot and killed by two police officers as he stood in the backyard of his grandparents’ home in the Meadowview neighborhood of Sacramento, Calif. Officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet said they feared for their lives—a common refrain that often leads to law enforcement officers being exonerated…
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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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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…