police
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About Damn Time: Instead of Tickets, Minnesota Police Department Will Now Issue Vouchers to Repair Broken Taillights
As a black man in America whose survival instincts require me to avoid police at all costs, I’ve heard plenty of horror stories about how a broken taillight or brake light can invite harassment, an introduction to our criminal justice system, or worse. Thankfully, police officers in Minneapolis have come to their senses—presumably—and will now…
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Handcuffed Man Shot and Killed by Maryland Police Officer
An unidentified man died in the front passenger seat of a police cruiser in Prince George’s County, Md., on Monday night—fatally shot by the officer driving the car. What’s not clear is what led the cop to shoot the handcuffed suspect in the first place. NBC News, citing police spokesperson Christina Cotterman, reports that cops…
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D.C. Police Institute New Policy to Stop Handcuffing Children Under 12. Because, Duh!
The D.C. Police Department is showing us a shred of decency and common sense often found lacking in law enforcement. They’re not doing anything extra praiseworthy like freeing and expunging nonviolent convicts or storming the White House lawn to arrest Trump because they don’t need no stinking charges or legal precedent. Nope, they’re doing a…
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Deathstreaming: U.S. Army Vet Whose Son Was Killed on Facebook Live Says ‘Violence Has to Stop’
Could you imagine how it feels to have served in the military and then work a quarter of a century for the Department of Corrections to learn one day that your son has been murdered while broadcasting on social media—of all places? That is what happened to Roosevelt Rankins, Sr., whose 34-year old namesake was…
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It Took Them 130 Years, but Pasadena Police Have Appointed Their First Female Deputy Chief. And She Black!
California is thought by many to be the be-all-end-all of progressive states. Apparently, though, there are even pockets of the Golden State that come tardy to the party of breaking down gender and racial barriers. But hey, better late than never, as they say. According to ABC7, the Pasadena Police Department has just appointed its…
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Student Refuses to Move Seats. Professor Calls Police Because That’s Normal
So if the last couple years or so have made something apparent, it’s that white people love calling the police over bullshit. I think it’s up there with reruns of The Office and putting marshmallows in dishes that clearly don’t need it as their top three favorite things. Seriously though, fruit salad is perfectly fine…
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Guess Who’s Black: Accused Racist Miami Police Captain Javier Ortiz Reveals ‘I’m A Black Male’ During City Hall Meeting
Move over Rachel Dolezal. There’s another white person now publicly identifying as being black. This time, however, the person of interest hasn’t stood up for black causes or specialized in black hairstyling techniques. It’s a Miami police captain named Javier Ortiz, an accused racist. During an uproarious meeting at the Miami City Hall in Coconut…
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Mayor Pete’s Invisible Black Police
Given the choice of superpowers, would you rather have the ability to fly or the power of invisibility? This comic book-based Rorschach test allegedly reveals deep-seated personality traits. Supposedly, people who choose the gift of flight want recognition and praise while those who wish for invisibility are less confident and shun attention. While the question…
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LAPD Accused of Falsifying Records, Wrongfully Identifying Residents as Gang Members: ‘An Officer’s Integrity Must Be Absolute’
Black people have enough problems without police unnecessarily complicating our lives, and it makes it extra disturbing that more than a dozen police officers in Los Angeles just got caught doing exactly that. The Los Angeles Times reports that officers within LA’s elite Metro Division are under investigation for falsifying information that was collected during traffic…
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We Ain’t Surprised: New Study Says Black People in California Are Stopped by Police More Than Other Groups
It’s weird to write news that doesn’t feel like news, but here it goes: A new study confirms what we have always known—black people in California are stopped by law enforcement officers more often than any other racial group. The study, conducted by California’s Open Justice Initiative using “the largest-ever dataset compiled about US police…