policing
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Texas Sheriff’s Deputy Arrested for Conducting Illegal Strip Searches on 6 Women in 11 Days
A Texas sheriff’s deputy has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of official oppression for allegedly conducting illegal strip searches on six women over a span of 11 days. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office placed Floyd Berry on administrative duty recently, after several people “made outcries” about the searches to the department’s internal affairs unit,…
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‘David Duke in Uniform’: NYPD Officers Say Top Cop Told Them to Target Black and Latinx Commuters on Subways
A high-ranking NYPD leader who oversees the department’s subway policing division has come under increased scrutiny in the last week as former subordinates have publicly called out the leader on his racism—even going so far as to refer to him as “David Duke in uniform.” Recent reporting from The New York Times and Gothamist have…
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How to Look at Atatiana Jefferson
Every Sunday for the last six years, artist Nikkolas Smith has taken out his iPad in his Los Angeles home, blocking out a few hours to paint whatever comes to mind. Sometimes his subjects are topical—famous figures or events that made the news. Other times, he’ll experiment with landscapes and techniques. Last month, as he…
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Amid Internal Investigation, Top Chicago Cop Eddie Johnson Announces His Departure
Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson announced Thursday morning he plans on retiring at the end of the year, capping off what’s been a tumultuous year for the top cop. “It’s time for someone else to pin these four stars to their shoulders. These stars can sometimes feel like carrying the weight of the world, but…
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Colorado Cops Blew Up a House Trying to Find a Walmart Shoplifter, Court Rules the City Owes the Innocent Homeowner Not a Damn Thing
A federal appeals court has ruled the homeowners of a Greenwood Village, Colo., house blown to pieces after a SWAT team attempted to get a shoplifting suspect out of it are entitled to absolutely no compensation from the city. The homeowner, Leo Lech, was left with a blown-out shell of a house after a suspected…
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Connecticut Cop Charged With Assault 6 Months After Shooting Unarmed Black Couple Near Yale University
A Hamden, Conn., police officer was arrested and charged with assault and reckless endangerment on Monday for shooting an unarmed black couple. The arrest comes six months after Officer Devin Eaton fired 13 shots at Stephanie Washington and her boyfriend, Paul Witherspoon, as they drove their SUV near Yale University’s campus. From NBC News: State’s…
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Phoenix Police Fire Officer Who Pulled Gun on Family Over a Stolen Doll
A Phoenix police officer who drew his gun on a black family and yelled profanities at them over a Family Dollar doll will be let go from the department, Police Chief Jeri Williams announced on Tuesday. The decision comes four months after cell phone video of the family’s violent arrest went viral and sparked a…
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'Like a Prisoner in My Own Home': Black Family Says They Were Arrested for 'Loitering' in Their Own Front Yard [Corrected]
The definition of loitering, as it relates to criminal offense, generally runs along the lines of this: to hang around a public place with no expressed—particularly, legal—purpose. It follows then, that one place you can’t loiter in, by definition, is your home; a very not public place where the expectation is you do whatever (hopefully…
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Baltimore’s Top Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby Moves to Throw Out Nearly 800 Cases Involving Tainted Cops
In the wake of a massive police scandal, Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is asking the courts to toss out nearly 800 criminal cases linked to Baltimore cops her office believes cannot be trusted. Prosecutors are hoping to wipe out 790 convictions linked to 25 police officers, including eight convicted in Baltimore’s Gun Trace Task…
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Former Georgia Cop Acquitted of Manslaughter in Shooting Death of Unarmed Black Motorist
A Georgia jury acquitted former police officer Zechariah Presley of manslaughter in the fatal shooting death of 33-year-old Tony Green, an unarmed black man who was fleeing Presley after a traffic stop in 2018. Presley was found guilty of one charge related to Green’s death: violating his oath of office, for which he is facing…