Brickbats: February-March 2026
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world
Devon Horton resigned as school superintendent in DeKalb County, Georgia, after being indicted on 17 federal counts over an alleged kickback scheme in a previous job. Prosecutors say that from 2020 to 2023, while serving as superintendent in Illinois, Horton steered more than $280,000 in contracts to friends in exchange for $80,000 in kickbacks.
Enforcement officers in London fined Burcu Yesilyurt 150 pounds ($200) for pouring the last of her coffee into a storm drain. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 prohibits the disposal of waste in a manner that could pollute land or water. Yesilyurt said she wasn't aware the act applied to a beverage poured into a drain and called the penalty "not proportionate." The local council later canceled the fine after public backlash.
Two firefighters in Aurora, Colorado, drove a fire engine at high speed, activated spotlights, and swerved into oncoming traffic, which forced a police vehicle off the road. The fire department demoted them and the assistant district attorney called their actions "childish and foolish," but prosecutors declined to file criminal charges.
Adrian Poulton, a man in England with Down syndrome, was admitted to a National Health Service hospital for a broken hip. While his hip healed, doctors listed him "nil by mouth," meaning he was given nothing to eat, but they never provided an alternative source of nutrition. He died after nine days without food, during which time his family believed he was being fed.
Laurent Lant was charged with stealing over $500,000 in government funds while he oversaw the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation program for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM). Lant allegedly made 18 monetary transfers from Army accounts into a new company account he formed. IMCOM flagged the transactions, and Lant attempted to flee, booking a same-day flight to Paris. Investigators arrested him before he departed. Lant's arrest came just over a year after another IMCOM employee was sentenced to 15 years in prison for stealing $108 million.
Canada's proposed Bill C-8 would let the industry minister secretly order telecoms to cut phone and internet service to any person or institution if the government claims there are "reasonable grounds" to believe they pose a threat of "interference, manipulation, disruption or degradation" to the national networks. For anyone subject to such an order, the government may prohibit "the disclosure of its existence," and the bill provides "no compensation" for any financial losses.
Lawrence Smith, a Baltimore City Schools police officer of 22 years, pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and tax evasion. Smith admitted to stealing roughly $215,000 in taxpayer funds by logging overtime when he was not actually working. He faces as much as 25 years in prison and must forfeit at least $261,000, but he will still draw a pension: Under current rules, Baltimore lacks a clause to strip pensions for misconduct not involving elected officials.
An Alabama state audit found Greene County Sheriff Jonathan Benison improperly spent nearly $5 million from a county bingo fund. A county ordinance allows nonprofits to raise money through bingo games, with the sheriff administering the program. From 2018 to 2024, the audit says, Benison collected $16.9 million in proceeds from bingo, but it claims he lacked adequate documentation for millions of dollars in expenditures, including $3.16 million paid to employees outside of their salaries. It further noted his office failed to follow state laws for bookkeeping, such as reconciling bank accounts. Benison was ordered to repay the funds, and the matter has been turned over to the district attorney and the state attorney general.
