The Chauvin Verdict Is a Reminder That We Still Need To Abolish Qualified Immunity
Most victims of police misconduct never get to take their cases to court.
Police Abuse
Can Cops Pull You Over for Hanging an Air Freshener From Your Rearview Mirror? You'd Better Check.
Bans on dangling objects are just one example of the myriad petty rules that give police the power to stop nearly any driver at will.
Biden Applauds Derek Chauvin Guilty Verdict, Condemns Violent 'Agitators and Extremists'
Plus: An anti-tech crusader could be joining the FTC, threats to free speech at Columbia University, and more...
Jurors Could Not Believe That a Reasonable Officer Would Have Done What Derek Chauvin Did
The guilty verdicts on all three counts reflect the logical force of the prosecution's case as well as the emotional impact of watching the assault on George Floyd.
A Few Thoughts in Anticipation of the Derek Chauvin Verdict
Whatever happens, much will remain to be done to curb police abuse. But there is still no justification for rioting.
Cops Seize Bikes and Arrest 1 Teen Over Traffic Violations and Bike Licenses
It's yet another example of the effects of having to enforce dumb laws.
Derek Chauvin Trial Judge Thinks Maxine Waters Gave the Defense an Option for Appeal
Plus: All American adults are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, and Keith Olbermann briefly returns to the spotlight.
The Defense Argues That Derek Chauvin's Fear of George Floyd's 'Superhuman Strength' Justified His Deadly Use of Force
"This wasn't policing," the prosecution says. "This was murder."
Florida's 'Anti-Rioting' Bill Gives the Government New Powers That Have Nothing to Do With Riots
Among other things, it calls for online censorship to shield identities of public officials and lets the governor control city police budgets.
Body Camera Footage Shows a Chicago Cop Shooting a 13-Year-Old Boy Who Had His Hands Up
Prosecutors initially suggested that the boy had a gun in his hand, but the government walked that back today.
Although a Defense Witness Says George Floyd's Death Should Not Have Been Deemed a Homicide, His Account Underlines Derek Chauvin's Culpability
The defense rested without calling Chauvin to the stand, and closing arguments are expected on Monday.
A Defense Witness Says the Cops Who Pinned George Floyd to the Pavement Were Not Using Force
That was one of several eyebrow-raising claims made by Barry Brodd, who said Derek Chauvin's actions were "objectively reasonable."
The Prosecution Presented Compelling Evidence That Derek Chauvin Killed George Floyd by Using Excessive Force
The defense will have to cast doubt on at least one of those claims.
Daunte Wright Shooting a Reminder That It's Not Cops Who Should Fear for Their Lives During Traffic Stops
Plus: Feds recommend "a pause" on Johnson & Johnson vaccine, marijuana legalization measure signed in New Mexico, and more...
Overcriminalization Killed Daunte Wright
A police officer pulled the trigger. But Wright shouldn't have been pulled over in the first place.
Maryland Lawmakers Purge Decades-Old Law That Shielded Bad Cops
Over the objections of Gov. Larry Hogan, the state’s Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights is tossed out.
Medical Examiner Agrees That the Cops Killed George Floyd
Andrew Baker's account, like the testimony of other medical experts, implicates Derek Chauvin in Floyd's death.
Expert Witnesses Reinforce the Prosecution's Case That Obstructed Breathing Killed George Floyd
The witnesses rejected the defense's suggestion that Floyd might have died from a drug overdose.
New Mexico Abolishes Qualified Immunity
It is the third state to rein in the legal doctrine that protects state actors from accountability for misconduct.
Exactly Where Was Derek Chauvin's Knee, and Does It Matter?
A use-of-force expert says the officers who pinned George Floyd to the ground should have recognized the risk of positional asphyxia.
Europeans Embrace America's Policing Mistakes
The pandemic pushed Americans to consider police reform while other countries moved to unleash their cops.
Police Chief Refutes Derek Chauvin's Claim That He Did What He Was Trained to Do
Medaria Arradondo says Chauvin's treatment of George Floyd violated department policy in several important ways.
George Floyd's Prolonged Prone Restraint Was 'Totally Unnecessary,' a Police Lieutenant Testifies
Richard Zimmerman's testimony contradicts the defense claim that Derek Chauvin "did exactly what he had been trained to do."
The Changing Faces of George Floyd Square: Dispatch From Minneapolis
Sometimes vibrant, sometimes crime-ridden, a local tells Reason what it’s like to live blocks from where George Floyd died.
Derek Chauvin's Belief That George Floyd Was Intoxicated Does Not Help His Case
If drugs played a role in Floyd's death, the prone restraint only compounded that danger.
Police Officers Brutally Beat an Undercover Cop During the St. Louis Protests. A Jury Declined To Hold Them Accountable.
Luther Hall was assaulted so severely he required a spinal fusion.
'We Have Followed Proper Channels and They're Not Working': Dispatch From Minneapolis
Thoughts on rioting and protest from a local activist who is demonstrating outside the courthouse where the murder trial of Derek Chauvin is taking place.
Derek Chauvin Argues That His Use of Force Was Appropriate and Did Not Kill George Floyd
The defense will have a hard time showing that Chauvin's conduct was justified by any threat Floyd posed.
Cops Tried To Force a Man To Delete a Video of Them Beating a Suspect. They Got Qualified Immunity.
The officers knowingly violated the First Amendment, said the court. But that doesn't matter.
The Derek Chauvin Trial Begins: Dispatch From Minneapolis
“I think if Chauvin’s acquitted, we’re fucked,” says one local cop.
New York City Ends Qualified Immunity for Police Officers
It is the first city in the U.S. to do so.
Florida Cops Sued for Hassling People Over Crimes They Might Commit in the Future
Predictive policing lets authorities add a science-y gloss to hammering people who rub them the wrong way.
The Dream of the '90s Died in Portland
Once an up-and-coming city, Portland was destroyed from within by radical activism and political ineptitude.
The Cops Who Drew Guns and Forced an Innocent Family To Lie on the Pavement Were Dismayed by the Angry Response
After gratuitously terrifying a 6-year-old girl, the officers blamed her mother, who also had done nothing illegal.
California Lawmakers Try Again To Create a System To Decertify Bad Cops
Union resistance shut down last year’s effort.
'The Best Chief in America,' Newly Hired To Run Miami's Police Department, Presided Over Deadly Corruption in Houston
Art Acevedo responded to a 2019 drug raid that killed a middle-aged couple with reflexive defensiveness and obstinate obfuscation.
Two California Cops Charged With Extorting Cash and Marijuana From Motorists
After news investigations uncovered numerous allegations that cops in a small California town were robbing motorists of cash and weed, two former officers are now facing federal charges.
A Lawyer for George Floyd's Family Says a Record-Breaking Settlement Gives Cities '27 Million Reasons' To Curtail Police Abuse
But the agreement could complicate Derek Chauvin's murder trial, and it leaves unresolved the question of whether qualified immunity would have blocked the lawsuit.
The Kentucky Bill That Would Criminalize Words That Offend Cops Also Would Authorize Arrests for Distributing Water Bottles
The heavy-handed measure, a direct response to the protests provoked by the shooting of Breonna Taylor, looks like an attempt to deter constitutionally protected activity.
A Reinstated Third-Degree Murder Charge Gives Jurors Another Option To Convict Derek Chauvin for Killing George Floyd
Like the felony murder charge, it carries a presumptive sentence more than eight years longer than the manslaughter charge.
Iowa Reporter Acquitted After Being Arrested While Covering George Floyd Protests
The case drew national outrage from press freedom groups, who called the prosecution excessive and a threat to journalism.
