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.
Police Abuse
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.
Cops Who Assaulted and Arrested a Man for Standing Outside His Own House Got Qualified Immunity. SCOTUS Won't Hear the Case.
The Supreme Court delivers another blow to a victim of egregious police abuse.
A SWAT Team Destroyed This Innocent Woman's House While Chasing a Fugitive. The City Refuses To Pay for Damages.
"I've lost everything," says Vicki Baker.
Ayanna Pressley Revives Justin Amash's Bill To End Qualified Immunity
The Ending Qualified Immunity Act of 2021 would no longer let state actors violate your rights without consequence.
A California Man Died After Cops Knelt on His Neck During a Mental Health Call. Then the Department Tried To Hide It.
Angelo Quinto's family has filed a wrongful death claim.
In June Some House Moderates Voted To Abolish Qualified Immunity for Cops. Now They're Not So Sure.
Strategic politicking, police union influence, or both?
SCOTUS Rules Against an Innocent Man Who Was Choked and Beaten by Cops, but He May Still Get His Day in Court
The justices did not address one of James King's key arguments, which the 6th Circuit will now consider.
Federal Suit Seeks Damages for Men Illegally Recorded at Florida Massage Parlors, Falsely Smeared as Sex Traffickers
Two women still face felony charges, though the cases against all male defendants were dropped.
States Can Provide Their Own Civil Remedies for Police Abuse
They need not wait for the Supreme Court or Congress to restrict or abolish qualified immunity.
A New Report Shows Elijah McClain Was Killed by a Cascade of Constitutional Violations
An independent panel concludes there was no legal justification for stopping, frisking, arresting, or assaulting McClain.
Video: Two 'Homeless Liaison' Deputies in California Kill a Man for Jaywalking
It's a vivid example of why people are demanding alternatives to police responses.
New Mexico Could Be the Third State To Authorize Lawsuits Against Abusive Cops Without Qualified Immunity
A bill approved by the state House would let people sue government officials for violating rights protected by the state constitution.
5th Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Cops Who Ignited a Suicidal, Gasoline-Drenched Man by Tasing Him
The appeals court concluded that the officers' use of force was reasonable in the circumstances.
Appeals Court Rules Against New York Police Unions, Says Misconduct Records Can Be Released
The 2nd Circuit rejected the police unions' arguments that disclosure would invade officers' privacy and put them in danger.
Rochester Releases More Footage of Police Pepper-Spraying Nine-Year-Old
"You did it to yourself, hon," the officer says.
Derek Chauvin May Get a Sentence Much Shorter Than the One William Barr Thought Would Be Seen As Too Lenient
The former attorney general reportedly nixed a plea deal that involved a sentence of more than 10 years but would have precluded a federal prosecution.
Indiana Argues That the State Should Be Able To Take Everything You Own if You Commit a Drug Crime
The state used civil asset forfeiture to seize Tyson Timbs' car in 2013. His nightmare hasn't ended.
Thanks to Colorado's Reforms, Cops Who Forced Children To Lie on the Pavement at Gunpoint Might Be Held Accountable
A state law eliminated qualified immunity as a defense for abusive officers.
Milwaukee Cops Left 4-Year-Old in Freezing Car Overnight
Plus: Texas sends out Amber Alert for Chucky doll, people are fleeing California and the Northeast, and more.
The Little Things Is a Twisty Thriller About the Inner Lives of Bad Cops
It’s a comfortable throwback to 1990s crime films. Too comfortable.
'She Could Have Been Hurt Worse': Police Union Defends Officer Who Pepper-Sprayed 9-Year-Old Girl
Public-sector unions often protect the government at the expense of the people.
Explaining the Great 2020 Homicide Spike
While a new report released today by the Council on Criminal Justice downplays the role anti-police protests played in last year's unprecedented homicide spike, a decline in pro-active policing following the protests remains the most likely cause.
Two Federal Lawsuits Say the Houston Police Department's Culture of Corruption and Impunity Killed an Innocent Couple
The families of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas say the city's policies and practices invited Fourth Amendment violations.
The Houston Cop Charged With Murdering Dennis Tuttle During a Disastrous Drug Raid Portrays His Victim As the Aggressor
After breaking into Tuttle's home with no legal justification, police killed his dog and his wife.
Another Houston Cop Is Indicted for Murder Because of a 2019 Drug Raid That Killed a Middle-Aged Couple
So far a dozen narcotics officers have been charged as a result of the investigation triggered by the disastrous operation.
Tennessee Cops Arrest Man For Posting Photoshopped Picture of Men Urinating on Dead Officer's Grave
"The only people who broke the law here were the police officers and TBI agents who participated in this flagrantly unconstitutional arrest."
In 2020, Teachers Unions and Police Unions Showed Their True Colors
It's time for the left and the right to take a hard look at their favorite public-sector unions.
The Capitol Riot, Qualified Immunity, and Politics as Usual
Objections to police reform are often more rooted in partisan knee-jerk reactions than in sensible policymaking.
A New Report Casts Doubt on Both Fears and Hopes About the Consequences of Abolishing Qualified Immunity
A Connecticut law that made it easier to sue abusive cops is not expected to have a noticeable effect on municipal insurance costs.
Massive Illinois Police Reform Bill Ends Cash Bail, Limits Deadly Force, Mandates Body Cameras, and Makes It Easier To Dump Crooked Cops
Unfortunately, qualified immunity remains intact.
Massachusetts Starts 2021 by Adopting a Process To Fire Bad Cops
The Bay State finally creates a police certification system.
2 More Cops Involved in Breonna Taylor's Death Receive Termination Letters
Louisville's police chief wants to fire an officer who shot Taylor and a detective who "lied" in the search warrant affidavit.
City Investigators Call Out NYPD for Using Excessive Force Against Protesters
Police response “likely escalated tensions and the potential for violence” say investigators.
ICE Deports Guinean Immigrant Before He Can Testify in Jail Abuse Lawsuit
Mory Keita was involved in two cases against the government, including an ACLU suit challenging ICE and a case alleging abuse by Butler County Jail guards.
