Overcriminalization Killed Daunte Wright
A police officer pulled the trigger. But Wright shouldn't have been pulled over in the first place.
Police Abuse
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.
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.
