Police
Why Take Responsibility When You Can Blame Somebody Else?
The year’s highlights in buck passing feature petulant politicians, brazen bureaucrats, careless cops, loony lawyers, and junky journalists.
5 Infuriating Ways People Got the First Amendment Wrong in 2022
As free speech becomes an increasingly important part of the culture war, people won't stop misinterpreting—and outright violating—the First Amendment.
Will the Uvalde Shooting Prompt Texas To Finally Close a Police Secrecy Loophole?
Texas law allows police to withhold records of suspects who were never convicted. Police abuse it to hide records from families, reporters, and lawyers investigating deaths in custody.
Rikers Island Sees 19th Death This Year After Judge Gives Leaders More Time To Fix Its Messes
Somehow deaths have climbed even though the prison population has dropped.
5 Louisiana Officers Indicted for Beating Motorist Ronald Greene to Death, Then Covering It Up
Credit the leaking of body camera footage to the press for helping force the matter.
Politics Is Getting in the Way of What Makes Cities Great
Healthy cities are a boon not just for those who live in them, but for our entire society.
Cop Fired for Offering a Homeless Man a Shit Sandwich Rehired by Nearby Town
San Antonio's city manager said the case illustrated how hard it is to fire employees, but it also shows how hard it is for them to stay fired.
Don't Let Police, Media Mislead You About Fentanyl Exposure Overdoses
Another officer claims to have been laid out just by being close to the drug. That’s not how it works.
Even States That Have Already Decriminalized Marijuana Use See Fewer Possession Arrests After Legalization
A study credits "an overall lower police search rate," the result of new priorities and legal constraints.
This Mom Was Jailed for Leaving Her Teen Home Alone. Now, She's Suing.
An appeals court rejected a qualified immunity defense.
Florida Officer Shoots and Kills Man Mid-Sentence for Refusing To Drop an Axe
Now the officer is trying to keep his identity secret under a state law intended to protect crime victims.
California City Pays $300,000 to Marine Veteran Tackled for Filming a Cop From His Porch
The city of Vallejo, California, has paid millions in recent years to settle excessive force lawsuits against its heavy-handed police force.
This Principal Investigated a Sexting Incident. So the Police Charged Him With Possessing Child Porn.
Bradley Bass is facing 12 years in prison, despite the fact that he was doing his job as a school administrator.
We Should All Be Nervous About Killer Police Robots
The San Francisco Police Department assured the public it had "no plans to arm robots with guns." But assurances aren't guarantees.
New York Repealed Its Police Secrecy Law Two Years Ago. Departments Are Still Trying To Hide Misconduct Files.
The New York Civil Liberties Union is fighting about a dozen different lawsuits against stonewalling police departments.
Geofencing Warrants Are a Threat to Privacy
A precedent set in the January 6 prosecutions could be dangerous to the public.
You Can Record Video of Police in Action. But Can You Livestream That Video?
Plus: Court rejects Biden plea on student loan plan, Ohio cops don't understand the First Amendment, and more...
San Francisco Votes To Allow Killer Robots
Plus: Same-sex marriage bill passes Senate, Montana "mountain man" takes property rights case to SCOTUS, and more...
Officers Who Ignored Man Paralyzed in Their Custody Are Charged With Misdemeanors
“You're cracking, you just drank too much,” said one officer as Randy Cox cried that his neck was broken.
Arizona Town To Pay $8 Million to Widow of Daniel Shaver, Shot While Crawling Unarmed Toward Police
The cop who killed Shaver was fired. But he will receive a disability pension for the rest of his life because he claims he has post-traumatic stress disorder.
Alabama Jails Woman for Endangering Her Fetus. She Wasn't Pregnant.
Plus: Jack Daniels sues Bad Spaniel, Oregon issues marijuana pardons, and more...
See the Surveillance State at Work in Your Own Community
The Atlas of Surveillance lets us monitor the agencies that snoop on the public.
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
L.A. Sheriff Who Fought Against Oversight and Transparency Concedes Election Defeat
Alex Villanueva was ousted after a single combative, troubled term. Voters also approved giving county leaders the power to remove future sheriffs.
To Fight Human Trafficking, Police in Texas Town Endorse Zoning Restrictions on Massage Parlors
City officials in Nederland, Texas, are kicking around the idea of limiting new massage parlors to industrial areas of town.
Police Killed an Autistic Teenager. Then They Filed Search Warrants Looking for Past Bad Behavior.
After Eric Parsa's death at the hands of Louisiana police, officers received approval for search warrants of the teenager's "incidents of violence or documented behavioral reports" at school.
Watch Florida Cops Arrest a Legally Blind Man After Confusing His Walking Stick for a Gun
The two sheriff's deputies have been disciplined, and the sheriff called the arrest "unacceptable."
2 Years After Police Broke a 73-Year-Old Woman's Arm, A New Report Reveals Even More Misconduct
In 2020, police severely injured Karen Garner when they arrested her for petty theft. While two officers faced time behind bars for the incident, a newly released report makes even more misconduct public.
This Court Case Could Make It a Crime To Be a Journalist in Texas
Priscilla Villarreal found herself in a jail cell for publishing two routine stories. A federal court still can't decide what to do about that.
Woman Can Sue Alabama Cops for Towing Car as Part of Town's Profiteering Scheme
A federal judge denied qualified immunity for officers accused of making up charges to get money from fines.
Brickbats: November 2022
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
This 78-Year-Old Woman Was Arrested for Feeding the Poor
Norma Thornton of Bullhead City, Arizona, is suing for the right to help people in need.
Undeterred by Pushback, Cops and Journalists Are Still Warning Parents About THC-Laced Halloween Candy
The unsubstantiated threat that strangers with cannabis candy allegedly pose to trick-or-treaters is an urban legend that never dies.
Underage Girls Arrested in Florida 'Human Trafficking' Sting
Once again, policies billed as helping people coerced into prostitution wind up harming those that cops say they're trying to help.
D.C. Rehired Cops and Paid Them $14 Million in Back Pay.
Out of 37 officers who were terminated and later reinstated, 17 had committed acts deemed a "threat to safety."
