Police
Community Anger Shuts Down Connecticut City's Plan To Use Drones for Coronavirus Monitoring
Westport won’t be using tech to monitor people’s body temperatures or whether they’re properly social distancing.
Miami Has Recorded No Homicides in 6 Weeks Despite Deliberate Decline in Police Enforcement
Miami’s police chief orders officers to reduce ticketing and public interactions. Mayhem doesn’t ensue.
Idaho Woman Threatened With Jail Time for Holding 'Nonessential' Yard Sale
The local police department says "a garage sale/yard sale is not an essential business and should not be open for business."
Our Amicus Brief Urging the Supreme Court to Consider Takings Case in Which Authorities Refused to Compensate Innocent Owners of House Destroyed by Police
The brief was filed by the Cato Institute on behalf of both Cato and myself.
The Pandemic Brings Out Americans' Inner Snitches
Setting the cops on social-distancing scofflaws is dangerous to public health and a free society.
Florida City Closes Barbershops Because of Coronavirus, but the Cops Are Still Getting Haircuts
Police chief: "it is imperative that our law enforcement Officers project an image of command and authority."
COVID-19 Patients and Their Families Are Being Put on Police-Enforced Lockdown
From doxxing people with the new coronavirus to making diagnosed and suspected patients wear ankle monitors, some states are taking all the wrong steps to slow the spread of COVID-19.
New York's New Budget: No Legal Weed, No Fracking, No Flavored Vapes, No Police Transparency. But You Get E-scooters!
If only everybody weren’t stuck in their homes.
Sotomayor Upbraids SCOTUS for a Decision That 'Destroys Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence That Requires Individualized Suspicion'
The justice filed a lone dissent in Kansas v. Glover.
New York City Wants You To Call the Cops on People Who Fail Social Distancing
It's authoritarian—and unnecessary.
The Vice Cops Who Arrested Stormy Daniels Now Face Federal Charges for Fraud and Conspiring to Violate People's Civil Rights
Two former Columbus, Ohio, police officers are accused of harassing strip club owners, patrons, and staff without legal justification.
Seattle Police Chief Tells People To Call 911 If They Hear 'Racist Name-Calling'
Don't the authorities have better things to do with their time right now?
U.K. Cops Remind Us Why We Should Resist the Government's Coronavirus Power Grabs
Threatening shops for selling chocolate Easter eggs and mocking people who are actually following the law undermines citizens’ trust.
Ring's Expanding Public-Private Panopticon Doesn't Actually Stop Crime
Despite broad claims from the company, available police reports don't support the idea that filming everything in front of people's doors stops much crime.
Did This Louisiana Deputy Try To Plant Drugs During an Arrest?
Social media users seem to think so. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office says it's "false information."
Keep Coronavirus Out of Jails by Arresting Fewer People in the First Place
Police departments turn to summons instead of processing people into cells—a change they should keep after this is all over.
Maryland Man Killed in No-Knock SWAT Raid Was Shot While Asleep, Family Says
Montgomery County police say Duncan Lemp "confronted" a SWAT team executing a search warrant on his family's house. His family says he was shot in bed.
A Qualified Immunity Case That the Federal Courts Got Right
Fatal police shootings and the Fourth Amendment
Trump Confuses Nation With COVID-19 Address
Plus: A second person appears to be cured of HIV, cops can destroy your home for no reason and refuse to pay, and more...
Cops Arrested and Handcuffed a 10-Year-Old Boy for Pointing a Toy Gun at a Car
"I was, at the time, very scared."
Police Use Coronavirus To Try To Trick Meth Users Into Getting Themselves Arrested
Irresponsible, ineffective, and dishonest
The Supreme Court Tackles Police Shootings, Excessive Force, and the Fourth Amendment
What’s at stake in Torres v. Madrid
Where Have You Been? Your Cellphone Knows and Is Willing to Tell
Your cellphone is tracking your movements and, despite legal protections, federal, state, and local officials are finding new and disturbing ways to use that information.
Colorado Prosecutor Is 'Incredibly Frustrated' Over Failure To Investigate a Cop for Driving Drunk
District Attorney George Brauchler: "Bottom line is if one of us had been in that car and not officer Nate Meier, you ask me if I think it would have been treated differently, I do."
Undercover Cops Hired 118 Handymen, Then Arrested Them All for Not Having Licenses
Undercover sheriff's deputies posing as homeowners hired handymen to paint, install recessed lighting, or do other tasks that require licenses. Then they arrested them.
Government Should Repeal Out of Date Laws
"People commit crimes all the time without knowing it. It's impossible to know what sort of behavior is criminal."
Murder Charges for Maryland Cop Who Shot Handcuffed Man in Police Car
Prince George's County had started a pilot program to fit officers with body cameras five years ago, but never set aside the money to expand.
The Supreme Court's Next Fourth Amendment Showdown
In November, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Kansas v. Glover.
Passive Voice Deployed in Mysterious Shooting Death of Handcuffed Man in Police Car
“The suspect was struck several times by the officer's duty weapon.” No, the cop shot him.
The Austin City Council Voted for Marijuana Reform. Austin's Police Chief Says He'll Keep Arresting People.
Council member Gregorio Casar: "I think the state of Texas should come out of the Stone Ages and not only decriminalize but legalize marijuana in the state."
Sanders Wants More Supreme Court Justices Like Sotomayor. That's Not a Bad Idea.
The presidential hopeful weighs in on the Supreme Court.
Facial Recognition and the Danger of Automated Authoritarianism
Hundreds of police departments are using facial recognition technology without oversight.
Kentucky Lawmaker Wants To Give Police the Power to Detain People Who Don't Answer Their Questions
It’s an attempt to bypass Fourth and Fifth Amendment protections by insisting it’s not an arrest.