Police Abuse
Congress Tries Again To Reform Civil Asset Forfeiture Abuses
Just about everybody agrees the practice is legalized theft, but cops and prosecutors oppose change.
New York City Calls The Cops On Unruly Elementary Schoolers Hundreds of Times Each Year
While city policy dictates that 911 calls should only occur when a student poses a genuine safety threat, parents say it's become a run-of-the-mill disciplinary tactic.
Texas House Overwhelmingly Approves Restrictions on No-Knock Warrants
Conservatives who support the bill recognize the conflict between unannounced home invasions and the Second Amendment.
Lawsuit: Police Officer Broke a 61-Year-Old Woman's Leg, Then Bragged He 'Man-Dropped' Her
Before assaulting her, the cops taunted her for being homeless, she claims.
The Louisville Cop Who Killed Breonna Taylor Has a New Law Enforcement Gig
Myles Cosgrove never faced criminal charges in connection with Taylor's death, but he was fired for his reckless use of deadly force.
Death of 'Cop City' Protester Ruled a Homicide
Plus: The EARN IT Act is back (again), SCOTUS postpones abortion pill decision until Friday, and more...
Georgia Jail Officials Resign After Inmate Found Dead and Covered With Insects
"They put that man in that cell, left him there to die," said an attorney for the man's family. "And that's exactly what happened."
The Supreme Court Will Decide Whether You Have a Right to a Prompt Hearing After Cops Seize Your Property
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear two consolidated cases by Alabama women whose cars were both seized for more than a year before courts found they were innocent owners.
She Told Jail Employees That She Was 'Throwing Up Blood.' They Ignored Her. The Next Day, She Was Dead.
"They had a duty to protect her," says Ta'Neasha Chappell's sister. "She was not attended to because she was a Black woman and they didn't feel like she was worth getting any attention."
Lawsuit Claims Portland Police Shot Unarmed Homeless Man, Then Ate Pizza While His Body Lay on the Ground
Robert Delgado's family is now seeking damages.
New Mexico Cops Fatally Shoot Homeowner After Showing Up at the Wrong House
Plus: Los Angeles sues journalist who published police photos, IRS releases $80 billion budget plan, and more...
New Lawsuit Alleges That Kansas City Police Department Set Illegal Ticket Quotas for Officers
"KCPD has continuously and repeatedly advised Plaintiff and his fellow officers that if they did not fulfill a 'ticket quota' then they would be kicked out of the unit," the complaint states.
Mom Who Was Arrested for Letting 14-Year-Old Babysit Has Finally Been Cleared
"I didn't know if this would ever end," says Melissa Henderson. "I'm very relieved. A heaviness has lifted."
He Got 30 Years for Murder After a Cop Killed His Friend
Lakeith Smith's case epitomizes the issues with the "felony murder" doctrine.
A Police Officer Killed a Man for Firing 'Celebratory' Shots Into the Air. Now, He Faces a Federal Lawsuit.
"Defendant Huber intentionally fired his service weapon at Decedent and killed him with gunfire while Decedent posed no threat of death or serious bodily harm to Defendant Huber," the lawsuit states.
Arizona Returns $39,000 Seized From Man at Phoenix Airport Through Civil Asset Forfeiture
Police detectives accused Jerry Johnson of being a drug trafficker and seized cash he says he intended to use to buy a semitruck at auction. He was never charged with a crime.
Law Enforcement Beat This Innocent Man to a Pulp. Will the Supreme Court Allow Him To Seek Recourse?
James King is once again asking the high court to rule that two officers should not receive immunity for choking him unconscious and temporarily disfiguring his face.
Filmmaker Tiller Russell Humanizes What Happened at Waco
A new Netflix documentary shows how the seeds of political polarization that roil our culture today were planted at Waco.
Joanna Schwartz's "Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable"
An important and compelling new book on qualified immunity and other obstacles to holding law enforcement officers accountable for rights violations.
Police Officers Charged With Murder in 'Smothering' of Virginia Man
"What I saw today was heartbreaking," said the victim's mother. "It was disturbing, it was traumatic. My son was tortured."
Police Found a Blunt in Their Car. So They Seized Their Kids.
"Then my baby started crying so I reached for my son, and as I'm reaching, a man held me and told me, 'Don't touch him. He's getting taken away from you,'" said the children's mother.
Bill Bratton: Fighting Crime Without Shredding Civil Liberties
The former head of the NYPD and the LAPD talks about how bad leadership creates police brutality and why he's still against pot legalization.
Louisville Police Abuses Show Civil Liberties Are Meaningless Without Accountability
Supervisors and judges tolerated outrageous constitutional violations, including illegal searches and brutal assaults.
A Police Officer Shot and Killed a 17-Year-Old Boy as He Fled. Now, His Mother Is Suing.
"I hurt every day," said the victim's mother. "I cry all day, every day."
California's K9 Reform Bill Is Barking Up the Wrong Tree
Police dogs seriously injured 186 people within the last two years—more than batons or tasers did, according to the ACLU.
These New Laws Stop Cops From Lying to Kids
Yes, even children should have access to an attorney.
Justice Department Probe Finds Illegal, Violent, and Discriminatory Policing in Louisville, Kentucky
The two-year investigation, launched after the police killing of Breonna Taylor, concluded that Louisville police routinely used invalid search warrants and failed to knock and announce their presence.
Lie Detectors Are Junk Science, but We Keep Using Them
Amit Katwala’s Tremors in the Blood explores how unreliable technologies have been used in our criminal justice system.
Don't Just Hire 'Better Cops.' Punish the Bad Ones.
Convincing law enforcement officers that those who do wrong will suffer consequences is by far the most powerful tool for changing police behavior in the long run.
Federal Appeals Court Upholds First Amendment Right To Warn Drivers of Police Ahead
Michael Friend was arrested in 2018 for holding a sign that read "Cops Ahead" near a police checkpoint. That arrest violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights, a federal appeals court has ruled.
Ohio Woman Says Cops Broke Her Wrist for Recording During Traffic Stop
"The Officers' actions were unreasonable, deliberately indifferent, reckless, willful, wanton, and shocking to the conscience," a new legal complaint states.
Sheriff's Employee Embezzled Funds in Keeping with the Spirit of Civil Asset Forfeiture
One guy with gambling debts is a news story, but a formal policy of legalized theft is a national scandal.
Colorado Cop Kills a Man Who Accidentally Got Into the Wrong Car
Richard Ward's family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Pueblo County and five sheriff's office officials over a shooting incident that left him dead.
An Alabama Man Was Taken to Jail. Two Weeks Later, He Was Dead From Hypothermia.
Tony Mitchell's death was a "direct and proximate result" of jail officers' "deliberate indifference or malice, and of their ongoing denial of Tony's constitutional rights under a scheme that continued to operate after his death," his family's suit states.
After Tyre Nichols Killing, It's Once Again Time To Build a Bipartisan Movement for Police Reform
Let's start by doing away with the idea that officers are engaged in a war for our streets rather than involved in a civilian operation that requires community support and trust.
Alabama Dodges Police Transparency, Hiding Violent Body Camera Footage from Public
Montgomery doesn’t want people to see a police dog maul a man to death out of fear of the response.
Detroit Woman Sues City After Police Officers Shot Her Dog and Left It in a Trash Can
Tiffany Lindsay says officers never contacted her to let her know they shot her dog. Instead, a neighbor found it in their trash can.
The Cops Who Killed Tyre Nichols Could Be Convicted of Murder and Still Get Qualified Immunity
In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Joe Biden said that he wants to hold police "accountable." But he neglected to mention the elephant in the room.
Police Officer Who Kneeled on a 12-Year-Old Girl's Neck Faces a Federal Lawsuit
According to the suit, the officer "acted with malice or in reckless disregard of Jane Doe's federally protected rights."
