Want Brotherly Love?
Don't be Poor!
(#456, 10/12/24)

Violence is down in Philly,
L.A. and D.C.
Have their poor noticed?

Prevention Through Preemption
(#455, 9/16/24)

Expanding the scope of
policing beyond
making arrests

Switching Sides
(#454, 8/30/24)

St. Louis’ D.A. argues that
a condemned man
is in fact innocent

"Distraction Strike"?
Angry Punch? Both?
(#453, 8/11/24)

When cops get rattled,
the distinction may
ring hollow

Bringing a Gun
To a Knife Fight
(#452, 7/30/24)

Cops carry guns.
Some citizens flaunt knives.
Are poor outcomes inevitable?

"Numbers" Rule –
Everywhere
(#451, 7/2/24)

Production pressures
degrade what's "produced" –
and not just in policing

Is Crime Really Down?
It Depends...
(#450, 6/20/24)

Even when citywide
numbers improve, place
really, really matters

Kids With Guns
(#449, 6/3/24)

Ready access
and permissive laws
create a daunting problem

De-Prosecution?
What's That?
(#448, 4/27/24)

Philadelphia's D.A.
eased up on lawbreakers.
Did it increase crime?

Ideology (Still)
Trumps Reason
(#447, 4/9/24)

When it comes to gun laws,
“Red” and “Blue” remain
in the driver’s seat

Shutting the Barn Door
(#446, 3/19/24)

Oregon moves to
re-criminalize hard drugs

Houston, We Have
(Another) Problem
(#445, 2/28/24)

Fueled by assault rifles, murders plague the land

Wrong Place, Wrong
Time, Wrong Cop
(#444, 2/8/24)

Recent exonerees set "records"
for wrongful imprisonment

America's Violence-
Beset Capital City
(#443, 1/20/24)

Our Nation's capital
is plagued by murder

Are Civilians Too Easy
on the Police? (II)
(#442, 12/18/23)

Exonerated of murder,
but not yet done

Warning: (Frail)
Humans at Work
(#441, 11/29/23)

The presence of a gun
can prove lethal

See No Evil - Hear No
Evil - Speak No Evil
(#440, 11/14/23)

Is the violent crime problem
really all in our heads?

Policing Can't Fix
What Really Ails
(#439, 10/18/23)

California's posturing
overlooks a chronic issue

Confirmation Bias
Can be Lethal
(#438, 9/21/23)

Why did a "routine" stop
cost a man's life?

When (Very) Hard
Heads Collide (II)
(#437, 9/5/23)

What should cops do when
miscreants refuse to comply?
Refuse to comply?

Keep going...

10/17/24 In June DOJ issued a “patterns and practices” report that accused Phoenix police officers of using excessive force and discriminating against minority residents. And while DOJ and Phoenix continue negotiating the terms of a settlement, the lawyer for a deaf Black man with cerebral palsy just released officer bodycam footage of a violent tangle in August, where two Phoenix officers repeatedly punched his client and jolted him with a Taser. Tyron McAlpin committed no known crime. He is charged with resisting and assault. Related post

A preliminary hearing in the case against Colin Gray, the father of Apalachee High School shooter Colt Gray, is in progress. Testimony revealed that Colt Gray had posted a photo of Parkland High School mass murderer Nikolas Cruz in his room, and that his father had seen it and was told who it was. According to a State agent, Colt Gray prepared highly detailed written plans for the assault, including “a step-by-step checklist” and estimates of “casualty counts” by location. Related post

In a case brought by four weary San Francisco residents, a Federal judge ruled that they can indeed sue the city for “actively contributing” to problems in the beset Tenderloin area by, among other things, distributing supplies that ostensibly help street people “safely” use drugs. Thus, encouraging their presence. And in nearby Oakland, crime and homelessness have led to a forthcoming recall vote of the Mayor and D.A., whose go-easy law-enforcement approach has supposedly encouraged misbehavior. Related posts 1   2

10/16/24 According to a noted gun-law analyst, the Supreme Court’s landmark Bruen decision fundamentally reshaped the gun-law landscape. Still, the Court just reinstated, at least for the time being, a Pennsylvania law that bars persons under 21 from carrying guns during declared emergencies. But consequential decisions about “ghost guns,” gun possession by felons and “Red Flag” laws are still in the offing. Related posts 1   2

According to Hamline University’s Violence Prevention Project, about 27 percent of American adults report owning a gun. Of these, about 67 percent have more than one. Sixty-four percent of guns are intended for protection; about eleven percent are for hunting. And about half of gun owners store their guns unloaded and under lock and key. Related posts 1   2

Justice Sonia Sotomayor earned $3.7 million in royalties from her children’s books between 2009, when she was appointed to the Supreme Court, and last year. Sales were supposedly stimulated by personal appearances and prodding from her staff. And now fellow Justice Neil Gorsuch is under watch over his “cozy relationship” with oil mogul Philip F. Anschultz, who would be well served if the Court decides in his favor on a pending environmental case. Alas, the Court lacks external oversight. No one is watching the watchers. Related post

10/15/24 An in-depth assessment of the consequences of officer exposure to the “cumulative stress of policing” reveals that an accumulation of stressful and traumatic events, and the frequent use of force, can lead to depression and PTSD. Officers involved in an episode that leads to a death seem particularly apt to “quietly deal with trauma in ways that cause their performance or judgment to slip on the streets.” Related posts
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A Missouri apartment management firm has been sued by DOJ for violating the Fair Housing Act by categorically banning prospective tenants “with any past felony conviction and certain other criminal histories,” no matter the nature of the crime nor when it occurred. Doing so, according to DOJ, unlawfully discriminates against persons of color. Although criminal histories “are known to have significant racial disparities”, they’re not considered to accurately depict current conduct or predict future behavior. Related post

Perceptions that transit crime has skyrocketed are keeping riders away, and particularly from trains. Big city systems including New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and San Francisco, are now requiring payment up-front. They’ve also been “fortifying” entrances to keep fare-jumpers at bay. Chicago’s Metro Link is installing eight-foot metal gates for that purpose. No fare card: no entry. Related post

10/14/24 An in-depth assessment of LAPD’s field training program for new officers criticized the agency’s inattention to recruit feedback about their experiences. Trainees reported that some training officers display negative attitudes. Recruits are frequently told to “forget everything you learned in the Academy”. Degrading “hazing rituals” and “rites of passage” (e.g., requiring that new officers shave their heads, wear long-sleeved attire in hot weather, and keep quiet unless spoken to) are also commonplace. Related post

South Bend, Indiana’s police officer entrance examinations are under fire. According to DOJ’s just-filed lawsuit, the physical fitness test is biased against females, and the written exam discriminates against Black applicants. What’s more, neither can “meaningfully distinguish between applicants who can and cannot perform the position of entry-level police officer.” The fitness test includes “a vertical jump, sit-ups, 300-meter run, push-ups, 1.5-mile run, and a pistol trigger pull.” The written test has 120-130 multiple choice questions in seven sections. Lawsuit    Related post

And the carnage in D.C. continues. Last week our nation’s capital suffered five dead in five shootings over four days. Two persons were also wounded in the gunfire, which reportedly took place in five different neighborhoods. D.C. also had three homicides from a fire, and one by a stabbing. Nine murders in four days. And that’s how the story in the Washington Post ends. Related posts 1   2

In a message to PoliceIssues, the mother of Marcellis Stinnette, who was shot and killed by a then- Waukegan, Ill. police officer four years ago, states that “after investigations , it was founded that there was no active warrant for my son. My family had been harassed by the same officer for years prior to him murdering my son.” Ex-Waukegan officer Dante Salinas is pending trial for Mr. Stinnette's murder. Related post

Soon after former L.A. Sheriff’s Lt. Alex Villanueva was elected to his agency’s top job in 2018, he created a unit to investigate county officials. A current inquiry reveals that it focused on digging up dirt on Villanueva’s critics, including Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, Inspector General Max Huntsman, and an L.A. Times reporter. But prosecutors rejected what cases the unit sent forward. In 2022 Villanueva lost his bid for re-election. And his former henchmen are now being grilled about their true intentions. Related post

10/11/24 Having pled guilty to Federal civil rights violations, ex-Crawford Co., Arkansas deputy Levi White drew 63 months in Federal prison, and his former partner Zackary King got twelve, for brutally assaulting a man who shoplifted a water bottle. Although “R.W.” (Randal Ray Worcester, 26) wound up lying helplessly on the ground, White delivered repeated blows to his head, then violently slammed it to the ground. And, yes, a bystander captured it all on video. Video   Related post

10/10/24 Three years ago then-Long Beach, Calif. school cop Eddie Gonzalez impulsively opened fire on a vehicle that was speeding away from a fight. One of his bullets struck and killed 18-year old Manuela Rodriguez, who had been involved in the brawl. Gonzalez was fired, charged with murder and locked up. A jury deadlocked in April, and he soon pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Prosecutors asked for six years but he drew three. And based on time served, he was just released on parole. Related post

Prompted by the brutal death of a rookie Sheriff’s deputy while training at the Southwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, the AP examined its reportedly aggressive, hands-on culture, and that of its host agency, the Evansville police dept. Why do officers come to view virtually all citizens as “a potentially deadly threat”? Why do they develop a “mindset” that often leads to the use of weapons and physical force? These issues will soon be explored as the lawsuit filed by the deputy’s widow unfolds. Related post

Former Houston P.D. detective Gerald Goines will have to serve at least thirty years on a pair of 60-year murder terms he just received over the deaths of two occupants of a home that was raided by his colleagues during a no-knock entry. Not knowing it was the police, the occupants opened fire and wounded four officers during the ensuing shootout. Goines, who lied about a narcotics buy to get the search warrant, was responsible for George Floyd’s 2004 conviction for selling crack cocaine. Related post

10/9/24 In the U.S. on special immigrant visas, a 27-year old Afghan man and his brother-in -law, a juvenile, have been charged with conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic state by committing a massacre on Election Day. Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi was arrested after buying two AK-47 rifles, along with magazines and ammunition, from an FBI informant. Tawhedi had used his phone to communicate with an alleged Islamic recruiter. He had also searched for information about buying guns and went online to view images from the White House and Washington Monument webcams. Related post

A 2022 Federal rule expanded the definition of just what is a firearm, thus subject to legal controls, to include parts kits that can be readily fashioned into a working gun. That upset the Fifth Circuit, which struck down the rule. But the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to keep it in place until it decided things. Yesterday it heard arguments, pro and con. Chief Justice Roberts seemed to favor the rule. “My understanding is that it’s not terribly difficult for someone to do this,” he said, about turning parts kits into unserialized “ghost guns.” But his colleagues seemed split. And a decision will come. Related post

One-hundred license plate-reading cameras are being installed throughout L.A.’s San Fernando Valley, particularly near neighborhoods beset by burglaries and robberies. Optical character recognition will allow plates to be compared to those of wanted vehicles, and images will remain online to ID vehicles present near crime scenes. But in 2020 the State Auditor criticized the usefulness of the cameras and their privacy implications, and civil rights groups have come out in opposition. Related post

10/8/24 Mobs that have been besieging 7-Elevens in Los Angeles have expanded into the home of Disneyland. While a street takeover delayed the cops, an aggressive band of masked shoplifters “ransacked” an Anaheim 7-Eleven, punching the clerk and carting off the cash register and a load of merchandise. Calling the incident the first in the city, Anaheim PD Sgt. Matt Sutter promised his agency would endeavor to “stop this before it gets started.” Related post

The Supreme Court rejected hearing an appeal by former Forth Worth officer Aaron Dean, who in 2019 shot and killed a resident by firing through a window as he stood outside her home. Dean had assumed that Atatiana Jefferson, who apparently had a gun, was an intruder. In December 2022 a jury convicted Dean of manslaughter and sentenced him to twelve years. He argued that he was tried for  murder, and that the lesser crime wasn’t mentioned until the end of trial. Related post

10/7/24 LAPD officer Toni McBride remained on the job after Chief Bernard Parks held that her April 2020 shooting of Daniel Hernandez, who aggressively flaunted a box cutter, was “in policy”. But the Police Commission disagreed because her last two rounds were fired while Hernandez was on the ground. McBride appealed, and a hearing examiner just reversed the Commission. McBride is now fully cleared. Related post

One year ago Fairfax County (Va.) police sergeant Wesley Shifflett and another officer chased Timothy McCree Johnson, 37 after he shoplifted a pair of sunglasses. As they entered a dark wooded area Sgt. Shifflett said Mr. Johnson reached for his waist. Both officers fired their guns. Sgt. Shifflett’s rounds killed Mr. Johnson, who was unarmed. Mr. Johnson was Black; both officers are White. Sgt. Shifflett was fired. At his recentl trial jurors acquitted him of manslaughter but convicted him of felony reckless handling of a firearm. According to the original story, Sgt. Shifflett had pointed his gun at other shoplifters in the past.
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State and Federal cases against the Louisville cops accused of civil rights and other charges in the death of Breonna Taylor continue to be litigated. Just filed, a superseding Federal indictment uses “additional allegations” to accuse ex-cops Sgt. Kyle Meany and Det. Joshua Jaynes of using false information to secure the search warrant. A recent ruling absolved them of directly causing the death of Ms. Taylor, whose killing a judge blamed on her boyfriend opening fire when the officers burst in. Related post

The L.A. Sheriff’s Dept. is reportedly beset by deputy subgroups that critics - within and outside the agency - liken to gangs. Shot-callers allegedly prod deputies to lie and cheat to embellish cases and protect each other from oversight. It now seems that the Norwalk station, which wasn’t known to have a deputy gang, has at least its trappings, with a logo that includes “Nazi-like imagery.” But deputies insist it’s simply a harmless “station tattoo”. Related post

In 1992, on retrial, an L.A. jury convicted Franky Carrillo of a 1991 murder based on the eyewitness testimony of six witnesses. What the jurors weren’t allowed to hear was a seventh voice, from a man who was also there and said he was the shooter. In time the Innocence Project brought that critical fact to light. And the witnesses conceded they were coached to I.D. Carrillo. His conviction was vacated in 2011. Carrillo subsequently earned a university degree and was elected to an L.A.-area Democratic committee. He is now a candidate to represent California’s 51st. District in the State Assembly. Related post

An investigation by the Washington Post reveals that “hundreds” of persons have been arrested during the past several years based on connections made through facial recognition technology. But police seldom reveal their use of the tool, and instead credit identifications to human sources or general investigative efforts. That deprives accused and their lawyers of being able to challenge use of the technology, which is known to be imprecise, and is particularly prone to misfire with persons of color. Related post

In an editorial entitled “Two weeks and too many bodies on the streets,” the editors of the Chicago Tribune implore Mayor Brandon Johnson to reinstate ShotSpotter. Its absence, they write, has already led to six instances of bodies lying on the streets for extended periods after shots are fired and no one calls 9-1-1. An alderman complained that a 14-year old’s body wasn’t found for an hour. “An ambulance could have been dispatched within minutes, but instead a young man bled out on the street.” Related post

10/4/24 In 2019 Crips gangster Shanice Amanda Dyer, then 17, helped gun down two rivals. But strict policies by progressive Los Angeles D.A. George Gascon led her to be prosecuted as a juvenile. She was released on probation last February. Four months later Dyer, now 22, staged a murder. In the interim Gascon, whose stance was openly resented by his staff, has given prosecutors more freedom. But one of his former prosecutors calls Dyer’s latest killing  “predictable and preventable.” Related post

Jurors convicted the remaining three ex-Memphis cops who participated in the lethal beating of Tyre Nichols. But the verdicts were mixed. None was convicted of the most serious civil rights violation, causing a death, which carries a life sentence. Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith were acquitted of civil rights charges altogether, while Demetrius Haley was convicted of a lesser civil rights violation that carries up to ten years imprisonment. All were convicted of witness tampering, which can bring up to a 20-year sentence. Haley was also convicted of conspiracy to witness tamper. DOJ news release   Related post

In Chicago’s beset Englewood area, officers conducted an “investigate stop” of a 16-year old boy. During the pat-down, a loaded handgun was found in the youth’s waistband, and a round discharged as an officer sought to remove it. The officer and the teen were both wounded and taken to the hospital. They are reportedly in “good condition.” Related post

10/3/24 Settling a long-running dispute with the Justice Department, Maryland has agreed to revamp its hiring practices for State Police applicants. It will modify its written entrance exam, which DOJ said discriminated against Blacks, and the physical fitness test, which reportedly discriminated against women. Past applicants who were needlessly disqualified will be recompensed; up to twenty-five will be hired. Related post

Dismantling a long-standing White supremacist gang, Federal and local authorities arrested sixty-two alleged members of the “SFV Peckerwoods.” Based in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley, the accused - including many middle-aged men and women - ran drug houses, marketing large quantities of illicit drugs, including fentanyl, heroin and meth. They also pretended to own legitimate businesses, and used stolen ID’s and prisoner names to get salary reimbursements through the COVID-19 paycheck protection program. Related post

Three men were originally charged with the 2011 murder of Chicago police officer Clifton Lewis, who was shot and killed while working a second job as a security guard. Allegations of police coercion and prosecutorial misconduct ultimately led to charges being dropped against Edgardo Colon and Tyrone Clay. And now, for like reasons, prosecutors vacated the conviction of the third defendant, Alexander Villa. He was just released after serving nearly thirteen years. Related post

10/2/24 A million bucks each. That’s what the FBI has agreed to pay 22 women who sued the agency for wrongly dismissing them from the FBI Academy. According to the plaintiffs, they were forced to endure sexual harassment and were subjected to far higher standards than male recruits. A 2022 OIG report confirmed, among other things, that women had been treated more harshly during “tactical and defensive tactics training.” Plaintiffs who wish to return to the Academy will be allowed to do so. Related post

On July 19 Chicago mail carrier Octavia Redmond, 48, was shot dead while making her rounds. And a 15-year old boy was just arrested in Iowa for the killing. Police claim that the youth exited a stolen car, walked up to the carrier and shot her “multiple times at close range.” He’s been charged as a juvenile with first-degree murder. Chicago mail carriers have been beset by armed robbers who steal packages and “arrow keys” to collection boxes. Related posts 1   2

California’s Governor just signed into law a measure that allows licensed recreational marijuana outlets to prepare and serve food and (nonalcoholic) drinks and host live entertainment. Patrons are also allowed to smoke and vape. Advocates say this will help licensed pot dealers compete with black-market sellers. Skeptics worry about the effects of secondhand pot smoke. Coincidentally, the National Academies just issued an urgent call for “a public health campaign aimed at parents and vulnerable populations...that would protect public health and reduce the harms of rising cannabis use.” Drug legalization updates   Related post

10/1/24 In 2021 “witness inconsistencies” led outgoing N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo to grant Jon-Adrian Velazquez clemency for the 1998 murder of a retired NYPD officer. Velazquez, who always insisted he was innocent, was released after serving 23 years. New DNA techniques failed to connect him to a betting slip that the shooter handled, and D.A. Alvin Bragg just had the conviction vacated. Velazquez’s travails had long drawn attention from politicians and the media and were fodder for a celebrated Dateline episode. Related posts 1   2