More from The Appeal:
Mayor Randall Woodfin is increasing police funding and ignoring calls for non-law enforcement public safety alternatives.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Mar 30, 2021
Over two nights last year, police in Boston and Worcester used excessive force—including pushing and tackling—while arbitrarily arresting protesters without apparent cause.
Eoin Higgins Feb 09, 2021
Some lawmakers are citing the violence in Washington as a reason to pass laws that criminalize protesting, but far-right extremists aren’t the target.
Meg O'Connor Jan 19, 2021
Police and prosecutors routinely treat white domestic terrorists with kid gloves, but use the full force of the law against protesters calling for an end to police violence against Black people.
Meg O'Connor Jan 14, 2021
‘It’s an insult to the activism and organizing that defined 2020, and falls far short of the transformational leadership that Boston deserves,’ one City Council member said.
Eoin Higgins Jan 07, 2021
Hours of video given exclusively to The Appeal show police officers bragging about attacking protesters and multiple instances of excessive force and the liberal use of pepper spray.
Eoin Higgins Dec 18, 2020
U.S Attorney William McSwain denies he’s targeted the social justice leader, but experts say prosecutors’ use of the man’s clothing and social media to argue that he should be detained pretrial is unusual.
Rachel M. Cohen Dec 09, 2020
Eric Garcetti, who may be considered for a position in the administration, is out of touch with the city’s working class and poor people, activists say. And they fear he’ll bring that sensibility to national politics.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 03, 2020
Two moped riders were left dead or injured after recent police pursuits in Washington, D.C., and Providence, Rhode Island.
Ella Fassler Dec 02, 2020
None of the Austin City Council members who voted to cut police funding lost their elections, but a police union vice president who fearmongered about the defund movement did.
Meg O'Connor Nov 20, 2020
When election and racial justice protests rocked the city, Lori Lightfoot used raised bridges and shutdown public transportation as crowd control measures, which harmed the city’s workers.
Maya Dukmasova Nov 13, 2020
Party leaders have blamed progressive left policies for disappointing electoral results. A close examination of winners and losers suggests otherwise.
Aidan Smith Nov 09, 2020
Candidates promising to remake Southern California’s legal system, won major races for DA, county supervisor, and City Council, among others while overcoming significant spending by pro-law enforcement groups.
Jerry Iannelli Nov 06, 2020
Under the banner of Detroit Will Breathe, the city’s Black Lives Matter activists have formed a cohesive and lasting local political force.
Chris Gelardi Oct 29, 2020
Civil liberties experts say the Strategic Response Group’s recent crackdown on ICE protests is the most brutal suppression of protests in decades—and many of its officers are the subject of significant misconduct allegations, including a supervisor with 32 complaints.
Ali Winston Oct 15, 2020
Contrary to reports, most City Council members—who ran and won by pledging to advance racial equity—tried to do the right thing, but were stalled by a charter commission that overstepped its authority.
Scott Shaffer Oct 09, 2020
The Florida Sheriffs Association gains a third of its multimillion-dollar budget by selling big-ticket items like trucks and mobile command centers to local sheriff’s departments and other government agencies.
Mayor Ted Wheeler’s popularity has declined after a summer of protests against police violence in the Oregon city.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 07, 2020
Mayors of liberal cities love to criticize the president’s incendiary law-and-order rhetoric, but do precious little to check police violence and bloated budgets in their own backyards.
Jay Willis Sep 30, 2020
As protests against racism and police violence were sweeping the country, a Vallejo, California detective shot and killed Sean Monterrosa. His death has galvanized a community.
John Glidden Sep 21, 2020
Prosecutors in states ranging from New York to Utah are using decades-old gang laws to target participants in the largest uprising against police brutality in U.S. history.
Ali Winston Sep 01, 2020
Athletes should demand more than prosecutions of police officers who kill Black people. The criminal legal system is a guilty system responsible for our oppression. It cannot also be the guardian of our liberation. Here are three racial justice demands that athletes can support right now.
Derecka Purnell Aug 27, 2020
Administrative subpoenas—which do not require a judge’s approval—are typically used for the department’s internal investigations, but The Appeal has learned that they are being used in criminal cases.
Ali Winston Aug 25, 2020
As U.S. attorney in Seattle, Durkan prosecuted a severely mentally ill man in a terrorism case using an informant convicted of child sex abuse—and claimed to have reformed the same Seattle Police Department that has tear-gassed peaceful protesters for weeks.
Jerry Iannelli Jul 29, 2020
To decarcerate New Orleans, we must defund the police department.
In late April, officer Toni McBride shot Daniel Hernandez to death after a suicide call. His attorney and grieving family say videos posted on social media of McBride gleefully firing high-powered weapons show that she’s a trigger-happy officer.
Jerry Iannelli Jul 02, 2020
Reductions in budgets related to the novel coronavirus have slowed New York City’s plan to close Rikers by building new jails, and it’s becoming increasingly possible that the city will not meet its January 2027 deadline.
Jonathan Ben-Menachem Jun 29, 2020
Law enforcement super PACs are spending big money on district attorney races and local elections from California to New York—and respected Democratic consulting firms are helping them.
Safe and healthy communities start with less police and more investment in community services that work.
This historical moment is crying out for a re-examination of our institutions, and law schools are no exception.
Federal prosecutors argue that damaging a police vehicle is a violation of federal statutes in part because the police department receives federal funding. Former prosecutors and law professors say it’s an absurd rationale driven by politics of the Justice Department.
Jerry Iannelli Jun 23, 2020
Two people, arrested and detained in Cincinnati after protesting the police killing of George Floyd, recall being held at the jail, outside, for hours.
Caleb Brennan Jun 22, 2020
In October 2018, Marshall Miles died at the Sacramento County jail after struggling with deputies. His lawyers say a deposition scheduled for next month will force the sheriff to answer for the in-custody death.
Jerry Iannelli Jun 18, 2020
After families of people killed by police asked the organization to investigate racist American policing, 54 African nations called for a debate on the treatment of Black Americans. The debate will happen today.
Jonathan Ben-Menachem Jun 17, 2020
Some unions and labor activists are calling for the AFL-CIO to expel police unions.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jun 08, 2020
The use of excessive force against nonwhite communities and people protesting police brutality is further eroding public confidence in policing.
Ellison Berryhill Jun 05, 2020
Cops who turn marches against police violence into parades don’t actually want substantial changes to policing.
Derecka Purnell Jun 02, 2020
On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality.
Justine Barron Apr 23, 2020
‘It seems like Black people are still being criminalized and are not free,’ one organizer said.
Lauren Gill Apr 17, 2020
Josie Duffy and co-host Darnell Moore discuss police accountability and explain why it’s so hard for the criminal justice system to hold police accountable.
Feb 26, 2020
On a host of issues—including police shootings, bail reform, marijuana legalization, and the death penalty—critics say Lacey, once seen as a reformer, has sought to preserve the status quo.
Jessica Pishko Nov 12, 2019
If passed, Question 2 would also allow the board to force police commissioners to provide more insight into disciplinary decisions.
Aaron Morrison Nov 05, 2019
A lawsuit in Los Angeles and a motion in Orange County highlight battles to get key information.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 31, 2019
Black Lives Matter and other advocates have pushed county officials to abandon the $2.2 billion project with McCarthy Builders.
Lauren Gill Aug 08, 2019
For far too long, the press has leaned on wrong-headed tough-on-crime officials like the former NYPD commissioner when reporting on the criminal legal system.
Jonathan Ben-Menachem Jul 22, 2019
The popularity of Axon’s tech soared after the police killing of Michael Brown in 2014, but it may be doing more harm than good in protecting people from excessive force.
Jonathan Ben-Menachem Jun 10, 2019
Advocates and attorneys say Jackie Lacey’s rhetoric doesn’t match her actions.
Raven Rakia Jun 07, 2019
With Appeal senior staff reporter Aaron Morrison
Adam H. Johnson Mar 14, 2019
Los Angeles County’s jail system incarcerates tens of thousands of people at a multi-billion dollar cost. The communities most impacted by mass incarceration have had enough.
The records raise questions about the department’s compliance with its protest monitoring rules.
George Joseph Jan 17, 2019
No Cook County judge has lost a retention election in 28 years.
Bryce Covert Nov 05, 2018
A white cop joked about bringing explosives to a Black Lives Matter protest in Columbus with no consequences. A black cop joked about ‘black on black’ crime and may be fired.
George Joseph Aug 13, 2018
His opponent in Tuesday’s primary helped establish new police accountability and court reforms in Ferguson after the police shooting of Michael Brown.
Amanda Sakuma Aug 06, 2018
New records obtained by the Appeal show the account seems to have been monitoring Black Lives Matter activists for years.
George Joseph Aug 02, 2018
Police appear to have used a fake Facebook account to 'friend' activists and archive who 'liked' their posts.
George Joseph Jul 27, 2018