How the NYPD’s Troubled Sex Crimes Unit Is Set Up To Fail Victims
Former top cops say a culture of neglect at the NYPD has left inexperienced and poorly trained officers in charge of some of the department’s most sensitive cases.
Meg O'Connor Dec 15, 2021
“Woman of the Year” Mariska Hargitay Should Quit “SVU”
Last month, Glamour magazine featured “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay on the cover of its “Women of the Year” issue. On Nov. 8, an avalanche of A-list celebrities — including “SVU” co-stars Christopher Meloni and Ice-T, actress Melissa McCarthy, and #MeToo co-founder Tarana Burke — honored Hargitay at the Women of the Year Awards which was held at the Rainbow Room, a ballroom that serves as one of the epicenters of New York City high-society.
Jerry Iannelli, Meg O'Connor Dec 07, 2021
How Policing Is Shaping the Pittsburgh Mayoral Race
Incumbent Bill Peduto’s policing record is under scrutiny after protests last summer. He is facing what may be his most competitive race yet.
Joshua Vaughn Apr 27, 2021
Rochester Police Tackle and Pepper-Spray Woman With 3-Year-Old Child
It is the latest incident of violence from a police department already under fire for pepper-spraying a 9-year-old girl and fatally injuring Daniel Prude.
Meg O'Connor Mar 05, 2021
Philly Cops Are Solving Fewer Homicides. The City Keeps Paying Them Millions
Community members and advocates question why Mayor Jim Kenney and the City Council continue to fund the police department at record levels, despite the department’s low murder solve rate.
Joshua Vaughn Mar 01, 2021
No Criminal Charges for Cops Involved in Daniel Prude’s Death
New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced today that a grand jury voted not to indict any police officers on charges related to the death of Daniel Prude.
Meg O'Connor Feb 23, 2021
‘Basically Cyberbullying’: How Cops Abuse Social Media to Publicly Humiliate
Law enforcement agencies are creating online content, often at the expense of people they have arrested.
Hope Corrigan Dec 21, 2020
The Limitations of Police ‘No Chase’ Policies
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
How One Race Could Change Police Accountability in Arizona
Incumbent Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel is backed by police unions and has declined to charge officers in high-profile killings. Challenger Julie Gunnigle says she wants to create an independent unit to review police use-of-force cases.
Meg O'Connor Oct 23, 2020
It’s Time To Form A Community-Led Citizen Review Board For The Cedar Rapids Police
Now is the time to act. If we have learned anything since George Floyd’s death, it is that we cannot keep waiting for change.
Stacey Walker, Maria Hawilo Sep 14, 2020
Highway Stop-And-Frisk: How Pennsylvania State Troopers Conduct Illegal Traffic Searches
A review of five years of cases that arose from traffic stops in the south-central region of the state shows that police used underhand tactics to justify holding and searching drivers illegally.
Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn Aug 31, 2020
Officers Involved In Notorious Wrongful Conviction Aren’t On Prosecutor’s Do-Not-Call List
A state investigation found that Detroit police officers fabricated evidence that helped convict a 14-year-old boy. A judge threw out his conviction after he spent nine years in prison, but the officers are still on the job and haven’t been flagged as unreliable to testify in court.
Kira Lerner Aug 19, 2020
Impunity for Law Enforcement Must End. That Includes Officers in Jails and Prisons.
Qualified immunity is just one obstacle of many that incarcerated people face when seeking to hold correctional officers accountable for misconduct.
Joshua Manson Jul 23, 2020
10 Ways To Reduce Our Reliance On Policing And Make Our Communities Safer For Everyone
Police should no longer occupy all of our vital support systems in our communities.
Alex S. Vitale Jul 20, 2020
Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall?
In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’
Ethan Brown Jul 01, 2020
Activists Say Chicago Mayor’s Police Reform Promises Ring Hollow
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has hampered the process of installing a police oversight council, activists say, despite making it a major part of her public safety platform during her mayoral run.
Maya Dukmasova Jun 23, 2020
New York Protests Could Finally Push Through Increased Police Transparency
Lawmakers are targeting a statute that has been used as a cudgel to bat away almost any inquiries into police misconduct.
Chris Gelardi Jun 04, 2020
Justice in America Episode 21: Police Accountability
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
Baltimore Defense Attorneys Claim Surveillance Plane Footage Contradicts Law Enforcement Account Of Police Shooting
Jawan Richards was shot by Baltimore police and hit with gun and assault charges stemming from the incident. His defense attorneys now say video evidence may exonerate their client.
Brandon Soderberg Feb 13, 2020
New Video Of Fatal Shooting By NYPD In 2016 Raises Questions About Officer’s Account to Investigators
A civil suit claims that an officer who shot a 46-year-old stagehand in Midtown Manhattan should have de-escalated the encounter.
Jon Campbell Feb 07, 2020
In Erie County, Jail Deaths Continue Despite High-Profile Tragedy
The death of 27-year-old India Cummings in 2016 garnered national media attention and a renewed push by local activists over conditions of confinement in the New York county’s jails. But the deaths haven’t stopped.
Raina Lipsitz Jan 16, 2020
‘They Can Do This To Anybody’
Misconduct complaints against officers in the NYPD’s 34th Precinct have risen for three years straight. In 2018, 15 officers had complaints against them substantiated, the most of any precinct in New York City.
Ali Winston Dec 19, 2019
New Lawsuit Alleges Abuse At ‘One Of The Worst’ County Jails In America
Officers at the Cuyahoga County Jail in Ohio are accused of pepper-spraying and assaulting a man for merely asking about his release date.
Joshua Vaughn Dec 12, 2019
Community Policing Is Not the Answer
Investing billions of government dollars into programs that embed police in Black communities will not reduce police violence, nor repair years of injustice.
Philip V. McHarris Dec 02, 2019
Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release
The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say.
Roxanna Asgarian Nov 25, 2019
When Police Violence Is Domestic Violence
Spotlights like this one provide original commentary and analysis on pressing criminal justice issues of the day. You can read them each day in our newsletter, The Daily Appeal. Rodney Reed was scheduled to be executed tomorrow. He won’t be, at least not tomorrow. He was convicted and sentenced to die in 1998 for the rape […]
Sarah Lustbader Nov 19, 2019
New York City Voters May Expand Power of Civilian Review Board, Allowing It to Investigate Police Who Lie
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
New York Subway Police Make Us Less Safe
Recent violent arrests in the city subways should make New Yorkers question the push by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the MTA to hire 500 new transit police.
Jonathan Ben-Menachem Nov 05, 2019
San Francisco Police Brutality Claim Puts Pressure on Next D.A. to Hold Cops Accountable
Ahead of the city’s district attorney election on Tuesday, the alleged baton beating last month of Dacari Spiers has renewed debate over police accountability.
Darwin BondGraham Nov 01, 2019
‘A Green Light For Abuse’: Despite Reforms, California Counties Still Conceal Records On Police Use Of Force
A lawsuit in Los Angeles and a motion in Orange County highlight battles to get key information.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Oct 31, 2019
California Court Destroys Files In Historic Police Corruption Case
Criminal case files from Oakland’s seminal Riders scandal were among documents shredded by the Alameda County Superior Court in 2015.
Ali Winston, Darwin BondGraham Oct 30, 2019
Five Oakland Police Officers Involved In Fatal Shooting Of Homeless Man Seek Reinstatement
The officers who killed Joshua Pawlik in 2018 are asking a state judge to block a federally appointed monitor’s decision that they violated policies on use of force.
Darwin BondGraham Oct 16, 2019
New Lawsuit Focuses On Alleged L.A. County Deputy ‘Gangs’
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva was elected on the promise of reforming the scandal-plagued sheriff’s department. But eight deputies now accuse Sheriff Villanueva of allowing a violent group, the Banditos, to thrive in his department’s ranks.
Ali Winston Oct 10, 2019
Amber Guyger Should Not Go To Prison
The former Dallas police officer should be held accountable for killing Botham Jean, but sending her to prison does not keep us safe.
Elisabeth Epps Oct 07, 2019
An Alabama Man Faces The Death Penalty For Two Murders. Could The Police Be Involved?
In March, Coley McCraney was arrested and charged with capital murder in the 1999 killings of two teenage girls. But his attorneys say he’s innocent, and are now seeking information related to alleged police involvement in the homicides.
Lauren Gill Oct 01, 2019
When Prosecutors Bury Police Lies
Court records and interviews with former prosecutors show that internal assessments of police dishonesty are rarely memorialized, potentially violating the rights of people charged in criminal cases and sometimes keeping the records of bad cops clean.
George Joseph, Ali Winston Sep 17, 2019
‘No Knock’ Warrants Spur Wave Of Civil Rights Lawsuits In Little Rock
Police are accused of lying to obtain the warrants to conduct military-style raids on the homes of poor people and people of color.
Joshua Vaughn Sep 06, 2019
A Pennsylvania Police Department Is Accused Of Klan Involvement and Discrimination
In a civil rights lawsuit, an officer in Allentown claims he was subjected to racial discrimination before he was fired.
Joshua Vaughn Aug 29, 2019
Police Respond To Accountability By Threatening A Slowdown
Spotlights like this one provide original commentary and analysis on pressing criminal justice issues of the day. You can read them each day in our newsletter, The Daily Appeal. Yesterday seemed by all accounts a good day for police accountability. Scholars recently revealed that police violence is a leading cause of death for Black men, but […]
Sarah Lustbader Aug 20, 2019
‘Is This The Guy?’
Police and prosecutors claimed facial recognition technology wasn’t at the center of a shoplifting case, but defense attorneys say it was the sole basis for probable cause to arrest.
Mike Hayes Aug 20, 2019