Police

California Cities Have Shredded Decades of Police Misconduct Records

Police union lawsuits delayed many local governments from complying with a new transparency law. In the meantime, some cities have destroyed files.

Darwin BondGraham Apr 17, 2019

Florida Woman Faced 10 Years For ‘Meth’ That Was ‘Just a Rock’

A scandal of falsified drug arrests is spreading at a Florida sheriff’s office that has also spent more than $1.33 million settling excessive force lawsuits and is at the center of the increasingly troubled Robert Kraft case.

Meg O'Connor Mar 26, 2019

Women Say Pennsylvania Cop Committed Sexual Assaults, Recorded Them on Body Camera

Their claims are part of a federal lawsuit; other women say they, too, were assaulted and the officer now faces a raft of criminal charges.

Joshua Vaughn Mar 19, 2019

Miami Police Arrest Thousands of Homeless But Leave Rapes, Robberies Unsolved

In 2017, over 2,000 homeless people were arrested on charges including drinking in public and panhandling. That same year, roughly 1,400 people were arrested in Miami-Dade County for rape, murder, and robbery.

Meg O'Connor Mar 18, 2019

‘I’m Not Going Anywhere Until They Stop Killing People’

In 2009, Anaheim police shot and killed Theresa Smith's son. A new California law promises police transparency, but her quest for answers faces a substantial cost.

Aaron Morrison Mar 13, 2019

Chicago Cop’s Sentence For Killing A Black Teenager Is ‘Exceptionally Short’

Jason Van Dyke’s sentence for the 2014 murder of Laquan McDonald is approximately half the average sentence for a person convicted of second-degree murder in Cook County, Illinois.

Rob Arthur Feb 25, 2019

Inside ‘The Stop-And-Frisk Capital of America’

Claims including sexual assault of a woman with mental illness to lying in reports haunt the Miami Gardens police; payouts in federal lawsuits have cost the city's taxpayers at least $3.5 million.

Meg O'Connor Feb 21, 2019

California Police Unions Fight New State Law Promising Transparency on Misconduct Records

Senate Bill 1421 requires law enforcement agencies to make public investigative records of officer-involved shootings and uses of force resulting in great bodily harm. But law enforcement unions argue that the law threatens the privacy of their members.

Darwin BondGraham Feb 20, 2019

I Arrested A Man On Marijuana Charges. Then He Took His Own Life.

A former Baltimore Police officer says it’s time for the department to stop wasteful, harmful marijuana arrests, especially after Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s announcement that her office would not prosecute cases of possession.

Larry Smith Feb 11, 2019

Expansion Of Largest Jail System In The United States Must End

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.

Patrisse Cullors, Lex Steppling Jan 23, 2019

Is The NYPD’s Special Victims Division Prematurely Closing Sexual Assault Cases?

Advocates say victims are being pressured to sign ‘withdrawal’ forms to quickly close investigations and protect the department from legal liability.

Meg O'Connor Dec 17, 2018

Black Lives Matter DC’s Battle to End Stop-and-Frisk In The Nation’s Capital

Advocates say the city has dragged its feet on legislation meant to ensure transparency on the police practice, and that data released so far—from 2010 to 2016, nearly 82 percent of stops involved Black people—signals that it’s time to end stop-and-frisk entirely.

Ella Fassler Dec 03, 2018

Immigrant Who Fled Gangs and Torture Challenges ICE Detainers

Attorneys for a Honduran woman are suing over the widespread jailhouse practice of honoring ICE requests to hold incarcerated immigrants for pickup.

Debbie Nathan

Georgia Woman Endured Arrest, Million-Dollar Bond, and Months of Jail Over ‘Meth’ That Was Actually Cotton Candy

A notoriously unreliable roadside drug test administered by Monroe County sheriff's deputies led to Dasha Fincher being charged with methamphetamine trafficking.

Lauren Gill Nov 27, 2018

Is A Philadelphia Agency’s Seizure Of Vehicles A New Form of Civil Asset Forfeiture?

The city’s experiment with civil asset forfeiture was supposed to end, but the practices of its parking agency and some in state law enforcement suggest that police may be turning to other forms of property confiscation.

Ryan Briggs Nov 14, 2018

Program Meant To Fight Terrorism and Narcotrafficking Is Being Used to Target The Undocumented Community

Opposition to Operation Stonegarden, however, is spreading; one Arizona county just rejected over $1 million of its funds.

Debbie Nathan Oct 22, 2018

NYPD Unit That Monitored Proud Boys Event Has Troubled History

The Strategic Response Group was created for counter-terrorism but it's involved in everything from Broken Windows policing to suppressing protest.

Ashoka Jegroo Oct 19, 2018

Man Convicted Of Obstruction For Refusing To Open His Door For Police

If his conviction stands, it could criminalize people who refuse to do things like unlock their phones or garages at police request.

Levi Pulkkinen Oct 17, 2018

Secretive Campus Cops Patrol Already Overpoliced Neighborhoods

Campus police forces have become more professionalized, but critics say they operate behind a veil of secrecy and often exceed their jurisdiction.

Ryan Briggs Oct 15, 2018

Claims of Racism and Brutality Dog Los Angeles County Sheriff ‘Deputy Gangs’

A lawsuit brought by a Compton resident detailing an alleged beating by deputies is just one of nearly three dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging brutality and racial bias at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

George Joseph, Raven Rakia and Ethan Corey Sep 28, 2018

In One Pennsylvania County, Rape Victims Rarely Find Justice

Since 2015, police in Adams County have taken dozens of reports of rape, yet charges were filed in just two cases.

Joshua Vaughn Sep 25, 2018

In Washington State, It’s Nearly Impossible To Prosecute Police Killings

This fall, however, an initiative goes to voters that would change the law on deadly force by the police, which has led to no officer there being convicted of wrongfully killing someone in the line of duty in more than 30 years.

Mike Faulk Sep 20, 2018

A Grand Jury Indicted An Alabama Police Officer For Murder. Then A Mayor Came To His Defense.

Jeffery Parker was shot to death by a police officer in his Huntsville home. A grand jury handed up an indictment for murder, but the mayor and City Council appear to be throwing their support behind the officer.

Lauren Gill Sep 10, 2018

In Pennsylvania, Defendants Pay A Fee Just To Plead Guilty

The ‘plea fee’ stems from a state law passed in the 1980s and can cost nearly $200, depending on the county.

Joshua Vaughn Aug 29, 2018

Notoriously Brutal, Racist Plainclothes Policing Makes A Return In Baltimore

After the Gun Trace Task Force scandal rocked the police department, plainclothes policing was spurned. But a recently resigned commissioner championed plainclothes units, a decision the department seems to be sticking with.

Larry Smith Aug 22, 2018

Defund The Baltimore Police

A former Baltimore cop questions how a department with a nearly half-billion-dollar budget that is riven by rampant corruption and brutality, bloated overtime spending, and unaccounted for patrol officers can continue to justify its existence

Larry Smith Aug 15, 2018

Milwaukee Candidates Clash In Race to Succeed The Infamous Sheriff Clarke

Several candidates are vying to become Milwaukee Sheriff in the wake of Sheriff David Clarke's resignation last fall. But will they truly spurn his legacy of jail deaths and cooperation with ICE?

Raven Rakia Aug 10, 2018

Against Innocence

In the wake of Nia Wilson’s murder, it’s critical that calls for justice in response to anti-Black violence are not contingent upon appeals to white-approved notions of innocence and respectability.

Zoé Samudzi Aug 08, 2018

After Hearing Concerns about ICE, Texas Sheriff Ran Apparent Traffic Sting That Led to Deportation Proceedings

A community group met with the Bastrop County sheriff in an effort to build trust between the sheriff’s office and the immigrant community. Then, the sheriff ran a sting that led to more than one dozen arrestees being handed over to ICE.

Michael Arria Jul 31, 2018

US Attorney’s Office That Prosecuted Inauguration Day Protesters Has History of Misconduct Findings

Prosecutors on the "J20" case faced grave allegations of misconduct after withholding exculpatory evidence contained in videos from defense attorneys. But this is far from the first time that this office has found itself in hot water.

Jessica Brand, Ethan Brown Jul 30, 2018

Multiple Police Cars Summoned to Arrest Selma Civil Rights Activist for Allegedly Stealing a Campaign Sign

Faya Rose Touré, a 73-year-old former judge, says she’s determined to fight the charges against her.

Lauren Gill

Former Baltimore Police Officer Criticizes The Department’s Gang Database

A onetime gang liaison for the Baltimore Police Department writes that its database is racist and error-ridden.

Larry Smith Jul 23, 2018

After A Murder Conviction is Reversed, Police Chief Vows to Watch Defendant ‘Til the Day I Die’

Did a Louisiana police chief and a prosecutor cross a line when they issued televised threats to a man who'd just been granted relief by a federal appeals court in a child killing?

Max Rivlin-Nadler Jul 03, 2018

Austin Cops Said They Shot A Man Who Fired On Them–But It Turns Out He Didn’t Fire A Shot

Lawrence Parrish faces charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and remains jailed on $500,000 bond even though the Austin police admitted he never shot at them.

Michael Arria Jul 02, 2018

The Baltimore Police’s ‘Summer Surge’ Scam

A former Baltimore Police officer says that a plan to flood the streets with local and federal law enforcement is likely to yield more of the same ineffective 'broken windows'-style arrests.

Larry Smith Jun 29, 2018

A Black Man Called The Cops Nazis–And Was Charged With A Hate Crime

A Pennsylvania hate crime statute is being used by law enforcement to punish angry arrestees.

Joshua Vaughn Jun 28, 2018

Responses to Violence Must Move Beyond Policing

The solution to problems like unsolved homicides, especially in communities of color, cannot be reinvestment in institutions that wage violence against them.

William C. Anderson Jun 19, 2018

Eric Holder May Be Considering a Presidential Run. But Has His Time Passed?

As voters begin to realize that prosecutors in the world's most incarcerated nation may not be the best people to run the government, the era of the prosecutor politician could be on its way out.

Chase Madar