28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022
Justice Department Launches Investigation Into NYPD’s Troubled Special Victims Division Meg O'Connor Jun 30, 2022
Man Left Paralyzed After Hospital Denies Care And Calls Police: Lawsuit Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 16, 2022
More Black Representation on Police Forces Will Not Solve Police Violence In the wake of more horrific police killings, it’s important to remember that Black cops cannot fix America’s fundamentally broken and racist policing system. Mustafa Ali-Smith | March 17, 2022
How Could Police Shootings Keep Happening After We Did Nothing To Stop Them? Jerry Iannelli | February 15, 2022
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 | December 15, 2021
Why Atlantans Are Pushing to Stop ‘Cop City’ After the city council passed the ground lease for massive police facility known as “Cop City,” local opposition hasn’t ceased; it’s evolved. Aja Arnold | December 8, 2021
‘Rage Induced Policing’: Hacked Documents Reveal D.C. Police’s Aggressive Robbery Crackdowns Internal emails and their attachments show that a roving Metropolitan Police Department unit attempted to suppress robberies in 2012 and 2013 by stopping and frisking and surveilling residents of Black neighborhoods. Chris Gelardi | December 6, 2021
Meet the California PR Firm Helping Cops Fight Off Bad Press There’s a growing business crafting law enforcement narratives about police shootings and officer misconduct. Scott Morris | November 30, 2021
One Rochester Cop’s Abuses Reveal A Culture of Police Impunity If Officer Matthew Drake had faced serious discipline for his misconduct, he might not have been on duty the night of Tyshon Jones’s death. Meg O'Connor | November 23, 2021
Los Angeles County Homeless Residents Say Sheriff’s Department Is Targeting Them The ACLU of Southern California is suing the city of Lancaster and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for excessively citing people living at desert homeless encampments in the Antelope Valley. Francisco Aviles Pino | June 4, 2021
How These Cities Are Breaking Up the Work of Police Departments As the country reassesses its relationship with law enforcement, Ithaca, New York; Berkeley and Oakland, California; and Austin, Texas, are defunding, replacing, or reducing the scope of their police departments. Eoin Higgins | May 26, 2021
The California Attorney General is Investigating Sean Monterrosa’s Killing. His Sisters Are Also Fighting For Systemic Change Monterrosa, 22, was killed by a police officer who had a history of shooting at civilians. His sisters are pushing for a law they believe could have saved him. Piper French | May 17, 2021
Brooklyn Center Mayor Unveils Plan To Decrease Police Traffic Enforcement Powers The proposal by Mike Elliott, if passed by City Council, would also create a department of unarmed professionals trained to respond to mental health needs. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | May 8, 2021
Failure To Disclose Despite a 2019 California law mandating the release of certain records related to police misconduct, law enforcement agencies in the state are still fighting records requests. Darwin BondGraham, Ali Winston May 5, 2021
San Antonio Activists ‘Cannot in Good Faith’ Support This Year’s Mayoral Candidates Local activists have soured on incumbent Mayor Ron Nirenberg, and no other candidate offers a compelling alternative. Jerry Iannelli | April 30, 2021
The Greatest Threat To Defunding The Police? State Pre-emption. A little-known legal tool allows states to override progressive policies in cities. John Pfaff | April 29, 2021
Cincinnati’s Upcoming Mayoral Race is ‘Make or Break’ for Policing and Housing True public safety, advocates say, is one of the most urgent issues facing Cincinnati voters ahead of Tuesday’s primary election. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | April 29, 2021
Lori Lightfoot’s Record Shows the Limits of ‘Police Reform’ In various offices across two decades, Mayor Lightfoot has failed to bring change to the Chicago Police Department. Jerry Iannelli | April 28, 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 | April 27, 2021
Report Sheds Light On The Pattern Of Over-Policing That Led Cops To Pull Over Daunte Wright The criminal legal system “relies heavily on collecting money from the very people targeted by the system,” in the process incentivizing police to punish as many people as possible, the authors of the ACLU report write. Samantha Schuyler | April 21, 2021
Oakland Takes First Steps Toward Directing Some 911 Calls To Community Responders It will be months before the pilot program is implemented in part of East Oakland, but activists say it’s a move in the right direction. Eliyahu Kamisher | April 20, 2021
Philadelphia Police Aren’t Solving Crimes. It’s Time to Divert Their Funding This budget season, Philadelphia must hold our law enforcement accountable for their failures by redirecting resources to strategies that can help us. Kendra Brooks | April 15, 2021
‘Let Me See That Waistband’ A veteran D.C. police officer says the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gun Recovery Unit deploys illegitimate tactics in a war on guns that have fostered an adversarial relationship between the department and the communities they are supposed to serve. Brandon Soderberg | April 14, 2021
After Daunte Wright’s Death, Advocates Press Leaders to Get Police Out of Traffic Enforcement Cities across the country must rethink the role of law enforcement, as police continue to brutalize and kill Black men and women during traffic stops, advocates say. Joshua Vaughn | April 14, 2021
Five Times Miami’s New Police Chief Got It Wrong on Public Safety Art Acevedo’s recent comments reveal an official who, despite his “good cop” veneer, has played fast and loose with the facts when it comes to addressing public safety. Eoin Higgins | April 12, 2021
Austin Uses Money From Police Budget to Fund Substance Use Care The city will use $1 million in funds diverted from its police budget to expand substance use treatments and harm reduction services for low-income people in Austin and Travis County. Meg O'Connor | April 7, 2021
Minneapolis Activists Could Put Police Reform Directly on the Ballot Yes 4 Minneapolis, a coalition of advocacy organizations, is on track to place a proposed charter amendment on November’s ballot that would fundamentally change policing and public safety in the city. Joshua Vaughn | March 26, 2021
Children Can Be On Their Own When Grilled By Police. The Push for Protection is Growing Several states, including Maryland, are considering bills to protect minors from abusive police interrogations. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | March 25, 2021
A California City Is Experiencing An Epidemic of Police Shootings—And Many Of The Victims May Have Been Unarmed The Appeal examined 17 fatal shootings by the Vallejo police over the last decade and found at least six cases where the person shot may have been unarmed. Brian Krans | March 24, 2021
Phoenix Wants To Shift Crisis Response Away From Police—While Also Increasing The Police Budget The trial budget includes a proposal to expand a crisis response program under the fire department, but also includes a $3.7 million increase to the Phoenix Police Department’s $745 million budget. Meg O'Connor | March 19, 2021
The Medical Examiner Said He Died of ‘Excited Delirium.’ Medical Experts Say Police Strangled Him to Death. Sterling Higgins died in a Tennessee jail in 2019 after officers pinned him to the floor. Two new medical experts’ reports describe the incident as homicide. Tana Ganeva | March 10, 2021
During the Pandemic, Houston Cops Went Undercover and Arrested a Homeless Man Over 0.6 Grams of Meth As Texas lifts its COVID-19 restrictions, the city’s jail remains overcrowded and its police and prosecutors continue to operate as normal. Jerry Iannelli | March 9, 2021
A Florida Lawmaker Introduced Legislation to Remove Traffic Enforcement From Police Cities across the country have begun exploring traffic enforcement without police. This bill proposes doing so statewide. Meg O'Connor | March 5, 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 | March 5, 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 | March 1, 2021
Berkeley City Council Passes Sweeping Reforms to Limit Police Traffic Stops In an effort to end systemic racism, the California city will aim to reduce the number of police-involved traffic stops for expired registrations and other small violations. Joshua Vaughn | February 23, 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 | February 23, 2021
How George Floyd’s Death Is Pushing Minneapolis to Rethink Public Safety The police killing has accelerated a years-long effort by advocates and lawmakers to shift resources and money away from law enforcement. Joshua Vaughn | February 19, 2021
New Videos Show Massachusetts Cops Brutalizing George Floyd Protesters 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 | February 9, 2021
New York Moves A Step Closer To Decriminalizing Sex Work After organizing to repeal the “walking while trans” ban, advocates in the state—and around the country—are looking ahead to the next fight. Bryce Covert | February 9, 2021
How the Killing of Breonna Taylor Is Reshaping Louisville Politics The political paradigm emerging in Louisville is being formed by newcomers to local politics. Jerry Iannelli | February 8, 2021
Austin To Buy Second Hotel That Will Become Permanent Supportive Housing The city will use funds diverted from its police budget to set up wraparound services for the people who will live at the hotel. Meg O'Connor | February 4, 2021
At Least 5 Capitol Rally Participants Were In A Violent ‘Patriot March’ In San Diego Right-wingers and ultranationalists convened in the city days after the Washington insurrection, but the police crackdown that day fell on counterprotesters. James Stout | February 3, 2021
Austin Will Use Money Cut From Police Budget To Establish Supportive Housing The City Council voted to buy one hotel and use funds diverted from its police budget to set up wraparound services for the homeless people who will live there. Meg O'Connor | January 27, 2021
Austin May Use Money Cut From Police Budget To Establish Permanent Supportive Housing The City Council will decide whether to buy two hotels and use funds diverted from its police budget to set up wraparound services for the homeless people who will live there. Meg O'Connor | January 26, 2021
‘Captain Taser’ A Vallejo police lieutenant has a long history of excessive force allegations in a department that is under investigation by the California Department of Justice—and he continues to rise in the ranks. Brian Krans | January 21, 2021
Years After Freddie Gray’s Death, Baltimore Police Misconduct Persists A new report de-anonymizes hundreds of officers in the city and shows more than 1,800 cops have had complaints filed about them. Brandon Soderberg | January 19, 2021
Republican Lawmakers Are Using the Capitol Riot to Fuel Anti-BLM Backlash 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 | January 19, 2021
They Took Umbrellas to a Black Lives Matter Protest. The D.A. Hit Them with Gang Charges 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 | January 14, 2021
The Cops at the Capitol Law enforcement officers from around the country attended and supported last week’s rally in support of President Trump that sparked a riot. Jonathan Ben-Menachem | January 13, 2021
What Traffic Enforcement Without Police Could Look Like Because traffic stops all too often escalate into deadly incidents, calls have grown to disentangle traffic enforcement from police—and a measure to do so has already passed in Berkeley, California. Meg O'Connor | January 13, 2021
What Public Safety Without Police Looks Like From San Francisco to Philadelphia, cities across the country are creating fully unarmed response teams to address emergencies that used to call for cops. Jerry Iannelli, Joshua Vaughn January 8, 2021
Partners in Crime: The Siege on the Capitol, Police, and White Supremacy The historical connections were on full display during Wednesday’s violence at the Capitol. Jerry Iannelli | January 8, 2021
Boston Mayor Vetoes Restrictions on Police Force Against Protesters Despite Controversial Body Camera Video ‘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 | January 7, 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 | December 21, 2020
Bodycam Video Shows ‘Mob Mentality’ Of Boston Police Who Responded To George Floyd Protests, Lawyer Says 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 | December 18, 2020
These Cops Lied In Court. But Since The D.A. Isn’t Keeping A Brady List, They Could Testify Again The case illustrates the importance of keeping lists of police officers with histories of misconduct or dishonesty, the defense lawyer in the case says. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | December 18, 2020
Scandal-Plagued Sacramento Lawmaker and Ex-Cop Considers Run for Sheriff California Assemblymember Jim Cooper may seek to be Sacramento sheriff once more—despite sexual harassment allegations and a long history of outlandish antics. Jerry Iannelli | December 16, 2020
America Wants Marijuana Reform. Congress Shouldn’t Stand In The Way. Investing in local communities and rolling back the criminalization of marijuana is exactly what the country needs right now. Barbara Lee | December 3, 2020
Why Los Angeles Activists Don’t Want Their Mayor In Biden’s Cabinet 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 | December 3, 2020
We Can’t Restore The Soul Of The Nation With Rahm Emanuel In Public Office It doesn’t matter whether it’s Transportation Secretary or Assistant to the Transportation Secretary, Rahm doesn’t belong in any of D.C.’s halls of power. Jamaal Bowman | December 2, 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 | December 2, 2020
Police Funding Is a Pivotal Issue in Two Austin City Council Runoffs Incumbents Jimmy Flannigan and Alison Alter have been targeted by conservative challengers because of the council’s votes to cut police funding and repeal a ban on public camping. Meg O'Connor | December 1, 2020
Some Texas Elections Suggest Voters Aren’t Afraid of Defunding Police 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 | November 20, 2020
Chicago’s Mayor Turns City’s Infrastructure Into Weapons Against Protesters 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 | November 13, 2020
Police Unions Are Losing The War on Criminal Justice Reform Law enforcement organizations have long treated mass incarceration as a job creation program. In 2020, the tide began turning against them. Jay Willis | November 10, 2020
For a Glimpse of the Racial Justice Protests’ Staying Power, Look To Detroit 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 | October 29, 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 | October 23, 2020
A Trumpist Texas Sheriff is Running for Congress. If He Wins, His Brother Might Take Over the Sheriff’s Office. Fort Bend Sheriff Troy Nehls wants voters to send him to Congress despite his department’s history of jail deaths and allegations of racial-profiling. Jerry Iannelli | October 23, 2020
NYPD Unit At Center Of Protest Policing Has Dozens Of Officers With Long Misconduct Histories 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 | October 15, 2020
The Minneapolis City Council’s Attempt To Defund the Police Was Thwarted By An Unelected Charter Commission 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 | October 9, 2020
Florida’s Most Powerful Pro-Police Lobbying Group Is An Anti-Reform Force 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. Jerry Iannelli | October 9, 2020
Portland Civil Rights Activists Want A Mayor Who Can Stand Up To Police Mayor Ted Wheeler’s popularity has declined after a summer of protests against police violence in the Oregon city. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | October 7, 2020
Policing Studies Measure Benefits To Crime Reduction—But Not Social Costs Research has shown only that police can be sufficient, not that they are necessary. John Pfaff | October 2, 2020
Federal Judge Halts Trump’s Law Enforcement Commission The ruling said the commission wasn’t diverse enough and gave little voice to communities affected by policing. Joshua Vaughn | October 1, 2020
Joe Biden Should Use Federal Dollars to Fund Alternatives to Police If he becomes president and Democrats win the Senate, Biden should push a federal spending bill that includes money for civilian first-responder programs. Aaron Stagoff-Belfort | October 1, 2020
With Little Evidence, Pennsylvania State Police Seized $600,000 From Drivers An investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA found that troopers in three counties have taken big money from drivers, many of whom were never charged. Joseph Darius Jaafari, Joshua Vaughn October 1, 2020
Feuding With Donald Trump Is Not Police Reform 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 | September 30, 2020
Communities Need And Deserve A Reset Of Policing And The Justice System. Trump Has Created A Sham Process that Excludes Them. Under the guise of restoring public confidence in law enforcement, President Trump’s secretive and regressive Commission on Law Enforcement is stacked with old-guard failed tough-on-crime thinking that precipitated the crisis of confidence we now face. Miriam Aroni Krinsky, Joe Brann September 29, 2020
Chicago Lawmakers Push To Build Team Of Emergency Responders Who Aren’t Police The proposed legislation would expand the city’s public mental healthcare system using funds reallocated from the police budget. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | September 28, 2020
In a Small Illinois City, A Black Man Died After Officers Shoved A Baton In His Mouth. Black Officers Say They’ve Suffered At The Hands Of The Department, Too. Lawsuits from Joliet Police Department officers are among at least 12 current federal complaints against the agency. The men say their civil rights lawsuits are part of a decades-long history of discrimination. Jerry Iannelli | September 25, 2020
Florida Governor’s Bid To Felonize Protesting Is An Attack On Democracy, Justice Advocate Says Legislation proposed this week by Gov. Ron DeSantis also seeks to withhold state funding from counties that move to decrease police budgets. Lauren Gill, Jerry Iannelli September 24, 2020
Her Lawyers Say She Was Coerced To Plead Guilty To A Crime That Never Happened Accused of shaking a baby to death and facing the death penalty, Amy Wilkerson says she is innocent, but pleaded guilty to spare her life. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | September 23, 2020
How Protests Over Police Violence Are Changing A City Where Officers Kill With Near-Impunity 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 | September 21, 2020
After Atlanta Teen Is Injured in a Police Encounter, Lawyers Call for Change The 17-year-old, who his lawyers say was pushed off a fence by a police officer, survived the fall but suffered serious injuries. Joshua Vaughn | September 17, 2020
Arizona Man Faces 8 Years in Prison For Not Returning Rental Car on Time Brian Stepter, a 61-year-old with chronic respiratory problems, has struggled with substance use for decades. Police and prosecutors sought the harshest sentence possible after he failed to return the car. Meg O'Connor | September 16, 2020
The Pervasive Violence of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Several recent killings have put the spotlight on the largest sheriff’s department in the U.S., but many of the LASD’s abuses go unseen, advocates say. Piper French | September 15, 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 September 14, 2020
Texas Family Wants Justice For Deadly No-Knock Drug Raid In February 2019, police officers in Killeen shot James Scott Reed in his home. One officer entered a guilty plea to evidence tampering, but Reed’s family is still suing the city and several officers in federal court. Jerry Iannelli | September 4, 2020
Pennsylvania Inspector General Reviewing State Police Traffic Stop Tactics The review follows an investigation by The Appeal and Spotlight PA, which found that troopers were using minor traffic stops to illegally detain and search motorists along highways. Joshua Vaughn | September 3, 2020
Lori Lightfoot’s Actions Don’t Match Her Rhetoric About Police Like her Democratic mayoral counterparts in Portland, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York, Lightfoot has condemned police violence outside her borders, while using law enforcement to suppress demonstrations in her own city. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | September 3, 2020
His Brother Called For Help After He Was Acting Strangely. Police Knelt On Him Until He Was Brain Dead. Body camera video shows that Daniel Prude was complying with police when they knelt on his back and pushed his face to the ground for so long that he stopped breathing. Meg O'Connor | September 2, 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 August 31, 2020
Support The NBA Strike, Boycott The Police 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 | August 27, 2020
NYPD Expands Use Of Controversial Subpoenas To Criminal Cases 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 | August 25, 2020
Want Prosecutorial Reform? Start With Curtailing The Influence Of Police Unions. Removing police union influence from the prosecutor’s office is a critical first step towards building a system that is safe, just, and fair for all. Miriam Aroni Krinsky, Buta Biberaj August 24, 2020
The Enduring, Pernicious Whiteness Of True Crime White voices and victims dominate the genre, which can skew the perception of what constitutes a crime. Elon Green | August 21, 2020
Social Workers Are Rejecting Calls For Them to Replace Police Some say their roles are already too close to those of law enforcement and are organizing for a radical rethinking of the profession. Mia Sato | August 20, 2020
What ‘Defund The Police’ Means In A New York Neighborhood With High Homicide Rates and a History of Struggling for Justice Although there’s a diversity of views about law enforcement in Brownsville, Brooklyn, there’s widespread agreement that the community is still fighting to obtain all the resources it needs to thrive and police itself. Abigail Savitch-Lew | August 19, 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 | August 19, 2020
Operation Legend Is Another Attempt to ‘Federalize’ Policing. Organizers Are Pushing Back. President Trump and the DOJ are funding federal policing programs in cities like Detroit, Chicago, and Baltimore, but advocates say they’re unnecessary, harmful, and ineffective. Marcia Brown | August 13, 2020
Austin Cuts Its Police Budget by About A Third The City Council passed a budget that cut nearly $150 million from the Austin Police Department. Millions will be reinvested in services like violence prevention and supportive housing. Meg O'Connor | August 13, 2020
After Recent Unrest, Chicago Leaders Are Pointing Fingers In All The Wrong Places In difficult moments like this, we can’t let bad faith attacks set our community back. What our families need are resources and investment, not more police on the streets. Robert Peters | August 12, 2020
Orlando Sheriff, Who Is Running for Re-Election, Shot a Teen to Death in 1999 The boy’s mother says Orange County Sheriff John Mina has still never spoken to her after more than 20 years. And in the wake of the George Floyd uprisings, local activists are asking why Mina deserves to keep his job. Jerry Iannelli | August 12, 2020
Austin May Cut Police Budget by Nearly $150 Million The City Council will pass a budget this week that could cut nearly $150 million in funding from the Austin Police Department. The proposal appears to have majority support. Meg O'Connor | August 12, 2020
The Role of Police in Gentrification A lawsuit alleges Breonna Taylor died because Louisville was trying to arrest its way toward economic redevelopment. Research shows this is common. Brenden Beck | August 4, 2020
Police Violence Was a Problem In Portland Long Before Federal Agents Arrived Local law enforcement tear-gassed and beat protesters and journalists. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | August 3, 2020
To Cut Police Budgets, Start in Public Schools The presence of police in schools is emblematic of America’s carceral approach to governing. Aaron Stagoff-Belfort | August 3, 2020
After Woman’s Arrest in Unmarked Van, New York City Activists Fear Targeting by NYPD Protesters believe law enforcement is looking for retribution after police arrested a woman Tuesday night and placed her in an unmarked van, a callback to recent events in Portland, Oregon. Chris Gelardi | July 29, 2020
Seattle Mayor Known As ‘Tear Gas Jenny’ For Police Treatment Of Protesters Has Troubled History As A Federal Prosecutor 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 | July 29, 2020
The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko | July 28, 2020
The Feds Have A Long History Of Snatching People Up. Only Now They Are Targeting Middle-Class White People Federal agents have been unfairly arresting Black and brown people for decades. Now that white Portlanders are seeing it up close and personal, they are outraged. Better late than never. Morgan Godvin, Leo Beletsky July 24, 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 | July 23, 2020
San Francisco Voters Will Decide On Abolishing Mandatory Staffing Levels For Police Under current law, established during the "tough on crime" era, San Francisco mandated at least 1,971 full-time police officers. Voters will now have the opportunity to reconsider that mandate. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | July 21, 2020
It’s Time To Defund The University of Mississippi Police Department From crackdowns on Black students decades ago to more recent arrests during protests against neo-Confederates, the department has served as a tool for enforcing white supremacy. Cam Calisch | July 21, 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 | July 20, 2020
In This Moment Of Reckoning Around Police Violence, Don’t Forget The Unseen Abuses Of People Who Are Incarcerated Excessive force against people being arrested, falsification of evidence against suspects, and brutality by guards against prisoners — these are all just different forms of the same problem. Vernon Horn | July 20, 2020
The Case For Racism Response Funds – A Collective Response To Racist Acts Through this mechanism, communities can accept accountability for the racism they allow to flourish by failing to disrupt it. Monica C. Bell | July 17, 2020
Reimagining A Future With Less Policing Means Asking Tough Questions About the Powers We Assign To Law Enforcement As criminal justice reformers take steps to defund police departments and limit qualified immunity, it’s important to consider the role of universal and special duties in policing. Eric Kennedy | July 15, 2020
How Prison Abolitionists Are Meeting The Moment The COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide protests over police brutality are strengthening the case against mass incarceration, advocates argue. Emily Nonko | July 14, 2020
Will Maryland Lawmakers Come Back to Work? In a moment of crisis, the state Senate and House are slated to be in recess until January. Jay Willis | July 10, 2020
People In Crisis Need Social Workers, Not Cops Social Workers address crises regularly and without an armed police officer standing in front of us. Often, the presence of an armed officer escalates a crisis that could have been better handled by mental health professionals alone. Vivianne Guevara, Nakia Winfield July 3, 2020
Police at Polling Places Could Intimidate Voters This November, Advocates Warn This year’s presidential contest will be the first since a federal judge lifted a decades-old consent decree barring the Republican National Committee from engaging in “ballot security,” or voter intimidation at the polls. Kira Lerner | July 2, 2020
LAPD Officer Who Killed Man in Mental Health Crisis Is a Gun-Toting Social Media Star 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 | July 2, 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 | July 1, 2020
Amid Calls to Reform Police, New York Activists and Lawmakers Demand An Elected Civilian Complaint Review Board A representative board is needed to check the power of the NYPD and appropriately discipline officers for misconduct, they argue. Amir Khafagy | June 29, 2020
Philadelphia Police Make Hundreds of Looting Arrests, Leave Many More Violent Crime Cases Unsolved The city’s clearance rate for murder, whose victims are disproportionately Black, has hovered around 40 percent for the last several years. Joshua Vaughn | June 25, 2020
‘No Cop Money’ Pledge Should Extend To Consultants And Law Enforcement Super PACs 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. Adam Eichen, Andrew Perez June 25, 2020
Defund The Police. Our Lives Depend On It. Safe and healthy communities start with less police and more investment in community services that work. A’Brianna Morgan | June 25, 2020
How the Federal Government Lost Track of Deaths in Custody The Department of Justice is leaving researchers, policymakers, and advocates in the dark about deaths in police custody, prisons, and jails. Ethan Corey | June 24, 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 | June 23, 2020
The Supreme Court’s War on Miranda Rights in America For decades, the Court has been carving out generous exceptions and crafting new rules that limit the Miranda warning’s real-world impact. Jay Willis | June 23, 2020
Protesters Say Hamilton County Sheriff Held Them Overnight Without Food, Water, Bathrooms 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 | June 22, 2020
The Bumpy Road to Police Abolition Protesters and activists have categorically changed the national conversation about public safety. Now they have to figure out how to change public policy. Ted Alcorn | June 22, 2020
Family of Man Who Died at California Jail After Shouting ‘I Can’t Breathe’ Demands Answers From Sheriff 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 | June 18, 2020
Portland City Council Votes to Cut $15 Million From Police Budget The cuts will defund a controversial gang policing unit and end the city’s policing partnership with TriMet, the regional transit agency. Jay Willis | June 17, 2020
Family of Black Mississippi Man Killed By Police Receives Narrow Explanation For Dropped Manslaughter Case A lawyer with the state attorney general’s office omitted key evidence in a meeting with the family of Ricky Ball, who Canyon Boykin shot and killed in 2015. Ko Bragg, Justin Brooks June 17, 2020
American Democracy Cannot Breathe Yes, we must radically transform policing in America. But we cannot stop there. We must transform the pervasive systems of economic and carceral injustice that are choking our common life. William J. Barber II, Saru Jayaraman June 17, 2020
How the Phoenix Police Department Spends Its $745 Million Budget The city wants to give the force an additional $24 million. But the department is still failing to solve crimes, and officers have shot 212 people between 2011 and 2018, killing about half. Meg O'Connor | June 17, 2020
U.N. to Hold Debate On U.S. Police Violence 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 | June 17, 2020
Massachusetts Court Won’t Block Access To Reports On Who Boston Police May Have Targeted on Social Media District Attorney Rachael Rollins sought to block the disclosure of records that could show Boston police used Snapchat to target people who are Black or Latinx. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | June 16, 2020
Cops, Climate, COVID: Why There Is Only One Crisis Although the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis are both provoked by natural phenomena, the dangers they present are just as political as the crisis of police violence. Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò | June 16, 2020
The NYPD ‘Cancelled’ Police Court Appearances, Leaving People to Sit in Jail Memos obtained by The Appeal and anecdotes from public defenders reveal how, for a week during protests over police brutality, the NYPD stalled cases by directing officers not to testify in court. Chris Gelardi | June 12, 2020
Suit Seeks $10 Million For ‘Senseless, Avoidable Death’ Of Tennessee Man In Custody Sterling Higgins called 911 in March 2019 seeking help during a mental health crisis. Police took him to Obion County Jail, where he died after officers pinned him to a floor. Tana Ganeva | June 12, 2020
For Essential Workers, New York City’s Curfew Meant Fear, Harassment, and Arrest Essential workers say curfews put them at risk of police violence, even though they were exempt. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | June 12, 2020
Houston Police Chief’s Speeches Supporting Protesters Were Widely Circulated—But Video Proves His Officers Cracked Down on Them Videos contradict officers’ claims that they didn’t ‘kettle’ protesters. Jerry Iannelli | June 12, 2020
The Camden Police Department Is Not A Model For Policing In The Post-George Floyd Era The New Jersey department received slavish media praise after it was disbanded and reoriented toward community policing. But behind the reformist mask was an embrace of surveillance and broken windows policing. Brendan McQuade | June 12, 2020
Louisville Metro Council Bans No-Knock Raids Following The Police Killing of Breonna Taylor Breonna Taylor was killed nearly three months ago during a no-knock raid. All 26 members of the Metro Council have signed on as co-sponsors to “Breonna’s Law,” which would ban them. Jay Willis | June 11, 2020
Atlanta’s Mayor Wants $13 Million More For Police. Four Officers Were Just Fired For Using Excessive Force. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has asked for the budget increase amid ongoing local and national reports of police violence against protesters. Ko Bragg | June 11, 2020
George Floyd’s Death Puts Spotlight On Controversial Syndrome Called ‘Excited Delirium’ Coroners and police departments have cited the condition in cases across the country, often clearing officers of wrongdoing when people die in their custody. In Floyd’s case, experts say, the diagnosis is irrelevant to his death. Tana Ganeva | June 11, 2020
The Toll That Curfews Have Taken On Homeless Americans The country’s homeless population was already struggling to access services during the pandemic. Kira Lerner | June 10, 2020
West Virginia Cities Use Evictions To Combat The Opioid Epidemic The ‘drug house’ ordinances that force landlords to kick out tenants are mostly compounding the overdose crisis, critics say. Leora Smith | June 9, 2020
Police Killings Bring Out Tensions Within The Labor Movement Some unions and labor activists are calling for the AFL-CIO to expel police unions. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | June 8, 2020
Pennsylvania House Democrats Refocus on Police Reform, But Face an Uphill Fight Democrats have introduced and reintroduced bills that have languished in the Judiciary Committee, which must approve them before they reach the full House. Joshua Vaughn | June 8, 2020
Minneapolis City Council Members Announce Intent To Disband The Police Department, Invest In Proven Community-Led Public Safety The move follows the police killing of George Floyd and more than a week of uprisings, where hundreds of thousands of people around the world have protested against police violence, and abusive police responses to the protests. Jay Willis | June 7, 2020
On The Day Of George Floyd’s Death, An Arizona State Trooper Killed A Man In Phoenix Dion Johnson’s family wants answers about the last moments of his life. Meg O'Connor | June 5, 2020
Police Departments Have Failed Black And Latinx Communities. It Will Take Deliberate Work To Earn Back Their Trust. The use of excessive force against nonwhite communities and people protesting police brutality is further eroding public confidence in policing. Ellison Berryhill | June 5, 2020
L.A. Mayor’s Reaction to Protests Proves He’s Unfit to Govern This weekend’s string of errors is just the latest in his career of cruelty. Jonny Coleman | June 4, 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 | June 4, 2020
Too Little Has Changed About American Policing In the Last Few Decades. It’s Time For Something Different. The killing of George Floyd demonstrates that incremental police reforms are insufficient in the absence of a comprehensive plan to transform law enforcement and its stated purpose. David A. Love | June 4, 2020
For Trump, There Is No Policing Without Violence A president who openly endorses police brutality struggles with a nation rejecting it. Jay Willis | June 3, 2020
No More ‘COPS’ Under the HEROES Act, the Community Oriented Policing Services program would receive $300 million to fund the hiring of more police. Democratic and Republican leaders alike remain committed to the ideology of increased funding, even under the guise of reform. Ross Barkan | June 3, 2020
New York Legislators Pledge to Reject Campaign Donations From Law Enforcement State Assembly members, senators, and city council members have said they will decline and donate funds from police and corrections officers as New Yorkers fill the streets to protest recent violence by law enforcement. Bryce Covert | June 2, 2020
Don’t Let Cops Join Our Protests Cops who turn marches against police violence into parades don’t actually want substantial changes to policing. Derecka Purnell | June 2, 2020
Mississippi Attorney General Won’t Pursue Case Against White Officer for Killing Black Man Canyon Boykin was charged with manslaughter for shooting and killing Ricky Ball during a traffic stop in 2015. Ko Bragg | June 1, 2020
Defund the Police Now More training, more equipment, and more officers will not stop police from killing Black people. Justin Brooks | June 1, 2020
Honolulu Police Keep Putting Homeless People in Jail The city is flouting CDC guidance by continuing to dismantle homeless encampments during the COVID-19 pandemic, though it does not have nearly enough shelter space. Meg O'Connor | May 28, 2020
New Documentary Reveals Silicon Valley’s Role in Notorious Bronx Gang Raid On the pretext of conducting ‘transnational gang operations,’ ICE raids have swept up thousands of U.S. citizens. Simon Davis-Cohen | May 21, 2020
Despite Coronavirus Warnings, Miami Area Police Are Still Arresting Hundreds of Homeless People As of April 30, one in three unsheltered people have been arrested in Miami-Dade County since a local state of emergency was declared in March. Jerry Iannelli | May 7, 2020
The Carceral Kings of New York As COVID-19 spreads, Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio are slashing budgets, but leaving funding for police and prisons largely untouched. Ross Barkan | April 30, 2020
Freddie Gray, Five Years Later On the anniversary of the Baltimore Uprising protests, new evidence in Gray’s death uncovers suppressed witness accounts of police brutality. Justine Barron | April 23, 2020
New York City Must Take Action to Ensure the Most Vulnerable Survive the Pandemic The city has created the structural conditions that have engendered disproportionately high rates of infection and death among its Black and Latinx residents. TS Candii, Darializa Avila Chevalier April 22, 2020
Law Enforcement Leaders Agree: Money Bail Has To End, Especially In A Pandemic The current coronavirus crisis underscores our urgent need to look hard at our pretrial justice system. Eliminating money bail is a necessary first step. Ronal Serpas, Taryn Merkl April 21, 2020
Federal Judge Blocks Michigan From Enforcing State’s Sex Offender Registry ‘Until COVID-19 Crisis Has Ended’ Michigan was one of several states requiring registrants to report to local police stations in person despite the risk to public health from coronavirus. Dawn R. Wolfe | April 9, 2020
Government Enforcement of Quarantine Raises Concerns About Increased Surveillance Louisville, Kentucky judges are ordering people with COVID-19 who have allegedly defied quarantine to wear GPS ankle monitors, raising ethical questions about the government's role in a pandemic. Kira Lerner | April 9, 2020
Policing Coronavirus As infections and deaths mount, state leaders and law enforcement are turning to tough-on-crime tactics in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak. Jessica Pishko | April 7, 2020
A Public Health Doctor And Head Of Corrections Agree: We Must Immediately Release People From Jails And Prisons Decisive action by governors and the President now can save lives -- of incarcerated people, correctional and medical personnel, and nearby community members. Business as usual will not. Brie Williams, Leann Bertsch March 27, 2020
Curbing COVID-19 Means A Moratorium On Unnecessary Arrests In Boston, it’s worse than business as usual at the police department as the pandemic spreads. On a recent day, officers arrested people for charges the district attorney has publicly declined to prosecute. Will Isenberg | March 24, 2020
As COVID-19 Spreads In South Florida, Miami-Dade Police Department Instructs Officers To Issue Citations For All Misdemeanor Offenses One of America’s largest police forces says it’s drastically reducing the number of people it arrests during the coronavirus pandemic. Jerry Iannelli | March 20, 2020
What Sheriffs Can Do To Slow the Coronavirus Outbreak Sheriffs wield enormous power, and they can direct it in ways that will help contain the spread of COVID-19 and protect incarcerated people. Jessica Pishko | March 18, 2020
Washington, D.C. Continues Low-level Arrests Amid Pandemic The Metropolitan Police Department has discussed reducing arrests, but it has not formally announced any policy changes. Jon Campbell | March 18, 2020
Undercover Providence Police Faked Withdrawal Symptoms and Solicited Suboxone Rhode Island prosecutors charged nine people with felony distribution of the addiction treatment drug. Reform prosecutors in other states are declining such charges and instead encouraging access to the drug. Julia Rock, Harry August March 10, 2020
Sheriff’s Office Profiles New Jersey Student After School Shooting Thousands of Miles Away, Lawsuit Says The student, whose last name is Mohammed, was subject to improper searches based on little evidence, his attorney argues. Roxanna Asgarian | March 9, 2020
Bloomberg’s Stop-and-Frisk Philosophy Also Informs the Rest of His Work on Gun Violence Prevention We need to be more critical of the former New York mayor’s outsize influence on the gun control movement. Alex Clavering | March 3, 2020
In Los Angeles, Police-Backed Street Cleanings are Upending the Lives of Homeless People The city is ramping up a cleanup program that activists fear will worsen the criminalization of homelessness. Eliyahu Kamisher | March 3, 2020
A California County’s Sheriff’s Deputies Are Accused Of Mishandling Evidence On a Staggering Scale Deputies in Orange County wrote false reports about their collection and booking of evidence, according to internal audits kept secret for months. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | February 27, 2020
New York City Agency Has Underreported Lab Errors In DNA Database It Oversees At least one error led to a wrongful arrest, according to a Freedom of Information Law request, underscoring the need for better oversight of the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, advocates say. Aaron Morrison | February 24, 2020
A Man Shot by Chicago Police Is Receiving $10 Million From the City. In 2013, Rahm Emanuel Praised the Officers Responsible. The former mayor issued a city resolution honoring officers for their ‘bravery’ in a shooting that paralyzed Tarance Etheredge, who will receive a payout from a civil rights lawsuit. Joshua Vaughn | February 21, 2020
Study Finds Stark Racial Disparities for Low-Level Drug Offenses In Travis County, Texas The authors reported that 29.4 percent of the possession cases involved Black individuals in a county where Black people make up only 8.9 percent of the population. Dawn R. Wolfe | February 21, 2020
Jamal Trulove: The Enduring Trauma of Stop-and-Frisk As a Black child in San Francisco, I learned early that mine and others’ bodies meant nothing to those supposedly tasked with our protection. Jamal Trulove | February 19, 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 | February 13, 2020
Michael Bloomberg’s Stop-and-Frisk Legacy Came Back to Haunt Him This Week As old audio clips of Bloomberg defending the controversial policing policy went viral, new data showed the practice isn’t fading away in New York city. Aaron Morrison | February 12, 2020
A North Carolina Professor Gave Up His Free Speech Rights To Resolve a Case Involving a Controversial Sheriff Rann Bar-On pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault of Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson to remain a legal U.S. resident. For the next two years, he isn’t allowed to protest in the county. Aaron Morrison | February 11, 2020
A Black California Man Says a White Ex-Employee Assaulted Him. He Was the One Detained. Erick Wallace’s federal civil rights lawsuit joins a long line of litigation and misconduct allegations against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Jerry Iannelli | February 11, 2020
How Witness Identifications Send Innocent People to Prison Mistaken identifications have been involved in nearly 70 percent of post-conviction exonerations based on DNA evidence. Jay Willis | February 11, 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 | February 7, 2020
Family Sues Pittsburgh Public School For Handcuffing 7-Year-Old In a lawsuit, the boy’s family said he was repeatedly suspended, secluded, and violently restrained before he was ever given a special education evaluation. Roxanna Asgarian | February 4, 2020
Singling Out Crime ‘Suspects’ As Homeless Is A Media Double Standard That Unjustly Penalizes The Poor Leading with housing status for homeless people is a common trope in the news reporting business and one in urgent need of re-examining. Adam H. Johnson | January 31, 2020
In A Florida County, Sex Workers Are Ensnared In ‘Trafficking’ Raids Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister’s stings, conducted under the guise of targeting human trafficking, netted the largest number of arrests there since 2008. Sex workers say the operations put them at risk. Molly Minta | January 28, 2020
Police and Sheriff’s Departments Join Media Campaign Against Bail Reform In New York State A wave of sensationalist press is not just coming from New York City, but also from county sheriff and city police departments frustrated by bail reform that they claim is ‘too broad.’ Adam H. Johnson | January 27, 2020
New San Francisco D.A. Inherits Chance To Hold Police Accountable In Shooting Of Man With Mental Illness Activists hope Chesa Boudin will press charges, and push for systemic changes to address the criminalization of mental illness. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | January 22, 2020
The ‘Reasonable Person’ Looks A Lot Like Law Enforcement. Will That Change? Sarah Lustbader | January 21, 2020
‘Weird News,’ ‘Dumb Criminals’ and the Media’s Monetization of Human Misery There’s a cynical local-to-national news pipeline designed to mock the powerless under the guise of “odd” news stories. Adam H. Johnson | January 16, 2020
New Lawsuit Is Latest Example Of Residents Seeking Accountability For Wrongful Arrests In New York City Charges in each of four arrests of a city man were subsequently dropped. Now he has become one of a long line of New York City residents who have filed wrongful arrest lawsuits against the city. Dawn R. Wolfe | January 14, 2020
A City Council Resolution Could End Marijuana Arrests and Fines in Austin, Texas The move is made possible by a Texas law that legalized the production of hemp last year. Jay Willis | January 10, 2020
Providence Police Gang Database Policy ‘Tramples Fundamental Constitutional Rights,’ Lawsuit Says The department is targeting communities of color and violating local and federal law by using broad ‘association’ criteria to list people in a gang database, a Rhode Island community organization claims. Julia Rock, Lucas Smolcic Larson January 10, 2020
U.S. Senate Candidate Endorses Ayanna Pressley’s Criminal Justice Reform Plan Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez of Texas told The Appeal about her vision for a complete overhaul of her state’s legal system. Kira Lerner | January 9, 2020
Internal Affairs Investigators Raid NYPD’s Special Victims Division for Third Time Logbooks were seized as part of an inquiry into misconduct allegations against high-ranking officers in the division that investigates sex crimes. Meg O'Connor | January 9, 2020
Illinois pardons are a reminder of the scale of marijuana arrests, past and present Vaidya Gullapalli | January 3, 2020
Illinois Man Alleges Police Illegally Forced Him To Undergo A Strip Search, Rectal Exam According to a complaint, police in Oak Lawn, a suburb of Chicago, subjected Tylus Allen Jr. to invasive searches, all of which turned up nothing. Aaron Morrison | December 19, 2019
‘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 | December 19, 2019
In One California City, Police Kill With Near Impunity Since 2010, no Vallejo officer has been disciplined for using deadly force, despite multiple shootings of unarmed people—including a man holding a can of beer. And active police union leaders have been involved in the shooting investigations. Darwin BondGraham | December 18, 2019
Chicago’s Gang Database Can Have ‘Devastating’ Consequences, But There’s No Way To Be Removed From It. Social media posts, tattoos, or the unvetted word of an officer can lead to inclusion on the list, which is overwhelmingly composed of people of color. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | December 18, 2019
Legislation on New York City’s Sprawling Systems of Surveillance Finally Gets A Hearing A City Council Committee considers a bill on NYPD surveillance today. Ali Winston | December 18, 2019
How to Rethink Drug Dealing and Punishment Criminalizing those who sell drugs by enacting more punitive laws may lead to more dangerous drug use and will disproportionately affect communities of color, a new report suggests. Zachary A. Siegel | December 17, 2019
Boston Law Enforcement Has Been Fighting A Court Order To Release Data On Who Police Target On Snapchat District Attorney Rachael Rollins ran as a reformer who would work to increase transparency, but her office and the police department have been fighting the order. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | December 13, 2019
The Crisis Of Murdered And Missing Indigenous Women And Why Tribes Need The Power To Address It Vaidya Gullapalli | December 2, 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 | December 2, 2019
There’s A Pattern Of Police Unions Attacking People Who Call For Criminal Justice Reform, Especially When They Are Black A Philadelphia police union’s recent attack on Players Coalition co-founder Malcolm Jenkins matches rhetorical tactics that officers’ groups are using in the face of outspoken support for criminal justice reforms. Aaron Morrison | November 27, 2019
Hundreds of Victim and Witness DNA Profiles Removed From New York City Database Advocates say the removals are more evidence of a troubling and unregulated law enforcement tool, overseen by the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Aaron Morrison | November 26, 2019
In a Louisiana Parish, Hundreds of Cases May Be Tainted By Sheriff’s Office Misconduct During the tenure of Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal, deputies assaulted and harassed men inside the parish jail. Several deputies were convicted in federal court, and now cases brought by the office are under renewed scrutiny. Joshua Vaughn | November 25, 2019
Michael Bloomberg Should Apologize For More Than Stop-and-Frisk, Critics Say The billionaire and former New York City mayor defended the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslim Americans and mandatory minimum prison sentences for gun possession, among other policies. Aaron Morrison | November 21, 2019
‘I Never Thought Selling Corn Could Lead To Being Torn From My Family’ Sarah Lustbader | November 12, 2019
Philadelphia Trauma Center Closure Could Mean More Shooting Deaths—And Tough-on-Crime Talk Research shows access to a trauma center is critical after a shooting. But as gun deaths are rising in Philly, one trauma center has closed. Experts say a rise in homicides may prompt more policing. Joshua Vaughn | November 12, 2019
Uncritical Reporting on a Biased Baltimore Spy Plane Poll A close examination of a poll backed by a business group reveals loaded questions, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and the shortchanging of very real privacy concerns. Adam H. Johnson | November 7, 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 | November 5, 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 | November 5, 2019
It’s Time to Fight the Democratic Mayors Who Are Champions of the Carceral State The mayors of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco wrap themselves in the language of progressivism, but when it comes to the criminal legal system they’re Trumpian. Kelly Hayes | November 4, 2019
People Behind the Girls Do Porn Website Were Just Charged With Sex Trafficking. But Complaints Were Filed About Them Years Ago. At least three women made police reports about Girls Do Porn in 2015, but recruiters continued to exploit women until the FBI stepped in last month. Meg O'Connor | November 4, 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 | October 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 October 30, 2019
Austin Braces As Texas Officials Plan Crackdown On Homeless Encampments Last week, the City Council reinstated a “no camping” ordinance meant to discourage people experiencing homelessness from sleeping on sidewalks and outside a shelter. Advocates say the city is criminalizing poverty. Aaron Morrison | October 25, 2019
Virginia Sheriff Seeking Re-election Took Campaign Donations From Healthcare Provider For Jail He Oversees Sheriff Mike Chapman, who runs the Loudoun County jail, has received close to $15,000 in contributions from the provider since taking office in 2012. Aaron Morrison | October 17, 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 | October 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 | October 7, 2019
California Gang Laws Are Normalized Racism The gang database in the state gives police increased authority to approach and harass people for virtually no reason at all. Emily Galvin-Almanza | October 4, 2019
Mississippi Sheriff’s Department Accused Of Racial Profiling Agrees To Reforms That Settle Black Residents’ Lawsuit The Madison County Sheriff’s Department was sued in 2017 for allegedly subjecting Black motorists and pedestrians to unconstitutional stops and searches. Aaron Morrison | October 3, 2019
A California Sheriff And Prosecutor Want To Jail Homeless People. Their Plan Is Unlawful. Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood and District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer intend to openly defy a 1975 state Supreme Court precedent that says law enforcement cannot intentionally discriminate against a person or group of people. Kate Chatfield | October 3, 2019
Helping ICE Stir Up Anti-Immigrant Fervor in Maryland WJLA’s Kevin Lewis selectively reports on immigrants arrested for sex crimes to paint a misleading picture of violence in Montgomery County. Adam H. Johnson | October 1, 2019
Mental Health Crises Require Mental Health, Not Policing, Responses Vaidya Gullapalli | September 27, 2019
The Officer Who Arrested A 6-Year-Old Was Fired But Don’t Expect Much Change Sarah Lustbader | September 24, 2019
Their Juvenile Records Were Sealed. Decades Later, They’ve Reappeared. The Washington State Patrol has added thousands of old sealed juvenile records to a database it shares with law enforcement agencies across the country—erasing for many their chance of a clean slate. Tori Marlan | September 24, 2019
How Local Media Should Report on Safe Injection Sites In a rare case of local media nuance, a Boston TV news station provided a humane and health-focused segment on safe drug use. Adam H. Johnson | September 17, 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 September 17, 2019
Can A Sheriff Force You To Help Law Enforcement? Not In California. Sarah Lustbader | September 10, 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 | September 6, 2019
Meet the Latinx 19-Year-Old Running for Sheriff in a Majority-White Louisiana Parish Jose ‘Lil Joe’ Chapa says one way to make Beauregard Parish ‘great again’ is to stop construction of a new jail and divert resources to services that keep people out of lockup altogether. Aaron Morrison | September 5, 2019
New Lawsuit Claims a Sacramento Deputy Unlawfully Arrested Activist Who Protested Clearing Of Homeless Encampment Advocates and homeless people are suing Sacramento County over its treatment of homeless—and the city responded by filing a lawsuit against seven men for being a ‘public nuisance.‘ Meg O'Connor | September 4, 2019
Assuming Guilt While Reporting on Mass Arrests Kansas City news outlets called scores of people ‘violent criminals’ based solely on the word of police and the federal government. Adam H. Johnson | September 3, 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 | August 29, 2019
Pennsylvania County Owes $67 Million After Man Finds Arrest Records on Mugshots.com Elsewhere in the country, lawsuits and legislation seek to protect people from predatory mugshot sites. Katie Rose Quandt | August 27, 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 | August 20, 2019
Inequality, Not Violence, Is Killing Americans At Record Rates Media coverage obsessively focuses on homicides, which are at historical lows. Meanwhile, suicides and overdoses skyrocket, quietly driving record declines in American life expectancy. Jonathan Ben-Menachem | August 20, 2019
Painting a Distorted Picture of Crime ‘Spikes’ in New York City Murder rates are at an all-time low in Brooklyn, but one would hardly know it reading the New York Times. Adam H. Johnson | August 16, 2019
A New Mexico Man Accused a Deputy of ‘Gestapo’-like Training. Then He Was Arrested. In Valencia County, a sheriff’s deputy who once faced allegations of excessive force in Albuquerque is accused of assaulting an elderly man. Joshua Vaughn | August 16, 2019
Rape Survivor Petitions Supreme Court Over How Police Handled Her Case Heather Marlowe, now an activist, says neglected kits are a reflection of who and what police prioritize. Raven Rakia | August 15, 2019
Pulling Back the Curtain on Boston’s ‘Operation Clean Sweep’ Most coverage of police raids targeting homeless people and substance users parroted official—and fraught—talking points. Jonathan Ben-Menachem | August 15, 2019
Chicago Police Pointed Guns At And Traumatized Children in Botched Raids, Lawsuits Allege Children as young as 4 years old are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result, the complaints say. Lauren Gill | August 14, 2019
Oakland Police Have Been Systematically Underreporting Use Of Force A new internal audit shows that officers disproportionately strike, tussle with, and draw guns on Black people but then fail to disclose the incidents in their reports. Darwin BondGraham | August 12, 2019
‘See How Quickly They Behave Once We Put Our Foot Down?’ A federal lawsuit claims that Palo Alto, California, police falsely detained, arrested, and beat a gay Latinx man—then boasted about their brutality. Joshua Vaughn | August 8, 2019
Caught on Video: A Texas Man’s Fatal Pursuit By Police The family of Ricardo Treviño, an unarmed 21-year-old killed by police last year, says they’ve spent months waiting for answers on why he was shot. Aaron Morrison | August 7, 2019
For New York’s Police Union, Any Accountability For Eric Garner’s Death Is Too Much Vaidya Gullapalli | August 5, 2019
Protecting Campus Police The New Jersey General Assembly unanimously passed a bill to extend qualified immunity to police officers at private colleges and universities. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | August 2, 2019
Mayors Running for President Take Heat on Police Brutality and Racial Profiling During Debates Current and former mayors were questioned about how they managed their police departments. Aaron Morrison | August 1, 2019
Stoking Hostility Toward Homeless People Dozens of reports about an indigent man in Bradenton, Florida, showed the cruel excesses of local news’s homelessness coverage. Adam H. Johnson | July 31, 2019
My Year As A New Orleans Consent Decree Insider The Crescent City is in the final stages of a multimillion-dollar federal police reform process. Here‘s why it and other programs like it fail to achieve real reform. Matthew Nesvet | July 30, 2019
‘We’ve Got One In The Sweep’ Three Bronx friends recount their 2012 arrests in the NYPD’s ‘Operation Crew Cut,’ along with their experiences with the court system and incarceration, and reflect on their lives seven years later. Olivia Heffernan | July 30, 2019
When Cops Lie, Should Prosecutors Rely Upon Their Testimony At Trial? In California, Texas and Florida, advocates sent letters to district attorneys, demanding that they refuse to work with officers with histories of misconduct. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | July 29, 2019
New York City’s Homeless Diversion Program is ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ Reform, Advocates Say A new effort to reduce arrests and summonses is criticized as continuing to criminalize homelessness. Raven Rakia | July 26, 2019
Florida Sheriffs Arrest Hundreds In ‘Trafficking’ Stings Offices across the state conduct operations under the guise of saving victims of human trafficking. But the vast majority of people detained, including sex workers, are charged with prostitution. Molly Minta | July 25, 2019
America’s New ‘Sheriff of the Year’ Pushed to Allow Teachers to Carry Weapons in School Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County, Florida, is one of the state’s most controversial lawmen. Jessica Pishko | July 23, 2019
Media Frame: Stop Quoting Bill Bratton 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 | July 22, 2019
Spotlight: Daniel Pantaleo Won’t Face Federal Charges. Will He Be Fired? Vaidya Gullapalli | July 17, 2019
In Pennsylvania, a Kidnapping Law Could Unravel a Life A Shippensburg man faces 15 years on the sex offense registry for offering a girl a ride. Joshua Vaughn | July 17, 2019
Oakland Police Conducted An Illegal Search And Then Lied About It. But They May Be Spared From Discipline. A California Superior Court ruling gives officers accused of misconduct access to investigator notes and files while cases are in progress. Darwin BondGraham | July 17, 2019
Media Frame: Fentanyl Panic Is Worsening the Overdose Crisis Sensational and false news reports about the drug are pushing lawmakers to enact harmful policies. Zachary A. Siegel, Maia Szalavitz July 16, 2019
New Reports Highlight Behavior of Port Authority Police in ‘Lewd Act’ Arrests Expert reports in a 2017 federal lawsuit explore an alleged pattern of discrimination against men perceived to be gay. Kira Lerner | July 12, 2019
An Infamous Louisiana Sheriff Is On His Way Out. Now What? Louis Ackal has said he isn’t seeking re-election. But advocates fear that may not be enough to bring change. Jessica Pishko | July 8, 2019
Media Frame: A ‘War on Cops’ Narrative Without Evidence ABC News claims anti-police violence is on the rise but offers no data. Adam H. Johnson | July 2, 2019
‘A Town Without Pity’: Lawsuits Allege Police Cover-up of Sex Abuse by Officers in Maine The accusations span decades and involve two separate Biddeford cops and at least seven alleged victims. Roxanna Asgarian | July 1, 2019
Pennsylvania Police Department Accused of Sexism Brandi Courtesis lost her job with the Gettysburg force after saying a colleague sexually harassed her. The accused, fired for another reason, may be back in uniform soon. Joshua Vaughn | June 27, 2019
Spotlight: After Nipsey Hussle’s Killing, Gang Members Call For An End To Violence Vaidya Gullapalli | June 24, 2019
Media Frame: Time to Ban Ride-Along Police TV Reality shows like ‘The First 48,’ ‘Live PD,’ and ‘Cops’ are interfering in legal cases, exploiting people of color, and threatening lives. Adam H. Johnson | June 24, 2019
Fremont Police Said a Man Wielded a Deadly Weapon When They Shot Him. But Records Reveal He Waved a Tent Pole. The police union’s newly elected vice president led the investigation into the shooting that cleared Officer William Gourley of any wrongdoing. Darwin BondGraham | June 21, 2019
Spotlight: When Police Spread Racism and Hate Online, It Says Something About How They Work Vaidya Gullapalli | June 19, 2019
Orange County’s ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ The California county has a thin blue line that appears to protect not just the police, but also the DA’s office, criminal justice advocates say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | June 19, 2019
Spotlight: Departing Alabama Sheriffs Deplete Funds and (Usually) Face No Consequences Sarah Lustbader | June 18, 2019
Arizona Man Faces Deportation After Filing Lawsuit Against Coconino County Sheriff Jose Montelongo-Morales challenged the jail’s immigration detainer policy. He and some of his family members were arrested months later. Lauren Gill | June 18, 2019
Floridians Are Suing a Cop Fired for Planting Drugs in Their Vehicles Thanks to the diligence of one assistant state attorney, 119 cases were thrown out and the officer is under state investigation. Katie Rose Quandt | June 17, 2019
Spotlight: De Blasio—The Circumstances of Layleen Polanco’s Death Shouldn’t Be So Perplexing Sarah Lustbader | June 13, 2019
Spotlight: Will Chicago Get a Memorial to Honor the Survivors of Police Torture? Vaidya Gullapalli | June 12, 2019
Body Cameras And Tasers Rake In Billions For Axon, But They’re No Panacea For Police Violence 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 | June 10, 2019
Media Frame: Stoking Panic Over ‘Flood’ of ‘Juveniles’ in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor The sensationalist coverage of a handful of fights highlights local media’s misplaced priorities. Adam H. Johnson | June 7, 2019
Spotlight: Neighborhood Crime Apps Stoke Fears, Reinforce Racist Stereotypes, And Don’t Prevent Crime Sarah Lustbader | June 4, 2019
Spotlight: In A Study of Cops’ Facebook Accounts, 1 in 5 Had Posted Racist, Violent Content Vaidya Gullapalli | June 3, 2019
New Orleans Police Appear to Use Surveillance to Initiate Investigations City officials say its vast network of cameras are simply a tool when responding to 911 calls and complaints of criminal activity. But several cases suggest the system serves an additional purpose. Mike Hayes | June 3, 2019
A New Moral Panic Targets Moms In Pennsylvania, mothers are harshly penalized for leaving children unattended in vehicles, even for several minutes. Joshua Vaughn | May 30, 2019
It’s Time to Make Chicago Police Pay For Their Misdeeds—Out Of Their Own Budget Chicago hands out millions in settlements and legal fees for police misconduct. Its newly inaugurated mayor should take a dollar from the department’s budget for every dollar the city spends settling with its victims. Jonathan Ben-Menachem | May 29, 2019
Commander Of Major California Narcotics Task Force Fired For A String Of Thefts And Lies Newly released records show that task force members faced allegations of theft and questionable overtime, all under the watch of a commander later fired for lying as the misconduct was investigated. Darwin BondGraham | May 23, 2019
State Trooper Said Man Took Bag From Fentanyl Supplier, But Video Demonstrated That The Deal Never Went Down Trooper testimony inconsistent with video and misconduct among state and local law enforcement in New Hampshire and Massachusetts have caused at least 15 drug cases to unravel. Zachary A. Siegel | May 20, 2019
Johns Hopkins University’s Private Police Force Would Bring More Cops To An Overpoliced Baltimore A former Baltimore officer says the Hopkins plan should be viewed skeptically because campus police have a history of deadly force and its officials come from troubled Baltimore Police units. Larry Smith | May 16, 2019
Incarceration Is Always a Policy Failure Instead of building ‘humane jails’ to replace Rikers Island, let’s push the NYPD to cut down on arrests. Jonathan Ben-Menachem | May 15, 2019
Bronx Cops Celebrated A Copwatcher’s Arrest. They Had No Idea They Were Caught On Tape. New York City just paid Jose LaSalle of the Copwatch Patrol Unit nearly $900,000 over claims of false arrest related to the 2016 incident, but his fight for justice is far from over. Ashoka Jegroo | May 9, 2019
A White Woman Was Caught On Tape Selling Heroin, But Police Arrested A Black Woman Instead In a case of mistaken identity, Jada Noone was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police, spent 15 days in jail and faced a felony drug case before charges were dismissed. She’s now suing over her false arrest. Joshua Vaughn | May 7, 2019
Police In California Are Killing Sleeping People The fatal shooting by Oakland police of an unconscious man as he woke is putting pressure on the California department to rethink its deployment of force. Darwin BondGraham | May 2, 2019
Border Patrol in New Mexico Stood By As Right-Wing Militia Terrorized Migrants Videos and audio posted by the group and its supporters on social media raise questions about the agency’s role. Debbie Nathan | April 29, 2019
Are Sheriffs Necessary? Advocates are pushing to abolish the office in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Jessica Pishko | April 24, 2019
Houston Cop Who Led Botched Drug Raid Overwhelmingly Arrested Black People After a drug bust involving Houston narcotics officer Gerald Goines turned deadly, questions are being raised about how he operated during his time on the force. Mike Hayes | April 23, 2019
‘It Was Almost Worse Than The Incident Itself’ New NYPD data show that in 2018 the department closed nearly 500 rape cases due to an alleged lack of participation from victims and had a declining clearance rate for rape, raising questions over its handling of sexual assault. Meg O'Connor | April 23, 2019
The Appeal Presents: Raided A new documentary explores the notorious ‘Bronx 120’ raid—and what it says about the evolution of policing in New York City. Simon Davis-Cohen | April 18, 2019
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 | April 17, 2019
‘Please Help Me, Sir’ In September, Marcus Smith experienced a mental health crisis and begged Greensboro, North Carolina police for help. Instead, they tied him with restraints. Moments later, his body went lifeless. William C. Anderson | April 9, 2019
Did Baltimore Cops ‘Conspire’ To Suppress Evidence, Leading to a Wrongful Murder Conviction? Attorneys for a man exonerated in a Baltimore murder say detectives suppressed exculpatory evidence and that the police’s homicide unit has a pattern and practice of similar conduct in decades of cases. Amelia McDonell-Parry | April 2, 2019
New York Lawmakers Want To Ban Sex Offenders From The Subway. That Won’t Solve Anything. Banishing people from the subway will only marginalize them without addressing the problem. Guy Hamilton-Smith | April 1, 2019
Women Describe How A Columbus Vice Cop Pressured Them to Trade Sex for Rent Andrew Mitchell, a former officer in Ohio who was recently indicted on charges he kidnapped women and forced them to have sex for their freedom, will soon face a grand jury for killing Donna Dalton during a prostitution arrest. Melissa Gira Grant | March 28, 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 | March 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 | March 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 | March 18, 2019
What Happens Before Police Press ‘Record’? Critics say New York’s new interrogation recording law falls short. Curtis Stephen | March 14, 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 | March 13, 2019
Party Guests Suing Over Mass Arrest for Less Than An Ounce of Marijuana Attorneys representing the arrestees in Cartersville, Georgia, say they were mistreated in jail, lost jobs, and endured public humiliation. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | March 11, 2019
Texas Sheriffs Stand Against Marijuana Policy Reform New bills would expand access to medical marijuana, but the state's sheriffs' association promises to fight even such modest legislation. Michael Arria | March 4, 2019
Police Unions Fight To Rescind Parole For Former Black Panther In April 2018, Herman Bell was paroled after spending 45 years in prison in a case involving the shooting deaths of two police officers. Now, New York police unions and the widow of one of the slain officers are challenging the decision in court. Victoria Law | February 26, 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 | February 25, 2019
‘The Police Act Like We Are Nothing’ A new coalition of people in the sex trades wants New York to become the first state to fully decriminalize their work. Melissa Gira Grant | February 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 | February 21, 2019
The Mayor of Jackson Wants to Hold Its Police Accountable. Easier Said Than Done. Since Chokwe Antar Lumumba’s 2017 election, at least five people have died at the hands of the law enforcement in Mississippi’s capital city. Ko Bragg | February 20, 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 | February 20, 2019
Police Policy for Sale Lexipol, a private for-profit company, has quietly become one of the most powerful voices in law enforcement policymaking in the country. Scott Morris | February 13, 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 | February 11, 2019
How A No-Knock Raid in Austin Turned Into a Lethal Shootout ‘There were explosions everywhere ... I had no idea who was in the house.’ Jessica Pishko | February 5, 2019
Family of Donna Dalton, Who Was Shot By a Columbus Police Officer During Arrest, Demands Independent Inquiry Advocates say the case hasn’t been handled fairly and there’s little hope for justice. Melissa Gira Grant | February 1, 2019
‘I Feel The Oxygen Going Out Of My Mouth’ In October 2018, Marshall Miles was taken into custody by Sacramento County sheriff‘s deputies outside a convenience store. About 14 hours later, he was dead. Aaron Morrison | January 31, 2019
New Study Finds Body Cameras Aren’t Objective Witnesses People who view body cam footage of an incident are less likely to attribute blame to a police officer than those who see the same incident through the lens of a dashboard camera. Nicole Wetsman | January 29, 2019
New York Agency Declines to Help Trans Woman Allegedly Harassed by Law Enforcement She is suing the Division of Human Rights for saying it’s not authorized to investigate her complaint. Emma Whitford | January 22, 2019
Battle Over Fare Evasion Decriminalization Boils Over in D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed decriminalization legislation that advocates say would curb the discriminatory policing tactics associated with fare evasion enforcement. Today, the D.C. City Council will decide if it will override her veto. Ella Fassler | January 22, 2019
St. Louis County Is Profiting Off the ‘Muni Shuffle’ Long After Ferguson Protests A new proposal to abolish small police forces seeks to end the cycle of debt and incarceration. Teresa Mathew | January 18, 2019
Years After Protests, NYPD Retains Photos of Black Lives Matter Activists The records raise questions about the department’s compliance with its protest monitoring rules. George Joseph | January 17, 2019
Cannabis Alarmism Hinders Smart Regulations Alex Berenson says he’s concerned there’s not enough research into cannabis risks, but his misleading arguments set scientists back. Alex Gertner, Kelsey Priest January 14, 2019
‘A Convenient Scapegoat’ Cherie Townsend is suing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after she says they falsely imprisoned her for murder and destroyed her reputation. Raven Rakia | January 11, 2019
Judge Attacks NYPD Practice of Seizing Teens’ DNA Without Parental Consent The decision also held that the city’s routine storage of DNA profiles from nonconvicted people in a permanent database violates state law. George Joseph | January 10, 2019
Trump Has Turned the War on Trafficking Into a War on Immigrants The president is drawing on two decades of bipartisan support for crackdowns on traffickers to secure support for his agenda at the border. Melissa Gira Grant, Debbie Nathan January 9, 2019
ICE Is Using Driver’s License Applications To Arrest Immigrants More states are giving undocumented immigrants driver’s licenses, but many DMVs are sharing their information with ICE. Debbie Nathan | December 21, 2018
Louisiana Strip Club Dancers Fear More Crackdowns as ‘Anti-Trafficking’ Law Goes Into Effect A ban on dancers under 21 raises questions on the growing role of the state's Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control in policing clubs. Melissa Gira Grant | December 21, 2018
Video Shows Baton Rouge Police Pinning Man To The Ground and Beating Him The officers were part of the department's Street Crimes Unit, known among residents for its aggressive patrols. Daryl Khan, Clarissa Sosin December 20, 2018
New Jersey Cop Sued Over Shooting Ranks First in His Department for Use of Force Officer Sheehan Miles of the Trenton Police Department had 43 force encounters between 2012 and 2016, according to a new database. George Joseph | December 19, 2018
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 | December 17, 2018
NYPD Commander’s Text Messages Show How the Quota System Persists Officers say the language used now is more subtle but still encourages numbers-driven policing. George Joseph | December 12, 2018
‘Things Have Changed’: A New Texas Anti-Immigration Measure Feeds Fear of the Police SB 4 encourages officers to ask for the status of anyone they detain. Debbie Nathan | December 10, 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 | December 3, 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 | December 3, 2018
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 | November 27, 2018
A Year After Police Shot Calvin Toney, His Family Still Doesn’t Know What Happened Baton Rouge residents say little has changed after Alton Sterling. Clarissa Sosin, Daryl Khan November 19, 2018
Black Men Disproportionately Represented On Sex Offender Registries Even though it’s unlikely that they commit sexual assault at higher rates than other ethnic or racial groups, nearly one of every 100 Black men is on a sex offender registry, a rate double that of white men. Debbie Nathan | November 15, 2018
Could New Cash to Fight Homelessness in San Francisco Mean Less Reliance on Police? Supporters hope the passage of Prop C may herald a more compassionate—and effective—approach. Melissa Gira Grant | November 15, 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 | November 14, 2018
Lawsuit Accuses A Louisiana Police Chief Of Punching a Man and Throwing His Wife to the Ground Then he ordered another officer to arrest the man. George Joseph | November 13, 2018
New Evidence Reveals Columbus Police Filed Misleading Reports on Stormy Daniels Arrest In internal documents obtained by The Appeal, the vice unit’s supervisor admits no specific complaints were lodged against Daniels or the club before the police took action. George Joseph | November 12, 2018
A Suit on Behalf of 6,000 Women Decries Law Enforcement’s Handling of Sexual Assault Cases In Travis County, detectives refused training that would have helped them interview victims of trauma. Kira Lerner | November 9, 2018
States Are Enacting Their Own Bans Against ‘Sanctuary City’ Policies In response, a new ‘Freedom Cities’ movement is rising to defend immigrants’ rights. Debbie Nathan | November 9, 2018
How Tuesday’s Sheriff Elections Dealt a Blow to ICE Local allies of the Trump administration fought challengers over immigration policy. Daniel Nichanian | November 8, 2018
North Carolina Sheriff Criticized For Unleashing K-9 Dogs On Black People Faces Re-Election Advocates say that Sheriff Donnie Harrison is unfit for a fifth term because of such abusive practices as well as his office's cooperation with ICE. George Joseph | November 2, 2018
In Allegheny County, People Arrested With Cell Phones Can Be Charged With ‘Possessing Instruments of Crime’ Advocates say these charges endanger sex workers and urge the police to stop using them. Melissa Gira Grant | October 31, 2018
A Trump Favorite For His Hardline Anti-Immigration Stance, Maryland Sheriff Now Faces Re-Election Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins seeks a fourth term as critics blast him for a record that includes poor jail conditions, in-custody suicides, and the deaths of two young people at the hands of his deputies. Raven Rakia | October 31, 2018
Rural Oregon Sheriffs Lead Charge to Repeal State’s Sanctuary Law More than one dozen sheriffs support Measure 105 that would allow for cooperation with federal authorities even when an immigrant suspect has not been apprehended for any crime. Mike Faulk | October 30, 2018
Baltimore’s ‘Eye in the Sky’ Plane Is Back With A New Pitch: Surveil The Police Dismal police accountability has made communities vulnerable to private vendors. Brandon Soderberg, Raven Rakia October 26, 2018
This Florida County’s Sheriff Is Controversial. But His Election Won’t Be Close. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office stands accused of violating immigrants’ rights and dismissing a shocking number of jail deaths. George Joseph | October 23, 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 | October 22, 2018
U.S. Marshals Exaggerated A Recent ‘Child Recovery’ Sweep in Michigan. Here’s Why That Matters. Experts say playing up the risk of sex trafficking fuels anxiety and criminalization. Melissa Gira Grant | October 19, 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 | October 19, 2018
In Alabama, Black People Are 4 Times More Likely Than White People To Be Arrested For Marijuana Possession A new report details Alabama’s “War on Marijuana” ahead of a key DA election. George Joseph | October 18, 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 | October 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 | October 15, 2018
The Appeal Podcast: How Activists Brought Down the Most Powerful Man in Chicago With writer Kelly Hayes. Adam H. Johnson | October 11, 2018
Baltimore’s Gun Offender Registry Is A Misfire Established to track anyone convicted of a gun-related offense, the registry has proved to be both racist and ineffective in reducing gun violence. Larry Smith | October 9, 2018
Suit Filed by Strip Club Workers in Columbus Sheds Light on Troubled Vice Squad The women, who were arrested alongside Stormy Daniels in July, allege that they were smeared by arresting officers, but they’re just the latest to raise concerns. Melissa Gira Grant | October 5, 2018
After Pittsburgh Decriminalizes Pot, Black People Are Still Disproportionately Charged With Possession About 51 percent of the people charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana in Allegheny County are Black. Joshua Vaughn | October 3, 2018
When Handing Out Candy To Trick-or-Treaters Means Risking Arrest Lawyer seeks end to Halloween restrictions that target people convicted of sex offenses. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | October 1, 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 September 28, 2018
Inside NY Courts Where Sex Workers are ‘Painted as Victims and Treated as Criminals’ Two new reports challenge the efficacy and ethics of prostitution diversion programs in New York City and nationwide. Melissa Gira Grant | September 21, 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 | September 20, 2018
Public Defenders Say New York’s New Policy To Reduce Marijuana Arrests Doesn’t Go Far Enough The exceptions to the policy change could actually worsen the racial disparities in marijuana-related arrests, defense attorneys told The Appeal. Raven Rakia | September 17, 2018
Ohio State Rep: If Police Tase or Shoot a Child, She Probably Acted ‘Stupid’ or Was ‘a Punk’ Rep. John Becker doubles down on his recent comments about the tasing of an 11-year-old for allegedly shoplifting. Melissa Gira Grant | September 14, 2018
Just 6% of Columbus Police Officers Account for Half of All Force Reports Between 2001 and 2017, the department justified officers in 99 percent of use-of-force cases, according to data released through a public records request. Ethan Corey, George Joseph September 13, 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 | September 10, 2018
