ALEXANDRIA, VA — A man was awoken to intruders pointing guns at him while he slept in his apartment. It was the police who barged in, because they suspected that he might be a squatter in his own home.
What makes this all-too-common occurrence more notable is that the man on the receiving end of the raid is an Iraq War veteran and author, 30-year-old Alex Horton. He is now a public affairs specialist who writes for the ... (more)
DANNEMORA, NY — After a high-profile prison break from the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, prison guards and investigators resorted to the use of torture and beatings to interrogate inmates about the incident.
These allegations stem from the successful escape of convicted murderers David Sweat and Richard Matt on June 6, 2015. Their elaborate plan included hacking through... (more)
Asheville, NC. Patrol Officer Krystale Jones is being investigated following a Facebook post that brings questions into an accident she was involved in where she struck one car causing it to rear end another car. Jones caused a wreck on Fairview Road last Wednesday when APD said she misjudged her distance when driving with lights and sirens around two drivers who were parked at a left turn signal.
Patrol Officer Jones is a 2012 graduate of the Asheville Police Departme... (more)
Grand juries have proven capable of handing down nearly any indictment requested by prosecutors… if it's just a citizen on the receiving end. What's normally a rubber-stamping of charge recommendations tends to fall apart when a police officer is the potential defendant. With rare exceptions, ... (more)
A North Carolina cop already in prison for stealing pain pills is now charged with marijuana trafficking, a Texas narc gets probation for stealing and using drug dog training drugs, and another prison guard goes down. Just another week of drug war-related law enforcement corruption. Let's get to it:
In Wilmington, North Carolina, a former New Hanover County Sheriff's Office narcotics officer was charged last Thursday with marijuana trafficking and possession with intent to di... (more)
Officer Tom Thurman responded to a domestic disturbance call at 31-year-old Ernesto Rodriguez’s home on Roaming Drive in Knoxville at around 7:30 p.m. on July 9, 2014. Rodriguez wasn't there but his girlfriend alleged that he had assaulted her, the lawsuit and warrants say.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, states that officer Fred Kimber then spotted Rodriguez ... (more)
When Ohio's Supreme Court ruled that speeding tickets could be issued by a police officer based on his visual guess of the defendant's speed (view ruling), the reaction was fast and furious. State lawmakers rallied within a matter of days calling for a revision to the state's speeding law that would overturn the precedent. Now a federal judge believes traffic stops can be made based on visual estimates anywhere in the country that fa... (more)
Riviera Beach, FL — Isiah James is a combat veteran who served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. During his deployment, James took fire and was hit with a blast from an IED, which left him medically discharged and permanently disabled.
Because of his disability, James was issued a handicap hanging tag from the state since he has trouble walking long distances. However, James’ disability was not an issue... (more)
Back in February, we brought you the delightful news that the Chicago police department was rather broadly known to be operating what was essentially a CIA-style black site within the neighborhood of Homan Square. This facility, located in a rough West Side neighborhood of the city, featured such practices as off-the-books detention, lawyer-less interrogations,... (more)
After stopping a woman for allegedly running a stop sign, Texas police officers searched a woman's vagina for marijuana after insisting they "smelled weed."
Athens, GA — In June, Athens-Clarke County police officer Jonathan Fraser was responding to a call about a drunk college kid.
If you read the report that Fraser, who has a long and tarnished history filed, you would think that this hero cop diffused a dangerous situation and successfully defended himself against an intoxicated attacker. And, that’s exactly what his fellow officers thought — until the body cam footage was reviewed.
A Milwaukee police officer allegedly rammed a motorcyclist and his passenger off the road, then cited him for "failing to yield to an emergency vehicle," Fox 6 reports.
The man was part of a large group of around 250 motorcyclists who were takin... (more)
In whats being heralded as a high-tech way to more safely deal with high speed pursuits, the Milwaukee Police Department announced this week that it will be equipping patrol cars with a device that shoots GPS projectiles.
The technology propels a tracking device that looks like a large shot-gun shell – with adhesive on it – which can attach to the back of a moving vehicle and send location data to police in real time.
... (more)
A Washington, D.C. woman is traumatized after U.S. Marshals mistakenly raided her apartment in the early AM hours this past Thursday morning.
Hannah Lanes, her daughter, and her 4-year-old son were still sleeping when they heard a knock on their door at 6:30 AM on Thursday but when her daughter went to see who it was knocking on the door, one of the officers had apparently covered the peephole.
Before her daughter had any time to react,... (more)
The host of a popular preparedness and survival channel on Youtube, recently received a $10k settlement from the city of Gainesville, FL (of which he will receive $7,500 after attorney's fees). The settlement was for a false arrest that originally occurred in November 2013. As part of the settlement agreement, Eric English also received an apology letter from Gainesville Police Chief Tony Jones. ... (more)
There's been more good news than bad concerning the Fourth Amendment recently. In addition to the Supreme Court's ruling that searches of cellphones incident to arrest now require a warrant, various circuit court decisions on cell site location info and the surreptitious use of GPS tracking devices may see the nation's top cou... (more)
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A Louisville man has been arrested on a murder charge after he chased down and fatally shot a man who had broken into his home, police said.
The shooting was reported at 12:23 a.m. on Saturday in the 5300 block of Halsey Court.
Deontae Yarnell, 22, told police that he came home to find that two men had broken in. He said he fired at them several times as they fled from his home and chased them for approximately one block, according to his arr... (more)
After one of the biggest drug busts of its kind in history, the US Coastguard misplaced 4,000 pounds of cocaine. The agency raided a makeshift submarine off the coast of California, and allegedly seized over 16,000 pounds of cocaine from the vessel, but returned to shore with only 12,000 pounds.
In a press release issued this week, the Coast Guard said that:
"After removing 12,000 pounds of the narcotics aboard, the crew of Stratton attempted to tow the vessel t... (more)
Topeka, KS — “Josie” was a 26-pound miniature pinscher-boxer mix, who was rescued seven years ago, and became a beloved member of 72-year-old Harriette Macnish’s family.
"She was wonderful, and she loved us," Harriette Macnish said.
This loving 7-year relationship would be violently brought to an end, however, on July 13 when Topeka Police Officer, Michael Cruse would enter the backyard of the Macnish’s home, and kill th... (more)
On July 1st, the Spanish government enacted a set of laws designed to keep disruption within its borders to a minimum. In addition to making dissent illegal (criminal acts now include "public disruption" and "unauthorized protests"), Spanish legislators decided the nation's law enforcement officer... (more)
Philadelphia, PA — Perry Betts, one of the most corrupt narcotics officers in the history of the Philadelphia Police Department, has been fired, again, for failing a drug test.
Bett’s situation is especially interesting because he was just recently rehired by the police department. His rehiring came after he was acquitted in a federal corruption case, in which he was accused of 47 different charges including extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and drug dealing.
Earlier this year, we covered the story of Louise Milan, a 68-year-old grandmother whose house was raided by a SWAT team (accompanied by a news crew) searching for someone who had made alleged threats against police officers over the internet. Part of the probable cause submitted for the warrant was Milan's IP address. B... (more)
Fullerton, CA — Four years ago, Kelly Thomas -- a homeless, mentally ill man from Fullerton, California — was beaten to death by police officers while he cried out piteously for his father. A newly released "systematic review" of the Fullerton PD depicts an institutional culture in which police administrators are dismissive of excessive force complaints by... (more)
A New York man says Suffolk County police in Long Island tackled him to the ground and attempted to delete footage of police brutality he had recorded but mistakenly removed the wrong file.
20-year-old Thomas Demint claims police have continued to harass and threaten him after the incident, prompting him to go public with the footage for fear of his o... (more)
Seneca, SC — Although his son was arrested earlier this year for stealing drugs from a detention center, Seneca Police Chief John Covington holds a harsh double standard for the children of his own community. While failing the war on drugs at home, Chief Covington has recently accused a teenager of causing his own death during a routine marijuana sting. Instead of relying on empirical evidence, Covington is defending the officer who gunned down the 19-year-old and then lied in order to... (more)
Phoenix, AZ – After receiving an anonymous tip from social media, 11 armed men set out to raid the home of a would-be fugitive wanted for armed robbery. The stage was set for yet another police raid on the wrong home.
Except this time, it’s the police who are the target of the nighttime combat mission. A police chief to be exact.
Tuesday night, Phoenix police Chief Joseph Yahner was confronted at his own home by members of two bond recovery service compa... (more)
Bloomington, IL — Police are now speaking out about a decision from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that drug dogs signal for drugs nearly every time they are sent to sniff a vehicle or home. This decision shows that police dog searches are not legitimate and that they are just used as a pretense for officers to violate the rights of innocent people.
The case stemmed from a 2010 traffic stop in which 20 kilograms of cocaine were found in a vehicle aft... (more)
We have a Philadelphia twofer this week, an Indiana cop who killed himself after getting busted stealing pain pills, an Oklahoma K9 cop popped for stealing dope, another jail guard in trouble, and more.
