Washington, D.C. — A group holding a candlelight vigil for cancer research was forced out of Lafayette Square on Saturday night, and hundreds of children with cancer were kicked out of the park along with their parents. The Secret Service and the National Park police barricaded the park for hours, stating that the gathering created a traffic issue.
The event was called CureFest for Childhood Cancer and was attended by hundreds who wanted to raise awareness about cancer resea... (more)
The abuse inflicted upon Boise resident Brian J. McNelis by the Ada County Sheriff’s Office is infuriatingly commonplace in post-constitutional America. The legal vindication he won last May, following a five-year legal ordeal, was very much out of the ordinary. Following a four-day federal civil trial in which McNelis represented himself, a jury... (more)
Austin, TX — Luis Sadly was doing nothing wrong, had committed no crime, and was only trying to enjoy a hamburger while he waited for his friend. However, his innocence was no protection against having his rights violated by the Austin police.
As Sadly minds his own business, he is approached by an Austin Police officer who tells him that he is being detained.
“Why am I being detained?” asks Sadly as he was clearly doing nothing illegal. ... (more)
The increased militarization of American police departments became more evident Friday. A high-speed chase of a “home invasion” suspect occurred on a freeway near San Bernardino. The chase ended not through the use of more familiar tactics (such as spike strips or PIT maneuvers) but with an armed police helicopter riddling the car with machine-gun bullets. A police official explained that such a tactic had to be used in order to protect innocent motorists from the dangers of the spe... (more)
Dickson, TN -- While conducting a welfare check on a 47-year-old man on Friday, deputies killed the unarmed father in front of his family. Although police claim that the man was reaching for a shotgun, witnesses assert that the man was not going for a weapon when a deputy suddenly shot him to death.
According to the Dickson County Sheriff's Office, Gregory Herrell's family called police asking deputies to conduct a welfare check on Herrell. Reportedly addicted to painkillers, ... (more)
Asotin County, WA — Washington state was one of the first places in the country to legalize marijuana, but many have complained that their regulations are nearly as bad as prohibition.
One serious problem with Washington’s new marijuana laws is the fact that teenagers caught with the plant can be charged with felonies, and face up to five years in prison. This sentence makes no sense considering that marijuana is legal in this area. This would be the equivalent of thro... (more)
A Tulsa, Oklahoma woman exonerated by DNA evidence after spending 20 years in prison for the murder of her infant son is suing police in federal court alleging they planted and tampered with evidence, and coerced her into admitting to a crime she didn’t commit.
After reviewing more than 8,800 pages of evidence including police reports, dash-cam videos, photos and audio interviews related to the Waco, Texas shooting that left nine dead and 18 injured four months ago, the Associated Press has determined that gunfire sustained by bikers included round... (more)
A federal judge on Wednesday told Mark Eugene Fuehrer that he would stand trial after being pulled over for driving an alleged one mile per hour over the speed limit. The stop itself was planned in advance. The Dubuque County, Iowa Sheriff's Office suspected Fuehrer was involved in dealing drugs, so deputies had been tailing his GMC Jimmie. On January 11, 2015, Deputy Sheriff Adam Williams set up a radar trap on Highway 151, after being told that Fuehrer would soon pass.
... (more)
A US teenager has been detained with the use of force and hit several times for what witnesses described as jaywalking in Stockton, California. The 16-year-old boy was charged with trespassing and resisting arrest. Early Tuesday morning, the teen was walking near the city’s bus depot, when a Stockton Police officer saw him. The video of the interaction begins with the cop restraining the young man and then starting to beat him with the baton.
There may be some method behind the zero tolerance, racially-tinged madness of the Irving, Texas, police department. The department perp-walked fourteen-year-old Ahmed Mohamed out of school and into its welcoming arms for the crime of not building a bomb. It was a clock, but because it had wires and a circuit board and was contained in a metal case and was on school g... (more)
Earlier this month, we discussed (or rather, ridiculed) a North Carolina's law enforcement agency's stupid and bizarre prosecution of two teens who consensually sent explicit photos to each other. There was the first (and most familiar) layer of stupidity: the charging of both with distributing explicit material to minors (both teens were 16 at the ... (more)
As if they weren't Machiavellian enough, spy agencies are evidently waiting for the next terrorist attack to change public opinion on the need for encryption backdoors, reports The Washington Post.
The intelligence community's top lawyer, Robe... (more)
San Jose, CA -- While walking down the sidewalk this month, a vigilant citizen pulled out her cellphone and took photos of a perverted police sergeant exposing himself while harassing her. Instead of remaining silent and accepting his abuse, the 39-year-old woman notified the police and showed them the vulgar photographs. A few days after the sergeant was arrested, the San Jose Police Department finally decided to place him on paid administrative leave.
Illinois State Trooper Corey Alberson has been found guilty of assault. Trooper Alberson originally faced one felony charge of aggravated battery, however, a St. Clair County judge found him guilty of the lesser charge of abuse. Trooper Alberson is scheduled to be sentenced on October 22, 2015.
The victim, Anthony Campbell, was stopped based on ... (more)
Conyers, GA — A student from Rockdale County High School uploaded a video over the weekend that shows a shocking police response to a schoolyard fight.
Adolescent quarrels are a frequent occurrence. As hormones rush in, children attempt to assert control over their environment as well as other children and the result can often manifest into a fight.
In the past, if a fight were to break out at school, the teachers, and in some cases the students, would rush in... (more)
This morning we wrote about the ridiculous situation down in Irving Texas where school officials and the local police totally freaked out and overreacted to a 14 year old student, Ahmed Mohamed, who built a clock in his spare time and showed it to two of his teachers. The story has exploded nationwide, with even President Obama weighing in and inviting Ahmed to the White House. F... (more)
An Oregon sheriff has been indicted on nine misdemeanor counts including three counts of harassment, three counts of official misconduct in the first degree, one count of attempted assault in the fourth degree, one count of assault in the fourth degree and one count of strangulation, the Oregon Attorney General's office said Friday.
The Oregon Department of Justice began investigating Klamath County Sheriff Frank Skrah in April following excessive force allegations. Seven of t... (more)
More jail guards gone wild, an Arkansas cop led a double life, a Pennsylvania state trooper was stealing drugs from motorists, and more. Let's get to it:
Denver, CO — In July, Paul Castaway was in the midst of severe mental anguish when his mother called police for help. He had a knife and was threatening to harm himself.
According to Paul’s mother, Lillian Castaway, her son suffered from schizophrenia and struggled with alcoholism. “I called the police for help, not to kill my son,” she said.
When police arrived, however, ‘help’ was the only thing they didn’t do.... (more)
Ogden police officers were just caught on video saying they can break into people’s houses without warrants, and it is up to their victims to get lawyers to prove it was unlawful.
Malik Dayo began filming the police after an elderly woman’s home was broken into by Ogden “gang taskforce” officers.
In Utah, the “gang taskforce” scheme allows police to target everyone from groups of teenagers who happen to be of non-Caucasian e... (more)
Apopka, FL – Six Apopka police officers are under investigation after video was posted online showing cops roughing up and berating two men who were simply waiting for a ride to work.
A video of the incident shows extremely aggressive and unnecessary actions by the officers involved, which are indicative of the increased calls for police oversight and accountability by the American public.
The two men said they were simply sitting on a curb outside of a cellph... (more)
Irving MacArthur High student Ahmed Mohamed loves science. Mohamed is only 14-years-old, but he has already been in his school’s robotics club, and is a great inventor.
But it was his clever inventions that got him taken away from school, by police, in handcuffs, and sent to the Irving, Texas juvenile detention center.
Police say that he may now face charges of making a hoax bomb, even though he never made any claims that his invention was a bomb, and he ne... (more)
A pair of civil rights groups believe the US Supreme Court needs to scale back the interrogation of motorists at "border" roadblocks that are nowhere near the border. In a brief filed last week with the US Supreme Court, the Texas Civil Rights Project and the National Lawyers Guild argued that lower courts are going too far in allowing police to arbitrarily harass drivers who have done nothing wrong. They want the high court justices to overturn a February decision by the Fifth Circuit US Court ... (more)
It has been almost two months since Seneca, SC police murdered Zachary Hammond, and despite the emotional pleas from Zachary's parents, the police are still refusing to release any information relating to his death.
This horrific journey started on July 26, 2015, when Zachary was murdered by a Seneca police officer. Initially, Chief Covington refused to release the name of the officer, saying that "We feel that releasing his name may possibly subject the officer and family to ... (more)
