Police

The Verge reports: A confrontation Tuesday between a police sergeant and member of the public didn’t start out unusually. James Burch, policy director of the Anti Police-Terror Project (APTP), was standing outside the Alameda Courthouse in Oakland, California when an officer approached him and asked him to move a banner. As the two argued, the sergeant noticed he was being …

Minneapolis’s CBS News affiliate reports: Sources tell WCCO that, as part of the plea, Chauvin could get a 20- to 25-year sentence, which he would serve at the same time as the state sentence, and that he would serve his time in federal not state prison. If convicted in federal court, Chauvin could face life in prison. Former Hennepin County …

CNBC reports: A Minnesota judge Friday rejected a request for a new trial for former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd. The denial came just hours before the judge is due to sentence Chauvin for the murder of Floyd. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, in an order, wrote that Chauvin’s lawyer Eric Nelson had failed to …

The Honolulu Civil Beat reports: The Honolulu Police Department used $150,045 in federal funds intended to respond to the pandemic to acquire a robot dog named Spot, according to city spending data. As for its use helping Honolulu combat COVID-19, the city’s spending data says Spot was purchased to take people’s temperatures at HPD’s tent city for homeless people. In …

Roll Call reports: Capitol Police spent $90,075 of taxpayer dollars in 2018 and 2019 to train its specialized Containment Emergency Response Team with Northern Red Inc., a company that publicly displays symbols often associated with the white supremacist movement. Northern Red’s website and Facebook page prominently display the Devil’s Guard Patch, which stems from a 1971 novel titled “Devil’s Guard,” …

Former Rep. Barney Frank writes in an op-ed today: Having gotten used to Pride parades being occasions when the broad community can come together in an atmosphere of complete mutual respect, I was very disappointed at the injection of bigotry that has marred this season. I am referring to the decision of the organizers of the New York march to …

ABC News reports: The Pulitzer Prizes recognize some of the year’s most important journalism. This year, someone who isn’t a professional journalist, but whose actions had as much impact as any, is among those being honored. Darnella Frazier, who filmed the death of George Floyd, received a special citation, Aminda Marqués González, co-chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board, announced Friday. …

USA Today reports: At least 73 law enforcement officers have been outed in the past decade for being members of white supremacist, anti-government and other extremist groups, or showing support for them, a new report from the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism concludes. At least 40% of those officers were allowed to remain on duty, the league found. And while …

Washington DC’s CBS News affiliate reports: An attorney for DC Police said in court, for the first time, that the department did indeed use tear gas on protesters around Lafayette Square Park last June. Protesters and the ACLU are suing federal police, and MPD, over their use of tear gas. MPD has consistently said that it was “not involved” in …

Denver’s ABC News affiliate reports: A 33-year-old deputy with the Denver Sheriff Department died of COVID complications Wednesday night – the second deputy with the department to die from the virus this month. Late Thursday evening, the Denver Sheriff Elisa Diggins announced Trujillo’s passing would be considered a line of duty death. Line of Duty designation provides extra death benefits. …

From the New York Daily News editorial board: Andrew Yang may be a quick study, but all the cramming he’s done since jumping into the mayor’s race can’t make up for years of inattention to New York politics and policies, best evidenced by the fact that he has never bothered to vote in a local election. The mayoralty is not …

Matt Tracy reports at Gay City News: Less than a week after Heritage of Pride (HOP), or NYC Pride, announced a ban on police contingents through 2025, the organization’s members voted on May 20 to allow the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) to march armed and in uniform — but HOP’s executive board subsequently stepped in and set their own …

Gothamist reports: In late March of last year, as the pandemic was raging in New York City, Karen Ramirez, a 39-year-old police officer, began wearing a mask to work at the NYPD’s headquarters. The professional consequences, she alleges, were swift. Police leaders — including three sergeants and a lieutenant — “made fun of and retaliated against” her over the health …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: The district attorney for Pasquotank County will not bring criminal charges against sheriff’s deputies who shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr. in Elizabeth City, a move likely to increase tension and protest over police violence. Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble [photo] announced the news while discussing the state’s investigation at a press conference …

Yesterday NYC Pride announced that police groups are banned from participating in parades and festivals through 2025. From the Gay Officers Action League: The Gay Officers Action League (“GOAL”) is disheartened by the decision to ban our group from participating in New York City Pride. Heritage of Pride (NYC Pride) has long been a valued partner of our organization and …

The New York Times reports: New York City’s annual Pride celebration, which began 51 years ago as a defiant commemoration of an anti-police uprising and has evolved into a city-sanctioned equality jamboree, will take steps to reduce the presence of law enforcement at its events. Starting this year, police and corrections officers will also not be allowed to participate as …

The New York Daily News reports: Ex-cop Robert Smith was busted Tuesday along with current NYPD officers Robert Hassett and Heather Busch on charges of collecting thousands of dollars in crooked payoffs for steering cars damaged in wrecks to a specific tow-truck business. But the allegedly corrupt Smith, in shocking Brooklyn Federal Court documents, was outed as a racist who …

The Associated Press reports: A federal grand jury has indicted the four former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd’s arrest and death, accusing them of violating the Black man’s constitutional rights as he was restrained face-down on the pavement and gasping for air, according to indictments unsealed Friday. The three-count indictment names Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and …

NBC News reports: Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin filed an appeal for a new trial Tuesday after being convicted last month of murdering George Floyd. Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, filed the request alleging that Chauvin’s ability to have a fair trial was affected by pretrial publicity. The motion alleges that the court abused its discretion by denying the requests …

The New York Daily News reports: The NYPD’s robot dog has been hounded out of service. The police department will return Digidog to robotics manufacturer Boston Dynamics after months of backlash and mockery that compared the four-legged bot to a dystopian sci-fi surveillance nightmare. John Miller, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, confirmed Wednesday the NYPD had cancelled …