Police

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge has ruled that Black Lives Matter is a social movement that can’t be sued over an officer’s injuries during a protest following a deadly police shooting in Baton Rouge last year. A Baton Rouge police officer sued Black Lives Matter and DeRay Mckesson, a prominent activist in the movement. But U.S. District Judge …

The Hill reports: The Department of Justice announced Friday that it’s rolling back an Obama-era program created to help improve trust between police agencies and the communities they serve. The department said it’s making significant changes to an office that investigated and issued public reports about problems it found in individual police departments. DOJ said the changes to the program …

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports: A Chelan County emergency services worker posted a disturbing joke to the county’s Facebook account, kidding about protesters being rammed three weeks after a Virginia protester was killed by a driver who did so. The worker managing the county’s emergency services Facebook account posted a crude cartoon with an illustration captioned: “All lives splatter … nobody …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is threatening to jail wanted people seeking shelter due to Hurricane Irma. The sheriff, who is known for his outspoken comments, made the threat in a series of posts to Twitter. “If you go to a shelter for #Irma and you have a warrant, we’ll gladly escort you to the safe …

Fox News reports: Former Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke Jr. announced Tuesday he will join the super PAC devoted to electing candidates who support the Trump-Pence administration. Both the super PAC, America First Action, and a spokesperson for Clarke announced that he would join the team as a senior advisor and spokesman. “It’s truly an honor to join the America First …

The Washington Post reports: By all accounts, the head nurse at the University of Utah Hospital’s burn unit was professional and restrained when she told a Salt Lake City police detective he wasn’t allowed to draw blood from a badly injured patient. The detective didn’t have a warrant, first off. And the patient wasn’t conscious, so he couldn’t give consent. …

USA Today reports: The Trump administration is preparing to lift a controversial ban on the transfer of some surplus military equipment to police departments whose battlefield-style response to rioting in a St. Louis suburb three years ago prompted a halt to the program. The new plan, outlined in documents obtained by USA TODAY, would roll back an Obama administration executive …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump is reportedly considering a pardon for Joe Arpaio, the controversial former Arizona lawman with a reputation as “America’s toughest sheriff.” That would surely be good news for Arpaio, who was voted out of office last year and was recently convicted of criminal contempt-of-court. But it appears the White House is keeping him in suspense. …

Law Newz reports: President Donald Trump raised eyebrows Friday when he suggested cops get rough with suspects, but White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that he shouldn’t be taken literally. “I believe he was making a joke at the time,” she said at a press briefing, after a reporter asked if it was just a joke. Trump …

The Hill reports: Charles Ramsey, the former Washington, D.C. police chief and Philadelphia police commissioner, early Monday blasted comments from President Trump during which the president appeared to encourage members of law enforcement to rough up suspects. “This is the president of the United States. He’s commander-in-chief, not a stand-up comic,” Ramsey said on CNN’s “New Day.” “Words matter.” Ramsey …

The Hill reports: The Suffolk County Police Department said they do not tolerate the “roughing up of prisoners” in response to President Trump’s address to police on Long Island on Wednesday, in which the president said cops should treat subjects violently. “When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddywagon, you just see them thrown in, …

“When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just see them thrown in. Rough. I said, ‘Please don’t be too nice.’ Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you’re protecting their head – like ‘don’t hit their head’ – and they’ve just killed somebody? I said, ‘You can take the …

Trump believes that transgender Americans are too much of a “burden” to serve in the military and that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesn’t apply to LGBT citizens. Yet he is “honored” to bestow the Presidential Medal Of Valor on Capitol Police Special Agent Crystal Griner, the heroic married lesbian who saved the lives of Republican members of Congress. …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: At the request of the mayor, Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau announced her resignation Friday afternoon in the aftermath of the officer-involved fatal shooting of Justine Damond, a 40-year-old Australian woman. Last Saturday, Damond called 911 around 11:30 p.m. to report a possible sexual assault near her home in south Minneapolis, and one of the responding …

The Hill reports: The governor of Maine attacked the press earlier this week and accused reporters of spreading false information that he threatened to go on vacation during a government shutdown, but a new recording of a voicemail captures him mentioning the vacation. Gov. Paul LePage (R) accused the press of writing false news stories about him going on a …

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports: Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones says his deputies won’t carry Narcan, despite its effectiveness reversing the effects opioid and heroin overdoses. He’s the only sheriff in Southwest Ohio whose department doesn’t use it. I asked Jones about Narcan after the controversial comments made by a Middletown city councilman about refusing to respond to overdose runs. …

A New York City cop who chronicles his weight loss and bodybuilding efforts on social media under the moniker “Huge Fat Loser” has earned thousands of shares for a touching post he made this weekend on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. His real name doesn’t seem to appear on any of the accounts, but he identifies himself as working out of …

Todd Starnes writes: It’s permissible in the United States to decorate police cars with rainbow flags to celebrate gay pride, but it’s not permissible to decorate police cars with Bible verses honoring law enforcement officers. The Houston Police Dept. is debuting a “Pride Car” for the city’s gay pride parade, the Houston Chronicle reports. Police Chief Art Acevedo is downright …

The Guardian reports: Police chiefs will consider the possibility of offering a gun to every frontline police officer in England and Wales, to counter the threat of a marauding terrorist attack, the Guardian has learned. A discussion paper on the subject has been drawn up for the next meeting of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), which wants to look …

The Associated Press reports: Minneapolis’ first openly gay police chief responded sharply Thursday to a decision by organizers of the Twin Cities Pride Parade to ask her department to minimize its participation in Sunday’s annual event due to tensions over the police shooting of Philando Castile. They said in a statement that they’re trying to respect the pain that many …