Tag Archives: police

Law & Crime reports: A truck driver who drove his rig through a large crowd of demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd on a Minnesota highway last summer will no longer face criminal charges, provided he does not get into trouble with the law for the next year. Bogdan Vechirko, 36, and prosecutors in Hennepin County reached a deal—called …

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 …

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 …

The Chicago Tribune reports: A Chicago police officer was arrested Friday on federal charges of breaching the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and entering a Democratic senator’s office with the violent mob, later texting to a friend that he’d “knocked out a commie.” Officer Karol Chwiesiuk, 29, was charged in a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Washington with …

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. …

Newsweek reports: A sheriff’s deputy in Denver, Colorado, who shared anti-vaccine content on Facebook has died of COVID. Daniel “Duke” Trujillo, 33, died on Wednesday evening from COVID complications, the Denver Sheriff Department said on Thursday. Trujillo was a former Marine who served as a deputy sheriff for 7 years and had recently been appointed vice-president of the Denver Sheriff …

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 …

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 …

Roll Call reports: Three Capitol Police officers talked to CQ Roll Call under the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the department’s failures regarding equipment for Jan. 6, when hundreds of pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the Capitol. All three are veteran officers with at least five years of experience each. Most officers who fought that day did so without helmets, …

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 …

“I’m not a politician. I’m not an elected official. I don’t expect anybody to give two shits about my opinions. “But I will say this. Those are lies, and peddling that bullshit is an assault on every officer that fought to defend the Capitol. It’s disgraceful. “I’m interested in sitting down with anybody that’s willing to take the time to, …

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 …

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 …

The Associated Press reports: The Justice Department is opening a sweeping probe into policing in Louisville, Kentucky over the March 2020 death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot to death by police during a raid at her home, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday. It’s the second such sweeping probe into a law enforcement agency by the Biden administration in …

Gothamist reports: Days after a jury convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of the murder of George Floyd, city and state officials plan to introduce a similar bills that would prevent police officers who’ve been fired or disciplined from joining any other department in the state. New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson made the announcement at the National …

Yahoo News reports: The crowdfunding site GiveSendGo has set up a fundraiser for a Virginia officer after he was fired for donating to Kyle Rittenhouse’s defense fund. Lieutenant William Kelly was fired from the Norfolk, Va., Police Department after it was revealed that he used GiveSendGo to donate $25 to Rittenhouse. “Regardless of how you feel regarding Kyle Rittenhouse, the …