Does Race
Drive Policing?
(#423, 2/3/23)
Race and Ethnicity
Aren't Pass/Fail
(#422, 1/9/23)
On the One Hand...
But on the Other...
(#421, 12/13/22)
Does Legal Pot
Drive Violence?
(#420, 11/24/22)
Blows to the Head
Were Never O.K.
(#419, 11/4/22)
Worlds Apart...Not!
(#418, 10/20/22)
Hard Times in
the "Big Easy"
(#417, 9/27/22)
What Were They
Thinking? (Part II)
(#416, 9/3/22)
What Were They
Thinking? And, Why?
(#415, 8/15/22)
Loopholes are
(Still) Lethal
(#414, 8/8/22)
Massacres, in Slow-Mo
(#413, 7/25/22)
Good Law / Bad Law
(#412, 7/2/22)
Tenacity is Great -
Until It's Not
(#411, 6/20/22)
Cops v. Assault Weapons:
a Hopeless Situation
(#410, 5/30/22)
Another Day,
Another Massacre
(#409, 5/16/22)
When Does
Evidence Suffice?
(#408, 5/13/22)
When a "Dope"
Can't be "Roped"
(#407, 4/20/22)
Judicial Detachment:
Myth or Reality?
(#406, 4/4/22)
A Show-Stopper
for Shot-Spotter?
(#405, 3/19/22)
In Two Fell Swoops
(#404, 2/28/22)
What's Up? Violence.
(#403, 1/29/22)
Ex-cops on Federal Trial
(#402, 1/21/22)
Who's in Charge?
(#401, 1/3/22)
What's Up With
Policing?
(#400, 12/23/21)
Cause and Effect
(#399, 12/6/21)
Backing Off
(#398, 11/18/21)
"Woke" up, America!
(#397, 10/25/21)
Full Stop Ahead
(#396, 9/27/21)
Damn the Evidence -
Full Speed Ahead!
(#395, 9/8/21)
A Partner in Every Sense
(#394, 8/24/21)
Our Never-Ending
American Tragedy
(#393, 8/9/21)
Racial Quarrels Within Policing (II)
(#392, 7/23/21)
Racial Quarrels
Within Policing (I)
(#391, 7/11/21)
Don't Like the Rules?
Change Them!
(#390, 6/28/21)
Regulate. Don't "Obfuscate".
(#389, 6/13/21)
Another Victim:
The Craft of Policing
(#388, 5/29/21)
Is the "Cure" Worse
than the "Disease"?
(#387, 5/17/21)
Let's Stop Pretending
(#386, 5/3/21)
Four Weeks,
Six Massacres
(#385, 4/19/21)
Two Weeks,
Four Massacres
(#384, 4/4/21)
Trial of Derek Chauvin
(#382B, 3/29/21)
One Week,
Two Massacres
(#383, 3/24/21)
Slugging it Out
Before the Fight
(#382A, 3/16/21)
The Usual Victims
(#381, 2/22/21)
A Risky and Informed Decision
(#380, 2/8/21)
Want Happy Endings?
Don't Chase.
(#379, 1/31/21)
Cop? Terrorist? Both?
(#378, 1/20/21)
Chaos in D.C.
(#377, 1/11/21)
Third, Fourth & Fifth Chances
(#376, 1/4/21)
Select, Don't "Elect"
(#375, 12/19/20)
Was a Dope Roped?
(#374, 12/8/20)
Fix Those Neighborhoods!
(#373, 11/23/20)
When Must Cops
Shoot? (II)
(#372, 11/11/20)
When Must Cops
Shoot? (I)
(#371, 10/31/20)
L.A. Wants "Cahoots."
But Which "Cahoots"?
(#370, 10/21/20)
R.I.P. Proactive Policing?
(#369, 10/10/20)
Explaining...or Ignoring?
(#368, 9/21/20)
White on Black
(#367, 9/7/20)
Black on Black
(#366, 9/1/20)
"SWAT" is a Verb
(#365, 8/16/20)
Should Police Treat the Whole Patient?
(#364, 8/3/20)
Turning Cops Into Liars
(#363, 7/20/20)
Violent and Vulnerable
(#362, 7/8/20)
Don't "Divest" - Invest!
(#361, 6/26/20)
Is it Ever OK to Shoot Someone in the Back? (II)
(#360, 6/19/20)
Gold Badges Can Be the Problem
(#359, 6/8/20)
Punishment Isn't a Cop's Job
(#358, 6/3/20)
But is it Really Satan?
(#357, 5/25/20)
A Conflicted Mission
(#356, 5/12/20)
Keep going...
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3/21/23 Jurors hearing
the third (and presumably, final) Oath Keepers trial convicted all six accused. Four were found guilty of conspiring to
obstruct Congress, and two of the lesser charge of illegal entry. Six Oath Keepers, including national leader Stewart Rhodes, had
been convicted of seditious conspiracy in the first two trials. But none of these accused was charged with that most serious
offense. None were high-profile members. Two were elderly, and one is reportedly autistic.
Capitol updates
Nearly $10 million bucks.
That’s what Philadelphia has agreed to pay a contingent of 343 demonstrators who were allegedly viciously attacked with tear
gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets by police officers during a May 31-June 1, 2020 protest over the killing of George Floyd.
An additional $600,000 is going to the “Bread and Roses” fund, which counsels victims of police abuse.
Related post
L.A.’s then-D.A. Jackie Lacey declined to charge two Torrance, Calif. police officers
who shot and killed Christopher Deandre Mitchell in December 2018 as he allegedly reached for a firearm when confronted in a
reportedly stolen car. His gun turned out to be an air rifle with a cut-down stock. Progressive D.A. George Gascon promised to
review the killing when elected, and it’s now in the hands of a grand jury. Both officers supposedly participated in a
well-known “racist texts scandal” involving Torrance cops, and one is apparently no longer employed by the agency.
Related post
And Torrance’s mea culpas continue. In 2020 two (now, former) officers spray-painted a swastika inside a car they
impounded. Its horrified owner’s complaint led to an internal inquiry that, among other things, exposed the racist texts.
Torrance just paid $750,000 over the swastika.
Related post
3/20/23 Serious disciplinary cases against LAPD officers are decided by a three-member panel. Accused officers can choose it
be all-civilian. After a random draw of nine from the sixty-seven citizens on board, officers can ”strike” those whom
they consider biased. And that, says a prospective panelist who’s yet to sit on a case after a year on the team, regularly
excludes those who have found against cops or, like herself, are rumored to have incorrect (i.e., “woke”) views that
bias them against policing.
Related post
With the prosecution case done, the trial
of the five Proud Boys, including leader Enrique Tarrio, seems at an uncertain place. Evidence that the defendants created and led
a conspiracy to massively storm the Capitol was lacking. Not even cooperating witnesses went that far. Instead, prosecutors used
videos of the event to argue that the accused used the group as “tools” to stop the transfer of power. It’s
expected that the defense will try to capitalize on that weakness.
Capitol updates
“Blue”
moves to eliminate cash bail and facilitate pre-trial release have become the target of “Reds” who warn they would
seriously compromise public safety. As an example they cite the murderous November 2021 rampage of Darrell Brooks,
a multi-convicted
felon and registered sex offender who was on $1,000 bail for domestic violence when he plowed his speeding SUV into a Waukesha
(WI) Christmas parade, killing five and injuring 48. Related posts
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Ex-Minneapolis cop
Derek Chauvin pled guilty to failure to file state tax returns. He drew a 13-month prison sentence, to run concurrently with
his 21-year Federal and 22 1/2 year State terms for murdering George Floyd. Chauvin and his ex-wife also failed to report all their
income. She recently pled guilty and will draw probation.
Chauvin updates
“Judge-
shopping” is the practice of filing suit in a small court presided by a lone judge whose inclinations the plaintiff
considers favorable. That’s likely why a lawsuit challenging a program to admit 360,000 parolees a year from Cuba, Haiti,
Nicaragua and Venezuela was filed in Corpus Christi, Texas, where Federal Judge Drew B. Tipton presides. Judge Tipton, who struck
down an earlier immigration proposal, turned down the Government’s request to transfer the case elsewhere.
Immigration updates
Related post
Hordes of rowdy
revelers and two shootings, leading to one death, led Miami Beach to declare a nighttime curfew in its trendy South Beach area
for the third Spring Break in a row. Mayor Dan Gelber rejects the notion of Spring Break altogether. He doesn’t want a replay
of three years ago, when there were about 1,000 arrests and “dozens of guns” were seized.
Related post
3/17/23
Cullman, Ala. is home to West Elementary School. And it’s now home to bulletproof fold-out 8 X 8 rooms that can protect up
to thirty persons from deranged shooters. Designed and installed by a local contractor, they were inspired by a plea from his wife
as she watched coverage of the Uvalde massacre. Their ballistic protection is said to protect occupants from “most handguns
and rifles,” and their locks are supposedly impermeable. Each costs about $50,000, and there’s hope for funding.
Related posts
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2
In 2016 researchers randomly assigned 504 Milwaukee patrol officers
to one of two groups. One group wore body cameras for eight months; the other did not. A recently published Crime Solutions study
reveals no significant between-group differences on overall proactivity, number of arrests or citizen complaints. However, officers
with cameras stopped significantly fewer persons in non-traffic “suspicious person” situations and conducted
significantly more neighborhood “park and walks”.
Related post
Seven
Henrico County, Virginia sheriff’s deputies and three hospital employees were charged with murdering Irvo Otieno, a
28-year old Black man with mental problems who was being admitted to a hospital after spending several days in custody. During the
transfer, deputies allegedly pinned the shackled man to the ground for a prolonged period and smothered him to death. And even as
Mr. Otieno turned “lifeless” and stopped breathing, hospital staff supposedly failed to act.
Related post
3/16/23 A Federal-local task
force arrested three men for creating a ghost-gun “pipeline” that moved large numbers of untraceable weapons,
including assault-style rifles, from Massachusetts to New York City. A 123-count indictment charges that the defendants sold
unserialized guns, parts sets and cocaine to undercover agents, and that one of the accused, a former Smith & Wesson employee,
provided instruction for the weapons’ assembly and operation.
Related post
In March 2021 Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa used an AR-556 “pistol” to murder ten at a Boulder, Colorado supermarket. One
of his victims was Suzanne Fountain. Her son has now filed suit against Smith and Wesson for promoting the weapon, essentially an
AR-15 rifle refashioned to get around assault weapons restrictions, in a way that appeals to killers. After the Supreme Court
refused to intervene, Remington Arms settled a similar suit filed by the families of the Sandy Hook victims for $73 million.
Related posts
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2
3/15/23 President Biden’s March 14 “Executive Order on Reducing Gun
Violence and Making Our Communities Safer” directs the Attorney General to take steps to assure that gun dealers comply with
Federal firearms laws, that background checks are properly performed on all gun sales, and that “rogue” licensees are
weeded out and kept from returning to the gun business. His order also addresses “modernizing” the definition of
“ghost guns” and expanding State and local use of “Red Flag” laws. Related posts
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2
3
Debating their public safety views, Chicago Mayoral candidates Brandon Johnson, a Black man and county
commissioner, and Paul Vallas, a White man and past leader of the city school system, tried to assure their audience that they did
not hold extremist views. Mr. Johnson, who once held up defunding as “necessary” and endorsed “removing ourselves
away from...state-sponsored policing,” pledged to keep police spending as-is. Vallas, who’s called for abolishing rules
that “literally handcuffed officers” denied that “to restore proactive policing” (which he favors) means
“taking the handcuffs off.” Related posts
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2
3/14/23 On March 3, after an “hours-long” negotiation, two officers from a special Paterson, NJ police
team shot and killed Najee Seabrooks as the disturbed man allegedly advanced on them wielding knives. Their actions
were criticized by community members who pointed out that the officers were wearing protective gear and had shields. His killing
fanned calls to investigate the agency. Six of its officers were convicted in recent years for stealing from victims, and one was recently charged after shooting and
paralyzing a man who supposedly had a gun. Related posts
1
2
Immigration woes continue to beset the Administration. ICE stopped “crowds” of would-be migrants at the terminus of a bridge
connecting Ciudad Juarez to El Paso. Barricades were used to the same effect elsewhere. Rumors that asylum-seekers would be let
through have been sparking large-scale crossing attempts. Meanwhile a San Diego newspaper published
an op-ed by a long-held detainee who alleges that ICE repeatedly shuttled him between facilities for complaining about poor
medical care and other negative conditions under which he and others were being held.
Immigration updates
“Rampant” drug
use and disorder in and around L.A.’s Metro subway system have driven many riders away. Fentanyl has become an overwhelming
problem, and persons under its influence are everywhere. Overdoses - and deaths - are commonplace. “Sleepers” who take up
seats also abound. But while police assigned to the trains have arrested dozens for drug use and possession, in the burdened justice
system, criminal filings are exceedingly rare. But alternatives to policing have also proven futile.
Related post
3/13/23
Beset by a shortage of applicants, Memphis P.D. dropped college-credit requirements in 2018 and began hiring candidates with a
high-school diploma and work experience. Academy standards were lowered and grading was made far more lenient. Officers say that these
and other easings in hiring and retention standards led to hiring the five officers who now face prosecution in the killing of Tyre
Nichols. Related posts
1
2
In 1970 police
searching through the woods found the body of Maryland high-school student Pamela Conyers, who had gone missing after a trip to a
mall. Her killer’s identity was a mystery. It so remained for fifty-two years, until detectives used a public genealogical
database to connect a Virginia family to DNA recovered from the scene. From there they identified its source. Forrest Clyde Williams
III was 21 when he murdered the teen. Williams, who had a “minor” criminal record, died in 2018.
Related post
3/10/23 Jonathan Mangana, a 32-year old Los Angeles-area resident, was convicted of robbery in 2020. He was briefly imprisoned,
then paroled. Last October he was arrested for battery on a cop and having a gun. He was released on bond, but failed to show up for
arraignment. That’s why LAPD was looking for him yesterday. Mangana opened fire. He wounded three officers, none critically.
Mangana was shot dead.
Related post
NYPD seized 463 “ghost guns”
in 2022, an increase of nearly eighty percent over 2021. That just led the state’s attorney general to secure a court order
forbidding ten gun distributors from sending “key” ghost-gun components to customers in the state. New York City’s
most recent ghost-gun seizure took place yesterday, when police confiscated ghost-gun parts and other contraband from an upscale
apartment occupied by Christopher Fox, the brother of a famous actress and model.
Related post
After spending
twenty years in Guantanamo without a trial, Ghassan al-Sharbi, 48, was repatriated to Saudi Arabia. Sharbi, who had been going to
college in Arizona, was detained in 2002 on information that he had recently received terrorism training at an al-Qaeda camp in
Afghanistan. He was also accused of teaching English to terrorists. Sharbi was charged in 2009, but the case was dropped four years
later. Thirty-one detainees remain in Guantanamo; most are “eligible for transfer.”
Related post
In one evening,
two LAPD pursuits ended in crashes. One chase involved a car jacked by armed teens; the other, a vehicle stolen by adults. At least
six innocents wound up hospitalized, two critically. Four teens and two adults were arrested. Meanwhile a pursuit last year that ended
in a crash with serious injuries to an innocent person led to misdemeanor reckless driving charges against a veteran LAPD Sergeant.
According to D.A. George Gascon, “sworn police officers have a responsibility to obey all laws, particularly when they are on
the job and in uniform.”
Related post
Last year East Cleveland police chief Scott Gardner was suspended after being indicted for stealing $150,000 from the
State. Charges were also filed against six current and past officers for crimes allegedly committed since 2012 including robbery,
bribery and evidence tampering. Fast-forward to 2023. A grand jury just indicted
eleven current and former East Cleveland cops (including four charged previously) for “brutally pummeling, stomping and
harassing residents.” So many East Cleveland cops have been charged that county deputies have been brought in to police the
town. Related posts
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3/9/23 Three LAPD
officers are recovering after being shot by a “parolee at large” whom they were trying to apprehend. According to the
Times, their assailant had a lengthy record and was facing recent charges of battery on a police officer and unlawful possession
of a firearm. Other officers later shot the man dead.
Related post
Prompted by the 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor, DOJ’s civil rights inquiry into Louisville PD concludes
that its officers engaged in a “pattern or practice” of First and Fourth Amendment violations, using excessive force,
serving “invalid” warrants, and failing to properly announce their presence. Heavy criticism is levied on the deployment of
aggressive “Viper” teams that made pretextual, often illegal stops in Black neighborhoods. Negotiations for a consent decree
are reportedly in the works. Related posts
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At the request of Memphis officials, DOJ will conduct a review of its police department’s policies, practices, and training in
regards to use of force and de-escalation. DOJ will also address the management of specialized units, such as the “Scorpion”
team that killed Tyre Nichols. That incident has also led DOJ to embark on a program that will “produce a guide” for cities
across the U.S. about the purposes, training and management of specialized teams.
Related post
Ruling in a
lawsuit brought by the State of Florida, a Federal judge agreed that the mass release of asylum seekers into the interior of the U.S.
flouts existing law, which requires that persons seeking asylum be detained pending proceedings. His decision is stayed for one week to allow appellate review.
Immigration updates
3/8/23
A 2021 Missouri state law that nullified several key Federal gun laws and prohibited state and local officers from assisting in their
enforcement was declared unconstitutional by a Federal judge. “At best, this statute causes confusion among state law enforcement
officials who are deputized for federal task force operations, and at worst, is unconstitutional on its face,” said U.S. District
Judge Brian Wimes. But Missouri’s Attorney General has pledged to challenge the ruling.
Related post
Released by Federal authorities to await hearings, “more than 50,000” asylum-seekers have landed in New York City in less than
one year. A majority wound up in city shelters. A special city
agency is being created that will partner with local organizations to handle the massive, ongoing influx and provide housing and other
services. Meanwhile three of L.A.’s fifteen council members are seeking to have L.A. declared a “sanctuary city” and prohibit city employees
from assisting immigration agents.
Immigration updates
When progressive Los Angeles D.A. George Gascon took office in 2020, he ordered a number of easings. Among them was that
juveniles charged with serious and violent crimes not be transferred to adult court. Many deputies resisted. One was Shawn Randolph, a
veteran D.A. who headed the juvenile division. So Gascon placed her elsewhere. She sued, alleging retaliation. A jury just awarded her $1.5
million. And more such suits are pending.
Related post
Even though opponents were outspent
“more than 20-to-1,” Oklahoma voters rejected a law that would have made it the 22nd. state to legalize recreational pot. Its
highly competitive medical marijuana industry struggles for profits, and boosters hoped that full legalization would draw crowds from Texas.
But opposition by religious groups, medical authorities and police helped kill the measure.
Drug legalization updates
Concerns that the
technology would be used “to harm and spy on Black and brown communities” led the L.A. City Council to defer accepting a
$280,000 donation from the L.A.P.D. Foundation to acquire a robotic dog. Police insisted the “animal” would only be used by
SWAT, and then only to prevent injuries to officers and civilians, and both the Board of Police Commissioners and a council committee
approved the move. But a hostile crowd convinced council members to wait sixty days to make a decision.
Related post
3/7/23 D.C.’s council is “withdrawing” a controversial measure that would have reduced the penalties for serious
and violent crimes committed in the District. Its move comes after President Biden announced that he endorsed a Senate bill that torpedoes
the easings. But the pot’s been stirred, so that prohibition remains likely to be enacted.
Related post
Atlanta’s plans to
build a police training facility on a wooded 85-acre site has long been opposed by environmentalists. But “left-leaning
protesters” have also joined in. One, nicknamed “Tortuguita,” was shot dead by police during a raucuous demonstration in
January. That’s led to more conflict, most recently on Sunday, March 6, when a confrontation between cops and dozens of rioters from
around the U.S. led to the arrest of twenty-three on terrorism charges. And the conflict is likely to continue.
Related post
A widely used approach to reduce armed violence, “Project
Ceasefire” targets violent offenders with deterrent messaging delivered one-on-one and through group meetings. Over the years
it’s been deployed in many communities, and assessments are often positive. But according to a study in Detroit, researchers found
“no statistically significant effects” on shooting victimization overall. Ceasefire participants were not less likely to be
arrested for having a gun. But those who attended “call-in” group meetings were significantly less likely to be
arrested, including for violent crimes. Related posts
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2
3/6/23 Two males in their twenties approached a group gathered at a beachfront barbecue in San Pedro, a
working-class community of South Los Angeles. An “altercation” ensued. One of the intruders - he was dressed in black and was
wearing a black mask - opened fire with a pistol. Five persons were wounded, two critically. No arrests have been made. A shooting last July
in a local park killed two and wounded several. But an elderly resident shrugged it all off. He likes San Pedro for its small-town feel.
Related post
Harold Carpenter’s DNA was collected when he was
accused of a 1994 sexual assault in Washington state. But no charges were filed, and the DNA was never tested. And there it sat until this
year, when a grant let the state process untested DNA and submit profiles to the FBI’s CODIS database. And that’s how it was
matched to DNA recovered from the exhumed cadaver of Patricia Carnahan, who was was murdered in California in 1979. In 2020 a familial
search got California authorities as close as Carpenter’s uncle. Harold Carpenter, now 63, has been arrested and awaits trial.
Related post
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