12/13/23  DOJ’s just-released “Violent Crime Reduction Roadmap” urges that cities adopt the Council on Criminal Justice’s “ten steps” for reducing violence.  Step #5 urges “a combination of place-based policing and investment.” For the latter, it suggests “targeted investments and deployment of resources [to] improve education, employment, healthcare, housing, transportation, and other socioeconomic factors that can give rise to crime and violence in the first place”.

11/27/23  Chicago CRED provides youths who live in the city’s most highly violence-impacted neighborhoods “with a modest stipend, a life coach, trauma treatment, education and job training.” According to a recent study, young men who complete the two-year program are significantly less likely to be subsequently arrested for a violent crime. But their victimization rate is not yet provably affected. CRED website   Study

11/14/23  “An Unlikely Partnership.” That’s how BJA describes its Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative. It has funded eighty-six programs in crime-beset inner-city neighborhoods that partner police, affected residents and gang members in collaborations that “prevent violence, strengthen community resilience, and build social capital”. As part of this approach, former inmates are provided job opportunities and involved in “intensive, long-term programs designed to change their behavior.”

12/15/22  In late 2015 Hesperia, Calif. adopted a “crime-free” program that directed property owners to clear prospective tenants of rental homes and apartments with the Sheriff’s Dept. and deny housing to those deemed unsuitable because of present or past misdeeds. In July the Dept. of Justice sued to halt this practice for illegally discriminating against Blacks and Hispanics. Hesperia recently settled the suit by discontinuing the program and paying damages to those who were unlawfully displaced.

12/9/22  A study reveals that Chicago’s needy neighborhoods receive only a small fraction of investments. During 2010-2020 those whose inhabitants were more than 80 percent White received $32,707 per household, 3 1/2 times the amount ($9,372) allocated to neighborhoods where fewer than twenty percent were White. Public funds and charities can’t make up the difference. While they “poured” $9 billion into neighborhoods, private investors spent “nearly $200 billion” elsewhere. Urban Institute

11/22/22  “Reducing Racial Inequality in Crime and Justice,” a massive new report by the National Academy of Sciences, proposes that reducing the number of police stops and searches, cutting back on “jail detention, prison admission, and long sentences,” and improving the socioeconomic conditions of neighborhoods can ease the pronounced racial and ethnic disparities produced by America’s criminal justice system.

11/16/22  Thirty-two members of the rival WOOO and CHOO street gangs, which beset housing developments in New York City’s embattled Brownsville neighborhood, have been indicted for crimes ranging from weapons possession and reckless endangerment to murder. According to the Brooklyn D.A., these charges reflect twenty-seven episodes of inter-gang warfare over a two and-one-year period. And as they exchanged gunfire, innocent citizens also got hurt. “There’s no thinking about the terrible consequences that this behavior is causing in their community,” said D.A. Eric Gonzalez.

10/11/22  NIJ’s brand-new release, “Criminal Victimization, 2021,” reports a profound decline in the rate of violent victimization since the early nineties. However, urban areas experienced a significant uptick during 2020-2021. Persons in lower-income brackets were by far the most affected. For example, in 2021 residents at the bottom of the earnings scale suffered violent crime victimization rates of 29.6 per 1,000, while the rates for the wealthiest was a far lower 9.7.

10/6/22  DOJ is distributing nearly $100 million in grants to State, local and tribal governments and non-profits who provide housing, educational, employment and other services to formerly incarcerated persons to facilitate re-entry and prevent recidivism. In a related effort, DOJ has partnered with the Dept. of Education to fund post-secondary education for imprisoned persons through the Pell program.

9/17/22  In two beset Tulsa neighborhoods, a public-private partnership that enhanced the police presence, “shifted high-risk individuals away” through eviction and provided enhanced security and surveillance significantly reduced total crime. But there was no significant reduction of disorderliness, and assaults only fell significantly in one location.

2/26/22  A city-funded “basic income plan” that provides 500 low-income Chicago households with $500 each month for one year kicks off in April. Households must have been financially impacted by the pandemic and their income must be less than 250% of the poverty level. For example, a three-member household’s present yearly income cannot exceed $57,575. Chicago also offers one-time awards of $500 to domestic workers and to persons, including illegal immigrants, who cannot obtain Federal payments.

12/21/21  DOJ is awarding $1.6 billion in grants to police, prosecutors and community organizations to support violence reduction programs, including evidence-based law enforcement strategies, crisis intervention for drug abusers and the mentally ill, and assistance for releasees transitioning to society.

12/14/21  A new academic study that analyzed the effects of “racial and economic segregation” in thirteen cities during the pandemic concluded that in 2020 gun violence, aggravated assault and homicide were at significantly higher levels in “marginalized” ZIP codes, and that the disparity between privileged and unprivileged areas had increased since 2018.

11/11/21  To help the “more than 8,500 people who leave its prisons every year...with only a bus pass and a small sack of belongings,” Colorado is spending nearly a million dollars to develop a list of employers who will hire newly-released inmates. Smaller amounts are going to private organizations that assist new releasees.

10/30/21  While the details are still to be worked out, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposal to grant $500 monthly payments for a year to 5,000 households comprised of “very low-income residents who have been economically hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic” is in her city’s newly-passed budget. Critics worry that these “handouts” will remove the incentive to work and be misused. But a former Stockton, Calif. mayor says that a similar program in his city worked well (see 7/9/21 update.)

10/25/21  With $10 million in state subsidies and millions more from private donors, a charitable organization is erecting two single-family residences in Chicago’s impoverished North Lawndale neighborhood. Fifty more are planned. It’s intended that the homes be purchased by low-income families, who will hopefully benefit from zero-interest and other financial incentives that are in the works.

10/11/21  In Philadelphia, up to 29-percent reductions in violence were experienced in the poverty-stricken blocks surrounding vacant parcels that got either a thorough cleanup or a major “clean and green” intervention. In a second study, a “full remediation” of abandoned homes led to “a clear reduction in weapons violations, gun assaults and shootings” in nearby areas. According to the authors, such findings suggest that high-need locations “may benefit the most from place-based investment.”

10/4/21  Five Chicago neighborhoods beset by gangs and gun violence will be getting special attention. It’s a carryover from a summer program that selects up to six neighborhoods for a mix of concentrated policing and social services. Officers will focus on problematic persons and locations, while residents will be helped to “find jobs, fight drug addiction and connect with assistance programs.”

9/22/21  Organized as the “Watch Guard,” adult male residents of Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood patrol their neighborhood in private vehicles each night, monitoring police radio traffic and using cell apps to communicate. “We watch anything that may be strange going on,” said its founder, a martial artist, “and do our best to de-escalate things, report and document. Their creed: “Black people are valuable and worthy of protection and compassion.” Their mission: “Rebuilding and reconnecting the village through service to our people.”

8/23/21  Police shot and killed Octavia Mitchell’s 18-year old son in 2010. Three years later, a street shooting took the life of Dedra Morris’s son. Both channeled their grief into “Warrior Moms,” a group that organizes events for children who live in Chicago’s most violent neighborhoods. On this occasion they were taking fifty youngsters by bus to Six Flags theme park. Mitchell is convinced that such experiences can make a difference. “To see their eyes light up and enjoy themselves in peace was priceless.”

8/20/21  Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood is getting the city’s first “Community Safety Coordination Center.” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said it would use a “whole-of-government approach” to combat violence by bringing residents and officials together to tackle “systemic inequities” including “quality housing, health care and social services.” Current initiatives that address “community safety, health and well-being, and violence interruption” will also be housed at the centers.

7/26/21  According to Washington D.C, police, over forty percent of gunfire occurs in a beset region that comprises only two percent of the District. Crime scene technicians found nearly 2,800 bullet casings within a square-mile stretch of that area in three years. Killings are so commonplace that a local mentor stopped going to funerals and now works with young people in Virginia: “I’m tired of praying over a person in a casket that I played pee-wee football with.” In 2020 murders in D.C. “reached a 16-year high,” leading its Democratic mayor, Muriel E. Bowser, to declare “a public health crisis.”

7/18/21  With 102 murders in Washington D.C. so far this year, same as in 2020 and a sixteen-year high, the Nation’s capital reels from the death of its latest victim, a six-year old girl who was gunned down in a drive-by that wounded five others, including her mother. Meanwhile the city announced a new program, Building Blocks DC, “that concentrates police and health programs on the 151 blocks where gun violence is most common.”

7/13/21  At a White House meeting with political leaders and police chiefs, President Biden urged a multi-pronged approach against crime. It would include a crackdown on rogue gun dealers, hiring more cops, and funding community policing, housing, mental health and job training programs. “Support young people to pick up a paycheck instead of a pistol,” he implored. Memphis police chief C.J. Davis agrees. Noting that “Black and Brown communities are being terrorized from gun violence,” he’s convinced that more than policing is needed. “We have to find balance. We can’t continue to arrest crime away.”

Similar  sentiments were voiced in a major Chicago Tribune editorial about the violence-beset city. Community members emphasized addressing “root causes” including “poverty and inequity, low employment opportunities in under-resourced neighborhoods, high dropout rates in education, and the long-standing tension between law enforcement and the community.” One, who warned that defunding police is “stupid,” urged that cops could best be helped by paying everyone who works “a living wage.”

7/9/21 Long Beach is planning to supplement the income of 500 of its poorest families with a monthly stipend of $500 for a year. Childcare, work training and transportation will also be furnished. Its effort follows on “universal basic income” successes elsewhere. For example, Stockton, whose program began in 2019, reports that recipients are “healthier, showing less depression and anxiety and enhanced well-being” and more likely to find a good job.

7/8/21  President Biden’s “American Families Plan” would offer a variety of benefits, and particularly to lower-income families. These would include universal pre-school, free childcare, paid family and medical leave, “healthy” home and school meals, special tax credits, and mentoring, free college education and direct monetary assistance to financially struggling students.

6/29/21  An outreach initiative aimed at “men most likely to experience gun violence,” READI Chicago offers intensive individualized services including cognitive therapy, job training and placement, education and health care. Proponents argue that its cost, $20,000 per year, is a lot cheaper than prison, and its results have impressed President Biden, who referred to the program in a recent speech.

6/23/21  California legislators have tentatively agreed to use Federal COVID funds to cover the full amount of unpaid rent accumulated by low-income persons during the pandemic. Assistance with utility bills would also be provided. Another program would be available to families with earnings less than eighty percent of the local median.

5/13/21  California Governor Gavin Newsom’s plate of education initiatives includes an initial $1 billion outlay, which would eventually increase five-fold, to fund after-school and summer enrichment and tutoring programs in “low-income communities.”

12/26/20  Court injunctions that forbid persons identified by police as gang members from congregating have been issued throughout California since the violence-wracked 1980s. About 8,600 residents of Los Angeles are included. But litigation by the ACLU has led to a settlement which forbids LAPD from arresting alleged violators of gang injunctions unless their membership has been proven in court.

12/23/20  L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti rejected the City Council’s proposal to use reallocated police funds for “park improvements, street and alley resurfacing, tree trimming” and other physical repairs. Instead, he wants to direct the funds for social purposes, including avoiding the layoff of city workers, “antiviolence initiatives,” and a program that has mental health specialists respond to nonviolent calls.

11/26/24  Twenty-million dollars. That’s what the city of Las Cruces, NM has agreed to pay the estate of Teresa Gomez, who was shot and killed by ex-cop Felipe Hernandez during an October 2023 nighttime encounter outside a housing complex. As the cop berated her and her passenger, who was supposedly barred from the premises, Ms. Gomez suddenly drove off with her car door still open. Hernandez instantly opened fire. He awaits trial for second-degree murder. Press briefing, with bodycam

11/25/24  On November 12 Las Vegas resident Brandon Durham called 911 to report that he and his daughter were hiding from a person who just broke into their home. And as he and the intruder struggled over a knife, Officer Alexander Bookman burst in. He soon opened fire, and Mr. Durham was shot dead. The intruder, Alejandra Boudreaux, was arrested, and the officer was placed on leave. Boudreaux – reportedly Mr. Durham’s one-time paramour – has a lengthy criminal history

11/21/24  In March 2021 then-L.A. County deputy sheriff Remin Pineda kept shooting at David Ordaz Jr. even though the man, who had threatened family members with a knife, was struck by bullets fired by other officers and had fallen to the ground. Mr. Ordaz died. A plea bargain to let Pineda plead guilty to felony assault under color of authority had been rejected by a judge. But although Ordaz’s survivors bitterly objected, another judge just approved the deal. Pineda will not have to serve any prison time. (See 8/1/21 and 11/2/22 updates)

11/14/24  In November 2017 U.S. Park Police officers Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya shot and killed Bijan Ghaisar when he nearly struck one of them with his car while trying to flee from a car stop. They were charged with manslaughter, but a Federal judge dismissed the case. And an attempt to fire them was just turned away by the Interior Dept.’s Inspector General, who ruled the shooting justified. Last year the Government settled the family’s suit for $5 million; both officers remain on paid leave. (See 6/25/22 and 4/24/23 updates)

10/14/24  In a message to PoliceIssues, the mother of Marcellis Stinnette, who was shot and killed by a then-Waukegan, Ill. police officer four years ago, states that “after investigations , it was founded that there was no active warrant for my son. My family had been harassed by the same officer for years prior to him murdering my son.” (See 9/28/22 update)

10/7/24  One year ago Fairfax County (Va.) police sergeant Wesley Shifflett and another officer chased Timothy McCree Johnson, 37 after he shoplifted a pair of sunglasses. As they entered a dark wooded area Sgt. Shifflett said Mr. Johnson reached for his waist. Both officers fired their guns. Sgt. Shifflett’s rounds killed Mr. Johnson, who was unarmed. Mr. Johnson was Black; both officers are White. Sgt. Shifflett was fired. At his recentl trial jurors acquitted him of manslaughter but convicted him of felony reckless handling of a firearm. According to the original story, Sgt. Shifflett had pointed his gun at other shoplifters in the past.

LAPD officer Toni McBride remained on the job after Chief Bernard Parks held that her April 2020 shooting of Daniel Hernandez, who aggressively flaunted a box cutter, was “in policy”. But the Police Commission disagreed because her last two rounds were fired while Hernandez was on the ground. McBride appealed, and a hearing examiner just reversed the Commission. McBride is now fully cleared. (See 1/13/23 and 3/25/24 updates)

9/17/24  In March former Colorado paramedic Peter Cichuniec drew a five-year prison term for injecting Elijah McClain with ketamine during his forceful restraint by police. McClain didn’t survive. Cichuniec’s paramedic partner was also convicted but drew probation. Taking pity on Cichuniec, the sentencing judge  just released him on probation as well. Cichuniec had been a firefighter/paramedic for eighteen years. According to the judge, the “deterrence” effect was served. (See 3/4/24 update)

8/26/24  Manslaughter charges were filed against former Okaloosa Co., Fla. deputy sheriff Eddie Lee Duran Jr. for the shooting death of a man who answered his door while armed. Roger Fortson’s pistol was pointing down when the deputy arrived in response to a domestic disturbance call. But the deputy instantly fired. As it turns out, he might have been directed to the wrong apartment. (See 6/3/24 update)

8/16/24  During the evening hours of July 13 a plainclothes LAPD officer followed a car occupied by four ski-masked men who had just been involved in a confrontation with another vehicle at a South Los Angeles intersection. Suddenly the car being followed stopped and one of its occupants ran up to the driver-side door of the officer’s car. Sgt. Michael Pounds instantly opened fire through his window, fatally wounding Ricardo “Ricky” Ramirez Jr., 18. He turned out to be unarmed. His family’s lawyer is urging the officer’s prosecution. He called it a “case of shoot and ask questions later.” LAPD videos

8/14/24  In violence-beset Baltimore, the police killing of an admittedly armed teen was bitterly criticized by residents who felt that his having a gun was insufficient reason to open fire. But police insist that 17-year old William Gardner pointed the gun at officers during a foot pursuit. Whether that’s true isn’t clear from officer bodycams. Police Commissioner Richard Worley, who called the incident “tragic”, said that officers had repeatedly told the youth to drop his pistol during the chase. But he didn’t.

7/17/24  Fullerton, Calif. 9-1-1 dispatchers were alerted by a male caller that he and others were being threatened by a man armed with knives. A two-officer patrol car quickly spotted the man and stopped some distance away. One officer pointed his pistol; the other pointed a rifle. They asked the man to put the knives down, but after a brief delay he charged at the patrol car with knives raised as if to strike. Officers promptly shot him dead. It turned out that the man had called 9-1-1 on himself.  News release   Video

7/9/24  An inquiry by the Los Angeles Times reveals that so far this year LAPD officers have shot six mentally-afflicted persons who were flaunting “a sharp object”, killing four. There were a total of 11 such shootings last year. This year’s outcomes were recently addressed by the Police Commission’s vice president, who said “I want to make sure that all other efforts are exhausted before lethal force is used.” But while the article’s tone implicitly criticizes the police, it also conveys concerns about the effectiveness of less-lethal weapons such as projectile launchers.

6/3/24  Okaloosa County, Fla. deputy Eddie Duran, who shot and killed airman Roger Fortson during a disturbance call on May 3, has been fired. Sheriff Eric Arden determined that although airman Fortson was holding a pistol when he answered his apartment door, the gun was pointed at the ground and he “did not make any hostile, attacking movements.” Duran’s use of deadly force was therefore “not objectively reasonable.” But the former deputy states that the airman seemed aggressive. “I’m standing there thinking I’m about to get shot, I’m about to die.” Whether another resident of the complex directed the deputy to the wrong apartment is also in dispute. Bodycam video (See 8/26/24 update)

4/29/24  Eight rural Colorado law enforcement officers were criminally charged over the June, 2022 shooting death of Christian Glass, a drug-impaired driver who called for assistance after getting stuck but flashed a knife when approached. Andrew Buen, the former deputy who fired the lethal rounds, was just convicted of reckless endangerment, but jurors hung up on second-degree murder and official misconduct. Seven other officers were charged with misdemeanor failure to intervene; a supervisor pled guilty and got two years probation; the other officers are yet to be tried. (See 11/25/22 update)

4/17/24  After the foreperson announced the panel was deadlocked 7-5, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge declared a mistrial in the case against ex-schools cop Eddie Gonzalez. Charged with 2nd. degree  murder for shooting and killing a passenger in a car that he approached after an altercation on a nearby campus, Gonzalez insisted that he fired because the car’s sudden movement placed him in danger. But that’s been strongly disputed. According to the foreman, the holdouts favored a manslaughter conviction. A lawsuit against the school district was settled for $13 million last year. A retrial is pending. (See 10/28/21 update)

4/11/24  Twenty-five million. That’s what L.A. County has agreed to pay Isaias Cervantes, a seriously mentally-ill man who was shot and paralyzed during a 9-1-1 response. Family members called because Cervantes had become combative during a “mental health crisis”, and he tried to fight off deputies when they tried to handcuff him. One deputy repeatedly exclaimed “he's going for my gun,” and another opened fire. LASD declared the shooting “in policy,” and the D.A. declined to prosecute. Video (See 1/10/22 update)

3/25/24  Qualified immunity forbids civil rights lawsuits against individual police officers unless they “clearly violated” a law. That, according to a recent Ninth Circuit ruling, shields LAPD officer Toni McBride from a lawsuit filed by the family of Daniel Hernandez, whom she shot dead in 2020. That’s so even though the LAPD Commission had ruled that her final two shots, once Hernandez was on the ground, were out of policy. But Chief Michel Moore disagreed, and officer McBride went unpunished. (See 1/13/23 and 10/7/24 updates)

3/18/24  A Connecticut jury acquitted ex-State trooper Brian North of manslaughter and negligent homicide for shooting and killing a mentally-troubled youth who flaunted a knife. In the 2020 incident, Mubarak Soulemane, 19 resisted arrest at the end of a pursuit and crash, and then-trooper North fired seven rounds because he thought, mistakenly as it turns out, that a fellow officer might be stabbed. A $10-million dollar wrongful death lawsuit remains in progress.

3/12/24  In Apple Valley, Calif., Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 9-1-1 call from a home where a teen was reportedly assaulting family members and causing damage. Seconds after the first deputy on scene approached the home’s open front door, 15-year old Ryan Gainer emerged from its interior aggressively wielding “an approximate five-foot-long garden tool, with a sharp bladed end.” Gainer ignored commands to “get back,” and the deputy, who had already drawn his pistol, shot him dead.  Video

3/4/24  Five years in prison. That’s the sentence handed down to Colorado paramedic Peter Cichuniec for causing the death of Elijah McClain by forcefully, and needlessly, injecting ketamine on the struggling man. A jury convicted Cichuniec of assault, and this was the minimum term he could have received. Paramedic Jeremy Cooper is yet to be sentenced. Their convictions have been sharply criticized by the paramedic’s union, which says that their “scapegoating” is discouraging candidates from applying. (See 1/8/24, 2/6/24 and 9/17/24 updates)

2/6/24  In 2020, one year after their epic encounter with Elijah McClain, Aurora (CO) police stopped a car they (mistakenly) thought was stolen. Guns pointed, officers initially placed its upset driver, a Black woman, and her children, on the ground, face-down. A D.A.’s investigation did not lead to any charges against officers, and those involved remained on the force. But their conduct was deemed “unacceptable.” And the city has now settled the family’s lawsuit for $1.9 million. Video (See 3/4/24 update)

1/8/24  Former Aurora (CO) officer Randy Roedema was convicted last year of felony negligent homicide and misdemeanor assault in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a pedestrian whom a 9-1-1 caller reported had been acting oddly. Roedema was just sentenced to 14 months in jail. His two companion officers were also tried, but both were found not guilty. However, two paramedics were convicted for negligently injecting McClain with an excessive dose of ketamine. They will soon be sentenced (see below update).

12/26/23  Aurora (CO) paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, who injected ketamine into Elijah McClain as he was being forcefully restrained by local police in August 2019, were found guilty of negligent homicide by a jury. Cichuniec was also convicted of 2nd. degree assault. Cooper and Cichuniec allegedly failed to examine McClain, delivered a clearly excessive dose of ketamine, then failed to monitor McClain’s condition. Cooper was accused of falsely reporting that McClain was resisting when injected, although a body camera showed him lying unconscious. Colorado now prohibits using ketamine on persons supposedly suffering from ExDS (See 10/16/23, 11/7/23 and 1/8/24 updates).

12/18/23  Gunfire is rocking Austin. About midnight on December 16 police were called to a commercial strip by a bar employee who said that a man walked in with a gun. As officers approached on foot they were fired on by the suspect, and in an exchange of gunfire he was killed and three citizens were wounded. It’s presently unknown by whom. Several hours earlier, a citizen was shot and wounded by an as-yet unidentified assailant at an area mall. Narrated video of officer-involved shooting

12/7/23  Prince George’s County (MD) paid $20 million to the family of William Green, a 43-year old Black man who was shot dead in January, 2020 while he sat handcuffed in a police car. Green was detained after his drunkenness caused a major crash. Then-cop Michael Owen, who sat in the police car with Mr. Green while his partner was elsewhere, said that Mr. Green assaulted him and took his gun, so he fired in self-defense. There was no bodycam. Owen, who is also a Black man, was promptly charged with murder. But he staunchly claimed self-defense, and after less than two hours of deliberations a jury acquitted him of all charges.

11/30/23  In January 2020 two Prince George’s County (MD) officers arrested an addled driver who  crashed into other cars. William Green, 43, a Black man, was handcuffed behind his back and placed in the front passenger seat of Cpl. Michael Owen Jr’s patrol car. Cpl. Owen (he didn’t have a body cam) sat behind the wheel. Suddenly, while his partner was speaking with witnesses, Cpl. Owen (he is also a Black man) repeatedly fired at Mr. Green, killing him. His claim, that Mr. Green became combative and went for his gun, was ultimately rejected. Cpl. Owen’s second-degree murder trial has just begun.

11/29/23  Last year El Cajon, Calif. sheriff’s deputies unleashed a barrage of gunfire at Erik Talavera when the homeless man grabbed for a knife after he was caught stealing a trailer that police parked as bait. Talavera, who was struck sixteen times but survived, is suing because the deputies who shot him were under no immediate threat. What’s more, a police detective who was assisting in the investigation was also struck by one of the rounds. He too is suing, as the deputies “had no need to immediately and recklessly fire their weapons.”

11/7/23  Jurors found Aurora (CO) officer Nathan Woodyard not guilty in the death of Elijah McClain. Woodyard, the last of three Aurora, Colorado officers to go on trial for manslaughter and negligent homicide (one was convicted, and the other was acquitted) testified that he pressed on McClain’s neck because another officer warned that McClain, who was detained for erratic behavior, grabbed for one of their guns. McClain later died of cardiac arrest, supposedly brought on by rough handling and a ketamine injection from paramedics, who diagnosed excited delirium. Two paramedics are yet to be tried. (See 10/16/23 and 12/26/23 updates)
8/1/21
10/20/23  In 2004 a Florida jury deadlocked on charges that Leonard Cure was the armed man who robbed a Broward County drug store a year earlier. Convicted at retrial, he drew a life term due to previous convictions for robbery and GTA. Sixteen years later prosecutors had Cure exonerated because of evidentiary problems, and in 2020 he was a free man. On October 16, 2023 a Georgia deputy tried to arrest him for driving over 100 mph. Cure violently resisted, and the officer shot him dead. Video

10/16/23  In 2019 three Aurora (CO) police officers detained Elijah McClain, a pedestrian whom a 9-1-1 caller said was acting oddly. McClain resisted, and the officers applied a carotid hold. Paramedics diagnosed excited delirium and injected ketamine. McClain went into cardiac arrest and later died. On October 12 jurors convicted former Aurora officer Randy Roedema of negligent homicide but found his partner Jason Rosenblatt not guilty. Ex-cop Nathan Woodyard and the paramedics are pending trial. (See 11/7/23, 12/26/23 and 1/8/24 updates)

9/29/23  Chicago D.A. Kim Foxx says that her prosecution of police officers has been meant to remedy a “lack of accountability.” But yet another of her cases has fallen apart as a judge acquitted two suspended officers, Ruben Reynoso and Christopher Liakopoulosa, in the wounding of suspected gang member Miguel Medina. His gesture, the officers claimed, led them to believe he was armed. And while Medina didn’t shoot, his companion responded with gunfire, and his gun was later connected to Medina. (See 9/17/22 update)

8/31/22  Last year a Ninth Circuit panel ruled that qualified immunity, which bars lawsuits against officers unless they violate “clearly established law”, didn't apply to the circumstances of a 2018 shooting by LAPD officer Edward Agdeppa. So the family of the deceased, Albert Ramon Dorsey, was free to sue. But another Ninth Circuit panel has just ruled the opposite - that the doctrine indeed applies. So unless the full Circuit or Supreme Court find otherwise, officer Agdeppa is protected from being sued. (See 12/31/22 update)

8/29/23  Two decades ago Jersey City, N.J. police officers who were called in by mental-health workers shot and wounded Andrew Jerome Washington when the mentally-ill man charged them with a knife. And on August 27, it happened again. Summoned by a mental health team that was on its sixth visit to Mr. Washington’s apartment this month, officers who opened the door fired with a Taser and a gun as the man rushed them with a long-bladed knife. This time, though, Mr. Washington was killed.

Ruling in a Federal lawsuit, jurors awarded a near record-breaking $23.6 million to the family of a Los Angeles man whom officers shot and killed in 2017 after mistaking a 16.5 inch metal pull bar for a machete. Officers responded after Jesse Murillo assaulted his sister and her fiancé, and he allegedly advanced on them while wearing a gas mask and wielding the “machete” in one hand and a hammer in the other. Prosecutors declined to charge the officers, and their actions were cleared by LAPD.

6/26/23  An early morning 9-1-1 call brought San Antonio, Texas police officers to an apartment complex where a 46-year old woman in the throes of a “mental health crisis” was smashing things with a hammer. She struck one officer with a thrown object, smashed a glass patio window, and advanced on three officers with the hammer. They opened fire, shooting her dead. All three were promptly suspended and have been charged with murder. Officer bodycam video

6/2/23  Paterson (N.J.) police have been long beset by accusations of misconduct, misuse of force and bias against minorities. But the killing of Najee Seabrooks, a mentally disturbed man on March 3, was the last straw for progressively-minded State Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin. Three weeks later, using a law unique to his state, the AG took control of the police. But his move doesn’t satisfy a local Black Lives Matter organizer, who would prefer that a truly independent monitor step in (see 3/14/23 update).

4/24/23  A lawsuit against the Government has been settled in the death of Bijan Ghaisar, who was shot by two U.S. Park police officers as he tried to drive off after being stopped on a Virginia parkway. Ghaisar had fled the scene of an accident and was reportedly smoking pot (police found a pipe and marijuana in his vehicle). Neither of the officers was ultimately prosecuted but both remain on “administrative duty.” Ghaisar’s parents will receive $3.75 million; their lawyers will get $1.25 million. (See 6/25/22 and 11/14/24 updates)

4/13/23  Felony assault charges were filed against former Whittier, Calif. police detectives Cynthia Lopez and Salvador Murillo for a 2020 shooting in which they crippled an unarmed man. Prosecutors say that the officers fired on Nicholas Carillo as he ran away from a car that was reportedly involved in a theft from a Walmart store weeks earlier. Carillo slowly backed into the officers’ car before trying to flee, but neither officer was injured. Carillo was also not the suspect in the theft.

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. (See 6/2/23 update)

2/7/23  Huntington Park, Calif. released a dramatic video that depicts police opening fire on Anthony Lowe, arm raised high as he seemingly sets to hurl a long-bladed knife at an officer. On January 26, Lowe, a wheelchair user who could nonetheless move around quickly, stabbed a man in the chest, and he called 9-1-1. Arriving officers used a Taser but without results, and their gunfire killed Lowe. Activists complained that police lacked “justification or cover for the execution.” Lowe’s family is preparing a lawsuit. HPPD press conference   Interview with stabbing survivor

1/21/23   In August 2019 three Aurora police officers detained Elijah McClain, a 21-year old Black pedestrian whom a 9-1-1 caller said was behaving oddly. The encounter turned forceful. Two paramedics responded. They diagnosed excited delirium and injected McClain with ketamine. McClain later died, supposedly because the dose was excessive. City officials later ruled the stop unnecessary, and the five have now been charged with manslaughter and other crimes. Each has pled not guilty.

1/13/23  A decision by Calif. Attorney General to clear LAPD officer Toni McBride in the April 2020 shooting death of Daniel Hernandez is drawing criticism. McBride fired six rounds at Hernandez - the last two while he was on the gound - as he aggressively approached with a box cutter. LAPD’s Police Commission had ruled the last two rounds were unjustified, but Chief Michel Moore held all six were in policy. California’s A.G. relied in part on the opinion of William J. Lewinski, a psychologist who runs the Force Science Institute, which detractors accuse of chronic pro-police bias. LAPD video (See 3/25/24 and 10/7/24 updates)

1/12/23  In three separate incidents within one week LAPD officers shot and killed two persons, and a third died after multiple Taser strikes. LAPD released graphic bodycam videos of each incident. In one, Takar Smith, a 45-year old mental patient off his meds, was confronted in his estranged wife’s apartment by Rampart officers after she reported he had violated a restraining order and was acting violently. After a long encounter officers fired when he reached for a knife. They were criticized by Chief Michel Moore for not summoning a SMART mental evaluation team. LAPD account  Video  Other incidents: Newton area (Oscar Sanchez) text  video     Pacific area (Keenan Anderson) text  video (See 6/5/23 update)

12/31/22  LAPD Chief Michel Moore ruled that officer Edward Agdeppa was justified when he shot and killed Albert Ramon Dorsey as he and another officer struggled to handcuff the large, powerful man after he went beserk in a public gym four years ago. But the Police Commission had unanimously disagreed. Their view was just seconded in a 2-1 split decision by a Ninth Circuit panel that allows a lawsuit filed by Dorsey’s family to go forward. According to the majority, “discrepancies” in the officers’ accounts and their failure to warn Dorsey suggest that the officers may have “violated clearly established law” and are thus unprotected by qualified immunity. (See 8/31/23 update)

11/25/22  Clear Creek County, CO deputies Andrew Buen and Kyle Gould were charged with felonies ranging to 2nd. degree murder for shooting and killing a mentally disturbed man who refused to exit his car last June. Christian Glass, 22, called 9-1-1 after getting his vehicle stuck, then negotiated with deputies for an hour while flaunting a knife. Bean-bag rounds and a stun gun were deployed without effect, and when Mr. Glass made what deputies Buen and Gold thought was a threatening move they opened fire. Marijuana and amphetamines consisted with ADHD medication were found in his system. (See 4/29/24 update)

11/23/22  Calling Ariel Roman’s testimony an “absurdity,” a judge acquitted Chicago police officer Melvina Bogard of aggravated battery and misconduct for shooting and severely wounding Roman two years ago. Bogard and another officer got into a physical struggle with Roman, a large man who was behaving suspiciously on a train. He resisted their attempts to detain him and grabbed her partner’s Taser and handcuffs. In a lawsuit, Roman claims he was having an “anxiety attack” when the officers encountered him. Police Superintendent David Brown has recommended that both officers be fired.

11/14/22  Originally charged with manslaughter, Former Sharon Hill (Phila. area) police officers Sean Dolan, Devon Smith and Brian Devaney pled guilty to ten counts of reckless endangerment for unleashing a barrage at a suspicious car after two quarreling teens exchanged fire at the end of a high school football game. The officers’ bullets killed eight-year old Fanta Bility and wounded three other spectators. Originally charged with murder because of the child’s death, the teens escaped punishment (see 1/19/22 update).

11/11/22  L..A. County deputy sheriff Remin Pineda has been criminally charged in the fatal 2021 shooting of David Ordaz, Jr., a mentally troubled man who threatened to kill himself with a knife. Called by family, deputies encountered Ordaz outside his residence and tried to get him to talk and drop the knife. When he didn’t they fired bean bags, and as he advanced they opened fire with guns. Pineda was allegedly not in harm’s way but kept firing even after Ordaz fell to the ground. (See 8/1/21 and 11/21/24 updates)

11/7/22  A former Northern Calif. deputy was sentenced to six years imprisonment earlier this year for the needless 2018 shooting of a mentally ill man. But he wasn’t prosecuted until last year, after he shot and killed another mentally ill man who was throwing rocks from an overpass and threatened him with a knife. Prosecutors, though, have ruled that in this instance there was insufficient evidence that former cop Andrew Hall acted illegally. (See 3/12/22 update)

11/3/22  LAPD Chief Michel Moore and the Police Commission agree that the two officers who opened up with live fire as a colleague discharged bean-bag rounds at a distraught man last December were wrong to shoot. Family members called police because Margarito Lopez Jr. was threatening himself with a knife. Officers found him outside, with a knife to his neck, and two fatally shot him when he moved towards the officer with the bean-bag gun. A Times review found eight episodes of simultaneous live and projectile fire by LAPD in a two-year period. (See below update)

10/19/22  A lawsuit filed by his grieving family denies that Margarito Lopez Jr., 22, posed a threat as the disturbed youth sat outside his South Los Angeles home, holding a knife to his throat. Officers remained at a distance and tried to verbally calm the youth down. But when he got up and began walking, they promptly opened fire with live and non-lethal rounds. Lopez was killed. LAPD bodycam video

10/10/22  A San Antonio, Tx. police officer spotted a car that eluded him a day earlier parked at a MacDonald’s. So he walked up, opened the driver’s door and ordered its teen driver - he was munching a burger - to get out. But the youth promptly started the car and threw it into reverse. Its door bumped the cop, and he opened fire. Erik Cantu, 17, was badly wounded. And three days later, officer James Brennand, a rookie still on probation, was fired. Video

9/28/22  Two years ago Waukegan, Ill. officer Dante Salinas was on foot, approaching a car that had been pursued after fleeing from an investigative stop by a fellow cop. And when the vehicle began to reverse, he opened fire, killing its driver, Marcellis Stinnette, and wounding a passenger. Although Salinas insisted he had been at risk of being struck, his bodycam wasn’t on, and he was soon fired. Prosecutors have now charged him with second-degree murder, manslaughter and aggravated battery. (See 10/14/24 update)

9/27/22  Jurors rejected murder charges against a White former Philadelphia cop who shot and killed an unarmed Black motorist after a high-speed December 2017 pursuit that ended in a crash. But they  convicted Eric Ruch, Jr., a ten-year veteran, of felony manslaughter for needlessly opening fire on Dennis Plowden Jr., 25, moments after the pursuit came to an end. Mr. Ruch testified that he thought Mr. Plowden, who was sitting on the sidewalk, was hiding a gun in his right hand. But it turned out to be heroin. Mr. Ruch was taken into custody and faces a 20-year maximum term.

9/24/22  During a 2019 encounter, Elijah McClain, a 21-year old Aurora (co) man whom a 9-1-1 caller said had been behaving oddly, was thought by officers to be suffering from ExDS. After a forceful struggle they injected him with ketamine, and McClain later died at a hospital. A new coroner’s report attributes McClain’s death to the use of force together with the effects of the drug. In 2021 three officers and two paramedics were charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide; their cases still pend.

9/17/22  On July 22 two plainclothes Chicago officers on their way to training pulled up to investigate persons “loitering” by a closed store. One, a 17-year old, allegedly pulled a pistol from a satchel and ran off. Who fired first isn’t clear, but in an exchange of shots the officers wounded two unarmed citizens, one seriously. Prosecutors charged Sgt. Christopher Liakopoulos, 43, and Officer Ruben Reynoso, 42, with aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm and official misconduct. Police video (See 9/29/23 update).

9/12/22 Calling the shooting an “unnecessary tragedy” but citing a lack of proof of “wilfullness,” DOJ declined to charge former Overland Park, Kansas officer Clayton Jenison with civil rights violations in the 2018 killing of John Albers, 17. Then-officer Jenison repeatedly fired on a vehicle that the reportedly suicidal teen aggressively backed from a garage which the officer had approached on foot. Jenison, who said he fired for fear of being struck, was cleared by a local prosecutor but soon resigned from the force. Jenison’s family settled with the city for $2.3 million. Video

8/30/22  After a prolonged inquiry, a Pennsylvania D.A. cleared State Trooper Jay Splain in the fatal shooting of a motorist who dragged another trooper with his car last November while resisting service of a protection order. That was Trooper Splain’s fourth fatal shooting during his fifteen years on the force. The D.A., Pier Hess Graf, said that her decision - it’s her second clearance of the trooper - was not influenced by her marriage to one of his former supervisors (see 12/31/21 update).

8/29/22  Last October LAPD officers shot and killed two mentally-ill persons one day apart. Evelyn Del Real was shot by a police sniper who observed her swinging a knife at her child, whom she had already stabbed. One day later an officer killed Grisha Alaverdyan after he stabbed a woman on the street, then advanced on him. Del Real and Alaverdyan had been previously assessed by police mental health teams. L.A.P.D.’s civilian police commission cleared the officers, and Chief Michel Moore agreed. But he was troubled about the second incident, as the cop’s partner had simultaneously discharged a beanbag round.

7/14/22  Last month LAPD officers responding to a call of an assault by a man with a gun spotted the suspect, Marvin Cua, 23, on foot. He refused to stop and ran off, gun visibly in hand (click here.) An officer pursued on foot. He soon fired, mortally wounding Kua. According to the officer, Kua pointed the gun in his direction, and that’s what LAPD has released. But it’s not apparent on the bodycam video.

7/8/22  Five years ago, a pregnant mother of four threatened Seattle officers with a shear “and spoke of morphing into a wolf.” Two weeks later, when two other cops came to her home on a burglary call, Charleena Lyles “suddenly lunged at one with a knife.” And when they drew their guns, she yelled “do it!” and cursed. Officers shot and killed her. One cop, who didn’t have his Taser, was briefly suspended. But neither was fired, and in 2021 the city settled the family’s lawsuit for $3.5 million. A coroner’s jury just ruled that the shooting was justified. But prosecutors insist they are reviewing the matter.

7/3/22  Akron police released graphic footage depicting the pursuit and shooting death of Black motorist Jayland Walker during the early morning hours of June 27. Walker, who refused to pull over for a traffic violation, fled on foot after a long car chase. Officers fired Tasers, then opened up with their handguns when Walker reportedly turned on them. Walker allegedly fired a shot from his car, and a loaded pistol and an empty cartridge casing were found in the vehicle. But he was unarmed when killed. Edited video

6/25/22  Four and one-half years ago U.S. Park Police officers Lucas Vinyard and Alejandro Amaya shot and killed Bijan Ghaisar when he came close to striking one with his car while trying to drive away from them for the third time. Ghaisar, who had fled the scene of an accident, was unarmed. Both officers were charged with manslaughter but a Federal judge called the shooting justified and dismissed the case. They remain on leave and their firing is pending. (Click here for a full video, here for the final encounter.) (See 4/24/23 and 11/14/24 updates)

6/10/22  On April 4 Grand Rapids (MI) police officer Christopher Schurr pulled over a car driven by Patrick Lyoya because its license plate didn’t match the vehicle. Lyoya ran away; the officer chased him onto a front lawn and they wrestled on the ground. A bodycam recorded the officer yelling that Lyoya took his Taser. The officer then fired his gun into Mr. Lyoya’s head, killing him. Protests promptly rocked the city. On April 9 Officer Schurr, a seven-year veteran, was charged with 2nd. degree murder. His personnel file shows no demerits for use of force “but much praise for traffic stops and foot chases that led to arrests and the seizure of guns and drugs.” Police press conference and bodycam video

6/9/22  On April 6, five LAPD officers encountered Jesus Castellanos, who was reportedly threatening people with a knife. Four officers trained non-lethal devices at Castellanos, who indeed held a knife. But a fifth officer soon fired his gun, killing him. A lawsuit has been filed. According to the lawyer for the officer who fired, regulations precluded his colleagues from using their non-lethal weapons because Castellanos was too far away, thus not a threat. His client only fired because Castellanos suddenly moved in. Video

5/10/22  A Pulitzer Prize was awarded to the New York Times for its reporting on police traffic stops. Its research found that during a five-year period officers shot and killed “more than 400” unarmed vehicle occupants during stops that did not involve pursuits for violent crimes. According to the Times, officers reacted with “outsize aggression” because of training that led them to “presume danger.”

5/9/22  First-degree manslaughter charges were filed against former Lawton, Oklahoma police officers Nathan Ronan and Robert Hinkle for shooting and killing Quadry Sanders, an unarmed man, on December 5, 2021. They were called to a residence where Sanders was reportedly holding a person who had a protective order against him at gunpoint. But when Sanders stepped outside to deal with police he was unarmed. As he waved his arms officers opened fire, shooting him twelve times. Brief video clip

5/3/22  Twelve-year old Thomas Siderio was riding a bicycle when plainclothes Philadelphia officers tried to stop him and a 17-year old companion March 1. Siderio opened fire with a handgun, shattering the police car’s back window, and ran off. Officer Edsaul Mendoza chased Siderio on foot, and soon shot the boy dead. But according to investigators, Siderio had already tossed his gun, and the cop knew it. Officer Mendoza was fired and has been charged with murder. Meanwhile Siderio’s father is reportedly about to be imprisoned on gun charges that were reduced from murder.

4/16/22  A Los Angeles Times review of fifty LAPD shootings since 2020 reveals that in eight encounters officers fired less-than-lethal projectiles while their colleagues “simultaneously” fired real bullets. In each episode the citizens weren’t armed with firearms but with bladed weapons. In one instance, a man flaunting a sword “was simultaneously shot in the street with a projectile and a rifle round from 77 feet away.” Efforts are being made to get officers to “slow down” and give less-lethal options an opportunity to work.

4/7/22  Citing an unresolved backlog of more than two-thousand criminal investigations, Aurora’s city manager fired police chief Vanessa Wilson, a 25-year veteran of the force who was elevated to her position after the killing of Elijah McClain. A reform-minded chief who set out to discipline errant officers and repair relations with the minority community, she was reportedly thought of as being soft on criminals at a time when “crime became an increasing issue.”

3/12/22  A grand jury declined to indict Nicholas Reardon, the Columbus police officer who shot and killed 16-year old Ma’Khia Bryant when she threatened a woman with a steak knife. According to special prosecutors, an “imminent threat of serious harm” justifies the use of lethal force. Bryant’s family criticized the officer, for not turning to less-lethal means, and the welfare system, for needlessly removing the girl from her family. Officer Reardon now faces a departmental inquiry.

Former Contra Costa County (CA) deputy sheriff Andrew Hall was just sentenced to six years imprisonment for needlessly shooting and killing the driver of a vehicle that other deputies engaged in a “slow-speed car chase.” That incident, though, happened in 2018. It wasn’t prosecuted until last year, six weeks after Hall shot and killed a mentally ill homeless man who flaunted a knife. That episode remains under investigation. Families of both dead men have received multi-million dollar cash settlements.

2/23/22  Louisiana deputy sheriffs Johnaton Louis and Isaac Hughes have been charged with manslaughter for shooting a homeless man dead as he sat in his car. Danniel Vallee, 34 was surrounded by officers responding to a noise complaint about a crack house. After ignoring repeated commands to exit the vehicle he restarted the engine. Several deputies drew their guns. He then sounded the horn. That apparently startled deputies Louis and Hughes (one stood in front of the vehicle) into opening fire. Vallee was found to have drugs in his system but was unarmed.

2/22/22  Police gunfire that places innocents at risk is “under the gun” in Southern California. LAPD chief Michel Moore recently concurred with a finding by the Police Commission that an off-duty lieutenant violated policy by firing at a fleeing vehicle. Although one of its passengers had just shot a pedestrian, the officer was not considered in danger, and his bullets could have imperiled others. In another incident, a carjacking suspect pulled a gun as Sheriff’s deputies closed in to make an arrest. They fired as the man ran into a backyard, striking him multiple times. While he survived, deputies later discovered the body of a 67-year old man in the yard. He had apparently been shot dead, but by whom is as yet unknown. Per recent California law, State agents will investigate to determine if fault exists.

2/10/22  According to the FBI Crime Data Explorer (expanded homicide count, Table 14), police in the U.S. justifiably killed 440 persons in 2016, 445 in 2017, 425 in 2018, 362 in 2019, and 303 in 2020, virtually all by firearms. But in 2015 the Washington Post started keeping close track of persons shot and killed by on-duty cops. And its database reports a yearly toll more than twice as large: 958, 984, 990, 999, and 1,021 respectively. (For 2021 it’s 1,055.) Ergo, the numbers are going up - not down, as FBI data suggests. Supposedly the FBI (and CDC) admit they undercount, and they’re working to improve.

1/19/22  In the evening of August 27, 2021 gunfire broke out as spectators left a high school football game in a Philadelphia suburb. Two bullets reportedly came near three officers standing nearby. They unleashed a 25-round barrage at a car they thought was the source. Their rounds went into the crowd, killing eight-year old Fanta Bility and wounding three others. Sharon Hill police officers Devon Smith, Sean Dolan and Brian Devaney have been charged with manslaughter and reckless endangerment. Two teens also face charges for the original exchange. (Original Washington Post story.) (See 11/14/22 update)

1/10/22  In May 2020 San Diego park rangers were driving a mentally-ill man, Nicholas Bils, 36, to jail for physically resisting being expelled from a closed park. Mr. Bills slipped out of his handcuffs during the ride. Deputy Sheriff Aaron Russell, 25, saw him running off and shot him dead. A deputy for eighteen months, Mr. Russell has pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter. And in March 2021, during a struggle between two L.A. County deputies and Isaias Cervantes, 25, one opened fire and seriously wounded the autistic man when his partner yelled that Cervantes was going for the deputy’s gun. An L.A. Times editorial complains that LASD is not using its “Mental Evaluation Teams” and backs a proposal to create a “9-8-8” hot line and civilian “mobile crisis teams” that deal with the mentally ill. (See 4/11/24 update)

1/7/22  On New Year’s Eve, James Williams, 46, a father of six, was in his Canton (OH) home’s rear yard firing his wife’s AR-15 rifle into the air in celebration. Called to the scene by reports of gunfire, a Canton police officer arrived. He saw Williams, who was barely visible through a wooden fence, with the rifle. Moments later Williams fired a prolonged burst. The officer ran up to the fence and without warning repeatedly fired his weapon. His shots went through the fence and fatally wounded Williams. Bodycam

12/31/21  Pennsylvania trooper Jay Splain has shot and killed four persons, each mentally troubled, since he was hired in 2004: an armed, suicidal man in 2007; another suicidal man in 2017; a mentally ill woman who threatened with her car in 2020; and, last month, a distraught man who used his car as a weapon. All the shootings but the most recent, which is still being assessed, were deemed justified. On May 20, 2022 the New York Times reported that the D.A. who is deciding whether to prosecute Trooper Splain, and who decided in his favor in the 2020 shooting, is married to the trooper’s then-supervisor.

12/28/21  LAPD released a video compilation of the December 23 shooting in a Burlington clothing store where a man with a chain and bolt attacked shoppers and left a woman bleeding in an aisle. A group of officers entered the store. One, armed with an AR-15 style rifle, made his way to the front and encountered the assailant from a distance. The officer repeatedly fired, killing the suspect, Daniel Elena-Lopez, 24. Tragically, one of the bullets from the powerful weapon pierced an interior wall and killed a 14-year old girl, Valentina Orellana-Peralta, who was trying on dresses in a nearby changing room.

12/24/21  A Los Angeles police officer opened fire on a man who assaulted a woman inside a clothing store. One of his bullets pierced an interior wall and fatally wounded a 14-year old girl in an adjacent dressing room. LAPD officers have reportedly shot and killed seventeen persons so far this year, compared to seven in all of 2020 and twelve in 2019.

11/22/21  A lawsuit filed by the family of Elijah McClain, an unarmed man who died after a 2019 encounter with Aurora (CO) police, has been settled for $15 million. Alerted by a 9-1-1 caller who said that a pedestrian was acting oddly, officers tried to detain McClain, but he resisted. Officers applied a carotid hold, and paramedics injected him with ketamine. McClain never regained consciousness.

11/20/21  Anaheim (CA) police released a police video that depicts, in great detail, the extensive pursuit and fatal shooting of Brandon Lopez, 33, on September 28. Lopez, who was wanted on armed robbery charges and was driving a stolen car, was ultimately blocked in by police. After “several hours” chemical agents forced him from his car. An officer who apparently mistook a “black object” in Lopez’s hands for a handgun yelled “gun” and opened fire. A knife was found in the car, but Lopez was otherwise unarmed.

11/9/21  A major study of police stops by the New York Times reveals that despite a profusion of agency rules that prohibit the practice, officers have persisted in shooting at moving vehicles, often with fatal results. Many incidents involve cops who approach on foot, then fire as a car suddenly takes flight. While some officers were at risk of being struck, many fired although they were not in harm’s way.

11/2/21  Local prosecutors charged Chicago P.D. Sgt. Oneta Carney, 58 with “reckless discharge of a firearm” for firing a single shot at her own car as three thieves drove it away from a Sam’s Club parking lot. Sgt. Carney’s bullet fell short, striking the pavement in the proximity of a moving car and pedestrians. None of the suspects reportedly made threats or flaunted a weapon, and they remain at large.

11/1/21  Interviewed for a major article about stops with needlessly lethal endings, some police chiefs and criminologists attributed much of the problem to “alarmist training” that made officers “hypervigilant” and “too quick to shoot.” Indeed, officers often fired because motorists “appeared to reach for something” that could be a weapon. The “momentum of a chase” also seemed a factor. But many motorists were “resistant or evasive.” Some were hiding drugs or weapons; others had warrants.

10/28/21  Murder charges were filed against the Long Beach (CA) school officer who shot and killed an 18-year old female occupant of a vehicle on September 27 (see 10/1 update). Eddie F. Gonzalez, 51, has already been fired for violating policy, which prohibits shooting into a vehicle except as a “final means of defense.” According to a news report, the officer previously served two very brief stints with local police agencies, one of which “chose to separate” him from his job.(See 4/17/24 update)

10/25/21  Police are typically instructed to aim their fire at “center mass,” meaning the upper torso, so that their bullets are more likely to incapacitate their target and less likely to strike others. But LaGrange (Ga.) police chief Louis Dekmar is training his officers to aim for the abdomen, pelvis or legs so that a lethal outcome is less likely. “Every time we avoid taking a life, we maintain trust.” One of his once-skeptical officers has turned into a convert, and an elaborate training program is now in place.

10/2/21  The CDC’s NVSS (vital stat. system) codes deaths by police in the “legal intervention” category. Our CDC data run (2018-2019) returned a .4 overall leg. interv. mortality rate/100,000 for Blacks and .2 for Latinos and Whites. But a new study in The Lancet reports that the NVSS captured only 56 percent (13,700) of 30,800 such deaths during 1980-2018. In fact, the mortality rate was .69 for Blacks and .35 for Hispanics. PLOS Medicine previously released a similar critique for 2015 that reported CDC’s undercount was largely caused by misclassifying gunshot wounds by police as assaults.

10/1/21  School police in Southern California are drawing attention over the use of lethal force. In Long Beach, a school cop walked up to a car to confront teens who participated in a fight about a block away from a high school. As he reached the passenger door the vehicle sped away, nearly knocking him down. He opened fire. His bullet struck and fatally wounded an 18-year old girl who participated in the fight. No guns were found in the car and the officer’s actions are drawing severe criticism. Click here for a video compilation. And in Los Angeles, school police summoned by campus officials about a threatening man  shot and wounded the suspect when he charged at them, firing pepper spray and holding a knife.

9/16/21  Prompted by the 2019 death of Elijah Mc Clain, a State investigation of Aurora (CO) police concluded that its officers “engaged in a pattern of racially biased policing and excessive force.” One key finding was that while Black persons constitute fifteen percent of the city’s population, during a recent three-year period Blacks were subject to nearly half of all uses of force. Aurora PD has been invited to voluntarily participate in State monitoring; if it does not, a Court order will be sought.

9/2/21  Three Aurora (CO) police officers and two paramedics were indicted for manslaughter, negligent homicide and other charges over their roles in the death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who was wearing a ski mask and reportedly acting oddly. That 2019 encounter, in which officers applied a carotid hold and medics injected a sedative, drew little notice until the killing of George Floyd nine months later.

8/28/21  In March Austin (TX) police officer Christopher Taylor, who is White, was charged with murder for shooting and killing an unarmed Black/Hispanic man during an encounter in April 2020. He now faces another murder charge, for shooting and killing a mentally ill Black man in July 2019. That victim, who was threatening suicide with a knife, was well known to police from prior encounters. A second officer, who also fired, has also been charged.

8/21/21  On April 3, 2018 a middle-aged Huntsville (Ala.) man sat on his couch, holding a gun to his head and threatening to shoot. As the first officer on scene tried to talk Jeffrey Parker down, officer William Darby arrived. He ordered Mr. Parker to put down the gun, and when he didn’t, promptly shot him dead. While the chief and mayor backed up the act as a justified “split-second” decision, officer Darby was indicted for murder. He was tried and convicted in May 2021, and on August 20 was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment. Litigation against the city is underway.

8/1/21  On March 14 four L.A. sheriff’s deputies responded to a 9-1-1 call about a man intent on “suicide by cop.” They encountered David Ordaz  Jr., 34, on the street and tried to talk him into giving up. But Ordaz, who was wielding a large knife, refused. Bodycam videos depict Ordaz as he stumbles backwards when struck by a bean-bag, then recovers and moves forward. One or more deputies then open fire and shoot him dead. Sheriff Alex Villanueva has expressed “grave concerns” and suspended one deputy pending an investigation. Ordaz’s family, who watched the tragedy unfold, has filed a lawsuit (see 11/11/22 and 11/21/24 updates).

6/21/21  During five years on the job, Wauwatosa (Wis.) police officer Joseph Mensah, a Black man, shot and killed three persons. Two were Black: Jay Anderson Jr., and Alvin Cole. Anderson had been sleeping in a car and allegedly reached for a gun; Alvin Cole fled from a disturbance and supposedly pointed a gun at Mensah during the chase. That incident, which happened last year, provoked large protests. Officer Mensah also killed a Hispanic man, Antonio Gonzalez, who had been flaunting a sword. Mensah voluntarily resigned and became a Sheriff’s Deputy. Although Mensah was cleared in each case, Anderson’s killing is back under judicial review and could lead to charges.

4/24/21  Sheriff’s deputies attempting to serve arrest and search warrants for drug offenses on a 42-year old North Carolina man opened fire as he drove away. Andrew Brown, Jr., was killed; according from an intercepted medical transmission, from a wound to the back. Seven deputies were placed on leave. Brown, allegedly a cocaine dealer, reportedly has a substantial criminal record for drug crimes.

4/20/21  Columbus, Ohio police responded to a 9-1-1 call about an attempted stabbing. On arrival they observe Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, apparently flaunting a knife. An officer’s bodycam video (click here for an outtake) depicts her pushing one girl to the ground, then rushing at another who is by a car. An officer opens fire and shoots Ms. Bryant dead. A knife was recovered. Coming just before the Chauvin jury returned its verdict, the killing led crowds to gather in protest. State agents are investigating.

4/16/21  Los Angeles police officers trailed a disturbed, agitated man who was aggressively wielding a hammer. The walking chase went on for blocks, with the pursuers firing Tasers and foam projectiles without effect. Once officers closed in, Samuel Ponce threw the hammer at them, then prepared to throw another object (it turned out to be a bicycle kickstand). That’s when one officer fired a Taser, and another fired his gun. Ponce fell dead.

Images from a parking lot surveillance camera suggest that Adam Toledo tossed his gun under a fence a moment before he turned towards the officer and was fatally shot (see update below.) For an inquiry into Adam Toledo’s background click here.

4/11/21  A 21-year old man on probation for a gun crime opened fire in a violence-beset Chicago neighborhood as a vehicle passed by. Shot-spotter devices alerted police, and officers quickly appeared. The suspect bolted but was promptly arrested. His companion, 13-year old Adam Toledo, also ran off. He now had the gun. Officers say that the youth turned at them with the weapon, and they shot him dead.

2/23/21  On August 24, 2019 Aurora (CO) police forcefully detained Elijah McClain, a 21-year old Black pedestrian whom a 9-1-1 caller reported was behaving oddly. During the struggle officers applied a carotid hold. On arrival paramedics diagnosed excited delirium syndrome (exDS) and injected a sedative (ketamine). McClain soon went into cardiac arrest and died days later at a hospital. On February 22, 2021 an official city report concluded that police did not have adequate cause to forcefully detain or restrain Mr. McClain and that officers and paramedics badly mishandled the situation.

12/3/20  On October 23 two San Bernardino (Calif.) deputies observed Joseph McLaughlin, 31 at a casino. They recognized him as a wanted parolee who did prison time for burglaries. McLaughlin ran off, and during a foot chase in hilly terrain he picked up a rock as to throw it at a deputy. The officer opened fire, striking McLaughlin him three times, in the shoulders and forearm. Questions have been raised as to whether deputies could have used other means and whether the shooting met the legal standard of “imminent threat of serious bodily injury” under P.C. section 835a.  Video depicting full encounter

7/17/24  An academic study of programs in Albuquerque, Atlanta, Houston and Harris County that divert 9-1-1 calls for non-criminal events and mental health crises from uniformed police to civilian responders revealed that this approach can be very effective. However, while working cops support the alternative response model, concerns by higher-level officials about personal risks to civilian responders, and of criticism by citizens who expect cops to show up, has slowed the programs’ expansion.

4/8/24  Three LAPD Divisions have begun testing the use of trained, unarmed civilians to handle nonviolent mental health-related calls. Modeled on “Cahoots,” the program is presently handling twenty percent of situations that involve neither weapons nor threats. It’s hoped that using specialists can free up officers for emergencies and avoid the “spiraling” effects that often accompany police intervention. (See below update)

3/2/23  This time it’s the cops who want others to step in. Chronic understaffing has led LAPD’s union to propose that calls about panhandling, illegal vending, peeing on the sidewalk and such be handed off to trained civilians. Ditto non-violent mental health episodes. But with traffic deaths up, police aren’t willing to give up traffic enforcement. L.A.’s City Council is reportedly taking the proposal seriously. (See above update)

8/5/22  With crime and “quality of life” violations still higher than pre-pandemic, BART, San Francisco’s transit system, uses uniformed civilian “Transit Ambassadors” and “Crisis Intervention Specialists” to conduct “welfare contacts” with homeless persons, the mentally ill and riders suffering from drug overdoses. They work in teams and with transit police to tamp down “quality of life” issues. While they’re said to be effective, their numbers are few, and one rider says he hardly ever sees them. BART website

5/11/22  Four Illinois cities – Peoria, Springfield, East St. Louis and Waukegan – will be receiving State funds to implement “co-responder” programs that partner social workers with police, creating teams that respond to mental-health emergencies and offer solutions other than arrest. Peoria’s police chief praises the initiative as part of a “new era of policing.” Chicago began a similar program last year.

1/10/22  In May 2020 San Diego park rangers were driving a mentally-ill man, Nicholas Bils, 36, to jail for physically resisting being expelled from a closed park. Mr. Bills slipped out of his handcuffs during the ride. Deputy Sheriff Aaron Russell, 25, saw him running off and shot him dead. A deputy for eighteen months, Mr. Russell has pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter. And in March 2021, during a struggle between two L.A. County deputies and Isaias Cervantes, 25, one opened fire and seriously wounded the autistic man when his partner yelled that Cervantes was going for the deputy’s gun. An L.A. Times editorial complains that LASD is not using its “Mental Evaluation Teams” and backs a proposal to create a “9-8-8” hot line and civilian “mobile crisis teams” that deal with the mentally ill.

11/15/21  Anaheim and Irvine become the third and fourth Southern California cities to utilize the services of Be Well OC, which uses the Cahoots model to dispatch teams of medical workers and mental health specialists to non-emergency calls involving persons who are in mental distress. Garden Grove and Huntington Beach, which are already using the service, praise its ability to properly tend to persons in crisis and allow police to focus on crime-related work.

10/11/21  Social service teams employed by Albuquerque’s new “Community Safety Department” have begun responding to situations involving mental health, homelessness and suicide. It’s hoped that these unarmed, civilian-only units will when fully staffed take on all of the 3,000 “nonmedical, nonviolent” calls received by 9-1-1 each month, freeing police to better handle matters requiring their presence.

8/26/21  Chicago has begun to implement a new Illinois State law that directs local governments to establish a 9-8-8 model (and phone number) that dispatches specially-trained mental health teams to assist persons in a “mental or behavioral health” crisis and operates “independently of police.” Once these teams are in place, police can only respond if a person is “involved in a suspected violation of the criminal laws of this State, or presents a threat of physical injury to self or others.”

6/17/21  When answering 911 calls about persons in mental distress, Montgomery County, Maryland presently teams mental health counselors with police. But it’s trying to “reimagine” things so that civilian teams respond alone. That’s making some experienced counselors nervous. “I’ve been in situations where things change in the course of 30 seconds,” said one. “And that’s why the police are there.”

3/16/21  In Tucson, civilian teams staffed with experts in mental health, drug abuse and homelessness will be taking over the response to non-criminal, non-violent calls including panhandling, complaints about “minor noise,” welfare checks and suicidal persons who don’t pose a threat to others. Calls that involve violence “or any immediate threat to public safety” will continue to be handled by police.

11/29/20  In response to objections by activists who demand police keep away from responses to mentally troubled persons, Chicago will be deploying two kinds of crisis intervention teams in 2021. One will, as previously planned, include two experts and one officer. But the city will also deploy teams of “clinicians and paramedics” modeled after “Cahoots” that do not include police. Both approaches will be implemented next year.

11/17/20  Beset by troubling encounters between police and persons in mental distress, Chicago is considering deploying CIT teams that include . But objections have been raised as to why cops should be included at all. “I think it’s an emergency to get police out of the mental health response” said an Alderman. A mother whose mentally ill daughter was recently Tasered agrees. But she also wants “a health care system that supports people before they are in crisis.”

11/15/20  An NPR report claims that “crisis intervention teams are failing.” Problems are attributed to response models that include clinical workers but are nonetheless managed by police, who consider persons in crisis as inherently dangerous. “Cahoots” is identified as an approach that helps debunk that notion. CIT’s are also “no replacement for an adequate mental health care system in a community.”

10/21/20  In a joint announcement with Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo DOJ unveiled a “National Response Center Initiative” intended to help Minneapolis and police across the U.S. “adapt to the wide range of challenges” posed by gangs, drugs and social problems such as homelessness and “enhance and reform policies and practices to prevent the use of excessive force.”

12/13/24  According to DOJ, it presently oversees about two dozen pattern-or-practice investigations of local police. Its most recent findings allege that Mount Vernon, New York police officers use excessive force, needlessly escalate encounters, abuse tasers and fist strikes, and make arrests that lack probable cause. Meanwhile its most recent consent decree, just entered with Louisville Metropolitan Police, comes nearly five years after its officers wrongfully shot and killed Breonna Taylor in her own residence.

11/4/24  Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend opened fire when Louisville officers burst into her residence four years ago. Then-Louisville cop Brett Hankinson, who was outside the apartment, responded with a fusillade that pierced walls and windows but struck no one. Hankinson was charged with violating the civil rights of Taylor and residents of another apartment. His first trial produced a hung jury, and he was just convicted on one count of violating Ms. Taylor's civil rights at a retrial. Hankinson faces up to twenty years. (See below updates) DOJ Press Release

10/7/24  State and Federal cases against the Louisville cops accused of civil rights and other charges in the death of Breonna Taylor continue to be litigated. Just filed, a superseding Federal indictment uses “additional allegations” to accuse ex-cops Sgt. Kyle Meany and Det. Joshua Jaynes of using false information to secure the search warrant. A recent ruling absolved them of directly causing the death of Ms. Taylor, whose killing a judge blamed on her boyfriend opening fire when the officers burst in.

11/17/23  Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankinson’s Federal trial for violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor and other residents whom he endangered with his wildly misplaced gunfire ended in a mistrial. Jurors could not unanimously decide whether his actions were, as he insisted, a reasonable response to protect his colleagues from gunfire by Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who mistook the officers serving a search warrant as intruders. Hankison was previously acquitted on like charges in State court. (See 8/5/22, 11/1/23 and 11/4/24 updates)

11/1/23  Former Louisville Det. Brett Hankinson was present during the search warrant at Breonna Taylor’s apartment in March 2020. He fired ten rounds when his colleagues exchanged gunfire with her boyfriend, who thought the cops were intruders. Hankinson’s bullets struck no one, but several pierced into another apartment and imperiled its occupants. Det. Hankinson was fired, then found innocent of State endangerment charges. He was then indicted for Federal civil rights violations. His trial just began. (See 8/5/22 update)

6/19/23  In February 2019 Chicago police mistakenly got a no-knock search warrant for the wrong home. And while serving it they handled its sole occupant, social worker Anjanette Young, very roughly. Last year Chicago paid out $2.9 million for the blunder. And on June 15, 2023, by a 5-3 vote, the Chicago Police Board fired the most senior officer on scene, Sgt. Alex Wolinski, for lapses including inattention and maltreatment. A long appeals process now begins to run. (See 11/11/21 update)

4/25/23  Myles Cosgrove, the former Louisville detective whose return fire during the raid of Breonna Taylor’s apartment missed her boyfriend but mortally wounded Ms. Taylor, was fired but avoided prosecution. He’s now been hired as a deputy by the Carroll County Sheriff’s office, a small agency in rural Kentucky. That spurred a small demonstration in the county seat, Carrolton.

3/9/23  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.

3/1/23  After seventeen years on the job, Col. Paul Humphrey, head of Louisville PD’s newly-formed “Accountability and Improvement Bureau,” struggles to help his agency overcome a legacy of misbehavior and lethal blunders that go far beyond the killing of Breonna Taylor. But record levels of crime and serious shortfalls in staffing get in the way. Ditto, the “daily realities” of the streets. One ex-cop, who is serving two years for beating a demonstrator during the 2020 protests, told a reporter that the urban disorder he contended with each day “began to take a toll and slowly changed who he was.”

1/31/22  Louisville P.D.’s killing of Breonna Taylor in March 2020 led to a wave of protests that summer. While helping break up a post-curfew gathering in June, then-cop Katie Crews fired pepperballs, striking a woman in a restaurant doorway. Her uncle, the proprietor, then shot at police and was killed by return fire from a National Guardsman. Crews, who left the force, was charged with Federal civil rights violations over the pepper-ball incident. She just drew two years probation. DOJ release

12/13/22  Louisville is paying Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, $2 million to settle lawsuits he filed after officers shot Ms. Taylor dead when they burst into their residence in March 2020. Mr. Walker says he didn’t know it was police when he fired a shot that struck an officer in the leg. Misaimed return fire from another officer killed Ms. Taylor. Her mother has already settled, for $12 million. Three officers were charged with Federal civil rights offenses for using false information to secure the warrant; one pled guilty and the other two await trial.

11/11/22  Under pressure from Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chicago’s city council rejected a proposed ordnance that would have imposed stiff requirements on police seeking search warrants. Inspired by the mistaken 2019 raid on the residence of Anjanette Young, the measure would have prohibited informants from being the sole source of information for a warrant and require corroboration through surveillance and at least one “non-informant source.” (See 11/11/21 update)

8/24/22  Former Louisville PD Det. Kelly Goodlett pled guilty to conspiring to violate the Federal civil rights of Breonna Taylor by helping other officers secure a search warrant for Ms. Taylor’s apartment using information she knew to be false. Former LPD Det. Joshua Jaynes, the officer who secured the warrant, and their supervisor, Sgt. Kyle Meany, are facing like charges (see 8/5/22, 12/30/20, 10/21/21 and 3/3/22 updates). DOJ press release

8/5/22  Federal authorities indicted former Louisville detective Joshua Jaynes, who obtained the search warrant for Breonna Taylor’s apartment. LMPD fired Jaynes for falsely asserting that Postal Inspectors confirmed Taylor was receiving packages for Jamarcus Glover, her drug-dealing former boyfriend. Current LMPD Sgt. Kyle Meany, Jayne’s supervisor, was indicted for approving the warrant and lying to investigators, and LMPD Det. Kelly Goodlett was charged with helping Jaynes falsify the warrant and lying to investigators. Also indicted was Det. Brett Hankinson, whose gunfire entered another apartment (he was recently acquitted in State court). (See 12/30/20, 10/21/21, 3/3/22, 11/1/23 and 11/17/23 updates.)

7/26/22  On Feb. 2 a Minneapolis officer executing a no-knock search warrant for a St. Paul murder shot and killed Amir Locke, who was startled awake from a couch and displayed a gun. But Locke was unconnected with the murder. Today his cousin, Mekhi C. Speed, 18, who had access to the unit where Locke was a guest, was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to 2nd. degree murder in that case.

4/16/22  According to the Washington Post, its database of fatal police shooting reveals that twenty-two citizens and one officer lost their lives in twenty-one police no-knock raids since 2015. Five of the citizens killed by police were not “a focus of the warrant.” Police reported that in all but two instances occupants turned out to be armed. Most of the raids were for drugs, which is by far the predominant reason for no-knocks across the U.S. But the Post says that no-knocks, which have become increasingly common, seldom turn up large quantities of drugs.

4/7/22  On Feb. 2 Minneapolis SWAT officer Mark Hanneman entered a residence while executing a no-knock search warrant on a St. Paul murder case. Amir Locke, a 22-year old Black youth who had been sleeping on the couch, suddenly woke up. Locke allegedly pointed a gun he had in the officer’s direction, and the officer shot him dead. Locke was not a suspect in the murder. On April 6 local and State prosecutors announced that viewed “from the perspective of a reasonable police officer,” there was insufficient evidence to charge the officer with a crime.

4/1/22  The officers who searched Breonna Taylor’s apartment were members of a team that was pioneering Louisville PD’s application of the “place network investigations” approach to combating crime in chronically beset areas. That strategy, which grew from academic research, is in use at a handful of cities, including Las Vegas, Dallas, Philadelphia and Tucson. A “holistic” version of “hot spots,” it also derives from the “PIVOT” approach developed and used in Cincinnati. But Louisville has dropped it.

3/7/22  On March 1st. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) introduced the “Amir Locke End Deadly No-Knock Warrants Act.” It would ban Federal no-knock warrants in drug cases. They could otherwise be issued only when their need is supported by “clear and convincing evidence” that giving notice “would substantially endanger the life or safety of the law enforcement officer or other persons.” Federal law enforcement funds could only go to State and local law enforcement agencies with equivalent policies.

3/3/22  After three hours of deliberation, jurors found former LPD detective Brett Hankison not guilty of “wanton endangerment.” During his testimony, he explained that his allegedly wild barrage, which he fired into a window and a sliding door, was meant to neutralize the shooter who had just wounded his colleague as they served a search warrant at Breonna Taylor’s residence. “I thought I could put rounds through that bedroom window and stop the threat,” he said. But his bullets penetrated into another apartment occupied by a couple and their small child. One of the parents testified about their near miss.

2/10/22  Protests over the killing of Amir Locke are helping propel a new move by the Minneapolis City Council to dismantle the police department and replace it with socially-focused public service agency. Banning no-knock warrants, which are frequently used by MPD’s SWAT team, is also high on the list. Crime worries led the city’s voters to reject a plan to abolish the police last year.

2/9/22  St. Paul (Minn.) police arrested Mekhi C. Speed, 17, for committing the murder whose investigation led an MPD SWAT team to serve a no-knock warrant on a Minneapolis apartment February 2nd. During the process, officers encountered Speed’s cousin, Amir Locke, who was sleeping on the couch with a gun that he was licensed to carry. He was startled awake. Mistaking his intent on rising, an officer shot him dead. Speed’s brother and girlfriend occupied the unit. A search turned up clothes that Speed may have been wearing on the evening of the murder (see 2/5/22 entry).

2/5/22  Minneapolis P.D. agreed to help when a St. Paul murder inquiry led into its area. But it insisted on a “no-knock” search warrant, which its SWAT team frequently serves. St. Paul, which has stopped using these, agreed. When MPD’s team entered the residence on February 2, it encountered 22-year old Amir Locke sleeping on a couch. On rising, the youth displayed his (licensed) pistol. An officer quickly fired, killing him. It turns out that Locke, an overnight guest, was apparently unconnected with the crime. MPD, which has secured 12 regular warrants and 13 no-knocks this year, suspended the latter’s use.

1/14/22  An academic study of de-escalation training implemented by Louisville police in 2019 concludes that it produced “statistically significant reductions in officer use of force and injury to citizens and officers.” However, the authors caution that the training, known as ICAT and developed by the Police Executive Research Forum, was intended to help officers peacefully resolve situations involving “persons in crisis...who may be behaving erratically, but are either unarmed or armed with less than a firearm.” It was not designed for forceful entries or persons armed with guns, and was thus inapplicable to Lousiville cops’ tragic March 2020 encounter at the residence of Breonna Taylor.

According to the FBI seventy-three U.S. law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in 2021. LEOKA data indicates that’s 59 percent higher than in 2020, when the toll was forty-six, and 52 percent more than in 2019, when it was forty-eight.

12/23/21  Comprehensive simulations using live actors is considered by policing experts at PERF as the best way to teach officers to “safely defuse a range of critical incidents.” Virtual reality, though, is less expensive, and is reportedly effective when used during intensive exercises that have officers switch into citizens’ roles. Louisville, Newark and Camden report that trained officers perform better. But a professor cautions that such training, while very useful for routine encounters, “does not address higher-risk scenarios like the raid in Louisville that led to the police shooting of Breonna Taylor.”

11/22/21  Louisville will spend tens of millions in COVID relief funds on police reforms. Housing will get $100 million, and violence prevention and youth programs tens of millions more. But Feds in town conducting a pattern-and-practice review prompted by the killing of Breonna Taylor are digging into a recent police killing, in which officers say the man they shot while responding to a domestic call fired first. “You can’t control the timing of these things,” said Erika Shields, the new police chief. “...with so much violence and guns on the streets, you just know there’s a likelihood of this kind of thing happening.”

11/11/21  During a February, 2019 search of a Chicago residence that turned out to be based on faulty information, officers reportedly brutalized its occupant, Anjanette Young, whom they handcuffed while naked. A recently released report recommended that six officers be disciplined and that a sergeant be fired. Among the findings was that the participants had insufficient training in conducting search warrants, and that “meaningful and effective supervision” was lacking. Click here for bodycam video. (See 6/19/23 update)

10/21/21  Jamarcus Glover, Breonna Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, will plead guilty to drug charges in exchange for probation. Det. Joshua Jaynes obtained the search warrant for Taylor’s residence by alleging that Glover was receiving drug-related supplies at her home. That turned out to be untrue, and Glover denied that Taylor was involved. Det. Jaynes was fired (he is appealing.) Also fired were officer Miles Cosgrove, whose bullets struck Ms. Taylor, and Det. Brett Hankison, whose wild barrage entered another apartment (he awaits trial for endangerment.) Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who was shot by Ms. Taylor’s companion and returned fire, accidentally striking Ms. Taylor, has retired.

9/25/21  Veteran D.C. police officer Terence Sutton was charged with murder and a colleague was accused of conspiracy and obstruction in the death of Karon Hylton, 20 on October 23, 2020. Hylton, who was riding an electric moped, was struck and killed by a vehicle as Officer Sutton and his colleagues in an anti-crime team pursued him, ostensibly for riding on the sidewalk and not wearing a helmet. However, D.C. police regulations prohibit pursuits for traffic violations. But Sutton’s lawyer insists that the officer knew Hylton and was chasing him because he thought Hylton was armed. Hylton had a record for marijuana sales and other offenses and was pending charges for assaulting a police officer.

8/6/21  Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron addressed the grand jury’s failure to charge any of the Louisville PD officers for killing Ms. Taylor. (One officer was indicted for endangering a neighbor by recklessly shooting into their apartment.) “The officers attempted to enter the home, they were fired upon and returned fire...it was a tragedy that in the return fire, Miss Taylor was hit and died...But again, our team had to look at the facts and apply that to the law as it exists.” He refused to comment on statements to the media by three disgruntled grand jurors who argued that they were misled.

4/28/21  With specific reference to Breonna Taylor, the Louisville resident who was accidentally shot and killed by officers executing a search warrant at her apartment, DOJ announced it will conduct a “pattern-or-practice” investigation to determine whether Louisville P.D. uses “unreasonable force, including with respect to people involved in peaceful expressive activities,” performs “unconstitutional stops, searches, and seizures,” or “unlawfully executes search warrants on private homes.”

4/26/21  George Gascon, L.A.’s new, progressively-minded D.A., halved the size of his agency’s “hardcore gang” prosecutive team. Renamed the “Community Violence Reduction Division,” it will continue to deal with “the most prolific violent offenders.” But instead of following a “purely prosecutorial model,” its arsenal of tools will now include “prevention, intervention and community involvement efforts.” Prosecutors are objecting, and police are so far keeping mum.

3/14/21  A Jefferson County (Louisville) judge permanently barred the prosecution of Kenneth Walker for firing the round that struck Sgt. Mattingly. Walker, who legally possessed the weapon, insists that he did not know the intruders were police. “I am a legal gun owner and I would never knowingly shoot a police officer. Breonna and I did not know who was banging at the door, but police know what they did." Walker has filed a lawsuit against Louisville alleging “assault, battery, false arrest and imprisonment, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and negligence.”

3/12/21  Louisville settled the lawsuit filed by Breonna Taylor’s family for $12 million. It also pledged to make substantial changes in police practices and improve the quality of its force. To help accomplish the latter it is increasing rookie pay by 29 percent. That would raise it to $45,000, which is still relatively low. Former cop Brett Hankison, the only Louisville officer facing charges (three counts of wanton endangerment), had been suspended by a prior agency. Hankison went on to accumulate a serious number of demerits in Louisville, where he gained a reputation for being aggressive.

3/10/21  An online poll of 1,165 American voters disclosed “a stark divide” between Black and White opinions on race and policing. While a decided majority of Blacks (64 percent) felt that police had murdered George Floyd, only 28 percent of Whites agreed. “Fully funding” police was endorsed by 65 percent of Whites and 37 percent of Blacks. Similar Democratic/Republican splits were also evident.

2/24/21  Acting on complaints that the city’s police officers disproportionately stop Black motorists and pedestrians, the Berkeley (CA) City Council unanimously approved a measure that prohibits officers from making stops for minor infractions such as expired tags. “Transformative” changes, including slicing the police budget in half and tuning over traffic enforcement to civilians, are planned by summer. According to the police union president, officers will become “filing clerks.”

1/6/21  Louisville PD fired Detectives Cosgrove and Gentry. Sgt. Mattingly was exonerated for use-of-force violations, and three other officers connected with the case received reprimands or one-day suspensions. In a decision that has sparked controversy, Louisville selected Erika Shields as its new permanent chief. Ms. Shields resigned as Atlanta police chief after the shooting of Rayshard Brooks.

12/30/20  Louisville police chief Yvette Gentry has moved to fire Detective Cosgrove. According to ballistics, his bullet also proved fatal to Ms. Taylor. In addition, Chief Gentry is firing Detective Joshua Jaynes, who obtained the search warrant for Ms. Taylor’s residence. His affidavit stated that he was told by a postal inspector that Ms. Taylor’s former boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, was currently receiving packages at her residence. Instead, that information allegedly came through other officers. (Click here, here and here for images of the termination letter, and here for the images’ source.)

11/26/20  Breonna Taylor’s death is leading to a tightening of no-knock policies elsewhere. In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, new rules require that officers yell “police” and “search warrant” even when “no-knock” has been authorized. To go further requires approval of the police chief and an extreme situation, such as the rescue of a hostage.

10/28/20  Bodycam video reveals that the Waukegan (IL) officer who initially encountered Tafara Williams and Marcellis Stinnette in a parked vehicle recognized Mr. Stinnette and knew that he had a warrant (click here for the clip.) But when he tried to arrest Mr. Stinnette, Ms. Williams abruptly took off at a high rate of speed. Another officer pursued the car until it ran off the road. That officer did not immediately turn on his bodycam, so his claim that Ms. Williams backed her car at him can’t be visually confirmed. But he accused her of doing that moments after he shot the couple (click here for the clip.)

Under the authority of Presidential Executive Order 13929 (6/16/20) DOJ issued regulations today requiring that within ninety days all law enforcement agencies in the U.S. be certified by an authorized credentialing agency that their use of force policies (a) comply with all laws, and (b) prohibit chokeholds except when the use of deadly force is legal. These assessments should also include reviews of policies and procedures, including use of force training, de-escalation, duty to intervene when officers are acting improperly, shooting at moving vehicles, and recruitment and promotion.

10/23/20  Midnight Tuesday a Waukegan (IL) officer responded to a call about a suspicious parked vehicle. But the car, which was occupied by a man and a woman, drove away. Another officer found the vehicle parked nearby and approached on foot. That’s when its driver, Tafara Williams, 20, started backing up the car. Fearing he would be run over, the officer opened fire, badly wounding Ms. Williams and killing her passenger, Marcellis Stinnette, 19. Ms. Williams denied she was trying to hurt the officer. This shooting led to demonstrations and a comparison to other recent lethal police-citizen encounters. A criminal history check revealed that a defendant whose name and age matched Mr. Stinnette had a considerable record in Waukegan, including stolen vehicle and burglary. Click here for a case printout.

10/21/20  In his first media interview, Sgt. John Mattingly addressed Breonna Taylor’s mother: “There's no way I could ever tell you enough how much I wish that hadn't taken place.” And although Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend said he fired at the ground as a scare tactic, Mattingly said he “pushed out with two hands looking straight at me...Our postures were the same, looking at each other, when he fired that shot.” Sgt. Mattingly said that a quick, surprise entry might have avoided the bloodshed.

In a joint announcement with Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo DOJ unveiled a “National Response Center Initiative” intended to help Minneapolis and police across the U.S. “adapt to the wide range of challenges” posed by gangs, drugs and social problems such as homelessness and “enhance and reform policies and practices to prevent the use of excessive force.”

9/2/24   Dallas man Corey Cobb-Bey walked up to a patrol car that was parked by a community center. He drew a pistol and fired, killing the sole occupant, officer Darron Burks. Cobb-Bey shot and wounded two other officers who came on scene and fled. He was soon confronted by more officers, at whom he fired a shotgun. Their return fire killed him. Cobb-Bey’s guns were reportedly legally bought. His Texas criminal history shows one arrest and conviction, in 2017, for misdemeanor giving false/fictitious I.D.

1/4/24  Compton, a poor, violence-stricken community in South Los Angeles, is beset by street takeovers. And now they’ve morphed into something else. “Dozens” of participants in an early-morning New Year’s takeover followed up their revels by breaking into a local bakery and carting off cash registers and all the goodies they could grab. Deputies had trouble getting to the scene because the roadways were blocked. According to the owner, the holiday profits - at least $20,000 - were gone.

11/6/23  Anger over deputies’ killing of a friend led Deonte Lee Murray to open fire on a Los Angeles-area courthouse three years ago, wounding a passer-by. He then ambushed two L.A. County sheriff’s deputies who were sitting in their car. Both were seriously wounded. Murray fled but was soon arrested. A jury recently convicted him of these crimes, and the judge just sentenced him to 166 years in prison.

9/29/23  Trial took two months, but in the end jurors convicted Deonte Lee Murray of ten felonies, including attempted murder and felon with a gun, in the 2020 ambush shooting of L.A. County sheriff’s deputies Claudia Apolinar and Emmanuel Perez-Perez as they sat in their patrol car at a transit station. Murray was also convicted of another shooting, ten days earlier, in which he mistakenly thought that his victim was a detective. Murray used an unserialized “ghost pistol.” He faces life without parole. (See 8/11/21 update)

6/5/23  Nevada-based Polymer80 is paying Los Angeles $5 million to settle a lawsuit that it sold unserialized parts kits from which guns could be assembled (i.e., “ghost guns”) without running criminal records checks. “More than seven-hundred” such guns were recovered by LAPD that year. Filed in 2020, the lawsuit actually predates an August, 2022 Federal rule that defines such kits such as “firearms”.  And ATF and San Diego police just announced the arrest of 29 persons for illegally assembling, making and possessing eighty-two “ghost guns”.

8/11/21  Deonte Lee Murray was arrested for the ambush shooting of L.A. Sheriff’s deputies Claudia Apolinar and Emmanuel Perez-Perez as they sat in their patrol car on Sept. 12, 2020. Murray used a “ghost” pistol, which was later recovered. Neither deputy has been able to return to duty. They have sued Polymer80, the maker of the gun kit, as it must have known that offering unserialized, untraceable guns enables felons such as Murray, who is prohibited from having guns, to acquire and misuse them. (See 9/29/23 update)

7/8/21  In Chicago, five law enforcement officers were shot between Monday and Wednesday, none fatally. The toll includes a police sergeant and a police commander who were helping to break up a crowd, and a plainclothes officer and two ATF agents riding in an unmarked car. A “person of interest” was detained after the latter incident (update on arrest). According to Police Superintendent David Brown, “36 officers have been shot or shot at in Chicago this year.”

10/21/20  Aja Brown, Mayor of Compton, an incorporated community in South Los Angeles, points to her own mistreatment by deputies as she calls for reforms in how they patrol the poor, violence-stricken area. While some long-time residents praise the Sheriff’s Department for improving safety, a spate of shootings by deputies and the presence of lawless deputy cliques has marred the agcncy’s reputation.

10/15/24  Perceptions that transit crime has skyrocketed is keeping riders away, and particularly from trains. Big city systems including New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and San Francisco, are now requiring payment up-front. They’ve also been “fortifying” entrances to keep fare-jumpers at bay. Chicago’s Metro Link is installing eight-foot metal gates for that purpose. No fare card: no entry.

9/26/24  Los Angeles public transit is beset by unruly and often dangerous passengers, with “more than a dozen violent altercations” so far this year. On Sept. 25. a man hijacked a Metro bus that was making its way downtown from South L.A. Lamont Campbell, 51, argued with the driver on boarding. He then opened fire with a handgun, killing a passenger. Police trailed the bus for an hour, finally bringing it to a stop with spike strips. SWAT officers swarmed the vehicle and arrested Campbell. He’s been charged with murder.

2/15/24  Kansas City’s victorious football team had already left on buses when, despite the presence of “more than 800” police officers, gunfire broke out at the end of a parade celebrating the Chief’s Super Bowl victory. One person was killed and twenty-one were wounded, including eight children. Fans pursued several suspects, and three were detained. Several firearms were also recovered.

3/14/23  “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.

9/16/22  Seven years ago DOJ placed Albuquerque police under Federal monitoring for a “pattern or practice” of using excessive force, including deadly force, on persons who “pose a minimal threat” and on the mentally ill. DOJ has now determined that significant improvements in recruitment, training and supervision allow the agency to self-monitor compliance for the remaining period of the consent decree.

9/10/22  LAPD gang unit officers took a teen to the ground as he used a cellphone to record the detention of two companions at a city park. Robert Cortez, 19, said he was there to help stage an event, and that neither he nor his friends did anything wrong. Police reported that they were going after guns and that Cortez was arrested because he, unlike the others, forcefully resisted. No guns were found, and the city attorney reportedly rejected filing charges. Videos of the encounter have gone viral.

8/8/22  Albuquerque has a severe homicide problem. And its Muslim community may be facing a special  threat. During the last nine months four Muslim men have been gunned down in ambushes. Two of the victims were Pakistanis and belonged to the same mosque. Police think the murders are linked hate crimes. Although they don’t yet have a suspect, a photo of a “vehicle of interest” has been released.

9/4/21  A Black couple arrested by Beverly Hills police last September for riding scooters on a sidewalk and resisting arrest is suing the city for engaging in a racially-motivated campaign. According to BHPD “street gambling, public intoxication, marijuana smoking and more” led it to create a specialized team. Its officers recovered many guns. Most of the arrestees were (like the couple) from other states and many allegedly had fraudulent debit cards loaded with state unemployment funds. Whether all of those arrested were indeed minorities (the couple claims 105 of 106 were Black) is yet to be confirmed.

7/28/21  William Briggs is a lawyer. And a Black man. And the new President of the Los Angeles City Police Commission. And despite criticism from activists, he opposes “defunding” the police. “Our communities of color that are most impacted by crime, many of which have seen the homicide rate rise above 30% this year, cannot afford to go without law enforcement.” He does want to see more “beat” cops - officers who work the same neighborhoods over time and get to know its inhabitants.

5/25/21  In 2020 murders in L.A. surged 36 percent, reaching a decade-high 305. Police Chief Michel Moore attributes the spike to gang violence, the “despair and dislocation” of COVID, and the elimination of cash bail, which quickly put violent persons back on the streets: “When those gun arrests are not going to court...zero bail, court trials being deferred...there’s a sense [of] a lack of consequences.” Defunding the police has been replaced by a drive to replenish the ranks. Stop-and-frisk, once abandoned, is back in South L.A., where an elite unit is waging a targeted campaign.

5/21/21  After taking a $150 million hit last year, LAPD’s funding was increased by three percent. With many more officers leaving than expected, its force has shrunk to 9,457, three-hundred below what city fathers intended. A surge in murder and violence, though, has worked against activist demands that large chunks of the police budget be redirected to alternatives to policing and social services. Meanwhile, cops in Chicago, facing a surge in violence and shootings, exhausted by twelve-hour shifts and angry at the elimination of specialized units and demands for intrusive reforms, voted a resounding “no confidence” in their mayor and police chief.

4/26/21  George Gascon, L.A.’s new, progressively-minded D.A., halved the size of his agency’s “hardcore gang” prosecutive team. Renamed the “Community Violence Reduction Division,” it will continue to deal with “the most prolific violent offenders.” But instead of following a “purely prosecutorial model,” its arsenal of tools will now include “prevention, intervention and community involvement efforts.” Prosecutors are objecting, and police are so far keeping mum.

2/24/21  Acting on complaints that the city’s police officers disproportionately stop Black motorists and pedestrians, the Berkeley (CA) City Council unanimously approved a measure that prohibits officers from making stops for minor infractions such as expired tags. “Transformative” changes, including slicing the police budget in half and tuning over traffic enforcement to civilians, are planned by summer. According to the police union president, officers will become “filing clerks.”

2/13/21  A surge in shootings and murders has led LAPD to redeploy uniformed “Metro” teams to conduct investigative stops in affected areas. According to Chief Michel Moore, officers are “held to a high standard” and only act when there is “reasonable suspicion” or “probable cause.” So far officers have made 74 stops, arrested fifty and seized 38 guns.  But libertarians worry that abuses are inevitable.

11/14/20  Young non-violent arrestees who reside In Chicago’s poor, violence-stricken North Lawndale neighborhood can opt out of the criminal justice system and be processed, instead, by a “restorative justice” court comprised of area residents. “Repair of harm agreements” include assignment to job training, drug treatment and counseling. Since 2017, none of the 63 who successfully completed the full program have been rearrested.

11/8/20  LAPD will implement its $150 million budget cut by reducing its sworn force from 10,110 positions to 9,752 and shifting 234 officers from specialized units into patrol. Reductions will hit the Metropolitan division, other detective units and the air wing. In line with the agency’s reformist orientation, its newly-established “Community Safety Partnership” will not be affected. Concerns about violence remain, with murders up 25 percent and set to exceed 300 for the first time since 2009.

10/21/20  In a joint announcement with Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo DOJ unveiled a “National Response Center Initiative” intended to help Minneapolis and police across the U.S. “adapt to the wide range of challenges” posed by gangs, drugs and social problems such as homelessness and “enhance and reform policies and practices to prevent the use of excessive force.”

9/22/20  In a sharply worded memorandum, the Department of Justice threatened to withhold funds from New York City and Portland, which severely cut their police budgets despite sharp increases in violence, and Seattle, which established a month-long police-free “safe zone.” Each city was also criticized for rejecting assistance from Federal law enforcement agencies.

9/4/20  Cleveland police detective James Skernivitz, a 22-year veteran, was shot and killed while working with an Operation Legend task force. He was in a vehicle with an drug informant, who was also killed. Three suspects were detained.

8/19/20  A.G. William Barr cited examples of casework in eight Operation Legend cities. So far most of the Federal arrests are for felons illegally acquiring or possessing firearms, and for the possession or usie of firearms in furtherance of a Federal drug offense or crime of violence.

8/14/20  Indianapolis, where homicide has reportedly increased by 51 percent, joined DOJ’s “Operation Legend.” The roster now includes Albuquerque, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Memphis, Milwaukee and St. Louis. Operation Legend commits the ATF, FBI, DEA, and U.S. Marshals Service “to help state and local officials fight high levels of violent crime, particularly gun violence.”

8/13/20  A 22-year old man who allegedly harbored a grudge against the family of LeGend Tallifero and had made recent threats was arrested in the child’s killing. He faces murder and weapons charges.

8/12/20  Twenty major cities report a surge in homicides. Kansas City has been especially hard hit. Many of its killings are unexplainable. Some result from “random, angry” conflicts between citizens who aren’t believed to be currently involved in crime but may be struggling to accept the lockdowns.

8/6/20  DOJ announced that Memphis and St. Louis are joining Operation Legend. Among other grants, Memphis is getting $9.8 million to hire 50 officers, and $1 million is going to St. Louis to help with investigations and gunfire alert (“shot spotter”) technology.

8/5/20  Chicago police are quickly turning over felons caught with guns to ATF agents brought in under “Operation Legend.” Federal penalties feature longer terms, and release requires that at least 85 percent of a term be served, avoiding what some consider the state’s “revolving door.”

12/12/24  Two-and-one-half-years ago, Springfield, Massachusetts voluntarily accepted Federal monitoring of its police to remedy abusive use-of-force practices. And now it’s Worcester’s turn. DOJ just issued a pattern-or-practice report that blasts Worcester cops for “unjustified uses of tasers, police dogs and strikes to the head.” And that’s not all. Officers also reportedly violated the civil rights of sex workers “by engaging in sexual contact while undercover.” But a lawyer for the police called the report “unfair, inaccurate and biased.” So whether Worcester will voluntarily cave to the Feds seems uncertain. (See 4/14/22 update)

2/16/24  With a population of about 150,000 and a grisly 118 murders, Jackson, Mississippi, the state’s capital city, reportedly had the nation’s worst homicide rate last year, about twice Detroit’s in magnitude. To lessen the toll, a collaborative effort involving local and state police, the FBI and DEA is now in effect. Aimed at violent offenders and drug traffickers, “Operation Unified” ostensibly settles a protracted dispute between the “Reds” and “Blues” about the best way to bring down crime.

6/19/23  In February 2019 Chicago police mistakenly got a no-knock search warrant for the wrong home. And while serving it they handled its sole occupant, social worker Anjanette Young, very roughly. Last year Chicago paid out $2.9 million for the blunder. And on June 15, 2023, by a 5-3 vote, the Chicago Police Board fired the most senior officer on scene, Sgt. Alex Wolinski, for lapses including inattention and maltreatment. A long appeals process now begins to run. (See 12/21/20 update)

4/11/23  In Baltimore’s Inner Harbor area a fight during an evening gathering of more than two-hundred youths led to gunfire and the wounding of two, one critically. Police arrested two alleged shooters and seized two handguns. And that’s led Mayor Brandon Scott to declare he will impose a summertime 10 p.m. curfew for persons younger than 17, and a 9 p.m. curfew for those under 14. “I want everyone to hear me and hear me clearly. We are going back to the old days.”

3/20/23  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. (See 3/29/22 update)

9/16/22  Seven years ago DOJ placed Albuquerque police under Federal monitoring for a “pattern or practice” of using excessive force, including deadly force, on persons who “pose a minimal threat” and on the mentally ill. DOJ has now determined that significant improvements in recruitment, training and supervision allow the agency to self-monitor compliance for the remaining period of the consent decree.

8/10/22  In 2017 Chicago PD entered into DOJ Consent Decree to correct a “pattern or practice of unconstitutional use of force.” To that end it established an “Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform (OCPR).” But violence and a shortage of cops have beset the city. That recently led Police Supt. David Brown to request that OCPR send 46 officers back to patrol. But Robert Boik, OCPR’s head, protested it would interfere with his cop-training efforts, including a gender-based violence course. So he was fired.

8/6/22  Beset by objections from the police union, which called it make-believe, and civil libertarians, who worry about its civil rights implications, Chicago Mayor Lightfoot’s plan to sue gang members and seize their assets is going nowhere. Instead of the “Victim’s Justice Ordinance,” one alderman suggested “expanding reach of violence prevention organizations and our summer youth employment program, increasing the number of detectives, and strengthening our area and regional carjacking task forces.”

large gatherings of teens are besetting downtown Chicago. “But when you think of hundreds, if not thousands of teens, as we had on Saturday, no matter how many officers we have down there, the situation is always going to be chaotic,” said the chief of CPD’s patrol division. That “chaos,” which led to the shooting death of a 16-year old, prompted Mayor Lori Lightfoot to order a 10:00 pm weekend curfew for minors. But that’s led to complaints, and its future is in doubt.

4/19/22  Former Chicago cop Jason Van Dyke was released from prison in February after serving about half his six-year term for the murder of Laquan McDonald. Federal authorities announced they would not file civil rights charges as proof is lacking that Van Dyke purposely sought to deprive Mr. McDonald of his Constitutional rights and didn’t act from “mistake, fear, negligence, or bad judgment.” Meanwhile the Federal consent decree that was imposed after the killing remains in effect. In the latest report, the monitor says that officer training and the foot chase policy have both improved, but warns that at CPD “quantity” still seems to override “quality” and that true community engagement remains lacking.

4/14/22  In what’s billed as the “first pattern or practice police investigation to be resolved through a settlement under the Biden Administration,” the Springfield, Massachusetts Police Department has entered into a consent decree that requires it to substantially reform use-of-force practices. Among other things, the agency must institute de-escalation training, insure that officers report each use of force and consistently punish violators. A DOJ investigation in 2020 found that officers in the agency’s narcotics bureau routinely “punched, kicked and otherwise used force that agents felt was not needed.” (See 12/12/24 update)

3/29/22  Prompted by two (fortunately, non-fatal) shootings, Miami Beach invoked a midnight curfew in its South Beach neighborhood as it brimmed with hordes of boozed-up revelers during spring break. It’s the second year in a row for the emergency edict, disappointing visitors and angering the innkeepers for whom the yearly ritual is money in the bank. But Mayor Dan Gelber seems steadfast. “We don’t need an entertainment-only district,” he said. (See 3/20/23 update)

3/8/22  An in-depth look at “once-safe” Seattle reveals that a continuing surge in shootings has left citizens feeling chronically unsafe. After a three-hour stretch during which three persons were killed and five were wounded, Police Chief Adrian Diaz shook his head: “you’re trying to figure out what’s generating that level of violence.” He blamed the city’s lack of support, such as the month-long closure of a precinct besieged by protesters, for a loss of cops. That brought on major drops in stops and severe delays in call response. “When you don’t feel the city has your back, your proactive work goes down.”

1/12/22  An academic study of Seattle PD’s near-month-long withdrawal from the city’s Capitol Hill area during Floyd-inspired protests revealed that “crime significantly increased in the CHOP [Capitol Hill Occupation Protests] zone, the encompassing two-block area, and the overall East precinct service area.” (As reported in the NY Times, a increase in violence forced police to return. See 8/11/20 update.)

11/12/21  Chicago PD’s audit division helps oversee the agency’s compliance with the Federal consent decree. But its civilian commander, Chad Williams, despaired that the agency’s uniformed leaders failed  “to even feign interest in pursuing reform in a meaningful manner.” So he resigned. But despite criticism about foot pursuits, and the killing of Adam Toledo, police leaders insist that they are making progress.

3/26/21  Four Chicago P.D. officers have now been shot in two weeks. On March 25 a shoplifter gravely wounded a security officer outside a store, and during an exchange of gunfire a responding police officer  was wounded. He was treated at a hospital and released. His assailant is dead.

3/21/21  Three Chicago officers have been shot within a week, two more since our last update six days ago. One, seriously wounded in the stomach, was off duty, sitting in his car at a traffic light. Two suspects are being sought. The other officer suffered a hand wound while responding to a call about gunshots. Her assailant was arrested. Chicago’s also beset by carjackings, many by small groups of thugs. There have been 370 so far this year, the most in at least two decades.

3/15/21  On September 14 gunfire broke out at a “pop-up” party in Chicago’s bedraggled South Side. By the time it was done fifteen were wounded and a 30-year old woman and a 39-year old man lay dead. Officers found four pistols and attribute the incident to gangs. Hours later a gunman drove by a police station in the South Side and opened fire, wounding a sergeant who had just stepped outside.

2/3/21  To avoid laying off as many as 355 officers at a time of increasing violence, LAPD’s officer union has agreed - subject to officer approval - to delay a combined 4.5 percent pay raise for two years. A $150 million cut  propelled by the George Floyd riots has already taken effect.

12/21/20  Chicago PD detectives got a warrant to search the residence of a social worker for guns based on an informer’s tip. Anjanette Young was undressed when officers smashed in. They handcuffed her and turned things upside down until a superior realized the mistake. Actually, the suspect, who was wearing an ankle monitor, lived next door and was unconnected with Ms. Young. That error, which was one of a string of similar bloopers, happened in February 2019. And now there’s a lawsuit. (See 6/19/23 update)

11/10/20  LAPD’s union reported that “nearly 9 out of 10” of 2,700 officers who participated in a recent survey didn’t feel supported by Chief Michel Moore and “did not believe he or other commanders provided strong leadership during recent protests and unrest.” Nearly forty percent indicated they were considering resigning. Chief Moore, who reportedly enjoys strong support from the city’s leadership team, acknowledged their views and vowed to do better.

11/8/20  LAPD will implement its $150 million budget cut by reducing its sworn force from 10,110 positions to 9,752 and shifting 234 officers from specialized units into patrol. Reductions will hit the Metropolitan division, other detective units and the air wing. In line with the agency’s reformist orientation, its newly-established “Community Safety Partnership” will not be affected. Concerns about violence remain, with murders up 25 percent and set to exceed 300 for the first time since 2009.

10/23/20  Concerns that she mishandled police deployment and allowed rampant looting and vandalism during anti-police protests led more than 65,000 to sign a petition demanding the firing of Santa Monica (CA) police Chief Cynthia Renaud. So she’s retiring. Her new gig: presidency of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, where the police veteran was serving as a vice-president.

10/21/20  In a joint announcement with Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo DOJ unveiled a “National Response Center Initiative” intended to help Minneapolis and police across the U.S. “adapt to the wide range of challenges” posed by gangs, drugs and social problems such as homelessness and “enhance and reform policies and practices to prevent the use of excessive force.”

9/22/20  In a sharply worded memorandum, the Department of Justice threatened to withhold funds from New York City and Portland, which severely cut their police budgets despite sharp increases in violence, and Seattle, which established a month-long police-free “safe zone.” Each city was also criticized for rejecting assistance from Federal law enforcement agencies.

8/12/20  Twenty major cities report a surge in homicides. Kansas City has been especially hard hit. Many of its killings are unexplainable. Some result from “random, angry” conflicts between citizens who aren’t believed to be currently involved in crime but may be struggling to accept the lockdowns.

8/11/20  Seattle police chief Carmen Best “abruptly” announced her retirement. Her decision, she said, was influenced by the City Council’s move, without her input, to promptly cut 100 officers from the agency. Staff salaries are also being slashed, and a fifty-percent reduction in funding is being considered. AG William Barr issued a statement regretting her departure: “In the face of mob violence, she drew the line in the sand and said, "Enough!", working tirelessly to save lives, protect her officers, and restore stability to Seattle.” He was apparently referring to the resumption of policing in the Capitol Hill area, where police coverage was discontinued at the Mayor’s direction until violence forced cops to return.

8/10/20  In Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood officers shot and wounded an armed man whom they say fired at them. That led to an overnight cascade of looting, broken windows, fires and shootings in the city’s downtown. Thirteen officers suffered injuries and more than one-hundred arrests were made. Merchants criticize authorities for lacking “an effective strategy” to counter the repeated unrest.

8/9/20  Twenty were wounded and a 17-year old was killed when disputants opened fire at a large social gathering in Washington D.C.’s poverty-stricken Greenway neighborhood. Among the wounded was an off-duty police officer, who was left in critical condition. As of 8/7 D.C has had 115 homicides, a 17 percent increase from last year, itself reportedly a decade high.

7/28/20  LAPD’s “Community Safety Partnership,” an intensive community-building effort that fields 100 officers in nine inner-city neighborhoods, is being expanded into an agency-wide bureau with its own deputy chief. Its move is being criticized by protest groups as insufficient and fundamentally misdirected:  “This is not a program that needs to be operated by armed, sworn police officers.”

7/24/20  “Operation Legend,” a DOJ initiative, is sending dozens of Federal investigators from various agencies to help police in violence-besieged Chicago, Kansas City and Albuquerque combat “gangs, narcotics traffickers, violent offenders, and firearms traffickers.” Funds are also being provided to hire  officers in Kansas City and Albuquerque and to compensate Chicago for police overtime and other costs.

In Chicago, fifteen persons gathered outside a youth’s funeral in the violence-stricken Gresham neighborhood were wounded in a gang drive-by. Some of those in attendance fired back.

7/13/20  President Trump sent a sneering letter to the Mayor of Chicago and the Governor of Illinois criticizing their failure to bring down the violence despite the “millions” of Federal dollars spent each year to help police Chicago. According to the Chicago Tribune, he threatened during a White House session “to go in and take over” if the shootings, which he called “worse than a war zone,” continue.

It was “another violent weekend” in Chicago, with sixty shot, of whom “at least” ten died. Among those killed was a 15-year old boy who fell near the place where his brother was shot dead three months ago, and a woman attending an outdoor memorial for a man killed two years earlier. A special police unit was recently formed to deal with these “flareups.” Addressing concerns about past abuses, Chief Brown said it was modeled on a community-minded unit used in Dallas, where he was the chief.

Shootings in New York City are way up, with 585 as of July 5th. compared with 381 during the same period in 2019. Among the most recent victims are a one-year old, shot dead during a late-evening Brooklyn cookout by “two gunmen, dressed all in black.” Three adults were also left wounded.

7/9/20  Despite coronavirus, violence in crime-plagued Kansas City is up. As of July 7, there have been 100 murders, forty percent more than at this time last year. The Department of Justice is responding with “Operation Legend,” a multi-agency targeted approach.

7/6/20  Last year Chicago’s gun violence toll over the Fourth of July weekend was six dead and 63 wounded. This year “at least 80” were shot, of whom “at least” 17 died. One of the fatalities was a 7-year old girl who was celebrating the holiday with her family in the Austin neighborhood. Other victims include a 14-year old shot dead and an 11-year old and a 15-year old wounded, all in the Englewood area.

6/29/20  Through June 21 there have been 295 murders and 1,250 shootings in Chicago, compared with 235 and 902 in 2019. These incidents are mostly happening in the city’s crime-scarred districts, including Harrison, Austin, Ogden and Lawndale. A recent weekend’s toll was at least 106 shot and 14 killed. On “a bloody Saturday,” June 27, eight were shot and killed including three children. One, twenty months old, was struck by a bullet as his mother drove in the Englewood neighborhood.

6/21/20  During the late evening/early morning hours of June 19-20, shootings in Chicago left twenty-four wounded and two dead. That was followed by seven killings and “at least twenty” woundings during the next day and evening. Among the dead were four children, ages three to seventeen. The three-year old was shot while in a car being driven by his father, whom officers know and consider the target.

5/27/20  Twenty-eight additional Chicagoans were shot, including at least five killed, on the day after Memorial day. Gangs and drug sales again seemed to be involved, but the victims included a 5-year old girl who was struck in the leg while standing outside a home.

5/26/20  Fifty fell to gunfire in Chicago, ten fatally, during the Memorial Day weekend, considerably surpassing last year’s toll and nearly matching 2015’s appalling count, when twelve were shot dead. That led Mayor Lightfoot to “scold” her new chief, David Brown: “...what I said to the superintendent this morning is this was a fail...And whatever the strategy is, it didn’t work.” Chief Brown attributed the violence to gang rivalries and disputes over drug sales. He conceded that staffing levels had been lower than in 2019, when 1,000 extra officers were deployed.

5/16/20  Chicago has had 175 homicides this year compared with 156 during the same period in 2019. Shootings have increased from 596 to 717. Chief David Brown said a “summer mobile unit” will be dealing with violence in the city’s crime-besieged South and West areas. He is also considering a city-wide “community” unit. “They could work on a Habitat for Humanity home. They could deliver meals one day a week to the seniors in the city. They could do some work with young people in the schools.”

5/4/20  Recalling the 2002 gun killing of a 17-year old, and the rituals in its aftermath, Chicago Tribune columnist Dahleen Glanton writes that for many of the city’s youths the coronavirus is no match for “the virus of violence, which has consumed their neighborhoods and threatens to wipe out their entire generation.”

5/3/20  Teens gathered for an early-morning outdoor party in Chicago’s violence-stricken Lawndale neighborhood. About 3:30 am a car drove by. According to a ShotSpotter, it sprayed “at least 14 rounds.” Five teens, ages 15-19, were wounded and are hospitalized in fair condition.

4/25/20  To combat persistently high levels of violence even during the pandemic, Chicago Chief Brown has reassigned “dozens” of officers to patrol the Harrison, Gresham, Englewood and Deering neighborhoods. Harrison, for example, has had 90 shootings this year, twenty more than at this time in 2019. COVID-19 dispersal orders have also been issued far more frequently in these predominantly African-American and Latino neighborhoods, stirring concerns about discriminatory policing.

4/21/20  LAPD Chief Michel Moore said that due to budgetary constraints brought on by the pandemic, the agency’s crime analysts were discontinuing use of PredPol software. Instead, their work will now be  driven by the community-oriented SARA approach. But agency critics championed the move as a victory in their battle against the unfair targeting of minority communities.