Police

NYPD Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has been taking a lot of crap, deservedly so, for his comments after Eric Garner died while being arrested for selling untaxed cigarettes on the street. In a news conference, with mayor Bill de Blasio standing at his side, Bratton came out full-authoritarian: According to Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bratton, the NYPD will … [Read more...] about What Democracy’s All About?

Here's how I imagine my traffic stop going: Officer: License and proof of insurance.Me: Here you go.Officer: Do you know why I pulled you over?Me: Uh, no I don't, officer.Officer: You were doing 75 in a school zone.Me: I'm sorry to hear you experienced that. I place the highest priority on safe driving, and I have passed all state-required driving … [Read more...] about I’m Sure That Goes Both Ways

Radley Balko reports with some astonishment that a grand jury in Burleson County, Texas has refused to indict a man who shot and killed a police officer who was conducting a SWAT-style raid on his home: Last December 19th, nine of the 10 members of the Burleson County Sheriff’s Department staged a raid on the rural home of Henry Magee. [...]By the time the raid was over, … [Read more...] about An Unfortunate Message For Police

Matt Brown is a little peeved at Tempe, Arizona's crackdown on college drinking: The gist of the article is that people visiting Tempe last weekend were going to see a massive police presence as officers from nine agencies teamed up for the "Safe and Sober" campaign, something that as near as I can tell is intended to violate the constitutional rights of hundreds of innocent … [Read more...] about Profitable Punishment – Tempe Style

I recently read a story about two cops who arrested a 74-year-old woman they claimed had attacked them -- although video of the incident doesn't match with their account. If I were writing about this incident, about all I could say is that it looks like the cops overreacted and then exaggerated to cover the asses. To some extent, that's just common sense, but it's a fair … [Read more...] about On Criticizing Cops Over Questionable Behavior (update)