Latest Law Enforcement Headlines
All the headlines from our Law Enforcement Topic Page, ordered by recency.
REUTERS SPECIAL REPORT on Police Immunity: For Cops Who Kill, Special Supreme Court Protection
May 12 2020 // MADILL, Oklahoma — Sick with pneumonia, agitated and confused, Johnny Leija refused to return to his hospital room. Moments later, with three police officers pinning him on the floor, Leija was dead at age 34. Staff at...
REUTERS SPECIAL REPORT: When Cops Kill, Redress Is Rare, Except in Famous Cases
May 11 2020 // The 2014 shooting death of black teen Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, prompted angry protests and trained a national spotlight on a perceived lack of police accountability for violent...
REUTERS SPECIAL REPORT: A United Front Takes Aim at Police Immunity From Lawsuits
May 11 2020 // The diverse opponents of qualified immunity have thrown their weight behind at least five appeals now awaiting the Supreme Court’s attention, each considered a potential means of removing or softening the...
$1.4M to Mother of Homeless Man Killed by Police in California
Apr 29 2020 // A San Francisco Bay Area city has agreed to pay $1.4 million to the mother of a homeless man killed by police after they found him in a residential neighborhood with a gun in his hand. The April 23 vote by the Oakland City...
Recovered from COVID-19, Wary First Responders Back on Job
Apr 29 2020 // The new coronavirus doesn’t care about a blue uniform or a shiny badge. Police, firefighters, paramedics and corrections officers are just a 911 call away from contracting COVID-19 and spreading it. With N95 masks...
Lawsuit Alleges Bullet at New Mexico School Harmed Student
Mar 31 2020 // The family of a boy is suing a police officer who mistakenly fired his weapon inside a southern New Mexico middle school and nearly hit the student. The family recently filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against...
Coronavirus Infections on Rise in Already-Strained Urban Police Departments
Mar 31 2020 // When nine police officers showed up to make an arrest near Melrose Avenue in the Bronx last Wednesday, none wore a mask or gloves to protect them from coronavirus. Similar scenes play out all over the city daily: officers...
Hold the Phone: Massachusetts’ Hands-Free Driving Law Takes Effect
Mar 9 2020 // Massachusetts’ new hands-free driving law went into effect February 23rd. The law, signed by Governor Charlie Baker in November, is intended to reduce the number of distracted driving injuries and deaths in the...
Georgia Officers Accused of Selling Accident Reports Resign
Mar 6 2020 // Two police officers in Georgia chose to resign last month instead of being terminated following their arrests last month for allegedly selling accident reports to third parties for profit. Nikko McClinton and Ronald...
Florida Police Sergeant Arrested for Filing Fraudulent Claim Over Sunken Boat
Mar 2 2020 // A sergeant with the Tampa Police Department has been arrested on a charge of filing a false and fraudulent insurance claim to defraud his insurance company after his 23-foot boat sank, a statement from the Florida...
New Florida Law Ensures Police Officers Can Park Marked Vehicles at Home
Feb 28 2020 // Some Florida law enforcement officers have been told they aren’t allowed to park their marked cars at home, but that’s about to change. One of the first bills in the 2020 legislative session signed into law...
Missouri Woman Wins Jury Award in Police Stun Gun Lawsuit
Feb 24 2020 // Jurors have awarded $3,500 to a woman who was shocked three times with a stun gun after a St. Louis, Mo., march protesting police misconduct. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that jurors found in favor of University...
Second Person in Days Killed by Mardi Gras Float in New Orleans
Feb 24 2020 // A man was struck and killed by a Mardi Gras float during a raucous Saturday night street parade in New Orleans, becoming the second person in days killed along a parade route during this year’s Carnival season,...
Hold the Phone: Massachusetts’ Hands-Free Driving Law to Take Effect
Feb 21 2020 // Massachusetts’ new hands-free driving law takes effect this Sunday, February 23rd. The law, signed by Governor Charlie Baker in November, is intended to reduce the number of distracted driving injuries and deaths in...
Gun-Selling Website Sued by Widow of Slain Chicago Police Commander
Feb 18 2020 // The widow of a slain Chicago Police Department commander has filed a lawsuit against the website used to sell the gun tied to her husband’s death. The Chicago Sun-Times reports Erin Bauer and the nonprofit gun...
Missouri Officer Told to ‘Tone Down’ Gayness Settles Lawsuit for $10.25M
Feb 12 2020 // Missouri’s St. Louis County has agreed to a $10.25 million settlement with a gay police lieutenant who says he was passed over for promotion 23 times and was told to “tone down” his...
EU Prepares for Coming of Facial Recognition– On Its Privacy Terms
Feb 3 2020 // The European Union has accepted there is no escape from facial recognition, but is seeking to ensure any roll-out that includes U.S. and Chinese players will abide by European values like strict personal privacy. Facial...
Father Sues Police in Oregon for Using Stun Gun on 14-Year-Old
Jan 24 2020 // A father is suing Redmond, Ore. police because he says they used excessive force when they used a Taser stun gun on his 14-year-old son nearly two years ago. Michael Francisco filed the civil rights lawsuit last week in...
Alabama Police Say ‘Batman’ Bandit Stealing from Churches
Jan 16 2020 // Police in Alabama are looking for a man who disguised himself as Batman while stealing musical instruments from churches. A burglary happened on Dec. 11 at King’s Way Church in Irondale, AL.Com reported. The caped...
Southern California Uber Driver Accused of Raping Passenger
Jan 15 2020 // An Uber driver was arrested on suspicion of raping a woman who said she fell asleep in his car after a night of drinking and woke up to him assaulting her, authorities said. The suspect, Alonso Calle, had contacted police...
