Latest Law Enforcement Headlines
All the headlines from our Law Enforcement Topic Page, ordered by recency.
South Carolina Judge Throws Out DUI Over Police ‘Blow Hard’ Order
Mar 15 2013 // A defense lawyer says a ruling by a Columbia city judge could affect driving under the influence cases across South Carolina. The judge threw out breath test results because the police officer told the suspect to blow hard...
Kentucky Judges Dismiss Texting While Driving Charges
Mar 12 2013 // Jefferson County, Kentucky judges have dismissed nearly 40 percent of the texting while driving charges brought under the state’s two-year-old ban while police and prosecutors say the ban is nearly impossible to...
Arkansas Gun Maker Limits Law Enforcement Sales as Protest
Mar 11 2013 // Wilson Combat, an Arkansas-based maker of custom firearms, is joining other small manufacturers across the county in adopting no sale policies to law-enforcement agencies in states that adopt strict laws on gun...
Virginia Police: 383 Arrests Made for Insurance Fraud, Related Offenses in 2012
Feb 28 2013 // The Virginia State Police Insurance Fraud Program announced it is continuing to make inroads in the fight against the crime of insurance fraud as indicated by the statistics in the just released 2012 annual report. In...
Family Of Man Shot By Police in Hawaii Files Lawsuit
Feb 27 2013 // The family of a man shot to death by Kauai police a year ago in Hawaii has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the department, Kauai County and the officer involved in the shooting. The suit was filed by the family of...
St. Louis County Police Commend Missouri Insurance Fraud Investigator
Feb 21 2013 // The St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners has awarded a commendation to an investigator at the Missouri Department of Insurance for his efforts in uncovering a widespread insurance fraud operation against...
Bill Would Stop Oklahoma Insurance Department Use of Police Cars
Feb 20 2013 // A Senate panel has passed a bill that would prohibit the Oklahoma Insurance Department’s anti-fraud investigators from using police vehicles. The Senate General Government Committee voted unanimously for the bill by...
Police Blame Missouri Law for Rise in Vanishing Cars
Feb 20 2013 // Why are thefts of older vehicles climbing in Missouri? And why are so many of them never seen again? St. Louis-area police who pondered what seemed like an improbable trend say they believe they have found the culprit...
Nebraska Lawmakers Pushing Traffic-Safety Measures
Feb 12 2013 // Motorists and passengers who ride without a seat belt could face a $100 fine in Nebraska, and might even see their insurance rates increase if a bill in the Legislature becomes law. Nebraska lawmakers are proposing a...
Northeast Blizzard Hit Like a Hurricane
Feb 10 2013 // A blizzard packing hurricane-force winds hammered the northeastern United States on Saturday, cutting power to 700,000 homes and businesses, shutting down travel and leaving at least nine people dead. The mammoth storm...
ACLU Settles Bias Lawsuit Filed By Southern California Latino Students
Feb 8 2013 // A suburban Los Angeles County school district and police department have agreed to revise policies to settle a racial profiling lawsuit filed by a group of Latino students who said they were rounded up at school and...
South Dakota House Passes Bill on Arming Teachers
Feb 1 2013 // A bill that would allow school districts to arm teachers and other personnel with guns was approved by the South Dakota House after supporters said it could make would-be attackers think twice about entering a school...
Rural School Officials: Give Texas Teachers Guns
Jan 30 2013 // Superintendents of three small rural school districts that allow some teachers to carry guns told Texas lawmakers on Jan. 28 that the practice provides a critical measure of safety for students in the event of a campus...
Ex-Police Chief in Oregon Sues for Wrongful Termination
Jan 29 2013 // A federal judge in Oregon has partially dismissed a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination by former Sunriver police chief Michael Kennedy. But Kennedy’s attorney told the Bulletin that aspects of the case that were...
Gun Sales Surge Leaves Texas Law Agencies Short
Jan 28 2013 // Police chiefs in Central Texas say they’re having trouble arming their officers due to shortages of assault rifles and ammunition. One police department has instructed its officers to try cutting back on ammunition...
Wife Files Lawsuit In Hawaii Police Restraint Death
Jan 25 2013 // A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in the case of a Hawaii man who died while being restrained by police. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Michele Y.M.H. Torres, the wife of 37-year-old Aaron Torres, is suing the...
Chicago Closer to Settling Police Misconduct Suits for $32M
Jan 17 2013 // A Chicago City Council committee has preliminarily approved settlements in two police misconduct cases that would cost the city nearly $33 million, including $22.5 million for a California woman that apparently would be...
Mississippi City Overhauling Taxi Regulations
Jan 15 2013 // Vicksburg, Mississippi’s Public Transportation Board is working on 20 proposed changes to the city’s taxi ordinance. Board chairman Jim Stirgus Jr. told the Vicksburg Post that the plan is to bring all vehicles...
Utah License Plate Scanners Spark Legislative Debate
Jan 8 2013 // License plate scanners in widespread use by law enforcement agencies hold the potential for misuse by divorce lawyers or police who use information on a motorist’s whereabouts as fodder for an “interrogation...
New Mexico Police Say Smartphones Spread Word On DUI Stops
Jan 3 2013 // Albuquerque, N.M. police say some motorists – including some planning to drive drunk – now use their smartphones to avoid sobriety checkpoints. Officer Robert Gibbs says smartphone applications, texting and social...
