Latest Law Enforcement Headlines
All the headlines from our Law Enforcement Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Louisiana ‘Justice Lab’ Aims to Expose, Litigate Claims of Police Bias
May 17 2021 // A woman forced to the ground by two sheriff’s deputies in an arrest recorded by her son. Demonstrators tear-gassed and hit by rubber projectiles while protesting the death of George Floyd. A man stunned with a Taser...
Nevada Police Officer Suspended for Tweets Seeks $1M
May 13 2021 // A Sparks, Nev. police officer who is accusing the city of violating his free speech rights is seeking $1 million in damages after he was suspended for four days for making comments on his private social media account that...
Black Ex-Officer Sues Kentucky Police Department Over Firing
May 12 2021 // A former Kentucky officer who was fired from the Lexington Police department is alleging in a lawsuit that a culture of racial discrimination plagues the department and contributed to his dismissal. Jervis Middleton, who...
W. Virginia Supreme Court Sides with State Police in Civil Suit Alleging Excessive Force
Apr 28 2021 // A circuit judge should have dismissed civil claims against West Virginia State Police by a teenager who alleged excessive force when he was beaten during a traffic stop while handcuffed, the state Supreme Court ruled last...
Alabama Database to Track Police Officer Complaints, Disciplinary Action
Apr 27 2021 // Alabama will create a database to track disciplinary actions and excessive force complaints against law enforcement officers, a measure aimed at weeding out “bad apples” in the profession. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey...
Civilian Board Formed to Review Birmingham Police Actions
Apr 21 2021 // A five-member board of civilians is being established to review complaints of police misconduct in Alabama’s largest city, Mayor Randall Woodfin said Monday. The Civilian Review Board, which was recommended by a task...
Police to Demand Texas Tesla Crash Data; Musk Denies Autopilot Use
Apr 19 2021 // Texas police will serve search warrants on Tesla Inc. on Tuesday, April 20, to secure data from a vehicle that crashed on the weekend, killing two people, a senior officer told Reuters. Mark Herman, Harris County Constable...
Detroit Police Sued by Man Mistaken for Shoplifter by Recognition Technology
Apr 15 2021 // A Black man who was arrested when facial recognition technology mistakenly identified him as a suspected shoplifter has sued Detroit police, seeking compensation for the humiliating incident and restrictions on how the...
Los Angeles Paying $1.6M to Settle Suits Alleging Police Wrongdoing
Apr 9 2021 // Los Angeles will pay nearly $1.6 million to settle three lawsuits involving alleged wrongdoing by the city’s police department, a newspaper reported. The City Council voted 12-1 this week to approve the payouts,...
Rhode Island Lawmakers Introduce Police Reform Bill
Apr 8 2021 // Two Rhode Island lawmakers introduced legislation that would ban police from using chokeholds and require body-worn cameras for officers in every department statewide, among other things. The bill proposed by Sen. Jonathon...
Police Say Man Killed in Industrial Accident at Pennsylvania Plant
Apr 5 2021 // An industrial accident claimed the life of a worker in western Pennsylvania, authorities said. Allegheny County police said emergency personnel were called shortly after 10:30 a.m. Friday to Alpha Aeromatics in...
Police Say New York Construction Worker Killed in Trench Collapse
Mar 30 2021 // A construction worker was killed when a trench collapsed on him while he was working in a residential development in the Hudson Valley community of Woodbury, New York, police said. The 43-year-old worker was digging in a...
Northern California City Settles for $3.25M in Police Killing
Mar 23 2021 // A Northern California city has agreed to pay $3.25 million to settle a lawsuit by the daughters of an unarmed Black man killed by police in 2016, the family’s attorneys said. The federal wrongful death lawsuit they...
Feds Investigating Tesla/Police Cruiser Crash in Michigan
Mar 19 2021 // For the second time in a week, the U.S. government’s road safety agency is sending a team to investigate a Tesla crash in Michigan. This time, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is sending a special...
Topeka, Kansas, to Settle 2016 Police Crash Lawsuit for $335K
Mar 16 2021 // The city of Topeka, Kansas, has settled a lawsuit over a 2016 crash involving a police cruiser that left two people injured, according to a city official. The city has agreed to pay $335,000 to settle the case, Topeka City...
Nashville Looks to Settle Fatal Police Officer Shooting for $2.3M
Mar 11 2021 // Nashville officials are seeking a $2.25 million settlement with the family of a Black man who was fatally shot by a white Nashville police officer from behind during a 2018 foot chase, Mayor John Cooper’s...
Report: Bias ‘Deeply Entrenched’ in North Carolina Police Force
Mar 5 2021 // Racial bias is “deeply entrenched” within a North Carolina police department where officers feel comfortable making blatantly racist comments, according to findings of a study released last month. The report on...
Oregon City Paid Ex-Police Officer $250K to Settle Lawsuit
Mar 2 2021 // An officer who made headlines for excessive use of force allegations and a whistleblower lawsuit resigned from the Springfield Police Department at the end of 2020. Ryan Stone and City Manager Nancy Newton signed a...
Police Arrest 11 in Atlanta Area Pharmacy Burglaries
Feb 18 2021 // Police have arrested nearly a dozen people who police say are believed to have been connected to multiple pharmacy burglaries in the Atlanta area. DeKalb County police arrested 11 people after a tracking device in a pill...
$4.5M Settlement Offered in Police Shooting of Alton Sterling in Louisiana
Feb 17 2021 // After a $5 million proposed settlement fell through, officials in a Louisiana parish are now offering $4.5 million to settle the civil lawsuit brought by the family of Alton Sterling, a Black man who was killed in 2016 by...
