Latest Law Enforcement Headlines
All the headlines from our Law Enforcement Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Arizona Man Accused of Selling LSD Sues for Wrongful Arrest
Jun 25 2020 // A Flagstaff, Ariz. man who was wrongfully arrested on suspicion of selling LSD has filed a federal lawsuit against the city, saying police ignored evidence that showed he wasn’t a drug dealer. Tremayne Nez, who is...
Do Police Officers Need to Buy Professional Liability?
Jun 24 2020 // I read an interesting article today on Insurance Journal (of course) about plans to reform law enforcement in Minneapolis. What interested me the most was that some groups were advocating making police officers carry...
Louisiana Lawmakers Block Bill Allowing Lawsuits Against Officers
Jun 22 2020 // A Louisiana lawmaker’s effort to eliminate police officers’ wide immunity from lawsuits and allow people injured by law enforcement to sue for damages in civil court was shelved by Republicans on a state House...
Supreme Court Rejects Appeals Over Police ‘Qualified Immunity’
Jun 19 2020 // The U.S. Supreme Court this week refused to take up a new test of “qualified immunity,” rejecting several appeals that challenged the legal doctrine that has become a broad liability shield for police officers...
Appeals Court Rejects Qualified Immunity for West Virginia Police in Excessive Force Suit
Jun 18 2020 // A federal appeals court has vacated part of a finding that cleared five West Virginia police officers on qualified immunity grounds in an excessive force lawsuit, which was filed by the estate of a homeless black man shot...
Minnesota Lawmakers Push $300M Plan to Rebuild from Unrest
Jun 17 2020 // Democrats who control the Minnesota House announced a $300 million economic aid proposal June 15 for businesses that were damaged or destroyed during the civil unrest over the death of George Floyd. The legislation is...
Reassuring Customers Part of Job for Minnesota Agent in Aftermath of Riots
Jun 15 2020 // Dan Gutlovics did a lot of virtual hand holding during the first days of the violent protests in Minneapolis and St. Paul following the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police on May 25. Gutlovics,...
Former New Mexico Detectives File Whisteblower Lawsuit
Jun 11 2020 // A whistleblower lawsuit filed by former New Mexico police detectives says they were retaliated against for repeatedly raising concerns about the operation of their department’s sex crimes unit. Former Albuquerque...
Atlanta Officers Fired for Actions Against Students Sue Mayor, Police Chief
Jun 11 2020 // Two Atlanta police officers who were fired after video showed them using stun guns on two college students pulled from a car in traffic during a large protest against police brutality are looking to get their jobs...
Qualified Immunity Suggests Police Are Above the Law: Opinion
Jun 11 2020 // The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 introduced by House Democrats this week contains a provision that is likely to become the subject of lively debate: The provision effectively eliminates the legal defense known as...
Man Charged in Minneapolis Police Station Blaze
Jun 9 2020 // Federal prosecutors have charged a St. Paul man who allegedly admitted helping fuel the fire that destroyed a Minneapolis police station with aiding and abetting arson on a night when protests over the death in police...
Reform Plan Would Require Minneapolis Officers to Buy Liability Insurance
Jun 9 2020 // Several advocacy groups presented their own recommendations to reform law enforcement practices in Minneapolis, a day after the majority of the City Council voiced support for abolishing the police department entirely in...
Police Say Man in New Hampshire Arson Case Paddled Canoe with Items for Fire
Jun 5 2020 // A man has been held without bail on a charge of setting fire to a New Hampshire middle school, and police believe he paddled a canoe from Maine with a propane tank and a bucket of flammable liquid, authorities...
Family of Man Killed in Kansas Police Beanbag Shooting to Get $3.5M
Jun 3 2020 // Kansas officials will pay $3.5 million to the family of a man who was killed in 2017 with a homemade beanbag round fired by a Barber County undersheriff at close range. An attorney for the family said in a written...
South Carolina Business Owners Assess Damage After Protests
Jun 1 2020 // Some business owners in Charleston, South Carolina, swept up broken glass, boarded windows and took stock of ransacked shelves Sunday morning after protests erupted into violence in South Carolina. Broken glass littered...
Mayor Takes Heat for Response as Minneapolis Burns
Jun 1 2020 // First-term Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey appeared to be doing everything right. He worked with the city’s booming business community and the City Council. He reached out to minority neighborhoods and advocated for...
After Being Exonerated in 2003 Murder, Men Sue Chicago Police
Jun 1 2020 // Two men who were arrested as teenagers and spent nearly half their lives behind bars after being wrongfully convicted of murder have sued Chicago police and Cook County prosecutors for malicious prosecution, lawyers for...
$125K Settlement for Oregon Man Injured in Police Chase
Jun 1 2020 // A cab driver seriously hurt after being hit while a Portland, Ore. police officer chased a motorist the wrong way down Interstate 84 will receive a $125,000 settlement from the city. The Portland City Council voted...
Fires Set and Stores Damaged in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Protests
Jun 1 2020 // Thousands of people gathered in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh on Saturday to protest the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, but the peaceful demonstrations later turned violent with police cars set ablaze and protesters...
Chaos and Destruction as New York City Protest Turns Violent
Jun 1 2020 // An initially peaceful demonstration in New York City over the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by police in Minnesota, spiraled into chaos as night fell Friday, as protesters skirmished with police officers,...
