Latest Law Enforcement Headlines
All the headlines from our Law Enforcement Topic Page, ordered by recency.
North Carolina Police Report Rise in Gun Thefts from Cars
Sep 11 2019 // A North Carolina police department says it’s concerned about a sharp increase in the number of firearms stolen from vehicles. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department told a news conference last week that...
Oklahoma Law Enforcement Pension Fund Reports $4.2M Cyber Theft
Sep 9 2019 // The FBI is investigating after computer hackers managed to steal about $4.2 million in funds from a pension system for retired Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers and other state law enforcement officers, state officials said...
$15.1M Settlement Over Police Crash in Hawaii County
Sep 4 2019 // Hawaii County has agreed to pay a $15.1 million settlement to the family of a Michigan man who was struck and killed by a police patrol car. The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported that 63-year-old Jeffrey Surnow was riding a...
Government Fails to Block Liability Lawsuit Over Failed Background Check on Shooter
Sep 3 2019 // A lawsuit over a faulty background check that allowed a South Carolina man to buy the gun he used to kill nine people in a racist attack at a Charleston church was reinstated Friday by a federal appeals court. A...
$900K in Claims Paid to Settle Against Police Chief in New Mexico
Aug 28 2019 // The state of New Mexico acknowledged Monday that it paid out $900,000 to three State Police officials who complained of workplace discrimination and retaliation by the state’s former police chief. The payout is the...
Chicago Police Officer Pleads Guilty in Auto Insurance/Crash Victim Scam
Aug 26 2019 // A Chicago police officer has pleaded guilty in federal court to taking at least $10,000 in bribes from the owner of an attorney referral service in exchange for information about crash victims and their insurance...
California Woman Hit by Police Truck to Get $260,000
Aug 26 2019 // The Santa Rosa City Council has agreed to pay a settlement to a California woman hit by a police truck. The Press Democrat reported that 29-year-old Laure Friedell filed a lawsuit in March 2018 after her right foot and...
Off-Duty New York City Police Department Officer Indicted for Insurance Fraud
Aug 26 2019 // A New York City Police Department officer has been indicted for insurance fraud, falsifying business records and related charges for allegedly filing a false insurance claim stating his vehicle was stolen when the same car...
Hong Kong Protests Escalate as Police Fire Weapon, Use Water Cannons
Aug 26 2019 // Tensions flared in Hong Kong on a weekend that began with the formation of a peaceful human chain across the city and culminated two days later with police firing a weapon and using water cannons for the first time. In a...
South Carolina CBD Stores Face Uncertainty, Raids After AG Opinion on Hemp
Aug 26 2019 // Top Hat Tobacco and Cigar owner Todd Smith was on his way out of town July 13 for a rare day off when his phone rang. A friend manning the store for him was on the other end, and told him Anderson County deputies were in...
Bicycle Thefts Rise to 5-Year High in Minneapolis
Aug 15 2019 // Minneapolis, Minnesota, police say bicycle theft in the city is at a five-year high. Police department data obtained by the Star Tribune shows almost 4,300 bikes reported stolen since 2017. The rash of thefts frustrates...
Ohio Jury Awards $50M to Man Who Alleged Police Locked Him in Closet
Aug 13 2019 // A jury in Cleveland on Friday awarded $50 million to a man who claimed police beat him while he was handcuffed and locked him in a storage closet for four days with no toilet and nothing to eat or drink but a carton of...
North Carolina Criminal Investigations Reserve Unit Formed to Fight Insurance Fraud
Aug 13 2019 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey has organized a Criminal Investigations Reserve Unit to combat the extensive number of insurance fraud cases in the state. Four veteran law enforcement personnel, were...
Police: Louisiana Woman Purposely Hurt Toddler to Get Insurance Money
Aug 12 2019 // A Shreveport, Louisiana, woman is suspected of injuring her toddler in an attempt to profit off a bus crash. Authorities say 38-year-old Diedra Michelle Lee is free on bond after having been booked last week into Caddo...
Experts Say Organizers Should Check Emergency Plans After California Festival Shooting
Jul 31 2019 // Experts say organizers should take another look at their emergency plans in the wake of the deadly shooting at a California food festival to see if they can make additional safety improvements. The shooting Sunday at the...
Lawsuit: Tennessee City Violated Civil Rights in Disbanding Police Department
Jul 30 2019 // A Tennessee city is accused of violating the civil rights of its police department when it abruptly disbanded the agency last month. The Tennessean reports Ridgetop police chief Bryan Morris and the department’s four...
S. Korea Balcony Collapse Kills 2, Injures 16, Including U.S., Other International Athletes
Jul 29 2019 // A balcony inside a nightclub in South Korea collapsed on Saturday, killing two people and injuring 16, including American and other athletes at the world swimming championships, officials said. Hundreds were at the...
Car Thefts Up 60% in Southwest Georgia City
Jul 29 2019 // Police in one southwest Georgia city say they’re seeing a spike in stolen cars. Albany police say vehicle thefts are up 60 percent so far over the same period a year ago. That’s 159 vehicles reported stolen so...
Police Looking into if Tesla Was Self-Driving During California Crash
Jul 24 2019 // A woman was arrested after running a red light in a rented Tesla in San Francisco and causing a crash that killed a tourist and left his wife critically injured, authorities said. Officers were investigating whether the...
Kentucky Supreme Court Rules Police Can Be Sued Over Deadly Car Chases
Jul 22 2019 // The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that police can be sued for damages when their car chases lead to the death or injury of third parties. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the court’s 6-1 ruling last month...
