A Florida Cop Gets Into a Shootout With an Acorn, Emptying His Gun Into His Own Patrol Car
Deputy Jesse Hernandez, whose bullets miraculously missed the handcuffed suspect in the car, resigned during an investigation that found he "violated policy."
Excessive Force
Qualified Immunity Is Not Limited to Police Brutality. It Protects a Wide Variety of Abusive Officials.
An analysis of appeals involving the doctrine finds that less than a quarter "fit the popular conception of police accused of excessive force."
Wisconsin Police Held a Man and 3 Kids at Gunpoint During Routine Traffic Stop
Luke Weiland has filed a lawsuit alleging that police used "excessive" force.
Cops Arrested Him for a Fictitious Traffic Violation Because He Flipped Them Off
A federal judge allowed a lawsuit against the officers to proceed, finding evidence of several constitutional violations.
Who Killed Elijah McClain? Mixed Verdicts Reflect a Cascade of Ultimately Fatal Mistakes.
Juries convicted two paramedics and one police officer of criminally negligent homicide but acquitted two other cops.
'I Relied on Others,' 'Documents Were Filed in the Wrong Place,' and Other Memorable Excuses
The year's highlights in blame shifting.
Trump's Promise to 'Indemnify' Cops 'Against Any and All Liability' Is Absurd for 2 Reasons
Police officers already are routinely indemnified, and suing them for abuse is much harder than Trump claims.
Taxpayer-Subsidized Seminars Train Cops To Violate the Constitution
A report from New Jersey's comptroller criticizes Street Cop Training for encouraging illegal traffic stops.
Alabama Police Officer on Leave After Viral Video Shows Her Tasing Handcuffed, Compliant Man
The Alabama State Bureau of Investigation is now looking into the incident as well.
Mississippi Sheriff Insists He Was Oblivious to His Drug Warriors' Long Pattern of Brutality
Years before a federal case shined a light on the problem, Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey should have known something was amiss.
Maryland Roommates File Lawsuit After Police Shot Their Dog During Alleged Illegal Home Search
Officers barged into their house without a warrant, shot their dog, and mocked them, a federal civil rights lawsuit says.
California Attorney General Announces Settlement To Stop Civil Rights Abuses by Vallejo Police Department
A 2019 Reason investigation detailed a long string of police abuses in Vallejo. Things have only gotten worse since then.
Holding Protest Leaders Liable for Others' Violence Threatens First Amendment Rights
A lawsuit against a Black Lives Matter activist could have a chilling impact on constitutionally protected activity.
Family of 6-Year-Old Florida Girl Handcuffed at Orlando School Files Lawsuit
Kaia Rolle's ordeal led Florida to raise its minimum age of arrest to 7 years old, but her family and activists say that's not nearly high enough.
Is Tou Thao More Culpable Than the Other Cops Who Helped Derek Chauvin Kill George Floyd?
The former Minneapolis officer's 57-month sentence is based largely on the premise that he was "in the best position" to save Floyd.
He Caught a Burglar in the Act. But When Police Came, He Says They Tased Him Instead of the Intruder.
Damien Smith claims in a new lawsuit that police racially profiled him and violated his First, Fourth, and 14th Amendment rights.
Cops Use Phony Diagnoses To Explain Away Stun Gun Deaths
The National Association of Medical Examiners now says "excited delirium" should not be cited as a cause of death.
Justice Department Finds 'Deeply Disturbing' and Illegal Policing in Minneapolis
Minneapolis police used gratuitous force, discriminated against black and Native American residents, and retaliated against people exercising their First Amendment rights.
The Louisville Cop Who Killed Breonna Taylor Has a New Law Enforcement Gig
Myles Cosgrove never faced criminal charges in connection with Taylor's death, but he was fired for his reckless use of deadly force.
Louisville Police Abuses Show Civil Liberties Are Meaningless Without Accountability
Supervisors and judges tolerated outrageous constitutional violations, including illegal searches and brutal assaults.
Illinois Town Will Pay $12 Million to Family After SWAT Officer Shot 12-Year-Old in Kneecap
According to a lawsuit, Amir Worship was sitting on the edge of his bed with his hands raised when an officer shot him, shattering his kneecap.
Why Did Other Cops Fail To Stop the Lethal Assault on Tyre Nichols?
"Active bystandership" training aims to overcome the pressures that discourage police officers from intervening when their colleagues use excessive force.
LAPD Officers Tased a Confused, Terrified Man Who Then Died, All Over a Minor Car Collision
Body camera footage shows precisely why some people don’t trust police to respond appropriately to nonviolent incidents.
Aaron Dean's Conviction Suggests What It Takes To Hold Cops Accountable for Wrongly Using Deadly Force
The former Forth Worth officer shot Atatiana Jefferson through a window of her home. He said he thought she was a burglar.
California City Pays $300,000 to Marine Veteran Tackled for Filming a Cop From His Porch
The city of Vallejo, California, has paid millions in recent years to settle excessive force lawsuits against its heavy-handed police force.
An Officer Hogtied and Tased an Autistic Child. Why Is He Still Allowed To Work as a Cop?
The Kansas credentialing body reprimanded the officer for using excessive force against a child, but stopped short of pulling his license.
"Mr. Huff Alleges That the Officers Did Not Identify Themselves at Any Time Prior to The Shooting …
and that Officer Ord fired his weapon at the same time as he shouted, 'Hands up!'"
Arkansas Cops Suspended After Video of Beating Goes Viral
The video shows three officers kicking, punching, and slamming the man's head into the pavement. State police are now investigating.
Four Cops Implicated in Breonna Taylor's Death Now Face Federal Charges
So far no one has been held criminally liable for the disastrous drug raid, which was based on a flimsy and falsified search warrant affidavit.
Which Is More Scandalous: The Training for Armed Teachers or the Training for Police Officers?
On average, the minimum requirement for cops is about 650 hours, compared to about 1,300 hours for barbers.
Viral Video Shows Protester Tased For A 'Fuck Bad Cops' Sign
For the officer's excessive force, the protester was later awarded a $175,000 settlement over the 2016 incident.
Even at His Sentencing Hearing, Derek Chauvin Did Not Manage To Express Remorse for Killing George Floyd
Despite the stakes, the former Minneapolis police officer could not bring himself even to feign regret for his actions.
Cop Who Killed Tamir Rice Briefly Hired by Small Pennsylvania Town
After community outrage and the mayor saying he wasn't told about Timothy Loehmann's policing background, the officer withdrew his application.
SCOTUS Lets Tony Timpa's Family Pursue Claims Against Cops Who Killed Him While Supposedly Trying To Help Him
The lawsuit over Timpa's deadly prone restraint, initially blocked by qualified immunity, was revived by the 5th Circuit.
Biden Signs Executive Order Restricting Chokeholds and Limiting Transfer of Military Equipment to Police
The order restricts chokeholds and no-knock warrants at the federal level, but the White House has little power over the state and local departments where the majority of policing occurs.
Minnesota's Attorney General Says the Cop Who Killed Amir Locke Was Defending Himself. So Was Locke.
That perplexing situation underlines the hazards of police tactics that aim to prevent violence but often have the opposite effect.
Tulsa Police Officers Taunt Elderly Woman With Bipolar Disorder Before Violently Arresting Her
"This is gonna be so fun," one officer says.
The 5th Circuit Approves a Cop's Violent Response to a Dispute Over a 7-Year-Old's Littering
The officer used a "pain compliance maneuver" to force information from the boy's sister, who was recording the encounter.
Video Shows California Cops Arresting Mom and Grandma for Filming Them
Mariah Herefored says police in Hemet, California, smacked cell phone cameras out of her and her mother's hands and violently arrested them.
A Jury Concludes That Blindly Firing 10 Rounds Into Breonna Taylor's Apartment Was Not 'Wanton Endangerment'
Brett Hankison's acquittal shows how difficult it is to hold cops accountable for abusing their power.
The Convictions of 3 Cops Who Failed To Prevent George Floyd's Death Underline the Duty To Intervene
The defendants unsuccessfully argued that their training was inadequate and that they understandably deferred to a senior officer.
Brett Hankison Is Not the Only Cop Who Acted Recklessly the Night Breonna Taylor Was Killed
The former detective's trial should not obscure the responsibility of the drug warriors who authorized, planned, and executed the deadly raid.
Amir Locke's Death Demonstrates the Recklessness of 'Dynamic Entry' Tactics
Banning "no-knock" search warrants is not enough to prevent lethal confrontations between cops and people exercising the right to armed self-defense.
This Program Aims to Correct the Culture of Acquiescence That Allowed Derek Chauvin to Kill George Floyd
"Active bystandership" training encourages officers to stop their colleagues from violating people's rights.
Did These Three Officers 'Willfully' Deprive George Floyd of His Constitutional Rights?
Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao are charged with federal crimes for failing to stop Derek Chavin from killing Floyd.
The Year's Highlights in Blame Shifting
Politicians and cops found creative ways to dodge responsibility in 2021.
Cops Held Two Innocent Boys at Gunpoint, Forced Them to Lie on the Ground, Handcuffed Them, and Searched Them. That's Fine, the 8th Circuit Said.
The Institute for Justice wants the Supreme Court to review the case—and to clarify the proper scope of "investigatory stops."