The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday released a report which found that the Louisville County Metro Police Department (LMPD) and the Louisville County Metro Government engaged in a pattern of civil rights violations. The report comes as a result of a DOJ investigation into the LMPD and the Metro Government following the death of [...]
Search Results for: stop and frisk
Lawsuit claims New York law disqualifying felons from jury duty is discriminatory
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) Thursday filed a class action lawsuit to challenge Section 510(3) of the New York Judiciary Law, which disqualifies people convicted of felonies from serving on juries, no matter the nature of the offense or how long ago the convictions occurred. The civil rights action challenges what the NYCLU [...]
Colorado grand jury indicts police officers and paramedics in death of Elijah McClain
A Colorado grand jury on Wednesday formally indicted three police officers and two paramedics in the 2019 killing of Elijah McClain, a young Black man who died while in police custody after he was stopped when walking home from a store. One former police officer and two current officers of the Aurora Police Department as well [...]
An independent investigation released on Monday found that Aurora, Colorado, police officers had no legal basis to stop, frisk, and use a chokehold on Elijah McClain. McClain, a 23-year-old Black man, died after an August 2019 encounter with police and paramedics during which he was restrained and sedated. The report was commissioned by the City [...]
The Abolitionist Law Center published a report Tuesday highlighting racial disparities in Pittsburgh policing. The report shows that in 2019, Black people accounted for 43.6 percent of traffic stops and 71.4 percent of all frisks, though Black people only account for 23.2 percent of the city’s population. The report also shows that Black people also [...]
Philadelphia voters overwhelmingly approve police reform measures
With nearly all precincts reporting on Friday, voters in Philadelphia approved two police reform ballot measures by wide margins. The first measure would amend the city’s home rule charter to end the “practice of unconstitutional stop and frisk,” by mandating that police officers may only stop individuals if they have a reasonable suspicion that the [...]
Since murder is a horrible wrong, preventing a murder must be a good thing, right? Truth be told, it can get complicated. Among the many questions raised by the killing of George Floyd, we should pause to consider what would have happened if a bystander had actually been successful in rescuing Floyd from the knee [...]
HRW report: French police stop Black and Arab youth without cause
According to a report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday, French police stop and search Black and Arab youths even without any indication of wrongdoing. These ‘identity checks’, which can involve invasive bag searches and body pat-downs, are done on children as young as ten. In France, the police have the authority to [...]
What Teaching Policing and Race as a Former Police Officer Has Taught Me
The results of the Kerner Commission Report were published in the midst of racial unrest sweeping across the United States in the 1960s. The commission, established by President Lyndon Johnson and made up of bi-partisan officials, set out to investigate the cause of social unrest. It concluded that the unrest was largely triggered by police [...]
Grant of Clemency to Cyntoia Brown Highlights Deep Rooted Social Issues
Imagine being a young, insecure, terrified child who feels like she does not belong or is loved by anyone. You have been beaten, raped, mistreated and neglected your entire life. Your own family gave you up for adoption, and while you were adopted, you do not feel like the family values you or honestly desires [...]