Not Worth the Risk: Why US Cities Should Rethink Transit Fare Policing
Imagine sitting on the subway in the middle of the afternoon, going about your day, when armed officers abruptly board the train, apparently in pursuit of someone. Within minutes, the officers deploy tasers and suddenly the sound of guns firing deafens you. People are terrified, screaming and bleeding. And all this chaos began over a [...]
UN racial justice experts on Tuesday found broad impunity persists for officials who have used excessive force against Africans or people of African descent around the world, preventing victims from receiving justice or reparations and enabling the repetition of these behaviors. The Human Rights Council-mandated panel of experts analyzed information compiled in the recent annual [...]
Colorado’s Attorney General announced that former paramedic Jeremy Cooper was sentenced state court on Friday to four years probation, 14 months of work release and 100 hours of community service. A jury convicted him of negligent homicide of Elijah McClain last December. McClain, a 23-year-old Black man, was stopped and placed in a neck hold by [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
