Category Archives: US policing

LA officers sue over vaccine mandate as police across California threaten to resign

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Police department employees claim ‘hostile work environment’ for the unvaccinated and say mandate violates civil rights

Los Angeles police department (LAPD) employees have sued over requirements they get vaccinated for Covid-19, alleging that the department has created a “hostile work environment” for the unvaccinated and that the mandate violates employees’ privacy and civil rights.

The suit is one of several aggressive challenges to vaccine mandates by police unions and officers across California, some of whom have threatened mass resignations in response to new rules. It comes as staff at law enforcement agencies remain unvaccinated at disproportionately high rates.

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‘Blinded by police’: my search for fellow survivors of an alarming trend

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As the rubber bullets and teargas flew during last year’s protests, an epidemic of ‘less lethal’ shootings inspired a network of survivors

My mind raced in the seconds after I was shot.

I heard the gun go off and turned my head toward the sound, just in time to watch the spinning aluminum canister slam into my brow. Everything went black. I stumbled. When I regained my balance and opened my eyes, the sight in my right eye was gone. Something in my head told me the teargas canister was the last thing I’d ever see clearly.

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Capitol police officers sue Trump and far-right groups over 6 January attack

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• Roger Stone also named in suit by six officers in federal court

• Ex-president worked with others to ‘commit acts of … terrorism’

Capitol police officers who were attacked and beaten during the insurrection at the US Congress on 6 January by extremist supporters of Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the former Republican president, his ally Roger Stone and members of far-right extremist groups.

The officers accused them of intentionally sending a violent mob to disrupt the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the November 2020 election.

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US Capitol police didn’t properly respond to officers’ calls for help in attack – report

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Inspector general’s report offers new details into shortcomings by law enforcement during 6 January insurrection

US Capitol police (USCP) didn’t adequately respond to frantic calls for help from officers when they pressed panic buttons on their radios seeking immediate backup as scores of pro-Trump rioters beat officers with bats, poles and other weapons, an inspector general’s report found.

Related: US Capitol police clear officer who shot dead 6 January rioter Ashli Babbitt

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US Capitol police clear officer who shot dead 6 January rioter Ashli Babbitt

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Capitol police issue result of investigation into how and why Babbitt was shot as she and others tried to break through door

The police officer who shot dead Ashli Babbitt during the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January acted lawfully and will not face internal discipline, Capitol police said on Monday.

Related: Trump booed after telling supporters to get Covid vaccine

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Police officer who shot Breonna Taylor has pulled out of book deal

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Jonathan Mattingly is seeking a new publisher for his account of the shooting after Simon & Schuster refused to distribute it for Post Hill Press

One of the police officers involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor has pulled out of his book deal with a conservative press four months after Simon & Schuster refused to distribute the title.

Jonathan Mattingly is one of the Louisville, Kentucky officers who shot Taylor in the raid in her home in March 2020, and was shot in the leg by Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker. A grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police last September for the killing.

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Cybersleuths find men who allegedly attacked officer during US Capitol riot

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David Walls-Kaufman and Taylor F Taranto appeared to target Jeffrey Smith because his eyes and face were vulnerable, suit says

A group of cybersleuths have tracked down two men who allegedly attacked police officer Jeffrey Smith at the US Capitol during the 6 January insurrection, leaving him with injuries that have been linked to his death days later.

In a new complaint, attorney David P Weber – who represents Smith’s widow, Erin – wrote that David Walls-Kaufman and and Taylor F Taranto appeared to specifically target Smith because his eyes and face were vulnerable.

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Fourth officer who responded to US Capitol attack dies by suicide

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Kyle DeFreytag, who was deployed to protect Capitol after police cleared building of rioters, died earlier in July

A fourth police officer who defended the US Capitol during the 6 January insurrection by extremist supporters of Donald Trump is now confirmed to have taken his own life.

Washington DC’s Metropolitan police department (MPD) confirmed late Monday that another of their officers, Kyle DeFreytag, died by suicide earlier in July, just hours after declaring that MPD officer Gunther Hashida killed himself on 29 July.

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Officer who responded to US Capitol attack is third to die by suicide

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Gunther Hashida, 44, was found dead at home on 29 July, the Metropolitan police department said

A third police officer who defended the US Capitol during the 6 January insurrection by extremist supporters of Donald Trump has taken his own life, Washington DC’s Metropolitan police department confirmed on Monday.

Officer Gunther Hashida, who was assigned to the emergency response team within the special operations department, was found dead at home on 29 July, the department said.

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Los Angeles police injure 17 and flip cars after illegal firework detonation fails – video

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The Los Angeles police department detonated a cache of homemade fireworks it had seized, causing a major explosion on a residential block that injured 17 people, flipped and damaged cars and smashed windows in nearby homes. The fireworks were detonated in an iron containment vessel – which exploded – because they were deemed too unsafe to move from a South Los Angeles neighbourhood

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UN calls for end of ‘impunity’ for police violence against black people

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Report launched in aftermath of George Floyd murder cites example of 2018 death of Kevin Clarke in UK

A UN report that analysed racial justice in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd has called on member states including the UK to end the “impunity” enjoyed by police officers who violate the human rights of black people.

The UN human rights office analysis of 190 deaths across the world led to the report’s damning conclusion that law enforcement officers are rarely held accountable for killing black people due in part to deficient investigations and an unwillingness to acknowledge the impact of structural racism.

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‘Republicans are defunding the police’: Fox News anchor stumps congressman

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The Fox News anchor Chris Wallace made headlines of his own on Sunday, by pointing out to a senior Republican that he and the rest of his party recently voted against $350bn in funding for law enforcement.

Related: Keith Ellison urges Congress to act on stalled police reform after Chauvin sentencing

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Keith Ellison urges Congress to act on stalled police reform after Chauvin sentencing

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Minnesota attorney general secured conviction and sentencing of former police officer who murdered George Floyd last year

The Minnesota attorney general who secured the conviction and sentencing of Derek Chauvin said on Sunday Congress must pass stalled policing reform named for George Floyd, the African American man the former officer murdered in May last year.

Related: ‘I have begged for justice’: key moments from the Derek Chauvin sentencing

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I spy: are smart doorbells creating a global surveillance network?

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They were sold as gadgets that meant you would never miss a delivery. But now doorbell cameras – from Amazon’s Ring to Google’s Nest – are recording our every move

I have got a new doorbell. It’s brilliant. It should be; it cost £89. It’s a Ring video doorbell; you’ll have seen them around. There are others available, made by other companies, with other four-letter names such as Nest and Arlo. When someone rings my doorbell, I’m alerted on my smartphone. I can see who is there, and speak to them.

My phone is ringing! C major first inversion chord, arpeggiated, repeated, for the musically trained – you’ll recognise it if you’ve heard it. It’s a delivery. Amazon, as it happens; Amazon acquired Ring in 2018, reportedly for more than $1bn.

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Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for murder of George Floyd

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Four members of the Floyd family, including his seven-year-old daughter Gianna, gave statements before the sentencing

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who murdered George Floyd, has been sentenced to 22 years and six months for second-degree murder, closing one chapter of a case that thrust the issue of race and American policing back into the global spotlight.

Related: Protests erupt in Minneapolis over man fatally shot by deputies

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Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22 and a half years for murder of George Floyd – video

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Judge Peter Cahill has sentenced Derek Chauvin, the white former police officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck until he died, to 22 and half years in prison.

The judge acknowledged 'the deep and tremendous pain' felt by the Floyd family and others, but he said the sentence was not based on public opinion

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Minneapolis: woman killed and three injured after car drives into protesters

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Driver arrested after being treated at an area hospital while police haven’t confirmed a motive for the attack

A woman is dead and three others injured after a car was driven into a crowd of anti-police brutality protesters in Minneapolis on Sunday night, Minneapolis police confirmed on Twitter.

The driver was arrested and is in police custody after being treated at an area hospital, according to police. The police have not confirmed a motive for the attack.

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Protests erupt in Minneapolis over man fatally shot by deputies

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Nine arrested on possible charges including suspicion of riot and arson after Thursday shooting of Winston Boogie Smith Jr

Protesters faced off with police officers in Minneapolis early on Saturday over the shooting of a man by members of a US Marshals taskforce.

Related: Minneapolis removes barricades to reopen George Floyd Square to traffic

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11 Texas sheriff’s office employees fired after death of inmate

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Six were also suspended after three-month investigation into death of Jaquaree Simmons, which was ruled a homicide

Eleven employees of a Texas sheriff’s office have been fired and six suspended following the death of an inmate who was hit multiple times in the head by detention officers, authorities said on Friday.

The Harris county sheriff, Ed Gonzalez, said he was “very upset and heartbroken” after a three-month investigation into the death of Jaquaree Simmons, 23, in February. Medical examiners ruled Simmons’ death a homicide from injuries to his head.

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Ronald Greene punched and dragged by police before his death, video shows

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  • Greene, 49, died after confrontation with officers in 2019
  • Louisiana police initially refused to release bodycam footage

Two years after Ronald Greene, a 49-year-old Black man, died after a confrontation with white police officers in May 2019, the Louisiana police department released footage of the incident.

Louisiana state police had refused to publicly release footage from the incident, which they claimed culminated in Greene dying from crashing into a tree and injuring his head.

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