Latest Law Enforcement Headlines

All the headlines from our Law Enforcement Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Reuters Finds Disparity in How Judges Apply Qualified Immunity

Aug 25 2020 // The May 25 killing of George Floyd, a Black man, by a Minneapolis cop has prompted calls for an end to “qualified immunity,” a legal doctrine that in recent years has increasingly helped cops beat back lawsuits...

Vehicles Torched in Protest after Wisconsin Police Shoot Man from Behind

Aug 25 2020 // Protesters set cars on fire, smashed windows and clashed with officers in riot gear after Kenosha, Wisc., police shot and wounded a Black man, apparently in the back, while responding to a call about a domestic...

Georgia Dept. of Public Safety Claims Police Wrote Tickets Outside Jurisdiction

Aug 25 2020 // A small Georgia city’s police department wrote more than 130 speeding tickets on a road where it had no jurisdiction, a state agency’s investigation found.Citations issued on Kildare Road over a two year period...

Los Angeles County Owes $8M to Man Killed Like George Floyd, Court Rules

Aug 17 2020 // Los Angeles County must pay a full $8 million damage award to the family of a Black man whose death had similarities to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the California Supreme Court ruled.While subduing...

Federal Judge in Mississippi Calls On Supreme Court to Examine Qualified Immunity

Aug 12 2020 // A federal judge in Mississippi has issued a sharply worded ruling that calls on the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the principle of qualified immunity, which protects law enforcement officers from being sued for some of...

Atlanta Officer Fired for Killing Black Man Files Suit

Aug 11 2020 // The former Atlanta police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks is suing the mayor and interim police chief, saying his firing violated his constitutional rights and the city code. Meanwhile, prosecutors have asked a...

North Carolina Study: Black Drivers Twice as Likely to be Stopped by Police

Aug 10 2020 // A state study shows that Black drivers in North Carolina are stopped by police at more than twice the rate of white drivers.The Raleigh News & Observer reported Wednesday that roughly 25 out of 100 Black drivers were...

Louisville Police Sued by Civil Rights Groups Over Police Actions Against Protesters

Aug 3 2020 // The NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky have filed a lawsuit alleging use of force and intimidation by Louisville police against protesters.The lawsuit alleges use of tear gas, pepper balls and batons...

NYPD Reports $1M in Damage to 303 Police Cars Since Floyd Death

Jul 31 2020 // New York City police say 303 department vehicles have been vandalized since George Floyd’s May 25 death, causing nearly $1 million in damage.The department said Monday that 14 vehicles were a total loss because of...

Judge Limits Wrongful Death Lawsuit to Oregon Police

Jul 30 2020 // A federal judge says a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from the fatal shooting of a man who helped lead the armed occupation of an Oregon wildlife refuge can proceed against Oregon State Police, but allegations against...

Police: Hell’s Angel Sparked Destructive Riots in Minneapolis

Jul 29 2020 // Police say a man captured on surveillance video breaking windows at a south Minneapolis, Minn., auto parts store in the days after George Floyd’s death is a Hell’s Angels member who was bent on stirring up...

Ohio Bowling Alley Where Off-Duty Officer Killed Man Settles Suit for $1.2M

Jul 29 2020 // The company that owned a Cleveland, Ohio, bowling alley has settled part of a lawsuit brought by the family of a man who was fatally shot there by an off-duty police officer in 2018.Court documents show the company that...

Windows Broken Fire Set During Seattle Protests

Jul 27 2020 // Protesters in Seattle broke through a fence Saturday where a youth detention facility was being built, with some people setting a fire and damaging a portable trailer, authorities said.Thousands of protesters ad gathered...

Insurers Exploring ‘New World’ of Police Officer Professional Liability

Jul 24 2020 // U.S. insurers and brokers are starting to craft professional liability coverage for police officers, spurred on by signs that policymakers in some cities and states want to use a financial stick to curb police...

$3.5M Settlement Reached in Death of Black Man Shot 22 Times by West Virginia Police

Jul 24 2020 // A West Virginia city has agreed to settle an excessive force lawsuit filed by the family of a homeless Black man who was shot 22 times by police, an attorney said.Christopher E. Brown, the attorney for the family of Wayne...

Connecticut State Trooper Charged with Workers’ Comp Fraud, Larceny

Jul 23 2020 // A Moosup, Conn., man has been arrested and charged with illegally collecting workers’ compensation benefits while being employed as a Connecticut state trooper.Kevin Moore, age 41, was arrested by inspectors from the...

Bishops Should Report Sex Abuse to Police Even If Law Doesn’t Require, Says Vatican

Jul 21 2020 // The Vatican told bishops around the world last Thursday they should report cases of clergy sex crimes to police even when not legally bound to do so, in its latest effort to compel church leaders to protect minors from...

Floyd Family Sues City of Minneapolis, Officers Charged in his Death

Jul 16 2020 // George Floyd’s family filed a lawsuit on July 15 against the city of Minneapolis and the four police officers charged in his death, alleging the officers violated Floyd’s rights when they restrained him and...

Traffic Cameras Could Help Reduce Racism in Traffic Enforcement: Opinion

Jul 13 2020 // Speed cameras made their U.S. debut in 1986 in Galveston County, Texas. The Swiss-made devices, dubbed “PhotoCops” by the local company that lent them to police departments in exchange for a cut of the ticket...

German Officials Seize Server With U.S. Police Files Stolen in Data Breach

Jul 10 2020 // At the behest of the U.S. government, German authorities have seized a computer server that hosted a huge cache of files from scores of U.S. federal, state and local law enforcement agencies obtained in a Houston data...