Latest Law Enforcement Headlines

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

Court Revives Civil Suit Against Ohio Cops Over Fatal Shooting of Black Man

Sep 10 2020 // A federal appeals court reinstated a wrongful death lawsuit against two police officers in Ohio’s capital city over the 2016 shooting of a Black man by undercover officers.In a ruling issued Sept. 8, a three-judge...

Police Investigating Explosion in Florida Industrial Park

Sep 9 2020 // UPDATE: This story has been updated with additional details.Police shut down a section of U.S. 1 in central Florida Tuesday due to fires from an explosion. Palm Bay police said in a Twitter post that officers were checking...

Kentucky Police Road Safety Campaign Targets Aggressive Drivers

Sep 9 2020 // Police are looking for aggressive drivers in Kentucky over the next few weeks.Kentucky State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division launched the Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks Campaign on Sept. 2. Officers...

Owners Say Insurance Inadequate to Cover Demolition of Riot-Destroyed Buildings

Sep 4 2020 // Some commercial property owners whose businesses were torched by rioters are learning that they don’t have enough insurance to clear away the debris.The StarTribune newspaper reported that many property owners in the...

Mother of Unarmed Man Shot in Wyoming Files Lawsuit

Sep 4 2020 // The mother of an unarmed Wyoming man killed by a sheriff’s deputy after a traffic stop has filed a lawsuit alleging excessive use of force and failures in hiring and training the deputy.Debra Hinkel filed suit...

Mass. Court Rules Statute of Limitations, Fair Report Privilege Apply in Defamation Case

Sep 3 2020 // A Massachusetts appeals court has ruled in favor of an online newspaper in a defamation case, holding that the statute of limitations and fair report privilege apply to articles the newspaper published regarding two...

Insurance Plays Key Role in Civil Rights Settlements Against Law Enforcement

Sep 2 2020 // Municipalities, their insurers and risk pools should be heeding the current public re-examination of police and prosecutorial actions taking place across the country, according to an insurance policyholder attorney who...

4 Indicted for Minneapolis Police Station Fire

Aug 27 2020 // Four people have been indicted for allegedly helping to burn down a Minneapolis police station during the protests over the death of George Floyd, U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald said.The complaint charges 22-year-old Dylan...

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...