Free Republic

Residents in some towns have begun standing up to the large armored vehicles that local police departments are receiving from the federal government. Six-figure grants from the Department of Homeland Security have been funding BearCats and other heavily fortified vehicles in towns and cities nationwide since soon after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Beginning last summer, the government also has handed out 200 surplus vehicles built to withstand mines and bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is considering requests from 750 more communities. Most police and citizens welcome the extra protection, saying recent mass shootings show any local force could find...

Updated: Monday, February 17 2014, 08:02 PM EST WEST COLUMBUS (James Jackson/Kelsey Mallahan) -- A family’s dog was fatally shot Sunday by police officers after they were called to the home because a moving truck was blocking traffic. Brittnay Bergman and Dustin Ramsey just moved into the house on South Wayne Ave. They said when officers came to their door, their three to four-year-old Boxer, Delilah, ran out of the house. "She jumped off the porch, growled at him. Put herself in the corner of our fence and greenhouse," Ramsey said. Ramsey said that's when the officer grabbed his weapon....

Son of woman killed by deputy speaks by ASHLEY GOUDEAU and HEATHER KOVAR / KVUE News Bio | Email | Follow: @HeatherK_KVUE kvue.com Posted on February 17, 2014 at 5:20 PM Updated today at 10:12 AM Still unknown if woman killed by Bastrop deputy was armed Sheriff's office won't release 911 calls, video in officer-involved shooting BASTROP COUNTY, Texas -- A modest house in Bastrop is now missing the person who made it home, Yvette Smith. "She was strong hearted, you know," said Anthony Bell, speaking of his mother. "Loving and caring, would do anything for her children. She worked...

The Euharlee Police Department plans to release a statement today about the officer-involved shooting that left a 17-year-old Bartow County boy dead. Sherry Lang, spokesman for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, identified the dead teen as Christopher Roupe on Sunday. Lang said Roupe was shot when he opened the door with a handgun pointing at two officers who had gone to his residence to serve two probation violation arrest warrants. “The officer fired one shot, striking Roupe,” she said in an emailed statement. Euharlee Police Chief Terry Harget declined to name the officers Sunday, but said he expected to provide...

An Open Letter to the Men and Women of the Connecticut State Police: You are NOT the enemy (UNLESS YOU CHOOSE TO BE.) The following letter was sent via email to members of the Connecticut State Police, Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. There are 1,212 email addresses on the list. There were 62 bounce-backs. 15 February 2014 To the men and women of the Connecticut State Police and the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection: My name is Mike Vanderboegh. Few of you will know who I am, or even will have heard of the Three Percent...

MOORE, Oklahoma - Three Moore Police officers were put on administrative leave while detective investigate an in-custody death from overnight. The family of the man who died said police beat him badly and they recorded it with a cell phone camera. Nair Rodriguez and her daughter Lunahi told News 9 they got into an argument at the Warren Theater around midnight. Nair said she slapped her daughter then stormed away. Her husband, Luis, chased after her. That was when the family said officers confronted Luis Rodriguez and asked to see his identification. According to Lunahi and Nair, he tried to...

One of the police officers who infamously murdered Kelly Thomas, was recently spotted at a Southern California Denny’s restaurant. Customers instantly recognized the killer cop as Manuel Ramos, who was recorded on surveillance video beating unarmed Kelly Thomas to death, as he screamed for help. As Ramos tried to chug his drink before leaving the restaurant, customers yelled. “Killer cops aren’t welcome here.” . Last month, Ramos and his partner Jay Cicinelli were found “not guilty” of murder, even though the homeless, mentally ill man offered no resistance to their brutal assault. Ramos showed no mercy to Kelly Thomas when...

WINNEMUCCA, Nev. (MyNews4.com & KRNV) -- Imagine getting pulled over for a traffic stop, and instead of getting a ticket, the officer takes your money. All of it. It happened to one man recently, who was driving on Interstate 80 through Northern Nevada. Now, he is fighting back. It's a case that focuses on our rights: Can law enforcement take your money or property, even if you are not charged with a crime? The driver was Tan Nguyen of California. He has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office and District Attorney. His attorney, John...

When a soldier is shot on the battlefield, the emergency treatment can seem as brutal as the injury itself. A medic must pack gauze directly into the wound cavity, sometimes as deep as 5 inches into the body, to stop bleeding from an artery. It’s an agonizing process that doesn't always work--if bleeding hasn't stopped after three minutes of applying direct pressure, the medic must pull out all the gauze and start over again. It’s so painful, “you take the guy’s gun away first,” says former U.S. Army Special Operations medic John Steinbaugh. Even with this emergency treatment, many soldiers...

A 6-year-old girl who was kidnapped outside of her Houston, Texas home was rescued after she asked for help in a store bathroom. Authorities say 23-year-old Joaquin Ramos abducted Kelly Tellez while her mother was unloading groceries, then took her to Target because he had to use the restroom. He told her to go use the bathroom as well. Once inside the restroom, she asked a woman for help.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- A Fort Worth police officer will not face charges for fatally shooting a 72-year-old Texas homeowner while investigating a burglary alarm at the wrong house, a Tarrant County jury decided Wednesday. The decision to "no-bill" R.A. "Alex" Hoeppner in the death of Jerry Waller came a week after prosecutors began presenting the case to the grand jury. Waller died May 28 after being shot multiple times by Hoeppner as the officer and a partner searched for a possible burglary suspect after being dispatched to a burglary alarm call across the street. Family members have said Waller,...

East Rutherford, New Jersey (My9NJ) - Along with excited and eager fans, SWAT teams and Snipers will be attending Super Bowl XLVIII. The reason for such high precautions is because the Super Bowl is a level one national security event. Former FBI agent Jonathan Gilliam explains how snipers work in coordination with SWAT teams to give the fans and players ultimate safety. “If you have an active shooter or you have anyone who may have a bomb. Snipers have a better angle then anyone who is on the ground to actually hit that target. It’s an entire team that communicates....

Two Detroit cops shoved Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter M.L. Elrick on Tuesday while he tried to interview Council President Pro Tem George Cushingberry at the start of a public council meeting. Video shows the Fox 2 reporter getting prepared to ask Cushingberry a question at the entrance of the meeting when two officers forcefully pushed Elrick back. It was an odd reaction by security because reporters commonly approach council members before meetings. Fox 2 has launched a complaint with Police Chief James Craig. In the video, Elrick refers to Motor City Muckraker and the time I ended up in the emergency room...

Unwarranted NSA surveillance, the passage of NDAA, stop and frisk programs, and the rise of warrior cops, have essentially turned America into a centralized police state. Blurring the lines between the U.S. military and local sheriff departments sets a dangerous precedent that erodes freedom and civil liberties.Those lines are being blurred right now in South Carolina.According to The State, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department will participate in secretive joint exercise Monday and Tuesday with unnamed units from Ft. Bragg.The drills are scheduled to run up to midnight on both days and occur primarily in Lower Richland, around Hopkins and Eastover....

Pearl Pearson is a 64 year-old diabetic deaf driver who resides in the Oklahoma City area. On the evening of January 3rd, Pearl crossed paths with the wrong cops. The following is the story according to Pearl Pearson and family of what happened that night: What’s the story? At this time, only limited details can be provided since this case is under investigation. 1. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol pulled Pearl over late in the evening on January 3, 2014. Pearl pulled over as he should. 2. Pearl’s driver’s license indicates he is Deaf. He also has a placard in his...

The man in the photo to the left isn't a Ranger in Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. He's a Texas game warden, kitted out to check your deer tags or lead a paramilitary, kick-the-door-in assault on your tent. The militarization of every possible law enforcement entity in America is complete: Texas Parks and Wildlife now has a SWAT team. The 25-man unit can deploy anywhere in the state within four hours, TPWD boasts, and is modeled after what military types call a "force multiplier," which basically means that these guys can shoot a bunch of bullets. At what, you ask? In this...

(STMW) – A veteran Chicago Police officer is accused of shoving an elderly gas station customer in Oak Lawn, leaving the 89-year-old man with a broken hip, Cook County prosecutors said Saturday, the Sun-Times is reporting. David Barrett allegedly became upset on Dec. 12 when a pump began malfunctioning at a Shell gas station, near 105th Street and Cicero, and went inside to complain. The victim, who was in line in front of the 58-year-old Barrett, asked him to calm down, prosecutors said. Barrett reacted by pushing the senior citizen in the chest with his hands, causing him to fall,...

Public workers ran Chicago red lights more than 11,500 times in the past seven years, driving everything from CTA buses and garbage trucks to unmarked police cars and City Hall sedans, according to a Tribune examination of automated camera tickets. In most cases when the $100 tickets came back to the city, officials say, the drivers were tracked down and made to pay the fines. But in the case of the Chicago Transit Authority, the fare-paying public pays the tab. The agency has paid the city about $148,000 in red light fines since 2010, after the transit union challenged the...

Day One of the prosecution's case against two Fullerton cops accused of using excessive force in 2011 to kill an unarmed homeless man had an eerie resemblance to another trial that landed Orange County in embarrassing international headlines a decade ago. In Corona del Mar, three young men--including the son of a wealthy, corrupt assistant sheriff--got a 16-year-old girl highly intoxicated and, after she'd fallen unconscious, stripped her before videotaping themselves sexual assaulting her vagina and rectum with a Tree Top Apple Juice can, pool cue, Snapple bottle and lit cigarette. Defense lawyers put Jane Doe, that victim, on trial...

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A woman has sued the city of Post Falls and police officials after her northern Idaho home was searched without a warrant. In a lawsuit filed against the city, Police Chief Scot Haug, and several police officers in Coeur d'Alene's U.S. District Court last week, Melissa A. Miller contends she sustained physical injuries, emotional pain, lost wages and other damages because of the search.