Free Republic

The Compton shooting in which deputies unloaded 120 rounds in a residential neighborhood is one of five incidents of "contagious fire." The phenomenon has become a concern."Just because one person fires, that doesn't mean the use of deadly force is justified by them or others," said Michael Lyman, a professor of criminal justice at Columbia College in Columbia, Mo. Sheriff Lee Baca walked the block where the incident occurred and talked with residents about what happened. . Baca, who has been increasingly critical of the deputies' tactics, was joined on the tour by activist and 2004 presidential candidate the Rev....

Some home schoolers say they were having a meeting in Simpsonville Park when an officer started bullying them. The group of home schoolers included 6 mothers and about 15 to 20 kids, every Wednesday for the past 5 years the group has come to Simpsonville Park to socialize and meet with each other, but they say this past Wednesday was like no other. One of the mothers in the group, Jan Blanchard says, "We were just sitting there talking..." "I heard a man yelling take your hands out of your pocket and I turned around and he was yelling at...

The Rock Hill Police Department is investigating why an officer used an electric stun gun on a 75-year-old woman who refused to leave a nursing home where she had gone to visit an ailing friend. The woman, Margaret Kimbrell, said she suffered bruises on her leg and face after she was knocked to the floor by the force of the weapon, called a Taser. Police Chief John Gregory said Tuesday the department is reviewing whether Officer Hattie Macon's use of the Taser was appropriate -- a step that is taken in unusual or high-profile cases. "On face value, it...

LOS ANGELES — Police today chased a man suspected of driving a stolen car and arrested him in Compton, and news footage showed an LAPD officer hitting him repeatedly with a flashlight after he appeared to surrender The chase began shortly after 5 a.m. in an area patrolled by the Los Angeles Police Department's Southeast Station, said LAPD Officer Sandra Escalante of the Media Relations office. The man's name was not immediately released, and it was unclear if he was injured. Patrolling LAPD officers saw a white Toyota Camry that was reported stolen from Compton, Escalante said, adding that the...

Even blind old ladies terrify the cops Sunday, April 25, 2004 S he was 71 years old. She was blind. She needed her 94-year-old mother to come to her rescue. And in the middle of the dogfight -- in which Eunice Crowder was pepper-sprayed, Tasered and knocked to the ground by Portland's courageous men in blue -- the poor woman's fake right eye popped out of its socket and was bouncing around in the dirt. How vicious and ugly can the Portland police get? Ladies and gentlemen, I think we have a winner. This 2003 case is so blatant, the...

<p>A Detroit police officer with a knife cut off the finger of a 45-year-old woman he was trying to handcuff in a parking lot on 8 Mile.</p> <p>The police, who were in plainclothes, said she was resisting arrest. The woman, Joni Gullas of Detroit, said Monday that she thought she was being carjacked.</p>