Free Republic

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin faces murder and manslaughter charges for kneeling on George Floyd's neck until he stopped breathing. But even if Chauvin is convicted, Floyd's family may not be able to pursue claims under a federal statute that authorizes lawsuits against government officials who violate people's constitutional rights. The uncertain prospects for the lawsuit Floyd's relatives plan to file underlines the unjust and irrational consequences of qualified immunity, a doctrine that shields police from liability for outrageous conduct when the rights they violated were not "clearly established" at the time. Congress should seize the opportunity created by...

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (CBS4) — A former Englewood police officer has been sentenced to 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to sexual contact without consent. Anna McCain, 24, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor in January. Other counts against her were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. The victim said that after a night out, a group of people, including McCain, went to the victim’s home in Highlands Ranch. She said McCain was the last to leave. After the others left, the victim said McCain tried numerous times to initiate sexual contact. The victim said she told McCain no...

Breonna Taylor was an award-winning EMT and model citizen. She loved her family and community, working at two hospitals as an essential worker during the pandemic. Nearly four months ago, a division of the Louisville Police Department performed an illegal, unannounced drug raid on her home. Not a single officer announced themselves before ramming down her door and firing 22 shots, shooting Breonna 8 times, killing her. Not only were the police at the WRONG HOUSE, but the man they were looking for had already been arrested earlier that day. 1. Charges must be filed immediately. The officers involved, specifically...

Is there anything more pathetic than a leader whose charges have all simply walked away? Hard to look big and powerful when that happens. But that's the pretty picture in Hallandale Beach, where the entire SWAT team has resigned after the police chief and members of his command staff took a knee in religious obeisance to the Black Lives Matter anti-police activist group. Here's the Miami Herald's account of the embarrassment: The 10 members of the Hallandale Beach Police Department’s SWAT team have stepped down from their roles, citing among other grievances anger over the city’s police chief kneeling with...

In a powerful, nearly 1500-word long column published last week at LawOfficer.com, Yates poured his heart out over the growing disrespect for law enforcement that he’s seen as the decades have progressed.--- “The mentally ill used to get treatment and now they just send cops.” “Kids used to be taught respect and now it’s cool to be disrespectful.” “Supervisors used to back you when you were right but now they accuse you of being wrong in order to appease crazy people.” “Parents used to get mad at their kids for getting arrested and now they get mad at us.” “The...

Image is a screenshot taken from video at WAV3.com. Cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten On March 13, 2020, at about 1 a.m., in Louisville, Kentucky, five police officers, at least three who were in plain clothes, without body cameras, executed a no-knock raid, with a warrant naming Breonna Taylor. The warrant had the right address and person.  The officers were not wearing body cameras, because they were narcotics officers, and were exempt by policy.From usa.today: No body-camera footage is available because officers in the Criminal Interdiction Division who conducted the search warrant do not wear cameras, police chief Steve...

According to a trusted source, Gugino told the officers, "you're going to arrest me, and I'm going to take you to the Supreme Court" before the push and fall incident with the two Buffalo officers. Then, as the 57 officers started moving the line forwards to secure the plaza, on orders from above, Martin Gugino began deliberately walking towards the officer line, directly into it, presumably to effectuate his plan of being arrested. Instead, the officers yelled at him to move out of the way and pushed him back when he did not listen. The push caused Gugino to trip...

Policing in the United States is overdue for reform. Admitting to this is not a matter of race, political party, or ideology. It is an observable truth, confirmed time and again by the lack of accountability in holding bad cops responsible for actions that should not be tolerated in a free country governed by the constitutional rule of law.  There are steps that the federal and state governments can and should undertake to address deficiencies in policing. Defunding the police, however, is not an idea worthy of consideration. The fact that “defund the police” is actually being seriously considered illustrates...

The service will be held for Floyd at the Fountain of Praise Church at 11am local time, where family and friends will pay their final respects. Floyd's body will then be carried home in a horse-drawn carriage and laid to rest next to his mother at the Houston Memorial Gardens in Pearland.

Police Chief Michael Shaw, urged by chanting, joins the crowd laying face down on the pavement https://twitter.com/agreenphotog/status/1269332225499238400  

...Explaining why he had yet to fire the officers seen pushing Martin Gugino, 75, to the ground, where he hit his head and bled onto the pavement, Mayor Byron Brown said, “I don’t want to jump ahead of the investigation. It is very important for officers to know they are getting due process,” according to WBEN Radio. Brown referenced violence, vandalism, looting and fires being set during protests in the city, then described Gugino as “a key and major instigator of people engaging in those activities” in remarks he made Friday. “He was in the area after the curfew. One...

the entire Emergency Response Team at the Buffalo Police Department has resigned in a show of solidarity for the cops suspended for shoving an elderly man to the ground. A total of about 57 officers walked off the job Friday, though they are still employed with the police department -- just no longer on the ERT ... according to WIVB reporter Dave Greber. The move comes less than 24 hours after video surfaced showing cops in heavy gear shoving 75-year-old Martin Gugino even though he was NOT being physically confrontational. A rep for Buffalo PD allegedly told a lcoal reporter...

Two Buffalo police officers have been suspended without pay following an incident caught on camera, showing them shoving an elderly man, causing him to stumble backward and fall, injuring his head. The video shows the 75-year-old man approaching officers during a tense protest in Niagara Square and the situation escalating quickly, as the officers shoved the man, who stumbled backward and fell. The graphic video shows the elderly man lying on the ground with blood gushing from what appeared to be his right ear:

A reflection on separate and unequal responses. Within days of causing the death of African American George Floyd by holding a knee to his neck, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. If convicted, Chauvin faces 12 years in prison, the same sentence drawn by another deadly Minneapolis cop. In 2017,  Mohamed Noor, a Somali-born Muslim (pictured above) and his partner Matthew Harrity, responded to a 911 call from Australian woman Justine Damond. The officers’ body cams were turned off so there was no video of Mohamed Noor gunning down Damond as she approached...

HOUSTON, Texas -- The chief of Houston police had some direct words for President Donald Trump who threatened to deploy the U.S. military to American cities if governors don't toughen up and quell violent protests. It's his latest warning amid violent protests after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody. "You've got to arrest people, you have to track people, you have to put them in jail for 10 years and you'll never see this stuff again," said Trump. "We're doing it in Washington, D.C. We're going to do something that people haven't seen before." During an interview with CNN...

Derek Chauvin, who was fired on Tuesday along with three other officers involved in the detainment of Floyd, was taken into custody Friday and faces charges of 3rd-degree murder and manslaughter, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced. Floyd pleaded "I can't breathe," as Chauvin, who is white, kneeled on Floyd's neck for around eight minutes on Monday night, in an arrest that was videotaped by bystanders. The police department initially said Floyd, who was black, "physically resisted" the officers and that he died after "suffering medical distress." Freeman said he anticipated more charges to come, possibly against some of the...

Mike Freeman, county attorney for Hennepin County, condemned the actions of white cop Derek Chauvin as 'horrific and terrible' But he added there was 'other evidence that does not support a criminal charge' Prosecutors must decide if the cop used force deemed 'excessive' when he knelt on George Floyd's neck for eight minutes until he passed out and later died Freeman warned the investigation 'can't be rushed' He voiced fears of a repeat of the Freddie Gray case in Baltimore in 2015 where all charges were dropped against cops involved in the black man's death Outrage is building as still...

Police departments exist to protect people's persons and property. The Minneapolis Police Department has failed to do either. Police in Minneapolis catalyzed Wednesday night's violent protests by killing George Floyd on Monday. They've since done a terrible job of protecting innocent property owners from being victimized by the rioting that's erupted in response to Floyd's death. Floyd was killed Monday night after being stopped by four officers with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) on suspicion of forgery. During his arrest, one of the officers held his knee on Floyd's neck for eight minutes while the man complained that he couldn't...

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — An incident report by the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD) is shedding more light on what occurred in George Floyd’s fatal arrest. Released by the city Wednesday, the report describes confusion as the fire department responded to the scene to assist medical personnel. Before arriving, the only information the fire crew had was that Floyd, called “pt” in the report, had trauma to his mouth. Fire Station 17 of Minneapolis then arrived at Cup Foods to multiple police squads on scene and a small crowd of citizens. The report says while MFD attempted to locate Floyd, several people...

Four police officers have been fired following the death of an unarmed black man who was taken into custody in Minneapolis, officials said Tuesday.