Free Republic

Five fired Memphis police officers were charged on Thursday with second-degree murder over the death of Tyre Nichols - who died three days after being beaten during a January 7 traffic stop. Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, Desmond Mills, Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith, who are all black, are now in custody. In addition to second degree murder the five were also charged with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. On Thursday afternoon DA Steve Mulroy briefed the press, saying his team had moved 'swiftly, but also fairly' to review the case that led to the...

“He [a federal agent] had his knee on my back and I had no idea why they were there.”--Anthony Wright, victim of a Dept. of Education SWAT team raid The militarization of American police--no doubt a blowback effect of the military empire--has become an unfortunate part of American life. In fact, it says something about our reliance on the military that federal agencies having nothing whatsoever to do with national defense now see the need for their own paramilitary units. Among those federal agencies laying claim to their own law enforcement divisions are the State Department, Department of Education, Department...

RAMOS: I had a pretty good sense, I mean, like I said, I had done this for the last ten years and the fact that the person that was driving this van didn't yield to, at the time, Agent Juarez, who first encountered the van, and then didn't yield to me, once I got behind it, pretty much gave us a good indication that at that time, yes, 99 percent chance that he was carrying narcotics in the van. I mean, that's just the way things worked out there. DOBBS: You said, when you were down in the ditch and...

“We Own the Night”Amadou Diallo’s Deadly Encounter withNew York City’s Street Crimes Unit  by Timothy Lynch Timothy Lynch is director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice. No. 56 Amadou Diallo died in a hail of police bullets in February 1999. The police thought Diallo was a serial rapist who was drawing a pistol against them, but Diallo was an innocent man who was unarmed. The incident has sparked a heated debate over the crime-fighting policies of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and the New York City Police Department. To understand what has been happening inNew York City in recent years, one must examinethe relationship between...

Anderson Cooper just reported a story that 14 dogs, brought to an evacuation center by their owners in St. Bernard Parish, were shot to death after their owners were taken out of the city. The type of bullets used are commonly used by St. Bernard Parish officers, said Sheriff Jack Stephens. He couldn't verify that his officers did it, but he is investigating. Many of the dogs were tied up, and shot only once or twice. Most had bled to death. Some had tried to flee after being shot, as their ties were almost chewed in half. Another incident in...

NEW ORLEANS - A two-year veteran of the New Orleans Police Department was arrested Wednesday in connection with the sexual assault of a woman he stopped on the street, according to investigators. Investigators said 5th District Officer Keith Griffin, 37, was working the night shift July 11 at about 3 a.m. when he stopped a 37-year-old woman riding a bicycle in the area of St. Claude Avenue and Flood Street. The woman was detained, driven to Flood and Deslonde streets and sexually assaulted, investigators said. Rest of story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9066602/

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) -- Two off-duty state police officers were arrested after a run-in with on-duty Albuquerque police officers. The state police officers allegedly got drunk at a downtown Albuquerque bar, flashed a badge, cursed at Albuquerque police and fought Albuquerque police officers as they were taken into custody. Officer Thomas Morrissey, 30, is a patrolman assigned the Gallup district. He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Officer Saul Canialis, 28, was arrested on a battery on a police officer charge. He is assigned to the Grants district. Morrissey was released on his own recognizance by Bernalillo County Metropolitan...

Former Mexican soldiers, police and federal agents, originally trained as an elite force of anti-drug commandos, are working as mercenaries for Mexican narcotics traffickers, bringing a new wave of drug-related killings into the United States, authorities said. Law-enforcement and intelligence officials said the well-armed gang, known as the "Zetas," is linked to hundreds of killings and dozens of kidnappings on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly over a wide area of southeastern Texas from Laredo to Brownsville and in cities throughout Mexico. In protecting established drug corridors into the United States, gang leaders have targeted U.S. Border Patrol...