I tells ya, sometimes ya just gotta to make an example of ‘em: When Sally Harpold bought cold medicine for her family back in March, she never dreamed that four months later she would end up in handcuffs. … Harpold is a grandmother of triplets who bought one box of Zyrtec-D cold medicine for her [...]

After reading the litany of Radley Balko’s Puppycide chronicles, I still took solace in the fact that if some brute squad mistakenly came to bust down my door instead of a neighbor’s, my 10 lb Yorkshire Terrier, who I refer to as a “barking cat” due to his laziness, would probably not get himself shot. [...]

The new FBI Crime Report is out and reveals some interesting information: Prostitution and “commercialized vice” — 75,004 arrests Gambling — 9,811 arrests Drug Possession — 1,401,188 arrests Heroin or Cocaine Possession — 342,210 arrests Marijuana — 754,224 arrests Synthetic drugs (i.e., crystal meth) — 56,184 arrests Other “dangerous” drugs — 248,570 Which leaves us [...]

JERICHO, Ark. – It was just too much, having to return to court twice on the same day to contest yet another traffic ticket, and Fire Chief Don Payne didn’t hesitate to tell the judge what he thought of the police and their speed traps. The response from cops? They shot him. Right there in [...]

A Georgia Pastor was mistakenly killed in the a police drug string operation: STEPHENS COUNTY, Ga. — A pastor was shot and killed following a drug sting in Stephens County, Ga., on Tuesday, and the officers involved and friends of the pastor are giving different versions of what led up to the shooting. The Stephens [...]

A 38 year-old mother of three, who posed no threat to the police or anyone else, was tasered right in front of her children in January of this year. Yet to my knowledge, President Obama has failed to address this genuine case of the police “acting stupidly.” Maybe it’s because Audra Harmon cannot help the [...]

One of Obama’s campaign promises was to stop federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries which were allowed by state law. Many pundits (myself included) have been lambasting him for not living up to that promise based upon stories like these: Police raids on medical marijuana dispensaries continue–and continue with federal help, despite an Obama promise [...]

Over at the Agitator, Radley Balko asks why people are amused by Bob Dylan’s latest run-in with the law. I find it pretty depressing. There was a time when we condescendingly used the term “your papers, please” to distinguish ourselves from Eastern Block countries and other authoritarian states. Post-Hiibel, America has become a place where [...]

Up to now I have purposely avoided this whole disorderly conduct arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr. for a number of reasons. First reason being that compared to the other cases I’ve written about here and elsewhere, this is a very minor case of police misconduct. I have yet to read or hear any reports [...]

So says Fox News Channel Legal Analyst, and former Judge, Andrew Napolitano: Civil liberties attorney Harvey Silvergate agrees: Under well-established First Amendment jurisprudence, what Gates said to Crowley–even assuming the worst–is fully constitutionally protected. After all, even “offensive” speech is covered by the First Amendment’s very broad umbrella (…) Today, the law recognizes only four [...]

As promised, here is some additional video from News Channel 8. This video is a side-by-side of the cell phone cam and dashboard cam. The second video, from Fox News shows the dashboard cam video by itself. It seems to end about where the cell phone cam begins. In all honesty, I will need to [...]

I dare say that any individual sans badge would be charged for putting his or her hands on the throat of an EMT. Click here to read the rest of the story. UPDATE I: Once I figure out how to insert a pdf without hotlinking, I’ll have the official statements from both the EMT and [...]

Those who are of the badge worshipping and law enforcement bootlicking persuasion might assume that Judge Sonia Sotomayor may not have much to offer them as a Supreme Court Justice until they take a look at her record on the 2nd Circuit. As it turns out, Sotomayor has quite an authoritarian streak. It seems that [...]

I know some who read my posts regarding police misconduct might not believe me when I say respect the police and the dangerous job they do. I believe that the police misconduct I write about generally are exceptions to the rule that most individuals in law enforcement do their jobs with the highest degree of [...]

For going above and beyond the call of duty, I herby nominate these three members of L.A.’s finest to receive the Ramos-Compean Medal of Valor. As clearly shown in the footage below, the first officer bravely kicked the suspect in the head after he had surrendered. The second officer also deserves to be recognized for [...]

Here’s yet another example illustrating why the practice of SWAT style raids should be ended: robbers posing as cops. Here’s the news story from WRAL: width=330; height=280; wral_insert_video_player_5022704(width,height); This is the unedited surveillance video: width=330; height=280; wral_insert_video_player_5022045(width,height); As bad as this situation was, it could have ended much worse. It’s very fortunate that the armed [...]

A truly disturbing story: H/T: Crystal Clear Conservative

This seems even excessive for the Toughest Most Authoritarian Sheriff in America, Joe Arpaio: Sheriff’s deputies and county Protective Service officers arrested two men and two women in the middle of the [County Board of Supervisors] meeting when they stood and applauded a speaker who criticized Arpaio. Joel Nelson, Jason Odhner, Monica Sanschafer and Kristy [...]

Despite the objections of the National Tactical Officers Association, the bill championed by Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo passed the Maryland House by a wide margin: Delegates adopted a bill, on a 126 to 9 vote, that would require law enforcement agencies to report every six months on their use of SWAT teams, including what [...]

In my report following the live chat @ The Agitator with Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo last week, I made mention of some very modest reforms he was pushing in Maryland. The bill would require all police departments with SWAT teams to provide monthly reports to the state’s Attorney General, local officials and the general [...]