On Tuesday, Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh issued a nine-page memorandum, “Ending Discriminatory Profiling in Maryland,” which contains new guidelines to restrict racial profiling by law enforcement. This move comes eight months after the Obama administration announced its own rules on racial profiling. Maryland is the first state to…
Tag: Police
Archived: Death of Prison Inmate By Officers Ruled Homicide
30-year-old Samuel Harrell’s death at the Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon, New York, has been ruled a homicide, according to the autopsy report obtained by the New York Times. Specifically, the report detailed, Harrell died of cardiac arrhythmia, which resulted from a “physical altercation with corrections officers” — made evident…
Archived: St. Louis Police Officer Boasts Spending 'Michael Brown Bonus' on Vacation
The St. Louis County police department is investigating a Facebook post made by one of its officers over the weekend. Officer Todd J. “TJ” Bakula shared on his Facebook that he was spending his “Michael Brown bonus” on a vacation for himself and his wife, referencing the money he earned…
Archived: Police Body Cam Footage Possibly Going Public in D.C.
Mayor Muriel E. Bowser of Washington, D.C., has proposed a plan that would make most police body cam video footage available to the public. Exceptions would be made for videos taken in places that are considered private and where people expect privacy (particularly video taken indoors), both of which would…
Archived: City’s First Black Police Chief Fired, Residents Want Him Back
By Sheryl Estrada Residents of Pocomoke City, Md., are frustrated by the firing of their first Black police chief Kelvin Sewell almost two months ago and want answers. Pocomoke City Mayor Bruce Morrison and other city officials say they are limited in publicly speaking about the issue as it is…
Archived: Baltimore Calls On Feds To Help End Violence Streak
In light of the record-breaking violence Baltimore has seen over the past several months, the city has enlisted the help of the federal government to assist the police in restoring order. For two months, the city will receive help from 10 additional agents, hailing from the Federal Bureau of Investigation;…
Archived: At Least Four Unarmed Black Men Killed by University of Cincinnati Police Officers
By Sheryl Estrada Clockwise from top left: Samuel DuBose, Kelly Brinson, Lorenzo Collins, Everette Howard Two University of Cincinnati police officers who verified former officer Ray Tensing’s accounts of the shooting death of Black motorist Samuel DuBose, Eric Weibel and Phillip Kidd, were also involved in the death of Kelly…
Archived: Another Black Motorist Murdered, Officer Indicted
By Sheryl Estrada University of Cincinnati Police Officer Ray Tensing stopped Samuel DuBose, an unarmed Black man, off campus just after 6 p.m. on July 19 because his front license plate was missing. The encounter ended with DuBose being shot in the head. During a press conference on Wednesday afternoon,…
Archived: Ferguson Appoints Black Interim Police Chief
Ferguson has chosen a new interim police chief just two weeks before the first anniversary of Michael Brown’s tragic death. Andre Anderson, who was serving as commander of the Glendale, Ariz., police department, was introduced on Wednesday morning in a press conference. He is Ferguson’s first Black head of police….
Archived: Chicago Investigator Fired After Reporting Unjustified Police Shootings
Lorenzo Davis, a former Chicago police chief who went on to be an investigator for the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), has been fired after concluding multiple civilian shootings by police were unjustified. According to Davis, in the cases in which officers involved in shootings were exonerated, he never received…