Free Republic

A former Baltimore police officer said Wednesday that he plans to perform an Al Jolson routine in blackface to raise money for the six Baltimore officers who have been indicted in the death of Freddie Gray. Bobby Berger, whose performances as Jolson created tension with the department in the 1980s, said Wednesday that 610 tickets have been sold in eight days at $45 each for the Nov. 1 fundraiser in Glen Burnie.

A local district attorney says that the probe into Sandra Bland’s death after a traffic stop is being treated “like a murder investigation,” despite preliminary information indicating that she committed suicide. Bland was arrested July 10 after a traffic stop and died three days later in her cell.... Supporters of Bland, a 28-year-old woman and Black Lives Matter activist who was arrested July 10 and found dead in her cell three days later.... “She has the right to smoke in her car. That is her right,” the Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant of Baltimore, who has been working to raise awareness...

Tread lightly, Americans: Nearly 9% of people in the United States have outbursts of anger, break or smash things, or get into physical fights -- and have access to a firearm, a new study says. What's more, 1.5% of people who have these anger issues carry their guns outside the home. The findings, published Wednesday in the journal Behavioral Sciences and the Law, suggest that measures to reduce gun injuries and deaths should focus less on diagnosed mental illness and more on a history of violent behavior.

..... officer on foot patrol fatally shot a man who punched him in the face behind an office building on Sunday evening....

Some time after I bought my first gun, I got a robocall from the National Rifle Association, asking me to join. After the customary “Please stay on the line …” from a pleasant but earnest voice, I recoiled from the barkings of an angry-sounding man: “Did I know that Barack Hussein Obama and European leaders are meeting on American soil right now, at this very moment, to plot the confiscation of my guns?” The caller continued with his insinuations of an imminent United Nations plot against America, but before I could be handed off to a live operator, I hung...

Kendrick Lamar opened the BET Awards Sunday night rapping about police brutality while on top of a vandalized police car with a ripped American flag waving behind him. Performing his song “Alright,” the 28-year-old rapped about overcoming his struggles. Many saw the performance as a political statement referencing recent events in Ferguson and Baltimore.

Freddie Gray suffered a single "high-energy injury" — like those seen in shallow-water diving incidents — most likely caused when the police van in which he was riding suddenly decelerated, according to a copy of the autopsy report obtained by The Baltimore Sun. The state medical examiner's office concluded that Gray's death could not be ruled an accident, and was instead a homicide, because officers failed to follow safety procedures "through acts of omission." Though Gray was loaded into the van on his belly, the medical examiner surmised that he may have gotten to his feet and was thrown into...

FAIRFIELD —Two adults and two youths have been cited after an incident Tuesday evening at the Fairfield Aquatic Center. Fairfield police declined to discuss the incident on camera, but according to a report obtained by WLWT, the incident started when aquatic center employees asked some children to leave the pool because of their behavior. The children told the park ranger their mom said they didn't have to leave, the report states. Police said that is when one of the mothers aggressively confronted the ranger and then pushed an officer. Police wrote in the report, that another adult then began striking...

There were 23 homicides and 39 nonfatal shootings in Baltimore in May 2014. Through 29 days of May 2015, there were 42 homicides and 104 nonfatal shootings. Gulp. Why are arrests down so sharply? Some cops may fear that criminals have turned more aggressive and confrontational after a year of high-profile allegations of police brutality, from the protests in Ferguson to the assassination of two officers in New York to the riots over Freddie Gray in Baltimore. Jack Dunphy, a cop himself, noted in a piece for PJM last month that crime rates are up in multiple major cities nationwide....

Barbara Tasch June 10, 2015 New York police commissioner William Bratton said he'd like to hire more non-white officers but most of them have criminal records and therefore, he can't, The Guardian reported. “We have a significant population gap among African American males because so many of them have spent time in jail and, as such, we can’t hire them," Bratton said in an interview with the publication. For this high number, Bratton blamed the "unfortunate consequences" of stop-and-frisk policing carried out on young non-white men over the last few years in New York. A felony conviction, domestic violence charges,...

A violent arrest caught on cell phone video that showed Salinas, California, police hitting a man repeatedly with batons has prompted a police review. The video, captured by a witness, showed several officers repeatedly hitting a man identified as Jose Velasco, 28, with batons as he was being restrained on the ground.

Black Man Showing Support To McKinney TX Cops & All Law Enforcement! Video only on link....

The judge presiding over the prosecution of six Baltimore Police officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray struck the state's motion for a gag order in the case. Judge Charles J. Peters ruled the motion lacked standing in an actual proceeding, as it was filed by Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby's office in Circuit Court on May 14. At that time, the officers' cases were still in District Court. They weren't transferred to Circuit Court until May 21, when the officers were indicted. Judge orders Mosby to respond to defense motions in Freddie Gray case by June 26 Judge...

he outrage was immediate. After a video surfaced of a chaotic confrontation between teens and police at a community pool in Texas, calls for the officer's dismissal were swift and loud... The approximately seven-minute video shows officers trying to gain control of a group of teenagers at the pool. A few minutes into the video, an officer throws a 14-year-old girl wearing a bikini to the ground and shoves her head down. Two teenage boys approach; the officer pulls out his gun and chases them away. He then grabs the girl's arm as he re-holsters his gun.

<p>McKINNEY — McKinney police said Sunday that an officer has been placed on administrative leave after a Friday evening disturbance at the Craig Ranch North Community Pool that created a buzz on social media.</p> <p>Police spokeswoman Sabrina Boston said the incident involved "multiple juveniles at the location, who do not live in the area or have permission to be there, refusing to leave." She said additional units were dispatched after the first officers to arrive "encountered a large crowd that refused to comply with police commands."</p>

An Army soldier attending Artsfest on Memorial Day thought something was fishy with the Marine uniform worn by 75-year-old Robert Ford, who was strolling along Front Street. Ford's hat bore some wrinkles, according to the soldier's assessment, and his belt buckle looked too ornate for his rank. The soldier enlisted the help of a Harrisburg police officer working at the event, who was a Marine, and together, they accused Ford of being a fraud. "He's not a real Marine!" the officer shouted to the crowd gathered for the PennLive/Patriot-News Artsfest of Greater Harrisburg. "Stolen valor!" "I was humiliated," said Ford,...

SEE IT: Oklahoma pastor attacks state troopers sent to rescue him from flood waters, is shot dead BY JASON MOLINET Three days after a pastor caught in rising flood waters was shot and killed by Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers sent to rescue him, newly released dash cam video backed up officers' account of the bizarre, fatal confrontation. Nehemiah Fischer, 35, an assistant pastor at Faith Bible Church in Tulsa, was gunned down Friday night when concerned cops called for Fischer and his older brother, Brandon, to move to higher ground as they attempted to push their stalled truck. "Come on...

Baltimore Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby in the Spotlight Again, Pumping Up a Crowd at a Venue That Might Surprise You May. 30, 2015 8:08pm Dave Urbanski Since pressing charges against six Baltimore police officers in connection with the death of Freddie Gray, State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby has been in the news quite a bit for other reasons. She was interviewed by Vogue and got invited onstage by Prince at his concert for Gray. Then she said her Twitter account was hacked after questionable “favoriting” of anti-cop posts; and a video surfaced of her appearance on “Judge Judy” from 2000. But on...

A military-style raid on a working class home in Palm Springs yesterday was supposed to net federal authorities a drug suspect, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s SWAT team a nice assist. Instead, SWAT members caused an estimated $10,000 in damages to the property of a taxpayer who had nothing to do with the investigation! ....It’s yet another story you won’t see on the dying corporate media until days from now...

Anarchy in Baltimore: Residents claim police have deserted them in wake of Freddie Gray riots as murder rate soars to highest in 15 years Jennifer Jeffrey, 31, and son Kester 'Tony' Browne, 8, were killed Thursday They became the city's 37th and 38th homicide victims this month Residents have barricaded their doors in fear of ongoing violence Some have compared parts of the city to the Wild West Others have said virtually no police have been on the streets since riots Arrests are down almost 50 per cent on the same time last year Police claim they are being met...