Free Republic

* At least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies now have access to radar devices that enable them to effectively see into people's homes * The technology has been available for more than two years, but only come to light during a federal appeals court hearing in Denver last month * The use of the technology adds to growing concerns about government surveillance and also raises legal and privacy issuesAt least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies now have access to radar devices that enable them to effectively see into people’s homes and determine if anyone is inside. Although the FBI, U.S....

After a year of unrest over how the justice system responded to the deaths of several unarmed African-American men, many people marking Martin Luther King’s Birthday on Monday were more rueful than celebratory. Some marchers in a small city in northern Alabama wore black shirts with the names of three of the men in white print: Michael Brown, Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin. Two died in confrontations with police officers, and one with a neighborhood watch coordinator. In an acknowledgment of the complexity of the issue, the shirts also bore the names of Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, the two...

An activist reverend (Phoenix), in police use-of-force training, first gets himself killed, then shoots unarmed man. The lesson he takes: "comply."

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — An Alabama man says he was cited by Cobb County police for “eating while driving” under the distracted driving law. Madison Turner said he ordered a double quarter pounder with cheese from McDonald’s last week, and a police officer pulled him over, along Canton Road in Marietta. “The officer explained to me that he observed me eating a burger for 2 miles,” Madison said. “He said specifically three times, you can’t just go down the road eating a hamburger.” According to the ticket, the officer wrote him up under Georgia’s distracted driving law, and under the...

The gun enthusiast who nearly killed his small town's police chief last week is a free man since cops couldn't find enough evidence to charge him and keep him behind bars. Sentinel, Oklahoma Police Chief Louis Ross was shot four times that morning while raiding a house in connection to a bomb threat at a school, and only survived thanks to a bullet-proof vest he borrowed at the last minute. [snip} Horton and his wife were arrested in the aftermath, and he later told investigators that he didn't know police were breaking into his home, which Chief Ross finds skeptical....

Lapel camera footage shots Albuquerque police officers shooting and killing John Edward Okeefe on Jan. 13, 2015.

HERSHEY, Pa. — A group of female GOP lawmakers is trying to pressure the Republican leadership team to make changes to a 20-week abortion ban the House is set to vote on next week. Led by Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina, the lawmakers are protesting language that requires a rape victim to formally report her assault to police to qualify for an exemption from the legislation’s abortion restrictions. Ellmers raised the concerns during a closed-door meeting at the GOP retreat here, according to sources in the room. Her office did not have a comment on Friday on the discussions...

The North Miami Beach Police Department is denying accusations of racial profiling for using mug shots of black men during target practice for their snipers, NBC South Florida reports. "Our policies were not violated," Chief J. Scott Dennis said. "There is no discipline forthcoming from the individuals who were involved with this." When a National Guard unit arrived at a Medley, Florida, shooting range for its annual weapons qualifications training, one of its members was shocked to see that five bullet-riddled mug shots of black men left behind included her brother, from his arrest 15 years earlier in connection to...

The night manager of a Drury Inn in St. Louis was shot to death during an early Thursday robbery attempt, one of the city’s seven homicides during a 24-hour span. Police quickly made three arrests in cases in which the victims reportedly knew their assailants. Police Chief Sam Dotson and Mayor Francis Slay condemned the violence at a Thursday afternoon news conference. They did not identify the suspects in custody, who will be formally charged Friday. Scott Knopfel, 50, was shot in the head at the Drury hotel near Interstate 44 just before 3 a.m. after he struggled with his...

LA JUNTA, Colo. - A judge ruled Thursday that there is probable cause for Rocky Ford Police Officer James Ashby to stand trial for second-degree murder in the on-duty shooting death of a 27-year-old man. Ashby will be arraigned on Feb. 12 at 11:30 a.m. in La Junta. He is currently free on $150,000 bond. Ashby is accused of killing Jack Jacquez, Jr. on Oct. 12, 2014. Relatives say Ashby followed Jacquez to his home and shot him in the back after a struggle over a skateboard on Oct. 12. Authorities had not released the circumstances surrounding the shooting and...

Police Officer Craig Taylor shouldn’t be sitting in a Markham courtroom. Taylor should be out protecting the citizens of Park Forest like he’s done since 2004. Taylor was performing his sworn duty to serve and protect when he was summoned to the Victory Centre in Park Forest on July 26, 2013, to quell a disturbance. He ended up firing beanbag cartridges at 95-year-old John Wrana, a resident of the facility. Taylor, an African-American, was one of five officers who responded to a call from staff that the elderly man was threatening them with a knife, a shoehorn and a cane....

Fuselier continued into Trempealeau County at speeds that reached 80 mph until officers lost him on Gilmeister Road and found his car in a ditch, the complaint stated. Authorities from both counties followed footprints into a wooded area for more than one mile and across a creek before a deputy found Fuselier on the ground unable to get up because his prosthetic leg was stuck in a fence, according to the complaint. Police found meth and a pipe in his car.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015 Flagstaff Officer Tyler Stewart Shot to Death While Wearing Police Body Camera (VIDEO) Well, it's definitely up close and personal. At the Arizona Republic, "Flagstaff police officer's body camera captures fatal shooting": EDITOR'S NOTE: The video below is graphic and may not be something you want to see. It was released by Flagstaff Police honoring a public records request by media, including azcentral, The Arizona Republic and 12 News. The video will be part of the ongoing discussion about safety for officers and for the people they encounter, which is why we think it is newsworthy....

St. Paul police are investigating an officer-involved shooting early Wednesday morning that killed a man suspected of sending threatening messages. Officers responded to the 200 block of University Avenue East about 2:14 a.m. after a woman reported getting death threats via text message. The woman told police the messages were from a man she knew and that he was known to carry a gun. Sgt. Paul Paulos says after officers arrived and located the suspect, shots were fired and the suspect was hit. Paulos did not give further details on how the shooting occurred. St. Paul Fire Department medics were...

A former Kentucky police officer is suing a local gun store after he shot his finger off inside the store in a case of bad gun handling vs. horrible gun handling – plus a complete lack of personal responsibility. According to a civil lawsuit, former Glasgow police officer Darrell Smith went to Barren Outdoors and asked to see a .380 caliber handgun. An employee removed the gun from under the counter and handed it to Smith without checking to see if the gun was loaded. Smith then takes the gun, likewise failing to check if the weapon was loaded, and...

Here at The Watch, we’ve praised Dallas Police Chief David Brown and his staff for the department’s community-oriented approach to policing, openness and transparency about excessive force, its rejection of law enforcement as a revenue generator, and its First Amendment-friendly approach to protest. Now, there’s some evidence of a payoff. Dallas’ 2014 murder rate was its lowest since 1930 — the year Bonnie and Clyde met at a West Dallas house party. And the Dallas Police Department’s preliminary count of 116 murders last year — there is one unexplained death awaiting a ruling — would be the lowest yearly murder...

Two Albuquerque police officers were charged with murder Monday in the shooting death of a knife-wielding homeless man that led to violent protests and brought new scrutiny to the police department amid a federal investigation. The decision to bring murder charges occurred at a time when police tactics are under intense review nationwide, fueled by the fatal shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, and the chokehold death of another unarmed man in New York City. Grand juries declined to charge officers in those cases, leading to large protests. Acknowledging the frustration over the secrecy of the proceedings in...

Not long after Mayor Bill de Blasio sat beside the Rev. Al Sharpton at a July summit meeting on police reform, a political adviser gave the mayor a blunt assessment: You have a problem with the cops. Rank-and-file officers felt disrespected by the mayor, the adviser explained, and were dismayed to see Mr. Sharpton, a longtime critic of the New York Police Department, embraced at City Hall. But Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, rejected the notion that officers disliked him. His message, the adviser later recalled, was clear: Everything was under control. That confidence would last until late last month,...

The New York City Police Department and other law enforcement agencies have been alerted to a new threat raised by the Islamic State terror group. The jihadist entity released a new video on Saturday urging fellow jihadists to “rise up” against the U.S. and other Western states. ISIS spokesman Abu Mohammed al Adnani told those loyal to the Islamic State to “rise up and kill intelligence officers, police officers, soldiers, and civilians” in the U.S., Canada, France, and Australia. “Do not let the battle pass you by wherever you may be. Strike their police, security, and intelligence members, as well

There’s 35,000 of them, but they’re not an army. So, it’s a new year, and we’re already hip-deep in horrors. I can’t even begin to write about the Charlie Hebdo massacre; I’m not an expert on terrorism or on France, and in general I agree with Dan Murphy of the Christian Science Monitor, who’s made a good point recently on Twitter that there are too many of these “what’s it all mean” pieces and all far too soon. Instead, I want to go back to one of the stories we were all arguing about before the Paris massacre: the tension...