Just an FYI that our reporting (tweets) will be on hold for a few days. Back up soon.
Have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.
May 24, 2013 @ 2:17 PM
Just an FYI that our reporting (tweets) will be on hold for a few days. Back up soon.
Have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.
May 24, 2013 @ 1:13 PM
Here are the 12 reports of police misconduct tracked for Thursday, May 23, 2013:
May 24, 2013 @ 11:51 AM
Full story here.
May 23, 2013 @ 2:06 PM
From ABCNews.com:
“Our son was a new kid in August, and this undercover cop befriended him,” Snodgrass said. On the second day of school, Snodgrass said, Daniel asked the boy to buy drugs. “He asked my son if he could find marijuana for $20,” Snodgrass said. ”Three weeks later my son was able to bring back a half joint he received from a homeless guy.”
Later, Snodgrass said, “he asked to purchase my son’s prescription medication, but our son refused.”
It took the 17-year-old three weeks to procure a half joint of marijuana, according to court documents filed later in Riverside County juvenile court. After he was pressed again by the police officer, the student retrieved another joint for $20, from another homeless man, the documents said.
“During that time, he received more than 60 text messages from this undercover officer,” Snodgrass said. “Our son has a real problem reading social cues and social inferences because of his various disabilities. It would’ve been hard for him to figure to out that he was talking to an undercover officer.”
Snodgrass said his son had been diagnosed with autism, bipolar disorder, Tourette’s syndrome and various anxiety disorders.
Temecula police arrested Snodgrass’ son, along with 21 other students, on Dec. 11. Snodgrass told ABC News that his son was interrogated, booked and held for two days without having contact with his parents.
May 23, 2013 @ 12:19 PM
From the Washington Post:
According to police, Dawkins, 22, a shuttle driver for the “PBS NewsHour,” was fatally shot by an off-duty Arlington County sheriff’s deputy. Family members say they are still struggling to understand why.
“He was a working guy. Didn’t bother nobody,” said Curtis Dawkins, Julian Dawkins’s father. “It’s just so sad and senseless that these things had to occur.”
The officer was interviewed, but not charged. Police declined to offer details about the incident.
May 23, 2013 @ 12:06 PM
Here are the 8 reports of police misconduct tracked for Wednesday, May 22, 2013:
May 22, 2013 @ 12:39 PM
Here are the 9 reports of police misconduct tracked for Tuesday, May 21, 2013:
May 22, 2013 @ 11:43 AM
From the Austin American-Statesman:
Driving in the early morning hours to his job at a metal shop in Buda, Miguel Montanez at first thought the approaching lights were a school bus or a tow truck.
But Montanez says it was a Hays County SWAT truck that rammed his car head-on. As they collided, another police vehicle pinned him from behind, he says.
He heard a shot.
“I saw my windshield crack, and I ducked down as low as possible,” Montanez said. “I really thought I was going to die.”
Seconds later, he says, three deputies were pointing assault rifles at him. “That’s when I heard one of the officers say, ‘Oh, (expletive), we got the wrong guy,’ ” Montanez said.
First there’s the close-call on an innocent person losing his life. Next comes the troubling, circle-the-wagons response–which is 100% deliberate.
H/T: Instapundit
May 21, 2013 @ 10:14 AM
Here are the 11 reports of police misconduct tracked for Saturday, May 18 to Monday, May 20, 2013:
May 21, 2013 @ 9:54 AM
Good morning! Today we are celebrating our one year anniversary here at policemisconduct.net!
Our job here is to gather news reports about police misconduct in America in a fair and unbiased way. Our primary objective is to study the scope of the problem and to identify policies that can minimize misconduct.
This site is hosted by the Cato Institute, the world’s leading libertarian think tank. We expect thousands of new visitors here today because Cato’s marketing team is blasting a notice about our work far and wide this morning. So, if this is your first visit, welcome! Quick virtual tour: Over on the right margin of the home page, you will find the stories we are tracking today. On the main page (where you are looking now), we post a “Daily Recap” of the stories from the previous day along with additional details we could not include in a tweet. There is always a link to our news story source for anyone who wants to read the full story. We are as transparent as possible. In addition to the recap, we also use the main page to highlight stories or news articles on related aspects of the American criminal justice system. You’ll also see links to Cato books and events–these resources are offered to persons who wish to deepen their understanding of our constitutional rights and police misconduct issues. At the top of the page, you’ll find links for additional background information, including Frequently Asked Questions.
Let me take a moment here to mention a few other things. First, whether you are a regular reader or first time visitor, one easy way that you can help this project is by spreading the word–so please take two minutes to go over to our Facebook page and “Like” us and recommend us to your friends.
Second, we invite you to work with us. We want to expand our reporting capacity. We’re grateful to the dozens of readers who take a moment out of their day to send us police misconduct stories that they come across in their own community, or just as they scan the news generally. As we grow, we’ll eventually have ‘scouts’ in all of our major metropolitan areas–and beyond. Consider doing this yourself. Really. If you read the news and can email, you’re qualified! We will not interrupt your evening with phone calls asking you to renew your support. We don’t roll like that. Help us out whenever you can. Here is our form for story submissions.
We’re pleased with the work we have done over the past year, but we will be striving to do better work in the coming months and years. Thanks for visiting!

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