New York Times

PONTIAC, Mich. — On the day a heavily armed couple fatally shot 14 people and wounded more than 20 others in San Bernardino, Calif., last month, Michael J. Bouchard, a sheriff here in the Detroit area, got an order to return his department’s 14-ton armored personnel carrier to the federal government.

It was one of hundreds of similar notifications from the Obama administration to law enforcement agencies across the country — from Los Angeles to rural areas like Calhoun County, Ala. — to give back an array of federal surplus military equipment by April 1, in response to concerns that the equipment was unnecessary and misused. The items to be returned: armored vehicles that run on tracks, .50-caliber machine guns, grenade launchers, bayonets and camouflage clothing.   Continue reading “Some Officers Bristle at Recall of Military Equipment”

The Texas Tribune

State senators expressed bipartisan disapproval Wednesday of an unpopular program that levies large surcharges on drivers for traffic offenses, with several calling for broad changes or for scrapping it entirely.

The Driver Responsibility Program, created in 2003 to address a budget shortfall and promote more responsible driving, requires drivers convicted of certain traffic offenses, such as speeding and driving while intoxicated, to pay additional annual surcharges on top of any court fines and criminal penalties to maintain their driver’s licenses. Nearly 1.3 million drivers now have invalid licenses, according to the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.   Continue reading “Lawmakers Compare Driver Surcharge Program to Debtors’ Prison”

KDVR

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The city of  Commerce City has paid a huge financial settlement for the death of someone’s pet.

The city recently paid $262,500 to the family of a chocolate lab-mix named Chloe, shot and killed by police. The payment was part of a settlement to avoid a federal civil court trial scheduled later this month.   Continue reading “Settlement reached in police killing of dog, called largest in U.S. history”

Free Thought Project – by William N. Grigg

Seeking to placate growing public outrage over corruption, abuse, and a lack of accountability in the Chicago Police Department — including an apparently endless string of unjustified police killings, the maintenance of a Gitmo-style “black site,” and a still-festering decades-long scandal involving interrogation through torture — Mayor Rahm Emanuel has sought help from a veteran obstructionist who has performed a similar service as head of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing: Former Washington, D.C. police chief Charles Ramsey, who recently retired after a scandal-plagued term as Police Commissioner in Philadelphia.  Continue reading “To Address Police Violence, Rahm Emanuel Hires Notoriously Abusive Cop as His ‘Civil Rights’ Adviser”

New York Post – by ROCCO PARASCANDOLA

The NYPD hopes a more potent pepper spray will lead to fewer police shootings — but some critics say the upgraded aerosol is a recipe for disaster.

More than 19,000 cops so far have been given canisters of Sabre 5.0, a spray with a .67% concentration of major capsaicinoids, the chemicals that make peppers hot.   Continue reading “NYPD hopes more potent pepper spray will lead to fewer police shootings, some critics say upgrade is recipe for disaster”

MassPrivateI

Samsung’s ‘WISE NETIII‘ facial recognition CCTV’s will soon be installed in San Francisco.

According to the SF Gate:

“San Francisco’s public transit agency plans to purchase up to 150 cameras marketed for their ability to find and focus on human faces, although city officials insist the devices will monitor only traffic — not people.”
Continue reading “Feds installing facial recognition cameras to identify pedestrians at night and through fog”

ABC News

The family of a man fatally shot by a St. Lucie County sheriff’s deputy filed a lawsuit Wednesday, saying the deputy used excessive force when he fired through a garage door.

Gregory Hill Jr., a 30-year-old Coca-Cola warehouse employee, was shot by St. Lucie County deputy Christopher Newman two years ago after Newman and another deputy responded to a complaint that Hill was playing loud music.   Continue reading “Family of Man Fatally Shot by Sheriff’s Deputy in 2014 Sues”

The Guardian – by Oliver Milman

Water authorities across the US are systematically distorting water tests to downplay the amount of lead in samples, risking a dangerous spread of the toxic water crisis that has gripped Flint, documents seen by the Guardian show.

The controversial approach to water testing is so widespread that it occurs in “every major US city east of the Mississippi” according to an anonymous source with extensive knowledge of the lead and copper regulations. “By word of mouth, this has become the thing to do in the water industry. The logical conclusion is that millions of people’s drinking water is potentially unsafe,” he said.   Continue reading “US authorities distorting tests to downplay lead content of water”

Gossip Extra – by Jose Lambiet

WEST PALM BEACH — In the end, the shooting of a Down Syndrome sufferer by a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy during a slow-speed car chase in Royal Palm Beach in 2010 will end up costing taxpayers close to $1 million.

Gossip Extra has learned exclusively that PBSO and the family of Jeremy Hutton, the victim, settled a two-year federal civil rights lawsuit during a secret mediation session yesterday.   Continue reading “Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Secretly Settles Lawsuit From Down Syndrome Kid Shot by Deputy”

Courthouse News Service – by Nick Rummell

TRENTON, N.J. (CN) – A New Jersey state legislator wants to ban news organizations and the public from accessing 911 recordings and transcripts, as well as recordings from police body and cruiser cameras.

The bill, sponsored Jan. 12 by Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen, would add the police and 911 recordings to the list of government records excluded under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act.   Continue reading “NJ Bill Would Ban The Public From Seeing ALL Police Documents”

IndyStar – by Vic Ryckaert

A former Hendricks County deputy provided security for a massive synthetic drug operation that stretched from China to a farm near New Palestine, prosecutors said Friday.

Former Hendricks County Deputy Jason Woods was charged Thursday in Hancock County with six felonies including corrupt business influence, dealing a synthetic drug and other crimes.   Continue reading “Ex-deputy charged in ‘spice’ ring”

MassPrivateI

A disturbing new app called ‘I’ve-Been-Violated‘ promises to SECRETLY report alleged domestic abuse to the authorities. Apps that SECRETLY report on citizens are Un-American and are the exact opposite of a democratic government.  Continue reading “New ‘I’ve-Been-Violated’ app. SECRETLY reports alleged abuse to police”

The Newspaper

Florida report finds red light cameras generated $150 million in revenue along with a 15 percent increase in accidents.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports that accidents increased at intersections where red light cameras are in use. State law requires the agency to monitor the performance of automated ticketing machines and submit an annual report on its findings.      Continue reading “Florida: Accidents Increase At Red Light Camera Locations”

Pew Trusts – by Michael Ollove

CONROE, Texas — Texas prison psychiatrist Pradan Nathan recalls an unsettling face-to-face session with a dissatisfied patient about a dozen years ago at a maximum security prison in East Texas. The large man, a member of a notorious prison gang, insisted Nathan prescribe him a particular medication. Nathan said he didn’t need it.

“I’m going to stab you to death the next time you come in here,” the prisoner growled.   Continue reading “State Prisons Turn to Telemedicine to Improve Health and Save Money”

New York Times

CLEVELAND — David Ayers says he feared for his life during the nearly 12 years he spent in a prison for a murder that evidence showed he did not commit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit voided Mr. Ayers’s conviction in 2010, and he was freed nearly a year later. A federal jury in 2013 awarded him $13.2 million, a verdict upheld by the appeals court.   Continue reading “Cleveland Is Accused of ‘Blatant Dodge’ for Not Paying After Verdicts”

ArsTechnica – by David Kravets

As body cams continue to flourish in police departments across the nation, an ongoing debate has ensued about how much, if any, of that footage should be made public under state open-access laws.

An overlooked twist to that debate, however, has now become front and center: How much should the public have to pay for the footage if the police agree to release it? News network NY1, a Time Warner Cable News operation, was billed $36,000 by the NYPD for roughly 190 hours of footage it requested under the state’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).   Continue reading “Police department charging TV news network $36,000 for body cam footage”

Waking Times – by Vic Bishop

Our reality is carefully constructed by powerful corporate, political and special interest sources in order to covertly sway public opinion. Blatant lies are often televised regarding terrorism, food, war, health, etc. They are fashioned to sway public opinion and condition viewers to accept what have become destructive societal norms.   Continue reading “Journalist Reveals Tactics Brainwashing Industry Uses to Manipulate the Public”

Tech Dirt – by Tim Cushing

Students don’t sacrifice their Constitutional rights when they walk through the school’s door. Their protections are somewhat diminished but they don’t evaporate completely. There are reasons their rights aren’t eliminated and those are tied to the operation of government employeesoutside of the school doors.

A recent decision by an Ohio Appeals Court reiterates this fact and spells out exactly why we shouldn’t treat minors as possessors of only a minimum amount of civil liberties. (via 4thAmendment.com)    Continue reading “Court Points Out The Fourth Amendment Still Protects Public School Students From Illegal Searches”

Slate – by Ben Mathis-Lilley

Flint, Michigan, is sending out notices to residents who haven’t been paying for their city water services. The notices say that services could be cut off if payment isn’t received. This is a normal civic administrative practice except for one thing: Flint’s water is so badly poisoned that the National Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency have been called in to manage the situation, which has left residents drinking bottled water that’s being given out as an emergency measure.

Continue reading “Flint Sends Overdue Notices to Residents Who Aren’t Paying for Their Water, Which Is Poison”

MassPrivateI

Auto manufacturers are working with a company called Eyelock to put Myris‘ iris scanners in new cars. Click here to view the Myris Eyelock video.

According to Biometricupdate.com, Eyelock’s iris authentication process takes less than five seconds to complete.    Continue reading “New cars to record your iris, fingerprints, voice and blood pressure”