Rhodes-file-04.JPGThe Detroit News – by Robert Snell and Steve Pardo

Detroit — U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes on Monday refused to block the city from shutting off water to delinquent customers for six months, saying there is no right to free water and Detroit can’t afford to lose the revenue.

Rhodes’s order served as a stinging rejection of arguments made by thousands of protesters who staged rallies last summer fighting shutoffs and argued that there is a fundamental right to water service.

“There is no such right or law,” Rhodes said.   Continue reading “Judge won’t stop Detroit shut-offs, says no right to free water”

McClatchy DC – by Michael Doyle

WASHINGTON — A fabled Florida drug informant once known as “the Princess” has now crowned her career with a bittersweet legal victory

Capping a lawsuit filed in 1997, a federal judge has awarded the woman $1.14 million to cover care for the multiple sclerosis she attributes to a traumatic kidnapping. The judge reasoned the disease could be traced to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s failing its duty.   Continue reading “Federal drug informant scores victory over DEA”

Image from Wiki CommonsWatchdog – by Eric Boehm

Government employees and politicians get preferential treatment from the Transportation Security Administration simply for being government employees and politicians.

Meanwhile, everyone else is stuck in an “aviation security caste system” based on dozens of watchlists compiled by the TSA, FBI and other law enforcement agencies, along with a secret formula the TSA believes can sort passengers based on hypothetical analyses and conjecture.   Continue reading “Government employees and politicians get special status from TSA”

policeSleuth Journal – by Justin King

A 17-year-old kid was tased into a coma and suffered brain damageafter Officer Tim Runnels arrested him for a traffic ticket that was associated with the car he had borrowed. It was not his ticket. The window was broken and the minor could not roll the window down completely when ordered. Therefore the officer used force to enforce an unlawful order. The department has stated that Runnels acted within policy and placed the officer on paid vacation. The minor is the son of another police officer. Since it deals with one of their own, the FBI has launched a probe.

If putting a child in a coma for someone else’s traffic ticket is within policy, where does it end?   Continue reading “When Should We Start Forcibly Resisting Police Tyranny?”

Oath-Keepers-250x250The Daily Sheeple – by Melissa Melton

The New York State Intelligence Center — a known Fusion Center with the stated purpose to, “collect, evaluate, analyze, and disseminate information and intelligence data regarding criminal and terrorist activity relevant to New York State” — issued a Counter Terrorism Bulletin last June identifying Oath Keepers in addition to other liberty related groups as “far-right extremist group and/or a threat to law enforcement.”

Here is a portion of a statement released by Oath Keepers yesterday:   Continue reading “New York Fusion Center Declares Oath Keepers, Other Liberty Groups as ‘Extremist Threats’”

Law enforcement droneLA Times – by PHIL WILLON, MELANIE MASON

Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday vetoed a bill that would have required law enforcement agencies to obtain warrants to use drones for surveillance.

Brown, in his veto message, said that although there may be some circumstances when a warrant is appropriate, the bill went too far.

The measure appeared to impose restrictions on law enforcement that go beyond federal and state constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizures and the right to privacy, the governor stated.   Continue reading “Governor vetoes bill that would have limited police use of drones”

NBC Philadelphia – by David Chang

A Pennsylvania couple is suing three police officers, claiming their rights were violated during a tense confrontation captured on cellphone video.

Kia Gaymon, 38, and her husband Michael Gaymon, 35, of Collingdale filed a lawsuit against the borough as well as three police officers.

The lawsuit stems from an incident that occurred at the couple’s Collingdale home back on February 22. The couple says it all began when Mr. Gaymon’s mother visited their home and partially parked her car on their next-door neighbor’s curb. The neighbor called police and three Collingdale officers soon arrived.   Continue reading “Couple Sues Police Over Tense Confrontation Inside Collingdale Home”

Drug_free_schools.jpgAl.com – by Sally Pearsall Ericson

MOBILE, Alabama — There will be more drug tests this fall in the Mobile County school system as officials encourage more students to join the testing pool, including eighth-graders.

The first round of drug tests, about 120 screenings, have already been conducted among Mobile County high school students, with 100 percent negative results, said Larry Mouton, executive director of the school system’s career and technical education department.   Continue reading “Drug testing and education program expanded in Mobile County schools”

tommyFree Thought Project – by Cassandra Rules

Family of Tommy McClain are speaking out against Eureka Police Department’s version of events which left McClain dead and his cousin tasered and hauled off to jail in California last Wednesday.

Nichole Mottern explained to the OutPost that McClain was living with her, her husband (who is McClain’s cousin) and the couple’s two children.

The trio had gone out earlier in the evening to celebrate her husbands birthday, when they arrived back at their townhouse, her husband was intoxicated and went up to bed.   Continue reading “Police Shoot and Kill Man Just 5 Minutes After He Makes a Cheerful Post on Facebook”

Alleged hospital incident photoWPXI 11

PITTSBURGH — A family told Channel 11 it is suing police after an alleged incident after their son was shot and died in the hospital.

The Rev. Earl Baldwin Jr. said when his stepson, Mileek Grissom, died in UPMC Mercy Hospital’s emergency room, police officers crossed the line.

“I needed to tell him his family was going to be OK.  I was going to do everything I could to make sure they were OK,” Baldwin said. Continue reading “Man says officers pulled him away from dead stepson, shot him with Taser in hospital; UPMC: ‘Allegations inaccurate’”

Breitbart – by AWR Hawkins

Gun control in Britain passed in stages, beginning just after World War I and continuing in a reactionary fashion with increasing strictness through the 1990s.

When the final stage arrived in 1997, and virtually all handguns were banned via the Firearms Act, the promise was a reduction in crime and greater safety for the British people. But the result was the emergence of Britain as the “most violent country in Europe.”   Continue reading “How Gun Control Made England the ‘Most Violent Country in Europe’”

KFox 14 – by Bill Melugin

EL PASO, Texas – A 64-year-old woman drowned when police said her vehicle ended up in a drainage canal in Northeast El Paso Monday morning.

El Paso police said they were called out to the intersection of Diana Drive and Vulcan Avenue just after 6:30 Monday morning due to reports of a vehicle that had gone into a drainage ditch overflowing with floodwaters.   Continue reading “Drowning witness: Police stopped men from trying to save woman trapped in car”

Huffington Post – by Ed Mazza

A South Carolina state trooper was fired last week and arrested on Wednesday after a dashcam video showed him shooting an unarmed man during a routine traffic stop.

Former officer Sean Groubert, 31, is seen in the newly released video pulling over Levar Edward Jones. The clip, which was recorded on Groubert’s dashcam on Sept. 4, shows Jones getting out of his vehicle at a gas station in Columbia.   Continue reading “Sean Groubert, South Carolina State Trooper, Fired & Arrested After Shooting Unarmed Man”

Mail.com

A suspect in the fatal ambush of a trooper has occasionally made himself visible to officers before melting back into the forest, and police found empty packs of Serbian-branded cigarettes and soiled diapers believed to have been left by him, Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday.

Officers saw a man they believe to be Eric Frein as recently as Tuesday, Lt. Col. George Bivens said Wednesday afternoon. But it was at a distance, and the extremely rugged terrain separating the officers from Frein gave him “the ability to disappear,” Bivens told reporters.   Continue reading “Cops: Saw ambush suspect, found his dirty diapers”

Marlene Pinnock was repeatedly punched on July 1, 2014, by a CHP officer in an incident caught on cellphone video. (Credit: KTLA)KTLA 5 – by Kennedy Ryan

The woman who was captured on cellphone video being beaten by a California Highway Patrol officer on the side of a Los Angeles freeway reached a $1.5 million settlement with the department on Wednesday, according to her attorney, Caree Harper.

The settlement included a provision that the officer involved would resign, Harper said.   Continue reading “CHP Reaches $1.5M Settlement With Woman in Videotaped Beating”

GarbageKing 5 News – by Jake Whittenberg

SEATTLE – Be careful throwing away those extra food scraps. Seattle could soon fine you for it.

In a 9-0 vote, Seattle City Council members agreed to pass a new ordinance that could fine you for not composting. The new program is an incentive to help Seattle reach its goal of recycling 60% of everything by 2015.

The new law is expected to generate an additional 38,000 tons of compost material every year. The fine is $1 for each violation at a residence and up to $50 for a business or apartment complex.   Continue reading “Seattle residents who fail to separate food waste from trash will be fined”

Earns CostcoOregon Live – by Aimie Green

A man who claims he was pushing his shopping cart out of a Portland Costco Wholesale warehouse when he was detained because he wouldn’t stop and show his receipt is suing the store for $670,000.

Timothy Walls emerged from the Jan. 28, 2013, encounter with a leg broken in multiple places, according to his lawsuit, filed last week in Multnomah County Circuit Court. According to one of Walls’ attorneys, Walls didn’t believe the store had a right to detain him based upon their practice of checking receipts at the door.   Continue reading “Man won’t show Costco Wholesale staff receipt, suffers broken leg, sues for $670,000”

MassPrivateI

The Homeland Security and Defense Center conducts analysis to prepare and protect communities and critical infrastructure from natural disasters and terrorism. Center projects examine a wide range of risk management problems including coastal and border security, emergency preparedness and response, defense support to civil authorities, transportation security, domestic intelligence programs, technology acquisition, and related topics.

Center clients include the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Defense, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and other organizations charged with security and disaster preparedness, response and recovery.  

Continue reading “The Rand Corporation & DHS’s national police recruitment program”