Police

Via press release from the ACLU of Vermont: The ACLU and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) settled a lawsuit against the Vermont State Police on behalf of Gregory Bombard, whose First Amendment rights were violated after an unnecessary traffic stop and retaliatory arrest in 2018. The terms of the ACLU and FIRE’s settlement include $100,000 in damages …

Seattle’s Fox affiliate reports: Embattled former Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz is still fighting accusations of sexual harassment, sexual discrimination and “grooming” female cops — but in his only sit-down interview since he was forced to resign, Diaz announced he is gay. Diaz was on The Jason Rantz Show on Monday, where he said that recent events essentially forced him …

Courthouse News reports: Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, the divisive official who was perennially at odds with most of the leading politicians in the region throughout his four years in office, sued the LA County Board of Supervisors on Thursday accusing the officials of libel and of violating his First, Fifth and 14th Amendment rights. The suit comes …

The Vermont news site Seven Days reports: While teaching a class to high school students on Wednesday, Burlington police officers staged a surprise demonstration in which a masked gunman burst into the room and pretended to open fire. The simulation, which occurred at the Burlington police station, was meant to show the unreliability of witness statements. But the lack of …

“This is a pattern of embracing racist ideologies that we see time and again within the MAGA Republican Party. Rep. Donalds is playing his role as the mouthpiece who will say the quiet parts out loud that many will not say themselves. His comments were shameful and beneath the dignity of a member of the House of Representatives. He should …

Atlanta First News reports: A former Atlanta Police officer accused of murdering a Lyft driver claimed he was hearing voices and thought he was being kidnapped during the ride before the shooting, according to Union City police. Police said Koby Minor is accused of shooting and killing Reginald Folks, 35, Wednesday after Folks dropped Minor off at his home. According …

From the New Hampshire Justice Department: Attorney General John M. Formella announces that the United States District Court in Arizona has denied Avid Telecom’s multiple attempts to dismiss and delay a bipartisan, 49-state lawsuit against the company Michael D. Lansky, L.L.C., dba Avid Telecom, as well as its owner Michael D. Lansky and its vice president Stacey S. Reeves. Forty-nine …

The Miami Herald reports: Javier Ortiz, the Miami police captain whose long history of citizen complaints alleging beatings, false arrests and harassment made him notorious in the city he swore to protect and serve, has joined Ron DeSantis’ Florida State Guard. Ortiz, 44, joined the paramilitary organization in February, about a year after the Miami Police Department rescinded his firing …

Politico reports: House Democratic leaders announced Tuesday that they’d block a looming effort to boot Speaker Mike Johnson, an unprecedented development they attributed to the GOP leader’s help to pass foreign aid. “We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, …

The New York Times reports: A shootout that broke out on Monday when a team of law enforcement personnel tried to serve warrants to a suspect in Charlotte, N.C., left four officers dead and another four injured. The shootout, in which the suspect was also killed, was one of the deadliest for American law enforcement in recent years. A group …

The Long Beach Press-Telegram reports: Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is considering running as a Republican for governor in 2026, potentially bringing an outspoken conservative voice to what’s already a crowded field hoping to succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he made headlines for calling Newsom a bully and refusing to enforce state-mandated business restrictions intended to …

 The New York Post reports: The NYPD is unleashing barnacles to battle parking pirates. The department this week said it will begin using “windshield boots” — a 17-pound device that attaches to a vehicle’s windshield like a barnacle and remains there until a scofflaw pays their tickets — on illegally parked trucks. The contraption is also known as a Barnacle …

Gothamist reports: The NYPD plans to test metal detectors equipped with artificial intelligence technology in subway stations in a move to keep guns out of New York City’s transit system, Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday. “This is our Sputnik moment,” Adams said at a news conference at Fulton Transit Center in Lower Manhattan. “Like when Kennedy said we’re going …

The Hill reports: A California police department said it would no longer use Lego heads to obscure suspects’ faces in social media posts, after the Lego Group requested the department cease the practice, citing intellectual property concerns. “The Lego Group reached out to me on March 19th and respectfully asked us to refrain from using their intellectual property in our …

ABC News reports: The U.S. Capitol Police on Monday started wearing body-worn cameras as part of its pilot program to protect its officers and members of Congress as well as enhance public trust, its chief said. Seventy Capitol Police officers will wear the body cameras during the 180-day program. Body cameras will not be used inside buildings on the Capitol …

The Hill reports: A bill to avert a partial government shutdown Friday night is running into delays in the Senate. Absent unanimous consent or an agreement between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Republicans, the upper chamber might not be able to vote until final passage before Saturday — after the government shutdown deadline but before many effects of …

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports: Detective Victor Manuel Montalvo crashed the unmarked Miami-Dade Police Department car he was driving into a marked police cruiser while driving drunk, according to his colleagues. The police officer, who was injured, reported having to draw his side-arm and order Montalvo, 43, at gunpoint to drop his department-issued gun after he pulled it out from his …

“Our shooter is identified by a driver’s license as Genesee Moreno 36 years old, Hispanic female. There are some discrepancies. We do have reports she used multiple aliases, including Jeffrey Escalante. So she has utilized both male and female names but through all of our investigation to this point, talking with individuals, interviews, documents, Houston Police Department reports, she has …

Florida Politics reports: A plan to grant a two-month sales tax holiday on select items purchased with “virtual currency” would save consumers boatloads of cash, but it’s not because Floridians would flock to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. State economists analyzing SB 352, sponsored by Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Sanford Republican, determined the measure would cost state coffers nearly $1.4 billion. …

CNN reports: The woman entered the church accompanied by a child who Houston Police Chief Troy Finner estimated to be between “4 to 5 years old.” “Once she entered, at some point she began to fire,” the chief said. Two off-duty officers were present: a 28-year-old Houston Police Department officer and a 38-year-old agent with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, …