Tag Archives: police brutality
Botham Jean’s Death Could Lead to an Overhaul of Police Oversight in Dallas
The outrageous shooting of a man in his own apartment has triggered calls to reform Dallas’ toothless, decades-old system of police oversight.
In the 1970s, the Dallas Police Department was pressured to diversify after a white cop killed a 12-year-old Mexican-American boy in a game of Russian Roulette....Read More
New Contract Could Give Austin One of the Most Transparent Police Departments in the Country
Activists are claiming victory after a drawn-out fight over police accountability, and encouraging other cities to follow suit.
After 18 months of tense negotiations over a police union contract, the Austin City Council and the city’s police union have agreed to reforms that anti-polic...Read More
The Murder Conviction of Dallas-area Cop Roy Oliver is Nothing Short of Extraordinary
The case illustrates the high bar that prosecutors must clear for a conviction, particularly in Texas, where prosecutions for on-duty killings are virtually unheard of.
Police are justified in maiming, shooting or killing you if another “reasonable” officer would’ve done the same thing. That’s the malleable, snake-eatin...Read More
Courts: Police Can Shoot and Kill People As Long They Are Across the Border
Civil rights groups fear the courts are surrendering the judicial oversight necessary to rein in one of the nation’s largest police forces.
On June 7, 2010, while on patrol near the bridge connecting Juarez to El Paso, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Jesus Mesa Jr. fired his gun into Mexico and struck Serg...Read More
Lawsuit Questions How Port Arthur Police, Hospital Staff Respond to Mentally Ill Patients
Family claims police and hospital guards cornered a schizophrenic man then smothered him to death when he refused to remove his underwear.
The Delacruz family realized Manuel was dangerously sick somewhere on the highway as they passed San Antonio. It was the summer of 2016 and they were coming bac...Read More
Dallas Grand Jury Indicts Cop Who Shot Unarmed Man Mistaken for Burglar
Former Mesquite Police Department officer Derick Wiley, who shot Lyndo Jones last month, is the third Dallas-area cop to face criminal charges for an on-duty shooting in 2017.
On Wednesday, a Dallas County grand jury indicted the officer who shot an unarmed black man who police mistook for a car burglar last month, marking the third D...Read More
Man Mistaken for Burglar, Shot by Police then Shackled to Hospital Bed and Barred from Seeing Family
“Victims of police brutality and their families should not be treated this way.”
After mistaking him for a burglar and shooting him twice, police charged Lyndo Jones with evading arrest, shackled him to his Dallas hospital bed and blocked fa...Read More
In San Antonio, Cops Punch Down
Supervisors say a San Antonio cop was justified in punching an unarmed 14-year-old girl in the face.
The San Antonio Police Department’s use-of-force manual encourages officers to “attempt to de-escalate tense situations.” De-escalation apparently didn’...Read More
Deputies Go Unpunished for Invasive Cavity Search on Houston Roadside
This month prosecutors unexpectedly dropped charges against Harris County deputies accused of violating a woman during a 2015 traffic stop.
The courts have long ruled that warrantless body cavity searches are, in most circumstances, unconstitutional. Impromptu roadside anal and vaginal probes are pr...Read More