U.S. News/Police Violence
Ukraine Wants the US to Provide Cluster Bombs That Can Be Dropped By Drones:
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-03-06/exclusive-ukraine-seeks-us-cluster-bombs-to-adapt-for-drone-use-lawmakers
U.S. Occupation of Syria Will Continue:
https://theintercept.com/2023/03/10/deconstructed-syria-robert-ford/
Rehabilitation for Tortured Prisoners at Guantanamo is a Moral and Legal Imperative:
"There is an urgent need to meet the United States’ obligation to provide “as full rehabilitation as possible” to those now detained on Guantánamo who are suffering the results of torture inflicted on them by the United States government and who have no real prospect of being set free."
https://www.justsecurity.org/85389/rehabilitation-for-torture-at-guantanamo-is-a-moral-and-legal-imperative/
NH state prison to use National Guard to help alleviate staff shortages:
Before the Covid pandemic Moderna’s CEO told staff: “We need to make a billion doses of Vaccines next year, there’s going to be a pandemic”
Appeals court to decide whether TSA screeners qualify as law enforcement:
https://www.courthousenews.com/fourth-circuit-grapples-with-role-of-airport-security-staff/
DHS conducting digital ID tests:
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/it-modernization/2023/03/dhs-digital-identity-tests-come-as-biden-admin-looks-to-tamp-down-on-online-fraud/
https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/remote-identity-validation-technology-demonstration
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2022-11/22_1130_st_RemoteIDValidation_Factsheet_09232022_cleared%20508%20approved_v2.pdf
DHS's "domestic-intelligence program" allows them to interview (interrogate) people without counsel:
"Under the domestic-intelligence program, officials are allowed to seek interviews with just about anyone in the United States. That includes people held in immigrant detention centers, local jails, and federal prison. DHS’s intelligence professionals have to say they’re conducting intelligence interviews, and they have to tell the people they seek to interview that their participation is voluntary. But the fact that they’re allowed to go directly to incarcerated people — circumventing their lawyers — raises important civil liberties concerns, according to legal experts."
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/06/dhs-domestic-intelligence-program-00085544
DHS Employees So Worried About Domestic Surveillance They Asked About Legal Liability Insurance:
One unnamed employee — quoted in an April 2021 document — said leadership of I&A’s Office of Regional Intelligence “is ‘shady’ and ‘runs like a corrupt government.’” Another document said some employees worried so much about the legality of their activities that they wanted their employer to cover legal liability insurance.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/06/dhs-domestic-intelligence-program-00085544
Three California airports use facial recognition to ID passengers:
https://www.courant.com/2023/03/08/heres-how-facial-recognition-is-changing-travel-through-bay-area-airports/
Your Face Is Your Ticket: A Creepy Convenience
https://www.wsj.com/articles/your-face-is-your-ticket-a-creepy-convenience-99ca3bdf
Former Cop Launches Facial Recognition MMIP Fusion Center:
https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/retired-police-officer-launches-non-profit-to-search-for-missing-indigenous-people
https://www.biometrica.com/mmip-fusion-center/
ACLU Documents Show FBI and Pentagon Developing Truly Invasive Facial Recognition Tech (CCTV Cameras, Drones):
“Americans’ ability to navigate our communities without constant tracking and surveillance is being chipped away at an alarming pace,” Senator Edward Markey said in a statement to The Post. “We cannot stand by as the tentacles of the surveillance state dig deeper into our private lives, treating every one of us like suspects in an unbridled investigation that undermines our rights and freedom.” The tool’s use in domestic mass surveillance would be a “nightmare scenario,” said Nathan Wessler, a deputy director at the ACLU. “It could give the government the ability to pervasively track as many people as they want for as long as they want. There’s no good outcome for that in a democratic society.”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/facial-recognition-fbi-pentagon-aclu
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/03/07/facial-recognition-fbi-dod-research-aclu/
Cozaint Corp and WGS Group work together to convince businesses to install facial recognition surveillance kiosks:
https://cozaint.com/cozaint-partners-with-security-guard-company-wgs-group-to-deliver-bobby-surveillance-kiosks-to-clients/
https://cozaint.com/bobby-w/
Montana Senate Passes Bill to Limit Warrantless Use of Facial Recognition:
https://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2023/03/montana-senate-passes-bill-to-limit-warrantless-use-of-facial-recognition-technology/
Democrats Band Together to Try Yet Another Federal Facial Recognition Ban:
https://gizmodo.com/facial-recognition-ban-democrats-propose-another-1850202876
The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act:
https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/facial_recognition_and_biometric_technology_moratorium_act_-_2023.pdf
Should Facial Recognition Technology be Banned?
https://gizmodo.com/ban-facial-recognition-technology-future-tech-1850208765
Privacy leader calls for government section 702 surveillance program reforms:
https://www.axios.com/2023/03/07/pclob-sec-702-congress-reauthorization-fight
https://www.techdirt.com/2023/03/08/fisa-oversight-board-member-says-americans-need-more-privacy-protections-as-congress-debates-section-702-reauthorization/
Section 702’s Unconstitutional Domestic Spying Program Must End:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/03/section-702s-unconstitutional-domestic-spying-program-must-end
The Year of Section 702’s Reauthorization: A Reply on “Back Door” Searches Part 2
https://www.justsecurity.org/85407/the-year-of-section-702s-reauthorization-a-reply-on-back-door-searches/
The Year of Section 702 Reform, Part I: Backdoor Searches
https://www.justsecurity.org/85068/the-year-of-section-702-reform-part-i-backdoor-searches/
Senators Are Largely United in Desire to Rewrite Section 230:
https://gizmodo.com/senate-judiciary-committee-ready-to-rewrite-section-230-1850205313
CIA and Mossad-linked Surveillance System Quietly Being Installed Throughout the US:
https://unlimitedhangout.com/2023/03/investigative-reports/cia-and-mossad-linked-surveillance-system-quietly-being-installed-throughout-the-us/
https://www.gabrielprotects.com/
The FBI raided US Private Vaults a year ago seizing customers’ boxes without explanation, taking their entire savings:
https://ij.org/press-release/the-fbi-hasnt-said-what-this-couple-did-wrong-but-is-taking-their-savings-anyway/
The FBI Just Admitted It Bought US Cellphone Location Data Without A Warrant:
"The FBI has acknowledged for the first time that it purchased US location data rather than obtaining a warrant. While the practice of buying people’s location data has grown increasingly common since the US Supreme Court reined in the government’s ability to warrantlessly track Americans’ phones nearly five years ago, the FBI had not previously revealed ever making such purchases."
https://www.wired.com/story/fbi-purchase-location-data-wray-senate/
FBI Admits to 204K Warrantless Queries in Just One Year:
https://www.protectprivacynow.org/news/fbi-admits-to-204090-warrantless-queries-in-just-one-year
Santa Clara County sheriff's used geofencing, surveillance to monitor San Jose church that violated COVID rules:
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2023/03/08/phone-data-surveillance-used-to-monitor-san-jose-church-that-violated-covid-rules/
https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/03/10/mushroomed-out-of-control-federal-judge-urges-santa-clara-county-to-resolve-case-against-calvary-chapel/
D.C. District Court Upholds the Government’s Geofence Warrant Used to Identify Jan. 6 Rioters:
https://www.lawfareblog.com/dc-district-court-upholds-governments-geofence-warrant-used-identify-jan-6-rioters
Fort Wayne Police Send Drones to 911 Calls To Assist Officers
"When you call 911 you usually would just be talking to a dispatcher, but with the Fort Wayne Police Department’s new program, a drone pilot will be listening too. Officer Matt Rowland with the FWPD Air Support Unit says they’ll be working closely with the 911 dispatch center to respond to calls using their latest drone technology. He says the pilot operating the drone will be able to see a map of 911 calls and send their drone to the scene. From there, they will use the drone to survey the scene and help dispatchers and police decide the best way to respond to emergencies."
https://www.21alivenews.com/2023/02/22/fwpd-drone-help-officers-respond-911-calls/
Atlanta's future police training facility 'Cop City' set ablaze:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/atlantas-future-police-training-facility-set-ablaze
Protests opposing ‘Cop City’ in Atlanta again turn violent:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/03/06/atlanta-cop-city-protests/
SPLC lawyer and legal observer arrested at Atlanta ‘Cop City’ is ‘heavy-handed law enforcement’
https://www.al.com/news/2023/03/splc-lawyer-tom-jurgens-atlanta-cop-city-arrest-is-heavy-handed-law-enforcement.html
Domestic Terrorism Charges Against Cop City Demonstrators Spur Further Protests:
https://truthout.org/articles/domestic-terrorism-charges-against-cop-city-demonstrators-spur-further-protests/
Atlanta Cop City Protesters Charged With Domestic Terror for Having Mud on Their Shoes:
https://theintercept.com/2023/03/08/atlanta-cop-city-protesters/
66 Organizations Urge That Domestic Terrorism Charges For Cop City Demonstrators Be Dropped:
https://www.rightsanddissent.org/news/66-organizations-urge-that-domestic-terrorism-charges-against-defend-the-atlanta-forest-protesters-be-dropped/
For Bay Area cops, military-grade hardware is one-click shopping:
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/03/05/for-bay-area-cops-military-grade-hardware-is-one-click-shopping/
Are Macon-Bibb County's new downtown surveillance cameras legal?
https://www.macon.com/news/politics-government/article272637452.html
Macon-Bibb County considers blanketing downtown with surveillance cameras:
https://www.macon.com/news/local/article272527695.html
The privacy loophole in your Ring doorbell:
They (Ring) amount to a large and unregulated web of eyes on American communities — which can provide law enforcement valuable information in the event of a crime, but also create a 24/7 recording operation that even the owners of the cameras aren’t fully aware they’ve helped to build. “They are part of an ever-expanding web of surveillance in communities across America,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said in a statement to POLITICO about Ring’s products. “I’ve been ringing alarms about this company’s threats to our privacy and civil liberties for years.” By 2023, Ring had nearly 2,350 police departments on its Neighbors network.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/07/privacy-loophole-ring-doorbell-00084979
https://www.techdirt.com/2023/03/09/so-much-for-the-4th-ring-allows-cops-to-acquire-recordings-of-non-suspects-home-and-business/
LA city council to vote on Los Angels police union robot dog donation to the LAPD:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-06/city-council-to-vote-on-lapd-robot-dog-donation
Boston Dynamics robot dogs take the runway at Paris fashion show:
https://whdh.com/news/boston-dynamics-robot-dogs-take-the-runway-at-paris-fashion-show/
City Council delays vote on LAPD robot dog for 2 months after public outcry:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-03-07/la-city-council-tables-police-robot-dog-vote-2-months
M Resort Spa Casino purchased a Knightscope K5 robot (ALPR) greets guests:
https://ir.knightscope.com/news-releases/news-release-details/m-resort-spa-casino-deploys-knightscope-nasdaq-kscp-k5-security
https://www.knightscope.com/products/k5
Skyfire & VOTIX work together to equip police departments with drones:
“The Skyfire team’s knowledge of complex FAA waivers, best in class training trusted by local, state and federal agencies, and branches of the U.S. Military, combined with VOTIX software will be a game changer for our industry,” Matt Sloane, Skyfire founder and CEO said.
https://skyfireconsulting.com/full-potential-of-drones/
DroneUp Partners and the University of Arkansas' McMillon Innovation Studio to equip university police depts. with drones:
https://www.droneup.com/mcmillon-studio-partnership
Adobe Sponsors the National Public Safety Drone Donation Program:
https://nps-ddp.org/our-partners/adobe/
The AUVSI Applauds Passage of Industry-Backed First Responder Drone Legislation in Mississippi:
https://www.auvsi.org/auvsi-applauds-passage-industry-backed-drone-legislation-mississippi
Police Violence
DOJ takes a hard line on sentencing reform:
"The U.S. Justice Department is opposing a bipartisan proposal to restrict judges’ ability to impose longer sentences based on alleged crimes even if a unanimous jury has acquitted the defendant of those very same allegations.The practice of using acquitted crimes as a basis for imposing longer jail terms has elicited visceral public outrage, intermittently, for decades. The same basic reasoning -- that Constitutional rights are warped when a judge supplants a jury's decision -- underlies the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s bipartisan proposal to curtail judges’ ability to consider acquitted conduct during sentencing (The Supreme Court is apparently waiting for the Commission to act first.). The practice has been almost universally condemned. Most of the current sitting justices have questioned whether the practice is constitutionally sound in previous rulings."
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-justice-dept-takes-hard-line-sentencing-reform-2023-03-07/
House Republicans launch new effort to block D.C. policing bill:
https://www.courthousenews.com/senate-scuttles-dc-crime-bill-in-bipartisan-vote/
Atlanta Police major stopped at airport checkpoint with loaded gun:
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/atlanta-police-major-airport-gun-carry-on-security-checkpoint
The Police Department’s That Killed the Most People in Each State:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/the-police-departments-that-kill-the-most-people/ss-AA18sAzN
These states spend the most on policing and corrections:
https://www.myhighplains.com/news/national/these-states-spend-the-most-on-policing-and-corrections/amp/
Nearly 200 New Orleans Cops Accused Of Sexual Misconduct, Domestic Violence, or Harassment:
https://theappeal.org/nopd-sexual-misconduct-rodney-vicknair/
https://copwatchnola.wordpress.com/data/
11 Cleveland police officers indicted for beating, kicking suspects, destroying evidence:
Memphis police face federal probe after death of Tyre Nichols:
https://www.courthousenews.com/memphis-police-face-federal-probe-after-death-of-tyre-nichols/
Memphis finally approves police reforms after beating death of Tyre Nichols:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/memphis-approves-police-reforms-after-beating-death-tyre-nichols-2023-03-08/
Louisville narcotics detective who extorted drug addicts multiple times into sex allowed to resign to avoid charges:
DOJ Investigation Finds Illegal, Violent, and Discriminatory Policing in Louisville:
Louisville police union denies illegal, violent, and discriminatory policing says 'this DOJ report should not go unchallenged'
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2023/03/09/breonna-taylor-death-louisville-police-union-issues-statement/69988580007/
Four cases where CT police departments initially withheld key details after officers used force:
Letting California police arrest victims of human trafficking is not a good idea:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/human-trafficking-victim-arrests-17818217.php
California's K9 reform Bill Has Little Chance Of Passing Due To Police Opposition:
https://reason.com/2023/03/10/californias-k9-reform-bill-is-barking-up-the-wrong-tree/
52K files missing from the Dallas Police Department could jeopardize criminal convictions:
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/missing-digital-files-dallas-police-department-jeopardize-convictions/
17 States Have Tried to Pass Bills That Strip Powers From Reform-Minded Prosecutors:
https://theintercept.com/2023/03/03/reform-prosecutors-state-legistatures/
Maryland Senate passes bill to enable AG to prosecute police:
https://apnews.com/article/police-reform-prosecution-maryland-attorney-general-5b547ce24969d58ffd437d7f7b459e40
Legal Reasonable Suspicion Rests on Unreasonable Assumptions:
"Stereotypes about people of color may be limiting Fourth Amendment protections."
White cop who killed an unarmed Black man in his bed allowed to retire and collect full pension:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ohio-officer-fatally-shot-donovan-lewis-retires-bad-standing-rcna73610
One of the Troopers Who Beat Innocent Black Man for Not Using Sidewalk Arrested:
Black family awarded $8.25M after being unlawfully searched and arrested on their way to a math test:
https://www.ktvu.com/news/jury-awards-8-25m-to-black-mother-daughters-handcuffed-outside-castro-valley-starbucks
Innocent Black man imprisoned for over 18 years because detectives misled a witness into identifying the wrong person:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/09/us/new-york-wrongful-conviction-vacated-misidentified-photo/index.html
Video Shows Cop Shoot 2 Unarmed Teens While Trespassing in Vacant House:
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2023/03/03/louisville-police-lmpd-body-camera-footage-brendan-kaiser-shooting/69965187007/
Cops Harass Parents Who Let 6-Year-Old Daughter Take a Walk Outside, Arrest Dad:
https://reason.com/2023/03/09/teaneck-new-jersey-arrest-kids-parents-cps-police/
https://letgrow.org/teaneck-childhood-independence/
Laws Stopping Cops From Lying to Kids Face Opposition From Police:
https://reason.com/2023/03/09/new-laws-stop-cops-from-lying-to-kids/
5 Cops Kill Man Over Traffic Stop for 'Illegitimate License Plate'
Georgia police: 'No foul play' in death of man found wrapped in rug in Baton Rouge
https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/nathan-millard-missing-georgia-man-found-dead-baton-rouge
EX- NYPD Commissioner calls $6M settlement with BLM protestors ‘disgraceful’
https://nypost.com/2023/03/05/ray-kelly-calls-6m-settlement-with-nyc-protestors-disgraceful/
Cops Body Cam Caught Him Harassing Victim Before Turning it Off to Rape Her:
https://www.fox23.com/news/local/body-camera-video-released-in-rape-investigation-of-former-tulsa-police-officer/article_27dedec0-be7a-11ed-8120-37308b3a4d96.html
Bill forcing people to stay 25 away from police could hinder public's ability to record police abuse:
https://www.washtimesherald.com/news/local_news/should-police-misconduct-occur-critics-say-bill-could-hinder-publics-ability-to-witness-it/article_d2a431e2-bdb8-11ed-ac85-cb8c3a6e01cd.html
Appeals court denies Bivens ruling for Bureau of Land Management officer who shot at motorist, injuring passenger:
"Accordingly, we vacate the district court’s denial of summary judgment and remand with instructions to enter summary judgment dismissing the Bivens excessive force claim with prejudice."
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2023/03/02/21-56282.pdf
Appeals court won't reconsider its denial of qualified immunity to cop who choked and killed a motorist while inside their car:
https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/21/21-10644-CV1.pdf
Appeals court: Texas mayor, police chief and a detective who falsely charged a city councilor with a crime cannot be sued
The mayor, the police chief, and a special detective then hatched a plan to charge Sylvia with a crime in order to remove her from office. The police chief deputized his close friend, a private attorney, as a special detective to investigate Gonzalez. Following the investigation, the special detective filed an arrest affidavit alleging that Gonzalez had committed the crime of “intentionally destroying, concealing, removing, or otherwise impairing the verity, legibility, or availability of a governmental record.”
https://www.techdirt.com/2023/03/06/fifth-circuit-passes-up-opportunity-to-correct-ruling-that-said-govt-retaliation-against-protected-speech-is-fine/
New Mexico Has Lost Track of Juveniles Locked Up for Life. We Found Nearly Two Dozen:
https://www.propublica.org/article/new-mexico-lost-juveniles-in-prison
Jail Before Trial Should Be the Exception, not the Norm:
https://www.governing.com/now/jail-before-trial-should-be-the-exception-not-the-norm
Rikers Island corrections officer pleads guilty to raking in sick pay while bowling:
https://nypost.com/2023/03/07/nyc-jail-guard-pleads-guilty-to-raking-in-sick-pay-while-bowling/
Police Corruption: Not Every State Lets Citizens Know
"The District of Columbia and 23 U.S. states, including some more populous ones such as California, New York, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, keep police disciplinary histories strictly confidential. Not to mention that 15 other states, including populous states like Texas, Illinois and Michigan, have limited the availability of their records. That leaves just 12 states, including the last most populous state, Florida, Georgia and Ohio, the only states whose records are open to the public."
https://www.breakingthrough.tv/post/police-corruption-not-every-state-lets-citizens-know
Publicly Punishing Bad Cops Is the Key to Police Reform:
https://reason.com/2023/03/05/to-fix-policing-punish-bad-cops/
Emotions run high as murder case dismissed:
https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2023/03/emotions-run-high-as-murder-case-dismissed/
Horrifying series on "expert doctors" and our justice system:
https://mississippitoday.org/shaky-science-fractured-families/
Chris Halkides: The Blood That Was Really Paint (Luminol and Hair Analysis)
https://blog.simplejustice.us/2023/03/04/halkides-the-blood-that-was-really-paint/
Lie Detectors Are Junk Science, but We Keep Using Them:
https://reason.com/2023/03/07/lie-detectors-are-junk-science-but-we-keep-using-them/
The Invention of the Polygraph, and Law Enforcement's Long Search for a 'Lie Detector'
https://crimereads.com/invention-polygraph-lie-detector/
Lie detection tests have worked the same way for 3,000 years – and they’re still hopelessly inaccurate: