Category: Uncategorized

Phoenix, AZ – A Phoenix, Arizona activist who has been an outspoken critic of police abuse of force, Reverend Jarrett Maupin, recently underwent a change of heart after being invited to, and taking part in, a use of force exercise with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office.

Maupin agreed to go through a force on force training segment with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. He went through three scenarios where one has to decide to shoot, or not to shoot, according to FOX 10.
This is what Maupin had to say in the aftermath of his training exercise.
“I didn’t understand how important compliance …read more

“All three of them started beating me on the head….they beat me like a bunch of thugs”
San Antonio, TX — A violent trio of San Antonio cops won’t miss even one day of work after they mistook an innocent man for a drug suspect and brutally beat him.
In May of 2014, Roger Carlos was taking pictures of a building in the 10600 block of Westover Hills Boulevard in San Antonio, TX, when his life changed forever.
Carlos was photographing a building of what was soon to be home to his wife’s medical practice when all of the sudden he was ransacked …read more

North Charleston, SC — A North Charleston police officer is on unpaid administrative leave after allegedly beating his girlfriend for making him late to work.
Officer Sierra Shivers, 38, was arrested Monday after his girlfriend told authorities that he beat her because the abortion he forced her to get, took too long.
In a statement the victim told deputies she had been 10 weeks pregnant with Shivers’ baby and he’s been pushing her to have an abortion, threatening to have her loved ones arrested with planted evidence if she didn’t comply. She said Shivers then drove her from a hotel to the …read more

“It definitely is a revenue driver for the city, this mass regime of handing out tickets. It does strike the ear a little bit funny when you hear police union leaders talking about how we are only to going to arrest people when we ‘have to.’ It seems like that should be the real function of police generally.”
RT.com
Arrests and ticket violations in New York City are dropping over the New York Police Department’s purported political protest against the mayor, but investigative journalist Matt Taibbi says the slowdown is exposing weaknesses in normal police policy.
The number of arrests across the city …read more

According to this story, British Prime Minister David Cameron says he won’t debate in April 2015 (in advance of the Parliamentary election of May 2015) unless the Green Party leader is included in the first debate. That would mean five candidates instead of four in the first debate. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link. …read more

Here is a link to the Chicago Board of Elections web page, showing candidates in the non-partisan February 24 election. For Mayor, five candidates are on the ballot: incumbent Rahm Emanuel, Willie Wilson,Robert Fioretti, Jesus Garcia, and William Walls. For Treasurer and City Clerk, only one candidate is on the ballot. …read more

Billings, MT — A jury at a coroners inquest has determined Wednesday afternoon that a Montano police officer, who shot and killing an unarmed man during a traffic stop was justified.
Billings Police Officer Grant Morrison testified to the jury that he feared for his life during a traffic stop where he fired the 3 shots which killed 38-year-old Richard Ramirez.
Morrison testified that he saw Ramirez “reach for his waistband” during the 30 second encounter last April.
“I knew in that moment, which later was determined to be untrue, but I knew in that moment that he was reaching for a gun,” …read more

Des Moines, IA– Former Des Moines officer Cody Grimes, who was fired in 2013, is likely returning to the police force against the department’s wishes due to an expected order from the city’s civil service commission.

Grimes was fired after he was arrested for domestic abuse after allegedly beating and choking his ex girlfriend as they were in the process of breaking up. The officer was not arrested until three days after the assault despite police reports indicating the woman had sustained injuries.
The woman alleges she was pressured by the police and prosecutors not to press domestic abuse charges, and …read more

South Carolina Senator Vincent Sheheen (D-Camden) has introduced SB 204, concerning presidential primaries. Currently, the government pays most of the expenses of presidential primaries for parties that polled at least 5% of the presidential vote in the last election. The bill would require such parties to confer and agree on a common date for their(More)… …read more

The National Conference of State Legislatures has this useful chart, showing when each state’s 2015 legislative session starts and when each is expected to end. …read more