Latest Police brutality News

Family of California Navy veteran who died after officer knelt on his neck settles lawsuit for $7.5M

May. 15, 2024 22:20 PM EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Family members of a Navy veteran who died in 2020 after a police officer pressed a knee to his neck for nearly five minutes while he was in a mental health crisis have settled a federal lawsuit against the Northern California city of Antioch for $7.5 million, their attorneys...

Despite safety warnings, police departments continue misapplying restraint positions and techniques

May. 14, 2024 06:55 AM EDT

Two officers stood on Fernando Rodriguez’s outstretched arms, handcuffs connecting his wrists. Another stood on the shackles binding the 24-year-old’s legs. A fourth officer kneeled on Rodriguez’s back. The fifth placed his weight on the man’s buttocks. Five officers from the...

After nine years of court oversight, Albuquerque Police now in full compliance with reforms

May. 13, 2024 18:50 PM EDT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Albuquerque Police Department is now in full compliance with reforms ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice and that paves the way for the end of nine years of court oversight, authorities said Monday. The assessment came from a court-appointed,...

Former corrections officer sentenced to 4 years for using excessive force

May. 08, 2024 12:29 PM EDT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A former Tennessee Department of Corrections officer has been sentenced to four years in prison for using excessive force on an inmate and trying to cover it up, the Justice Department said. Javian Griffin, 38, received the sentence Monday, the agency said in...

Police officer hiring in US increases in 2023 after years of decline, survey shows

Apr. 28, 2024 10:48 AM EDT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police departments across the United States are reporting an increase in their ranks for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which led to a historic exodus of officers, a survey shows. More sworn officers were hired...

Takeaways from AP's investigation into fatal police encounters involving injections of sedatives

Apr. 26, 2024 19:56 PM EDT

The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. At least 94 people died after they were...

At least 16 people died in California after medics injected sedatives during encounters with police

Apr. 26, 2024 16:51 PM EDT

At least 16 people died in California over a decade following a physical encounter with police during which medical personnel also injected them with a powerful sedative, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found. Several of the deaths happened in the San Francisco Bay...

Myth of 'superhuman strength' in Black people persists in deadly encounters with police

Apr. 26, 2024 06:35 AM EDT

Deputy Steven Mills of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was on patrol one night in 2013 when he received a call about a naked Black man walking down a rural road in Phenix City, Alabama. Mills said the man ignored his calls to stop, but when the officer threatened to use his Taser,...

Deadly Chicago traffic stop where police fired 96 shots raises serious questions about use of force

Apr. 10, 2024 19:04 PM EDT

CHICAGO (AP) — A deadly traffic stop where plainclothes Chicago police officers fired nearly 100 shots in under a minute has raised serious questions about the use of force and role of tactical officers in departments. As family and community members mourn 26-year-old Dexter Reed,...

Videos show Chicago police fired nearly 100 shots over 41 seconds during fatal traffic stop

Apr. 10, 2024 00:42 AM EDT

CHICAGO (AP) — Plainclothes Chicago police officers fired nearly 100 gunshots over 41 seconds during a traffic stop that left one man dead and one officer injured, according to graphic video footage a police oversight agency released Tuesday. Five officers from a tactical unit who...