Police reform

In this Jan. 6, 2021 image from video provided by Robyn Stevens Brody, a line of men wearing helmets and olive drab body armor walk up the marble stairs outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington in an orderly single-file line, each man holding the jacket collar of the man ahead. The formation, known as

Capitol rioters included highly trained ex-military and cops

Jan. 15, 2021 6:59 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump’s supporters massed outside the Capitol last week and sang the national anthem, a line of men wearing olive-drab helmets and body armor trudged purposefully up the marble stairs in a single-file line, each man holding the jacket collar of the one ahead....

FILE - This May 31, 2020 file photo shows New York City Police facing off with activists during a protest march in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of the Brooklyn borough of New York. New York’s attorney general sued the New York Police Department on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021 alleging the rough treatment of protesters last spring in the wake of George Floyd’s killing was part of a longstanding pattern of abuse that stemmed from inadequate training, supervision and discipline. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen, FIle)

NY attorney general sues NYPD over Floyd protest response

Jan. 14, 2021 4:58 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general sued the New York Police Department on Thursday, calling the rough treatment of protesters against racial injustice last spring part of a longstanding pattern of abuse that stemmed from inadequate training, supervision and discipline. Attorney General...

2 Seattle officers placed on leave in probe into Capitol mob

Jan. 9, 2021 1:41 AM EST

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle’s police chief says two city officers were apparently in Washington, D.C., Wednesday when a violent mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the nation’s Capitol and that an investigation will be launched to find out whether they committed criminal...

FILE - In this September 2019 file photo taken in Evanston, Ill., and provided by Adria-Joi Watkins, Watkins, left, poses in a selfie with her second cousin Jacob Blake. A police officer shot Blake in the back multiple times after responding to a domestic dispute on Aug. 23, 2020. On Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021, a Wisconsin prosecutor declined to file criminal charges against the officer who shot Blake. (Adria-Joi Watkins via AP, File)

Activists seek laws after officer cleared in Blake shooting

Jan. 6, 2021 7:55 PM EST

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin prosecutor's decision not to bring charges against the officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back came as little surprise to some activists for racial justice, who predict laws must change before police are truly held accountable for using force against Black men. After the...

Boston creates new police accountability panel

Jan. 4, 2021 11:24 AM EST

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on Monday signed a new city ordinance that creates an independent board to probe allegations of police misconduct. The Office of Police Accountability and Transparency will house and support the Civilian Review Board and the Internal Affairs Oversight Panel, which the...

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2020, file photo, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker speaks after touring the DCU Center as it gears up to be used as a COVID-19 field hospital for the second time in Worcester, Mass. The Supreme Judicial Court ruled Thursday, Dec. 10, that Baker did not overstep his authority when he issued sweeping orders to close businesses to control the spread of the coronavirus. (Nancy Lane/The Boston Herald via AP, Pool, File)

Massachusetts governor signs police accountability bill

Dec. 31, 2020 2:55 PM EST

BOSTON (AP) — A police accountability bill that creates a civilian-led commission with the power to certify officers, investigate claims of misconduct and revoke the certification of officers for certain violations was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Charlie Baker. The law also bans the use of...

FILE - In this Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020 file photo, Minnesota Vikings middle linebacker Eric Kendricks (54) readies for the play in the second quarter during an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Minneapolis. Eric Kendricks and the Minnesota Vikings have had a rough year between the lines, but the 2019 All-Pro linebacker, whose 2020 season has been shortened by a calf injury, has made quite an impact off the field. He’s the team’s nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, for his community work focused on criminal justice reform. (AP Photo/David Berding, File)

Vikings LB Kendricks has done vital work on and off field

Dec. 31, 2020 2:47 PM EST

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Eric Kendricks was playing at an All-Pro level again this year when the Minnesota linebacker hurt a calf muscle, which has now sidelined him for all of December. Though the injury to an irreplaceable player was one of many setbacks for the Vikings in a season with more downs than ups,...

FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, file photo, a man walks past a closed store in Wilmette, Ill., amid the coronavirus pandemic. Responses to the coronavirus pandemic and police brutality dominated legislative sessions in 2020 and led to many new laws that will take effect in the new year. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Virus aid, police reform dominate new US laws for 2021

Dec. 30, 2020 10:55 AM EST

Responses to the coronavirus pandemic and police brutality dominated legislative sessions in 2020, leading to scores of new laws that will take effect in the new year. Virus-related laws include those offering help to essential workers, boosting unemployment benefits and requiring time off for sick employees. A...

FILE - In this Aug. 18, 2020, file photo, a neighbor watches New York City Police Department officers work a crime scene where several young men were shot and wounded at the Ravenswood Houses in the Queens borough of New York. Heralded as the safest big city in America in recent years, New York City is closing out its bloodiest year in nearly a decade, grappling with a surge in homicides and a pandemic authorities say has helped fuel violence. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

'Dark period': Killings spike in NYC amid pandemic, unrest

Dec. 29, 2020 4:53 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — Heralded as the safest big city in America in recent years, New York City is closing out its bloodiest year in nearly a decade, grappling with a surge in homicides and a pandemic authorities say has helped fuel violence. The city had recorded 447 killings as of Tuesday, a 41% increase over...

Revised police accountabilty bill gets House approval

Dec. 23, 2020 10:48 AM EST

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts House has approved a revised version of a police accountability bill and sent it back to the desk of Gov. Charlie Baker who has indicated he would sign it. The Republican governor sent the original bill approved this month back to lawmakers for revisions, included loosening...

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