Latest Police reform News

FILE - In this May 30, 2020, file photo, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw speaks during a news conference at the city's Emergency Operations Center in Philadelphia. After the Philadelphia City Council formally banned police from using certain modes of restraint on crime suspects on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, city officials, including Outlaw and Mayor Jim Kenney, released a list of a few dozen changes to officer conduct codes, policing procedure and disciplinary transparency that they had hoped to work on, some with help needed from the council and others requiring the Legislature's approval. (Tim Tai/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, File)

Philadelphia puts ban on police chokeholds into law

Sep. 17, 2020 9:28 PM EDT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia City Council formally banned police from using certain modes of restraint on crime suspects Thursday, including kneeling on a suspect's neck, and voted to open contract negotiations with the police union to the public. The contract bill passed by the council requires a...

FILE- In this June 8, 2020 file photo, a protester holds a sign outside Queens County Criminal Court calling for the repeal of section 50-a, a law prohibiting the public release of police officer disciplinary records. On Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, a federal appeals court agreed to keep the release of New York City police disciplinary records on pause while public safety unions fight a lower-court decision that had cleared the way for their disclosure. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

Appeals panel won't speed release of NYPD discipline records

Sep. 17, 2020 3:20 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court agreed Thursday to keep the release of New York City police disciplinary records paused while public safety unions fight a lower-court decision that had cleared the way for their disclosure. Two of three judges who heard arguments on the matter Tuesday in the 2nd...

Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor's mother, in white beside Attorney Ben Crump, left, speak in Louisville, Ky., after settlement was announced. The city of Louisville will pay $12 million to the family of Breonna Taylor and reform police practices as part of a lawsuit settlement months after Taylor's slaying by police thrust the Black woman's name to the forefront of a national reckoning on race, Mayor Greg Fischer announced Tuesday.(AP Photo/Dylan Lovan)

Police reforms in Breonna Taylor case praised, scrutinized

Sep. 16, 2020 7:41 PM EDT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A settlement between the family of Breonna Taylor and the city of Louisville could bring wide-ranging reforms to how police officers live and work, changes that would represent a rare outcome in a police misconduct lawsuit. But some activists hoping for deep, lasting change fear...

FILE - Signs are held up showing Breonna Taylor during a rally in her honor on the steps of the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., Thursday, June 25, 2020. The city of Louisville will pay several million dollars to the mother of Breonna Taylor and install police reforms as part of a settlement of a lawsuit from Taylor’s family, The Associated Press has learned. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

'Say her name': City to pay $12M to Breonna Taylor's family

Sep. 15, 2020 10:02 PM EDT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Months after the police killing of Breonna Taylor thrust her name to the forefront of a national reckoning on race, the city of Louisville agreed to pay the Black woman's family $12 million and reform police practices as part of a settlement announced Tuesday. But Taylor’s...

Louisville mayor says settlement with Breonna Taylor's family includes $12 million payment and police reforms

Sep. 15, 2020 2:24 PM EDT
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville mayor says settlement with Breonna Taylor's family includes $12 million payment and police reforms.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., listens to the Florida Memorial University marching band on Sept. 10, 2020, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Harris is drawing on her past as the U.S. faces a reckoning over policing. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Harris draws on her past as US faces reckoning on police

Sep. 15, 2020 5:43 AM EDT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — When Kamala Harris won her first election for San Francisco district attorney in 2003, the office's relationship with the city police force was in tatters. She promised to rebuild trust, but the goodwill didn't last. Three months after Harris took office, a young city police...

Federal charges filed against 2 on eve of Trump visit

Sep. 14, 2020 3:16 PM EDT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Federal prosecutors announced charges in two Philadelphia gun cases Monday, saying local prosecution of the men was too lenient. U.S. Attorney William McSwain announced federal charges against the two men at a news conference outside federal court in Philadelphia and outlined a list of...

FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2020 file photo, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhal and Salt Lake City police Chief Mike Brown speak following a news conference in Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake City Police Department vowed Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, to cooperate with multiple investigations of the shooting of a 13-year-old autistic boy by officers in the Salt Lake City area. The Salt Lake City Police Department said the officers were called to a home in Glendale, Utah, Friday night, Sept. 4 with a report of a boy who had threatened people with a weapon. The boy reportedly ran and was shot by an officer after being pursued by police. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Lawyer: Utah boy 'lucky to be alive' after police shooting

Sep. 11, 2020 7:21 PM EDT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A 13-year-old autistic boy who was shot by police in Salt Lake City last week is “lucky to be alive" and will likely experience lifelong injuries, the family's lawyer said Friday. Linden, whom the family wants referred to only by his first name, remains hospitalized with...

Houston Police chief Art Acevedo announces the department's findings in an April 21 officer-involved fatal shooting of Nicolas Chavez, during a press conference at the Edward A. Thomas building on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, in Houston. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Houston chief: Officers ignored training in fatal shooting

Sep. 11, 2020 6:55 PM EDT

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston police officers initially seemed to be doing everything right during their April encounter with a man in the midst of a mental health crisis. But when the man picked up a stun gun, the officers killed him with a barrage of 21 bullets. Officers can be heard on body-camera footage...

FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2016, file photo, Del. Marcus Simon D-Fairfax, speaks during a meeting of the Privileges and Elections subcommittee at the Capitol in Richmond, Va. A bill making its way through the House would require police chiefs to notify the Criminal Justice Services Board or a civilian review panel if an officer has received three complaints of excessive force in the previous five years. Simon, the bill's chief sponsor, said three complaints would not automatically trigger a decertification hearing, but would act as an

Virginia lawmakers push to expand police decertification law

Sep. 11, 2020 11:46 AM EDT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A white Virginia state trooper yells an expletive-laden threat at a Black motorist who refuses to get out of his car during a traffic stop. Smiling for the driver's cellphone camera, the trooper remarks, “Watch the show, folks,” then yanks the man out of his car by his...

LOADING MORE STORIES