by Kevin Bliss
Critics say the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) is responding to protestors of George Floyd’s May 25, 2020, death with increased violence and no fear of repercussion. Accusations have been made of beatings, pepper spraying, and threatening protestors with guns. Civilians complain that police illegally cover ...
by Kevin Bliss
The Guardian investigated two decades’ worth of campaign financial records in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago and found that police and police unions at the state and local levels have donated at least $87 million to politicians who work to block law enforcement reform.
Federal ...
by Kevin Bliss
Wired magazine reported earlier this year that police requests for smart-speaker user data from Amazon was up 24% from last year, 72% from the first time Amazon disclosed this information in 2016.
Police have requested 3,000 recordings from smart speakers monitored by Amazon this year. The company ...
by Kevin Bliss
A police tactical driving maneuver used at high speed has been responsible for killing 30 people and injuring hundreds of others since 2016, a Washington Post investigation reveals. PIT (precision immobilization technique), which involves a patrol car forcing a suspect's fleeing vehicle into a “controlled” spin after ...
by Kevin Bliss
Police are using harmful military-grade noise weapons in crowd control during protests. These items, flashbangs, and long-range acoustic devices (LRADs) can produce sounds of over 170 decibels, damaging vulnerable parts of the inner ear which affect other body functions such as balance and feelings of nausea.
Luna ...
by Kevin Bliss
Derek Chauvin could still receive about $50,000 a year in pension partly funded by taxpayers like George Floyd’s surviving family, even if he’s convicted of second-degree murder.
Moreover, qualified immunity would most likely prevent Floyd’s family from successfully suing him.
Chauvin was the police officer in Minneapolis, ...
by Kevin Bliss
USA Today, in conjunction with the Chicago-based nonprofit Invisible Institute, has compiled the largest database of instances of police misconduct — and it’s accessible by the public. The database contains disciplinary records for over 85,000 police officers for the past 10 years. These include “more than ...
by Kevin Bliss
Georgetown Law professor Neel Sukhatme and Texas Criminal Justice Coalition lawyer Jay Jenkins conducted a study of judges and their assignment of legal representation to indigent defendants in Harris County, Texas. They found it a “pay for play” arrangement, which they said promotes cronyism.
In the 1960s, ...
by Kevin Bliss
Studies show that Florida has one of the highest execution rates in the United States. It also has the highest number of exonerations of death-row prisoners than any other state. With one conviction overturned on death row for every three prisoners executed, civil liberty proponents say the ...
by Kevin Bliss
Researchers at Amsterdam UMC — led by forensic biophysicist Maurice Aalders in collaboration with Co Van Ledden Hulsebosch Center and the Netherlands Forensic Institute —have devised a new method for calculating time of death using ambient body temperature with an average deviation of about 45 minutes.
Current ...
