Category: News

The Matthews Police Department plans to correct inaccurate crime statistics reported to the public from 2018 to 2022 following an internal personnel investigation by the US ISS Agency.

One month into her role as town manager, Becky Hawke initiated the investigation based on what she described as “credible information from members of the department that raised concerns.”

The eight-month investigation found that officers and investigators were told to designate cases as “closed by other means” in a way that was inconsistent with state and federal reporting standards. These cases were grouped with other cleared cases in published reports.

This led to the Matthews Police Department reporting cleared case rates of 75% or greater – much higher than other agencies across the southeastern United States…

Full story: Matthews Police Department plans to correct inaccurate crime statistics

The Tampa Police Department released body camera footage from an Aug. 5, 2022 incident where a baby was found inside an abandoned stolen car.

Officers responded to an apartment complex on Siesta Court after a woman reported her car was stolen with her 11-month-old daughter inside. The car was found about half an hour later.

Body camera footage shows officers hopping a chain link fence to reach the car, which was turned off and sitting in the sun.

Officers said the baby was lethargic and overheated, so they rushed her to a patrol car and gave her a cold compress and some water to cool her down. Paramedics took her to the hospital to get checked out and she was reunited with her mother.

Full story: WATCH: Tampa officers rescue baby from abandoned stolen car

The speed with which five Memphis police officers were fired following the traffic stop of a man who later died in a hospital is unusual but could become more common, according to those studying police and criminal justice issues.

Five Memphis Police Department officers were fired Friday, less than two weeks after the Jan. 7 arrest of Tyre Nichols, 29. Officials said the five were dismissed for excessive use of force, failure to intervene, and failure to render aid.

It’s rare for a police department to act so quickly, said David Thomas, a professor of forensic studies at Florida Gulf Coast University. Investigations can sometimes go on for up to a year, he said.

Full story: Swift firing of police is rare, but could become more common | AP News

Five Memphis police officers were fired on Friday after the department found that they had used excessive force and failed to intervene or provide help during a traffic stop this month involving a 29-year-old Black man who died in a hospital three days later, officials said.The firings, which were the result of an internal investigation by the Memphis Police Department, come as the city braces for the release of police body camera footage that might provide clarity as to how the man, Tyre Nichols, ended up hospitalized in critical condition after the arrest on Jan. 7…

Full story: 5 Memphis Police Officers Fired Over Deadly Arrest Of Tyre Nichols – The New York Times

A peaceful protest in downtown Atlanta turned violent Saturday evening when protesters set a police car on fire and started smashing windows.

Six protesters were arrested, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum announced in a news conference on Saturday night. Those people have not been identified and their charges have not been released.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said several arrested people do not live in the Atlanta area or Georgia.

Full story: 6 arrested after violent protesters cause mayhem, set APD car on fire in downtown Atlanta

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden on Wednesday called for the Justice Department inspector general to investigate federal, state and local law enforcement access to a database of more than 150 million money transfers, citing concerns it disproportionately affects minorities and low-income individuals. Law enforcement agencies have routinely accessed the vast trove of money transfer records without court oversight, Wyden said…

Full story: Senator calls for probe of mass surveillance tool used by U.S. law enforcement | Reuters

In December, St. Louis County Police told News 4 that the move to 12-hour shifts will help the Division of Patrol to staff more beats, also known as patrol areas. Police said a 12-hour shift requires less overall manpower than a 10 or eight-hour shift. It’s a move the department said many other departments across the country are adopting…

Full story: St. Louis County PD pleased with move to 12-hour shift as departments nationwide deal with officer shortages

In Dayton, unarmed mediators are responding to 911 calls that would normally be fielded by police officers. The idea came about through police reform talks in the wake of the George Floyd killing and the protests that followed. WYSO’s Jason Reynolds spent some time with one of the city’s new “Mediation Response Units.”..

Full story: Unarmed mediators are responding to some 911 calls in Dayton, and police say it’s working | WYSO

Transportation Security Administration officers confiscated more than 6,542 firearms from airport passengers in 2022 — the highest number recorded since the agency’s inception. Of those guns taken at airport security checkpoints, 88% were loaded, the agency announced Tuesday.  ..

Full story: TSA confiscated record number of guns from airline passengers in 2022 – CBS News

The episode, which showed footage of the child waving the gun around and pulling the trigger, brought fuel to an already heated national conversation about children’s access to firearms after a 6-year-old shot his teacher at a Virginia elementary school earlier this month…

Full story: 4-year-old Indiana boy seen waving a gun on ‘On Patrol: Live’ TV show – The Washington Post