Asides

In a recent decision, the court determines whether protest against a distracted-driving police operation was protected speech…

Full story: Case Law: Protected Speech Against Police Operation – Lexipol

A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment is upending gun laws across the country, dividing judges and sowing confusion over what firearm restrictions can remain on the books.

The high court’s ruling that set new standards for evaluating gun laws left open many questions, experts say, resulting in an increasing number of conflicting decisions as lower court judges struggle to figure out how to apply it.

The Supreme Court’s so-called Bruen decision changed the test that lower courts had long used for evaluating challenges to firearm restrictions. Judges should no longer consider whether the law serves public interests like enhancing public safety, the justices said.

Under the Supreme Court’s new test, the government that wants to uphold a gun restriction must look back into history to show it is consistent with the country’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation.”..

Full story: Turmoil in courts on gun laws in wake of justices’ ruling | AP News

President Joe Biden referenced the failed George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in his statement about Nichols on Friday, and many leaders – from the chairs of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio – are acknowledging a potential role for federal legislation.

The Congressional Black Caucus is requesting a meeting with Biden this week to push for negotiations. “We are calling on our colleagues in the House and Senate to jumpstart negotiations now and work with us to address the public health epidemic of police violence that disproportionately affects many of our communities,” CBC Chair Steven Horsford, a Nevada Democrat, wrote in a statement on Sunday.

But with Congress as divided as ever, it appears public outrage is once again on a collision course with Washington partisanship.

Full story: Public outrage over Nichols’ beating collides with Washington bureaucracy on police reform | CNN Politics

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