Since January of this year, more than 900 drivers have failed to stop for a Washington State Patrol trooper trying to pull them over. The patrol and other police agencies around the state say they’ve never seen such blatant disregard for their lights and sirens. The change in driver behavior comes after state lawmakers passed strict new rules on when police can engage in Read More
A Minnesota judge sentenced Derek Chauvin to 22 1/2 years in prison Friday for the murder of George Floyd — a punishment that exceeds the state's minimum guidelines but falls short of prosecutors' request of a 30-year sentence.Read More
In Washington, the working partnership between police and crisis mental health workers is being put to the test. The reason is a new police use of force law.Read More
The Washington state attorney general on Thursday charged two Tacoma police officers with murder and one with manslaughter in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died after repeatedly telling them he couldn’t breathe as he was being restrained.Read More
A former sergeant in the Washington State Patrol was stripped of his state peace officer certification on Wednesday over allegations he carried out a sexual affair with a woman while on duty, including two encounters a state hearings panel deemed nonconsensual.Read More
The state's new accountability laws might not have happened without the advocacy of people whose family members were killed by police.Read More
President Biden lauded the courage of George Floyd's family after meeting with them on the first anniversary of his murder by a Minneapolis police officer, a killing that launched protests and calls for police reform nationwide.Read More
Multiple charges have been filed against two former Colorado police officers for their roles in the arrest of a 73-year-old woman with dementia last year.Read More
Calling it a "moral mandate,” Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday signed into law a dozen bills that backers hope will improve policing in Washington, reduce the use of deadly force and ensure that when deadly encounters do occur the investigations are thorough and independent.Read More
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin who was convicted last month of murdering George Floyd filed court documents for a new trial on Tuesday.Read More
Mario Gonzalez of Oakland died April 19 after what police previously called a "scuffle" with officers. The Alameda Police Department said Gonzalez suffered some sort of "medical emergency" after an interaction with police.Read More
Andrew Brown Jr. died from a fatal gunshot to the back of head, his relatives and family attorneys said Tuesday, citing the results of an independent autopsy. The finding bolsters the claim that Brown was "executed," the family said.Read More
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund wants Attorney General Merrick Garland to suspend grants to local law enforcement until he's sure that no federal taxpayer money is funding police departments that engage in discrimination, according to a letter obtained by NPR.Read More
With the verdict against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin now in for the murder of George Floyd, attention is turning to Congress and whether lawmakers can meet the growing demand from across the nation for meaningful changes to policing.Read More
The Washington Legislature on Tuesday approved a measure requiring police to intervene if they see a fellow officer using, or attempting to use, excessive force.Read More
The jury has found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all the counts he faced over the death of George Floyd. The trial has been one of the most closely watched cases in recent memory, setting off a national reckoning on police violence and systemic racism even before the trial commenced.Read More
Testimony ended Thursday in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. The defendant said he will not testify in his defense in the trial and would invoke his Fifth Amendment right.Read More
BY BECKY SULLIVAN Kim Potter, the former Brooklyn Center, Minn., police officer who shot Daunte Wright, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, according to Minnesota authorities. The Washington County Attorney’s […]Read More
A use-of-force witness gave a new point of view to former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's trial on charges of murder and manslaughter. The defense witness said Tuesday that Chauvin and three other officers' actions were justified during the arrest that ended in George Floyd's death and that they used an appropriate amount of force.Read More
In their first public press conference, the family of Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man shot and killed by police in Brooklyn Center, Minn., expressed grief and anger, called for accountability, and questioned why police felt the need to use any force on their son.Read More
Mayor Mike Elliott announced Monday afternoon that the City Council had given him direct control over police operations. Later Elliott said he had relieved the city manager of his duties and assigned them to the deputy mayor.Read More
The son-in-law of the Washington State Patrol chief resigned as a trooper after investigations into allegations of on-the-job sex and sexual assault. He is now fighting to keep his badge, testing the state's narrow law for decertifying police.Read More
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill into law limiting the use of no-knock warrants on Friday, just over a year after the police killing of Breonna Taylor that sparked calls for change in Louisville and beyond.Read More
A Crosscut investigation found at least 183 police officers flagged for issues such as dishonesty, bias and excessive force remain in law enforcement.Read More
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo testified for the prosecution Monday in the trial of former officer Derek Chauvin, who is facing murder charges over the killing of George Floyd. The trial is now in its second week of testimony.Read More
The prosecution and defense made opening arguments in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on Monday morning. The trial is starting in earnest 10 months after George Floyd's killing triggered outrage and protests against racial inequality across the United States.Read More
The jury chosen for the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, charged with murder in the death of George Floyd, is notable because it is significantly less white than Minneapolis itself.Read More
The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously on Friday to approve the record settlement, which stems from a federal civil rights suit filed in July against the city and four former police officers over Floyd's fatal arrest.Read More
Jury selection in the highly anticipated trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin began in district court on Tuesday, even as the judge in the case awaits higher courts' rulings that could halt the proceedings. Chauvin faces charges in the killing of George Floyd last Memorial Day.Read More
The police tactics measure, House Bill 1054, is a major plank in a sweeping police accountability agenda brought forth this year by majority Democrats. The focus on police reform follows last year’s protests nationally over the killings of Black people by police, includng George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville.Read More
The Washington state Senate has overwhelmingly passed a bill to create a panel of arbitrators to review police discipline decisions and to better track law enforcement arbitration cases statewide.Read More
The vast majority of mayors in American cities do not support sweeping changes to the funding of their police departments, and most say last year's racial justice protests were a force for good in their cities, according to a new survey of more than 100 mayors from across the U.S.Read More
Protests erupted late Sunday in Tacoma in response to an incident a day earlier in which a police officer used his patrol vehicle to plow through a crowd, hitting several people and injuring at least two.Read More
BY BRAKKTON BOOKER A Minnesota judge has ruled that the former Minneapolis police officer seen in cellphone video kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for several minutes last summer, will stand […]Read More
A proposal to impose sweeping restrictions on police tactics and techniques in Washington is highlighting stark differences of opinion between police and reform groups. That divide was on display Tuesday in the House Public Safety committee during a lengthy, virtual public hearing on an omnibus bill sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Jesse Johnson. Read More
"It is my decision now, that I announce today before you that no Kenosha law enforcement officer in this case will be charged with any criminal offense," Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley said during a Tuesday afternoon press conference.Read More
The U.S. Department of Justice will not charge any of the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Tamir Rice, a Black 12-year-old boy who was fatally shot by police in Cleveland in 2014. The department has closed its investigation.Read More
Washington state lawmakers and activists are setting an ambitious agenda for police reform in the upcoming legislative session, saying they hope to make it easier to decertify officers for misconduct, to bar the use of police dogs to make arrests, and to create an independent statewide agency to investigate police killings.Read More
Critics say President Trump constrained the Civil Rights Division from being as effective as it should. Business could look very different under the new incoming administration. Read More
The death of Breonna Taylor energized a nationwide movement to restrict "no-knock" police raids, but activists want tightened rules for other kinds of forced-entry search warrants.Read More
Pulitzer-winning composer Anthony Davis based You Have The Right To Remain Silent, released this week as a virtual performance, on his own experience with police.Read More
Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly says Kenneth Walker committed battery, assault and intentional emotional distress. Walker filed a civil lawsuit against the city and the police department last month.Read More
The prosecution had sought a 48-hour seal on court filings, which include a submission from the defense of footage of the 2019 encounter, in hopes of discussing what information to release.Read More
The former police officer charged with murder in the killing of George Floyd can leave Minnesota while he awaits trial. Floyd's family lawyer called it "an example of two justice systems in America."Read More
When he applied to be a police officer 10 years ago, Loren Culp was 49. He had no experience in law enforcement, but said the job would fulfill a childhood dream. Six years later, the former construction business owner was promoted to police chief in Republic, a town of 1,100 people in northeastern Washington. In that role, Culp has managed a department that, at its peak, Read More
Skagit County Sheriff's Office Detective Anne Weed broached the idea for a partnership months before the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police ignited the national debate about reform. Weed said two existing mental health clinicians from Compass Health are now being "embedded" with regular patrol deputies. They get assigned the 911 calls involving people acting out Read More
State Rep. Charles Booker of Kentucky reflects on the grand jury's decision to indict one of the three officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in March.Read More
Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police in March. Her killing in Louisville, Ky., was part of the fuel for the nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism this spring and summer.Read More
The "Get Your Knee Off Our Necks" march comes as frustration over police brutality and use of force have sparked national protests following the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd.Read More
Kenosha Police Department said the shooting took place just before midnight local time. It took place during another night of protest following the police shooting of Jacob Blake over the weekend. Read More