“We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” — The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Aug. 28, 1963
As galling as it has been to watch a Jacksonville sheriff’s deputy break a car window and punch a non-combative man in the face, the feeble justification from the sheriff and a determination from the state attorney that cops did nothing wrong is just as infuriating.
The Feb. 19 videotape of an encounter with William McNeil, Jr. and a posse of rogue officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and their brutal response, is a searing reminder of everything wrong with policing in America.
— Read on floridaphoenix.com/2025/08/02/jacksonville-cops-in-hot-water-after-brutalizing-driver/
Tag: Police and Race
Police stops and naïve denominators | Crime Science
A comparison of the racial composition of police stops to the entire population of a city or jurisdiction is frequently cited as evidence of racial bias in proactive policework. This article argues that using base population is naïve to the realities of the distribution of crime and policing. Using the example of Philadelphia, PA (USA), the impact of different benchmarks to estimate racial disparity in stop data is demonstrated. The range of alterative benchmarks include the spatial distribution of calls for service, the locations of violent crimes, and the demographic composition of suspects in crime as reported by the public. The article concludes by arguing that if cities ask police departments to prioritize certain problems and places, benchmarks to which police are held accountable should better reflect those priorities.
— Read on link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40163-025-00252-y
Damage continues after Floyd | Commentary | norfolkdailynews.com
In dealing with the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles police chief described his force as “overwhelmed” by the protesters and rioters.
— Read on norfolkdailynews.com/commentary/damage-continues-after-floyd/article_15182eba-d7b0-4d9f-8334-6c4cef5a351e.html
Five Years Since the Death of George Floyd: The Damage Continues, Part 1 – Chronicles
There is no evidence that Floyd’s death had anything to do with race, but that fact doesn’t stop the narrative from being promulgated.
— Read on chroniclesmagazine.org/web/five-years-since-the-death-of-george-floyd-the-damage-continues-part-1/
Read part 2 HERE
RFK Human Rights Submits Evidence to UN Special Rapporteur of Disproportionate, Deadly Policing in the U.S. – Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Today, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (“RFK Human Rights”), submitted a detailed report to the Special Rapporteur, an independent expert appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, highlighting emerging trends and patterns in U.S. law enforcement’s use of lethal force.
— Read on rfkhumanrights.org/press/rfk-human-rights-submits-evidence-to-un-special-rapporteur-of-disproportionate-deadly-policing-in-the-u-s/
AP PHOTOS: Looking back at 10 days in 2020 of fervent non-stop protests for George Floyd | AP News
As cellphone video documenting the last breaths of George Floyd spread across the internet, so did the collective outrage.
— Read on apnews.com/article/george-floyd-photo-gallery-dd52c4c5ca834e3e39d53276745082b0
Mistrial Declared in Ex-Mich. Police Officer’s 2nd-Degree Murder Trial
A jury was hopelessly deadlocked in the trial of former Grand Rapids Police Officer Christopher Schurr, stemming from a 2022 traffic stop that ended in the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old man.
The murder trial for the Grand Rapids police officer who killed Patrick Lyoya has resulted in a hung jury.
A mistrial was declared after the jury hopelessly deadlocked on the second-degree murder charge against Christopher Schurr, the police officer who has since been fired. As a result, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker will have to decide whether to refile charges against Schurr.
Read on HERE
Racial Disparities, Total Traffic Stops in Vermont Dropped During COVID But Are Again Increasing Study Finds
Black and Hispanic drivers in Vermont continue to be stopped and searched at higher rates than white drivers. That’s according to new research examining thousands of traffic stops across Vermont.
The research paper is the latest update to an ongoing analysis of racial disparities in traffic policing data across Vermont led by University of Vermont Economics Professor Stephanie Seguino, Cornell Professor Nancy Brooks and Data Analyst Pat Autilio.
Previous statewide analyses were released in 2017 and 2021. They spurred conversation and, in some cases, racial bias training at some Vermont law enforcement agencies. This update adds data from 2020-23 and examines both the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to investigate whether Black, Hispanic and Asian drivers in Vermont face racial disparities in traffic policing.
— Read on www.uvm.edu/gund/news/racial-disparities-total-traffic-stops-vermont-dropped-during-covid-are-again-increasing
Reflections on the 10th anniversary of the Baltimore uprising | AFRO American Newspapers
Baltimore comptroller calls for a shift in priorities, reminding us that a city’s budget reflects its values. Prioritizing police over children is a problem.
— Read on afro.com/baltimore-prioritizes-police-youth/
Future of Policing 