Tag: Police Use of Force

After George Floyd they promised social workers would replace cops — one just got attacked with a sword in Boston – Mass Daily News

Police respond to Hemenway Street near Northeastern University after a man attacked a mental health clinician and officer with a sword. Inset: A George Floyd mural in Berlin by street artist Eme. (Scene photo via Citizen app; mural via Wikimedia Commons)
— Read on www.massdailynews.com/2026/04/05/george-floyd-social-worker-promise-boston-clinician-stabbed-sword-hemenway

Use of Force Policy – New Jersey Office of Attorney General

New Jersey is in the midst of implementing sweeping new rules designed to limit when the state’s 38,000 law enforcement officers use force against civilians. These policies reflect an entirely new framework for police interactions with civilians—one which calls upon officers to protect the life, liberty, and dignity of residents in every encounter.
— Read on www.njoag.gov/force/

Vital City | What ICE’s Recklessness Teaches Us About Real Policing

As you read this article think for a moment would the situation be better in Minneapolis if the local police assisted ICE and controlled unlawful protestors.

The illegitimate Minneapolis surge gives municipal departments an opportunity to demonstrate what legitimacy looks like.
— Read on www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/minnesota-ice-alex-pretti-policing

Videos of Aggressive Contempt For Police Officers Show Gap Between Left’s Rhetoric and Reality

“Yooo they violated them!! They viiiiolated themmm!!!!” So went the commentary of a woman heard on a now-viral cellphone video showing two male police officers in Brooklyn being doused with buckets of water last Saturday, after approaching a group on the street. Even after the officers had turned and walked away, perpetrators kept dumping water […]
— Read on www.city-journal.org/article/is-this-what-fear-looks-like

Chicago Police Disproportionately Used Force Against Black Chicagoans, Study Commissioned by Department Finds | Chicago News | WTTW

The study, conducted by social scientists from the University of Texas at San Antonio and the University of Pennsylvania blamed “systemic factors” for the disparity, not the actions of individual officers.
— Read on news.wttw.com/2026/02/19/chicago-police-disproportionately-used-force-against-black-chicagoans-study-commissioned

Read the full study and its executive summary.

A look back on the Washington Post database of people shot and killed by police – Quality Policing

Now with ICE dominating the law enforcement news, sometimes I like to revisit issues of yesteryear. The Washington Post used to keep track of how many people police shoot and kill. It was and is a useful database. And then in 2025 they stopped counting. So it covers 2015 to 2024. And given recent cutbacks at the Washington Post, it’s safe to say it’s not going to be restarted.

But at least we have a solid (if limited) 10-year database of fatal police-involved shootings. It’s also useful because it’s very accessible and easy for even the statistically adept. The only active accurate database now is kept by Campaign Zero and their Mapping Police Violence (ideologically anti-policing and into police abolition, but still, kudos to them). And no, shamefully, the federal government still doesn’t keep track.

— Read on qualitypolicing.com/a-look-back-on-the-washington-post-database-of-people-shot-and-killed-by-police/

The Legality of Deadly Force: Three Critical Questions about the ICE Shooting in Minneapolis | Seth W. Stoughton | Verdict | Legal Analysis and Commentary from Justia

The recent fatal shooting of Renee Good by a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis has already prompted intense public debate, much of it unfolding before the relevant facts are fully known. That instinct is understandable—police shootings, particularly those involving federal agents engaging in controversial actions, implicate profound questions about authority, accountability, and public safety—but it is also precisely the moment when caution is most warranted. It is far too early for anyone to offer a definitive conclusion; indeed, doing so would be professionally inappropriate. It is possible, however, to identify the questions that will need to be answered to come to a definitive conclusion about whether the officer complied with or violated applicable law.
— Read on verdict-justia-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/verdict.justia.com/amp/2026/01/09/the-legality-of-deadly-force-three-critical-questions-about-the-ice-shooting-in-minneapolis

Two Judges on the Sixth Circuit Determine that a Man Reaching for a Holstered Weapon was Not a Threat – Objectively Reasonable

We hold that police officers with probable cause to search a car may inspect passengers’ belongings found in the car that are capable of concealing the object of the search.
— Read on www.objectivelyreasonable.com/2025/12/26/two-judges-on-the-sixth-circuit-determine-that-a-man-reaching-for-a-holstered-weapon-was-not-a-threatis-wearing-a-full-face-ski-mask-in-the-month-of-may-during-the-day-in-a-high-crime-neighborhood-sus/

Get the copy of the Court Decision HERE

A Blueprint for Department-Wide Restraint

An Analysis of NYPD Excessive Force Complaints, Claims, and Lawsuits

Executive Summary

Allegations from the public that New York City Police Department’s (NYPD) officers have used excessive or unnecessary force increased significantly during the Adams Administration,[1] increasing risks to New Yorkers, costly claims payouts, and the erosion of community trust that can undermine public safety. Incidents of excessive or unnecessary use of force investigated and closed by the City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) jumped by 49% between 2022 and 2023, to the highest number since 2013. In addition, in Fiscal Year 2025, “Police Action” claims—including those involving excessive or unnecessary force—were the most common tort claims against the City, with 6,082 claims filed and over $113 million in settlements, making the NYPD the City’s largest source of claims.[2]

Some recent developments suggest that the NYPD is taking steps to better address officer misconduct. In March 2025, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that the NYPD imposed discipline in 100% of substantiated cases prosecuted by the CCRB.[3] The NYPD has also shifted from sending officers who conducted unconstitutional stops solely to retraining, imposing stricter disciplinary measures such as suspension in some cases. However, gaps remain. For example, after CCRB substantiated charges following a Force complaint, NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Trials, Rosemarie Maldonado, found that Lt. Jonathan Rivera’s shooting was not justified under New York law, found him guilty of Assault in the First Degree, and recommended termination in a March 5, 2025 decision. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch reversed that decision, finding Rivera not guilty on all specifications on August 15, 2025, and allowed him to remain employed as an NYPD police officer. Read on HERE

Get the report HERE