Breaking Bad episode S2E7 builds on two themes I've written about recently: portrayals of law enforcement as venal and characters being generally unsympathetic. This episode shows another portrayal of cops, different cops, as venal, sloppy, and yet simultaneously full of themselves ( Read more... )

In what has sadly become far too common of a story, police officers pulled over Black motorist Tyre Nichols for an alleged traffic violation, beat him heavily in a confrontation that turned violent, and Nichols subsequently died of his injuries.


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Last week I wrote briefly about the trial of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer charged with the murder of George Floyd during an arrest. I asserted that this time is different despite what the doubters and SNL satirists say. Now I'll explain why it's different. Here are Five Things:

1. The evidence is highly visible. We have videos and ( Read more... )

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd died at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Derek Chauvin, one of several police officers involved, knelt on Floyd's neck 9 minutes and 29 seconds. Chauvin was subsequently fired from the police force and is now on trial for murder. Opening statements in the case began two weeks ago, March 29.

For ( Read more... )

"Defund the Police!" is a cry that's risen in the past few weeks, since the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police 2½ weeks ago and widespread police-instigated violence against protestors multiple times since then. (The street-clearing in Washington, DC and multiple assaults in Philadelphia I've written about are but two of many such ( Read more... )

The Philadelphia District Attorney on Friday announced criminal charges against a senior police commander, Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna Jr. Bologna had beaten a protestor, arrested him, and referred him for criminal charges. The DA reviewed the evidence, freed the protestor and charged the cop instead. Example news coverage: WHYY news article, 5 ( Read more... )

Monday night a terrible thing happened to was perpetrated upon a group of protestors in Washington, DC. Dozens of people were peacefully assembled on a blocked off street and in front of St. John's church, near the White House. It was 6:36pm, almost half an hour before the start of a 7pm citywide curfew. Police Federal authorities, many not wearing ( Read more... )

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced this afternoon that all four police officers involved in the killing of George Floyd last week Monday are being charged with crimes. The existing charge against Derek Chauvin has been increased to second-degree murder, and the other three officers who stood and watched as he committed the acts he ( Read more... )

The situation stemming from the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis, MN, last week Monday has been evolving rapidly. One aspect that surprised me at how rapidly it occurred was response by the police department and city and state officials ( Read more... )

On Monday, 25 May 2020, George Floyd died at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It has since touched off protests and riots- not just in Minneapolis but all around the country. I waited at first to write about this situation as I wanted to gain perspective after the pace of events slowed down. We're a full week on from Floyd's ( Read more... )