CINCINNATI, OH — A Cincinnati police captain has “won” his federal lawsuit against the city, its mayor, police chief and former city manager, his lawyer says Friday. The suit included allegations of police overtime abuse that prompted the department to change its policy: Jeff Butler accepted the city’s $70,000 offer of judgment in addition to paying his “reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred as of the date of this…
JACKSON, MS — As some cities in the U.S. consider spending less on law enforcement, Mississippi’s capital city is increasing police officers’ base pay for the first time in 10 years. A raise is included in the Jackson budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, the Clarion Ledger reported. The increase comes as Jackson is on track to hit a record number of homicides in a calendar year. Officers…
MILWAUKEE, WI — Milwaukee would lose 120 police officer positions through attrition under Mayor Tom Barrett’s proposed $1.55 billion 2021 budget, which he presented to the Common Council on Tuesday. The Fire Department will lose one engine, which could likely result in a firehouse being closed, and vacant positions will go unfilled in other city departments, Barrett said. There will be an additional fee for street lighting and a $10 increase…
BRADENTON, FL — The Bradenton Police Chief has fired an officer after an investigation into what she called “insensitive and racially disparaging” material he shared on his Facebook page. A separate investigation found Officer Jerard Vonador’s handling of a domestic violence case also violated BPD policies, Chief Melanie Bevan said in a press release. 8 On Your Side spoke off-camera with Vonador, who is African American, on Monday night….
The state police union argued in federal court Tuesday against sections of a new police accountability law that could result in public disclosure of information in trooper personnel files that is now sealed by the union’s contract. At the same time, the union said its members had voted no confidence by wide margins in the state police leadership and in Gov. Ned Lamont, who signed the police reform legislation…
An explicit, fiery indictment of law enforcement and first responders on social media by a San Antonio firefighter has led to an investigation by the fire department. While SAFD said in a statement that employee messages on personal social media accounts aren’t reflective of the department as a whole, officials say the firefighter in question has been placed on admnistrative duty during the investigation. The lengthy Facebook rant condemns…
MADISON, WI — An idea that began nearly three years ago with an exhaustive report on the Madison Police Department could come to fruition Tuesday night with the City Council poised to create a half-million-dollar office to oversee the city’s police force. The Office of the Independent Monitor and Civilian Oversight Board would not have the power to hire, fire or discipline police — tasks reserved under state law for the…
HONOLULU, HI — The Hawaii Fire Fighters Association has asked Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell to give them more protection in the form of workers’ compensation during the pandemic. The HFFA sent a letter to Caldwell on Thursday, asking him to consider language changes that would make clear that the department presumes that any first responder diagnosed with COVID-19 contracted it while on the job, therefore making the firefighter eligible…
KENT COUNTY, MI – Grand Rapids police Internal Affairs is investigating a complaint alleging that an officer advocated racial profiling on his Facebook page. Officer Walter Tett provided instances in which police would profile subjects based on race to help solve crimes, Robert S. Womack, a Kent County commissioner and radio host, told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. “These are very bold statements that can’t be taken lightly,” Womack said….
DENVER, CO — It’s an awkward time for Denver police to be negotiating a new, two-year contract — given the pandemic’s hit to the city budget and recent calls to defund police after their protest response — but the contract’s upcoming expiration has forced that conversation. And even before all of the details of a tentative deal between the police union and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration have been released publicly,…
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: The issue of law enforcement accountability has been top-of-the-mind for many Americans over the course of this difficult summer, especially after the deaths of a number of unarmed African Americans. And different groups have looked for answers about why this is happening and what can be done. Well, now one of the nation’s premier civil rights organizations, the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund, has looked…
SEATTLE, WA — Mayor Jenny Durkan announced Friday that she will veto a rebalanced budget approved recently by the Seattle City Council that included a controversial plan to slash funding to the police department, which would sharply reduce pay for some of the agency’s top brass and eliminate an outreach team for the homeless. But the budget plan was approved by a super majority of council members, which if it…
HAMMOND, IN — A federal judge is ordering a Hammond police officer who lost a sexual harassment suit to pay more than $8,100 to the City of Hammond and the former city police officer she accused. U.S. District Court Judge Philip P. Simon ruled Friday against Hammond Police Lt. Denise Szany for the second time in several months. Christopher Cooper, a Chicago lawyer representing Szany, asked Judge Simon to…
CLEVELAND, OH — Cleveland’s police union will not endorse a presidential candidate in 2020, reversing course from last election cycle when the union endorsed Donald Trump. The 2016 endorsement marked the first time in the 51-year history of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association that the union endorsed a presidential candidate and sowed division between white and minority police officers. The decision to endorse ultimately cost former CPPA president Steve Loomis his position atop…
Pittsburgh police are currently reviewing their policy on social networking sites and may amend it after they placed an officer on administrative leave pending an investigation into his social media posts. This announcement comes after the Department of Public Safety announced Friday night that it placed a police officer on administrative leave until further notice pending the outcome of an investigation when a citizen filed a complaint on social media posts…
OAKLAND, CA — Fired Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick followed through on a promise to sue the city of Oakland for retaliation, filing a federal lawsuit Wednesday that claims she was booted from the job for reporting corruption and misconduct in the police commission. Her lawsuit claims members of the police commission, a civilian body formed in 2016 to oversee the police department, routinely abused their power and demanded special treatment. …
The union representing D.C. police officers sued the District in federal court on Wednesday, challenging a new law that makes it easier for the police chief to discipline and fire officers by cutting out the role of the labor group. In its suit, the union said the District unfairly created a “distinct class” of government employees and called it discriminatory to strip the officers’ labor representatives of the ability…
LA VERNE, CA — La Verne is again on the search for a new fire chief. Interim Fire Chief Devon Leonard will be leaving the position on Aug. 12, he announced this week. His departure signals yet another change in the department’s leadership. Leonard was the third interim chief in the past two years. On Monday, Aug. 3, the City Council voted 5-0 to authorize City Manager Bob Russi…
SAN ANTONIO, TX — For the second time since late last month, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has proposed terminating a deputy behind a racially-charged post on Facebook. BCSO officials on Thursday confirmed a proposed termination was issued to Deputy Jack Farmer, who late last month wrote on the social media site that people should ‘lynch mob’ a person accused of stealing mail. The disciplinary action against Farmer is now…
PORTLAND, OR — A Portland firefighter who got drunk and unleashed racist slurs against a Black hotel clerk in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was attending work-related health training in August, was suspended without pay for six months by the fire chief and ordered to complete diversity training. Portland firefighter Nicholas Perkins, who has been with the Fire Bureau for 13 years and most recently worked at a North Portland…
SEATTLE, WA — Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best implored Seattle City Councilmembers Sunday to “stand up for what is right” after a group of protesters targeted her home late Saturday night. In a letter to the council that she also published on the department’s crime blog, Best said her home in Snohomish County was visited “by a large group of aggressive protestors” and that while her neighbors were concerned, “they were successful…
REYNOLDSBURG, OH — The local FOP Capital City Lodge No. 9, which represents Reynoldsburg police among more than 4,000 law enforcement officers at agencies throughout Franklin County, met with Reynoldsburg city officials and worked out the details in an amicable discussion, according to the union. The City of Reynoldsburg and the union representing its police officers have agreed in principle to draft legislation that would create a civilian police…
EDINBURG, TX — A lawsuit filed against the city of Edinburg by one of the two police unions there will remain in federal court. U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez issued the order Thursday, ruling that the lawsuit alleges a “substantial and disputed” First Amendment question, which is the federal court’s jurisdiction. The Edinburg United Police Officers Association, or EUPOA, initially filed suit in the 93rd state District Court, alleging…
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MO — Lt. Keith Wildhaber requested to step down Friday as the head of the St. Louis County Police Department’s Diversity and Inclusion Unit, saying in a post on his Facebook page that he is the victim of systemic racism. “I battled St. Louis County for almost 4 1/2 years,” Wildhaber posted. “The day I was sworn in as the head of the Diversity and Inclusion…
WILMINGTON, DE — Josie Harris Robinson and her husband are both front-line shift workers in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. She’s a nurse and her husband, Aaron Robinson, is a Wilmington firefighter. They both had to scramble, with just six days notice, to figure out a new way of life when a required shift change took effect for firefighters on July 1. City firefighters have transitioned–against their will…
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