Category: Recent Developments

CRANFORD, NJ — More than 20,000 DWI convictions may now be eligible to be overturned — according to the ruling of the highest court in New Jersey, as a result of alleged wrongdoing by one state police supervisor. The crimes of which he’s accused tainted 20,667 cases of driving while intoxicated, according to prosecutors. That situation, in turn, makes those convictions subject to being reconsidered, by order of the…

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PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Philadelphia police officers’ union is suing Mayor Kenney, District Attorney Larry Krasner, and Police Commissioner Richard Ross, claiming that a “Do Not Call List” maintained by Krasner to keep tainted cops from testifying in court damages the reputations of those on it. The lawsuit filed Tuesday by Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 also claims that Kenney, Krasner, and Ross failed to create an adequate…

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HOUSTON, TX — Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration is moving forward with plans for hundreds of layoffs following last week’s voter approval of Prop B despite questions about whether jobs could be saved through renewed negotiations with the city’s firefighters union. The pay parity referendum, which passed decisively after a bitter campaign that pitted Turner and the city’s police union against Houston firefighters, adds an estimated $100 million a year…

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NORWICH TOWNSHIP, OH — Brian Davis spent his life fighting fires and protecting others. In 2016, he died from cancer. Now, his family is trying to put out a fire of their own. When Davis passed, the state recognized his illness as being work-related and granted his family workers compensation benefits. But, now, Norwich Township, where he worked, is taking his family to court so they don’t have to…

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WASHINGTON — Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions has drastically limited the ability of federal law enforcement officials to use court-enforced agreements to overhaul local police departments accused of abuses and civil rights violations, the Justice Department announced on Thursday. In a major last-minute act, Mr. Sessions signed a memorandum on Wednesday before President Trump fired him sharply curtailing the use of so-called consent decrees, court-approved deals between the Justice…

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FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — After two veteran Fort Lauderdale cops argued and tussled about one man dating the other’s ex-wife, the department is firing Officer Stevens Gelu. The conflict began on a Saturday night between Gelu, 46, a road patrol officer with 15 years on the force, and Officer Wesley Taylor, 44, who has been with the department for two decades. At about midnight on April 14, Gelu drove…

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HOUSTON, TX — Around 20 to 25 Houston firefighters say they’ve been asked to cover their union and generic fire department shirts at some polling stations in Houston, despite the fact that their shirts didn’t appear to violate election law, according to the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association. This comes after the Harris County Clerk’s Office earlier this week instructed poll workers to not allow people wearing shirts depicting…

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BELTON, TX — Firefighters in Belton have taken to social media to try and get answers from local leaders. Some of the concerns raised by the Belton Professional Firefighters Association include better pay for firefighters, better benefits and fixing the current staffing issues. “On the side of salaries, not lose guys that we are putting time into and training up and watch them go right next door for something…

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NEW YORK, NY — The New York Police Department is removing nearly 3,000 body cameras from use after one of the devices worn by a Staten Island officer exploded into flames, police officials said on Sunday. The recall of the Vievu-brand LE-5 cameras could delay the department’s plan to outfit all 23,000 patrol officers with body cameras by December, and adds another twist to the complicated history surrounding the…

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Outgoing Garland Police Chief Mitch Bates says the current recruiting environment in North Texas makes for “the most challenging time ever.” That’s not for lack of city support, said Bates, who has spent 16 years as Garland’s chief. Officers have seen four consecutive years of pay increases of more than 3 percent. The department has grown 10 percent over those years to 355 officers. The region’s growth has fueled…

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