"The group? Come and Take it Houston – a group of gun owners that gather publicly to 'educate Texans on their right to openly carry shotguns and rifles in a safe manner.' Even in front of a police station. 'It’s Independence Day – where it all started,' said shotgun toting Jenn Kroll, to the Houston Chronicle. 'What better day to show our rights?' Can’t argue with that." Continue reading →
"The social media fallout from the Sunday shooting has the Hawthorne Police Department scrambling to protect its officers and also tell another version of the story. Police released a new video of the shooting taken from a different angle. They believe this alternative perspective will prove to viewers that the officer’s actions were justified. Max the Rottweiler was shot four times on Sunday after lunging at officers who were handcuffing his owner, Leon Rosby. The original graphic cellphone recording of Max’s death went viral on YouTube, prompting a flood of threats against the officers and their families through telephone, email and Facebook." Continue reading →
"Henderson police arrested a family for refusing to let officers use their homes as lookouts for a domestic violence investigation of their neighbors, the family claims in court. The Mitchell family's claim includes Third Amendment violations, a rare claim in the United States. The Third Amendment prohibits quartering soldiers in citizens' homes in times of peace without the consent of the owner. Police took Anthony and Michael Mitchell to jail and booked them for obstructing an officer. They were jailed for at least nine hours before they bailed out, they say in the complaint." Continue reading →
"Enraged Islamists pushed back Friday against the toppling of President Mohammed Morsi, as tens of thousands of his supporters took to the streets vowing to win his reinstatement and clashed with their opponents in violence that killed 30 and drove the divided nation toward an increasingly dangerous showdown. The clashes accelerated after the supreme leader of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood defiantly proclaimed that his followers would not give up street action until the return of the country's first freely elected president, swept out of power days earlier by the military. Morsi opponents called out the public to defend against the Brotherhood." Continue reading →
"At least three supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi were killed by gunfire as a crowd of several hundred tried to march towards the military barracks in Cairo where he is believed to be held. Al Jazeera's Matthew Cassel, reporting from near the military barracks, said several dozen people were also injured by shotgun pellets fired by the army. Security forces were cordoning the Republican Guard barracks but it was not immediately clear who had opened fire. Also on Friday, Adly Mansour, the newly appointed interim head of state, dissolved parliament by decree, state television said." Continue reading →
"The sexual assault epidemic plaguing the military is getting quite a bit of attention—but what's not getting much attention is the fact that 53% of all sexual assault cases last year involved male victims, the New York Times reports. 'It’s easy for some people to single out women and say there’s a small percentage of the force having this problem,' says one soldier who was raped by a superior. 'No one wants to admit this problem affects everyone.' Most attacks involve hazing or bullying, and have more to do with 'humiliation or torture,' a prosecutor explains." Continue reading →
"After five years, the Canadian military is still investigating claims that Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan were told by their superiors to ignore incidents where Afghan soldiers and interpreters sexually assaulted young boys. The probe continues, with no specified end date, long after most Canadian soldiers have left Afghanistan and nearly five years after a board of inquiry was convened on Nov. 21, 2008, by Lt. Gen. Andrew Leslie. During the summer of 2008, the Star reported that some Canadian soldiers who had returned from Afghanistan had sought counseling to cope with feelings of guilt because they had not stopped incidents of child abuse." Continue reading →
"The officer orders me to pull over and get out of my car, bullies me around, gets the drug sniffing K-9, lies about me having 'Illegal Drugs' in the car, searches without consent, and tells me that it is ok to take away my freedom. All while not being detained. All this harassment because my window was not lowered enough to his preference. I broke no laws whatsoever. All of this on a day that we are supposed to be celebrating freedom and liberty. At the end of the encounter, the officer did not want to give me his name when I asked him. After I repeatedly asked him, he finally gave it to me." Continue reading →
"Security guards for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strip searched an Arab journalist working for the U.S.-funded Alhurra network at the the U.S. ambassador’s Fourth of July celebration in Tel Aviv, the network said on Thursday. The AP report said that Jallad was forced to remove his shoes and sit in the sun for half an hour. He was then taken to a room and ordered to remove his pants and submit to a body inspection. After 90 minutes, he was allowed to enter the event. The network said that Jallad had previously covered Netanyahu on many occasions and had a government-issued press card." Continue reading →
"Police had probable cause to arrest a Marine Corps veteran in the Supreme Court building for wearing a jacket that said 'Occupy Everywhere,' a federal judge ruled. Deputy Chief Timothy Dolan approached him and told Scott that he could not wear the jacket in the building because it was comparable to a sign or demonstration. Dolan told Scott he must either take off the jacket or leave the building. When Scott refused to do either, Dolan instructed another officer to place Scott under arrest for unlawful entry. Scott was released the same day, and charges against him were later dropped." Continue reading →