Network Archives

Former Newark Airport TSA screener says the job does little to keep fliers safe

"It is perhaps America’s most unsafe airport. Despite being the launching point for one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 — Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania — Newark Airport has had numerous security violations since. The latest: a fake bomb that made it past Transportation Security Administration officers. Here, a Newark TSA screener who recently left the agency tells how silly policies and lazy workers do little to stop real threats." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer Newark Airport TSA screener says the job does little to keep fliers safe

Officer Claims Cops Sell LAPD Guns to Civilians and Dealers

"Los Angeles police officers bought and sold guns from the police armory for profit, and told the lieutenant in charge of the armory to 'watch his back' after he reported it, the 25-year LAPD veteran claims in court. Armando Perez sued the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Police Department in Superior Court. Perez, who joined the LAPD in 1987, claims he was retaliated against, suspended and threatened after he discovered, through his job as 'Officer in Charge of the Armory,' that officers in the Metropolitan Division were buying and reselling guns to other officers, civilians and gun dealers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOfficer Claims Cops Sell LAPD Guns to Civilians and Dealers

Banana Republics Have Nothing on New York City

"In a nation that incarcerates more people than any other, New York City hopes to jail a hefty proportion of its residents, too. The Daily News reports that the City now boasts more than a million 'open bench warrants' for such heinous 'crimes' as 'drinking a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon on a West Village stoop' and 'walking a dog without a leash.' The News lies somewhere to the left of Pravda, but even it marvels that an eighth of New Yorkers could languish in the pokey, which 'number of outlaws ... nearly matches the population of Dallas.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBanana Republics Have Nothing on New York City

Police spies slept with, abandoned female targets on taxpayer dime

"It was not unusual for undercover operatives working for the SDS or its sister squad, the national public order unit, to have sexual relationships with women they were spying on. Of the 11 undercover police officers publicly identified, nine had intimate sexual relations with activists. Most were long-term, meaningful relationships with women who believed they were in a loving partnership. It was all standard procedure for the SDS. Some operatives ended their deployments by pretending to have a breakdown and vanishing, supposedly to go abroad, sending a few letters to their girlfriends with foreign postmarks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice spies slept with, abandoned female targets on taxpayer dime

Apparently, Perjury Isn’t a Crime When Police Commit It

"Last October third, a Salt Lake City SWAT team, working with a federal Drug Task Force, kicked in the door of a 76-year-old woman. It turned out that the raiders had attacked the wrong home; the target was the house next door. An internal review learned that officer responsible for the raid, Detective Cooper Landvatter, falsified information in the affidavit filed to obtain the warrant. Police Chief Chris Burbank imposed a 20-hour suspension on Detective Landvatter. However, the officer faces no further disciplinary action or criminal charges for committing perjury and abetting a home invasion that terrorized an elderly woman." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingApparently, Perjury Isn’t a Crime When Police Commit It

“For Your Own Protection”

"Every day in this supposedly free country, police commit an act that was impermissible for their antecedents in imperial Rome: In the name of 'officer safety,' they handcuff American citizens who are not criminal suspects while conducting investigations. Police also routinely inflict summary punishment – using batons, Tasers, pepper spray, or other means – against those who resist being detained without cause. Within a few years police will have at their disposal handcuffs that can impart electrical shocks to detainees." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“For Your Own Protection”

New Jersey cop caught punching woman in the face on video

"Police in Elizabeth, New Jersey are investigating footage that has surfaced online of an officer hitting a woman in the face during an altercation outside a nightclub. Authorities told WNBC-TV on Wednesday that the unidentified officer seen in the video, which was posted on YouTube on March 3, is still on active duty while they look into the incident outside a local nightclub." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Jersey cop caught punching woman in the face on video

Former Denver cop Hector Paez gets 8 years for assault, kidnapping

"Former Denver Police officer Hector Paez has been sentenced to eight years in prison for sexual assault and kidnapping, the Denver District Attorney's Office announced Friday. Paez, now 33, was in uniform May 16, 2010, when he came in contact with the victim, a 36-year-old woman, and ran a background check on her, finding an outstanding arrest warrant out of Jefferson County. Paez then took the woman to an isolated area and coerced her into 'performing a sexual act to avoid being taken to jail,' the DA's office said when charges were filed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer Denver cop Hector Paez gets 8 years for assault, kidnapping

Ex-sheriff charged with drug distribution, selling guns from evidence

"A former sheriff is due in court Monday for a pre-trial hearing. Former Carter County Sheriff Tommy Adams is charged with two felonies of distribution of a controlled substance, for methamphetamine and cocaine. He's also charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Adams pleaded guilty in April 2012 to federal charges for stealing firearms that had been seized as evidence, then selling some of them. Adams' former deputy, former Carter County Deputy Steffanie Kearbey, pleaded guilty to the same federal charges." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-sheriff charged with drug distribution, selling guns from evidence

Texas cop fired for shooting 41 times at suspect, killing him

"A Texas police officer who fired 41 shots at a chase suspect in August has been fired. Michael Allen, 25, was shot and killed after a high-speed chase that began in Garland and ended in Mesquite, Texas. Allen was wanted on suspicion of eluding police in Sasche a few days earlier. Garland police spokesman Officer Joe Harn said Tuter violated the department's general order of use of force and its pursuit protocol. The department at first said that Tuter opened fire in fear of his life, but dashboard camera video raised concerns after it showed that Tuter had rammed Allen's truck and fired 41 shots after he cornered Allen. Tuter reloaded twice, police said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTexas cop fired for shooting 41 times at suspect, killing him