Officers

Layers of barbed wire fencing surround the Matsqui Institution in Abbotsford, B.C. The massive, concrete prison sits among rural fields across from an elementary school, about 70 kilometres east of Vancouver.Despite the fortification, the union representing correctional officers says bundles of drugs have literally — and routinely — been dropping from the skies into prison yards like this across Canada.Last fall, a drone dropped a batch of toxic drugs that contained fentanyl into the B.C. prison. One inmate died, and nine…

Ten years ago, the Los Angeles Police Department celebrated a historic hiring milestone, announcing the city had reached a target sought by at least two mayors and multiple police chiefs: 10,000 officers.That achievement was the culmination of an expensive seven-year campaign waged by then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, much of it during a global recession that ravaged the city’s finances.Now, within a three-year span, those gains have been erased. The LAPD is hemorrhaging officers, with more leaving the force than are…

Examples of cars parked fully on the sidewalk (left, 70th Precinct Station House) and within crosswalks (right, 110th Precinct Station House). Photos by the author. Credit: Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.trip.2023.100816 "THEY park on the sidewalks and hide fire hydrants with their cars. They angle where they should parallel and turn normal streets into obstacle paths. They never…

Twenty California police officers face possible decertification by the state’s law enforcement accreditation body, a move would strip them of a license to carry a badge in the state.Unless they are cleared by a Commission of Peace Officer Standards, or POST, investigation or succeed in an appeal, the officers accused of serious misconduct including sexual misconduct, fraud, excessive force and abuse on duty will not be able to work as sworn officers for any California police agency. This is an additional punishment to…

Seven California Highway Patrol officers and a nurse were charged with manslaughter Wednesday in connection with the death of a man who screamed, “I can’t breathe!,” as they tried to draw blood from him, prosecutors said.Edward Bronstein was suspected of driving while intoxicated in 2020 when he was apprehended and later died in CHP custody at the agency’s Altadena station.The six officers and a sergeant who filmed the deadly encounter with Bronstein were charged with involuntary manslaughter and assault under color of…

President Biden’s plan to limit some migrants’ access to asylum could force federal asylum officers to break U.S. law, the union that represents asylum officers argued Monday in a formal filing opposing the proposal. Enforcing Biden’s policy would violate asylum officers’ oath to carry out the immigration laws set out by Congress and “could make them complicit in violations of U.S. and international law,” attorneys for the American Federation of Government Employees Council 119 wrote in a comment submitted to the…

Three Los Angeles police officers are suing the owner of killercops.com, accusing him of publishing their photos on his website and putting out a “bounty” on them.It is the first legal action stemming from the Los Angeles Police Department’s release of the names and photos of almost every sworn officer — more than 9,300 officers, including some who work undercover — as part of a public records request. A police watchdog group posted the images online last Friday.The lawsuit, which was filed Friday by the Los Angeles…

In a still-unfolding drama that has reached its top ranks, the Los Angeles Police Department accidentally released the names and photos of numerous undercover officers to a watchdog group that posted them on its website.The controversy began late last week when the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition launched a searchable online database — called Watch the Watchers — of more than 9,300 city police officers’ photos, complete with their names, ethnicity, rank, date of hire, division/bureau and badge numbers. The group called the…

Credit: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock The third series of BBC police drama "Happy Valley" marked the end of a beloved program, and the end of Sergeant Catherine Cawood's career navigating Yorkshire's criminal underworld. Cawood's age and gender is not ignored in the show. Throughout, she faces misogyny from criminals she encounters on the job, as well as her own colleagues. …

Three L.A. police officers were shot Wednesday night in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, law enforcement sources said.Few details were available. But the shooting occurred after 6 p.m. on North Broadway at Mission Avenue. The three officers, part of a canine unit, were seeking to find a suspect when that person opened fire, sources told The Times. The suspect was initially barricaded inside a building.The condition of the officers is unknown at this time.Videos on social media showed a large police…