MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis City Council members who tried unsuccessfully to dismantle the police department in response to George Floyd's death are voting Wednesday on whether to shrink it, a move that could imperil the entire city budget because the mayor is threatening to use his veto to protect public safety...
Judge Dismisses Charge Against Former Cop in Floyd’s Death
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota judge has dismissed a third-degree murder charge filed against the former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee against George Floyd's neck, but the more serious second-degree murder charge remains. Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill's ruling was dated Wednesday and made public Thursday. Cahill said...
Ban on Chokeholds Among California Criminal Justice Reforms
SACRAMENTO — Spurred by the slayings of George Floyd and other Black people in police custody across the country, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday banned certain chokeholds as he approved several new laws designed to increase oversight of the criminal justice system. But amid national calls to defund the police,...
Analysis: Will California Really Change Policing?
It’s crunch month for California legislators who promised sweeping reforms in response to the police killing of George Floyd and the protests his death unleashed. Yet some social justice advocates doubt that politicians’ stomachs for change are as strong as their rhetoric: A Senate bill to excommunicate corrupt or misbehaving...
Ex-Cop’s Video Captures Crowd’s Horror During Floyd Arrest
MINNEAPOLIS — Newly released body-camera video from a third officer involved in George Floyd’s arrest captures for the first time the growing horror of onlookers who repeatedly pleaded with the officers to get off Floyd. The video made available Thursday comes from fired Officer Tou Thao, one of four former...
No Prosecution for Many Arrested at Portland’s Protests
PORTLAND, Ore. — People arrested in Portland since late May on non-violent misdemeanor charges during the protests that have racked Oregon’s largest city for more than two months won't be prosecuted. The new policy announced Tuesday recognizes the outrage and frustration over a history of racial injustice that has led...
Husband of DA Charged With Pulling Gun on Protesters in LA
LOS ANGELES — The husband of Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey has been charged with pointing a gun at Black Lives Matter members who demonstrated outside the couple’s home the day before she faced a primary election in March. The state attorney general filed three misdemeanor charges Monday in...
‘Sobering’ Report Shows Hardening Attitudes Against Media
NEW YORK — The distrust many Americans feel toward the news media, caught up like much of the nation's problems in the partisan divide, only seems to be getting worse. That was the conclusion of a “sobering” study of attitudes toward the press conducted by Knight Foundation and Gallup and...
Violence, Protests, Arrival of Agents Put Chicago on Edge
CHICAGO — Amid a surge in gun violence and protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, the nation's third-largest city is on edge, awaiting possible greater tension in the form of a plan by President Donald Trump to dispatch dozens of federal agents to Chicago. The White House plan...
Portland Protesters Gassed After Setting Fire at Courthouse
PORTLAND, Ore. — Protesters outside Portland's U.S. courthouse set a fire in the building's entryway early Monday in yet another night of conflict with federal agents who repeatedly tear gassed the demonstrators to drive them away, officials said. Authorities over the weekend erected large fences around the building in an...