Gangsters in Blue

Recently released surveillance video from the City Jail in Bridgeton, Missouri shows police officers attacking William Billingham, a DUI suspect, for no apparent reason:

The police chief claims that the officers responsible for the attack on Billingham can’t be fired until the police department conducts an investigation into the matter, yet the incident took place nearly two years ago. If the chief actually had any intention of holding these officers accountable, then he would have carried out his investigation back in 2009. If police have video of a use of force incident, there’s simply no excuse for not reviewing the footage immediately after the incident takes place.

Bridgeton cops beat and taser man at jail is a post from Cop Block - "Something must be done about vengeance, a badge, and a gun"

This video discusses Taser International’s latest weapon, the Taser Extended Range Electronic Projectile (XREP). Like traditional Taser devices, the XREP is an electroshock weapon, however, it is fired from a shotgun as though it were ammunition and can hit targets up to 100 feet away.

You can read more about XREP rounds from the manufacturer here, but they’re currently only being marketed to law enforcement.

New Taser weapon causes “most excruciating pain imaginable” is a post from Cop Block - "Something must be done about vengeance, a badge, and a gun"

Below are links to the stories in episode 22 of the Police Accountability Report:

• Tasered granny settles suit with El Reno Oklahoma
• Ex-deputy sentenced to 20 years for soliciting sexual favors under color of law (with special guest commentary from Marc Stevens from the No State Project and www.marcstevens.com)

If you would like to submit a story or record a segment for the Police Accountability Report (on lack of accountability for police in your area) please email podcast[at]copblock[dot]org. We also welcome feedback.

You can also hear the podcast and other great liberty minded programs on LRN.FM.

Police Accountability Report – Episode 24 is a post from Cop Block - "Something must be done about vengeance, a badge, and a gun"

We’re accused of being “cop haters” all the time, but we have good reason, I believe. It is the whole system that allows the behavior of bad cops and the good ones never speak out, so what is a liberty-loving person to do? The police are the face of everything the government does that people [...]

This week, I spent an hour on Ernest Hancock’s Declare Your Independence radio show while we interviewed a former head of the police academy’s defensive tactics instructor for a state on the East Coast.  John Blue has trained nearly 1000 police officers.  In this interview, we touch on many topics like filming police, pain compliance, [...]

On November 5th, former BART transit officer Johannes Mehserle was finally sentenced for killing Oscar Grant in an infamous incident that occurred during the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009 at a train station in Oakland, California. Those who followed the case should remember the details: shortly after Mehserle’s partner Anthony Pirone finished screaming [...]

The overwhelming majority of the 50,000 SWAT team raids conducted every year are to serve arrest or search warrants. Many of those warrants are for nonviolent crimes.  A Columbia Missouri SWAT team demonstrated this fact when they raided a family home all to find less than a few grams of cannabis.  Columbia Missouri’s ridiculous use [...]

Proper Treatment. Daily Brickbats (2010-10-11):

Michelle Schreiner is a diabetic and her blood sugar was dangerously low, so a friend called 911. For some reason, dispatch sent a police officer as well as paramedics to her Gresham, Oregon, home. When they got there, Schreiner was holding a syringe filled with insulin and drifting in and...

The police are here to keep you safe.

Proper Treatment. Daily Brickbats (2010-10-11):

Michelle Schreiner is a diabetic and her blood sugar was dangerously low, so a friend called 911. For some reason, dispatch sent a police officer as well as paramedics to her Gresham, Oregon, home. When they got there, Schreiner was holding a syringe filled with insulin and drifting in and...

The police are here to keep you safe.

Sheriff deputies in Marin County California have once again demonstrated that it can be dangerous to call 911 for medical assistance. A 64 year old man who was tasered three times in his own home by Marin County Sheriff’s deputies has filed a lawsuit stemming from that incident. The incident occurred on June 29, 2009 shortly [...]