UNWATCHED A Louisiana Law Department That Polices Itself This story was originally published by ProPublica. By Richard A. Webster, Verite ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Nearly half of Louisiana sheriffs are in…
When Gun Violence Ends Young Lives, These Men Prepare the Graves
By Cara Anthony January 30, 2023 MILLSTADT, Ill. — It was a late Friday afternoon when a team of men approached a tiny pink casket. One wiped his brow. Another stepped away to smoke a cigarette. Then, with calloused hands, they gently lowered the child’s body into the ground. Earlier…
A Sheriff in Louisiana Has Been Destroying Records of Deputies’ Alleged Misconduct for Years
UNWATCHED A Louisiana Law Department That Polices Itself This story was originally published by ProPublica. By Richard A. Webster, Verite ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana…
More Than Two Years After George Floyd’s Murder Sparked a Movement, Police Reform Has Stalled. What Happened?
This story was originally published by ProPublica. By Jake Pearson, ProPublica ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. In the spring of 2020, George Floyd’s caught-on-camera murder by a Minneapolis police officer prompted massive…
North Carolina sheriff under investigation after his racist rants recorded and exposed
A sheriff in North Carolina is reportedly under investigation after racist comments he made about Black officials were recorded by someone in his department. Racist rants made over the phone by Columbus County Sheriff Jody Greene were recorded by Captain Jason Soles after he had enough of hearing Greene make…
Informant allegedly raped twice by suspected drug dealer in Louisiana while cops left her unmonitored
A woman working as an informant for law enforcement in Louisiana was reportedly raped twice by a known drug dealer during a sting operation while deputies left her unmonitored. The incident happened in January of last year in Alexandria. The woman went to a dilapidated drug house to buy meth…
Report: Names of hundreds of high-ranking law enforcement and elected officials documented in leaked Oath Keepers list
A report released on Wednesday revealed hundreds of names of high-ranking law enforcement officers, military service members and elected officials in leaked membership documentation belonging to Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group. The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism sifted through more than 38,000 names on the leaked document and identified…
Aggressive Florida cop caught on camera telling Black driver “this is how you guys get killed”
A Florida police officer who pulled over a Black driver in Miami-Dade County is currently on desk duty after he told the man “this is how you guys get killed out here” during a traffic stop last week. The driver, who reportedly was in his mom’s vehicle, was pulled over…
Ohio jury only awards Black female lieutenant $2 in discrimination lawsuit
A former Black female lieutenant won her lawsuit against the police department she worked for after alleging racial discrimination and retaliation. But the jury only awarded her $2. The civil rights lawsuit was filed in 2018. She was demoted to a lower position — without a uniform — after she…
Family files federal lawsuit after Black teen in Kansas dies in custody
The family of a Black teen killed by officers at a county jail in Kansas filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against the county and the officers involved. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District for Kansas. Five officers who restrained the 17-year-old boy, who reportedly had mental health…
2 North Carolina homes belonging to Black family targeted by arsonist in racially-motivated attack
This is probably going to sound like something out of 1922: Two homes belonging to a Black family in North Carolina were set on fire by an arsonist in what the family reportedly believes were racially-motivated attacks. The first house in Beulaville was reportedly set ablaze in January while family…