Overzealous police officers score absolutely bonkers victory over Fourth Amendment

Imagine the following series of events happening to you:

You and a friend are walking peacefully down a residential street in the middle of the day, when a police car pulls next to you and orders you to “get the fuck on the sidewalk.” After you walk a few steps more, the cop suddenly puts his car into reverse and maneuvers it in front of you to block your path — stopping the car just inches from your friend.

Israel's debate over an execution in Hebron mirrors America's debate over Ferguson

If you want to see the Israel-Palestine conflict in its purest and most crushing manifestation, the place you go is Hebron.

The West Bank city has been divided, since 1997, by an arrangement that grants 20 percent of the land to a handful of Jewish settlers, who walk through their eerily empty streets primarily to express their claim, guarded by bored-looking Israeli soldiers.

Embattled Ferguson Mayor Suggests Activists Stop Protesting, Lobby Lawmakers Instead

FERGUSON, Mo. -- Dozens of people attended a panel discussion Monday night about how to respond to suggestions laid out last week by the Ferguson Commission, which was tasked with studying the St. Louis area and proposing ways of moving forward after a year of protests and unrest.

At the "#BeyondFerguson" town hall panel, which was hosted by St. Louis Public Radio and took place at Wellsprings Church -- a frequent meeting spot for activists and political groups since last August -- a group of community leaders addressed the commission's final report. The 16-member, governor-appointed commission was tasked with studying the community and sharing the underlying causes for the unrest that followed the death unarmed black teenager Michael Brown last year. Brown was fatally shot by a white police officer, and his death sparked ongoing protests and a national discussion on racial inequality and police brutality in America.

Ferguson’s ‘Unbanking’ Problem

Just over a year on from police officer Darren Wilson’s killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, a commission convened by Gov. Jay Nixon (D) has issued a lengthy report on the societal, governmental, and economic crisis that afflicts Ferguson and many communities like it in the St. Louis area.

The Ferguson Commission organizes many of its ideas around the importance of economic justice. “Many factors impact an individual’s opportunity to thrive. Key among them are health and financial stability,” the commissioners write. “Unfortunately, for many in the St. Louis region, these are not a given.”

The 'Ferguson Effect' Isn't Real, And The New York Times Shouldn't Act Like It Might Be

On Monday, The New York Times published an article on murder rates that was misleading at best, and fearmongering at worst.

"Murder Rates Rising Sharply in Many U.S. Cities," the headline screamed.

The lede was just as alarming. It spoke of "a startling rise in murders" this year in cities "across the nation," chief among them Milwaukee, where the increase was said to be "precipitous" -- 104 homicides in 2015 thus far, way above the 86 reported for all of 2014.

'Provocative' Police Tactics Inflamed Ferguson Protests, Experts Find

WASHINGTON -- Law enforcement officials responding to demonstrations and unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, following the death of Michael Brown last August used a variety of inappropriate tactics and strategies that often exacerbated tensions, according to a report by policing experts that the Justice Department is releasing this week.

The assessment finds that deploying dogs for crowd control was "provocative," positioning snipers on top of armored vehicles during daytime protests "inflamed tensions," tear gas was "deployed inappropriately," and law enforcement used unconstitutional policing strategies that suppressed First Amendment rights. Such strategies "had the unintended consequence of escalating rather than diminishing tension," the report states.

Heavily Armed 'Oath Keepers' Bring New Unease To Ferguson Protests

Four civilians carrying military-style rifles and sidearms patrolled a riot-torn street in Ferguson, Missouri, early Tuesday, saying they were there to protect a media organization but drawing swift criticism from police and protesters alike.

The appearance of the four men, all white, quickly drew stares in the mostly black neighborhood, which exploded into violence again on Sunday night as protesters marked the police killing of an unarmed black teen a year ago.

White Militiamen, Openly Carrying Large Guns, Descend On Ferguson

One year after criticizing the militarized police force in Ferguson, the Oath Keepers — a group of armed white militiamen — took to the city’s streets, clashing with protesters on Monday night.

The day after a tense standoff between cops and protesters, as well as the police shooting of an armed teenager, hundreds of protesters gathered on West Florrisant Ave after a state of emergency was declared in St. Louis. Officers in riot gear told the crowd to disperse and arrested people who did not comply. Then, several white militiamen showed up to the protest carrying rifles, and would not leave when demonstrators asked them to.

Huffington Post, Washington Post Reporters Charged For Doing Journalism In Ferguson

NEW YORK – Reporters from The Huffington Post and Washington Post have been charged with trespassing and interfering with a police officer’s performance, a chilling setback for press freedom coming nearly a year after their arrests in Ferguson, Missouri.

The Huffington Post's Ryan J. Reilly and Washington Post's Wesley Lowery were arrested while working out of a McDonald's on Aug. 13, 2014, just four days after white police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.

Ferguson Protesters DeRay Mckesson And Johnetta Elzie Arrested

ST. LOUIS -- Dozens of protesters were arrested Monday outside the U.S. attorney's office in downtown St. Louis during a demonstration against police brutality.

DeRay Mckesson and Johnetta Elzie -- prominent activists in the Black Lives Matter movement -- were among the 57 people detained during the sit-in. They were released after being issued a summons alleging obstruction of the courthouse doorways, U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan said in a statement.

How Ferguson Changed Once The Media Went Home

Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death at Officer Darren Wilson’s hands in Ferguson — the spark that ignited a national movement of protest against police violence and racial inequality. One year later, that movement is nowhere near finished. The cameras may have left, but dynamic grassroots programs are changing Ferguson while no one is watching.

Since last August, four separate Department of Justice (DOJ) reports have been released, detailing racially-discriminatory and exploitative policing, officer misconduct and mismanagement during the unrest that followed Brown’s death, and a troubled Family Court system. Members of law enforcement have been ousted, a new interim police chief has stepped in, and the Ferguson City Council has diversified.

St. Louis County Still May Charge Journalists Arrested While Covering Ferguson Protests

St. Louis County prosecutors will soon decide whether to bring trespassing charges against two journalists arrested while covering demonstrations last summer in Ferguson, Missouri.

The Huffington Post’s Ryan Reilly and The Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery recently learned that there are open investigations related to their Aug. 13, 2014, arrests and that the cases have been referred to the county counselor's office, which primarily handles local ordinance violations. The St. Louis County Police Department filed incident reports in late April of this year describing the reporters as trespassing when they were seized at a McDonald's restaurant.

Ferguson: If Negligent And Careless Poor People Can't Make Bail, It's Their Fault

ST. LOUIS -- When lawyers in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Divisioninvestigated the operations of the Ferguson Police Department and municipal court system, they found that local officials blamed a lack of “personal responsibility” among “certain segments” of the community for the incredible number of arrest warrants issued. DOJ’s report, which found that the city used its municipal court as a way to generate revenue, said that “lack of personal responsibility” was one of the “negative stereotypes about African Americans” held by decision makers in Ferguson.

Eric Holder Prepared To Dismantle Ferguson Police Department If 'Necessary'

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Friday the Justice Department would use its full authority to demand police reforms in Ferguson, Missouri, including possibly going so far as dismantling the department accused of racial bias.

"We are prepared to use all the power that we have ... to ensure that the situation changes there," Holder told reporters.

Ferguson judge behind aggressive fines policy owes $170,000 in unpaid taxes

The judge in Ferguson, Missouri, who is accused of fixing traffic tickets for himself and colleagues while inflicting a punishing regime of fines and fees on the city’s residents, also owes more than $170,000 in unpaid taxes.

Ronald J Brockmeyer, whose court allegedly jailed impoverished defendants unable to pay fines of a few hundred dollars, has a string of outstanding debts to the US government dating back to 2007, according to tax filings obtained by the Guardian from authorities in Missouri.

It’s Not Just Ferguson

The Department of Justice confirmed yesterday what many of Ferguson’s residents have been saying, and protesting against, for months: the city racks up millions of dollars each year in fines and court fees by illegally harassing its black population. What the federal government did not say, however, is that the practice of criminalizing black people to raise money for police and court systems is not rare; local governments across the country have been doing it for years—ironically, to offset the spiraling costs of the incarceration boom of the past three decades.

Eric Holder: Ferguson Police Created A 'Toxic' Environment

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that the tensions between law enforcement and residents that erupted after the killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager in Missouri, were unsurprising given the "toxic" environment created by the biases of the Ferguson Police Department.

The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that it would not bring federal civil rights charges against Darren Wilson, the white police officer who killed Brown in August. The DOJ also released a report that detailed the ways in which the Ferguson Police Department created fear and resentment among African-American residents in the Missouri town by disproportionately targeting them with fines, tickets and excessive force.

How Ferguson, Missouri, Uses Cops and the Courts to Prey on Its Residents

More than seven years ago, a black woman parked her car illegally in Ferguson, Missouri. She received two tickets and a $151 fine. The woman, sometimes homeless, struggled to pay it off, and over the next several years she was slapped with seven “Failure to Appear” citations for missing payments and court dates. Each of those citations added to the debt she owed the city and resulted in an arrest warrant. By 2014, she’d been arrested twice, spent nearly a week in jail, and had paid the city $550. As of December, she still owed $541.

Ferguson Official Stated President Obama Wouldn't Last Long "Because What Black Man Holds a Steady Job for Four Years”

New details have emerged about the Justice Department's forthcoming reportfinding patterns of racial discrimination among officials and police officers in Ferguson, Missouri. Among the findings is an email saying that Barack Obama wouldn't last long as president because he's black and data showing that for years, traffic stops, use of force, petty crime charges, and affronts by police caninesdisproportionately targeted the city's black residents.

Police Fatally Shoot Black Teen Near Ferguson

At 11:15 p.m. last night, a white male officer, a six year veteran on the force, shot and killed an African American 18-year-old outside a gas station in Berkeley, Missouri—just a few miles from Ferguson—while responding to a call about a robbery. Police are still withholding the name of the young man, saying they would do so when all of his family members have been notified, but he’s been identified in the media as Antonio Martin.