Brickbat: An officer in Bridgeport, #Connecticut, involved in a foot chase last year that ended in a fatal shooting has been placed on administrative leave in light of—but unrelated to—reports that she took an ambulance intended for the dying person. Erin Perrotta was escorted away after suffering a "mild anxiety attack", leaving the bloodied Dyshan Best to wait another 14 minutes before he could be treated at a hospital, where he died from his wounds.

https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/bridgeport-dyshan-best-lawsuit-fatal-shooting-22075352.php

#policeAbuse

Noch einmal werden Deutschlands Gesetze benutzt, politischen Dissens zu bestrafen, nicht eigentliche Extremisten.

https://www.focus.de/politik/meinung/fleischhauer-kolumne-gaga-justiz-ruiniert-unser-vertrauen-in-den-rechtsstaat_8bd50a10-b973-42c3-a0f9-f57dad5d8dee.html

#Germany #freeSpeech #policeAbuse #Russia #socialMedia #Ukraine #VladimirPutin

This reminds me of a CNN interview by Dana Bash with then-Border Control Commander Gregory Bovino, in which a sober-minded Bash, in true journalistic fashion, pressed the dodgy Bovino hard on the facts and exposed the latter's equivocation. This sort of holding the public accountable is rare in today's media and in politics, but certainly well appreciated.

https://reason.com/2026/03/04/in-senate-testimony-on-dhs-shootings-kristi-noem-lies-about-her-lies/

#accountability #DHS #FourthAmendment #ICE #immigration #KristiNoem #Minneapolis #policeAbuse #TrumpAdministration

Today in Labor History January 30, 1970: 20,000 people rioted in Manila. They were protesting the regime of US-backed dictator Ferdinand Marcos after his State of the Nation address. Over 2,000 attempted to storm the US embassy chanting “Down with imperialism!” Riot police and soldiers beat protesters with truncheons and rifle butts. At least 50 people were hospitalized and at least six died. Riots continued throughout the year. They were part of the First Quarter Storm.

In 1986, after ongoing protests, Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos begged President Ronald Regan for advice. Regan told him to “cut and cut cleanly.” That evening, Marcos and his wife Imelda fled the nation aboard a U.S. air force plane, after 20 years of rule. He and his family, and an entourage of 90 people (mostly servants), arrived in Hawaii the next day. They brought 22 crates of cash valued at $717 million, 300 crates of jewelry of unknown value, $4 million worth of unset precious gems, $200,000 in gold bullion, $1 million in Philippine pesos and deposit slips for $124 million in banks in the Cayman Islands. Plus, countless crates of shoes. The Marcos’s hold the Guinness record for the largest ever theft from a government. Although Grifter-in-chief Trump seems dead set on trying to break that record.

Speaking of which, if you are shocked and appalled that Americans could be stupid enough to reelect Trump, consider that the people of the Philippines somehow “forgot” about the years of brutal dictatorship by Marcos and elected his son Bongbong, who currently wants to collaborate with Trump to get foreign aid flowing again, so he can continue his family tradition of violent domestic repression.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #philippines #massacre #riot #FerdinandMarcos #policeabuse #dictator #trump #corruption

It's not just progressives. Civil libertarians have been calling for the DHS's and ICE's dismantlement 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴, in fact since their inception in the wake of September 11. This may finally be the moment.

https://reason.com/2026/01/26/democrats-plan-to-block-dhs-funding-after-minnesota-killing-republicans-should-join-them/

#abolishDHS #abolishICE #civilLiberties #DHS #ICE #immigration #libertarianism #nationalSecurity #policeAbuse #September11
#USCongress #USPolitics

It's nice to know that President Trump and his conservative minions are now appreciating the virtue of gun control. #sarcasm

https://reason.com/2026/01/25/the-trump-administration-is-lying-about-gun-rights-and-the-death-of-alex-pretti/

#civilLiberties #DHS #FirstAmendment #gunControl #gunRights #horseshoeTheory #ICE #Minneapolis #policeAbuse #SecondAmendment #TrumpAdministration #USPolitics

Today in Labor History January 14, 1914: The trial of Suhr and Ford began on this date in Marysville, California. Suhr and Ford were IWW organizers who were ultimately convicted for their alleged role in the gun battle at Durst Ranch in Wheatland. Four died in the so-called “Wheatland riots” (Aug 1913) when police fired into a crowd of California farmworkers trying to organize with the IWW. The dead included the district attorney and sheriff, as well as two farm workers. The governor called in the national guard to restore order. At the time, Durst Ranch was the largest employer of agricultural laborers in the state. They grew hops for the British beer industry. Durst regularly hired seasonal pickers in the summers, forcing them to live in tents on a hot, barren hillside. Conditions were unsanitary. The closest water was a mile away. Durst’s brother exploited workers further by selling them overpriced lemonade, in lieu of water. They had to pay 75 cents per week in rent. Wages were under $1.50/day and Durst withheld 10% of each worker’s wages as insurance against them quitting before harvest season ended.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #IWW #union #strike #wheatland #riots #police #murder #acab #farmworkers #beer #prison #PoliceBrutality #PoliceAbuse

Some useful tips that every traffic cop should follow:

1. Always keep on the driver's or passenger's side at or behind the "B pillar" separating the front and rear seats.
2. Record using body-worn cameras. Do not use cell phones.
3. Never reach into the pulled-over car.

That DHS agent in Minneapolis could have spared himself a lot of trouble had he taken basic precautions.

https://reason.com/2026/01/12/the-ice-agent-who-killed-renee-good-disregarded-traffic-stop-guidelines/

#DHS #excessiveForce #ICE #Minneapolis #policeAbuse #policeSafety #TrumpAdministration

Everything we know about the Minneapolis tragedy, and the unresolved question of whether the use of deadly force was really necessary in light of all the known circumstances (court precedent states probably not), and whether the courts will deny qualified immunity.

https://reason.com/2026/01/09/video-of-the-minneapolis-ice-shooting-does-not-resolve-the-issue-of-whether-it-was-legally-justified/

#DHS #excessiveForce #FourthAmendment #ICE #Minneapolis #policeAbuse #qualifiedImmunity #selfDefense #TrumpAdministration