police news stories on Newser

What Police Screwed Up the Night Trayvon Died

Kevin Spak — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:37:05 CDT

The Trayvon Martin case wasn't just a story of racial bias, it was also apparently a story of police incompetence. The Sanford Police Department doesn't even have a homicide department, and usually tackles only three to four murders a year—and it showed. The New York Times talked with witnesses,...

Miss. Cops to Drivers: Don't Pull Over for Flashing Lights

Rob Quinn — Wed, 16 May 2012 02:16:30 CDT

If you're in Mississippi and a car with flashing lights tries to pull you over, just keep driving, police say. Two people were shot dead near their cars in the space of a few days, and investigators suspect somebody impersonating a police officer could be to blame . "If someone attempts...

Fake Cop Blamed in Mississippi Murders

Matt Cantor — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:26:32 CDT

Police are stumped as to who's behind a pair of Mississippi highway murders, but they have some ideas: The killer could be a police impostor, they say. Over the course of three days, two people were separately found dead in their cars—both on the sides of highways, Reuters reports....

Due in 2 Weeks: FAA Rules for Drones in US Skies

Matt Cantor — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:50:58 CDT

Thousands of small drones could take wing across the US following a Federal Aviation Administration decision next month. Police departments have been snapping up the unmanned aircraft, whose cameras could be used for everything from missing-person searches to catching drug dealers. Now law enforcement is waiting on the FAA to...

Georgia Cops Handcuff, Arrest 6-Year-Old Girl

Matt Cantor — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:16:05 CDT

Georgia police have sparked controversy after they handcuffed and arrested a 6-year-old who school officials accused of assaulting the principal and damaging property. Police responded to an elementary school's call on Friday to find kindergartner Salecia Johnson having a tantrum on the principal's office floor, they said. When an officer...

Top French Academic in Manhattan Mystery Death

Mary Papenfuss — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 02:35:00 CDT

A prestigious French scholar in Manhattan for a conference was found nude and dead in his midtown hotel room in suspicious circumstances, according to investigators. Richard Descoings, 53, a member of France's Council of State and director of top French university Sciences Po, was discovered by hotel staffers after they...

Barred in Boston: Mosh Pits

Matt Cantor — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:13:36 CDT

Boston cops have had it with mosh pits. Slam dancing at a Flogging Molly concert last month, which featured fans "colliding into each other" with some "knocked to the ground," earned the House of Blues a police citation, the Herald reports. "Dancing is a First Amendment right, but the behavior...

12K Cops Ready Selves for Moscow Protests

Matt Cantor — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:56:42 CST

Talk of fraud has already tarnished Vladimir Putin's victory in the Russian presidential election; now an international watchdog group says his win, with 63% of the vote, was "clearly skewed," the BBC reports. "The point of elections is that the outcome should be uncertain," says a rep for the Organization...

Police Break Up Occupy London

Matt Cantor — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 05:24:23 CST

Occupy London's campsite outside historic St. Paul's Cathedral has been evacuated by police, marking an end to one of the longest-running sites in the Occupy movement. Some 20 people were arrested in the dismantling of the encampment, which began in October, the AP reports. A former church leader who resigned...