Page 2 - Jonathanm Smith News Today

HARRISBURG — When Brandon Neely was pulled over in August 2020 for crossing into the area between a highway lane and exit ramp after leaving a casino in Dauphin County, a Pennsylvania State Police trooper asked if he could search Neely’s vehicle. Neely, knowing his rights, said no. But the trooper searched anyway, as Neely streamed video to Facebook Live. “If an individual who said they had nothing illegal in the vehicle says, ‘No, I don’t want you to search my car,â€...

Joseph Darius Jaafari of Spotlight PA Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — When Brandon Neely was pulled over in August 2020 for crossing into the area between a highway lane and exit ramp after leaving a casino in Dauphin County, a Pennsylvania State Police trooper asked if he could searc...

. HARRISBURG — When Brandon Neely was pulled over in August 2020 for crossing into the area between a highway lane and exit ramp after leaving a casino in Dauphin County, a Pennsylvania State Police trooper asked if he could search Neely’s vehicle. Neely, knowing his rights, said no. But the trooper searched anyway, as Neely streamed video to Facebook Live. “If an individual who said they had nothing illegal in the vehicle says, ‘No, I don’t want you to search my car,’ it could be a...

. HARRISBURG — When Brandon Neely was pulled over in August 2020 for crossing into the area between a highway lane and exit ramp after leaving a casino in Dauphin County, a Pennsylvania State Police trooper asked if he could search Neely’s vehicle. Neely, knowing his rights, said no. But the trooper searched anyway, as Neely streamed video to Facebook Live. “If an individual who said they had nothing illegal in the vehicle says, ‘No, I don’t want you to search my car,’ it could be a...

Former Police Officer Derek Chauvin’s conviction for murdering George Floyd has reenergized President Biden and Washington lawmakers aiming for reform. Justin Bamberg, a South Carolina-based lawyer who has been involved in several cases involving shooting deaths at the hands of police, said he hoped the conviction marked “a turning point in civil rights, and just as important, opens the minds of law enforcement that you can be held accountable for your actions.” Bamberg, who is Black, c...

Human being, not a political cause: Will Floyds death, Chauvin conviction spur reforms? Jenny Jarvie, Laura King, Jaweed Kaleem © (Court TV via Associated Press) Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin is taken into custody as his attorney Eric Nelson looks on Tuesday at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis. (Court TV via Associated Press) Racial justice advocates and legal experts on Tuesday hailed former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder c...

Independent Report Criticizes Aurora Police in Elijah McClain’s Death A panel commissioned by the City Council of Aurora, Colo., found “serious concerns” with an internal police investigation into the 2019 death of Mr. McClain. Protesters marched in Denver in November to call for justice for Elijah McClain. An independent panel concluded that Mr. McClain’s death followed an unjustified stop and an escalation of force by Aurora, Colo., police officers.Credit...Kevin Mohatt/Re...

As the state murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former officer charged in the death of George Floyd, approaches, the federal government has accelerated its own investigation.

Ted Eytan | Creative Commons When Kim Dine took over as the new chief of the U.S. Capitol Police in 2012, he knew he had a serious problem. Since 2001, hundreds of Black officers had sued the department for racial discrimination. They alleged that white officers called Black colleagues slurs like the N-word and that one officer found a hangman’s noose on his locker. White officers were called “huk lovers” or “FOGs” — short for “friends of gangsters” — if they were friendly wit...

No One Took Us Seriously: For Years, Black Cops Warned About Racist Capitol Police Officers Allegations of racism against the Capitol Police are not new. Over 250 Black cops have sued the department since 2001. Some of those former officers now say it’s no surprise white nationalists were able to storm the building. A heavy police force is evident at the Senate door after supporters of President Donald Trump breeched security at the U.S. Capitol, rioting through the Senate and House and di...