Any loss of life in a police-citizen confrontation is a tragedy. Serious questions can be raised as to whether most of the high-profile cases was necessary, however there are no questions as to the reasonableness of the actions of the officer. The real tragedy comes in the aftermath for the officers who have been involved […]

In a Tuesday afternoon press conference in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio prosecutor Joe Deters announced that there will be no third trial of former University of Cincinnati police officer Raymond Tensing in the shooting death of Samuel Dubose after a traffic stop. In a diatribe that followed, Mr. Deters stated his belief that the Murder […]

Family members of loved ones who die in a confrontation with law enforcement deserve the opportunity to express their outrage over the loss. But their fifteen minutes of fame should end when the case reaches a conclusion. That just is not the case. These families become wildly rich because governmental agencies operate in the politically […]

There were three concurrent trials of police officers involved in shootings over the past few weeks. The trial of a St. Anthony, MN police officer and a Milwaukee, WI cop both resulted in Not Guilty verdicts, while in Cincinnati, Ohio a second trial of a former University of Cincinnati Police Officer will result in another […]

It took until Wednesday morning to get a jury seated and sworn in. The jurors were then taken to the scene of the shooting by bus. On Thursday testimony began with a University of Cincinnati Police Lieutenant who manages the department’s body cameras. The jurors were then shown the body cam of Tensing in real […]

On July 19, 2015, then 25 year old Raymond Tensing went to his job at the University of Cincinnati Police Department. He was assigned to patrol an off-campus area enforcing the traffic laws of the State of Ohio. During his shift, Tensing made three known traffic stops. All were African-Americans who committed traffic violations and […]

It is not unusual for opposing counsel in a court case to refuse to agree on the time that court starts, but the Murder trial of former University of Cincinnati police officer Raymond Tensing has taken an unusual twist. An attorney representing multiple media outlets filed an emergency appeal of the judge’s restrictions on seating […]

Michael Slager, the former North Charleston, South Carolina police officer who shot and killed Walter Scott after a traffic stop, entered into a plea agreement in Federal Court settling both the Federal and State criminal charges. The Times offered this analysis in a May 2 article, “The plea agreement, reached nearly five months after a […]

A single event in the City of Ferguson, Missouri has law enforcement officers across the United States questioning what they do and how they do it. The event destroyed the life of a police officer who, after an exhaustive investigation by the DOJ and FBI, did nothing wrong. The event gave a group (Black Lives […]

With the exception of Federal, State and County agencies, Law enforcement exists with the permission of the community they serve and they deserve to be assured that the agency and individual officers are held accountable for their actions. Any death in an interaction with police is definitely real news as long as long as the […]

Attorney General Sessions just recently announced that Consent Decrees with police departments will be dissolved. That means that police departments like Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Albuquerque will no longer be required to pay ninety thousand dollars per year to a Federal Monitor. The Monitor is a political appointee by the Federal Judge assigned to […]

The suspension of the three Chicago Aviation Police officers who responded to a call from United Airlines demonstrates the politics of policing today. The videos have caused a firestorm and attacks on police conduct. The incident, which occurred in Chicago, were posted on You-Tube and picked up by news outlets worldwide. The airline staff called […]

Pepsico, the owner of Pepsi products produced a commercial which has created a firestorm on social media. The commercial is reminiscent of the renowned Coca Cola commercial featuring “I would like to teach the word to sing…” That commercial has been repeated for more than twenty years. The last fifteen seconds of the commercial has […]

It is said that the worst four words someone can hear is “Sixty Minutes is outside.” But in an unprecedented move, an officer awaiting trial made the questionable decision to appear on the show and tell her story. Officer Betty Shelby, a ten year veteran of the Tulsa Police Department, shot and killed Terrance Crutcher […]

People gain their understanding of law enforcement from news outlets and prime time network television. The job of local and national news is to inform while network television entertains. The writers of both the news and entertainment have the ability to distort the final product to reflect their own ideological viewpoints without challenge. The issue […]

The only information available to the general public concerning the decision to use force by police comes from entertainment television and media outlets. That is both mis and dis-information. The “decision” to use force by police officers is rarely an action. When it is an action, it is usually wrong. Rather, it is a response […]

In 2014 Officer Darren Wilson was involved in a police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri resulting in the death of Michael Brown. The feckless Department of Justice, headed by Eric Holder, sent an invading army into the small City with the intent of prosecuting Wilson for a federal crime under the Civil Rights Law. Wilson exhibited […]

A case which may have national implications will be heard by the Ohio Supreme Court this session. The question(s) that it will raise is whether: (1) School employees are agents of the government and therefore governed by the Fourth Amendment; and (2) whether a school holds the special status similar to that of an Airport […]