Maybe this is minor in the bigger picture of what people are saying about Michael Wood Jr, but I have to disagree with Wood’s dislike of the baton. In a radio interview he said he didn’t carry his because he couldn’t imagine hitting somebody with it. In the Balko interview he says cops used them…
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I was a little too generous in my previous post when I said we don’t know harm this device causes. From a 2012 NYPD briefing on the LRAD (Long Range Acoustical Device), also known as a sound cannon, via the Gothamist. In addition to having “loudspeaker” capabilities, the device can also be used, in a…
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In 2004, the NYPD bought two “long-range acoustic devices” ($35,000 per) and said that during the convention, “they would be used only for announcements, and that their shrill deterrent function would not be employed.” I didn’t believe that would last. Because, as is always the case, if you give cops toys, they will play with…
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One of the things that keeps coming out of the Ferguson shooting is that Michael Brown was “unarmed.” As if “unarmed” people cannot be a threat to cop. That’s bullshit. Now I’m not talking about whether Michael Brown was or was not a threat. I do not know. But the fact that he was “unarmed”…
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“Check it out, esse…. shit’s going dowwwn.” (That’s an Albuqueque accent, just FYI, as dictated to me by my Albuquerquean wife). There are some anti-police protests in the Duke City. A police-involved shooting of James Boyd, caught on police video, sparked the protests. If you’re right wing, watch this version: If you’re left wing, watch…
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Whoa… In the afternoon, protesters who tried to march toward the convention center where the gathering was being held encountered roaming squads of police officers carrying plastic shields and batons. The police fired a sound cannon that emitted shrill beeps, causing demonstrators to cover their ears and back up; then the police threw tear gas…
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More good discussion from the comments of marginal revolution. I’ll call this: Ask Officer Pete! Q: Peter, I have an issue with you comments about police use of force. Your argument that the use of “muscle,” physical strength and holds, will lead to less excessive force issues in contrast to Tasers or other less lethal…
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I know my classes are topical, but I wish people didn’t have to die to make it so. Yesterday I class I talked a police-involved shooting in Brooklyn and the overuse of Tasers. Today a bunch of students sent me these links about a man’s death in Vancouver after being Tasered. Proving exactly what I…
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