Legal
The Legal topic page on Police1 is a must-read for any officer, at any agency, who wants to stay up-to-date on the latest news. Every trial, verdict and court decision that has to do with cops will be covered on this page.
Learn what police officers can and can’t do in five common situations, from traffic stops to public filming, and understand the laws that protect your rights
Royer, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran with 26 years in the mortgage industry, is the visionary behind the HELPER Act, a bill aimed at providing first responders with VA-style home loan benefits
Following a Ninth Circuit decision on use of force, one sheriff’s new policy has sparked debate over legal interpretation, responder safety and the future of crisis response models
“Problem-based” training, real-time inspections and multiple audits have resulted in major improvements in traffic stop interactions, according to the NOPD’s presentation
District Judge Tom Lee called the ex-officers’ actions “egregious and despicable” and gave near-maximum sentences to five of the six men who attacked Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker in January 2023
The decision is the latest step in a legal battle between the city and the police union, which advocated for officers to have choice in how their cases should be decided
The man operated a ballistic equipment business from 2016 to 2022 called BulletProof-IT, selling helmets, body armor and shields to agencies that included law enforcement agencies, fire departments and the military
The law allows open carry starting at the age of 18; guns can now be stored anywhere inside a vehicle without being hidden, and those with a concealed weapon are no longer required to identify the weapon to police
The lawsuit alleges that Glock knows it could prevent the conversions but refuses to do so and seeks to ban the company from selling guns to people in Chicago
Former Rankin County Sheriff’s Office deputy Hunter Elward was sentenced to 241 months in prison for participating in the racially motivated assault of two men and a separate assault of another man
Sgt. Brian E. Hussey said his First Amendment rights were violated; the judge stated the Cambridge PD had a right to restrict speech that would damage public trust
A Lexington police detective testified that the men involved in the shooting had exchanged multiple Snapchat messages about the undercover car Detective Nicholas Music was using to conduct surveillance
Former chief Vanessa Wilson of the Aurora Police Department filed a complaint stating that her firing was retaliatory after she complied with the department’s consent decree and participated in Black Lives Matter protests
Is placing two suspects in a room together an interrogation? Can Miranda rights be violated without an interrogation?
The court rules on whether a dog sniff or the vehicle inventory and impound led to the extension of the traffic stop
Minn. SROs can use prone restraints on students in ‘physically dangerous’ situations, new law states
The new law, signed by Gov. Tim Walz on March 14, comes after more than 40 agencies suspended their school resource officer programs last year in response to a law that generated confusion about restraint restrictions
Only one civil case remains open against former Wauwatosa police officer Joseph Mensah; all three shootings were ruled justified by a district attorney
Trooper Brian North testified that he shot Mubarak Soulemane, who was holding a knife and refusing to exit a vehicle, because he feared other officers’ lives were in danger
Prosecutors argued that James Crumbley committed gross negligence by failing to store guns safely; a sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 9, the same day as Jennifer Crumbley’s sentencing for the same charge
The men hid in the basement as Officer Jorge DelRio conducted a drug raid on a home; one man shot DelRio five times as he came down the stairs
Officers believed the suspect to be armed based on witness reports and knew that the suspect had severely beaten the child’s mother
New York State Trooper Anthony Nigro IV was charged with first- and second-degree manslaughter over the Feb. 2022 shooting death of a suspected speeding driver
The panel of judges unanimously reversed former DeKalb County Police Officer Robert Olsen’s conviction after finding that the department’s use-of-force policy conflicted with state law
Police drone use is increasing, making it essential for agencies to adopt a sound law enforcement drone policy governing their use
The class action suit alleges LexisNexis faked identity thefts, froze credit files and damaged credit reports
The jury hearing the case of Zach Camden and J.J. Johnson considered charges of manslaughter, criminal negligence and assault
The team obtained a search warrant based on “Find my iphone” pings that a victim in a theft case provided; the woman whose home was searched was not found to be involved in the theft
Holley was shot and killed while sitting in a marked patrol car during an overnight shift; the motive behind the shooting remains unknown, as the defendant did not testify during the trial
Deputy R.J. Leonard drove into the Tennessee River with Tabitha Smith in the back seat, causing both to drown; Smith’s family alleges Leonard was not properly trained in suspect transport and was not familiar with his patrol area
Officers Ella French and Carlos Yanez Jr. were shot, and French was killed while performing an August 2021 traffic stop
The law would allow state officers to arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally; people who are arrested could then agree to a Texas judge’s order to leave the country or face a misdemeanor charge
Boston police officers’ post-protest debriefings subject to legal scrutiny in federal lawsuit over excessive force and First Amendment violations
Moody police Lt. Stephen Williams was shot in an ambush attack by two suspects, one of whom was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2023
MOST POPULAR
- Justice Department releases new list of sanctuary jurisdictions
- Des Moines PD pulls out of 30x30 initiative to comply with Iowa law restricting DEI programs
- Former Mich. officer on trial for murder in 2022 fatal OIS testifies he feared for his life
- Trump’s 2026 budget proposal expands ICE and Border Patrol, trims FBI and DOJ programs
- Trump administration sues New York City over sanctuary city policies