Police Brutality

Seattle's mayor may soon have something in common with tough-talking Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The U.S. Justice Department has threatened to sue Mayor Mike McGinn over allegations that Seattle police officers regularly use excessive force. McGinn is due to respond this week to DOJ demands for reforms in the Police Department. If McGinn doesn't agree to make changes that satisfy the DOJ and agree to the appointment of an outside monitor, he can expect a lawsuit from the U.S. attorney in Seattle as early as next month.

Seattle's mayor may soon have something in common with tough-talking Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The U.S. Justice Department has threatened to sue Mayor Mike McGinn over allegations that Seattle police officers regularly use excessive force. McGinn is due to respond this week to DOJ demands for reforms in the Police Department. If McGinn doesn't agree to make changes that satisfy the DOJ and agree to the appointment of an outside monitor, he can expect a lawsuit from the U.S. attorney in Seattle as early as next month.

As defiant as ever, get-tough Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio faces a federal court showdown over charges that deputies on his trademark immigration patrols racially profiled Latinos in violation of civil rights law. After months of negotiations failed to reach a settlement over the allegations, the U.S. Justice Department took the rare step Thursday of suing. "We have invariably been able to work collaboratively with law enforcement agencies to build better departments and safer communities," Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez said.

As defiant as ever, get-tough Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio faces a federal court showdown over charges that deputies on his trademark immigration patrols racially profiled Latinos in violation of civil rights law. After months of negotiations failed to reach a settlement over the allegations, the U.S. Justice Department took the rare step Thursday of suing. "We have invariably been able to work collaboratively with law enforcement agencies to build better departments and safer communities," Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez said.

The Boston Police Department's website remained offline for the second day after members of the hacking collective Anonymous defaced it. People trying to access it yesterday were redirected to the department's Facebook page, a day after the hackers posted rapper KRS-One's "Sound of Da Police" video, which criticizes police brutality. A police spokeswoman yesterday declined to discuss why the website has not been restored. (AP)

Most days, visitors to the Boston Police Department's news blog see pictures of grinning officers posing with children or playing basketball with teenagers. Yesterday, those who clicked on BPDnews.com instead saw a video of hip-hop artist KRS-One rapping about police brutality over images of violent confrontations between officers and civilians. Anonymous, a group of renegade hackers, claimed credit yesterday for taking over the website and for another attack on law enforcement: last month's interception of a call between the FBI and Scotland Yard.

Two men who participated in an Occupy Boston march Tuesday night were arrested after climbing on structures in Dewey Square, police said. Boston police Captain Thomas Lee said the suspects, whom he did not identify, were among about 50 protesters who began marching in the downtown area at about 9 p.m. Lee said about 20 people marched to a lawn in Dewey Square, where the suspects were arrested at about 11 p.m. It was not clear Tuesday night what they...

As protesters waved handwritten signs reading "Fight Racism" and "A Modern American Lynching" and strains of Stevie Wonder's "Black Man" wafted in the wind, Lynneanne Burnett, 58, felt a pang of nostalgia. For the first time since the '70s, Burnett said, she felt the black community taking a collective stand. "I see new life in this movement," said Burnett, a Winthrop resident. "People have a lot of passion for these issues right now, and a lot of that is because of Trayvon.

CHICAGO — A decorated former Chicago police officer whose name has become synonymous with police brutality in the city was sentenced yesterday to 4 1/2 years in federal prison for lying about the torture of suspects. Dozens of suspects — almost all of them black men — have claimed for decades that Jon Burge and his officers electrically shocked, suffocated, and beat them into confessing to crimes ranging from armed robbery to murder. After the hearing, several victims and their supporters said the sentence wasn’t nearly stiff enough.

Hip-Hop Mr. Lif I Heard It Today Bloodbot Tactical Enterprises ESSENTIAL "I Heard It Today" If there ever was a time that needed a new Mr. Lif record, this is it. As the country has imploded, the hip-hop community has either responded with mindless fist-pumping for President Obama or brain-dead narcissism. Not Lif. Unlike his last disc, the more personal, "Mo' Mega," here the former Bostonian (he lives in Philly now) offers a set that bristles at the government's socio-political policies, and it sounds like a bulletin from today's news reported...

NEW YORK - Four lawmakers sued the city Monday over its handling of the Occupy Wall Street protests, saying police conduct is so problematic that the force needs an outside monitor. The city and police violated demonstrators' free speech rights, used excessive force, arrested protesters on dubious charges, and interfered with journalists' and council members' efforts to observe what was going on, the four City Council members and others say in the federal civil rights suit. "This unlawful conduct has been undertaken with the intention of obstructing, chilling, deterring, and...

As protesters waved handwritten signs reading "Fight Racism" and "A Modern American Lynching" and strains of Stevie Wonder's "Black Man" wafted in the wind, Lynneanne Burnett, 58, felt a pang of nostalgia. For the first time since the '70s, Burnett said, she felt the black community taking a collective stand. "I see new life in this movement," said Burnett, a Winthrop resident. "People have a lot of passion for these issues right now, and a lot of that is because of Trayvon.

Two men who participated in an Occupy Boston march Tuesday night were arrested after climbing on structures in Dewey Square, police said. Boston police Captain Thomas Lee said the suspects, whom he did not identify, were among about 50 protesters who began marching in the downtown area at about 9 p.m. Lee said about 20 people marched to a lawn in Dewey Square, where the suspects were arrested at about 11 p.m. It was not clear Tuesday night what they...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Hackers affiliated with the Anonymous hacking group obtained more than 150 police officers' personal information from an old website for the West Virginia Chiefs of Police Association and posted it online. William Roper, the association's president, told the Charleston Gazette that the FBI is investigating. Roper is also the police chief of Ranson, W.Va. Roper said a group called CabinCr3w hacked the website Monday and obtained the home addresses, home phone numbers, and cellphone numbers of current and retired police chiefs.

The Boston Police Department's website remained offline for the second day after members of the hacking collective Anonymous defaced it. People trying to access it yesterday were redirected to the department's Facebook page, a day after the hackers posted rapper KRS-One's "Sound of Da Police" video, which criticizes police brutality. A police spokeswoman yesterday declined to discuss why the website has not been restored. (AP)

Most days, visitors to the Boston Police Department's news blog see pictures of grinning officers posing with children or playing basketball with teenagers. Yesterday, those who clicked on BPDnews.com instead saw a video of hip-hop artist KRS-One rapping about police brutality over images of violent confrontations between officers and civilians. Anonymous, a group of renegade hackers, claimed credit yesterday for taking over the website and for another attack on law enforcement: last month's interception of a call between the FBI and Scotland Yard.

Protesters amassing behind Boston Police Department headquarters yesterday afternoon were set on proving one thing: Friday night's multicultural coalition joining Occupy Boston and Occupy the Hood was not a one-time event. About 200 people gathered yesterday around noon at Southwest Corridor Park to speak out against what they called a rising tide of violence committed by police in Boston and around the country. The rally was a part of a national day of protest against police brutality, a campaign to shine a spotlight on instances of unnecessary, and sometimes deadly, force used on...

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. -- Governor Jim Douglas wants the state attorney general to review the use of a Taser on a juvenile at the Brattleboro Retreat hospital by police. The request was made amid heightened scrutiny about stun gun use by Brattleboro police, who have been criticized for using one on two protesters at a July 24 demonstration. Yesterday, about 50 people marched through downtown carrying signs calling for an end to what they called police brutality. On July 3, police used a Taser to help workers at the psychiatric hospital handle an unruly patient.

I watch the tweets and try to interpret the strange abbreviations. I look for signs of an upcoming plan to put protesters in the street. At the appointed hour, I'll try to tune into the protest – and the arrests that inevitably accompany it – via live streaming video. I'll hold my breath, scouring the jerky images for my son, hoping he's not getting maced or manhandled by police. Tim is part of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) Twitter team, where he's better known by his handle, @DiceyTroop.