Category Archives: Cop Watch
Police Brutality in Texas? Robert Tolan Wins as 1983 Excessive Force Case Returned to Trial by US Supreme Court
Robert Tolan fights for justice. How many other Texans have 1983 excessive force cases against police officers that they are afraid to file? Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court reversed the decision of our own Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal appellate court that grades the papers of federal criminal trial courts…
Texas Police Interrogations: Constitutional Protections Exist, Do You Know Your Rights Should Police Question You?
Police interrogations happen all the time here in Dallas, and over in Fort Worth as well as the rest of Texas and around the country. Texas law enforcement officers (troopers, police officers, deputies) arrest people then interrogate them and take people into interrogation rooms for questioning as part of crime investigation routinely. These actions are…
Six AM No Knock Warrant Gets Burleson County Deputy Killed as Homeowner Arrested for Capital Murder: Is There an 1983 Suit Here?
Around an hour before sunrise one Thursday this month, in rural Burleson County near the town of Somerville, a man named Henry Goedrich Magee was awakened to the sound of someone breaking into his mobile home and as his lawyer explained later, thinking that he was the victim of a home invasion, Magee grabbed his…
Texas Stop and Frisk: The New York City Stop and Frisk Law Just Held Unconstitutional – Texas Law Is Not Involved Here
There’s a lot of chatter this month about “stop and frisk laws” and the recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin who presides over a federal trial court up in the heart of New York City. In a lengthy (195 pages) decision (read it here), the Manhattan federal judge ruled that it violates the…
FBI – Texas Rangers Sting Results in Arrests of Four Texas Law Enforcement Officers Including the Son of Local Police Chief and the Son of the Local County Sheriff Who Moonlighted in Cocaine Trafficking
This week, the announcement came down from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office: its scandal-ridden “Panama Unit” will be shut down permanently at the orders of Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño. Hidalgo County is an Important County in Texas – With a History of Police Corruption You know the place: Hidalgo County sets right on the…
Two Dallas Police Officers Facing Criminal Investigations After Dallas Civil Trial Judge Rules Their Sworn Testimony in 2011 Criminal Case Is “Perjurious”
Judge Carl Ginsberg presides over the 193rd Judicial District Court of Dallas County, Texas, and has been a Texas trial court judge since January 2007, so he’s not new to the ball game, and when he issued his opinion regarding the Melvin Williams criminal case earlier this month, Judge Ginsberg must have been well aware…
Dallas Roadside Body Search by DPS Troopers Now Subject to Federal Lawsuit – Shocking Video of Dallas Roadside Search of Two Innocent Women
Over the years, we’ve monitored law enforcement in traffic stops and we’ve posted about bad things that have happened on Texas roadways, things like these dashcam video captures of law enforcement doing wrong (these aren’t the only examples we’ve found, check out our “Cop Watch” section in the sidebar for more): the Lufkin police officer…
Texas Police Drones and Spy Planes: Texas Already Has Law Enforcement Surveillance In the Sky Includes Weapons and Thermal Imaging
The latest news on Texas skies having eyes watching all of us (giving a whole new meaning to the Eyes Of Texas, doesn’t it?) is that the State of Texas has bought a new, fancy Pilatus PC-12 NG Spectre for $7.4 million. It’s a plane; a very special plane … especially when you consider that…
Texas DPS Labs Bottlenecked So They Aren’t Testing for Misdemeanor BAC or Drug Evidence (K2, Salvia, Spice, etc.) Now – Unless a DA Specifically Requests It.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) did not get much media brouhaha over a recent change in its operating procedures, but something has changed in the way that DPS does things that will impact many, many Texans (and others) who are charged with misdemeanors involving blood alcohol or drug testing. In the past, the…
Houston Police Officer Shoots Wheelchair-bound, Double Amputee in Head: FBI Investigates, World Watches
Texas justice is once again making international news coverage – in a bad way – as this week’s tragic shooting by an experienced Houston police officer makes its way around the world and as things continue to escalate in the Houston area. It all started last Saturday night, when Houston Police responded to a domestic…
