Police misconduct

The New York NY police officer who accidentally shot a 76yr-old man during a late night drug raid on his home even though his son was the subject of the search warrant is now the subject of a legal claim filed on the man’s behalf. Such claims are generally the precursor to a civil suit.


A Cape Coral FL police officer’s shooting of a “large dog” is under investigation after witnesses disputed his version of events, claiming the dog wasn’t a threat and that it was, at best, a small to medium size dog of 10-15 lbs in size.

Three Conyers GA police officers were disciplined over a bar brawl that allegedly started when a bouncer refused to allow the officers to bring an underage person in with them. One of the officers resigned, one was demoted & suspended 10 days, the 3rd was given a reprimand.

A Zanesville OH police officer was indicted on conspiracy to distribute cocaine involving a planned fake raid on dealers during what the officer and his co-conspirators suspected would be a drug delivery. Those co-conspirators included another Zanesville officer and an officer from a medical center.

The Atlanta GA police vice inspector, who was the lead investigator during the problematic Atlanta Eagle raid, has been charged with driving under influence of alcohol & possession of marijuana.

Montreal QC police have been told to pay $20,000 by that city’s human rights commission to a couple claiming they were harassed because the had authorized Ivory Coast IDs and then were forced to wait in the cold with their young baby for a tow truck when one of the officers refused to let them sit in the cruiser to wait.

A West Carrollton OH police officer was arrested along with is wife for allegedly shoplifting $80 worth of goods from Walmart while they had their 2-year-old child with them.


A Cape Coral FL police officer managed to not get charged when he was caught with marijuana in his car because his wife claimed it was her’s, but he is now being fired because he didn’t turn her in himself.


A video was released today which was used in the trial of a Toronto police officer who pled guilty to an issuing threats charge. While I can’t embed the video, it shows the officer press a taser to one cuffed man’s neck while trying to elicit information from him, threatening to taser his nuts if he lied. Then he goes to another cuffed man in a different cruiser, slaps him in the head, then presses the taser to his crotch while threatening to taser him in the nuts as well if he doesn’t tell the officer who a third suspect was. While this report was already in our database, I felt the release of the associated video was something our readers would be interested in finding out about.


A Dallas PA police officer fatally shots his girlfriend in the head before shooting himself to death during a domestic dispute.


A San Diego CA police officer has been suspended without pay while under investigation on allegations that he raped a woman in a house while he was on duty.


A Wisconsin State trooper has been arrested on allegations that he repeatedly sexually assaulted a foster child over a period of years beginning when since she was 15 years old.


At least one New Brunswick NJ police officer is under investigation after a YouTube video, shown above, showed him repeatedly punch a Rutgars student in the head while four other officers were holding him down while cuffing him.


Indianapolis IN police are being accused of using excessive force when they mistook a man’s violent epileptic seizure for being drunk when they tasered him three times then arrested him for resisting arrest and public intoxication. However, there’s no word on if he was actually tested for any intoxicants.


A Clay County FL sheriff’s detective has been fired after arrested on felony domestic violence and attempted sexual battery charges.


A Florida State trooper was sentenced to probation after taking a plea deal to battery and official misconduct charges for misusing his position to coerce a woman into having sex under threat of arrest following a traffic stop.


The Atlanta GA police chief decided to disband the controversial “Red Dog” narcotics unit after several incidents that resulted in lawsuits including the controversial raid of a gay bar. However, he plans to replace the unit with another “elite” unit and will allow officers from the Red Dog unit to join that new unit, though pledging not to allow any officers with sustained excessive force findings to join.


Two Philadelphia PA police officers have pled guilty to charges related to the robbery of a suspected heroin dealer during staged traffic stop. One of the officers has agreed to testify against a third officer awaiting trial.


A Harris County TX deputy pled guilty to federal extortion charges after he was caught in a sting operation using position to rob an undercover cop he thought was a drug dealer.


A Nashville TN police sergeant was suspended after charged with assault for punching a man he thought kissed his girlfriend at a super bowl party.


A Stafford TX police officer has been charged with theft and abuse of office for stealing from the evidence room that he was in charge of.


An Exeter CA police officer was arrested on allegations of domestic violence in an unspecified incident.


A Pittsburgh PA police detective and his wife were both arrested on domestic violence charges after their daughter called 911 during one of their disputes.


A Denver CO police detective has been suspended while under investigation for allegedly mishandling evidence in a high-profile investigation into a hit and run accident.


A Hancock County IN deputy was sentenced to 365 days in jail, with 351 of those days suspended, after pleading guilty to DUI charges involving him crashing a squad car


A Ferndale WA police officer is suspected of being under the influence when he crashed his truck into a tree off-duty and severely injured himself.


A Jennings LA police lieutenant has been fired and a captain was demoted over unspecified policy violations involving a car accident.


The Providence RI police chief was suspended for 1 day for threatening to throw coffee in the face of a police sergeant who had a coughing fit during a meeting.


A Bethlehem PA police officer was suspended without pay for an unspecified period of time for accidentally firing his gun in the police department restroom then refusing to admit that he did it.


The Morris Brown College in Georgia is under investigation for employing 27 sworn police officers in it’s police department even though the 3-building campus only has 63 students enrolled. State investigators are looking into allegations that the officers were employed as part of some sort of payroll scam and several of the officers have misconduct records from their previous stints as officers elsewhere


Two Los Angeles County CA deputies are now under investigation after an ACLU member claimed to have witnessed them repeatedly beat and taser an inmate while he appeared to be unconscious on the floor of the jail she was visiting to see a different inmate


Troy MT has settled a lawsuit for $100,000 to a man claiming he was tasered by a police officer while he was handcuffed and strapped down with a seat belt in the backseat of a police cruiser because he was being loud while the officer was trying to talk on the radio. That officer is now the police chief there


Baltimore MD police are being accused of using excessive force by a neighbor who witnessed police taser a teenager who was on the roof of his home. The teen was badly injured when he fell to the ground after being tasered and suffered a broken neck and back. The officers claimed the teen came at them when they tried to get at him from a window but the witness claims the teen was trying to get away from the officers, not going towards them


Gary IN has settled a lawsuit for $170,000 to four people who were beaten inside their home by the former police chief and two of his aides because the chief thought they had broken into his home and robbed him.


The town of Oneonta NY has requested that an external review be conducted into unspecified allegations of excessive force made against one of their officers during an arrest last month.


A Bethlehem PA police officer was given a deal that will eventually leave him with a completely clean criminal record after he completes a first-time offender program after he admitted to destroying a video that was evidence in an excessive force case. No decision has been made on his employment with the department.


Iowa City IA police are being sued by a man claiming that officers went into his apartment to conduct a probation check on his roommate while he was taking a shower and when he came out, wearing only a towel, the officers badly injured his shoulder when they cuffed and detained him while accusing him of flushing drugs… no evidence of any criminal activity was found during a subsequent search


A US DOD police officer has been arrested for child enticement after he allegedly called off work to meet what he believed to be a 13-year-old boy for sex. It turned out that it was an undercover officer in a sting operation.


A Baxter County AR deputy has been fired over a string of alleged acts of misconduct that culminated in allegations of excessive force, an illegal search, and a domestic violence incident this year.


A Miami FL police officer was sentenced to probation and must pay $1,500 in restitution in a plea deal that reduced a number of charges against him down to a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge for starving his K9 partner to death.


Terrebonne Parish LA has settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed sum to a woman who was attacked by a police dog while she was walking down the street


A High Point NC police officer has been demoted and suspended for 3 weeks without pay for threatening to arrest a woman because she called 911 to report her home being broken into and that she was afraid the person who did it was still there. The officer instead yelled at her and threatened to arrest her for placing a fake 911 call while refusing to respond to the call


A Jacksonville FL police officer has been sentenced to probation and community service after pleading guilty to making a false report in an effort to cover up an illegal search.


A West Memphis AR police officer was arrested on a felony theft charge after being accused of stealing from a motorist during a traffic stop


A Blue Ash OH police officer was sentenced to probation in a plea deal for DUI and disorderly conduct after an apparent road rage incident.


Several Raleigh NC police officers have been suspended in an ongoing but secretive investigation into unspecified allegations of sexual misconduct involving a prostitute.


Barstow CA has settled a lawsuit for $298,500 to a police officer who claims that he was fired for recording a meeting with supervisors in retaliation for reporting alleged acts of misconduct by supervisors that he witnessed.


A Cincinnati OH police sergeant has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a fellow officer in an unprovoked attack at a bar while both were off-duty.


The police chief of Gregory TX and his wife were both charged with assault for their actions during a domestic dispute


A Stockton CA police officer has accepted a plea deal and pled no contest to a single felony possession of steroids for sale charge after he was caught with a “significant quantity” of steroids


The now-former sheriff of Kanabec County MN is facing an ever-growing number of charges. After being implicated and charged with 4 counts of theft by swindle and 5 counts of theft through temporary control in an investment scandal he’s now facing charges for failing to pay taxes he owed from 2003-2007.


The now-former sheriff of Gallatin County IL who has already been sentenced to life in prison for marijuana trafficking and for plotting to have a witness who testified against him killed is now facing state charges for stealing the pot he sold from evidence and for trying to blackmail people during an investigation.


A Connecticut State police lieutenant has been suspended while he’s under investigation after he crashed his unmarked cruiser into the back of a truck, severely injuring it’s driver. While police won’t verify it, sources say that there were open containers of alcohol found in his cruiser after the wreck


An Onley VA police officer has been arrested on DUI charge after crashing into another car while off duty.

chief accused of placing his girlfriend on the payroll

Chief rohehererer says....

ITS ALMOST TIME FOR SAINT PATRICK'S DAY! GUESS WHAT I'M DRESS AS....GOOD AHEAD, GUESS  

He was in the way

Four Denver CO police officers may face an amended lawsuit alleging they have covered-up an excessive force incident through their testimony in a brutality lawsuit that was dismissed when all of the officers claimed they never saw one of them repeatedly beat a man on the leg with a baton until he suffered permanent damage from the injuries.

Salisbury NC has settled a lawsuit for $60,000 to a man who was shown on video being punched a number of timed by a police officer inside a nightclub where several officers were responding to a fight. The man who was hit didn’t appear to be involved with the fight and didn’t appear to be posing a threat. That officer later resigned over the incident.

Well first off, why the fuck are you living in a place called Choctaw?

A Choctaw County MS deputy has been indicted on deprivation of rights and falsifying documents charges for releasing his police dog on a man without just cause, allowing it to bite him several times, then filing a false report about what happened.

                                                      The alleged police dog

A Fredericktown MO police captain who was also a scout leader has been sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison in addition to 22 additional years for repeatedly sexually assaulting two young boys who were brothers.

Its hard to meet a nice girl dressed in these clown suits

A Miami-Dade FL police officer has been charged with lewd and lascivious molestation on allegations that he fondled two teenage girls during a traffic stop behind a store.

yeah, like everybody hasn't done that at least once

And finally, two West Palm Beach FL police officers were given a deal that allows them to avoid prosecution all together for vandalizing cars while they were drunk, but they still had to pay restitution and may face disciplinary action despite being returned to duty.

The idiots in action report

A Florida Atlantic University FL police officer is now facing murder charges after the escort that he shot in a dispute over payment for her services died in the hospital. He’s also currently in the hospital in critical condition after he attempted to hang himself in jail. Newer reports released since the incident paint a picture of an officer who left two other police departments due to allegations of misconduct.


Portland OR will have to pay a $30,000 jury award to a college student who was tasered twice by a police officer inside a Denny’s restaraunt when the officer was called to wake the kid up. Several witnesses disputed the officer’s version of events in that case where there was a gap in the surveillance video which would have shown what happened.


Montreal QC police have been ordered by a judge to pay a $4,000 civil judgment to a man who was injured by a police officer kicking open his door on his face when he went to detain the man in a case of mistaken identity.


The now-former police chief of Bordentown NJ has been sentenced to 17 years in state prison for conspiring to hire a convict to murder his wife.


The Franklin County OH sheriff’s office has settled a closely watched class action lawsuit that was joined by the US DOJ over the use of tasers against detainees in jail. The settlement requires the sheriff to institute policy permitting tasers only when a detainee presents a threat and so long as that detainee is not restrained.


Smith Twp PA and Burgettstown PA have settled a lawsuit for an unspecified sum to a couple who claimed that two officers raided their home and falsely arrested them using false statements to justify both.


A Madison WI police officer who was also a member of the Dane County drug task force has resigned following an investigation into numerous alleged policy violations that included “oppressive conduct”.
 Two New Orleans LA police officers have been fired. One officer was fired over allegations he would leave his duty area to have sex while on-duty and the other was fired over allegations that he robbed some motorist then beat him and pepper sprayed his girlfriend when confronted about it. That officer was charged for it but was not convicted at trial.


A Phoenix AZ police officer, who happens to be the mayor’s son, was already under investigation for allegedly groping a female city employee but is now facing another investigation over a number of unspecified allegations.


A Tallahassee FL police officer is the subject of an arrest warrant on allegations that he physically abused two women, one of which was his ex-girlfriend.


Two Newtown CT police officers have resigned while they were the subject of a criminal and internal investigation involving missing union funds.

Saginaw MI police officer has been awarded a $750,000 judgment over his lawsuit claiming that his supervisor sexually harassed him then retaliated against him when he rebuffed the advances.


A New Jersey state trooper has been indicted for doing work as an insurance investigator while he was on-duty.
 An East Orange NJ police officer has been sentenced to probation for setting his car on fire in a bid to get insurance money.

The 2010 winner of The Annual David Rohrer but taller look alike contest

No really, the stash looks good on you

The idiot cop report

A Kershaw County SC deputy has been convicted of violating a handcuffed detainee’s rights when he repeatedly beat him with a baton, breaking his leg in the process as seen on the surveillance video shown above.



A Goodwater AL police officer shot a man twice inside a courtroom after he became angry when the judge refused to allow him time to call his wife to get money for the fine he was sentenced to over a dispute he had with a neighbor. While the officer and a lawyer claim the man attempted to reach for a gun that the judge pulled on him, other witnesses claim that the man, who’s leg was in a cast and used crutches, was not posing a threat when shot. No matter which way you look at this one, it’s a bit crazy for a court of law.


Four Ottawa ON police officers are the subject of a lawsuit alleging that they injured a man during arrest for drinking in public even though he claims he wasn’t drinking. Then, allegedly, they mistreated him in jail by stomping on his head and kicking him in the crotch and ribs when they threw him head-first into a cell. Assault on an officer charges against him were later dismissed.


Three Las Vegas NV police officers were found to have used excessive force by a federal jury that awarded a $2,100,000 judgment to a man who had to have four operations on his neck after he was choked and pepper sprayed by the officers after one of them tripped when he went to detain him and they mistook it for a struggle.


A Lawrence MA police officer was sentenced to 10-12 years in prison after found guilty of repeatedly raping a woman he offered a ride to in his cruiser while it was parked behind the police station.


A Fort Valley GA police officer was arrested on enticing a child for indecent purposes & violation of an oath of office charges when he was caught trying to arrange to have sex with what he thought was a juvenile in an undercover sting operation.


A Provo UT police officer has been sentenced to 180 days for forcible sex abuse & obstruction for coercing a woman to lift her shirt and allow him to grope her under threat of arrest.


A Paterson NJ police officer was arrested on possession and distribution of child pornography charges after a 3-month long investigation.


A Jeffersonville IN former police officer‘s fight to get unemployment benefits after he agreed to resign while under investigation has revealed that he was under investgiation on allegations that he had been blackmailing a young woman into having sex with him over traffic tickets and that he had been recorded leaking information to a drug dealer. Allegations which, under agreement in exchange for his resignation, were kept secret and for which he never faced charges for.


A Nicholas County WV deputy has been arrested on three wanton endangerment charges for firing his gun inside his apartment in the presence of two other adults and an infant.


A Fort Worth TX police officer has been suspended for 30 days after he admitted to breaking a man’s nose at a party he was hosting because the man kept talking to the officer’s girlfriend. He is still the subject of a criminal investigation over the incident.


An Orange County CA deputy who had already been charged with domestic violence has been arrested again for violating the protection order and bail conditions by attempting to obtain a fully automatic weapon from a friend and for allegedly attempting to contact the victim.


A Coles County IL chief deputy had resigned before he was arrested on allegations that he threw an unspecified female down and kicked her during a domestic dispute at his home.


An Orange County CA deputy has been suspended after he was arrested on suspicion of domestic abuse for allegedly injuring wife during a dispute.


The police chief of Bristol CT has been suspended while he’s the subject of an unspecified investigation that was requested by the mayor’s office.


A Gallatin TN police commander has been suspended for 5 days over racist remarks he made describing certain state troopers & state agents.


An Ottawa ON police officer has pled guilty to discreditable conduct for harassing and stalking a female officer that he broke up with.


An Ottawa ON police officer was arrested and charged with uttering threats after he was accused of threatening his ex-wife.


A Harford County MD sheriff’s major has been sentenced to 18 months in jail after pleading guilty to theft and official misconduct charges for shoplifting on two different occasions. The major made over $107,000 per year on just his base salary.


A Macomb County MI deputy was sentenced to a fine after he pled guilty and payed restitution for stealing from the department’s teen explorer program.


A Liberty County TX sheriff’s captain has been convicted on mail fraud and firearms charges for selling about 100,000 rounds of police-issued hollow-point ammunition in order to purchase guns that he sold through his personal business, some of the leftover ammo was sold along with the guns he sold as well.


Two New York NY police officers face numerous charges on allegations that the wrote numerous fake tickets in order to pad their overtime and keep their assigned patrol duty that was considered “cushy” because they didn’t have to answer radio calls while doing it.


And finally, the Toccoa GA police department is under investigation after an officer allegedly stopped the police chief’s daughter on suspicion of DUI outside of town, waved off a responding deputy, but then never arrested her even after she failed a breathalyzer test.


A now-former Fulton County GA deputy sheriff has been convicted on manslaughter and other charges for trying to shoot a prostitute who fled when he attempted to rape her then shooting her pimp to death


Santa Ana CA police have been sued by the family of a man shot by a police officer who claimed that it was self defense because the man was armed with a knife. However, the suit comes after an autopsy showed the man died from a gunshot wound to the head, from behind. Lawyers for the family also claim a reluctant witness said the man had his hands up when he was shot.


A Toronto ON police officer has been charged with a second assault with a weapon charge, both of which stem from alleged beatings that occurred during the G-20 protests last year.


An Escambia County FL deputy has been charged with felony assault for slamming a handcuffed detainee to the floor then dragging him to a booking area as captured on a jail surveillance camera, shown above.


A Fort Myers FL police sergeant is the subject of a lawsuit alleging he beat and choked a handcuffed and shackled suspect during an interrogation when the man refused to divulge any information to detectives.


A Toronto ON police officer has pled guilty to a threat of bodily harm charge for slapping a handcuffed detainee then threatening to taser his testicles if he didn’t tell him where a suspect was. He then threatened to taser another man’s testicles if he didn’t answer the same question.


A Longwood FL police officer has been arrested on six felony charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, kidnapping and burglary on allegations he drove to his estranged wife’s home in his police cruiser while in uniform, hit a man in the head with his service pistol, then threatened to kill them both and then commit suicide. His wife is also a police officer with the same department.


A Newark NJ police detective has pled guilty to official misconduct for beating a handcuffed detainee so badly he suffered a fractured eye socket and a broken jaw, all allegedly because he asked to speak to a supervisor.


New York NY police are being sued by a man claiming he was subjected to a cavity search in public while he was detained in a case of mistaken identity when he walked into a store to buy something during an ongoing drug bust.


A Memphis TN police officer has resigned before he was officially arrested for robbing two Hispanic men during a traffic stop. The charges were filed after he signed a statement admitting to the act.


A Toronto ON police officer has been charged with criminal harassment on allegations he repeatedly harassed a woman on a commuter train.


A Louisiana State trooper was arrested after he was involved in an unspecified altercation outside of a nightclub while he was on medical leave for unspecified reasons.


A Lafayette Parish LA sheriff’s lieutenant has been fired over allegations of sexual harassment that were made as part of a now-settled lawsuit which resulted in an unspecified payment to a female sheriff’s deputy.


A Broward County FL deputy has become the eight sheriff’s employee arrested as part of an ongoing jail misconduct probe. He’s accused of accepting money in exchange for smuggling goods into the jail for inmates.


A San Francisco CA police officer has been arrested on allegations that he stole the registration sticker from a motorist he pulled over then put that sticker on his own personal car.


Before I close for the day, I did want to mention that the Houston Texas police department finally released a controversial video from an incident last year where a 15-year-old burglary suspect was hit by a police cruiser and surrendered before several officers began repeatedly stomping on him, kicking him, kneeing him, and punching him. Ultimately, four officers were criminally indicted, three were fired, and five received 2-day suspensions, all of which are in our database so this isn’t an additional report but worth mentioning. I cannot embed the video as of this moment

An Florida Atlantic University FL

An Florida Atlantic University FL police officer has been arrested on an attempted murder charge after he admitted to shooting a female escort multiple times in an apparent dispute over payment for sex after he had contacted her via an internet advertisement. The shooting left the woman in serious condition and she will likely be paralyzed, according to doctors. [0]


Two Carver County MN deputies are the subject of a lawsuit alleging they illegally entered a woman’s home while she was baking cookies with her 4-year-old granddaughter then used excessive force when they arrested her on false obstruction charges when she requested that they leave when they asked to search the home after a neighbor called 911 about a verbal dispute in her driveway between her daughter and her husband that she wasn’t even aware of. The charges were later dropped against the woman. [3]


A Yonkers NY police officer was indicted on multiple charges including assault, official misconduct, and filing false reports on allegations that he went into a bar while on duty in response to a call from his brother and he attacked two people there, arresting one of them on false charges in order to cover up for the assault. His partner, who was with him that night, is also the subject of an internal investigation regarding that incident. [0]


Honolulu HI has settled a lawsuit for $240,000 to a US Army veteran who was detained by a SWAT team and held on a mental health hold all because a police officer thought he might be a terrorist because of his middle-eastern heritage. [0]


A New York NY narcotics officer has been convicted of conspiring with his narcotics team to steal drugs from suspects and use them to pay off informants. He’s the second officer to be convicted in association with the alleged conspiracy so far. [0]


A Brookshire TX police officer has been fired and arrested on official misconduct and theft of a person charges after he was caught in a sting operation stealing money from an undercover FBI informant posing as a motorist during a traffic stop. The sting was performed after police received complaints about thefts by the officer. [1]


A Pennsylvania State trooper was convicted of obstruction for coercing a DA to drop molestation charges against his girlfriend. [0]


Six Glendale CA police officers are on paid leave while under investigation over at least four different incidents but the police chief and officials are refusing to elaborate as to what the allegations against the officers might be. [4]


An Inkster MI police lieutenant was awarded $700,000 by a jury that found the police chief had racially discriminated against him and retaliated against him over his testimony in another discrimination lawsuit by transferring him afterward. [0]


Pinellas Park FL police officer has been charged with official misconduct after resigning during an investigation over drugs and a gun that were missing from evidence in cases that he was involved in. [0]


A Texas State trooper has pled guilty to delivery of controlled substance charges after he was caught selling $800 worth of illegal steroids to an undercover officer in a sting operation. [0]


A Mobile AL police officer has retired while he was the subject of an internal investigation over allegations that he was caught shoplifting at a WalMart, even though he was never charged. [1]


A Proctor MN deputy police chief who also serves as a councilman has been sentenced to probation on drug charges and a related firearm charge that he pled guilty to. The judge in this case expressed doubts about the man’s story that he merely misplaced evidence, saying if a suspect he arrested gave him the same story that he wouldn’t have bought it either, but gave him the suggested sentence anyway. [0]


A Hackensack NJ police officer has been suspended for 75 days for driving her police cruiser with a suspended license and for personal use of a departmental computer while on-duty. [0]


And finally, a New Haven CT police officer has been suspended with pay after the police chief found out that he had already been convicted on a DUI charge and sentenced to 10 days in jail after he was already in jail. The officer was arrested on that charge after he had called in sick that day, which led to a disciplinary suspension before that. [1]

An Ely MN police officer

An Ely MN police officer has been charged with malicious punishment of a child on allegations that he shoved his 6-year-old daughter into a wall then slapped her across the face.

A Martin County NC deputy

A Martin County NC deputy was arrested on assault charges for allegedly punching his girlfriend in the face, knocking her two front teeth loose in the process. Oddly, he was arrested by officers he used to work with at a different police department.

idiot update

A Harris County TX deputy is under investigation on allegations that he beat a 72yr-old mentally ill man so severely in an empty visitation room that he died. There is some speculation that the beating was caught on camera but it seems unlikely.



Antioch CA has settled a lawsuit for $750,000 to a former police officer who claims that police illegally broke into her home when she was having a dispute with a tenant then tasered her before falsely arresting her on a resisting arrest charge.


The now-former police chief of Sullivan City TX has pled guilty to drug trafficking charges for helping Mexican cartels smuggle drugs into US.


Two Clearwater FL police officers have been suspended after internal investigations. One received a five day unpaid suspension for chipping a detainee’s tooth when he hit him in the head with his flashlight and the other received a single day without pay for hitting a metal pole with his police cruiser.


A Las Vegas NV police officer is facing felony charges on allegations that he gave a handgun to a felon. The same officer was involved in the controversial Costco shooting incident last year that took the life of a soldier under questionable circumstances.


A number of Wildwood NJ seasonal police officers are under investigation over a YouTube video that shows the officers harassing the person filming them and threatening to have him arrested for interference. However, it’s unclear of the seasonal officers are sworn law enforcement officers and it’s something I’m trying to verify before adding this to our database.


A Shillington PA police officer is now the subject of a search warrant after failing to appear at his arraignment on stalking-related charges.


The sheriff of Franklin County NC resigned a day before state officials announced that they are investigating allegations that funds are missing from the sheriff’s department.


A North Charleston SC police officer was arrested on DUI charges after crashing his police cruiser into a ditch. It wasn’t clear at the time of the article’s publication if he was on-duty or not but it seemed to indicate that he was.


A Gresham OR police detective was arrested on drunk driving charges after he crashed his unmarked cruiser into a ditch, though this officer appeared to be off-duty at the time.


An Austin TX police officer who was mired in controversy a year ago after he fatally shot a teen under questionable circumstances and is current appealing his termination over a domestic violence charge has pled guilty to a DUI charge that he was fired for, then rehired after he appealed that disciplinary action.


Two East Bank WV police officers are the subject of a lawsuit alleging that they harassed a woman for petitioning against a “police protection fee” by misleading her about needing to appear at court over a neighbor dispute so that she then became the subject of a bench warrant and subject to arrest.


A Thunder Bay ON police officer has been suspended after charged with official misconduct on an unspecified neglect of duty allegation involving a subordinate officer.


And finally, two Prince George’s County MD police officers who were assigned to desk duty while under investigation on different misconduct allegations, including one for excessive use of force, have been reassigned again now that they are under investigation for misbehaving while on desk duty by shooting property containers with bb guns.

Police misconduct

Four Reading PA police officers are the subject of a lawsuit filed by a former Philadelphia police officer who claims that he was run over by a police cruiser then, after he filed a complaint about it, three officers took him into an interrogation room then beat him while yelling at him about being a snitch. [3]


A Lucas County OH sheriff’s sergeant was sentenced to 3 years in prison and a deputy was sentenced to 1 year for their roles in the death of an inmate and the subsequent cover-up. [0]


Two Westland MI police officers are accused of overstepping their authority and using excessive force in an incident that was accidentally captured via one of the officer’s lapel microphones and that recording may overturn the resisting arrest conviction against that man. The tape appears to contradict the officers’ claims that the man assaulted them and instead captures one of the officers saying “Let’s take him. Fuck him.” before the man can be heard crying out and complaining about being punched in the face then his wife pleading with officers to stop. [4]


Sacramento CA has settled an excessive force lawsuit for $96,000 to a man who claims that an officer needlessly beat him outside of a bar while he was restrained and injured him so badly that the jail refused to allow him to be booked without being taken to the hospital first. The suit then alleged that the officer drove him to the hospital and told him he was free to go. The officer resigned later but the department still refuses to say if it had anything to do with the case. [2]


An Elk Grove CA police officer is under investigation after he shot a man in the face with a rifle while he was handcuffed in the backseat of a police cruiser. The department described the man, a domestic violence suspect, as being “out of control” at the time but didn’t specify exactly how the man was so dangerous while he was handcuffed so as to justify the use of deadly force. The shot apparently only grazed the man’s face and he was treated at the hospital. [2]


A Philadelphia PA police officer was fired after he was arrested on aggravated assault charges and other charges on allegations that he threw a trash can at a donut shop waitress then pointed his gun at her and threatened to shot her… all because he got mad that she wouldn’t get off the phone. [1]


A Passaic County NJ sheriff’s detective has been charged with simple assault for allegedly injuring an unspecified 19-year-old relative during an altercation. [1]


A Valencia County NM deputy was arrested on a domestic violence charge for allegedly hurting his girlfriend with a wristlock during an argument that began when she refused to go to Home Despot with him. [0]


A Philadelphia PA police officer was fired after charged with theft for allegedly getting caught shoplifting a $25 bottle of dietary supplements from a nutrition store. [1]


A North Charleston SC police officer has been arrested on drunk driving charges after being involved in an off-duty accident. [1]


And finally, a Rocky Mount VA police officer was given a special deal that will allow him to avoid trial for misusing a police database so long as he doesn’t work as a police officer for one year. The special deal isn’t even a plea bargain and came about because a loophole in the state laws governing use of police data apparently doesn’t apply to officers who have authorization to access the data they improperly share or use

Two words: Village People

The Fairfax County SWAT team gets a reward

The Fairfax County SWAT team, the one that turned out in force with high-powered weapons to arrest an unarmed citizen who had been set up by the cops on a rigged gambling charge and then shot the citizen dead, is getting rewarded.



The idiots will receive $200,550 from a $1.6 million federal grant set aside for specialized equipment and training to the tactical teams of seven different police agencies in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia.


An innocent man is dead, the county paid $2,000,000 to settle the case, the cops get a reward. Isn’t it about time to fire those people on the Board of Supervisors?

idiot activity report

A Lawrence MA police officer has been found guilty of rape and three counts of indecent assault for repeatedly raping a woman that he detained in his cruiser behind the police station. [0]


An Uplands Park MO police officer has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for using his position to sexually assault and rob at least four paid escorts that he called from ads he found then, while in uniform, force them to have sex then take their money. [0]

A Jacksonville FL police sergeant has been convicted for official misconduct and filing false reports. Apparently he wrote up false burglary reports to justify a warrantless raid on a home in order to keep himself and his team out of trouble. He’s also awaiting trial on allegations he beat a handcuffed suspect with a police radio. [0]

At least two Baltimore MD police officers have been named in a lawsuit alleging that they wrongfully arrested a chef outside of his workplace when he asked why the officers were detaining his brother… then arresting another man when one of the officers said “arrest the next person who comes out that door”… then arresting a third man because he was taking pictures of what was happening. [5]

Three Atlanta GA police officers who are members of an elite drug unit have been suspended while under investigation on allegations that they strip searched and performed a body cavity search on two men in public during a traffic stop. [1]

A Las Vegas NV police officer is on leave while investigated for shooting at man who got into a car but was only given a citation for obstruction then allowed to leave the scene. The bullet struck the car but didn’t hit anyone. [2]

The sheriff of Shelby County OH apparently tried to file charges against a reporter for asking him questions about sexual assault allegations that he’s facing. So far the DA has refused to charge the woman though. [5]

The police chief of Bokoshe OK is under investigation by the sheriff’s office after a councilman filed a complaint alleging that the chief assaulted him during a dispute over a council vote while the pair were outside of a convenience store. [2]

An Edmonton AB police officer has been found guilty of assaulting a handcuffed man in the back of his police cruiser. [0]

A Phoenix AZ police officer has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to solicitation to commit theft in a deal that dropped 8 other charges including armed robbery, kidnapping, and money laundering related to the robbery of suspected drug dealers while he was on duty. [0]

A Muskegon County MI deputy has been charged with two counts of criminal sexual misconduct involving a female inmate, he already faced 3 other counts for an alleged relationship he had with a former inmate. [1]

A Sanford NC police officer has been charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle over a three car accident he caused that killed one person while he was off-duty. [0]

A Byron IL police officer was arrested on a possession of child pornography charge after an investigation that was performed by the Wisconsin State Department of Justice. [2]

The sheriff of Kidder County ND has been sentenced to probation after he pled guilty to a disorderly conduct charge for sexually harassing an employee. [0]

A Windsor ON police constable has been fired for smuggling alcohol across Canadian border and for misuse of police databases. [0]

A Coconino County AZ deputy and a Flagstaff AZ police officer are under investigation over an alleged off-duty hit-and-run accident they were involved in. [0]

A Waterloo Regional ON police officer has been arrested for drug trafficking and another officer was suspended as part of an ongoing investigation that began last year when one officer was arrested on drug charges. [0]

The Seattle WA police department is accused of violating the state public records act by withholding an email in a public records request by a local paper that was sent to the department by a councilman urging the department to have an outside agency investigate the fatal shooting of a Native American woodcarver by a police officer. [4]

A Miami FL police officer has been charged with extortion on allegations he wrote false police reports and protected stolen goods in exchange for cash. [1]

And finally, a number of Miami FL police officers are accusing the police chief of abusing the internal investigation process by using it as a means to harass, intimidate and threaten officers while the chief is fighting to keep his job in the face of mounting criticism. Normally I question these kinds of allegations as they are usually nothing more than attempts by police unions or individual officers to weaken a department’s disciplinary process or make the public question when officers are accused of misconduct. However, there was a case cited which backed the claims alleging that one sergeant is under investigation after trying to arrest the deputy police chief’s daughter after she allegedly attacked an officer. Sometimes the disciplinary process is abused, which seems like a good reason for police officers to support the idea that police departments shouldn’t police themselves, but should be subject to an independent external review mechanism. [3]

CCTV footage of Detroit police station shooting

idiot update

Police in Los Angeles CA are accused of performing a heavily armed raid on the home of Jeremy Marks, the teen who was charged with “inciting a lynching” when he recorded a police officer in an altercation with a student. Police allegedly confiscated all computers, cellphones, and some other electronics during the raid on the home. While the source for this story, the only one I could find right now, seems slanted, the claim of a raid appears credible. The site also claims that police performed another raid the same day on the home of another student who posted videos that appeared to contradict police accounts of the incident. Needless to say, if true… and there doesn’t appear to be reason to doubt it, this would be a disturbing escalation of an already disturbing case. [5]

The Montgomery County NY sheriff’s department is the subject of a lawsuit alleging they denied medical care to an inmate in jail who complained of sinus problems and that, by the time the jail did have the man examined months later, the man suffered brain damage from it and died. The suit further alleges that the sheriff’s office added insult to injury by ordering the man’s complete release from jail right before he died so the sheriff’s department wouldn’t be responsible for the medical bill. The suit alleges that the sheriff’s department exhibits a pattern and practice of denying detainee access to medical care. [3]

Orlando FL has settled a lawsuit for $150,000 to a man who was tasered by a deputy while he was strapped into a gurney for refusing to allow nurses to insert a catheter so that he could be forcibly tested for drugs that the officers claimed he swallowed while chased. A judge later ruled he was within his rights to refuse and a drug test voluntarily done later showed he didn’t take any drugs. [0]

A Bryan County OK deputy is the subject of an FBI investigation into allegations that he mistreated detainees by needlessly tasering them after they had been strapped into a restraint chair. [1]

Charlotte NC has settled a lawsuit for $350,000 to a 17-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted by a now former police officer who is currently serving a two-year sentence after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting six women while on duty, often during traffic stops. [0]

The now-former police chief of Shenandoah PA and one of his lieutenants were convicted on some of the charges against them for allegedly trying to cover for teens who beat a Hispanic man to death in a racially charged incident that sparked international media coverage. The chief was found guilty of hindering a federal investigation and falsifying records while the lieutenant was convicted for making false statements. A third officer was acquitted of all charges against him. The police chief and one of his former captains still face trial on extortion-related charges next month and a civil suit alleging a covered up the fatal beating of a Hispanic detainee by officers by making it look like a suicide. [0]

A Cobb County GA police sergeant has been sentenced to 4 years in prison on after pleading guilty to violating his oath of office, lying to police, and second degree homicide by water vessel after he hit a pylon while driving a boat under the influence, sending a friend overboard where he drowned. The sergeant then lied to police about the incident, claiming that was an effort to cover up an affair he was allegedly having at the time with a woman who was on the boat. [0]

A Buffalo NY police lieutenant has retired in order to close two internal investigations against him. He was under investigation on allegations of grabbing an officer by the neck in a briefing room dispute and for his alleged role in a bar brawl where a transit officer was attacked for suggesting the uniformed Buffalo officers drinking at the bar behave themselves because they were being videotaped. The officer is still the subject of a civil suit alleging excessive force against two teens, including the son of another officer, in a bb gun incident. [1]

Two Shelbyville TN police officers are the subject of a lawsuit alleging they falsely arrested a man on a public intoxication charge while he was on probation just to send him to jail. Apparently video of the arrest, along with testimony from jail employees, contradicted the officers claims that the man was drunk. [3]

A Los Angeles CA school police officer has been arrested for filing a false police report. The officer is accused of making up being shot in the chest by a car burglary suspect which triggered a massive police search and the lock-down of several schools, homes, and businesses across an entire neighborhood. Seems to be a trend lately. [0]

Lane County OR has settled a lawsuit for $20,000 to the family of an 11-year-old boy who was coerced by a sheriff’s deputy into confessing to shooting a neighbor’s dog with a bb gun even though he didn’t do it and a subsequent forensic examination proved it. [0]

A Riviera Beach FL police officer was rehired thanks to an arbitrator’s ruling after he was fired on allegations that he gave personal information about his fellow officers, including their addresses, to gang members who allegedly wanted to exact some revenge against the police. [0]

Internal FBI documents leaked to CNN reporters indicate that over 300 FBI employees each year are disciplined over acts of misconduct but that information is never released to the public. Some of the cases mentioned are pretty salacious but, since the article does not give a timeframe for the incidents/disciplinary actions nor does it distinguish between sworn agents and non-sworn employees we can’t really use this data for our statistical analysis, which is exceptionally disappointing. [5]

An Ontario Provincial police officer faces charges for secretly recording a woman while she was undressed on 2 occasions. [0]

A number of Tupper Lake NY police officers are under investigation after GPS devices in their cruisers indicated that one of them slept on duty and others had remained at home for hours after their night shifts began.[1]

A Niagra Frontier Transit police officer in New York state has been suspended without pay on allegations that he had been taking items confiscated from passengers at Buffalo airport as his own personal property in violation of policy. I guess he had an impressive fingernail clipper collection. [0]

A Burr Oak MI police officer has been arrested on drunk driving charges after he got his police cruiser stuck in a ditch while on duty. [0]

A Detroit MI police officer apparently loved his job so much that he took his work home with him, literally. He’s been charged with illegally swapping license plates on his car and using his personal car to conduct traffic stops in the neighborhood where he lived while he was off-duty. Police are investigating the incidents further to see if there were any ulterior motives for his doing so. [0]

A Hamilton ON police officer has been charged with arson and insurance fraud for falsely reporting car was stolen twice then setting it on fire after the first try failed to net him any insurance money. [0]

And finally, a Somerville MA police officer has resigned after he was allegedly caught on camera stealing a bag of candy that was donated to the department for a Halloween event

Fairfax County Police announced today that they have hired “A black to replace the one that left”

 “We really didn’t want” said Chief roaherere  “to hire any black people because, like, you know, they talk and everything, but Sambo here, he’s almost just like a black person...well, except he doesn’t talk, he has a job and he doesn’t run when he sees a cop and if you kick him, he won’t sue you”

Fairfax County Police CHief resigns to form rap group "Little man and the four beats"

"We'll be bigger than the Archies, you watch and see"

Upon learning that an optometrist in Sterling might be jay walking, the SWAT team jumped into action

Do not laugh at this picture

Fairfax County Police Buy Submarine

The Fairfax County Police have purchased a submarine “To like, defend us, if , like Delaware or like some other foreign country with foreigners attacks us” said Chief Roarherererererer-er defending his latest purchase “And besides, its cooler than shit, we already sank like nine...no...Like eight boats already. Man, were those people pissed”  When questioned as to whether the costly purchase was needed, the chief replied “Tomorrow its my turn to be captain”

The don't laugh test

LOOK AT HIM......

   AND NOW SAY THIS WITHOUT LAUGHING

Just because a guy has a moustache like that, does not mean he’s gay

Fairfax County Police give man a medal, a uniform and a flag for being tall.

"We got more fuck'n money than we know what to do with. Next week, we're sending our older squad cars on vacation to France"  

Fairfax County Police Officer finally graduates from grammar school

                                                             "Now I can county hello"

This moose was texting whiling driving.......so there

My hero

Weekly idiots in action report

A Los Angeles CA jury has awarded $1,700,000 to the family of an autistic man after that jury ruled that a idiot cop used excessive force when he shot the man to death. ....well Duh

Five Lufkin TX idiot cops are the subject of a lawsuit alleging they barged into a Hispanic man’s home without cause or warrant while the man was in the bathroom then took the bathroom door off the hinges after tear-gassing him. The suit then alleges that the officers beat him before arresting him on charges that never stuck. All, allegedly, because he didn’t speak English.


A San Francisco CA idiot cop is accused of falsely arresting a street performer on unknown charges when the man asserted his rights by asking if he was being detained and why, questions that were never answered even though he was then taken to jail. He further alleges that the officer used excessive force on him, causing a head injury and that officers at the jail tried to coerce him into signing a waiver saying he wasn’t injured. While the video, taken by the alleged victim, does seem to show a very questionable arrest, it does not appear to show any use of force that can be seen, though you can hear him protest that he’s being hurt.


A Smith Township PA and a Hanover PA idiot cop are the subject of a lawsuit alleging that one of the officers used excessive force when he broke a 64-year-old man’s arm when he reached for a pack of cigarettes on his porch then threw him to the ground. The suit does not mention any charges or the reason why officers confronted the man on his porch so I’m a little concerned about adding this one, but it’s hard to see why officers would have used enough force to break the man’s arm to the point where he required surgery afterward as alleged in the suit.


A Pittsburgh PA idiot cop was issued unspecified disciplinary action after an investigation sustained a conduct unbecoming complaint when video contradicted his arrest report that alleged a woman assaulted a witness at court. The same officer was suspended last year after he was implicated in a wrongful drug arrest but returned to duty when a judge dismissed the case against him.


The Spokane WA ombudsman is questioning how the police chief there decided to exonerate two officers in an excessive force case that was initiated when witnesses to the incident filed the complaint, not the person who was arrested and despite their statements which supported the allegations. The victim apparently didn’t file a complaint because he can’t even remember what happened other than that he was knocked out somehow. The police chief says he doesn’t care what the ombudsman thinks because he doesn’t have the authority to overrule the chief’s decisions on disciplinary matters.


The Aurora CO police department was forced to rehire a idiot cop they fired for excessive force when he broke a woman’s eye socket with a knee strike while she was handcuffed after a civil service commission took his side of the story which was that her face must have hit his knee on accident somehow, though he doesn’t quite know how.


A now-former Louisville KY police detective is now facing yet another accuser as a 6th person has joined a lawsuit against her alleging that she had a pattern of falsely arresting people to boost her numbers and that she perjured herself in court as well as intimidated witnesses in order to make the charges stick.


A Des Moines IA police lieutenant has resigned while he’s the subject of an unspecified investigation by a regional drug task force.


A Springhill NS idiot cop has been charged with theft and obstruction on allegations that he stole marijuana from evidence and other items from the department.


A Dallas TX idiot cop who was in charge of that department’s crime stoppers program has been arrested on federal charges over allegations that she and a friend defrauded that program’s reward program.


The now former sheriff of Yadkin County NC has resigned after he was sentenced to probation in a plea deal on 8 misdemeanor charges for embezzlement.


An Asbury Park NJ idiot cop has been charged with forgery and falsifying records for using forged military orders in an effort to get out of a lease.


The sheriff of Sully County SD was arrested on a drunk driving charge after stopped by a highway patrol trooper.


An Urbana IL idiot cop has retired after being cited for DUI and leaving the scene of an alcohol-related accident without injuries.


A Conyers GA idiot cop was arrested on drunk driving charges with a .105 BAC by a state trooper.


A Fargo ND idiot cop was given a letter of reprimand as discipline for leaving her handgun in sporting good store bathroom.


APasco County FL deputy has been charged with illegal compensation and for introducing contraband on allegations that he would call up the girlfriends of inmates when they were on work details and allow them to visit in exchange for chewing tobacco. I don’t know about this one, seems odd actually so it should be interesting to watch. [0]


Philadelphia PA has settled a wrongful death lawsuit in the middle of the civil trial for $500,000 to the family of woman who was shot by police five times, two of those shots hit her in the back. Her family claimed that was because she was walking away at the time.


King County WA has settled an excessive force lawsuit for $10,000,000 to the family of a man who was left in a permanent comatose state due to catastrophic brain damage he suffered when a deputy launched him head first into a wall with a shoulder tackle in a case of mistaken identity. The family needed the money to pay for the constant care he will need for the rest of his life.


A Houston TX idiot cop already facing sexual assault charges on allegations he handcuffed and kidnapped a waitress at her place of work then raped her on the trunk of his cruiser while on duty has now been named as a suspect in five other sexual assault cases.


At least two New Jersey State troopers are the subject of a lawsuit alleging that they used unnecessary force when they threw a mentally disabled man to the ground then beat and kicked him repeatedly on dashcam video after they asked him to step out of a car he was a passenger in during a DUI traffic stop, after the driver passed all sobriety tests.


Two Toronto ON idiot cops have been found guilty of assaulting a disabled man in an excessive force case where the judge ruled the officers had no grounds to have arrested the man, let alone fracturing his ribs and leaving him with facial lacerations indicative of being struck repeatedly by the officers.


A Humble TX idiot cop’s actions in the accidental shooting death of a car burglary suspect are being questioned by police tactical experts who say it’s against any known training they know of for an officer to use a loaded gun to break a car window, precisely because of the risks of an accidental discharge. The officer is currently under investigation over the incident.


An Ontario County NY sheriff’s lieutenant is the subject of a lawsuit filed by a corrections officer and a deputy alleging that he sexually harassed them then retaliated against them when they complained about their mistreatment and made allegations that he assaulted a detainee.


A Rockaway NJ idiot cop and a Denville NJ police detective are the subject of a lawsuit filed by a man claiming the detective assaulted him inside a gym where both of the men got into a dispute and that the responding Rockaway officer falsely arrested him for assault when it was the detective who was the aggressor. The assault charges agaisnt the man were dismissed later.


The Lake County FL Sheriff’s Office and the Tavares FL police department are being sued by the ACLU on behalf of a woman who they claim was illegally jailed for being an undocumented immigrant after she called police to translate for her sister who was a victim of a domestic assault.


A Phoenix AZ idiot cop is under investigation on allegations that he assaulted a man while off-duty. The same officer was the subject of a high-profile incident last year where he was accused, and later cleared, of roughing up a councilman at the scene of a house fire.


A Chattanooga TN idiot cop has been suspended after he was arrested on a domestic simple assault charge on allegations he shoved a woman of unspecified relation to him.


A New Brunswick NJ police sergeant has been charged with theft by deception on allegations he worked on extra jobs while he was also on-duty. [0]


Concord CA has settled a sexual discrimination and harassment lawsuit for $150,000 to a female police lieutenant.


A Hamilton ON idiot cop has resigned after pleading guilty to an obstruction charge over a strange convoluted prank 911 phone call case that even I had a hard time figuring out.


An Akron OH idiot cop was suspended last year for charging a woman with a felony for videotaping him then refusing to give him her camera is now suing his employer claiming that the disciplinary action was nothing more than a racially motivated plot because he’s a white officer, the woman was black, and the black mayor wanted to use the case to get more votes… uh huh.

The United States has the highest homicide rate of any affluent democracy

"The United States has the highest homicide rate of any affluent democracy - nearly four times that of France and the United Kingdom and six times that of Germany. Why? Historians haven't often asked this question. Even historians who like to try to solve cold cases usually cede to sociologists and other social scientists the study of what makes murder rates rise and fall or what might account for why one country is more murderous than another. Only in the nineteen-seventies did historians begin studying homicide in any systematic way. In the United States that effort was led by Eric Monkkonen, who died in 2005, his promising work unfinished. Monkkonen's research has been taken up by Randolph Roth, whose book 'American Homicide' offers a vast investigation of murder in the aggregate and over time. ...
"In the archives murders are easier to count than other crimes. Rapes go unreported, thefts can be hidden, adultery isn't necessarily actionable, but murder will nearly always out. Murders enter the historical record through coroners' inquests, court transcripts, parish ledgers, and even tombstones. ... The number of uncounted murders, known as the 'dark figure,' is thought to be quite small. Given enough archival research, historians can conceivably count with fair accuracy the frequency with which people of earlier eras killed one another with this caveat: the farther back you go in time - and the documentary trail doesn't go back much farther than 1300 - the more fragmentary the record and the bigger the dark figure. ...
"In Europe, homicide rates, conventionally represented as the number of murder victims per hundred thousand people in the population per year, have been falling for centuries. ... In feuding medieval Europe the murder rate hovered around thirty-five. Duels replaced feuds. Duels are more mannered; they also have a lower body count. By 1500 the murder rate in Western Europe had fallen to about twenty. Courts had replaced duels. By 1700 the murder rate had dropped to five. Today that rate is generally well below two where it has held steady with minor fluctuations for the past century.
"In the United States, the picture could hardly be more different. The American homicide rate has been higher than Europe's from the start and higher at just about every stage since. It has also fluctuated, sometimes wildly. During the Colonial period the homicide rate fell, but in the nineteenth century while Europe's kept sinking, the U.S. rate went up and up. In the twentieth century the rate in the United States dropped to about five during the years following the Second World War, but then rose reaching about eleven in 1991. It has since fallen once again to just above five, a rate that is nevertheless twice that of any other affluent democracy. ...
"2.3 million people are currently behind bars in the United States. That works out to nearly one in every hundred adults, the highest rate anywhere in the world and four times the world average. ...
"[Roth theorizes] that four factors correlate with the homicide rate: faith that government is stable and capable of enforcing just laws; trust in the integrity of legitimately elected officials; solidarity among social groups based on race, religion, or political affiliation; and confidence that the social hierarchy allows for respect to be earned without recourse to violence. When and where people hold these sentiments the homicide rate is low when and where they don't it is high."


Jill Lepore, Title: "Rap Sheet" The New Yorker