Policing

Naked, stoned and stabbed

Featured image Today comes word that Derek Chauvin has been attacked and seriously injured by another inmate in federal prison. John wrote about the stabbing and commented on the Chauvin case here earlier this morning. Something’s happening here. What it is is pretty clear. When Derek Chauvin filed an appeal of his conviction for the murder of George Floyd, a funny thing happened on the way to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. »

The Fall of Minneapolis: The film

Featured image Alpha News presents The Fall of Minneapolis. Alpha has just posted the crowdfunded film to Rumble (video below) so that it can be seen free of charge by the widest possible audience. The film is also accessible online at The Fall of Minneapolis. Viewers can contribute to support Alpha’s work and help promote the film here. I attended the film’s premiere at a showing for invited guests on Tuesday evening »

Minneapolis’s disappearing police

Featured image The Minneapolis police force has evanesced in size from around 900 officers at the time of George Floyd’s death in 2020 to 585 today. The Star Tribune arrives late to the story in “Minneapolis police staffing levels reach historic lows amid struggle for recruitment, retention.” Subhead: “With 585 sworn officers, the city holds one of the lowest ratios of officers to citizens among many major American cities.” The story includes »

“Be worthy” — the bodycam video

Featured image Last month I wrote about the July 14 ambush of Fargo police officers by one Mohamad Barakat. Barakat murdered Officer Jake Wallin and wounded two other officers. Barakat was prepared for mass murder. Inside Barakat’s car officers found 1,800 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition, explosives, gas canisters, and a homemade grenade with a fuse out of the top. Fargo police officer Zach Robinson saved the day. From a spot some 75 »

The Fall of Minneapolis: A preview

Featured image Alpha News has just released a preview of its upcoming documentary The Fall of Minneapolis. Alpha’s fearless and Emmy Award-winning reporter Liz Collin wrote and produced the documentary. Dr. J.C. Chaix directed it. Alpha News reports: The documentary exposes the holes in the prevailing narrative surrounding George Floyd’s death, the trial of Derek Chauvin, and the fallout that both wrought on the city of Minneapolis. The documentary features dozens of »

“Be worthy”

Featured image As the man says in the song (not that one), I was born in a small town — Fargo, North Dakota. You may have heard that Fargo police officer Jake Wallin was ambushed and murdered by one Mohamad Barakat in Fargo this past Friday as police responded to a call for help on a car accident. Officer Wallin was a native of St. Michael, Minnesota and a sergeant in the »

Garland of thorns for MPD revisited

Featured image Attorney General Merrick Garland came to town on June 16 to indict the Minneapolis Police Department for racism, find it guilty, and announce the terms to which municipal authorities have agreed. The Department of Justice press release is here, Garland’s remarks at the press conference here, the DoJ’s 89-page report here, and the parties’ settlement in principle here. The report stems from a DoJ investigation launched in the wake of »

Garland of thorns for MPD [With Comment by John]

Featured image Attorney General Merrick Garland came to town yesterday to indict the Minneapolis Police Department for racism, find it guilty, and announce the terms to which municipal authorities have agreed. The Department of Justice press release is here, Garland’s remarks at the press conference here, the DoJ’s 89-page report here, and the parties’ settlement in principle here. The report results from a DoJ investigation launched in the wake of Derek Chauvin’s »

“Break the Wheel,” or something: A review

Featured image City Journal has posted my essay/review of Keith Ellison’s Break the Wheel: Ending the Cycle of Police Violence. I am grateful to managing editor Paul Beston for letting me have my say under the auspices of City Journal and for giving me permission to cross-post my review on Power Line today. Please see the review as published with links here at City Journal. Having covered Ellison’s career on Power Line »

“Break the Wheel,” or something, part 5

Featured image Keith Ellison’s Break the Wheel: Ending the Cycle of Police Violence posits the death of George Floyd in the custody of the Minneapolis police as representative of the murderous rampage of law enforcement authorities against black Americans. Yesterday I noted that Ellison fails to cite any statistical analysis or study of deadly force police encounters to support the premise that the “cycle of police violence” exists. He also fails to »

“Break the Wheel,” or something, part 4

Featured image Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s memoir of the Chauvin prosecution — Break the Wheel: Ending the Cycle of Police Violence — was published last week. It’s good to be Keith Ellison. He’s got the Star Tribune doing public relations for him. He’s got the New York Times doing public relations for him. He’s got the Washington Post doing public relations for him. He’s got NPR doing public relations for him. »

Speaking of Derek Chauvin

Featured image In my view, Derek Chauvin is a scapegoat for the ages. Scott wrote a little while ago about the Minnesota Court of Appeals’ turning down Chauvin’s appeal based on pretrial publicity. I would say this is one of the year’s least surprising news stories. The Court of Appeals was no more willing to risk inciting riots than the Chauvin jurors were. Unlike (I think) Scott, I believe Chauvin’s guilty verdict »

The Chauvin appeal ruling

Featured image My friend Bill Mohrmann is representing Derek Chauvin on appeal of his conviction for the murder of George Floyd. Former Acting Solicitor General of the United States Neal Katyal is representing the State of Minnesota. It’s something of a David and Goliath matchup. The Minnesota Court of Appeals was the first stop. The court held oral argument before a panel of three judges this past January. I reported on it »

Nashville bodycam footage released

Featured image The Nashville Police Department has just released the bodycam footage of Officer Rex Emglebert. The footage depicts the swarming of the school by the police and the run toward gunfire to take down Audrey Hale. Fox News has a good account of the footage here: Nashville police have released bodycam video of the Covenant School shooting response, during which they killed shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale, a 28-year-old transgender former student »

The Chauvin appeal: A second look

Featured image Minneapolis attorney Marshall Tanick has taken a look at the issues raised in the Minnesota Court of Appeals hearing on the murder conviction of Derek Chauvin. Marshall discusses the hearing in the Star Tribune op-ed column “Did Chauvin get a fair trial?” I wrote about the hearing here last week. Marshall more or less provides a second opinion that aligns with mine, if somewhat faintly: [T]he core of the argument »

The Chauvin appeal hearing

Featured image When I read that Derek Chauvin had no lawyer to appeal his murder conviction to the Minnesota Court of Appeals I was incredulous. I put out the call on Power Line for an attorney to step forward to represent him on appeal in the highest tradition of the profession. Minnesota attorney Bill Mohrman answered the call. Bill is a founding partner of Mohrman, Kaardal & Erickson as well as a »

Who wants to be a Minneapolis cop?

Featured image The correct question is “Who in his right mind would want to be a Minneapolis cop?” It’s a question I have asked more than a few times on Power Line, frequently while observing the generous contributions of the Star Tribune to the climate of opinion that is shrinking the police department. Today the Star Tribune publishes an op-ed column asking “Who wants to be a Minneapolis cop?” It’s not quite »