Harnett County, North Carolina sheriff's deputies kicked a man's door down at 3:30am this past Sunday and killed him after he told them they couldn't search his home "without a search warrant."

After John Livingston, 33, shut his door in the deputies face with his demand for a warrant, his roommate says police "kicked in the door, got on top of him, started slinging him around [and] beat him."

They then sprayed mace in his face and begun to tase the unarmed father of three who was described as a "hard working, very loving" family man and talented carpenter who actually built the small home the deputies were invading.

When Livingston attempted to remove the taser from the hands of the officer who was shocking him, the deputies executed him claiming he got a hold of their weapon.

Tasers are said to be non-lethal, yet the cops evidently feared for their lives at the mere prospect one of their victims could maybe-possibly turn it on them.

As it turns out, the deputies were looking for a man who no longer lives in the home.

The Harnett County Sheriff's department is stonewalling on the case and have failed to release the names of the deputies involved in the killing.

No doubt after a routine "investigation" the state goons will exonerate themselves.

An investigation revealed that racial profiling data gathered by the Texas Department of Public Safety could not be trusted because some troopers had been labeling minority drivers as white.

KXAN reviewed more than 16 million traffic citation records and found that the ethnicity of the drivers had been incorrectly recorded in a significant number of cases.

The station found that four of the top five last names recorded as white in the state were traditionally Hispanic names: Garcia, Martinez, Rodriguez and Hernandez.

Professor Ranjana Natarajan, who heads the Civil Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, told KXAN that DPS racial profiling data should be considered unreliable in light of the new findings.

“I think there could be accidents every now and then, but the sheer number of the reports that you found, where it looks like the people who are not white are being classified as white, means that there is something else going on here,” Natarajan explained. “What it shows is that, there either seems to be a complete lack of training on the part of DPS officers and other law enforcement officers about how to report people’s race. Or there is deliberate, sort of trying to not follow the policy if they have been trained properly on how to report the race of the drivers whom they stop.”

Democratic State Senator Jose Rodriguez accused DPS of “playing games” with the data.

“We’ve got to stop playing these kinds of games,” Rodriguez insisted. “I mean, people want to know why are Hispanics being singled out? That’s a simple question, and you can’t go around saying, well, they’re white.”

A Texas law designed to prevent racial profiling requires troopers to record “the person’s race or ethnicity, as stated by the person or, if the person does not state the person’s race or ethnicity, as determined by the officer to the best of the officer’s ability.”

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This is exactly the process of devolution that Morris describes. With government unable to pay police as much as they need or would like, police are confiscating their revenue directly from the populace.

The threat to individual liberty from stop-and-seize is painfully clear. Without requirements for an arrest or for a warrant, the power to confiscate cash is a clear diminution of property rights. Effectively, the police have been given official sanction to commit literal highway robbery without the threat of punishment. People whose property was seized must pay a lot of money and spend a long time in court for even the chance of getting it back, and police who seize money with no good reason don't, apparently, suffer any threat of discipline.

But stop-and-seize also presents a danger to public trust. When the cops go around taking money from innocent people to fund their own departments and salaries, it understandably decreases trust in the government and the legal system. That is something we can ill-afford at the present time, with trust in the police already at a low ebb over a series of videos of police killings. If they don’t trust the government, people will be less likely to report criminals, and possibly less likely to follow the law themselves.

Even more fundamentally, though, stop-and-seize is part of a worrying trend of less government accountability. The lack of oversight virtually ensures that the quality of government services will decline. This has been painfully apparent in abuses by bounty hunters, mercenaries and private prisons. But if the police are transformed into independent, self-funding armed gangs, the quality of policing -- and thus the effectiveness of all our legal institutions -- is sure to decline.

If you believe -- as many economists do -- that the rule of law is a key determinant of a nation’s prosperity, then you should be worried about this. Stop-and-seize should be stopped.

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When stealing from the Franklin gun store in Athens, Tribble was a seasonal worker there prior to Christmas last year. According to court records, Tribble stole the guns by adding them to federal firearms transfer forms filled out by customers for the purchase of different guns.

According to court records, the thefts were discovered after an employee found an empty box for a 9mm pistol that was associated with a customer’s firearms transfer form. The box was subsequently shipped to that customer, who then inquired about why he received a box for a gun he never bought. The gun shop then brought the matter to the attention to the Athens-Clarke County Police Department and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.

Tribble admitted stealing five guns from Franklin’s during the ensuing investigation, according to court documents.

In his court filing last week, Timmons mentioned cases similar to Tribble’s, in which the defendants were sentenced to probation and ordered to make restitution.

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A sitting sheriff and retired police chief have gone to bat for a former Athens-Clarke County coroner prior to his sentencing this week in federal court.

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“Bobby’s courteous, friendly and caring attitude toward training has helped thousands of law enforcement officers in the state of Georgia,” the sheriff noted in his letter. “I know that justice must prevail, but any positive consideration given to Bobby would be greatly appreciated by me and the law enforcement community.”

A fender bender with a Florida Highway Patrol trooper in a busy intersection on the streets of Miami left a driver speechless when the law enforcement official lied about wrecking his car, even going as far as covering up the accident scene.

Francis François says he stopped to let traffic clear when all of a sudden a black unmarked SUV struck his car.

“I just saw a truck coming. It wasn’t a hard hit, but he hit me hard enough to cause damage to my car,” François told local television station WSVN.

The Florida Highway Patrolman driving the car was Sergeant Mark Shoaff. With him in the vehicle was a female trooper. Seconds after the accident, they all got out of their cars to review the damage caused.

“He said, ‘I apologize for running into your car. I’m a law enforcement officer,’ pulled out his badge,” said François. The patrolman then told François “I’m going to make a call and we’ll take care of this” in regards to the damages made on his grey Infiniti.

But what actually happened next left François stunned and wondering if the Florida Highway Patrolmen had broken the law.

A few minutes later François says a Miami Gardens Police Officer showed up only to quickly disappear from the scene. Then the patrolman asked François for them to move their vehicles into an empty parking lot nearby.

“She said she’ll take the report,” François continued. “[But] he told her ‘FHP is coming,’ Florida Highway Patrol. He talked to her and she pulled off.”

WSVN reached out to law expert Howard Finkelstein, who states that while it is legal for FHP to investigate their own accidents, having the Miami Gardens Officer leave the accident scene was not OK.

“Sending Miami Gardens [Police] away looks like a conflict of interest,” Finkelstein said. “And clearing the accident scene before the investigator arrived looks suspicious because that makes it difficult for someone else to determine who is at fault.”

And that is exactly what happened.

When a Florida Highway Patrol lieutenant arrived to the scene to investigate, along with two other Florida Highway Patrol vehicles, François says the lieutenant did not even bother to see the photos he took of the accident only asking to see the images that Shoaff had taken.

“Maybe I was naïve,” François told WSVN recalling the incident, adding that if the cars would have been left where the crash happened it would have been easy to see who hit who. “He didn’t ask to look at my pictures, he looked at the Officer’s pictures. He’s the one that determined there was no way to determine who was at fault.”

According to François, Sgt. Shoaff then told the lieutenant that it was François who hit his black SUV; to François’ dismay.

“I kind of went off. I can’t believe this,” he said. “You just apologized to me. You hit my car!”

To this François says the patrolman just told him “I’m sorry, buddy.”

WSVN waited 60 days to receive the full accident report which showed that the lieutenant wrote “FHP’s Sgt. Mark Shoaff said François struck his vehicle. François said the trooper struck his vehicle.”

“Both vehicles were removed from the roadway prior to my arrival. Due to conflicting statements, neither driver was charged in the crash.”

When WSVN reached out to the Florida Highway Patrol with questions on the matter, the Miami office declined to comment stating that answers would have to come from the Tallahassee office.

“It’s the entire law enforcement community covering up for each other,” François said. “How could I have hit him? They are here to protect and serve, but it seems they are here to protect and serve themselves.”

Since WSVN’s report on the fender bender with François and the FHP patrolman, François’ insurance went after FHP to get their money and his deductible back.

After the story aired, FHP wrote to WSVN stating they had updated the crash report and that Sgt. Shoaff “failed to yield right of way.” Sgt. Shoaff was never charged with the accident but was given a counseling letter, per FHP policy, because allegedly he was on official duty.

A disgraced police officer in Arizona was arrested on charges of sexually exploiting a minor only two days after he was arrested on charges of domestic violence.

The most disturbing part? Apparently the minor is his own biological child.

Phoenix police officer Richard Tucker was taken into custody on Nov. 4 for a domestic abuse spat after his wife accused him of choking her, according to ABC 15.

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Orlando, FL — Ryan Richard Diaz and two of his friends were huddling under the corner of a parking garage last July, trying to get out of the rain, when they were approached by officer Michael Napolitano.

Officer Napolitano was allegedly responding to a call of some teens “smoking marijuana.” However, no marijuana would be found on any of those involved in Napolitano’s stop.
According to a lawsuit filed this week, when Napolitano arrived he became very aggressive which compelled Diaz’s friend, Mario Manzi, to begin film.

Napolitano became irate after seeing these teens practicing their 1st amendment right to film the police; so, he proceeded to violate their rights by stopping them.

As Napolitano attempted to grab the phone, the teens began passing the phone off to each other. This behavior infuriated the already raging Napolitano, so he then resorted to his only available tactic — violence.

Because the teens didn’t immediate prostrate themselves before his divine authority, Napolitano struck Diaz in the stomach with his knee multiple times and threw him to the ground. While on the ground, the video shows Napolitano continue to dole out blows to Diaz’s legs and head.

During the melee, you can hear Napolitano attempt to take the phone several times.

When told by one of the teens that he cannot take their phone, Napolitano answers, “You don’t understand how this works. When you are detained, you do not run the show.”

“You cannot grab my camera,” one of them then says.

Napolitano’s answer, “Yes, I can.”

The other two teens involved were then molested by Napolitano as he searched them for the non-existent plant.

The entirely unscathed Napolitano then accused Diaz of battery on a law enforcement officer and arrested him. Prosecutors dropped the battery charges but, unfortunately, they held a lesser charge of resisting arrest without violence in October.

Diaz and his friends had committed no crime, they had harmed no one, yet they were subject to state-sponsored violence and harassment because a cop claimed to have “smelled marijuana.”

“This kid is 5-6, 130 pounds, and his only crime is being at the wrong place at the wrong time and trying to video-record a police officer,” said his attorney, J. Marc Jones.

Unsurprisingly, officer Napolitano faced no punishment and, in fact, received support from his superiors for his actions.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, police Cpl. Joseph Catanzaro reviewed video of what happened, talked to Diaz and his friends and concluded that Napolitano’s use of force was justified.

The video below shows a symptom of much larger sickness in America today. The state is addicted to controlling what individuals can and can’t put into their own bodies. In an ostensible attempt to protect individuals from themselves, the state will kidnap, cage, and kill you — for your own good.

If you are truly concerned about reducing the level of brutality among American cops, you cannot be taken seriously unless you address the war on drugs.

City of Key West offers $900k settlement to family whose loved one died in police custody.

A family is mourning the death of their loved one, Charles Eimers, who died at 61-yrs-old in police custody.

The City of Key West has agreed to settle the case with the family for $900k, although that will never bring Charles back.

The family was horrified to hear that a recording caught Officer Lovette saying “we killed him so you don’t have to worry about it,” and “I dropped a ******* bomb on his head” — referring to Charles’s death.

“We’re all going to be investigated now,” he adds.

Police claim that Charles “fled from them” in his PT cruiser.

They claim he got out of his vehicle and laid down in the sand.

It is at this point that Charles was killed by police, according to the lawsuit.

Officer Lovette was suspended for five days after the incident.

But the suspension has nothing to do with Charles’s death, according to police. They claim that he died for “health-related” reasons having nothing to do with them.

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Officer Lovette was suspended, not for killing Charles, but for saying that he did, giving the family the impression that he did something which he actually never did.

A Chicago bicyclist who was handcuffed after he knocked on the door of an SUV driven by an off-duty police officer was fined Thursday after a judge upheld a disorderly conduct charge.

On Oct. 14, James Liu, an attorney who lives in Logan Square, was handcuffed by the driver of that SUV, who turned out to be an off-duty police officer and subsequently cited for disorderly conduct on North Desplaines Street after he hit the silver SUV with his hand, he told DNAinfo Chicago last month.

At the hearing Thursday, Liu argued that the move was meant as a firm warning to the driver to watch out for cyclists as the SUV drifted in and out of the bike lane, but administrative hearing Judge George Berbas upheld the disorderly conduct citation, finding Liu liable of the charge. Liu was ordered to pay $290 in fines and court costs.

An innocent couple was picking up their daughter Wednesday night when the father was accused of “fitting the description,” and then he and his wife assaulted.

The subsequent video taken by the assaulted father highlights the problem of police escalation and incompetence.

As the video begins, the officer has his pistol drawn, which was the reason that compelled the man to begin filming. Since it was cold outside, the man filming had his other hand in his pocket, which is not a crime.

After politely explaining to the cop that they were merely picking up his daughter, the cop became even more enraged and ran up to the man, who, only seconds prior, was so scary the cop had to draw a gun on him.

“You have a gun in your hand,” says the man filming.

“Yeah, I know that, because you’re a possible robbery suspect,” replies the cop, ignorantly assuming that a couple and their baby would somehow be out robbing houses.

“Because I’m black?” asks the man.

“Yeah, okay,” replies the officer who is still holding his pistol. “Step over to my car please.”

“For what?” the man asks. “We are picking up my daughter.”

At this moment, the officer should have seen that there was indeed a child in the car and ended his incompetent detainment. However, he was not about to back down, so he rushed the man.

The man is then assaulted by the cop, who somehow keeps yelling “get your hands out of your pockets,” despite at least one hand holding the camera and the man informing him that he does not have his hands in his pockets.

The video was uploaded to Facebook by a personal friend of the couple, who says after the video stops is when the worst of the assault took place.


Read more at VIDEO: Cop Mistakes Couple with Baby for a ‘Robber’ – So He Pulls Gun & Assaults Them | The Free Thought Project

Instagram sensation Dan Bilzerian received some bad news when he returned to his West Hollywood mansion after a September break-in — several of his guns were gone.

But it wasn’t burglars who had taken the firearms, it was the Los Angeles Police Department.

For two months after the break-in, Mr. Bilzerian, a professional poker player and gun rights champion, says police inexplicably continued to keep the nine firearms under lock and key without a warrant. When the eight pistols and one rifle were returned to their owner about a week ago, all the ammunition for the firearms was missing, raising questions about the LAPD’s protocol for seizing firearms.

“All of my ammunition and the magazines were gone. And they couldn’t explain what happened to the magazines, but that ammo couldn’t be released with a firearm and that I’d have to schedule a separate three-hour visit for the ammo,” Mr. Bilzerian told The Washington Times. “If they are gonna take the guns and make me wait for three hours at the police station, they should at the very least return what came with them.”

The break-in occurred in the early morning hours of Sept. 5, a weekend when Mr. Bilzerian was out of town, according to the police report.

The perpetrators disabled security cameras outside the home before breaking a glass window to gain entry. Once inside, the intruders attempted to break into a closet where Mr. Bilzerian kept a collection of firearms, but the steel-reinforced room withstood their attempts.

Meanwhile an alarm for a security system to the house was triggered, summoning police. The burglars escaped before police arrived, but once on scene, the officers turned their attention to the firearms they believed were in the home.

It’s unclear exactly why police forced their way inside the closet where the guns were stored. Officers asked Mr. Bilzerian’s assistant and security guard for permission to break into the room but the aides declined, but the officers accessed it anyway, Mr. Bilzerian said.

“They broke into our closet and took them after we were burglarized,” said Mr. Bilzerian’s assistant Jeremy Guymon. “It’s not like we were doing anything wrong.”

The responding officers confiscated nine firearms supposedly under the premise that they wanted to secure the home in case the burglars attempted a second break-in, Mr. Bilzerian said. But strangely, the officers left behind an arsenal of shotguns and a high-powered semiautomatic carbine rifle like the ones used by special operations troops.

“The officers told my assistant that they took the handguns because they didn’t want the suspects to come back and get them on a second break-in even though they were unsuccessful at opening the steel reinforced door the first time,” Mr. Bilzerian said. “Essentially they were ‘trying to protect my property and people’s safety.’ This is hard to grasp, when they left my $21,000 FN SCAR17 with thermal optic and shotguns unsecured in that same room.”

After two months shuffling between prosecutors’ and police offices to retrieve the firearms, Mr. Guymon said it seems unlikely at this point that Mr. Bilzerian will get his ammunition back.

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Albuquerque police officer Jeremy Dear was ordered to wear a body-camera after many of the city's residents complained about their encounters with him. Afterward, he routinely failed to plug in the camera. His camera was not running when he shot and killed a 19-year-old girl in 2014.

Dear was fired after the incident, but the Albuquerque personnel board gave him back his job this week, in a 3-2 vote, after Dear's lawyer argued that the city's body-cam policy was inconsistently applied.

The Albuquerque police have been singled out by the Department of Justice for "a pattern of excessive force" and the department has now agreed to require its entire force to wear body-cams.

The city's personnel board, while reinstating Dear, agreed that his punishment should be a 90-day suspension. The city is appealing the decision to the local courts and does not take force until court action is concluded.