The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the Boston Police Department for withholding records related to recent anti-police demonstrations.
The Massachusetts State Police reportedly tested a robot dog produced by Waltham-based Boston Dynamics for three months from August to November.
The proposal, introduced by San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin, would also require public input and the supervisors’ approval before agencies buy investigative technology with public funds. That includes the purchase of license plate readers, toll readers, closed-circuit cameras, body cams, and biometrics technology and software for forecasting criminal activity.
Boston Police Commissioner William Gross ripped into ACLU "paper warriors" for suing the city over a gang database, saying the civil rights advocates are turning a blind eye to "atrocities" committed by gang members.
The ACLU and other groups seeking access to the database say that they want to know the demographic background of people in the system—such as race, age, local ZIP code, and nationality.
"Chicago’s agreement with the ACLU in late 2015 dramatically undercut proactive policing in the city … with homicides increasing more than 57 percent the very next year," Sessions said in the statement.
The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association posted a lengthy statement on its website in response to statements made by Alessandra Soler, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
For a number of offenses, a supervisor would need to approve the arrest “unless not practicable under the circumstances.” Those crimes range from gambling and prostitution offenses to obstructing, resisting or assaulting a police officer.
A court granted the ACLU of Illinois and Black Lives Matter Chicago permission to intervene in the consent decree negotiations.
De-policing is an outcome — it is the direct result of protesters, politicians, and the press applying enormous pressure on police to do less policing — in which the obvious end state is an increase in violent crime.