Copping Out: Deep in the Heart of Texas

"A police dashcam video released five months after a Texas officer shot a black man appears to show the man walking away as the officer fired, and the man’s lawyer says he was not a threat. The officer and a Tarrant County sheriff’s deputy with him were off-duty at the time and working a security detail at an apartment complex, lawyer Nate Washington said Wednesday said. Police were searching for two shirtless black men who they believed had committed a robbery near a gas station, Washington said. Authorities said at the time that David Collie pulled a box cutter from his pocket and pointed it at the officers...."

And he was then shot in the back?

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"A San Antonio police officer writing out a traffic ticket to a motorist was shot to death in his squad car Sunday outside police headquarters by another driver who pulled up from behind, authorities said. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said officials were searching for an unidentified suspect. A motive is not known....."

Turned out to be an immigrant that did it.

"An Air Force noncommissioned officer convicted of misconduct with eight women, including three who accused him of sexually assaulting them, was sentenced to three months’ confinement and another month of hard labor, a punishment a victims’ rights advocate called ‘‘shockingly light.’’ Technical Sergeant Anthony Lizana, 35, also was reduced in rank to airman first class and was given a dishonorable discharge Saturday night at his trial at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland....."

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"A Houston transit police officer has resigned after the release of a surveillance video that shows him beating a man he found slumped on a seat on a rail platform....."

Houston shooting leaves gunman dead, nine injured

The gunman was a ‘‘normal, average Joe.’’

Quick, call 911:

 "A Houston 911 operator accused of hanging up on thousands of emergency calls, 43-year-old Crenshanda Williams of Houston, faces a court appearance next week. In one incident, Williams hung up on a caller reporting a robbery in progress at a convenience store. The man called back and spoke to a different operator, but by the time police arrived, the store manager had been fatally shot. A security guard called 911 on March 13 to report two motorists driving recklessly at high speed on a Houston freeway. According to a recording of the call, Williams hung up then said: ‘‘Ain’t nobody got time for this. For real.’’ Police said when Williams was questioned in June 2016, she told them she often hung up on calls because she didn’t want to talk with anyone at that time...." 

I know the feeling.

What's the penalty for that?

"Barney Fuller Jr.’s execution was the 16th in the United States this year, a downturn fueled by fewer death sentences overall, courts halting executions for reviews, and some states encountering difficulties obtaining drugs for lethal injections....."

Little $teep, isn't it?

Lawyer: $1.9 million settlement in Sandra Bland lawsuit

Just thought I would to$$ that out at you.

"In Houston, Liana Waldberg is a popular student at SSQQ Dance Studio, where she takes evening classes in swing and country western dancing. But on Wednesday in a Rhode Island courtroom, she had to answer for a life she left behind more than 30 years ago, when authorities say she disappeared with her two daughters, ages 3 and 10 months...." 

(Blog editor ruefully looks toward corner of ceiling in room)

Texas court hears case that could dent gay marriage right

I'm going to let you wrestle with those.

Related: David Brown, Dallas Police Chief, Announces Retirement

I haven't announced mine yet but....

Also see: Acquittal in Tulsa