NEWARK - Khaliah Fitchette better hope she never trips and falls on a public sidewalk when somebody is walking nearby with a cell phone. I’m sure the “fotog” would love to record the embarrassing event – and maybe even put the video on YouTube. It would be the passerby’s way of exercising his “First Amendment” rights. Fitchette is the Newark teenager ...

ST. PAUL, MN - White Castle, weed and baggy pants. It has all the elements of a comedy, but throw in a concealed handgun, a suspected drug deal and a wardrobe malfunction, and it's a Minnesota Court of Appeals case that even compelled a judge to quote an "American Idol" audition. St. Paul police officer Kara Breci and her partner spotted ...

Scranton, Penn. -- The Scranton police union has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the city for an off-duty drug arrest made by Police Chief Dan Duffy in March. The complaint, which was filed with the state Labor Relations Board on April 14, takes issue with the chief arresting a man who was allegedly in possession of marijuana because the ...

MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ - He is known for dressing inmates in pink underwear and feeding them green baloney. And now America's toughest Sheriff has come up with a new initiative to give the public a voice in law enforcement - an online Mugshot of the Day competition. Arizona-based Joe Arpaio, known for his uncompromising stance on crime, is letting the public ...

CHICAGO - Chicago CBS affiliate WBBM has issued an apology after taking the comments of a four-year-old child out of context in relation to a shooting in the area. The child tells a reporter that the shootings don’t scare him and that, when he grows up, “I’m going to have me a gun.” This makes the child seem to aspire to ...

HOWELL, NJ — As eight state troopers created a wall of blue in a Freehold courtroom gallery, Diana Hoffman was presented a list of offenses that authorities allege led to Sunday’s death of New Jersey State Trooper Marc K. Castellano. Explaining the charge of false public alarm brought by his office, Executive Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Richard Incremona told Superior Court ...

TOLEDO, OHIO -- At least seven people have been confirmed dead after two bands of strong thunderstorms and tornadoes ripped through the area late Saturday into early Sunday morning. Areas from Fulton County to eastern Wood County were hit hardest in the severe weather which is being blamed for widespread damage to homes, vehicles and even a high school. Lake Township ...

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ - The suits at The Star-Ledger made a huge display of reporting last weekend that New Jersey police salaries are the highest in the land. To paraphrase a man who puts his life on the line every day to protect his community: Does a bullet feel any different if it's fired in, say, Lyndhurst, than it does in ...

DeKALB, Ga. — Gangs and drug traffickers have ditched their pistols for assault rifles and other military-style firearms, leaving police outgunned. To beef up its arsenal, the DeKalb County Police Department is trading in its 9 mm handguns for .40-caliber weapons, which are more effective. Last week, the County Commission approved the purchase of 1,200 Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handguns to ...

SEATTLE - Deliberations are scheduled to continue Wednesday in the shooting inquest of the Seattle police officer who killed Maurice Clemmons, the man investigators say was responsible for the shooting deaths of four Lakewood police officers last November. Seattle officer Ben Kelly fired seven shots at Clemmons and hit the suspect four times, a homicide detective testified Tuesday. When police found ...

Several Iowa sheriffs' offices reported receiving 10 to 20 times as many weapons permit applications on Monday as they do most days. Monday was the first day government offices were open since Saturday, when a law took effect that requires sheriffs under most circumstances to issue permits to carry concealed weapons. Sheriffs previously had greater discretion to deny or restrict such ...

MIAMI, FL - Police chiefs in Florida have defended an officer who was filmed slamming a woman into the sand during an arrest. Video footage of Sara Greenback's arrest became an internet sensation after it was posted on YouTube. The 25-year-old was slammed to the ground in a wrestling-style move by Lt Douglas Simon after she was thrown out of a ...

PHOENIX — Arizona officials on Monday reopened the investigation into a deputy's explanation of how he was shot in the remote desert south of Phoenix amid speculation it was a hoax timed to enflame the debate over illegal immigration. The Pinal County Sheriff's Office announced its decision Monday after two nationally known forensic pathologists raised questions about a wound the deputy ...

SEATTLE - Vigilante justice has come to Seattle, and the caped crusaders drive a Kia. Seattle police say a group of self-described superheroes have been patrolling the streets at night trying to save people from crime. They call themselves the Rain City Superhero Movement and say they're part of a nationwide movement of real-life crime fighters. The national website -- cited ...

LOS ANGELES - Two police officers who claimed they faced retaliation for complaining about an alleged quota system for traffic tickets have been awarded more than $2 million. A Los Angeles Superior Court jury on Monday agreed that the city should pay $1.12 million to retired officer Howard Chan and $950,000 to David Benioff, who's still on the force. Both sued ...

HARFORD COUNTY, MD - In a decision that could make it easier for citizens to record police officers in Maryland, a Harford County judge ruled Monday that state police and prosecutors were wrong to arrest and charge a man for taping his own traffic stop and posting it on the Internet. Circuit Court Judge Emory A. Plitt Jr.'s ruling helps clarify ...

A Michigan weapons company is under fire for branding thousands of rifle scopes used by U.S. soldiers and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan with passages from the Bible. U.S. military rules prohibit any service member from proselytizing while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, which are primarily Muslim nations. Trijicon, a sighting manufacturer based in Wixom, Mich., has several multimillion-dollar contracts with ...

WATAUGA, TX - The first recording equipment police officers carried were voice recorders attached to the shoulders of their uniforms. Then came video cameras mounted in patrol cars. And now in Watauga and other jurisdictions in the state, police officers are wearing clip-on video cameras. In recent weeks, three Watauga motorcycle officers have been equipped with Vievu cameras to record traffic ...

PIMA COUNTY, AZ - The five SWAT officers who shot and killed 26-year-old Jose Guerena while serving a search warrant May 5 have been cleared of any wrongdoing. The Pima County Regional SWAT team members -from four law enforcement agencies in the county - were justified in using deadly force against Guerena, according to an investigation by the Pima County Attorney's ...

WASHINGTON - The sheriff of the most populous county in Arizona says he's "not going to put up with any civil disobedience" when the state's new immigration law takes effect. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says that if protesters want to block his jail, he'll put them in it. The Arizona law, which takes effect Thursday, requires officers enforcing other laws ...