LOS ANGELES — A white former transit officer was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Thursday in the videotaped shooting death of an unarmed black man on an Oakland train platform, a verdict that touched off violent protests in Oakland that damaged businesses and led to at least 50 arrests. Prosecutors had wanted Johannes Mehserle convicted of murdering 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who was ...

WASHINGTON, DC - The Supreme Court said today it would rule for the first time on whether employees have a right to privacy when they send text messages on electronic devices supplied by their employers. The justices agreed to hear an appeal from a police department in Ontario, Calif., that was successfully sued by Sgt. Jeff Quon and three other officers ...

GARLAND, TX - In a perfect world, this afternoon's ceremony would include Chuck Norris delivering a signature roundhouse kick to a bad guy attacking Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Reality, however, is likely to be more sedate when the governor makes the star of Walker, Texas Ranger an honorary Texas Ranger. The ceremony is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Texas Rangers ...

SILVER SPRING, Md. - A man who railed against the Discovery Channel's environmental programming for years burst into the company's headquarters with at least one explosive device strapped to his body Wednesday and took three people hostage at gunpoint before police shot him to death, officials said. The hostages - two Discovery Communications employees and a security guard - were unhurt ...

TUSCON - Mourners at the funeral of Christina-Taylor Green were greeted by more than a thousand sympathizers who lined North Shannon Road for a quarter-mile south of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. Many wore white, and many had responded to an Internet call to counter the possible appearance of an out-of-state hate group. They arrived on nearly 200 motorcycles, on foot ...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Taser International must pay $10 million to the family of a Charlotte teenager who died in 2008 after being shocked by a police officer — the biggest jury award ever against the company. The lawyers for Darryl Turner’s parents said Wednesday the federal jury found that Taser International failed to warn that discharging its Taser into the chest ...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Two police officers lost their jobs after an internal investigation found they violated department rules by damaging a home while looking for a suspect. A judge acquitted officers Donald Aldridge and Justin Ranum on charges of criminal mischief last week. But the Daytona Beach Police Chief Michael Chitwood fired them Friday, saying they behaved unprofessionally. Neighbors told ...

The Atlanta Police Department has launched an internal investigation after a shocking video surfaced showing a cop slugging a woman in the face during a late-night scuffle at an IHOP. In the video, reportedly shot at 4 a.m. on Sunday at one of the pancake chain's restaurants in the Buckhead neighborhood, two cops confront a young woman in a booth. As ...

BROOKLYN - A gang of alleged drug dealers have been caught after they were photographed at work by the Google Street View car. The gang were selling heroin and marijuana outside a grocery store in Brooklyn, New York, when the Google driver went past and inadvertently took their picture. The street corner where they worked was then put under surveillance and ...

LONDON - Alcohol is more harmful than heroin or crack, according to a study published in medical journal the Lancet. The report is co-authored by Professor David Nutt, the former UK chief drugs adviser who was sacked by the government in October 2009. It ranks 20 drugs on 16 measures of harm to users and to wider society. Tobacco and cocaine ...

HOUSTON - Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland went on the defensive Thursday during a meeting with local journalists, saying officers have made recent traffic stops in which residents leave their vehicles to take pictures or shoot video — encounters he says could endanger officers and that have increased following the release of the Chad Holley beating footage. "Officers are telling me ...

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - Police in Gwinnett County won’t be using laser guns to catch speeders on the roads—at least for now. The change came January 1 because of a disagreement among several government agencies. Officers say they’re making adjustments to the way they do their jobs. Radar and lasers are now no longer an option for police in Gwinnett County, ...

BALTIMORE - Baltimore police have identified the applicant who died during testing. The Sun's Frederick N. Rassmussen filed this report: The 29-year-old man who collapsed and died after finishing a 1.5-mile run as part of his application to become a Baltimore police officer was identified Saturday as Gilnord Charles. Baltimore Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Charles had passed the civil ...

WASHINGTON, DC - A video posted on the YouTube Web site of an apparent physical encounter between Metro Transit Police and a man in a wheelchair was shown Sunday on Washington television stations, and Metro said it is looking into the matter. The video begins with the man in the chair, two officers alongside. A few seconds later, all three have ...

ARLINGTON, TX - Uniformed Arlington police officers have the chance to raise awareness that the city midway between Dallas and Fort Worth is the site for next year's Super Bowl. [photo:570723] Police on Monday announced a commemorative badge will be available, for law officers to wear if they wish, from Sept. 19 until game day, Feb. 6, 2011. The badge, which ...

Two Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies were having a cup of coffee at Goodie's Good Eats in Campbell on Monday morning when a grandmother came running in: "Help me, help me!" she said. "The baby's not breathing!" Deputies Rick Chaeff and Mike Laddy leaped from their seats, called for emergency crews and rushed outside. Twenty-two-year-old mother Bernice Brown was sitting in ...

The off-duty police officer who shot and killed an unarmed 21-year-old man in November during a street fight will be stripped of his badge, Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey announced yesterday. Frank Tepper, 43, a 16-year veteran of the force, committed "numerous violations" of Police Department procedures when he opened fire on William Panas Jr. in the Port Richmond neighborhood where ...

COMPTON, Calif.—Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies say they expected a good turnout for the department's "gifts for guns" exchange in Compton, but even they were surprised when a man showed up with 58 guns. After the man unloaded the weapons Tuesday, he drove away with several thousands of dollars in supermarket gift certificates in return. Under the policy, there are no ...

GRIFFIN, GA — Spalding County Sheriff Dee Stewart died early Sunday, likely from complications from injuries suffered in a car crash last month, the county coroner said. Coroner Sonny Foster said Stewart was pronounced dead at 4:09 a.m. Sunday. He was 63. Stewart had been in the hospital since the wreck on June 23 and likely died of "complications that he ...

FORT BLISS, Texas — A person opened fire Monday at a small grocery store on Fort Bliss, injuring two people before being killed by responding officers, the commander of the West Texas Army post said. Col. Joseph A. Simonelli Jr. declined to discuss the conditions of the victims or other details of the Monday afternoon shooting. Simonelli said the area was ...