The Police Accountability Report

The arrest and incarceration of New Mexico resident Chris Dixon provide yet another stark example of the Kafkaesque nature of contemporary police power. Dixon was arrested after police tired to force him to consent to an illegal search of the business where he worked. But the actions of the officer, coupled with the fallout Dixon faced, show that American law enforcement deliberately wields its ar...

The mysterious death of Rey Rivera has continued to stoke speculation and controversy, especially after the case received national attention from a Netlfix reboot of Unsolved Mysteries in July, 2020. In Part I of their three-part investigation, TRNN reporters Taya Graham and Stephen Janis reviewed the unsettling circumstances surrounding Rivera's death and the ensuing police investigation. In Par...

The mysterious death of Rey Rivera made national headlines when the case was investigated on the Netflix reboot of Unsolved Mysteries, which became the number one show on the popular streaming platform. Many viewers who have learned about the case are skeptical of the police theory that the young filmmaker jumped to his death from the roof of the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore's Mt. Vernon neighborh...

A questionable traffic stop by an Arizona highway patrol officer reveals how the powers bestowed upon police are ripe for abuse. Video shows how the officer escalated the encounter after he was challenged by a motorist to justify his actions. PAR breaks down how the misuse of police power during a single car stop reflects a broader anti-democratic imperative that drives American policing. Become a...

Content warning: Some images and details in this episode are graphic and disturbing. This week on PAR, we continue our ongoing investigation into the problem of rural overpolicing and provide a critical update on the killing of Tyler Rushing, which we reported on earlier in the year. Rushing’s case is yet another stark example of cops ignoring the needs of a civilian experiencing mental distress;...

Recent developments in a criminal case against a popular Black police chief reveal just how focused American law enforcement is on "bullshit" crimes. The prosecution of Kelvin Sewell for his role in an investigation involving two parked cars has dragged on for nearly six years. Now prosecutors face a hearing over alleged misconduct, but the fact that Sewell was indicted at all raises serious quest...

As Brad Naylor and his brother slept in their parents' home, they were surprised to hear their door kicked open and see guns drawn at 5:00 in the morning. According to the police report, the smell of marijuana lead these officers to enter a home without a warrant and without the consent of the owners. In this episode of PAR, we examine this terrifying experience as another example of the phenomeno...

Surveillance footage reveals police assaulting an unarmed man on his own property. While the use of force in the video is shocking on its own, what is even more shocking is the fact that the state of Texas is currently threatening the victim with 10 years in prison. On this week's PAR, we take an in-depth look into the common practice of stacking charges to intimidate citizens into taking plea de...

The brutal assault on a suspect after a high-speed chase that was captured by a security camera reveals how police have many hidden mechanisms to skirt accountability. In this episode, PAR examines not just the circumstances surrounding the attack on a man who was complying with police orders, but how law enforcement used questionable tactics to limit their own liability for what happened. Help us...

Holding police accountable requires defending the First Amendment right to put them on camera. This is why Philip Turner, known on YouTube as The Battousai, fought to solidify that right in Turner v. Driver, a 2017 case decided by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. However, a shocking video shows Texas police ignoring the law, detaining Turner, and confiscating his video equipment. Wha...

Just how far will the criminal justice system go to quash dissent? The case of popular police auditor Otto the Watchdog is a cautionary tale of how far prosecutors and cops will go to pursue charges against people who hold them accountable. In this episode, PAR speaks with Otto the Watchdog about his three-year ordeal fighting charges for holding a sign police said was offensive, and why he made t...

Offensive Facebook posts led to the arrest of activist Joshua Martinez. But his treatment in court and $1 million bail reveal the often-overlooked role played by judges in the questionable and unequal implementation of the law—a role that judges often fill with little to no democratic accountability. Martinez is currently under a gag order, so in this episode of PAR we speak to auditor and cop wat...

Citizen journalists continue to play a critical role in holding police accountable, which is why they face increasing pushback from the underlying system that bolsters bad cops. PAR speaks to cop watchers Laura Shark and Lackluster about the challenges they face when reporting on police, and how auditing law enforcement has become an increasingly dicey occupation. Become a supporter of this podcas...

The nation's endless war on mind-altering substances has many casualties, some who refuse to be forgotten. That's why Catherine Freeman is coming forward after 47 years to describe how her family was set up by a drug informant. In this episode of PAR, we listen to her story about how the intersection of law enforcement and politics tore her family apart, and why the truth must finally be told. Hel...

What would cause a former cop to cross the thin blue line and use his camera to monitor law enforcement and hold police accountable? For well-known police auditor James Madison, it was a fraught encounter with a police officer who threatened to falsely arrest him on his own property for filming him. In this week's PAR, we speak to Madison about his conversion from cop to cop watcher, and about the...

Shortly after our story aired on how police put LA resident Daniel Alvarez in handcuffs for a bogus traffic violation, he was pulled over again for allegedly switching lanes without signaling. In this episode of PAR, we explore the continued use of questionable traffic stops to harass people like Daniel, and what these troubling tactics say about the state of American policing across the country....

Michelle Lucas, a community activist and grandmother of four, was devastated when she was charged with two felonies for allegedly passing a counterfeit bill. Our investigation uncovered evidence that forced prosecutors to admit the police had made a mistake and had an unexpected impact on her case. Help us continue producing Police Accountability Report by following us and making a small donation:...

A Los Angeles man says he was targeted by police after he was pulled over for crossing a line in front of a stop sign; but after placing him in handcuffs and arresting the passenger in his car, a recording cellphone caught the real reason cops pulled him over. Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and making a small donation: Donate: https://th...

The hosts of PAR explore how pushback against calls to defund the police seldom acknowledge chronically wasteful spending by police departments that absolutely should be cut. Public debates about "Defund the Police" have seemingly devolved into an all-or-nothing rhetorical war with little room for nuance. But opponents of the slogan and the movement behind it routinely ignore the decades of profli...

As we continue our investigation into over-policing and mass incarceration in rural America, we return to Pocomoke City on Maryland's lower eastern shore to speak with Michelle Lucas. Lucas is a pizza delivery driver, a proud grandmother, and community activist who asserts that she was railroaded into a felony conviction that could result in up to 2 years in prison. Tune in every Thursday at 9:00...

Why is it so hard to reform the police, let alone hold police accountable for abusing their power? What are the legal and political protections that have put police above the very law they’re supposed to enforce? On this week’s PAR, reporters Taya Graham and Stephen Janis report on site from Annapolis, Maryland, where a Police Union rally was held to push back against recently proposed legislation...

Video obtained by TRNN reporters Taya Graham and Stephen Janis highlights American law enforcement officers' lack of de-escalation training and respect for civilians. In this week's PAR, Graham and Janis investigate the questionable arrest of an immigrant cab driver in Toledo, Ohio, caught on body camera, which shows how quickly police resort to using unnecessary force and how much damage it infli...

Every Thursday at 9:00 p.m. EST on The Real News Network, journalists Stephen Janis and Taya Graham premier a new episode of the acclaimed Police Accountability Report, a show that investigates police corruption around the U.S., as well as the grassroots movement to hold police accountable. This week, in lieu of a new episode of PAR, we have a special interview with Janis and Graham about their ne...

Documents obtained by PAR reveal how an air ambulance (medevac) service has been used repeatedly to fly surveillance missions over the city of Baltimore, raising serious questions about the militarization of American police and the dystopian consequences of law enforcement's growing civic influence. On this week's episode of PAR, hosts Taya Graham and Stephen Janis take a closer look at the decisi...

Another Ohio resident has been arrested under the dubious charge of "misconduct during an emergency," which has been used again by Ohio police to incarcerate another person who filmed them in action. The arrest raises vexing questions about an obscure Ohio law that gives law enforcement almost unfettered power to detain and charge bystanders. PAR investigates how this statute may have been abused...