Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Policing Reform
A Moment of Simple Justice - Ferguson
In the plaintiffs’ lawsuits against the City, former police officer Derek Chauvin, and several additional Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers, the complaints alleged police misconduct, use of excessive force, and...more
The recent woman-led and -inspired demonstrations in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the country's Morality Police have garnered widespread support both in Iran and around the globe. These protests...more
Are North Carolina Courts Chipping Away at Public Official Immunity? For years, police officers and other public officials in North Carolina have enjoyed the protections of public official immunity when charged or sued...more
The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 ignited a long-overdue global movement for racial justice, with communities across the United States and around the world unifying to demand change. In the immediate aftermath of...more
THE CHAUVIN CASE: A LIFTING OF THE VEIL OR ONLY A PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN? Thanks to a 17-year-old’s cellphone video, worldwide protests, and a televised criminal trial, the Derek Chauvin trial exposed misconduct and...more
Guilty Verdict - Earlier this week, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd. While officials had feared massive demonstrations with the possibility of violence or property...more
US Commission on Civil Rights Commissioner and WilmerHale Partner Debo Adegbile and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot discuss the US Conference of Mayors’ blueprint for improving policing and promoting equal justice in America’s...more
In October and November, the Supreme Court of Canada’s docket is largely made up criminal cases. That said, there are three appeals that may interest businesses and organizations facing civil litigation....more
The national outage over authorities’ excessive use of force, especially against black men, may take law enforcement, first responders, politicians, and critics into a murky and nightmarish area — call it the unfounded...more
Protestors across America have delivered a firm message in response to the deaths of black citizens at the hands of law enforcement: “This has to stop.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit used the same words on...more
In a decision applauded by citizens of the City of Chicago and its leadership, the Illinois Supreme Court found that a provision in the collective bargaining agreement between the Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge No....more
BB&K's Gary Schons Discusses Controversial Use-of-Force Campaign in PublicCEO - In the past week, Campaign Zero’s “#8CANTWAIT” was launched in response to George Floyd’s killing and the outcry for police reforms that...more
In a recently published opinion, the Fourth Circuit held that even if the City could not be liable under a Monell theory, its police officers were not entitled to Qualified Immunity because a reasonable jury could find that...more
The killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis and the unnecessary deaths of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have stirred deep emotions in our communities along with global outcry for change. Many people, including our...more
The California Supreme Court recently issued an opinion that analyzes the public disclosure of police body camera footage and demonstrates the overlap between e-Discovery processes and other records production schemes. The...more
Civic unrest in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis is complicating reopening plans for cities and businesses around the country trying to restart after months of coronavirus-related closures....more
California Public Records Act Provision Permitting Public Agencies to Charge for “Extraction” Analyzed - Government agencies are prohibited from charging a fee to redact police body camera footage in response to a...more
The Court of Appeal's recent decision in Kadie Kalma & Ors v African Minerals Ltd stands as a stark reminder of the risks and responsibilities companies bear when operating in sectors and jurisdictions with a high risk of...more
BB&K's Christine Wood Gives Updates on AB 748 and SB 1421 in PublicCEO - Now, more than ever, Californians have greater access to police personnel records, body and dashboard camera footage and other recordings acquired by...more
Across the country, police departments are moving toward greater use of individual officer body cams. The small, lightweight cameras are used to record police encounters from the officer’s perspective and can become evidence....more
The divide between law enforcement and the African-American community is a hot topic, but what happens when the two meet? In her Daily Journal article “When law enforcement and community meet,” Partner Angela Powell discusses...more
Earlier this month, Axon, the company formerly known as Taser, announced that it will offer a one year free trial of its body cameras and cloud storage to every police department in the United States. While controversy about...more
The bill establishes a more restrictive process for obtaining video than the courts have provided for under the Right to Know Law. The Pennsylvania Senate passed a bill on October 19 that would prohibit police body...more
BB&K attorney Gary Schons examines police body cameras from a variety of angles for the California District Attorneys Association’s Prosecutor’s Brief. The use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement officials and what...more
The California Supreme Court has held that the names of police officers involved in shootings generally must be disclosed under state public records law, rejecting arguments by police unions and municipalities that the names...more