The Blue Line

NYPD Cop Receives Probation for Killing Unarmed Man in Stairwell in “Accidental Discharge”

The New York City police officer who shot and killed a man in a darkened stairwell after claiming he had fired his gun accidentally was spared jail time after a judge sentenced him to probation Tuesday.
Peter Liang, 28, was facing up to 15 years in prison after he was convicted for manslaughter and official misconduct in February.

North Carolina Police Smell Marijuana; Enter Home Without Warrant

A viral video shows North Carolina police enter a home without a warrant on April 8, claiming they had smelled marijuana.
The home’s residents became upset about being violated and pandemonium ensued when the officers realized they were being recorded.
Vera McGriff, who initially posted the viral video, said police came to her door and demanded to search the house.
When she refused because the officer did not present a search warrant, eight cops barged in anyway and began terrorizing the household.

North Carolina Deputy Justified in Killing Man Asking for Search Warrant

A North Carolina grand jury chose not to indict a sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed a man after he demanded to see a warrant to search his home last year.
Harnett County sheriff’s deputies banged on John Livingston’s door last November, searching for an assault suspect who was not at the home.
Livingston demanded to see a search warrant, but the deputies had none, so Livingston shut the door in their face.

GRAPHIC: LAPD Shoot Woman Dead as She Approaches Them

A surveillance video showing Los Angeles police officers shooting and killing a woman was released today by the lawyer for the victim’s family, who is calling for the cops to be criminally charged.
LAPD said Norma Guzman was armed with a knife, which made them fear for their lives.
Guzman, 37, was homeless, mentally ill and a known drug user, according to news reports, but those who knew her said she was harmless and was known to carry around a “bread knife.”

Arizona Police Union Spurs Facebook Backlash, Defends Cop Seeking Plea Deal in Murder Case

The Facebook page of an Arizona police union blew up over the weekend with more comments than they have likes on their page for defending the indefensible.
Murder.
Mesa Police Association wrote a long defense of Mitchell Brailsford who is seeking a plea deal after being charged with second degree murder for killing Daniel Shaver, an innocent pest-control worker who used a pellet gun to shoot birds in Walmart stores.

Wisconsin Police Ignored Years of Complaints Against Fellow Cop Sentenced to Prison for Killing Woman, Stuffing Body in Suitcase

A former Wisconsin police officer received 35 years in prison last week after pleading guilty to killing a woman he met on a bondage website, asphyxiating the 19-year-old woman before hiding her body in a suitcase he threw on the side of a highway in Warworth County, Minnesota.
Steven Zelich, 54, is still facing charges of killing a 37-year-old woman in the same manner.
Complaints against Zelich began mounting years before the murders took place but went ignored by the West Allis Police Department, which employed him from 1989 to 2001.

Arizona Police Union Accuses Daniel Shaver of Felony on FB, Was Shot in Back By Cop

An cop is on trial for murder, but his Arizona police union buddies have no problem using Facebook to slander the unarmed, dead-man that one of the Mesa Police shot in the back and killed, and whom prosecutors say, “didn’t do anything wrong.”
Prosecutors asked a judge seal the body cam video of Shaver being killed this week.