A Texas criminal court judge condemned the charges against a Black man who was arrested after police saw him walking through a park when it was closed. A video clip of an arraignment hearing in Harris County, Texas, drew hundreds of thousands of views online because of Judge David Fleischer’s no-nonsense reaction to the charges against 19-year-old Zion Abiola. According to a probable cause affidavit read in court, Abiola was arrested on May 30 after an encounter with some officers who spotted him and another Black male walking out of a park that closes after sunset. Judge David Fleischer speak ..read more

Errol Leath, a 33-year-old Black man with epilepsy, was stepping off a city bus in South Florida last year when he was confronted by several cops wielding assault rifles. “Hey, you right there, don’t f–king move,” a cop screams as they run up to him and tackle him to the ground with one cop pushing his face into the grass and planting his knee on his back to handcuff him. “What’d I do? What’d I do?” a stunned Leath asks. “I got epilepsy, bro. I got seizures, bro.”  Errol Leath, left, was mistaken for murder suspect, Daenon King, right. (Photos: YouTube screenshot/WSVN) It was not until th ..read more

An Albuquerque man allegedly torched his ex-girlfriend’s house but was literally tripped up by his own mistakes — and the failed attempt was caught on the neighbor’s security camera. Arson lesson 101: Don’t catch yourself on fire. “I kinda had to laugh at the amateur-hour situation there. If you’re gonna commit arson, try to do it without setting yourself on fire in the process. He got what he deserved,” said neighbor Daniel Provine, whose cameras captured the entire crime from beginning to end. Police identified the alleged culprit as Artemio Sanchez-Ortega, 46, through a white pickup truck p ..read more

A man who survived a police shooting at a hotel outside Oakland, California, more than two years ago has filed a federal civil rights suit claiming he was unable to respond to law enforcement at his door due to a mental health episode he was having when the officers raided and opened fire. The shooting on Feb. 24, 2022, left Ashton Porter with gunshot wounds to his stomach and arm following an intense 20-hour standoff at a Pittsburg Hampton Inn, according to the attorney representing the father of six from Georgia. The civil complaint demands a jury trial and seeks unspecified damages. Pittsbu ..read more

The Baraboo School Superintendent, who was at the center of national attention after a parent shoved him during a high school graduation ceremony in Wisconsin, recently spoke out about the incident. A viral video clip of the Baraboo High School graduation ceremony showed one of the graduate’s parents, Matthew Eddy, storming the stage and pushing Superintendent Dr. Rainey Briggs to prevent Briggs from shaking his daughter’s hand. He had to be escorted off stage by police officers and school faculty. Briggs spoke to Atlanta Black Star and recounted what he felt the moment Eddy approached him and ..read more

A Boston-area man was sentenced to spend more than seven years in prison for racially harassing an interracial couple he never met using social media. Federal authorities said Stephen DeBerardinis sent several racist slurs and threats to a couple — a white woman and a Black man — on Facebook Messenger starting on Jan. 6, 2021. Even though DeBerardinis didn’t know the couple personally, prosecutors said he saw their engagement photos and announcement in December 2020 through a mutual Facebook friend. Stephen M. DeBerardinis, 48, of Boston and Dedham, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge A ..read more

The Baraboo School Superintendent, who was at the center of national attention after a parent shoved him during a high school graduation ceremony in Wisconsin, recently spoke out about the incident. A viral video clip of the Baraboo High School graduation ceremony showed one of the graduate’s parents, Matthew Eddy, storming the stage and pushing Superintendent Dr. Rainey Briggs to prevent Briggs from shaking his daughter’s hand. He had to be escorted off stage by police officers and school faculty. Briggs spoke to Atlanta Black Star and recounted what he felt the moment Eddy approached him and ..read more

A Michigan man charged with felony fleeing, who fired his public defender and showed up in  Washtenaw County Court acting as his own lawyer, tried to match wits with no-nonsense Judge J. Cedric Simpson, who warned him, “You’re playing with the wrong judge.” The hearing from two months ago has since gone viral on social media and is just the latest in a steady stream of courtroom dramas involving Simpson, who’s gained a viral following due to his irascible temperament on the bench. This time, though, the judge demonstrated extreme patience with the defendant, Tarik Dey, who got set straigh ..read more

A three-year investigation stemming from a short video recorded by a witness led to a felony charge against a Southern California police officer this month. Glendale Police Officer Gonzalo Zendejas was charged on June 3 with assault by a public officer over a video showing the uniformed cop kicking a juvenile suspect in the face who was on the ground being punched in the face by two other cops in plainclothes while a fourth cop in plainclothes held his legs down. The incident took place on June 5, 2021, inside a Dick’s Sporting Goods store at the Glendale Galleria shopping mall. This is the sa ..read more

The parents of a 14-year-old boy are demanding that a Michigan middle school coach be charged with assault after he was caught on surveillance video choking their son with a shirt. “I need this man to pay for what he did to my son, and if that means being fired, losing his job, sitting in jail, I need him to know what he did was wrong,” Steve Moon told WXYZ-TV. Surveillance footage from Ypsilanti Community Middle School showed the attack from last week. The coach was seen taking off his shirt, winding it up with his wrists, then approaching 14-year-old Michael Moon from behind and choking him ..read more