Tag Archives: fourth amendment

Man Crosses the Street to Buy a Soda, But Gets Busted (literally) For Jaywalking

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It was just before 1 a.m. in Mansfield, Ohio. A 67-year-old man set out on a simple errand: to grab a 50-cent soda from a vending machine at the Car Wash & Mini Mart, just a block from his home. But he would never get that soda, because the Mansfield Police Department rolled up on him and immediately detained him for allegedly jaywalking across this empty street. Knowing that he did nothing wrong, the man complained. But he was then forcefully grabbed and then slammed to the parking lot asphalt, severely injuring him. An army of officers then surrounded him, mocked him and belittled him. All the while ignoring his obvious physical injuries.

“Gypsy Cop” Moves 4,000 Miles Away, Then Does It Again

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Police officer Brandon LeBlanc left Louisiana after 17 years of law enforcement experience to become a brand new rookie cop in Juneau, Alaska. But just months into his new job, a routine call turns into a brutal moment caught on camera that shocks an entire community, sparks protest, and forces the City to take action and to release the body cam and dash cam footage. Discovering the rookie officer was previously in Louisiana for 17 years, the community is left wondering why he left Louisiana in the first place…

The 5th Circuit Opinion can be accessed here.

Cop Drags Man Out of His Car For “Playing a Constitutional Rights Game”

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Deputy Stefan Ortiz with the Volusia County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office stopped an older man for an alleged faulty tag light. Within minutes he literally drug the man out of his car and arrested him, telling another officer that the man was attempting to play a “constitutional rights game” with him. This video raises common issues that occur across the country, where police officers disregard basic constitutional rights, and the entire criminal justice system seems to allow it….

Chief Deputy Grabs Woman on a Public Sidewalk, Forces Her to Stop Recording

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On August 5, 2025 in Huntington, West Virginia, Chief Deputy Chuck Zerkle of the Cabell County (West Virginia) Sheriff’s Office grabbed a woman filming the arrest of a homeless man from a public sidewalk near the courthouse. He forced the woman, a social worker, to stop filming what she perceived to be police officers engaged in a gratuitous use of force outside of view of surveillance cameras (while not wearing body cams). Fortunately, another woman was also recording…

The lawsuit:

Dist.S.D.W.Va._3-25-cv-00490_1Download

Driver Honks at Cop Car Idling at Green Light, Gets Arrested 5 Minutes Later

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Matthew Edwards, a hard working welder, had just worked a 14 hour shift and was waiting to turn into his neighborhood in Troy, New York. A marked police car was waiting at a red light in front of him at the intersection where he was waiting to make a left turn onto the street where he lives. But when the light turned green, the police car didn’t move. After waiting a few moments, Matthew briefly honked his horn to alert the distracted police officer that the light had turned green. Within 5 minutes, Matthew would be violently arrested by that officer, Taylor Ganache with the Troy Police Department.

The police report:

The lawsuit:

Troy ComplaintDownload

Cops Pull Over a Paraplegic Driving a Blind Man, Then Order Them Both Out of the Car

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Officers with the DeKalb, Texas Police Department pulled over a paraplegic man and his fully blind best friend over a broken tag light on their country Cadillac. One of the officers claimed to smell marijuana and ordered both men out of the car (the search of which did not subsequently produce marijuana) – at night, on the side of a highway. One of the men couldn’t see a thing, and the other had no use of legs and had no wheelchair. It went about how you might expect…

Police Captain Caught by FBI Staging Innocent CEO’s Arrest for Social Media

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Captain David Boruchowitz was the face of law enforcement in Nye County, Nevada, showing up on the news, social media, and even police reality TV shows. But behind the badge, a darker story was brewing. In 2019 he arrested Angela Evans, the CEO Valley Electric (VEA) – a local power company, accusing her of embezzling services by moving a power pole on her own property. As it turns out, that allegation was a total lie. But the damage was done. She lost her job and ended up filing a civil lawsuit. So why did he do it? Believe it or not, Boruchowitz was later exposed by the FBI to be part of a conspiracy to oust this woman as CEO and replace her with his co-conspirator, Ken Johnson. A central part of this scheme were elaborate Facebook and YouTube videos produced by the Nye County Sheriff’s Office for the purpose of effecting the conspiracy. Despite getting caught, indicted and convicted, Boruchowitz ended up not spending a single day in prison.

The Indictment:

Buruchowitz IndictmentDownload

Search Warrant No. 1:

vea search warrant 1Download

Search Warrant No. 2:

vea warrant no 2Download

Officer Magnifico, Who Lost His Temper, Slammed Kid at Sheetz, Has RESIGNED (but not really)

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Officer Rob Magnifico, formerly the chief of the Ellwood City (PA) Police Department, was demoted in June after he slammed a kid on the ground at a Sheetz gas station for using the “F” word while demanding his cell phone be returned, which he had previously accidentally left at the gas station. Apparently Magnifico recently resigned – but unfortunately, not from Ellwood City. Instead, he is challenging his prior discipline, and may actually be making more money, while exercising essentially the same authority as before his demotion.

Cop Slams Handcuffed Woman, Gets Charged With a Felony

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In Ormond Beach, Florida, Officer Jacob Cannon has been arrested and charged with a felony, after being caught on bodycam slamming a handcuffed woman to the ground during a DUI arrest.

Grandmother Arrested on 25 Year-Old Warrant for Someone Else | Lawsuit Filed!

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In the blink of an eye, a peaceful day of yardwork for Penny McCarthy turned into a nightmare. She was on her driveway in Phoenix, Arizona, in a sleeveless shirt, shorts, and slippers, when a team of United States Marshals pulled up in unmarked vehicles and aimed firearms at her.

Penny—who is a 67-year-old grandmother—was clearly at their mercy. And yet, the officers threatened to “hit” her, frisked her, placed her in handcuffs and ankle shackles, and drove her away from home. The officers did not so much as check Penny’s driver’s license or run any other basic checks on her identity before violently arresting her.

The whole time, Penny calmly but persistently insisted that there must be a mistake. The officers claimed that she was Carole Rozak, for whom they had an arrest warrant. But Penny was not Rozak, and Penny had no connection to Rozak. The officers had made a huge, inexcusable error.

Here are more details from the Institute for Justice.

You can DONATE to the Institute for Justice here.

The complaint that was filed by the Institute for Justice:

AZ-Mistaken-ID-Stamped-ComplaintDownload