police Archives

Three police officers stand behind yellow police-line tape. Behind them, workers in safety vests pack tents and other items into crates.

Police Know Arrests Won’t Fix Homelessness. They Keep Making Them Anyway.

by Melissa Lewis June 23, 2022June 22, 2022

As unhoused people increasingly live in residential neighborhoods, their new neighbors have turned to one place for help in particular: the police.

A police officer stands in the foreground, a rose visible on the butt of their gun. In the background is a houseless person packing up their belongings.

Housing

Handcuffed and Unhoused

by Melissa Lewis, Emily Harris, Cynthia Rodriguez, Taki Telonidis, Andy Donohue, Soo Oh, David Rodriguez, Amy Mostafa, Sarah Mirk, Jim Briggs, Fernando Arruda, Steven Rascón, Claire Mullen, Kevin Sullivan and Al Letson April 16, 2022April 23, 2022

A hidden side of homelessness: Unhoused people often get entangled in a criminal justice cycle that leads back to the streets – or worse.

https://reveal-player.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/816_Reveal_PC.mp3

An illustration shows a police officer whose mouth is taped shut with blue tape.

Accountability

Behind the Blue Wall

by Cynthia Rodriguez, Katharine Mieszkowski, Amy Mostafa, Sarah Mirk, Jim Briggs, Fernando Arruda, Steven Rascón, Kathryn Styer Martínez, Jess Alvarenga, Kevin Sullivan and Ike Sriskandarajah March 5, 2022March 4, 2022

A viral video embarrassed a Nashville, Tennessee, police captain – and exposed a toxic work culture that went beyond just one officer.

https://reveal-player.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/810_Reveal_PC_A_Block.mp3

A Metropolitan Police turns onto Pennsylvania Ave.

Accountability

Who Has Power and How Do They Wield It?

by Andrea Henderson, Dhruv Mehrotra, Stan Alcorn, Queena Sook Kim, Amy Mostafa, Steven Rascón, Jim Briggs, Fernando Arruda, Jess Alvarenga, Kathryn Styer Martínez, Kevin Sullivan and Ike Sriskandarajah February 19, 2022February 23, 2022

Three local investigative stories that have big impact, from D.C. police keeping troubled officers on the force to the history of prisoner disenfranchisement laws in Missouri.

https://reveal-player.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/808_Reveal_PC.mp3

Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy Patrick Divers approaches the passenger door of a patrol car.

Immigration

Texas Deputy Who Tased Unarmed Refugee Child Won’t Be Disciplined

by Aura Bogado and Laura C. Morel February 10, 2022June 21, 2022

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has provided a series of contradictory and confusing statements about its investigation into the deputy’s conduct.

Accountability

After Ayotzinapa

by Reveal staff January 15, 2022October 1, 2022

In 2014, students from a rural college in Mexico came under attack by police. Six people were killed and 43 young men disappeared without a trace.

Accountability

DC Police Tried to Fire 24 Current Officers for ‘Criminal Offenses.’ A Powerful Panel Blocked Nearly Every One, Documents Show.

by Dhruv Mehrotra, Jenny Gathright and Martin Austermuhle December 18, 2021December 18, 2021

Disciplinary files obtained by Reveal and WAMU/DCist show how a panel of high-ranking officers – including the current police chief – kept troubled officers on the force.

Housing

Handcuffed and Unhoused

by Melissa Lewis, Emily Harris, Cynthia Rodriguez, Taki Telonidis, Soo Oh, Andy Donohue, David Rodriguez, Amy Mostafa, Sarah Mirk, Jim Briggs, Fernando Arruda, Steven Rascón, Claire Mullen, Kevin Sullivan and Al Letson December 18, 2021December 18, 2021

As homelessness rises, unhoused people often get entangled in a criminal justice cycle that leads back to the streets – or worse.

https://reveal-player.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/751_Reveal_PC.mp3

Billey Joe Johnson Jr. smiles broadly at the camera.

Mississippi Goddam

Mississippi Goddam Chapter 7: Reasonable Doubt

by Al Letson, Jonathan Jones, Kevin Sullivan, Michael I Schiller, Nina Martin, Andy Donohue, Steven Rascón, Amy Mostafa, Sarah Mirk, Jim Briggs, Fernando Arruda, Claire Mullen, Najib Aminy and Kathryn Styer Martínez December 4, 2021December 3, 2021

The final episode of Mississippi Goddam shares new revelations that cast doubt on the official story that Billey Joe Johnson accidentally killed himself.