Voters approve measures overhauling police in areas across the country

Seattle City Council voted to cut the police department budget by roughly 18% – less than half of the 50% reduction that activists had called for – and instead re-allocate “millions” of dollars to “fund community alternatives,” according to officials and recent reports. Council members voted Monday to slash funds meant for SPD training and overtime, reassign certain roles to other city agencies and eliminate unfilled jobs, according to officials and local news station KING 5.

A former San Francisco rookie police officer who killed an unarmed Black man just weeks into the job has been charged in connection to the death.

Bruce Haring pmc-editorial-managerThe Southern California COVID-19 curfew is now in effect, but that doesn’t sit well with some people and law enforcement.A “Curfew Breakers” protest in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Ellise Shafer editorAs COVID-19 cases continue to climb across California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he has instated a “limited stay-at-home order” to take effect today, Nov.

Two Los Angeles men have been charged with voter fraud after attempting to submit 8,000 ballot applications for nonexistent or deceased voters. Hawthorne, California, mayoral candidate Carlos Antonio De Bourbon Montenegro, 53, and Marcos Raul Arevalo, 34, planned the effort in an attempt to help Montenegro win his bid for mayor, Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Tuesday.

An Anitfa-aligned group's tweet that seems to celebrate arson doesn't violate the site's policies because the post's language is too vague, according to Twitter.

A California nurse raped and killed while jogging may have helped detectives solve her cold case murder after 25 years. Christine Munro was 37 when she was murdered in Redding on a summer day in 1995.

Seattle released several lengthy police body camera videos this week revealing the police response to recent demonstrations that saw law enforcement officers repeatedly clash with protesters.

The Seattle City Council has proposed reducing its police budget by 20%, which would make it one of several Democratic-run cities taking big chunks of money away from local law enforcement, MyNorthwest reported. Many "Defund the police" activists who were calling for the city to cut its police budget by at least 50% may not be happy, but the cuts would make Seattle second only to Austin for biggest police budget reductions since the May 25 death of George Floyd.

Someone in California has made off with a replica of the celebrated sasquatch. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office shared Wednesday on Facebook that someone stole the Bigfoot statue from right in front of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum in Felton, located just north of Santa Cruz.  "Keep your eyes peeled for Bigfoot!" the sheriff's office said.

Tom Tapp Deputy Managing EditorAfter Governor Gavin Newsroom warned yesterday that some of California’s counties would be falling back in his coronavirus reopening protocols, the state’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mark Ghaly, announced on Tuesday that a total of 10 counties were being required to move back to more restrictive measures.A total of 10 counties, including one of the state’s most populous, fell back in the governor’s tiering structure.

The home of a Portland, Ore., city commissioner was targeted by protesters this week over his refusal to support $18 million in cuts to the police budget.  A group of around 60 people marched in the rain Thursday from Arbor Lodge Park to Commissioner Dan Ryan's home. Once there, they smashed a window, broke a flower pot and threw burning flares and paint-filled balloons at the home, authorities said.

Tom Tapp Deputy Managing EditorAs the nation continues to count massive numbers of votes, it also continues to report massive numbers of new coronavirus infections.On Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. recorded over 100,000 new cases and over 1,000 new deaths for the first time.

The union that represents Portland, Ore., police officers filed a grievance Thursday challenging a voter-approved measure to create a civilian oversight board.  The Portland Police Association, which represents 850 officers, contends that matters related to discipline, discipline standards, due process, personnel files and criminal and administrative investigations must be negotiated with the city.  "The city's conduct to evade its contractual obligations through voter enacted Charter changes is

A videographer accused Los Angeles police of targeting him and another person who were filming as unrest unfolded in the California city on Wednesday night, according to a report. Vishal Singh and Sean Beckner-Carmitchel were recording a demonstration in downtown Los Angeles, when officers from the Los Angeles Police Department took them into custody, according to the Los Angeles Times.

California voters have rejected by a 10% margin, a ballot measure that would have abolished cash bail in the Golden State. The electorate overturned a 2018 law, SB 10, which established a risk-assessment program that allowed judges to decide which suspects to free and which should remain in jail while awaiting trial.

Powerful interest groups spent more than $785 million into 12 yes-or-no questions on this year’s ballot in California, bypassing the state legislature to put the measures to a purely democratic test.  Californians, though they voted overwhelmingly blue, struck a surprising blow to affirmative action proposals, its anti-independent contractor law and rent control expansion.  In the Golden State’s most expensive ballot measure campaign ever, ride-share apps such as Uber and Lyft won the right to

At least eight people were arrested in Seattle as people took to the streets to protest on Election Day, including demonstrators who were leaving nails in a roadway, according to police.  The Seattle Police Department said two groups were marching through the city Tuesday night, including one that was given public safety warnings for people to keep moving.