Denver, Colorado – March 29, 2022 To the Denver Community, On Friday, March 25, a federal jury found that the Denver Police used excessive force against us in violation of the First and Fourth Amendments when they indiscriminately attacked massive crowds of peaceful protestors with tear gas grenades, Pepper Ball guns, flash bang explosives, 40mm… Read More
MILWAUKEE – Late yesterday the family of Sylville K. Smith, a young man and father fatally shot by former police officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown August 13, 2016, finalized a record $4 million settlement with the City of Milwaukee. It is the largest pre-trial settlement of a police shooting case in Milwaukee and Wisconsin history. In addition… Read More
Live stream of today’s press conference by activists, public officialsand attorneys can be found here: https://bit.ly/30K0zTW CHICAGO – A broad coalition of #BlackLivesMatter organizations, legal workers, and journalists teamed up with a consortium of civil rights lawyers today to file a federal civil rights lawsuit to restrain President Trump’s promised surge of federal law enforcement… Read More
Without Warning, Denver Police Repeatedly Assaulted People with Weapons That Pose Particular Threats During the Pandemic DENVER – The City and County of Denver face a federal, class action lawsuit seeking damages on behalf of all protestors over alleged wrongful curfew arrests and unconstitutional assaults that Denver Police made on peaceful protesters and following the… Read More
Video poking holes in the police version of events is available here. WICHITA, KS, 8/9/2018 – The family of 24-year-old Matthew Holmes, beaten and shot to death last August by a county sheriff’s deputy, and then beaten further while he lay dying, sued the McPherson and Harvey County, Kansas Sheriff’s Departments, City of Newton, and… Read More
There’s been a lot of talk in the news about an opioid/heroin epidemic in our country. And with this epidemic, many have begun rethinking long-term incarceration for drug addicts. It is certainly time for this reform. Make no mistake: locking people up for years, decades, or a lifetime for an illness – an addiction –… Read More
Black History Month celebrates the contributions of Black Americans. We recognize the achievements of historical social reformers such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass. As Black History Month comes to a close, I think it’s appropriate to celebrate the Black Lives Matter activists who have done a tremendous job creating social awareness to… Read More
At Altering Convictions we share our perspective about combating police brutality, opposing mass incarceration, and fighting injustice. All of our pieces presume a few basic truths that are inarguable. It is unacceptable for law enforcement to treat certain people’s lives as expendable. Law enforcement should honor everyone’s constitutional rights. And all people should be treated… Read More
Black Lives Matter. It is mystifying to me that such a basic affirmation can be considered divisive. And yet there have been many who react to this affirmation defensively. Many interpret the irrefutable phrase into a negation of its opposite, as if it were an inflammatory, anti-white or anti-police rallying cry. That twist is just… Read More
City Suffers Nearly as Many Police Shootings as 10X More Populous New York “Mr. Sowell presented no threat to anyone and was not carrying a gun – let alone shooting one – when Defendants killed him.” – Lawsuit INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 10 – The family of the late Donte Sowell, a father of four shot dead… Read More
