| Accurate and complete national databases on policing are few and far between. So when we wanted a database of civil payments for alleged police misconduct, we had to build one ourselves. Because the federal government has no way to compel all of the more than 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the country to provide data, anything it collects tends to be spotty — and even at the local level, some data points simply aren't collected. As an investigative data reporter here, this is a problem I've come to anticipate. So when I want to know something, I lean on open records laws. Every state has its own — sometimes called a sunshine law — designed to help citizens better understand their government by providing a level of transparency and access to the public's business. We used these laws to file requests for information from the cities and counties with the largest police and sheriffs' departments when our team wanted to explore which officers were repeatedly the subjects of citizen claims of alleged misconduct. Many requests were denied. More than a year later, some are still being processed. In the end, we were able to get data covering 25 departments. I've discussed some of the hurdles we had to overcome on Twitter. One of the things that struck me was how few (just eight) of the cities and counties were able to provide the names of officers in their data. The records provided often had some details — such as an incident date or a court record number — but were lacking the information that would help us reveal and report how many officers were the subject of repeated misconduct claims. To conduct this investigation, I manually hunted down every lawsuit where we didn't have an officer's name attached to a claim. At the end of the day, I found names in 22,858 legal cases, and combined that data with the records from a few cities that provided officer names. This created a final database of claims with officers' names attached, allowing us to identify more than 7,600 who were named in multiple misconduct cases between 2010 and 2020 — and the cost to taxpayers. This isn't the first time The Post has had to create its own policing data for an investigation, since city and federal records are so incomplete. We've done it several times before to reveal the true toll of police shootings and how policing works — and often doesn't — in America. And it's unlikely this is our last foray into the space. Read our latest story about the hidden billion-dollar cost of police misconduct, then see if your city is in our database.  (The Washington Post) More than $1.5 billion has been spent to settle claims of police misconduct on behalf of thousands of officers repeatedly accused of wrongdoing. Taxpayers are often in the dark. Exclusive ● By Keith L. Alexander, Steven Rich and Hannah Thacker ● Read more » |    | | | | The situation in Ukraine seems destined to result in an even deadlier and more protracted slog, wreaking devastation in the country and resulting in a massive humanitarian crisis. By Ashley Parker, John Hudson, Michael Birnbaum and Paul Sonne ● Read more » | | | | |  (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post) With astonishing speed, Ukraine shifts from normal life to fighting off an invading army. By Max Bearak and Isabelle Khurshudyan ● Read more » | | | | | | Jeffrey Sonnenfeld has spent decades pushing executives to act to benefit society. By Tracy Jan ● Read more » | | | | | | Wendy Rogers, who recently drew a rare official rebuke from fellow Republicans, has raised millions from out-of-state donors By Beth Reinhard and Rosalind S. Helderman ● Read more » | | | | | Some pieces they couldn't play. Too many musicians had either fled or joined the fight against Russia. By Sudarsan Raghavan ● Read more » | | | Brittney Griner's family, her agents, officials from the WNBA and top U.S. government officials have been mostly silent about her situation. That could be strategic, experts say. By Dave Sheinin ● Read more » | | | | This personal pandemic check-up shows how many Americans share your experiences. By Derek Hawkins, Alyssa Fowers, Madison Dong, Dan Keating and Simon Ducroquet ● Read more » | | | | |  (Kate Woodsome/The Washington Post) An intimate documentary about the growing crisis of Americans held hostage by foreign governments, "Bring Them Home" follows one family's desperate effort to free their loved one from being a geopolitical pawn. Opinion ● By Kate Woodsome and Ray Whitehouse ● Read more » | | | | | The pandemic and the rise in remote work have prompted a switch to comfy attire — which means underwire bras may be on the decline. By Karen Heller ● Read more » | | | |
Photo of the week  (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post) | More than 2 million Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia's invasion late last month, according to the United Nations' refugee agency.
In the images above, George Keburia says goodbye to his wife, Maya, and children as they board a train to Lviv from Odessa on March 5. The family was amid hundreds of other women and children fleeing the city as war violence moved closer. You can explore more photos from Post photographers in Ukraine. Then watch this video of photographer Salwan Georges talking about meeting Keburia at the train station and hear what other moments from the war have stuck with our reporters on the ground. |
Email 
