The 379th Criminal District Court in San Antonio was bulging with people last Friday, so filled with journalists, police, attorneys, and staff that bailiffs shooed those without a seat out the door. People wanted to see, first-hand, the unprecedented trial that was set to begin. Before the judge called the room to order, Bexar County […]
Tag: Police
Posted inNews
Battle of the Fitness Bros: The ‘Liver King’ Was Arrested in Austin After Challenging Joe Rogan to a Fight
Social media influencer Brian Johnson, better known as the “Liver King,” was arrested at his hotel in Austin on Tuesday night after posting dozens of bizarre, rambling videos “picking a fight” with famous podcaster Joe Rogan, KXAN first reported. He is facing a misdemeanor charge of making a terrorist threat, according to records from the […]
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Austin Is on Trial for Alleged ‘Culture of Impunity’ in Police Department
In a civil trial beginning Monday, the city of Austin will respond to allegations of a “culture of impunity” in the city’s police department — after a lawsuit claimed misconduct has gone relatively unchecked. In 2021, Alex Gonzales Jr. was fatally shot in an “apparent road rage incident” with officers Gabriel Gutierrez and Luis Serrato, […]
Posted inInvestigations
‘In Amarillo, Black Women Die:’ The Unresolved Murder of Felita Bailey
Felita Bailey let the shower melt away the sweat and grease from her long shift on the packing line at Tyson Foods. The beef plant could be an assault on the senses. Cows are slaughtered in-house, then processed, pre-cooked, and packaged before being loaded onto trucks. She was lucky to get a job at the […]
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Will Cities Stop Using AI License Plate Readers? Some Are Reconsidering After Reports of ICE Searches.
Local lawmakers in Texas are responding to recent reports that some law enforcement agencies are using automated license plate reader technology to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. Last week, The Barbed Wire delved into data first reported by 404 Media and found that at least five law enforcement agencies across Texas have conducted at […]
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Federal Complaints Over ‘Bullsh*t’ Blue Alert Hit 4,500
Texans have turned to official channels to complain about last Friday’s ear-splitting Blue Alert, which spurred hundreds of angry posts on every social media channel used by the more than 30 million Texans who received the early-morning notification from police. As of Monday morning, approximately 4,500 consumer complaints had been filed over the alert, the […]
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‘I Am Not Batman’: Texans Are Pissed the Cops Woke Everyone Up Before 5AM on a Friday
Hundreds of people have taken to social media to share their collective anger — and to announce that they’ve turned off their phone’s public safety alerts — over a 4:52 a.m. Blue Alert on Friday, which sent a piercing alarm to the roughly 30 million people who live in Texas (and hadn’t already opted out). […]
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An Austin Drag Brunch Received a Bomb Threat. Did Cops Do Enough to Help?
Editor’s note: This story mentions threats of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community. When the clock struck noon on Sunday, June 9, patrons were excitedly lined up to get into The Brewtorium in North Austin for its monthly Legendary Drag Brunch — a “fabulous day of fun” marketed online with glamorous photos of four drag queens […]