Wisconsin partnership tracks unsolved murders

Gannett Wisconsin Media began publishing a four-week series called Cold Cases: Tracking Wisconsin's unsolved murders. According to Gannett Wisconsin Media, the project is the most comprehensive look into unsovled murders ever assembled in the region. The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism also partnered with Gannett Wisconsin Media on this project, which includes a searchable database of unsolved murders dating back to 1926.

“It was just one scene in a city where gunfire has long been too common. In the first six months of this year, more than 1,000 people were shot in Chicago, according to a (Chicago) Tribune analysis.”

His supervisors and fellow officers praise Officer Lucas Peterson as a courageous and exemplary cop. Court records offer a different view — an officer whose aggressive methods frequently cross the line, according to a Star Tribune report. Since he joined the force in 2000, he has been named in at least 13 excessive force complaints that so far have cost the city and other agencies more than $700,000 in settlements, court and city records show.  The actions of Peterson and other officers have come under scrutiny as the Hennepin County attorney’s office reviews whether police were justified in shooting Terrence Franklin in the basement of an Uptown house May 10.

A Newsday report reveals how a cop shot an unarmed man -- and kept his job.

The Washington Post reports that the faces of more than 120 million people are in searchable photo databases that state officials assembled to prevent driver’s-license fraud but that increasingly are used by police to identify suspects, accomplices and even innocent bystanders in a wide range of criminal investigations.

Condemned killer Debra Milke still sits on Arizona's death row. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed her conviction largely on the testimony of Phoenix Police Detective Armando Saldate, who claimed Milke confessed. He didn't record it, write it down or have it witnessed. Investigative reporter Wendy Halloran from KPNX (NBC) Phoenix uncovered Saldate had a history of misconduct documented in his personnel file. What’s more, other officers who worked with Saldate knew he regularly engaged in misconduct as a detective. And when he was elected as constable, the misconduct did not appear to end.

Investigative Reporter Wendy Halloran from KPNX-12 News Phoenix uncovered a history of shoddy investigations that led to arrests, grand jury indictments and prosecution of people in Phoenix by arson investigators with the Phoenix Fire Department. The cases also factored into the department’s boast of the highest arson clearance rates in the country. Halloran’s probe also prompted the Fire Chief to form a fire investigation review committee which will review the arson clearance rates and the arson investigators training and methods. It’s who he selected to be on that committee that will likely be the subject of Halloran’s next report.

"Questions linger months after the Almanac broke the story about the arrest, firing and reinstatement of a veteran Menlo Park police officer: How, exactly, does a police officer keep his job after being caught with a prostitute in a motel room?"

"Now, the public finally has some answers. The Almanac spent five months investigating binding arbitration in police discipline cases. Among the findings: The arbitrator's decision can be legally and factually wrong, and it's still binding."

Terrorism fears have led government to cloak the danger of hazardous chemical plants | The Houston Chronicle
"Around the country, hundreds of buildings like the one in West store some type of ammonium nitrate. They sit in quiet fields and by riverside docks, in business districts and around the corner from schools, hospitals and day care centers. By law, this shouldn’t be a mystery. Yet fears of terrorism have made it harder than ever for homeowners to find out what dangerous chemicals are hidden nearby. Poor communication can also keep rescue workers in the dark about the risks they face."

Milwaukee County mental health system traps patients in cycle of emergency care | The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Milwaukee County's mental health system focuses less on continual care and more on emergency treatment than any in the nation. Despite scandals, studies and promises of reform, the system is like many of its patients: It never gets better."

In California, incarcerated students fall through gaps in special education laws | The Center for Investigative Reporting
"California and federal laws allow students with disabilities to receive special education until age 22. But the laws are vague enough that deciding who should provide that education is unclear."

Now, You Can’t Ban Guns at the Public Pool | ProPublica
"For 20 years, Charleston has been an island of modest gun restrictions in a very pro-gun rights state. But its gun laws — including a ban on guns in city parks, pools and recreation centers — are now likely to be rolled back, the latest victory in a long-standing push to deny cities the power to regulate guns."

Minneapolis cops rarely disciplined in big-payout cases | The Star Tribune
"Despite nearly $14 million in payouts for alleged police misconduct over the past seven years, the Minneapolis Police Department rarely concluded that the officers involved did anything wrong, according to a Star Tribune analysis. Of 95 payouts from 2006 to 2012 to people who said they were victims of misconduct, eight resulted in officers being disciplined, according to records from the police and the city attorney’s office. The 12 costliest settlements were for cases that did not result in any officer discipline, the Star Tribune found. They included the $2.19 million paid in the case of a mentally ill man shot dead in 2006 by police, and the $1 million paid in the case of a woman severely burned by a police flash grenade in 2010."

As Factory Farms Spread, Government Efforts to Curb Threat From Livestock Waste Bog Down | Fair Warning
"As factory farms take over more and more of the nation’s livestock production, a major environmental threat has emerged: Pollution from the waste produced by the immense crush of animals."

Law to protect news sources could backfire in some cases, experts say | St. Louis Beacon
"Contrary to conventional wisdom, the proposed federal shield law backed by the press and President Barack Obama wouldn’t help reporters protect their sources in big national security cases, such as the recent ones involving the AP and James Rosen of Fox. In fact, the law could make it harder for the press to protect sources in those cases."

The Star Tribune reports that Minneapolis police haven't disciplined many of their officers accused of misconduct. "Despite nearly $14 million in payouts for alleged police misconduct over the past seven years, the Minneapolis Police Department rarely concluded that the officers involved did anything wrong, according to a Star Tribune analysis. Of 95 payouts from 2006 to 2012 to people who said they were victims of misconduct, eight resulted in officers being disciplined, according to records from the police and the city attorney’s office. The 12 costliest settlements were for cases that did not result in any officer discipline, the Star Tribune found. They included the $2.19 million paid in the case of a mentally ill man shot dead in 2006 by police, and the $1 million paid in the case of a woman severely burned by a police flash grenade in 2010."