Document-driven story idea for California: Excessive force by rogue cops
Here's a document-driven story idea that can now be done in California again, along with most other states: Rogue cops who beat the crap out of people.
Request from your police agencies the use-of-force reports or internal investigations regarding use of force, such as choke holds, mace, guns, and tasers. Create a database of the reports going back 10 years, including any settlements paid by tax dollars, and look for trends. Enter in your data the name of officers involved to see if a few cops are doing most of the beating. Now journalists in California can do that story againg because Attorney General Jerry Brown issued an opinion saying the names of police officers involved in critical incidents should be public (see story in the Orange County Register). Since 2006 police have blacked out officers' names because of a bad court case (Copley Press v. Superior Court of San Diego). Brown said the Copley case allows police to release names of officers who are involved in serious incidents.
Granted, even if use-of-force records are public by law expect a tussle with a lot of agencies. Last winter a student of mine requested use-of-force records in Arizona and got only 57 percent of the state's 107 law enforcement agencies to even respond, let alone provide the records (only 18 percent complied with the law). A 2006 college student project in Texas asking for taser incident reports from 254 agencies got responses from three-quarters of the agencies, finding taser-caused deaths and leading to legislative change (see story in the Fort Worth Weekly). So be persistent, keep at it and bring light to a dark problem!