The Police Accountability Report

The Holguin family’s troubles with the El Paso Police Department began in 2022, when Adzari Holguin, then a high school senior, was asked by relative to film the police while they responded to a call about a domestic dispute. After police became aggressive once they noticed Adzari was recording, her father, Eddie Holguin, stepped in to escort his daughter home. That’s when police staged an illegal raid on the Holguin residence and arrested Eddie and Adzari. After the raid, the Holguins filed a lawsuit to demand justice. Now, they say the El Paso police are deliberately targeting their family. Police Accountability Report examines the evidence, and what this case tells us about cops in America today, who in many places not only operate with virtual legal impunity, but also conduct themselves more like a mafia than like law enforcement.

Read the transcript of this episode here. 

Studio Production: Stephen Janis, Taya Graham
Post-Production: Stephen Janis, Cameron Granadino

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Two years ago, Michigan-based cannabis entrepreneur Coty Cecil’s camper van broke down in Milton, West Virginia. As he was awaiting repairs, Cecil was confronted by Milton police at his door. Despite appearing without a warrant, police demanded entry into the camper van. During the subsequent raid, police smashed Cecil’s window and confiscated eight hemp plants. Cecil now faces a 10-year sentence. Meanwhile, Cabell County, which Milton is located in has a development deal with the billion-dollar cannabis company Trulieve, which is expected to build a grow facility in the planned HADCO Business Park, an economic initiative being funded by millions in local taxpayer money. Trulieve was quietly benefitting from tax payer funded subsidies while Cody was sitting in jail. Thanks to previous reporting from Police Accountability Report and the support of viewers, Cecil was able to get his bail reduced and return home. Cecil now returns again to Police Accountability Report to discuss his fight against the 10-year prison sentence looming over him. Police Accountability Report has previously investigated use of public funds in Milton.

Read the transcript of this episode here. 

Studio Production: Taya Graham, Stephen Janis
Post-Production: Stephen Janis, Cameron Granadino

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Jose Palomares, an off-duty cop, was moonlighting as a security guard at a homeless services center in Ft. Worth when a dispute arose over $20. Officer Palomares chose to intervene—immediately accusing the man who believed he'd had $20 stolen from him, of being a drug dealer. After calling in the drug dogs and conducting an illegal search, Palomares failed to find sufficient drugs to justify his accusation. Instead of letting the man go, Palomares then decided to pressure his arrestee into becoming an informant. Police Accountability Report discusses the shocking footage and what it tells us about the ways police wield their power against the poor.

Production: Taya Graham, Stephen Janis
Post-Production: Stephen Janis, Cameron Granadino

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The weather outside is frightful, and so is the behavior of police departments around the country! In a special holiday-themed livestream aired on Dec. 14, Police Accountability Report looks at a series of police abuse incidents around the country. From a Washington state trooper's car crash to a botched raid in Kentucky, Stephen and Taya report live on the latest incidents of cops behaving badly and what it tells us about policing in the US today.

Production: Stephen Janis, Taya Graham
Studio Production: David Hebden, Cameron Granadino

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Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/oklahoma-cop-grabs-indigenous-grandmother-for-not-walking-on-a-sidewalk

Police brutality and racial profiling are not uncommon in the city of Shawnee, Oklahoma—a place where multiple Indigenous nations were forcibly relocated to during the 19th century. Shawnee today has a high population of Indigenous and Latine residents, and one woman, Jeanine R., recently caught the outrageous behavior of local police on video in an encounter she had with them while walking along the road with her grandson. Despite no sidewalk being available, Shawnee cop Anthony Starkey threatened Mrs. Jeanine with arrest and assault for failing to walk on a sidewalk, and for not having her ID on her. This sort of aggressive behavior from law enforcement towards Indigenous and Latine people such as herself is not uncommon, Mrs. Jeanine asserts. Police Accountability Report investigates.

Studio: Stephen Janis
Post-Production: Stephen Janis, Adam Coley

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A recent article in The Washington Post highlighting the growth of cop watcher YouTube channels provided a rare mainstream spotlight on a movement that's developed entirely outside of elite institutions. But for all The Washington Post got right, a lot was missed as well. Police Accountability Report sits down with popular YouTube cop watchers The Battousai and James Freeman to discuss the state of cop watching today and how the police are trying to make the practice illegal.

James Freeman's YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@JamesFreeman1 @JamesFreeman1

The Battousai's YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@TheBattousaiMedia @TheBattousaiMedia

Studio Production: David Hebden, Adam Coley, Cameron Granadino
Production: Stephen Janis, Taya Graham

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Read the transcript of this podcast: https://therealnews.com/la-county-sheriffs-keep-pulling-people-over-for-bogus-reasons-this-time-they-got-caught

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's traffic stop, allegedly conducted for excessive window tinting, led to a fishing expedition that stranded an innocent passenger at night without her phone, wallet, keys or transportation. But cop watchers @laurasharkcw @tomzebra and @jodiekatmedia appeared on the scene to hold LASD accountable and to assist the stranded passenger. This week on the Police Accountability Report, hosts Taya Graham and Stephen Janis speak with Tom and Laura about the encounter and discuss what this case reveals about the phenomenon of over policing and the incentive structure behind the questionable allocation of police time and resources.

Production: Stephen Janis, Taya Graham
Post-Production: Stephen Janis, Adam Coley

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Chalk artist Joshua Hinson was finishing up a community art project in Leon Valley, Texas when local cops confronted him over his art, which they incorrectly described as "graffiti." Hinson's arrest, which was captured on video, has raised questions about the protection of art under the First Amendment, and the overreach and abuse of power exercised by police in regulating public space. The charges against Hinson were ultimately dropped, but the problems his case raises about the police as an institution remain. Police Accountability Report investigates.

Production: Stephen Janis, Taya Graham
Post-Production: Stephen Janis, Cameron Granadino

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Arkansas resident Shawn Chaperone was cut off by a reckless driver and was shocked that police chose to pull him over. However, it was the local police department's turn to be surprised when they discovered how well Shawn knew his rights and local ordinances! Join us for this episode of the Police Accountability Report, which illustrates the importance of knowing your rights and the dangers of arbitrary police power.

Production: Stephen Janis, Taya Graham
Post-Production: Stephen Janis, Adam Coley

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David Michaud had just checked into a motel in Hot Springs, MT when he was approached by local police and ordered to present identification. After Michaud demanded to know why he was being questioned, a contentious exchange ensued that ended with police tasering Michaud multiple times. Michaud, who is Chamorro, was asked by officers whether he was "tribal" before being tasered and arrested. Police gave multiple and conflicting reasons for Michaud's treatment, from an alleged busted tail light to failing to present ID. Once they had Michaud detained, local authorities pressed DUI charges against him. Police Accountability Report investigates this case of police abuse of power and violence in small town Montana, speaking directly to David Michaud about his ordeal.

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