Crime, Law and Justice

Taser use down in both Minneapolis, St. Paul police
Data from other departments show Tasers don't perform as well as their manufacturer claims. But Twin Cities police don't measure Taser failures.
Noor sentenced to 12 1/2 years in death of 911 caller Justine Ruszczyk
The ex-Minneapolis police officer was sentenced Friday for killing 911 caller Justine Ruszczyk. The sentence was handed down after a series of emotional statements from Ruszczyk's loved ones.
Minneapolis police report record number of drug overdoses
The Minneapolis Police Department on Thursday reported 50 overdoses -- including one suspected fatal overdose -- in the city for the week running from May 28 to Monday. Statewide, there have been 163 overdoses reported in the last two weeks, according to the BCA.
R. Kelly pleads not guilty to latest charges
At an arraignment in Cook County, Ill. court on Thursday morning, the embattled R&B singer entered a not guilty plea on 11 felony charges.
Hemp farmer sues MN over crop crackdown, says state broke its own rules
Southern Minnesota farmer Luis Hummel is pushing back on a move by state agriculture officials to yank his license and destroy his hemp crop after police said it tested more like marijuana than hemp. But it's not clear what happened, or if the state followed its own regulations.
Charges: Minnesota man sprays Somali children, yells slurs
A Minnesota man is accused of a bias crime for allegedly spraying a Somali-American teenager and her siblings with a garden hose while he yelled racial slurs.
Drug overdose cases languish in court for three years
A Maplewood woman convicted in the drug overdose deaths of three men will be back in court later this month to resolve charges in two other third-degree murder cases.
Hookah coals blamed, man charged in pavilion fire at Bde Maka Ska
An attempted hookah session gone wrong appears to be the explanation for the fire that burned down the pavilion and restaurant at Bde Maka Ska, also known as Lake Calhoun. Hennepin County prosecutors say they've charged a man in connection with the May 16 fire.
Before sentencing, Noor supporters speak of his kindness and compassion
Police officers, friends and family are asking a judge to consider Mohamed Noor's character when she sentences him Friday. In April, Noor was convicted of killing an unarmed woman, Justine Ruszczyk, while responding to her 911 call.
Federal judge dismisses charges against 3 white supremacists
The three, members of the Rise Above Movement, had been charged under a federal anti-riot statute with planning and then carrying out assaults at rallies in California in 2017. The judge said the federal statute used to prosecute them was unconstitutional.