Virginia bans no-knock warrants as Northam signs new police reform laws

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said Wednesday that he has signed several bills to reform policing in the state, including legislation that empowers localities to establish civilian reviews boards with subpoena power, creating statewide minimum training standards for officers and a ban on no-knock search warrants.

The governor called for a special session this summer initially to revise the state’s budget after the economic fallout from the pandemic but in the wake of George Floyd’s death in May, the need to address social justice issues felt urgent and compelled lawmakers to push for changes.

Virginia Democrats set an ambitious agenda, proposing measures to prohibit no-knock warrants, ban neck restraints, to eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement and to give judges and juries the discretion to reduce the charge for assaulting law enforcement officers from a felony to a misdemeanor if the officer is not hurt during the encounter. Northam even announced his own priorities ahead of the session, which included expanding the criteria required for decertification and requiring officers to intervene if they witness a fellow officer attempting to or committing an unlawful use of force.

Gov. Grand Wizard does something decent for a change. Don’t worry, he’ll ruin something else soon enough.



Sometimes Boogaloos begin in the strangest of places…

Chicago sisters accused of stabbing employee 27 times after being asked to wear a mask

Two Chicago sisters were denied bail after allegedly stabbing a store clerk 27 times over the request to wear a mask

A man was stabbed multiple times after asking two women to wear masks.

Two sisters entered a small shop in Chicago on Sunday when they were approached by a worker who asked them to wear a mask and to use hand sanitizer to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 according to Karie James who is a police spokesperson, the Chicago Sun Times (sic) reported. They refused and began to argue with the man at the store located on the 3200 block of West Roosevelt Road.

The argument escalated and the women Jessica Hill, 21, and Jayla Hill, 18, are accused of attacking the man. Jessica pulled a knife out of her back pocket and began stabbing the 32-year-old man. Jayla held the man in place by his hair while the victim was stabbed 27 times.


Sometimes this timeline surprises even me.


In honor of the Dodgers and the fan response: