Arizona: The Phoenix Police Department (PPD) fired and arrested Offs. Luis Vasquez Jr. and Antonio Felix on August 22, 2026, for violently assaulting a couple during a traffic stop, KTVK/KPHO in Phoenix reported. The incident occurred late on the evening of August 5, when the duo pulled over the couple’s vehicle and smashed its window to unlock the doors and force the driver and his passenger to step out. Vasquez then punched the unnamed driver several times in the head, face and groin, threatening to shoot him, while Felix deployed his Taser. The man then managed to drive away. The passenger, who was also unnamed, said the cops put her in an arm bar and shocked her with a stun gun, eventually taking her cellphone and leaving her handcuffed on a sidewalk over an hour’s walk from home. When Tempe cops found the vehicle abandoned about an hour later and notified PDP, Vasquez and Felix took the call, omitting from their reports any knowledge about how it got there. Since neither had activated his body-worn camera (BWC) or followed any other procedures in the stop, fellow officers who later took statements from the victims initially believed the culprits had been impersonating police. But after reviewing photos that the couple took to document their injuries, PDP contacted the office of Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, who obtained an indictment for the bad cops on charges including kidnapping, aggravated assault, felony assault involving a bound or physically restrained individual, aggravated robbery, threatening and intimidating behavior, criminal damage, tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. Vasquez, an eight-year PDP veteran, and Felix, who had worked there nine years, were booked into the County jail and released after posting a $100,000 bond. No motive for the assault has been reported.

Arkansas: Former Conway County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Dep. Joseph Taylor Dube, 34, was sentenced to 30 years in state prison on August 12, 2026, after pleading guilty to rape. The charge was negotiated down from more serious counts he faced for sexually grooming and assaulting the minor daughter of friends, KARK in Little Rock reported. A January tip to its Crimes Against Children Division prompted the State Police (ASP) to open an investigation into Dube, who submitted retirement paperwork to the CCSO and went on leave. He was fired and arrested in March when the victim made a new allegation against him, leading to his plea. The last eight years of his sentence was suspended, leaving him the custody of the state Department of Corrections for at least the next 22 years.

California: San Benito County Probation Department employee Damon Jon Luecke, 53, was arrested on August 7, 2026, after the mother of a 13-year-old found his sexually graphic TikTok exchanges with Luecke and contacted cops, KTVU in Oakland reported. Though Luecke had no direct contact with minors in his role as an IT analyst, he had previously worked for 16 years as a juvenile detention guard at the Boys Ranch in nearby San Mateo County. The victim’s mother called police in Gilroy, meaning he apparently lived in Santa Clara County, which is also nearby. Gilroy Police Chief Brandon Sanchez said that his cops were looking for any more victims.

California: Former U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Off. Jesse Clark Garcia was sentenced to nine years in federal prison on August 7, 2026, for taking bribes to let Sinaloa Cartel vehicles smuggle drugs into the U.S. at the CPB’s Tecate Port of Entry. According to the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Southern District of California, Garcia provided duty schedules coded with emoji to alert cartel drivers to his lane, also manipulating shift-switching policies and falsely claiming technical glitches to bypass mandatory alerts. Between 2021 and 2024, when he was caught and attempted to flee to Mexico, he facilitated the smuggling of 100 kilograms of fentanyl, 107 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 270 kilograms of cocaine, receiving $10,000 for each vehicle load that funded a lifestyle far above his means.

Colorado: Former Parker Police Department (PDP) Sgt. Troy Brienzo, 32, pleaded guilty on August 6, 2026, to felony unlawful sexual conduct by a peace officer and misdemeanor official misconduct, The Denver Post reported. A Douglas County grand jury originally indicted Brienzo on seven charges following investigations into explicit sexual conversations during a citizen ride-along, as well as inappropriate pat-downs and sexual acts that he engaged in inside his patrol car. Following his suspension for violating agency sexual harassment policies, Brienzo resigned from the PDP. His sentencing was scheduled for October 2026.

Georgia: WSB in Atlanta reported that DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Yolanda C. Parker-Smith was charged with judicial misconduct on July 20, 2026. The state Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) opened an investigation earlier in the year into allegations that she abused her power by threatening to jail prosecutors over minor filing delays, refusing to return grand jury indictments over a personal dispute with a sheriff’s corporal, and jailing a defense attorney who was late to a hearing. The attorney was detained in a cell without a hearing or due process. The JQC recommended she serve a 90-day suspension without pay, but Parker-Smith argued for a public reprimand. It was unclear when the JCQ would make a decision on that request.

Georgia: WRDW in Augusta reported that ousted Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams posted a $25,000 unsecured bond on August 13, 2026, following his arrest on state felony charges of theft by conversion and making false statements. The state booking follows a federal indictment charging Williams, 55, with Hobbs Act extortion for allegedly accepting cash bribes to dismiss DUI citations, as well as illegally transferring a firearm. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) suspended Williams on July 16, and he remains under a federal curfew and travel restrictions while interim Sheriff Brad Capitosti fills in for him. Williams pleaded not guilty to the federal charges.

Indiana: Former Morgan County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Dep. Zachary Bernstein, 27, was arrested on July 22, 2026, and charged with felony theft and official misconduct, after investigators discovered that he failed to properly account for firearms and drugs seized during traffic stops. The discrepancies led to dismissal of several criminal cases where Bernstein was the arresting officer, The Indiana Lawyer reported. Bernstein allegedly kept one handgun in a personal safe in his patrol car, later taking it to Florida after submitting his resignation; another was found in an MCSO-issued medical bag. Investigators also found other missing evidence, plus a pattern of delayed reports. A fellow deputy said Bernstein routinely pursued drug cases but neglected the required paperwork. An evidence audit remained underway, and prosecutors said additional charges were possible. Meanwhile Bernstein was freed after posting a $5,000 bond.

Maryland: On August 5, 2026, the City of Baltimore agreed pay $11 million to Anthony Hall, resolving claims he filed after spending 25 years wrongfully imprisoned for a 1991 murder. CBS News reported that Hall’s conviction was secured despite a lack of physical evidence or a motive, based on false witness testimonies coerced with threats of incarceration. Prosecutors also deliberately withheld exculpatory evidence. Hall was previously awarded $2.36 million from the state wrongful conviction fund after his exoneration in 2024. Gov. Wes Moore (D) noted at the time that Hall’s original defense attorney was disbarred in 1992 for ethics and tax violations. The record settlement with the City was approved without opposition.

Missouri: According to St. Louis Public Radio, former North County Police Cooperative Off. Marcellis Blackwell, 36, pleaded guilty in federal court on August 10, 2026, to sexually assaulting 18 men after he had detained or arrested them. Restraining most in handcuffs, he drove them to various locations across the County to commit the assaults, also deactivating his BWC and later filing falsified reports. After one victim came forward in June 2023, an investigation began to identify more, and the FBI tool over. For his 18 federal counts of deprivation of bodily integrity, Blackwell faces up to 30 years in prison when sentenced in November. Meanwhile he faces additional state kidnapping and sodomy charges, along with multiple civil lawsuits, plus suspension of his license.

Missouri: Ray County Prosecutor Camille Johnston, first elected in 2015, was temporarily removed from office by a County Circuit Court judge on July 16, 2026, KSHB in Kansas City reported. Johnston is accused of maintaining romantic relationships with both a defense attorney appearing before her and a “prospective” criminal defendant, neither of whom was named. She also allegedly drove her vehicle to Mississippi and gave it to sexual assault defendant Juan David Gutierrez, another romantic partner, when he absconded after charges against him were filed in 2019. The prosecutor then fired an employee who discovered the relationships. When the allegations came out and she refused to step down, state Attorney General (AG) Catherine Hanaway (R) filed the quo warranto petition the court granted, saying Johnston “used the court docket as her dating app.” A quo warranto petition was filed against another Ray County official, former Sheriff Scott Childers, in 2024 by former AG Andrew Bailey (R), over a program that took detainees from the County lockup to perform work on Childers’ property; however, Childers resigned before the petition could be granted, as CLN reported. [See: CLN, Oct. 2024, p.50.]

New Mexico: On June 8, 2026, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman announced the indictment of County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) Dep. Bryan Lassley on charges of child abuse and felony aggravated battery. According to KOB in Albuquerque, the charges stem from an incident outside the County Youth Services Center in December 2024, when Lassley arrived to take photos of an unnamed juvenile who had assaulted and injured two other deputies. His BWC captured the juvenile growing anxious as Lassley ordered her to stand up and look at his camera. He then pushed her down inside his patrol vehicle, and the girl accused him of hitting her head on the seat. Though he denied using excessive force, that was the basis for the charges that a grand jury handed down. Lassley also faces a civil lawsuit filed by the Estate of a woman who died when he drove his vehicle into her car at 70 mph – in a 25-mph zone – in 2024. After the latest charges were filed, he was placed on leave and resigned the following day.

New York: On August 13, 2026, a Bronx jury convicted New York Police Department (NYPD) Off. Omar Habib, 42, of using an illegal chokehold during a July 2023 arrest. His was the first prosecution for violating the chokehold ban that the NYPD adopted after the 2020 death of George Floyd prompted a nationwide reckoning with police violence, Gothamist reported. BWC footage captured Habib in an ambulance as he wrapped his arm around an unnamed suspect’s neck and squeezed until the victim lost consciousness. Habib had previously been disciplined by the NYPD for excessive force. He remained on suspension to await sentencing, when he faces up to seven years in state prison.

Pennsylvania: Former Scranton Police Department Off. Stephen Carroll, 50, was found guilty by a Lackawanna County jury on August 13, 2026, of drugging and raping multiple students between 2009 and 2017 at West Scranton High School, where he was assigned as a School Resource Officer, WBRE in Wilkes-Barre reported. Prosecutors said that Carroll targeted minors aged 15 to 17, soliciting explicit photos on Snapchat and purchasing them alcohol. One student was sexually assaulted at his home. Five victims testified at the trial, and Carroll suffered a medical emergency as the verdict was read. He was treated by medical personnel and recovered. His bail was revoked while he awaits sentencing, and his defense attorneys plan an appeal.

South Carolina: The Herald in Rock Hill reported that former Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright was sentenced on July 7, 2026, to 41 months in federal prison, the maximum recommended for extensive public corruption. As CLN reported, Wright’s 20-year term ended with his resignation in May 2025, and he then pleaded guilty that September to embezzling over $10,000 annually since 2017 – $89,000 in all – from the Chaplain’s benevolence fund, a portion of which he used to buy unspecified prescription pills from an unnamed and unindicted co-conspirator. Another 147 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills Wright diverted from a drug buy-back program. He also put his cousin Lawson Watson in a job paying $200,000 a year, while Watson continued to own and operate his own business. Watson and Chaplain Amos Durham were also charged, resigned and pleaded guilty. [See: CLN, Dec. 2025, p.50.] In addition to his prison sentence, Wright was ordered to pay $462,866 in restitution.

Texas: Former Houston Police Department (HPD) Off. Gerald M. Goines, 62, pleaded guilty on August 28, 2026, to federal charges that he fabricated the intelligence that triggered a deadly 2019 raid, which ended in a shootout that killed two innocent residents and injured four HPD cops. The USAO for the Southern District of Texas said that Goines falsely claimed a criminal informant had purchased heroin at the targeted home. Currently serving a 60-year state murder sentence, he faces up to 10 additional years in federal prison at his November sentencing.

Wisconsin: WBAY in Green Bay reported that former Menasha Police Department (MPD) Off. Cristian Morales, 32, was sentenced to six months in jail on August 17, 2026, for abusing his access to the Flock network of license plate readers to stalk an ex-girlfriend. Investigators found multiple off-duty searches he conducted to track the unnamed woman’s location. Calling him an “oath breaker,” Outagamie County Circuit Court Judge Mark Schroeder rejected a lighter plea deal and ordered Morales to jail, followed by three years of probation, for felony misconduct in public office. Morales resigned from the MPD and is barred from future law enforcement work.

Wisconsin: According to WTMJ in Milwaukee, former Racine County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) Dep. Jonathan Bechman, 48, was sentenced to six months in jail on August 21, 2026, after pleading guilty to two counts of domestic battery and attempted misconduct in office. In addition to punching his wife at least 20 times “as hard as he could,” he highjacked RCSO resources to track her location. Bechman, who had been on administrative leave, resigned. He was also ordered to serve three years of probation.  

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