Police

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Review: Rampart

Oren Moverman's portrait of a rotten cop
The rotten cop flick has become a mini-genre of sorts, a subset of noir, going back at least to Orson Welles's Touch of Evil .
By PETER KEOUGH | February 15, 2012

Review: The Devil Inside

William Brent Bell's limp mockumentary
William Brent Bell's film opens with a disclaimer that "the Vatican does not endorse this movie." No kidding — the Catholic Church isn't exactly known for its sense of humor.
By ALEXANDRA CAVALLO | January 10, 2012

Photos: #OWS protesters attempt to re-occupy NYC

Occupy Wall Street #D17 day of action | Duarte Square, NYC | December 17, 2011
Occupy Wall Street protesters gathered at Manhattan’s Duarte Square on December 17, 2011 (#D17 day of action) to celebrate the original protest’s 3-month anniversary by attempting to reclaim a space.
By ARIEL SHEARER | December 30, 2011

Name that non-lethal weapon

Police state
When Boston Police stormed Dewey Square last week in an early morning raid, arresting protesters and destroying the last of Occupy Boston's tent city, they brought with them a frightening, seldom-used weapon.
By LIZ PELLY | December 14, 2011

With support among police quietly growing, can Occupy cross over the thin blue line?

Silent partners
As Occupy camps from coast to coast face evictions — and in many cases have already been pushed out of parks and plazas like so much human trash — it's clear that the institutional response to the movement is escalating dangerously.
By CHRIS FARAONE | November 30, 2011

Interview: Police Executives' Research Forum Director Chuck Wexler

PERF’s Boston-connected leader discusses role in Occupy conference calls
In this week's Boston Phoenix , Khadijah Britton reports on PERF , a non-government, non-profit police agency that has been accused of coordinating national police responses to the Occupy movement.
By KHADIJAH BRITTON | November 23, 2011

Photos: Occupy Boston on the National Day of Action

Charlestown Bridge | November 17, 2011
On November 17, 2011, hundreds of Occupy Boston and MassUniting marchers (labor unions, community organizers; SEUI, Local Ironworkers, Jobs for Justice, and more) took to the city streets again in solidarity with another global day of action.
By PHOENIX STAFF | November 18, 2011

Photos: Boston Police arrest Occupy Boston protesters

October 11, 2011 | Rose Kennedy Greenway
The Boston Police Force cracks down on the Occupy Boston protests early on the morning of October 11, 2011.
By DEREK KOUYOUMJIAN | October 13, 2011

Photos: Occupy Boston protesters rally with unions, veterans, and more

Downtown Crossing | October 13, 2011
Occupy Boston protesters march alongside Veterans for Peace, as well as other activist groups such as Jobs with Justice and the AFL-CIO, at Downtown Crossing on October 13, 2011.
By PHOENIX STAFF | October 14, 2011

Young activists explore police department

Portland 101
There are three streets in Portland that police lieutenant Janine Roberts won't walk down alone, learned a group of interested citizens organized by the League of Young Voters on a visit to the Portland Police Department last Wednesday.
By JEFF INGLIS | September 21, 2011

The Urinal does it again; more on Thayer Street; no joke; fun in the Bucket

The whole truth?
Phillipe and Jorge were agitated to see the wrap-around over the front section of our September 13 issue of the Urinal, as we had grown quite fond of finding garish stickers in these parts, informing us what local firms would buy our gold or pursue a personal injury accident claim.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | September 14, 2011

In a job-starved economy, casinos are still a good bet

The issue provoked a rare show of common purpose on Beacon Hill
As Beacon Hill considers — yet again — an expanded gaming proposal, some say that the opportunity has passed. We disagree, and continue to support a carefully crafted plan for bringing resort casinos to Massachusetts.
By EDITORIAL | August 31, 2011

A libertarian's view of the Barstool/Brady child-porn fiasco

Freedom Watch
Sophisticated First Amendment scholars, lawyers, and media commentators, all of whom are strongly free-speech/free-press supporters, were critical of Coakley for allegedly engaging in a legal bluff — the veiled threat of possible prosecution under the state's child-porn statute — to convince Portnoy to remove the offending and exploitative image from his site.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | August 25, 2011

Skate of the union

Pissed pedaling
The malt angels from Pabst Blue Ribbon were on hand to fuel us up, and to hook up sweat bands that, incidentally, would come in handy to absorb the blood.
By CHRIS FARAONE | August 17, 2011

From top cop to capitol hill?

Former State Police superintendent Brendan Doherty could mount a serious challenge to Congressman David Cicilline. But first he has to tame his restive GOP
It is hard to imagine a better Republican candidate for Rhode Island's First Congressional District than Colonel Brendan Doherty, the retired superintendent of state police.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | August 17, 2011

Review: Point Blank

Diminishing returns
Samuel (Gilles Lellouche), a student nurse, gets sucked into a quagmire of murder and corruption when a thug kidnaps his pregnant wife, Nadia (Elena Anaya), to blackmail him into springing Hugo (Roschdy Zem), a wounded prisoner held by the police at the hospital where he works.
By PETER KEOUGH | August 09, 2011

Urban Fest gets ugly

Gimme Shelter Dept.
It didn't take long for the largely suburban horde to erupt into a frenzy at the free outdoor concert, which was dubbed, somewhat ironically, the Boston Urban Music Fest (BUMF).
By CHRIS FARAONE | August 10, 2011

A breed apart?

Diverse city
I'm about to stand up for dogs. It must be the heat this weekend, because I'm soooo not a dog person.
By SHAY STEWART-BOULEY | July 20, 2011

Rupert Murdoch's Watergate

Defining deviancy
Murdoch is a tycoon of darkness. Aside from his handful of quality publications — the Wall Street Journal, the Times of London, the Times Literary Supplement, and the Australian — his News Corporation specializes in smears, sensationalism, and mendacity.
By EDITORIAL | July 13, 2011

By | January 01, 0001

A woman takes charge and learns the art of the best defense

Going on offense
When the first attacker grabbed my wrist; I hammer-fisted his forearm and issued a sweep-kick to his groin.
By DEIRDRE FULTON | April 27, 2011

The smooth pop-rock of Zach Jones's Broken Record

Don't fix it
For an album to be more than just a collection of songs, it's more important that the songs all feel the same than sound the same. No one wants 10 tracks all in the same style — that gets old unless everything is terrific — but there should be an aesthetic that carries through ballad and banger both.
By SAM PFEIFLE | March 16, 2011

Reefer medness

For five years, Rhode Island's medical marijuana movement has been a grassroots affair. For better or worse, it's about to go mainstream
In the five years since the General Assembly approved Rhode Island's medical marijuana law, licensed smokers have operated in a sort of smoke-filled netherworld.
By DAVID SCHARFENBERG | February 10, 2011

Slideshow: Video game heroes run amok in Boston

Video game characters take over the Hub
The Laser Orgy awards ceremony got a little out of control, and we followed our red carpet video game stars as they ran amok in Boston.
By BUDDY DUNCAN AND K. BONAMI | December 02, 2010

Thanks for nothing: Rhode Island Turkeys 2010

In our second annual list of Rhode Island Turkeys, the Phoenix fingers 12 people and institutions who committed crimes against the state
Thanksgiving has arrived. And you know what that means: dinner with your boorish uncle, the disturbing quiver of canned cranberry sauce, and the Phoenix 's second annual list of Rhode Island turkeys — people and institutions who committed crimes against the state in the past year.
By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX STAFF | November 22, 2011

Former inmate, activist now free to speak out

New releases
Last year, when Ray Luc Levasseur was invited to speak on the University of Massachusetts — Amherst campus to commemorate the anniversary of a federal sedition trial held in Springfield, the speech prompted vehement protests from police groups and state officials.
By RICK WORMWOOD | October 12, 2010

By | January 01, 0001

Unsafe Passage: The dangers of getting to and from the job

Equal Writes
One evening in February, Sara left her State Street office building shortly after six o'clock to walk to her car. As she put the key in the lock of the car door, a man grabbed her from behind and hissed in her ear, "Get in the car."
By SUSAN STOBAUGH | July 13, 2010

Riot squads

While Boston chilled, LA burned. What makes fans in some cities go wild — win or lose?
On the morning that the Celtics and the Lakers readied for Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals, framing one of the most storied and intense rivalries in pro sports, the police departments of Boston and Los Angeles geared up for the worst.
By CHRIS FARAONE | June 28, 2010

Chinnock of the North

The re-release of Dime Store Heroes , and a look back
How did I not know that Bill Chinnock was Dick Curless’s son in law?
By SAM PFEIFLE | April 21, 2010