Global headlines about politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly around the world
During September 2025, a Pasadena, California police officer inadvertently wounded a colleague while participating in what authorities described as “horseplay” with loaded weapons. Dashcam footage captured the scene as, while preparing for their shift in a parking garage, one officer drew a firearm and aimed it at a fellow officer seated in a patrol car. The other officer then drew his weapon, which discharged, penetrated the windshield, and struck the first officer in the shoulder.
The Denver City Council declined to approve Key Lime Air for leasing hangar space at the airport because the charter carrier transports immigration detainees for the federal government. That stance threatened about $90 million in federal funding, given that airlines must be treated on equal terms. City Attorney Miko Brown allegedly told airport officials to scrutinize the airline’s safety record not for safety reasons but to retroactively justify the vote. A contemporaneous memo quoted Brown as saying, “A bad argument is better than no argument.”
In Hammond, Louisiana, police officer Denver Golmon faces federal charges for allegedly revealing the identity of a confidential informant in a cockfighting inquiry. Golmon’s uncle was indicted in the same probe; court records indicate that Golmon shared videos of the informant with his uncle’s attorneys during discovery, instructing the recipients not to disclose the origin of the footage.
Brenda Brooks, a former Ohio school bus driver, received the maximum penalty—18 months in jail and five years of probation—after pleading guilty to child endangerment and driving under the influence. Brooks drove a bus carrying elementary pupils while impaired. She turned the wrong direction when leaving the school, then swerved across the road and missed several stops. One child phoned her parents for help, and the father had to position his vehicle in front of the bus to stop it.
Officials in Culver City, California, moved to bar new quick-service eateries with drive-thru lanes. The plan grew from opposition to a proposed In-N-Out Burger location. City leaders and residents argued that drive-thrus contribute to congestion, car idling fumes, and risks for pedestrians and cyclists. Critics in the restaurant sector argued the ban would hurt businesses since drive-thru sales account for most quick-service revenue, while also placing an unfair burden on large families, seniors, and people with disabilities. In August, the City Council renewed the prohibition for another ten months.
The Georgia State Patrol dismissed four troopers following an internal inquiry that concluded they profited from pursuits by filing personal-injury claims against drivers’ insurers. Investigators said the troopers used crash reports from chases they initiated to pursue settlements for alleged stress, anxiety, and soreness, despite not reporting injuries or seeking medical treatment at the time. Some officers collected tens of thousands of dollars and acknowledged the claims were a means of supplementing their earnings. Prosecutors later had to drop 27 DUI cases when those troopers were not permitted to testify.
Paul Powlesland spearheaded a group of volunteers who cleaned a polluted urban waterway in East London, England. Over ten days they removed more than 200 bags of trash and cleared thick mud and invasive vegetation, restoring roughly 250 meters (820 feet) of the watercourse. The return of fish, dragonflies, and herons marks a long-awaited revival, yet Powlesland could face up to two years in prison for carrying out the cleanup without official permits.
