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July 31, 2026

6 entries on this date.

Los Angeles County DA charged LAPD officer with 16 felony counts for recording colleagues' racist, sexist and homophobic remarks

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office charged LAPD officer Daniel Flores on July 31, 2026 with 16 felony counts of illegal eavesdropping for secretly recording 16 colleagues -- 122 recordings in all -- who made racist, sexist, and homophobic remarks, evidence he submitted to LAPD's Internal Affairs Division and the Los Angeles Police Commission. Flores faced up to 13 years in prison under the felony charges. On August 20, 2026, amid public criticism that the prosecution would chill future whistleblowers, the DA's office reduced the charges to misdemeanors and did not oppose a request for judicial diversion.

CBP contractor Barnard Construction bladed and cleared Texas state trust land in Presidio County without required consent

On July 31, 2026, the Texas General Land Office sent a cease-and-desist letter after finding that Barnard Construction, a federal contractor building U.S. Customs and Border Protection's border wall, had used heavy equipment to blade terrain and clear vegetation across more than a mile of state trust land in Presidio County, Texas, without the GLO's required written consent. The land is part of a roughly 10,000-acre grazing lease the GLO holds with Trans Pecos Ice LLC along the planned Big Bend-area wall corridor; the GLO said the unauthorized clearing devalued the lease and demanded restoration and a reclamation plan. CBP acknowledged the incident and said it was working with the contractor and the GLO to resolve it, while Barnard did not respond to requests for comment.

Axios investigation reveals FBI obtained South Carolina voter's IP address in probe tied to Trump's unsubstantiated fraud claims

On July 31, 2026, Axios reported that the FBI had requested and obtained the IP address associated with a South Carolina resident's online voter registration, part of the Trump administration's investigation into unsubstantiated 2020 election-fraud claims. The FBI made the request in March 2026 and received the data in June 2026 through York County, South Carolina election officials; a York County official with roughly 20 years' tenure called it his first such interaction with law enforcement, and a former senior Justice Department official described the request as an inappropriate "fishing expedition" into private voter data. The tactic surfaced alongside a separate Justice Department lawsuit campaign seeking voter-roll access from roughly 30 states and Washington, D.C., and could extend to any of the 43 states plus D.C. that allow online voter registration.

Habersham County deputy misused Flock license-plate database for personal, non-law-enforcement searches; fired and arrested

A Habersham County Sheriff's Office deputy, Christian Brewer, was fired and arrested on July 31, 2026, after a random internal audit found he had used the department's Flock automated license-plate-reader system for personal, non-law-enforcement purposes, running searches connected to an individual he had a personal relationship with. Brewer was booked into the Habersham County Detention Center on one felony count of violation of oath of office and two misdemeanor counts of misuse of license plate data, with the case referred to the district attorney's office for prosecution. The arrest brought Georgia's documented total to at least 20 people arrested or charged for similar Flock/ALPR misuse across at least ten law-enforcement agencies statewide.

Michigan corrections department declined to investigate fifth death this year at Women's Huron Valley prison

Family members and advocates rallied outside Michigan Department of Corrections headquarters on July 31, 2026 to demand an independent investigation and reform after five women died at Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility, Michigan's only women's prison, since mid-May 2026. MDOC declined to investigate the most recent death, of Dasie Forbes, by classifying it "expected," and the county medical examiner declined an autopsy. Separately, attorneys for incarcerated woman Krystal Clark alleged in an emergency court motion that she developed mold-related medical deterioration during months at the facility, which MDOC disputes.

Federal judge found New York prison system showed 'deliberate indifference' to incarcerated cancer patient's medical needs

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ruled on July 31, 2026, that officials at New York's Department of Corrections and Community Supervision acted with "deliberate indifference" toward incarcerated man David Blanding's cancer care, calling the record "nothing short of disgraceful." Blanding, diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2019, was never given his prescribed post-surgery immunotherapy and was not told for nine months that a 2025 biopsy had found prostate cancer, learning only through his attorneys; Kaplan ordered DOCCS to develop a treatment plan and report to the court every two weeks.