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August 19, 2026

6 entries on this date.

U.S. Education Department opened Title VI investigation into Milwaukee schools over race-conscious discipline

On August 19, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights notified Milwaukee Public Schools that it is investigating whether the district's student-discipline practices improperly use race, one of two Title VI investigations the department opened that day. The department's statement, issued alongside new Title VI guidance barring race-conscious discipline, said Milwaukee education leaders had "derided facially neutral school policies as reflecting systemic 'whiteness,'" without specifying what triggered the probe.

ICE arrested two people en route to medical appointments in Santa Fe clinic parking lot

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Edgar Chacon-Miranda and Adriana Ruiz in Santa Fe, New Mexico on August 19, 2026, as both were on their way to medical appointments. Chacon-Miranda was detained in the parking lot of La Familia Health's Alto Street clinic in front of his 11-year-old daughter; DHS cited a prior criminal charge that Chacon-Miranda's attorney says was dismissed and that does not preclude the lawful permanent resident status he qualifies for. Ruiz was separately taken into custody after agents allegedly gave a false vehicle description to identify her; her family could not confirm her whereabouts or whether she received medical care afterward.

Cherokee County, Ga. Deputy Jerry Shellhouse fired, arrested on felony charge for misusing Flock database; fourth employee charged

On August 19, 2026, the Cherokee County, Georgia Sheriff's Office fired and arrested Deputy Jerry Shellhouse, 57, of Waleska, after an internal audit found he had used the agency's Automated License Plate Reader (Flock) system for non-law-enforcement purposes between October 2023 and December 2025. He was charged with one felony count of violation of oath of office and one misdemeanor count of unlawfully retaining license-plate-reader data, and was held on a $3,812 bond. Shellhouse is the fourth Cherokee County Sheriff's Office employee arrested in 2026 in the same self-initiated audit, following Deputy Cynthia Jodesty, Lt. Chris Bryant, and Sgt. Mike Creeden.

Sarasota, Fla. officer misused Flock and DAVID databases 335 times to track ex-partner's vehicle; fired, arrested

On August 19, 2026, the Sarasota Police Department fired and arrested Officer Cory Waiters, 38, after an internal and criminal investigation found he had misused the department's Flock license-plate-reader network and Florida's DAVID driver database to repeatedly search his ex-partner's vehicle. A USA Today reporter's independent analysis of Flock audit logs first flagged the pattern -- 335 searches of the same plate over roughly two months, including 121 in a single day -- and the reporter's August 6 email to the department triggered the internal affairs and criminal investigations. Waiters was charged with felony offenses against computer users/systems, felony official misconduct, and misdemeanor violation of public records law.

Kenosha County deputy charged with felony misconduct for using Flock and Polaris databases to track a coworker

On August 19, 2026, the Kenosha County District Attorney's Office charged former Kenosha County Sheriff's Deputy Frank McGrath with two felony counts of misconduct in public office for using the FLOCK license-plate-reader network and the Polaris squad-tracking system to monitor a fellow deputy with whom he had a personal relationship. A county internal investigation had already substantiated the conduct, but McGrath was permitted to resign under a negotiated separation agreement in December 2025 without the matter being referred for criminal review; a prosecutor took it up only after Kenosha County Eye publisher Kevin Mathewson filed a John Doe petition in March 2026 asking a judge to compel the review.

Oregon Journalism Project revealed sworn staff statements alleging Oregon Youth Authority covered up physician abuse of youths

Thirteen former Oregon Youth Authority staff filed sworn statements in federal litigation alleging agency leaders knew for years that a MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility physician was sexually abusing incarcerated youths and failed to investigate, discipline, or remove him, Oregon Journalism Project (via Lookout Eugene-Springfield) reported August 19, 2026. Dr. Edward Gary Edwards, the facility's longtime chief medical officer, is accused of abusing youths in his care from approximately 2000 to 2017. One official who led the agency for part of that period, Fariborz Pakseresht, was appointed interim director of the Oregon Health Authority by Gov. Tina Kotek last month despite being a named defendant in the litigation.