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Officer Caught On Video Contemplating Shooting An Unconscious Man 

Dashcam video footage has recently been released showing two Meriden, Connecticut police officers verbally assaulting an intoxicated man that was lying unconscious in the middle of the street. John Slepski received a 60 day suspension for saying “I think we oughta just f*cking pop him. I think we should just pop him.” His partner, John Slezak added, “He’s fine, he just wants a ride to the hospital.” Slepski then adds, “Yeah, I know, F*cking douchebag.” Police Chief Jeffry Cossette publicly expressed his disappointment in Slepski’s actions which he referred to as “disgraceful.” “Your dehumanizing and demoralizing treatment of this citizen in need of medical attention sickens me,” Cossette wrote. “Your actions did not perpetuate the mission of the Meriden Police Department.” While Slezak was less vocal in the 3 minute clip, he still received a 5 day suspension that he’s challenging. Cossette has justified Slezak’s reprimand in saying, “If a fellow officer is behaving in a demeaning and demoralizing way toward a citizen, you have a Duty to Act.” RAWStory

Church Leader Wants To Ban Girl Scouts For Being Too “Worldly”

Many people have a positive, wholesome perception of Girl Scouts who’s mission, according to their website is to “help girls discover their strengths, passions, and talents.” While their “Girl Scout Promise” includes the line, “To serve God and my country”, one Catholic leader believes the organization has gone a stray. St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson has released a letter encouraging churches to disassociate themselves from the organization. “Girl Scouts is exhibiting a troubling pattern of behavior and it is clear to me that as they move in the ways of the world it is becoming increasingly incompatible with our Catholic values,” Carlson said. According to Brian Miller of the Catholic Youth Apostolate in St. Louis he echoes Carlson’s sentiments that Girl Scouts have begun to conflict with the church based on their support of abortion and gay marriage. ‎The CEO of  Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, Bonnie Barczykowski has since released a statement disregarding the Archbishop’s critiques. “We work to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make our world a better place, so we won’t change anything.” CBS

Scientists Claim They Were Being Forced To Falsify DNA Evidence 

Shannon Morris, Melissa Lee and Kevin Rafferty were recently terminated after working for the New York State police department for over 20 years. The three scientists claim the department purposely turned a blind eye to errors in DNA testing in favor of higher criminal conviction rates. Their attorney John Bailey explained, “there are people that are very pro-prosecution. They were putting pressure on scientists to reach conclusions that were not scientifically valid. That’s what my clients were objecting to.” Their department had recently begun using a technologically advanced DNA analysis system, TrueAllele, that would guarantee more accurate results than their current testing methods. The scientists claim that funding for the program was subsequently scrapped. State Police spokeswoman Kristin Lowman said they cancelled their five year contract with TrueAllele despite having one more year remaining because of the scientists termination and ongoing lawsuit. “The program was not progressing because of the internal investigation. The State Police is committed to the technology and is seeking a new request for proposals to move forward,” she said. RAWStory

Teen Wins First Amendment Lawsuit Against Her High School

Last August, 16-year-old Taylor Victor wore a black t-shirt with bold white letters that said, “Nobody knows I’m a lesbian.” While Victor, who’s openly gay thought the shirt was amusing, Sierra High School administrators gave her the ultimatum of changing clothes or leaving school. She chose the latter and also filed a First Amendment lawsuit. With the American Civil Liberties Union supporting her right to free speech, Victor successfully won her fight against the school which has since amended their dress code policy. The district will no long prohibit students from wearing clothes that identities their race, gender, religion, and sexual orientation, among other characteristics. A judge also awarded Victor $63,000 in legal fees. She’s still a student at the Manteca, California school where interactions between she and the administrators have been amicable since the lawsuit. On her victory she said, “I’ve had people tell me in other states that they heard about my story, so I hope that this reaches as many people as possible, I hope they know that schools can’t censor them completely like that. Their first amendment travels with them.” Mashable

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MORNING MINUTE: Connecticut Officer Caught On Video Contemplating Shooting An Unconscious Man  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com