A secret survey shows just how low the Boston Police Department’s reputation had sunk two years ago. Is the mayor listening?
When Kathleen O’Toole served as Boston police commissioner, from early 2004 through mid 2006, she and Mayor Thomas Menino seemed in constant denial of the spiraling violence and shocking police scandals that were roiling the city.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | July 18, 2008

Muzzle mania

Letters to the Boston editor, July 11, 2008
Giving a Muzzle Award to the Boston Police Department for its handling of Veterans Day protesters is in keeping with widespread media complicity that allows lower ranks to be court-martialed while war criminals in the White House escape accountability for Abu Ghraib.
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | July 09, 2008

The friends of Jack Kelly

In the end, the adventure killed him
This article originally appeared in the July 4, 1978 issue of the Boston Phoenix.
By DAVE O'BRIAN AND TOM SHEEHAN | July 08, 2008

The 11th Annual Muzzle Awards

Silencing free speech
Freedom of expression may be guaranteed by the Constitution. But it’s an idea we have to fight for every day.
By DAN KENNEDY | July 05, 2008

Campaign spying is an old, old game

Ward 8
This article originally appeared in the May 22, 1973 issue of the Boston Phoenix.
By MARTIN LOMANSEY JR. | May 22, 2008

Totalitarian ploy defeated

Free speech trumps Boston cops
For performance artist Milan Kohout, freedom of speech has prevailed.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE AND JAN WOLFE | March 12, 2008

Iraq: Five years later and time to go

Plus, updates on the Cowans case, performance artist Milan Kohout, and the BPL
March 19 will mark the fifth anniversary of America’s war in Iraq.
By EDITORIAL | March 12, 2008

More than a few loose ends

BPD to review Cowans evidence
Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis has ordered a review of evidence in the wrongful conviction of Stephan Cowans, following a report in the Phoenix that raised questions about possible police misconduct .
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | March 05, 2008

Echoes of Rodney King

A do-gooder who recorded abusive Boston police officers was himself arrested under a controversial ‘wiretapping’ law
When Simon Glik used his cell phone to record Boston police officers making what he thought was an overly forceful arrest on Tremont Street, he didn’t think he would be the one who ended up in the back of a police cruiser.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE AND JAMES TIERNEY | February 21, 2008

Framed?

The Boston Police investigation of Stephan Cowans led to a wrongful conviction. Was it incompetent — or corrupt?
The Boston Phoenix has uncovered substantial new information about the Cowans case.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | February 07, 2008

Righting a staggering wrong

It is time for the US Attorney to investigate how and why the Boston police wrongfully convicted Stephan Cowans
US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan should launch an investigation into how that department managed to help convict the wrong man in the 1997 shooting of a Boston cop.
By EDITORIAL | February 06, 2008

A close call

Another suspect was nearly charged with the Gallagher shooting

By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | February 06, 2008

Murder in the streets

It is more than just a political problem. Plus, former State Senate President Robert Travaglini strikes a classy chord.
The sad news, the truly disturbing and troubling news, is that Boston is a long, long way from curbing street violence, gun play, and murder on its troubled streets.
By EDITORIAL | January 23, 2008