Brickbats: November 2026

In September 2025, a police officer in Pasadena, California, accidentally shot a fellow officer while engaging in what officials called “horseplay” with loaded firearms. Dashboard camera video showed that while preparing for their shift in the parking garage, one officer drew his gun and pointed it at an officer seated in a patrol car. That officer then drew his own weapon, which discharged, shooting through the windshield and hitting the other officer in the shoulder.

The Denver City Council voted against letting Key Lime Air lease space at the airport because the charter airline transports immigration detainees for the federal government. That decision risked losing $90 million in federal funding, since airlines must be treated equally. City Attorney Miko Brown reportedly told airport officials to investigate the airline’s safety record—not for safety reasons but to retroactively create a legal justification for the vote. A memo written at the time quoted Brown saying, “A bad argument is better than no argument.”

Hammond, Louisiana, police officer Denver Golmon faces federal charges for allegedly exposing the identity of a confidential informant in a cockfighting investigation. Golmon’s uncle was indicted as part of the investigation; according to court records, Golmon shared videos of the informant that were provided to his uncle’s attorneys during discovery, telling the recipients not to disclose where the videos came from.

Brenda Brooks, a former school bus driver in Ohio, received 18 months in jail and five years of probation—the maximum sentence—after pleading guilty to child endangerment and driving under the influence. Brooks drove a bus with elementary schoolchildren on board while impaired. She turned the wrong way when leaving the school, then began swerving across the road and missing stops. One child called her parents for help, and her father had to pull in front of the bus to stop it.

Officials in Culver City, California, banned new fast-food restaurants with drive-thru lanes. The proposal grew out of opposition to a planned In-N-Out Burger location. City leaders and some residents said drive-thrus create more traffic, air pollution from idling cars, and safety problems for pedestrians and cyclists. Opponents in the restaurant industry argued the plan would hurt businesses, since most fast-food sales come through drive-thrus, while disadvantaging large families, the elderly, and people with disabilities. In August, the City Council voted to renew the ban for 10 more months.

The Georgia State Patrol fired four troopers after an internal investigation found they profited from police pursuits by filing personal injury claims against the insurance companies of drivers they chased. Investigators said the troopers used crash reports from pursuits they initiated to seek settlements for claims of stress, anxiety, and soreness, even though they had not reported injuries or sought medical treatment at the time. Some troopers collected tens of thousands of dollars and admitted the claims were a way to supplement their income. Prosecutors were later forced to dismiss 27 DUI cases when the troopers in question were excluded from testifying.

Paul Powlesland led volunteers cleaning up a polluted stream in East London, England. They worked for 10 days, removed over 200 bags of trash, and cleared out thick mud and invasive plants, restoring 250 meters (820 feet) of waterway. Fish, dragonflies, and herons have now returned for the first time in decades, but Powlesland faces up to two years in jail for doing the cleanup without official permits.

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