BRICKBATS.

• Author: Oliver, Charles

Officials at Florida's Love Grove Elementary School had Martina Falk's 6-year-old daughter, Nadia, involuntarily committed to a mental institution for two days after the girl allegedly threw a tantrum at school and threw chairs. Body camera footage shows that two deputies called to transport the child were skeptical about the assignment and that the girl was well-behaved and chatty with them. One of the deputies even called her "very pleasant," although that didn't stop them from taking her away.

Warren, Rhode Island, Police Detective Michael Clancy has retired after more than 33 years on the force. He spent the last 22 of those years on paid sick leave. State law requires that firefighters and police officers who are sick receive their full pay and benefits. Clancy claims a staph infection back in 1998 left him disabled, but the state declined to grant him a disability retirement because it was not convinced his injuries were work-related.

With demand for recyclables in the doldrums, some Maine cities have opted to end their curbside recycling programs; the costs of those programs exceed the costs of just sending the material to a landfill. But Democratic state Rep. Ralph Tucker introduced a bill that would force companies that make packaging to subsidize local recycling programs. Industry officials oppose the bill, noting that it will do nothing to create a market for recyclables and will force them to pass the costs on to consumers.

Matthew Rankin claims Pevely, Missouri, police officer Wayne Casey pried his phone out of his hand and threatened him with arrest after noticing him recording a traffic stop in 2019. Casey went through the contents of Rankin's phone and searched for his information on a police database, according to a lawsuit. The police department later fired Casey after he was...