“You want to be strapped down, buddy?” Cleveland police say they responded to over 250 “crisis intervention” calls involving children under 13 over a two-year period. In 26 of those cases, the children—one as young as eight—were handcuffed. Specialists who analyzed body camera videos of some of those interactions saw wide-ranging responses in how individual officers handled the episodes. Police officials say they expect officers to follow new guidelines for carefully treating children in mental health crisises. Some cops don’t. In collaboration with Eye on Ohio, TMP’s Cid Standifer has our story. The Marshall Project

More from Memphis. A sixth Memphis police officer has been placed on administrative leave for undisclosed misconduct in the Tyre Nichols case. The Associated Press Three Memphis Fire Department employees were fired on Monday for not giving timely aid to Nichols. USA Today Seventy-one commands in 13 minutes. The Memphis police officers who beat Nichols to death gave him dozens of contradictory commands as they hammered him with blows. The New York Times Nichols’ killing renews talk about federal police reform legislation. USA Today Nichols’ friends want you to remember him as an avid and generous skateboarder. NPR

An update on Operation Lone Star. The dubious border patrol operation has cost Texas taxpayers $4.4 billion, and Republican legislators say they expect to spend another $4.6 billion more. Houston Chronicle TMP Context: The seven times leaders deceived the public on Lone Star. The Marshall Project More: Drug Enforcement Administration officials sacked the agency’s top official in Mexico last year over improper contacts with lawyers representing drug traffickers. The Associated Press More: The White House says its new border policies are responsible for a decrease in illegal crossings. The New York Times

Have community-based policing solutions helped stem the tide of gun violence? New federal and state funding for violence interruption programs, fueled by police reform protests following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, have opened a window that may not stay open for long. Some programs try to detach young men from gangs. Others offer counseling in cognitive behavior therapy. Testing for impact is a challenge, though. “The evidence for how well some of the programs work is mixed and sometimes elusive, not least because it’s hard to measure crimes that never happen,” writes Alec MacGillis. The New Yorker/ProPublica TMP Context: How cities spend their federal coronavirus relief money. The Marshall Project

The public defense system in Pima County, Arizona, is at a breaking point. Staff shortages, a backlog of cases from the pandemic, and a surge in low-level drug prosecutions have made a bad problem worse for indigent defendants. Waco Tribune-Herald

There were so many COVID-19 cases in Connecticut prisons earlier this month that corrections officials locked down the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, the state’s largest penitentiary, for two weeks. CT Insider

After two decades in prison, Kareem Mayo expected to be home with his family after his murder conviction was overturned by a New York judge. But Mayo remains behind bars at the Rikers Island jail because of a delay in getting him an ankle bracelet. The City

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has nominated Andy Kahan, a controversial victim’s advocate, to the state’s commission on judicial conduct, an oversight board that hears complaints about local judges. Will that mean new pressure on judges making parole or sentencing decisions? Bolts TMP Context: These Crime Stoppers want to vote out reformist judges. The Marshall Project

Chunli Zhao, the 66-year-old man accused of murdering seven people last week at two California farms, says he committed the crimes, feels regret about them, and was turning himself in when captured. He also says he was bullied for years at work. Los Angeles Times

“The guys who really want to be on the SWAT team are the last people you should be putting on the SWAT team.” Police units like the one implicated in the death of Tyre Nichols have failed tragically in cities across the country. The New York Times More: “We can’t film our way out of a culture that views community members as adversaries and too often polices rather than protects.” Washington Monthly

Circling the drain. We now know that special counsel John Durham’s investigation into Russia’s ties to the 2016 election was a farce. “Just as abusive, partisan, and unhinged as” former President Donald Trump’s defenders made special counsel Robert Mueller out to be. New York Magazine

Illinois faces an uphill battle to enforce its new gun safety law. Right-wing sheriffs say they won’t enforce it. U.S. Supreme Court conservative justices will be looking for reasons to strike it down. Neighboring states have made it easier for people to buy firearms. The Bulwark

“This kind of thing does not happen in Monterey Park.” Asian American victims and survivors of the attack on a California dance studio are still trying to process the spasm of gun violence that has hurt their community. The New Yorker

Crossing Jordan. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s new House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government poses “dangerous implications for the ability of the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities to effectively conduct their mission.” Just Security

Another example of author Gilbert King changing lives. Scott Cupp is leaving his post as a state judge in Florida to dedicate himself full-time to working on getting Leo Schofield released from prison, 35 years after Schofield was convicted of murder. The New York Times TMP Context: Gilbert King on the awakening of Thurgood Marshall. The Marshall Project

The curious case of Saadiq Long. There is still a terror watchlist. And there are still people on it who shouldn’t be. An Oklahoma man—a veteran—is suing the police for allegedly using his inclusion on a federal watchlist as a justification for harassment. The Intercept

He said, they said. Eight women say a New York man sexually assaulted them. He denies the allegations. Police and prosecutors have been reluctant to bring a case. His accusers are trying to change that through a social media campaign. Rolling Stone

What it’s like to be the victim of political violence in the U.S. Linda Lopez, a state legislator in New Mexico, was sleeping when the shots came into her home. Solomon Pena, a failed Republican candidate, orchestrated the attack, prosecutors say. He’s in jail awaiting trial. Lopez says the shooting has altered her life’s routines. Slate

Heralding a new podcast. The limited series, a collaboration between The Marshall Project and WBUR, is hosted by TMP’s Beth Schwartzpfel. It takes a long look at a 16-year-old’s murder conviction, incarceration, release and return to prison. “Violation” debuts this spring. WBUR