Chicago police officer indicted for falsifying information

UPDATE on Officer John Haleas

Cook County prosecutors say a Chicago police officer accused of falsifying information in drunken driving arrests ignored numerous critical steps in making a legitimate drunken driving arrest in April 2005.

Court documents filed Tuesday revealed the man arrested by Officer John Haleas registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.334. That is a level of intoxication at which people can lose consciousness or, in some cases, die. The man's DUI conviction was tossed out because of Haleas' misconduct.

Prosecutors say the missteps by Haleas ultimately led to his own indictment and the dismissal of 156 of his previous DUI arrests.

Haleas had been honored for making more DUI arrests than any other police officer in Illinois. The 12-year veteran is charged with perjury, official misconduct and obstruction of justice.

Officer Robin Brown Charged with Document Fraud

An Irvington police officer whose job was to stop document fraud is being accused of using a friend's birth certificate to obtain a New Jersey driver's license with her photo on it, authorities said today.

A state grand jury indicted Officer Robin M. Brown, 41, of Irvington, on charges of using of another's personal identifying information, tampering with public records and forgery, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice. The indictment was handed up late Tuesday.

Brown could not be reached for comment. She could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted on the most serious charge.

Brown got a duplicate driver's license in her friend's name, but with her photo on it last June at the Motor Vehicle Commission's office in Newark, prosecutors said.

The ruse was discovered when the friend went to change her address at the MVC office in Irvington and the clerk noticed the photo on file for the license was actually Brown. The clerk knew Brown because she worked at the Irvington office as part of a program that places police officers in motor vehicle agencies to stop document fraud.

Sacramento Police Officer arrested for Grand Theft

A Sacramento Police officer is facing felony charges of grand theft for refusing to return $20,000 to a friend. Apparently a friend asked Officer Sean Lewis to hold onto $50,000 so she could commit fraud against the welfare department, by claiming she was broke. But the next day, the 40 year old woman changed her mind and asked for the money back.

Officer Lewis became greedy and decided to tell her that the authorities had confiscated $20,000, but actually kept the money for himself. She then reported the incident to the departments internal affairs unit.

Officer Lewis has been a patrol officer since 1999, but resigned before the arrest, according to a statement issued by the Sacramento Police Department.

The missing $20,000 has not been found.

Suspended Officer George Sideris Arrested on Warrant

Police Officer George Sideris, 36, was taken into custody Friday on a warrant issued by Salem Superior Court after he failed to appear at a scheduled court hearing Thursday.

Peabody police and Probation officers went to his residence around 2:30pm, and found Sideris barricading the entrance door and refused to allow the officers inside his residence.

The officers were able to push in the front door and once inside the apartment found Sideris in the bathroom with a self inflicted wound. Peabody Police Lt. Dennis Bonaiuto would not comment on how Sideris hurt himself, or how long the incident lasted, only to say it was not prolonged.

Sideris was taken to the Salem Hospital where he is recovering from a self-inflicted injury. Bonaiuto said Sideris was expected to spend the night at the hospital. He said he was not sure if additional charges will be filed. He said Sideris will remain in custody until his arraignment in Salem Superior Court.

Sideris was originally charged with beating his then 73-year old elderly mother, Melpomeni Sideris, into a coma on Thanksgiving Day in 2004 at their Ellsworth Road home in Peabody that they shared.

Mrs. Sideris, 76, was in a coma for several weeks following the incident and eventually emerged, but never returned home.

She is currently living in a nursing home in Lynn and Sideris is allowed supervised visits with his mother.

Sideris has been suspended without pay from the Police Department as a result of the charges.

He was due in court Wednesday on a hearing on results of an evaluation by doctors at Bridgewater State Hospital, who said Sideris is not competent to stand trial, and an evaluation done by a doctor hired by prosecutors, the results of which are not yet known to the public.

Sideris, who is on his third lawyer, had been adamant at prior hearings that he was competent to stand trial, but this week he failed to appear in court, a surprise to Judge David Lowy, who noted Sideris, who was free on personal recognizance, had shown up at every court date so far.

Lowy delayed issuing the arrest warrant over concerns of a scheduling mix-up. But when he did not show up Thursday and probation officers failed to find him, a prosecutor asked the judge to issue a warrant.

Two New Orleans Deputies Fired After Forcing Female to Expose Herself

Two Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies have been fired and one faces criminal charges after authorities say one of them forced a female motorist to expose herself and the other deputy did not report it.

Clyde A. Clarke, 45, of 438 Holy Cross Place, Kenner, was booked with malfeasance in office after authorities claimed he forced an unidentified 26-year-old woman to expose herself to avoid arrest on two occasions. Demond T. Ferguson, 24, 1740 Hampton Drive, Harvey, was fired by the Sheriff's Office but was not arrested.

Col. John Fortunato, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office, said that on Saturday, Clarke and Ferguson were traveling separately when they stopped the woman and her boyfriend on Ames Boulevard. During the traffic stop, the deputies determined that both were wanted on other traffic violations and arrested only the unidentified man.

The deputies allowed the woman to leave, but not before asking her to provide personal information, including a telephone number, Fortunato said. After Clarke took her boyfriend to jail, he telephoned the woman and told her to meet him outside her home.

When Clarke met the woman, he made her move into a dimly lit area and then demanded that she raise her skirt, Fortunato said. Clarke did not touch the woman, but when she returned to her home, he told her that the next time he called, she should not be wearing underwear.

At some point, Fortunato said, Clarke called Ferguson and told him to come to the woman's home. Clarke again called the woman. However, when Ferguson realized what was happening, he told Clarke he did not want to be involved and walked away, Fortunato said. Clarke still required the woman to expose herself, Fortunato said.

The Sheriff's Office learned of the incident after the woman filed a complaint.

"If there's something that's criminal in nature (in a complaint), we immediately conduct an investigation," Sheriff Newell Normand said Thursday afternoon at a news conference in Harvey. He said Clarke's actions "constitute grounds for malfeasance."

Clarke joined the Sheriff's Office in 2004. Ferguson, who was fired for not preventing the incident and not reporting it, joined in 2006. Both men had worked at the parish correctional center before recently being assigned to patrol duties, Normand said.

Fortunato said the investigation has been turned over to the Jefferson Parish district attorney's office.

Three New York Detectives Get Away With Murder

Sean Bell was killed just before dawn on his wedding day, November 25, 2006 by three detectives who fired over 50 rounds into his body. He and several friends were at an all-night bachelor party at the Kalua Club in Queens, a strip club that was under investigation by a NYPD undercover unit looking into complaints of guns, drugs, and prostitution.

Witnesses said around closing time, Bell and his friends left the club, and argument broke out. Believing that one of Bell’s friends, Joseph Guzman, was going to get a gun from Bell’s car, an undercover detective who was inside, followed the men and called for backup.

Bell, Guzman and Trent Benefield got into the car, with Bell at the wheel. The detectives drew their weapons, said Guzman and Benefield, who testified that they never heard the plainclothes detectives identify themselves as police.

Not knowing that the men were officers, Bell panicked to get away from the armed men, his friends testified. But the detectives thought Bell was trying to run down one of them, believed that their lives were in danger and started shooting, according to their lawyers. Not one shot to stop them, but over 50 bullets were fired by the NYPD officers.

After the verdict was read Nicole Paultre Bell bolted from the courtroom as a Judge acquitted the three New York City Detectives of all charges in the shooting death of her finance.

"I've got to get out of here," Paultre Bell said.

Justice Arthur Cooperman was announcing the verdict clearing Detectives Michael Oliver and Gescard Isnora of manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment in the death of Sean Bell.

Detective Marc Cooper was cleared of reckless endangerment.

"What we saw in court today was not a miscarriage of justice," the Rev. Al Sharpton said on his radio program. "Justice didn't miscarry," he said. "This was an abortion of justice. Justice was aborted."

Sharpton, who has been advising Bell's family, had called for calm Wednesday.

The three officers made brief statements more than four hours after the verdict.

"I want to say sorry to Bell family for the tragedy," Cooper said.

Isnora thanked the judge "for his fair and accurate decision today."

Oliver praised Cooperman "for a fair and just decision."

That's not how one community leader viewed it.

"This case was not about justice," declared Leroy Gadsden, chair of the police/community relations committee of the Jamaica Branch NAACP. "This case was about the police having a right to be above the law. If the law was in effect here, if the judge had followed the law truly, these officers would have been found guilty.

"This court, unfortunately, is bankrupt when it comes to justice for people of color."

Many people outside the courthouse saw it differently.

"You can't be proud of wearing that hat. You can't be proud of wearing that badge," a black woman shouted at a black police officer. "You must stop working for the masters! Stand down! Stop working for the masters!"

"Fifty shots is murder. I don't care what you say. That's what it is," another woman said.

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I have to agree 50 shots at anyone is murder.

Officer Raymond Eli Smith Arrested for Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine

Pineville Police Officer Patrolman Raymond Eli Smith has been arrested in an undercover drug operation at a Pineville elementary school. Officer Smith, 37, has been booked with conspiracy to distribute powder cocaine and malfeasance in office.

In a ‘spur of the moment’ decision the Sheriffs office allowed an undercover operation to take place on school grounds. (What if something had gone wrong, and gunfire was exchanged? This was an on-duty police officer carrying a weapon.) Sheriff Charles Wagner said, “It was something we had to act on to take care of it to make sure that cocaine did not make it into the school.” (Still, I don’t think it was a good idea to possibly put the lives of our children at risk.)

Rapides Parish Sheriff Charles Wagner said Smith met with a informant working for authorities around 2 p.m. Wednesday in the parking lot at Lessie Moore Elementary School while Smith was on duty. The two talked of a trip to Detroit to sell and distribute cocaine, valued at $25,000, Wagner said. Because of a radio malfunction the conversation between Smith and the informant was broadcast on a police frequency.

“That could be an extremely serious problem,” Sheriff’s Assistant Chief Herman Walters said, referring to officer safety. “We need to sit down and talk with the officers involved and see if they did anything differently to try to determine what happened.”

Officer Smith was arrested Wednesday evening at the Pineville Police Department by Rapides Parish Metro Narcotics officers. According to acting Pineville Police Chief Terral Paul, Smith has been on the force for nearly nine years and a D.A.R.E. Officer for more than a year. Paul says Smith was placed on administrative leave with pay pending an internal investigation by the Pineville Police department. RPSO is conducting a criminal investigation into the incident.

According to the Associated Press, Smith was released from the Rapides Parish Jail on a $12,500 bond.

A Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office corrections officer also has been arrested in connection with the undercover operation. Marcus Mandrell Taylor, 35, of Pineville, was booked with conspiracy to distribute powder cocaine.

Sheriff Chuck Wagner says Taylor has been with the department for seven years and is on administrative suspension without pay.

Officer Juan McCoy Arrested for Statutory Sodomy

A Washington Park police officer was arrested today on a warrant for two counts of second-degree statutory sodomy issued after police investigated a complaint of sexual misconduct involving a 14-year-old boy in St. Louis.

Officer Juan McCoy, 35, was arrested without incident at the Illinois State Police headquarters in Collinsville, Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Jim Morrisey said.

A spokeswoman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Schron Jackson, said, "The Metropolitan Police Department was contacted by the Illinois State Police on April 16, regarding an incident involving a 14-year old male victim that occurred between June and August in the 3700 block of Winnebago."

After a police investigation, the warrant was issued against McCoy, Jackson said.

The juvenile is an Illinois resident, Morrisey said.

The felony charges against McCoy are unrelated to his position as a Washington Park officer, Morrisey said.

McCoy is a former East St. Louis police officer. He also worked as the chief of security for the East St. Louis Housing Authority.

Bill Wilkins, executive director of the housing authority, said McCoy worked for the housing authority for four years and five months. "During his tenure at the East St. Louis Housing Authority, he performed his duties appropriately and effectively," Wilkins said. "We did not receive any complaints from tenants."

Washington Park Mayor John Thornton said, "This news is shocking and disturbing."

"I hope the charges against him are not true. I have children and grandchildren. I knew he was a police officer, but I didn't know that much about him."

Thornton said McCoy worked for Washington Park for two or three years.

McCoy was being held at the Madison County Jail pending extradition. He was being held in lieu of $250,000 cash only bail.

Update: Tulsa, Oklahoma Judge has been Charged with Indecent Exposure

Tulsa County District Judge, Jesse Harris has been offically charged with two counts of indecent exposure. He has been accused of exposing himself to 2 women at an east Tulsa hotel parking lot.

Earlier today, prosecutors charged Judge Harris, who was then booked into the Tulsa County Jail around 5:30 pm. He was released just ten minutes later on a personal recognizance bond.

Tulsa Judge Under Investigation for Indecent Exposure

Tulsa County District Judge Jesse S. Harris is under investigation for allegations of indecent exposure.

Judge Harris is accused of exposing himself to two women at an east Tulsa hotel parking lot back on March ninth. The woman making the allegations is his ex-girlfriend.

The Judge had cleared his docket for the rest of this week, and the investigation has now been handed over to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office in Bartlesville. Tulsa County DA Tim Harris turned the case over due to conflict of interest.

Currently the allegations are just being investigated. No charges have been filed in the case and the Judge has not been arrested.

Officer in Training Arrested for Sexual Assault

A police officer in training from Parachute, Colorado was arrested on sexual assault charges . Kristopher Duncan, 25 has been charged with a class-four felony sexual assault stemming from an incident, on April 18, but details weren’t disclosed.

Officer Duncan was terminated last Friday for violation of the code of conduct. He is being held in the Pitkin County Jail on a $7,500 bond. Instead of being held in the Garfield County jail, where he was arrested, they moved him to the Pitkin County jail for his safety. (Guess he was afraid they would beat his ass at the other jail.)

Parachute Town Administrator Robert Knight said Duncan was hired Feb. 1 and was terminated April 18. "I released him from employment. An arrest of this nature is a violation of the code of conduct," said Knight. "We find the allegations very disturbing, and our hearts go out to all involved."

The town of Parachute has about 1,400 residents and eight police officers.

The charges carry a possible sentence range of two years to life in prison. Details of the alleged sexual assault were scarce yesterday but prosecutor Gail Nichols, who earlier in the day advised Duncan of the charge against him in the judge’s chambers, said it occurred sometime on April 18 and that the victim was an adult. She declined to provide details about the incident, such as the victim’s sex or age, adding that a heavily redacted arrest affidavit should be available for public inspection today.

Duncan is due in Garfield County District Court on April 30 at 1:30 p.m. He has been ordered to stay away from the purported victim should he post bond.

Military Police Officer Arrested For Allegedly Beating Stepson

It was at 117 Lynn Street in McRae where White County Sheriff Deputies say Patrick West beat his 5-month-old stepson. It happened Monday.

According to officers, the baby stopped breathing and that's when West called 911. After a series of tests, doctors learned the child suffered multiple skull fractures.

He's on life support at Arkansas Children's Hospital where doctors are remaining hopeful, but so far officers say the baby hasn't shown any signs of activity.

Police say this is the first time the mother left the child alone with West. And what's even more shocking is the couple was just married last Friday and she is eight weeks pregnant.

Detective Brandon Grimes says, "She says she has no clue. She acts fairly devastated about the whole situation of course."

Deputies arrested West, a military police officer, who also has served time in Iraq. He's charged with 1st Degree Battery and has since posted a $100,000 bond.

Grimes says, "Of course if the child passes the charges will be amended. You would think somebody in that position would be more cautious in things and taken care of a child when they have seen so much devastation."

Today's THV talked to West's base in Fort Campbell Kentucky. We're told they've launched an investigation under military procedures and military law.

"They're amazed really. I mean they didn't suspect it at all," Grimes explains.

The mother, who is also in the military, is not a suspect.

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WTF is wrong with people?!?! When my boys were little, I never once considered hitting them hard enough it could injury them in any way, no matter what they did. And my boys have done some really crazy, stupid things in their life. I just don't understand people who can do this kind of thing to a child. Yell at them, send them to their rooms, put them in a corner, whatever, but you don't have to hurt them. I've never once hit my boys in a way that could cause them harm. What a shame that this had to happen. Hopefully the little boy will recover.

Officer John Eagley Arrested for Sending Threatening Text Messages

Pennsylvania Officer John T. Eagley, a 34-year-old patrolman, sent a threatening text message to his friend, Art Sider, cell phone on March 13. Art Sider is the manager at Gabriel Brothers, a discount store.

Police said the first message threatened the manager at the store where Officer Eagley’s girlfriend, Susan Foley, had been suspended for poor job performance.

The text message said, “Tell Anthony he is done. If I pull him over, I’m dragging him out of the car and beating the fuck out of him. I’m dead serious.”

A second message arrived a moment later, just before noon on March 13, telling Art Sider to relay the message. Sider took the phone and showed it to the Millcreek police, who photographed the messages.

Officer Eagley was arrested Friday, after other officers reviewed telephone records. He was charged with official oppression and making terrorist threats. He was arraigned before District Judge Paul Manzi of Millcreek and was released after posting a $10,000 bond.

The Police Chief Richard E. Andrews would only say that Officer Eagley sent the messages while off duty, and that the matter was investigated by the department’s internal affairs unit. Officer Eagley has also been suspended.

Oklahoma City Police Officer Hangs Himself

A former Oklahoma City police officer hanged himself in a jail cell on Thursday, a day after being arrested on a murder-for-hire complaint.

Kenneth J. Griffin was found unresponsive in his Oklahoma County jail cell and was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:55 p.m., according to jail spokeswoman Kelly Marshall.

Griffin is accused of hiring a hitman, but to kill whom is still unknown. The Oklahoma County district attorney said a sealed indictment against Griffin would be opened on Friday.

Griffin resigned from the police force in April 1996 amid a conviction for accepting money under false pretenses.

Authorities said he had taken money from charities under the pretense that he had been hurt in the April 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and that his insurance didn't cover all his costs.

Griffin served prison time on that conviction.

Retired Kansas City Police Officer arrested on child porn charges

Police officer Neil Becker admitted to modifying family photos of his stepdaughter, a young neighbor girl and other family members into photos of them having sex with him. The children were never actually violated physically. (But you know that will fuck with them mentally for a long time.)

According to court documents, Neil Becker told detectives that he didn’t think he was doing anything wrong because it was just a fantasy. (Rather a sick fantasy don’t you think? It would have been just a matter of time before he stepped the line between fantasy and reality.)

Peggy Becker, his wife was the one who turned his sick ass into the police. (Good for her.) She said she was shocked by what she found on the family’s computer. "It was very difficult, because I love my husband and I love my family, and I tried to weigh which was more important. I couldn't overlook it," she said.

"I was just totally shocked when I found them, because No. 1, it involved my daughter, my sister and I. The mere volume of pictures... " Peggy Becker said.

"I was aghast. I took them to my son and he said, 'That's just wrong. You're not supposed to see your mother like that,'" said Debbie Schuller, Peggy Becker's sister.

Police searched the Becker’s house on Wednesday.

"When the tactical guys came, he couldn't believe what they were doing to him after 25 years of faithful valor and service to the police department," Peggy Becker said.

"Neil, he's a retired Kansas City police officer, and he knew better. I just don't believe he didn't know it was wrong," Schuller said.

"These were happy family pictures that aren't so happy anymore," she said.

Police said that when they interviewed Becker, he admitted to deleting the photos once he realized his wife had viewed them.

Neil Becker was charged with four counts of possession of child pornography and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Oklahoma Sheriff Michael Burgess Ran Sex Slave operation From Jail

An Apapaho, Oklahoma Sherriff resigned after an investigation revealed he was running a sex-slave operation from the jail he where he was suppose to be helping individuals straighten out their lives.

Sherriff Burgess resigned after posting a bond Wednesday night. He has been charged with 35 felony counts, including accusations of forcible oral sodomy, kidnapping, rape, perjury, bribery of a public official, indecent exposure, 14 counts of rape in the second degree and rape by instrumentation. Investigators said at one time, Sherriff Burgess oversaw wet T-shirt contests at the Custer County Jail.
(Why does this shit surprise people. It happens all the time, but people are ignorant believing that it doesn’t go on. It does happen people, and it needs to be stopped!)

The Texas County district attorney started looking into Burgess in May 2007 when a participant in the Washita-Custer County drug court program told investigators that Burgess made her have sex with him on a threat of sending her to prison. Because of a conflict of interest, Custer County prosecutors handed the case to Texas County authorities.

According to an affidavit signed by District Attorney James Boring, Burgess compelled a Weatherford woman to travel to Oklahoma City and meet him at the Biltmore Hotel for sex in April 2006. The same woman had sex with Burgess under duress at a Clinton truck stop parking lot and at her home.

Once the investigation of Burgess got going, the former sheriff is accused of having another woman go to the alleged victim's home in Weatherford to remove incriminating evidence against him in exchange for securing her brother's release from prison.

Other accusations outlined in the affidavit include testimony from a former sheriff's deputy, who said Burgess groped her between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30, 2005. Burgess also allegedly forced a drug-court probation violator to perform oral sex on him in his county vehicle.

Perjury charges stem from an incident in which Burgess allegedly helped a Custer County woman falsify and secure a protective order against another man. The affidavit states that Burgess directed and coached the woman "as to facts she was to present and which she in fact testified to under oath" with regard to the protective order.

Burgess had been sheriff in Custer County since 1994, and these accusations have the entire region talking. Residents said that if the accusations turn out to be true, it sends a bad message.

"That you can't really trust anybody no matter if they're in power because people in power abuse their power," said Kim Whiteshirt.

If convicted on all counts, Burgess could face a sentence of up to 467 years in prison.
(And I hope the bitch gets raped everyday!!)

Retried Police Officer fondles 13 year old girl

Retired Lakeland, Florida police officer George Mort, 61, is accused of fondling the breasts of a 13-year-old girl in his home in 2006. Mort is described as a friend of the girl’s family, and was her school resource officer at the school she attended.

The incident allegedly happened at Mort's home after a school day in 2006, shortly before the girl's 14th birthday. The report said it was not unusual for Mort to watch the girl after school because he was a close friend of the family.

Initially, the girl tried to tell her mother what happened by writing a letter and giving it to her in September 2006, the report said. But when her mother tried to get the girl to talk to detectives, she was too upset and refused.

The investigation picked up again in March 2007, when investigators and the victim agreed to monitored, recorded phone conversations with Mort.

The report also said Mort had been a suspect in a previous case with similar allegations.

After a nearly two-year investigation by the Polk County Sheriff's Office, which included recording phone conversations, George Mort was arrested April 3 and charged with committing a lewd and lascivious act on a victim under 16 years old.

Mort retired from the Lakeland Police Department in 2004 after 18 years of service. His last position was as a school resource officer at Rochelle School of the Arts.

Charges of lewd and lascivious behavior have been filed against the retired officer. Jail records show he has already been released after posting a $150,000 bail.

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You know this wasn’t this guys first time. I wonder how other children have been abused by the nasty mother fucker.

ALL cops consider themselves ABOVE the law. Immune to being "incarcerated" for breaking any laws. They do as they please, whenever they please, and since they know procedures so well, they are rarely detected or found out, let alone actually "charged" with a crime.

Three Chicago cops lie about arrests

Officer John Haleas won accolades for making DUI arrests, has been charged with official misconduct, obstruction of justice, and perjury in an April 9 grand jury indictment. Officers Michael Bernichio and Daniel Murphy, partners from the Chicago Lawn District have been charged with official misconduct and other offenses. All three officers face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Officer Haleas was honored three times by the Schaumburg-based Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists as the police officer with the most DUI busts in Illinois. But last October, the Cook County state's attorney's office dropped about 50 DUI cases in which Haleas had been the arresting officer and said as many as 500 cases could be in jeopardy.

The charges have been approved against Officer Haleas, who is accused of falsifying information in several DUI arrest, and Officers Michael Bernichio and Daniel Murphy, who were accused of writing up identical drug arrest reports against two men and then picking which one to charge.

Charges against Bernichio and Murphy stem from a July 2004 incident in which they arrested two men, Morris Wynn and Wayne Guy, and accused them of drug possession. The officers prepared two versions of the same arrest report—one with Wynn listed as the offender, and a second with Guy listed as the offender, authorities said.

The officers ended up arresting Wynn and releasing Guy, but they mixed up the reports and charged Wynn under Guy's name. Wynn was convicted and spent 29 months behind bars before the case was overturned.

In a lawsuit, Wynn alleged that the officers arrested the two men on false pretenses, then decided which one to charge with a crime. Last year, the Illinois Appellate Court threw out Wynn's conviction, saying Bernichio's testimony at trial was "incredible and contradicted by his own police reports."

The state's attorney's office and police internal affairs launched an investigation after the ruling.

In the Haleas case, two prosecutors in training who were riding with Haleas on patrol in 2005 raised questions about a DUI arrest he made because of procedures that were not followed. After prosecutors reviewed the arrest report Haleas filed, they asked for an internal affairs investigation.

Haleas is still on the police force but will be relieved of his police powers, said police spokeswoman Monique Bond. He had been on full duty until Tuesday. Bernichio and Murphy have already been stripped of their police powers, she said.

SWAT Officer Guillermo Cantu Arrested for Drunk Driving

A San Antonio S.W.A.T. Officer was arrested this weekend for driving drunk while in his unmarked police car. Austin police stopped the 42 year old veteran police officer who was in town for a SWAT conference.

Officer Guillermo Cantu is an 18-year veteran of the San Antonio Police Department and a member of the Special Operations Unit. (Who should have known better. I’m sure he has arrested others for the same crime.)

Gabe Trevino, a spokesman for the San Antonio Police Department said, “The arresting officer felt he was intoxicated. While at the conference, Officer Cantu was involved with drinking. He then got into the city vehicle that he was assigned to at the conference and got stopped.”

(Maybe he should have let one of the other two officers in the car with him drive? Or where they drunk too?)

San Antonio Police Department officials refused to comment about the details of Cantu's D.W.I. arrest, but said they are conducting their own investigation.

"If he was found to be guilty, then, of course, we'll address that appropriately," Trevino said.

Officer Cantu bonded out of jail in Austin. He's been placed on administrative duty, pending completion of the investigation.

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Okay I found out from another person that this officer had recently lost his mother due to cancer. I do feel for him. Death is not a nice thing and is very hard to deal with. Still, you can’t drive drunk...that is the law. Don’t you think that maybe some of the other people that he has stopped for the same thing, might have had an good excuse too? There is no excuse for drunk driving. He should have known better since he is supposed to be a role model for society.

I don’t think he needs to lose his job for this either...maybe make him go around lecturing to others about drunk driving and what he will now have to go through because he made the wrong choice.

New York police officer arrested on sex charges

A 10 year veteran New York police officer has been arrested and charged with sexually abusing one woman and trying to force another to have sex with him.

Officer Wilfredo Rosario first met the 27 years old woman while on duty, on March 26, when he offered to help her get a job as a school crossing guard. He also promised to help her get her son into an after school program, and took her address and telephone number.

Four days later, while off duty, he went to her home, picked her up and drove to a secluded area along Riverside Drive where he sexually abused her. The woman said she tried to get out of the car, but Officer Rosario grabbed her and pulled her back into the car. He then sexually abused her again before finally taking her home.

While investigating this incident, investigators learned that in March 2002, Rosario attempted to force a 18 year old woman to have sex with him. Officer Rosario had found the teen and a male friend in the park after it had closed, and told her if she would have sex with him, he would not tell her parents or give her a ticket, but the 18 year old rejected his offer. This poor woman complained to the NYPD, but no action was ever taken.

Women living in the area say the allegations have opened their eyes.

"Having the knowledge after hearing these stories, definitely, I would be a little more vigilant, a little bit more aware, a little bit unfortunately more uncomfortable being alone with a cop, especially at night," Valerie Davidkova said.

"Oh it's awful," said one woman. "Somebody who people are supposed to be able to trust, who you're taught as a child to go to for help when you need assistance. Somebody who takes advantage of that. It's terrible."

The other woman added, “It certainly makes you wonder...I guess it makes it harder to trust the system.”

“There are other victims our there,” stated the prosecutor. Investigators are asking any other victims to please call them at (212)335-8905.

This disgraced officers bail was set at just $10,000. For sex crimes and being an ass in a uniform should have tripled his bond in my opinion.

He has been indicted on charges of sex abuse, official misconduct, unlawful imprisonment, and attempted coercion for allegedly having forced a woman into having sex with him.
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Hope he gets 20 years, but oh yeah I forgot they save that time for people with drug problems, not former police officers who sexually abuse women. Hmmmm...sounds like justice to me...WRONG!!!

New York City Officer Christian Torres Robs Bank

New York city police officer Christian Torres robbed a bank in Pennsylvania on Thursday, making off with $113,000 in cash. When he was caught he had a blond wig stashed in his car.

This 21 year old rookie officer decided being a cop didn’t pay well enough, and decided robbing a bank would pay better. He approached a bank employee in the Sovereign Bank branch around 8am and asked about mortgage rates. She told him that she would help him when the bank opened. He turned away, but when the employee entered the bank, he pushed his way in. An employee already at her desk saw the disturbance and triggered a silent alarm, that obviously this officer forgot that banks have.

This law breaker then ordered the employees into the vault, as he ordered one employee, at gunpoint using his police issued weapon, to put money in a shopping bag. As they were doing this he threatened to harm the employees, and then fled.

Another officer was in his patrol car when he heard about the bank alarm, and arrived to find Officer Torres, dressed in business attire leaving the bank with the bag full of money. Officer Orvech watched as the man got into a car and started to drive away, but noticed that the license plate was turned backward so the numbers were facing the bumper. A bank employee step outside and pointed to the car, so Officer Orvech pulled it over.

When questioned, he said he was a New York City police officer, and showed his badge and identification. Officer Orvech pulled him out of the vehicle and found a 9millimeter Glock handgun in the officers waistband, and discovered the wig, the derby and the bag with bundles of cash on the floor of the vehicle.

As he was being handcuffed, “he was very calm, almost like he was going to talk his way out of it,” Officer Orvech said. Officer Torres was charged with two counts of robbery, assault, theft, as well as other counts. The most serious charge, felony robbery, carries a prison sentence of 10 years or more, said Judge Dean R. Patton of Berks County Magisterial District Court in Reading, Pa., who set bail at $500,000. Judge Patton scheduled a preliminary hearing for April 21. Officer Torres was being held in the Berks County Prison until trial. Better hope he doesn’t run across someone he put in there.

Officer Christopher Darr indicted in January beating of suspect

An Elgin police officer accused of beating a suspect while off duty on New Year's Day was indicted Tuesday on battery charges, authorities said.

Officer Christopher Darr, who had been on restricted duty since January, was indicted by a Kane County grand jury on two felony counts of battery, special prosecutor Charles Colburn said.

Darr, an officer since 2001, was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal charges, a police spokeswoman said.

Darr is accused of beating Kevin Schwartz, 29, of South Elgin, one of the suspects charged in a brawl during the early hours of Jan. 1 at the Holiday Inn in Elgin. Darr's father, Jack, a hotel security officer and a retired Elgin deputy police chief, suffered broken ribs, a punctured lung and cuts when he tried to break up the fight, police said.

Police stopped Schwartz a short time later on Illinois Highway 31. Officer Christopher Darr is accused of going to the scene.

"He is not alleged to have been on duty at the time," said Colburn, of the state appellate prosecutor's office, which handled the investigation at the request of State's Atty. John Barsanti.

A lawyer for Schwartz has said the attack on his client "had nothing to do with what happened at the hotel." He said Schwartz had been handcuffed with his hands behind his back before and during the beating in the back of a police car.

The lawyer, Michael D. Oppenheimer, said Tuesday that he expects to file a lawsuit against Darr and the Elgin Police Department.

"Obviously, a grand jury has spoken," Oppenheimer said. "They heard the facts and decided he should be indicted."

Bail for Darr was set at $5,000. He is to appear for a hearing April 18.

Elgin Police Chief Lisa Womack declined to comment on the charges against Darr. She said the police internal affairs division will investigate whether Darr violated any of the department's regulations or policies.

Eight other people have been charged in the hotel brawl at 495 Airport Rd.

According to another paper:

"Darr was accused of stopping a car on New Year's Day on Illinois Highway 31 and beating Kevin Schwartz, 29, of South Elgin. Schwartz is one of the suspects charged in a New Year's Eve brawl at the Holiday Inn in Elgin that injured Darr's father, Jack, a hotel security officer and a retired Elgin deputy police chief. A lawyer for Schwartz has said the attack on his client "had nothing to do with what happened at the hotel." He said Schwartz had been handcuffed with hands behind his back before and during the beating."

So it doesn't look as though he was protecting his father but perhaps seeking revenge. Understandable maybe, but not acceptable for a law officer. Unfortunately, this opens the city of Elgin up to a lawsuit.

Fort Worth cop Clinton Wyatt arrested for drunk driving

A Fort Worth police officer allegedly found passed out behind the wheel of his marked patrol vehicle at a Burleson intersection was arrested Sunday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

Clinton Wyatt, who was off-duty at the time of the 3:49 a.m. arrest, refused to take a Breathalyzer test, said Chris Havens, public information officer for the Burleson Police Department.

Wyatt, 32, was transported to the Burleson jail and released at 9:58 a.m. Sunday after posting a $1,000 bond, Havens said.

Wyatt began working with the department in January 2003 and has no history of similar incidents on his record, said Lt. Paul Henderson, Fort Worth police spokesman.

“He is on restricted duty and was stripped of his gun and his badge [pending the investigation’s outcome],” Henderson said.

Wyatt, who had been off-duty for more than nine hours before his arrest, was apparently on his way home in his patrol car when Burleson officer Brad Schaefer saw him asleep behind the wheel in the 100 block of N.W. Burleson Boulevard at the Renfro Street intersection.

Havens said the case will be taken to the Johnson County district attorney’s office for further action.

The Fort Worth Police Department’s internal affairs division is investigating the case, according to a press release, and Wyatt’s whereabouts between 6 p.m. Saturday, the time his shift ended, and the time of his arrest are under investigation.

Tampa police arrest sex offender for 4th time

Why can't the police keep people like this the fuck off the streets? If anyone ever needed to be locked down for any amount of time this guy should be right up at the top of the list.

Tampa, Florida police arrested a sex offender who should have still been locked up, but instead let this 4 time sex offender loose on the streets so he could masturbate in front of two young children in a store.

Fermin Martinez-Ramos has a long criminal history with Tampa Police, and yet they continue to let scum like this on the streets so he can violate some other child. This time, two girls ages 9 and 4 confirmed to police that he was masturbating in front of them at the local grocery store.

This nasty son-of-a-bitch ran out the store before police arrived, but the boys in blue put the cuffs on him just a short time later, just a few blocks from the store. They charged him with 2 counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition towards a child under 16, and failing to report his change of address as a sex offender.

What I don’t understand is why jackasses like this are not locked down for a longer amount of time? They are some of the worst in society and don’t need to be free on the streets so they can victimize our most vulnerable.

Ex-Narcotics Cop Shows How To Beat The Law On DVDs

BIG SANDY, Texas (CBS) ― Barry Cooper sells a DVD on how to stash pot in your car without getting caught. This fall he will release a second one on how to keep police from raiding your home for marijuana.

Now for the kicker: Cooper is a former narcotics officer once considered among the top cops in Texas, where more marijuana is seized each year than in any other state.

The formerly straight-laced lawman has become a shaggy-haired militant for the legalization of weed.

Six months ago he released "Never Get Busted Again," in which the former star of West Texas' Permian Basin Drug Task Force gives tips on hiding marijuana (dashboards are rife with nooks and crannies) and throwing off drug-sniffing dogs (coat your tires in fox urine).

"I'm not helping them to break the law. It's clear the law is already being broken," said Cooper, 38, who left law enforcement a decade ago. "I will do anything legal to frustrate law enforcement's efforts to place American citizens in jail for nonviolent drug offenses."

Law officers regard Cooper as a traitor. And some pro-pot activists say Cooper's antics actually undermine their cause.

"This is like waving red meat" in front of police, said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "They take great professional umbrage with this. They are not our opposition, and we don't want to agitate them."

Federal drug agents said his tips won't keep them from finding your stash, and they advise drug users to save their $20 and use it to help post bail.

Richard Sanders, an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Tyler, brushes off Cooper's DVD as a sham. "He's just out to make money," Sanders said.

Though he will not reveal how much he has made, Cooper said he has sold more than 10,000 copies of "Never Get Busted," primarily over the Internet and at a few smoke shops.

Defense attorneys have also called him as a witness to testify about unlawful tactics he says police use to make drug cases. For instance, he testified about how drug-sniffing dogs can be made to "false alert," which gives officers legal grounds to search a car or a home. Cooper said he has used that ploy himself.

Cooper has begun filming a second DVD, called "Never Get Raided." He said he is also planning a documentary in which he plans to ply 50 partygoers with beer and marijuana and film what happens next. The aim, he said, is to prove that partygoers who get high are less dangerous than those who get drunk.

Frederick Moss, a law professor at Southern Methodist University, said Cooper appears to be protected by the First Amendment and probably cannot be charged with conspiracy or aiding and abetting because he has no direct relationship with the customers he counsels in how to break the law.

Cooper claims that as a law officer, he took part in 800 drug busts, seized more than more than 50 vehicles and $500,000 in cash and assets, and made a case against a local politician's son.

"He was among the best we had," said Tom Finley, who was Cooper's supervisor on the drug task force. "I don't understand why he would turn like this."

Cooper has owned car dealerships, started a limousine service, dabbled as a cage fighting promoter and taught in a church. He lives in a pine-canopied hideaway in this East Texas town of 1,400, where his home includes a framed picture in the kitchen of Cooper holding a joint.

It is the same town where Cooper was last a police officer in 1998, when he said his frustration with small-town politics made him quit law enforcement and begin rethinking the war on drugs.

He filed for bankruptcy in 2005, blaming a tough divorce and the stock-market downturn after Sept. 11. He is also suing for $10 million over a 2005 raid of his home that Cooper alleges left bruises on his children -- an incident he says convinced him police are hurting more families than they help. (Cooper says sheriff's deputies came to take his children away after his ex-wife complained he was not sending them to school or sharing custody.)

"My critics want to kill my credibility by claiming I'm doing this to make money and trying to keep any sincerity out of this," Cooper said. "The people who have seen me and know my work, they know I'm sincere."

Cops Taser naked sex offender

In most cases I am against tasering, unless absolutely necessary...like this case. If there was ever a reason to taser someone this is it. Asshole got what he deserved.

DEERFIELD BEACH, Florida - Authorities in South Florida say a man who was found naked on the street and violently resisted arrest died shortly after officers stunned him with a Taser.

Broward Sheriff’s deputies say 41-year-old James Garland was spotted naked wandering through traffic waving his shirt after 4 a.m. Friday.

After officers used the stun gun on him, he was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Police say Garland was a registered sex offender who had been arrested 10 arrests in Broward County since 2002, mostly for cocaine-related charges.

Glenville Cop Accused Of Criminal Mischief

After a three week internal investigation, Glenville police officer Chris Charnews has been arrested and Officer Ed Casey has resigned.

Charnews was charged Thursday with third degree criminal mischief, a felony, and two misdemeanor counts of fourth degree criminal mischief for allegedly shooting out a streetlight with a “potato gun” and setting fire to two boxes of road flares in the parking lot of the police department.

Charnews has been suspended without pay and department officials said they will be seeking his termination. No further action will reportedly be taken against Casey who was the subject of the same investigation.

The internal probe began “after certain circumstances indicated the possibility of misconduct by department members, town police chief Michael D. Ranalli said. He said that no aspect of the investigation revealed any allegations involving any interactions with members of the public.

In a news release issued by the police agency, Ranalli said that “This administration has set a standard of respect and professionalism that must be adhered to at all times and if members fall below that standard they will be dealt with accordingly”.

The release said that “The current dispositions were not taken lightly but were made with the best interest of both the taxpayers of the town of Glenville and the Glenville Police Department in mind. The integrity and professionalism of our department is of paramount importance and acts of misconduct will be handled aggressively and decisively.”

Horry County, SC police arrest one of its own

Horry County, South Carolina police arrested one of its own Wednesday following an investigation into a burglary of a Conway business reported to police on March 31.

Horry County police department's criminal investigation division arrested 38-year-old Thomas Jefferson Chestnut, a three year veteran of the department, according to a release from the department.

Investigators charged Chestnut with second-degree burglary and misconduct in office after investigators took a report of the theft from a Conway woman.

According to the arrest warrant, investigators said Chestnut took a Dell laptop, Dell desk monitor, and a Nikon digital camera; all totaling $1,700 from a business on Lenox Drive in Conway.

According to the report, the officer reported there was no forced-entry into the business, but that within hours of the thefts, police said Chestnut used the computer from his home.

Police said investigators tracked the computer back to Chestnut's residence by the computer's electronic signature.

Investigators reported finding the stolen items inside Chestnut's home when police searched his home.

County police arrested Chestnut at his home on Nancy Lane Wednesday.

Investigators served Chestnut with the arrest warrants Thursday at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

No bond hearing is set as of this posting.

Ottawa police officer charged with sexual assault

OTTAWA - An Ottawa police officer was charged Monday with sexual assault and breach of trust stemming from an incident last November.

The charges came after an investigation by the Special Investigations Unit after a woman reported that she was sexually assaulted by an on-duty police officer on Nov. 3, 2007.

The woman approached the Ottawa Police Service with these allegations two days later, according to an SIU news release Monday.

Acting Sgt. Rohan Beebakhee, 38, faces one charge of sexual assault and one charge of breach of trust. He is scheduled to appear in Ottawa court on April 21.

Investigators with the SIU declined further comment on the case, saying the matter is now before the courts.

The SIU is a civilian agency that probes cases of serious injuries, sexual assaults and deaths involving police officers in Ontario.