I recently read an interesting article in the UK about how law enforcement were focusing too much on minor crimes, just to meet a quota. The same thing is happening here in the US. Officers are on a rampage, stopping, writing tickets, and sometimes arresting individuals over minor offenses at a pace that of approximately one every 10 minutes. How did I arrive at this number? By watching our fine officers perform their duty of protecting and serving.
Police often choose to tackle "trivial" offences instead of serious crimes to help them meet government targets, a right-wing think tank has said.
I was doing some local shopping today, paying a few bills, and running errands that needed to be done, all the time watching not only local law enforcement, but Highway Patrol officers, stopping individuals at a record pace. It is known that it takes an officer an average of 15 minutes for each stop he performs, but not recently. Just one block from leaving my house. I encounter one officer out of his car writing a ticket to a lady. Before I made it to the stop sign at the corner, I saw the officer pull away and hit his lights on another victim.
Police forces, and the government, risked alienating the public by concentrating on "easy-to-deal-with offending" like speeding.
Just a couple more blocks away, I watched as an officer whip around in the road in front of me and went after someone else. A little farther down, I see a highway patrolman pulling a woman over. I drove just a couple more blocks, near O’ Riley’s Auto Parts store, and saw a man pulled over with two police cars ‘assisting’ him with a ticket or two. And I’m not even a mile away from my house!!!
Arresting or fining a normally law-abiding person for a minor offence was a good way of achieving this target and pleasing those higher up.
I pick up some food from Sonic as I’m watching the officers, one of them finally leave and immediately hit the lights on someone else. Totally time driving through town, I watched as over 15 people were stopped and giving tickets. Time...less than one hour.
The pamphlet, written by journalist Harriet Sergeant, said many officers were expected to complete a certain number of "sanction detections" a month, either by charging, cautioning or fining an offender, and are offered performance-related pay bonuses.
"In order to meet targets, police are now classifying incidents as crimes that would previously have been dealt with informally, classified differently or ignored," said the pamphlet.
One officer was quoted as saying he warned his teenage son to take extra care at the end of the month when police were looking to fill their quota.
"Complaints against the police have risen, with much of the increase coming from law-abiding, middle-class, middle-aged and retired people who no longer feel that the police are on their side."
The author recommended the problem be tackled by removing targets and that a new local tax should pay for policing.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Officer Warren Knight Accused Of Assaulting Family Member
A Norwich police officer faces assault charges, the third officer to have been arrested in the last year.
Officer Warren Knight, 45, was arrested Wednesday and charged with third-degree assault and disorderly conduct. State police said Knight turned himself to Troop E in Montville after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He is accused of assaulting a male family member.
Police said Knight, who lives on North Burnham Highway in Lisbon, was off-duty at the time of the assault.
Knight reportedly made the Norwich Police Department aware of the incident and was put on desk duty. The department will also conduct an internal investigation.
Knight isn't the first Norwich officer to get in trouble with the law. Lt. Michael Blanchette was recently charged with drug possession while in New York, and former Officer Jamie Longolucco faces multiple charges after a fight with two women at a New London apartment.
Some Norwich residents said the numerous allegations have them questioning the integrity of the police department.
"He shouldn't be doing that," Norwich resident Eric Gallegous said. "They obviously know better, especially Norwich police."
Norwich resident Ken O'Neal said the arrest has shaken his faith in the police department even further.
"Honestly, I didn't have too much faith in the Norwich police department to begin with," he said. "So, is it shaky? It makes me nervous to think that the people that we're supposed to respect to serve and protect are now assaulting their family members."
Knight was released on a promise to appear in court. He will be arraigned Thursday in New London Superior Court.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Officer Carie Hooker Accused of Shoplifting
An off-duty Chicago Police officer was arrested on suspicion of stealing more than $100 in women's clothing at a Kohl's store in Chicago Ridge, village police said.
Officer Carie Hooker, 39, was charged Monday with retail theft.
The store's security officers stopped Hooker as she left about 5 p.m. from the store at 9700 Ridgeland Ave. She was released after posting bail.
Chicago Police late Tuesday didn't provide any details on Hooker's assignment, but records show she started work in Chicago in March 1997.
The arrest comes after another Chicago officer was arrested for allegedly battering a couple in Niles Saturday.
Officer Carie Hooker, 39, was charged Monday with retail theft.
The store's security officers stopped Hooker as she left about 5 p.m. from the store at 9700 Ridgeland Ave. She was released after posting bail.
Chicago Police late Tuesday didn't provide any details on Hooker's assignment, but records show she started work in Chicago in March 1997.
The arrest comes after another Chicago officer was arrested for allegedly battering a couple in Niles Saturday.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Officer James David Burnett Arrested for Domestic Violence
An Oklahoma City officer was arrested late Thursday on suspicion of domestic abuse, police said.
Officer James David Burnett was taken into custody Thursday night after officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at a home in southwest Oklahoma City.
Investigators said officers found Burnett and a woman who had bruises and cuts on her face.
"The officer, David Burnett, has been placed on suspension with pay. He's a 26-year veteran on the police department," said Sgt. Gary Knight.
Prosecutors said they have not filed charges against Burnett.
Oklahoma City police officials said the department is investigating the case.
Two Norfolk Officers Accused of Criminal Offences
Two Norfolk police officers accused of criminal offences have seen their cases sent to crown court.
Stephen Price, 44, of Jasmine Court, Attleborough, face three counts of fraud. He appeared at Norwich Magistrates' Court this morning where he entered no plea. He was released on bail to appear at Norfolk Crown Court on June 25.
Mark Murphy, 39, of Granary Close, Lingwood, also appeared before magistrates. He has already denied offences including assault, carrying a knife in public, possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate, harassment causing fear of violence and failing to provide a breath specimen.
He now faces an additional charge of drink driving relating to an alleged incident near Downham Market on March 1. He pleaded not guilty to this offence.
Mr Murphy was released on conditional bail to appear at the crown court on June 25. He will appear at magistrates later on the same day for proceedings relating to the drink driving offence.
Stephen Price, 44, of Jasmine Court, Attleborough, face three counts of fraud. He appeared at Norwich Magistrates' Court this morning where he entered no plea. He was released on bail to appear at Norfolk Crown Court on June 25.
Mark Murphy, 39, of Granary Close, Lingwood, also appeared before magistrates. He has already denied offences including assault, carrying a knife in public, possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate, harassment causing fear of violence and failing to provide a breath specimen.
He now faces an additional charge of drink driving relating to an alleged incident near Downham Market on March 1. He pleaded not guilty to this offence.
Mr Murphy was released on conditional bail to appear at the crown court on June 25. He will appear at magistrates later on the same day for proceedings relating to the drink driving offence.
Two Philadelphia Officers charged with beating graffiti artist
Two Philadelphia police officers were charged this morning with beating up a 36-year-man they found painting graffiti in August, and falsifying records to make it appear they had not been near the encounter.
District Attorney Lynn M. Abraham announced the charges against Officers Sheldon Fitzgerald and Howard Hill III, both five-year veterans from the 25th district. Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said the pair were suspended without pay and would be fired.
The charges come on the heels of Ramsey's decision last week to discipline eight officers -- including firing four -- for using excessive force in a videotaped beating earlier this month.
Abraham said it was a coincidence that the latest charges were filed now. "I don't time anything," she said.
Abraham said the two officers stopped David Vernitsky, 36, at 12:30 a.m. on August 26 near 4th Street and Wyoming Avenue in Feltonville, where they found him spray-painting graffiti on the wall of a friend who was newly married. She said Vernitsky fled, the officers caught him, beat him, handcuffed him and tossed him in the back of their patrol car, head first.
After running a check on his records and finding no outstanding warrants against Vernitsky, the officers released him. Two friends who had seen part of the alleged assault took Vernitsky to the hospital, where he was treated for a broken jaw that required his jaw be wired shut for five weeks. He also lost three teeth.
Vernitsky was not charged with anything, Abraham said.
The officers then attempted to cover up their encounter by filing a false entry in their patrol log showing they were at another location at the time, Abraham said.
"This is another statement that excessive force will not be tolerated," said Ramsey, who attended the district attorney's news conference.
John J. McNesby, president of Lodge Five of the Fraternal Order of Police, said the allegations against the officers were a "fabrication" and the police union would defend its members.
"Instead of tracking the murder rate in Philadelphia, they should start tracking the persecution rate of Philadelphia police officers for going out and doing their job on a daily basis," he said.
More Cops Accused of Brutality
THERE IS JUSTICE. Then there's street justice.
David Vernitsky said yesterday that he felt like he got a painful dose of both.
"Those officers shouldn't have done what they did," Vernitsky remarked, understatedly.
In a move that rattled the city's law-enforcement community, District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham yesterday filed criminal charges against two police officers accused of busting Vernitsky's jaw after catching him spray-painting a congratulatory message to a newlywed couple on a wall in North Philadelphia.
Not only did the officers unmercifully beat Vernitsky, said Abraham, but they tried to cover up the thrashing by intentionally failing to document the pedestrian stop. After working over Vernitsky, the officers told him to scram, she said. He was not charged with a crime.
Abraham ordered the two officers - Sheldon Fitzgerald and Howard Hill III - to turn themselves in and submit to arrest within 72 hours. The officers, both five-year veterans from the 25th District on Whitaker Avenue near Erie, have been suspended without pay and will be fired, authorities said.
The charges came a week after Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey fired four officers and disciplined four others for their role in a videotaped beating that gave Philadelphia a black eye. Hill and Fitzgerald, who did not return phone messages left by the Daily News, were not involved in the May 5 beating, authorities said.
Ramsey stood stoically by Abraham's side as she detailed the case against Hill, 30, and Fitzgerald, 29, during a morning news conference at the District Attorney's Office in Center City.
"I do think it's an understatement that excessive force simply will not be tolerated in our department," Ramsey said after Abraham finished. "It's very unfortunate in the sense that, in light of the most recent videotaped incident, these things coming in short order."
For the second time this month, Ramsey stressed that the behavior of these officers was not a reflection on the 6,700-member force as a whole.
And once again, John J. McNesby, president of Lodge 5 of the Fraternal Order of Police, lashed out at Ramsey.
"This is a disgrace," McNesby said yesterday. "It can't get any worse . . . Instead of tracking murders in Philadelphia, we should be tracking the persecution of police officers. It's open season on police officers. Not only do we have to watch out for the criminals on the street, but we have to watch out for the people we work for."
McNesby said he believes that Vernitsky fabricated the allegations against Fitzgerald and Hill, and asserted that Vernitsky didn't immediately go to the hospital. McNesby also said Internal Affairs investigators have yet to interview Fitzgerald and Hill to get their version of events.
Vernitsky, 37, seemed a bit shell-shocked by the media attention. In the early afternoon, reporters staked out his home in the city's Logan section, then waited for him to arrive at his job at a North Philly packaging company.
Vernitsky responded to questions from a reporter with "yes, "no," and "I don't know" - the latter when asked if he planned to file a civil lawsuit. He said he wished the officers had simply arrested him for the graffiti, rather than attack and release him.
Vernitsky's police encounter began at about 12:30 a.m. last Aug. 26, near 4th Street and Wyoming Avenue, where Fitzgerald and Hill spotted him spray-painting on the wall of a beauty-supply business.
He had just attended a wedding in Port Richmond with some other buddies and wanted to scrawl a tribute to the couple. He had spray-painted the first few letters when Fitzgerald and Hill drove by in a police cruiser, according to Abraham.
Hill, who was driving, made a quick U-turn and Vernitsky ran off. That's when Fitzgerald jumped out of the squad car, chasing Vernitsky. When Fitzgerald caught up to Vernitsky, he knocked him down and kicked and punched him, Abraham said. Hill then exited the car and joined his partner, she said.
"The two officers began to pummel and kick and beat Mister Vernitsky," Abraham said.
The officers then handcuffed Vernitsky, then 36, and threw him into the police car. They searched his pockets and demanded to know if he was wanted for any crimes, Abraham said.
When the officers learned Vernitsky was not on a wanted list, they returned his identification and told him to get lost, she said.
Vernitsky's friends caught up with him about half block from the graffiti spot. They took him home, and later to the Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he was hospitalized for five days for a broken and dislocated jaw, bruises, and injuries to his face, ribs and groin, Abraham said.
The next morning, Vernitsky's mother contacted Internal Affairs, which launched an investigation and later referred the case to city prosecutors, Abraham said.
Abraham charged Fitzgerald and Hill with aggravated assault, a first-degree felony, simple assault, reckless endangerment, tampering with public records and criminal conspiracy. Abraham said the officers could face substantial prison time.
In addition, Ramsey has reopened a previously closed citizen complaint filed against Fitzgerald and Hill in 2007. That complaint waged allegations similar to Vernitsky's, said police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.
"There was a complaint in their history that was very similar to this allegation," Vanore said. "In light of this case, the commissioner wanted it reopened."
Internal Affairs investigators were unable to sustain the allegations in that case because the victim was uncooperative, Vanore said.
Yesterday, Kelvyn Anderson, deputy director of the Philadelphia Police Advisory Commission, said Abraham's actions against Fitzgerald and Hill were highly unusual, if not unprecedented.
"It's certainly rather extraordinary for the district attorney to take such a step," Anderson said. "Obviously they felt that they had enough evidence to do so. It will be interesting to see what happens from here."
Hill comes from a law-enforcement family. His brother is a police officer in the 15th District in the Northeast and his father is a retired corrections officer.
Howard Hill Jr., 52, defended his son yesterday, calling him an honest and hardworking man who defended his country while in the Army.
"It almost seems like a witch hunt," Hill Jr. said.
"What aggravates me is he is not being given the benefit of the doubt. The district attorney is turning around and making it sound like he's already been convicted, and that's wrong. That's defamation of character."
He said his son learned about the allegations against him on April 18. His son came to him, his head in his hands. When he looked up at his father, he had tears in his eyes. He swore that the allegations were untrue, Hill Jr. said.
"I said, 'As your father, I want to know the truth.' I asked him straight out," Hill Jr. said. "You can tell when you have a kid when there is something they are telling you that's not the truth. I can just look at him and know. He's got one of those faces."
Hill Jr. said his son explained that if he had used force against someone, there'd be a reason and the person would be arrested.
"It just doesn't add up," Hill Jr. said. "The whole thing stinks to high heaven."
Hill Jr. questioned what kind of man, especially a 36-year-old, would be out in the middle of the night spray-painting a wall.
Vernitsky has had a few prior brushes with the law. In 2006, he was charged with criminal mischief. A judge sentenced him to 25 hours of community service. In 1997, he was charged with arson, reckless endangerment, risking catastrophe and criminal mischief. He was found guilty of criminal mischief only and got one year probation, court records show.
David Vernitsky said yesterday that he felt like he got a painful dose of both.
"Those officers shouldn't have done what they did," Vernitsky remarked, understatedly.
In a move that rattled the city's law-enforcement community, District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham yesterday filed criminal charges against two police officers accused of busting Vernitsky's jaw after catching him spray-painting a congratulatory message to a newlywed couple on a wall in North Philadelphia.
Not only did the officers unmercifully beat Vernitsky, said Abraham, but they tried to cover up the thrashing by intentionally failing to document the pedestrian stop. After working over Vernitsky, the officers told him to scram, she said. He was not charged with a crime.
Abraham ordered the two officers - Sheldon Fitzgerald and Howard Hill III - to turn themselves in and submit to arrest within 72 hours. The officers, both five-year veterans from the 25th District on Whitaker Avenue near Erie, have been suspended without pay and will be fired, authorities said.
The charges came a week after Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey fired four officers and disciplined four others for their role in a videotaped beating that gave Philadelphia a black eye. Hill and Fitzgerald, who did not return phone messages left by the Daily News, were not involved in the May 5 beating, authorities said.
Ramsey stood stoically by Abraham's side as she detailed the case against Hill, 30, and Fitzgerald, 29, during a morning news conference at the District Attorney's Office in Center City.
"I do think it's an understatement that excessive force simply will not be tolerated in our department," Ramsey said after Abraham finished. "It's very unfortunate in the sense that, in light of the most recent videotaped incident, these things coming in short order."
For the second time this month, Ramsey stressed that the behavior of these officers was not a reflection on the 6,700-member force as a whole.
And once again, John J. McNesby, president of Lodge 5 of the Fraternal Order of Police, lashed out at Ramsey.
"This is a disgrace," McNesby said yesterday. "It can't get any worse . . . Instead of tracking murders in Philadelphia, we should be tracking the persecution of police officers. It's open season on police officers. Not only do we have to watch out for the criminals on the street, but we have to watch out for the people we work for."
McNesby said he believes that Vernitsky fabricated the allegations against Fitzgerald and Hill, and asserted that Vernitsky didn't immediately go to the hospital. McNesby also said Internal Affairs investigators have yet to interview Fitzgerald and Hill to get their version of events.
Vernitsky, 37, seemed a bit shell-shocked by the media attention. In the early afternoon, reporters staked out his home in the city's Logan section, then waited for him to arrive at his job at a North Philly packaging company.
Vernitsky responded to questions from a reporter with "yes, "no," and "I don't know" - the latter when asked if he planned to file a civil lawsuit. He said he wished the officers had simply arrested him for the graffiti, rather than attack and release him.
Vernitsky's police encounter began at about 12:30 a.m. last Aug. 26, near 4th Street and Wyoming Avenue, where Fitzgerald and Hill spotted him spray-painting on the wall of a beauty-supply business.
He had just attended a wedding in Port Richmond with some other buddies and wanted to scrawl a tribute to the couple. He had spray-painted the first few letters when Fitzgerald and Hill drove by in a police cruiser, according to Abraham.
Hill, who was driving, made a quick U-turn and Vernitsky ran off. That's when Fitzgerald jumped out of the squad car, chasing Vernitsky. When Fitzgerald caught up to Vernitsky, he knocked him down and kicked and punched him, Abraham said. Hill then exited the car and joined his partner, she said.
"The two officers began to pummel and kick and beat Mister Vernitsky," Abraham said.
The officers then handcuffed Vernitsky, then 36, and threw him into the police car. They searched his pockets and demanded to know if he was wanted for any crimes, Abraham said.
When the officers learned Vernitsky was not on a wanted list, they returned his identification and told him to get lost, she said.
Vernitsky's friends caught up with him about half block from the graffiti spot. They took him home, and later to the Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he was hospitalized for five days for a broken and dislocated jaw, bruises, and injuries to his face, ribs and groin, Abraham said.
The next morning, Vernitsky's mother contacted Internal Affairs, which launched an investigation and later referred the case to city prosecutors, Abraham said.
Abraham charged Fitzgerald and Hill with aggravated assault, a first-degree felony, simple assault, reckless endangerment, tampering with public records and criminal conspiracy. Abraham said the officers could face substantial prison time.
In addition, Ramsey has reopened a previously closed citizen complaint filed against Fitzgerald and Hill in 2007. That complaint waged allegations similar to Vernitsky's, said police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.
"There was a complaint in their history that was very similar to this allegation," Vanore said. "In light of this case, the commissioner wanted it reopened."
Internal Affairs investigators were unable to sustain the allegations in that case because the victim was uncooperative, Vanore said.
Yesterday, Kelvyn Anderson, deputy director of the Philadelphia Police Advisory Commission, said Abraham's actions against Fitzgerald and Hill were highly unusual, if not unprecedented.
"It's certainly rather extraordinary for the district attorney to take such a step," Anderson said. "Obviously they felt that they had enough evidence to do so. It will be interesting to see what happens from here."
Hill comes from a law-enforcement family. His brother is a police officer in the 15th District in the Northeast and his father is a retired corrections officer.
Howard Hill Jr., 52, defended his son yesterday, calling him an honest and hardworking man who defended his country while in the Army.
"It almost seems like a witch hunt," Hill Jr. said.
"What aggravates me is he is not being given the benefit of the doubt. The district attorney is turning around and making it sound like he's already been convicted, and that's wrong. That's defamation of character."
He said his son learned about the allegations against him on April 18. His son came to him, his head in his hands. When he looked up at his father, he had tears in his eyes. He swore that the allegations were untrue, Hill Jr. said.
"I said, 'As your father, I want to know the truth.' I asked him straight out," Hill Jr. said. "You can tell when you have a kid when there is something they are telling you that's not the truth. I can just look at him and know. He's got one of those faces."
Hill Jr. said his son explained that if he had used force against someone, there'd be a reason and the person would be arrested.
"It just doesn't add up," Hill Jr. said. "The whole thing stinks to high heaven."
Hill Jr. questioned what kind of man, especially a 36-year-old, would be out in the middle of the night spray-painting a wall.
Vernitsky has had a few prior brushes with the law. In 2006, he was charged with criminal mischief. A judge sentenced him to 25 hours of community service. In 1997, he was charged with arson, reckless endangerment, risking catastrophe and criminal mischief. He was found guilty of criminal mischief only and got one year probation, court records show.
Deputy Michael Galvan Pleads Guilty to Rape and Embezzlement
A Stanislaus, California Deputy waved his right to a hearing in rape and embezzlement case.
Sheriff Deputy Michael Galvan, 31, was a former school resource officer accused of rape and stealing public money, pleaded guilty to 2 felonies this morning in Stanislaus County Superior Court, as part of a plea deal that will result in a 16 month sentence.
Deputy Galvan, of Turlock said little more than "yes, sir" and "no contest" as he entered pleas. Judge Donald Shaver promised concurrent sentences for two serious felonies, assault under the color of authority and embezzlement.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Dave Harris dropped three other charges in return for Galvan's plea: rape with threat of use of authority, misappropriation of public money and possession of a dangerous weapon.
The prosecutor said he offered the deal so the victim and her children would not have to testify at trial.
"This is the best resolution for everybody involved," Harris said.
In a legal claim that is the precursor to a lawsuit, the woman said Galvan threatened to have her children taken away from her if she complained about him. An affidavit supporting an arrest warrant said Galvan was the subject of an FBI sting because a gang task force received complaints about him.
The victim, who is referred to as Jane Doe in a criminal complaint, due to the nature of the charges. She may address the court when Galvan is sentenced June 24.
The judge ordered Galvan to pay restitution to replace $1,149 he pocketed during a sting operation at Hanshaw Middle School, where Galvan had been posted. The deputy has been on unpaid leave since he was arrested, on the job, on Dec. 1, 2006.
Galvan has no prior record, so he likely will serve half of the time, or nine months, behind bars. He will be on parole for three years after his release and will not be able to hold a public service job again.
Sheriff Deputy Michael Galvan, 31, was a former school resource officer accused of rape and stealing public money, pleaded guilty to 2 felonies this morning in Stanislaus County Superior Court, as part of a plea deal that will result in a 16 month sentence.
Deputy Galvan, of Turlock said little more than "yes, sir" and "no contest" as he entered pleas. Judge Donald Shaver promised concurrent sentences for two serious felonies, assault under the color of authority and embezzlement.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Dave Harris dropped three other charges in return for Galvan's plea: rape with threat of use of authority, misappropriation of public money and possession of a dangerous weapon.
The prosecutor said he offered the deal so the victim and her children would not have to testify at trial.
"This is the best resolution for everybody involved," Harris said.
In a legal claim that is the precursor to a lawsuit, the woman said Galvan threatened to have her children taken away from her if she complained about him. An affidavit supporting an arrest warrant said Galvan was the subject of an FBI sting because a gang task force received complaints about him.
The victim, who is referred to as Jane Doe in a criminal complaint, due to the nature of the charges. She may address the court when Galvan is sentenced June 24.
The judge ordered Galvan to pay restitution to replace $1,149 he pocketed during a sting operation at Hanshaw Middle School, where Galvan had been posted. The deputy has been on unpaid leave since he was arrested, on the job, on Dec. 1, 2006.
Galvan has no prior record, so he likely will serve half of the time, or nine months, behind bars. He will be on parole for three years after his release and will not be able to hold a public service job again.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Officer Jared Dausch Charged with Beating Two Women
Officer Jared Dausch has been charged with beating two women and driving drunk. Indiana State Police say more charges could follow.
State police say a fight with officer Dausch's fiancee, Christina Good, spiraled out of control Saturday night when he hit Good and her friend. Later they say Dausch broke into a home where the two women went for safety. Not long after that, Dausch was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving.
Several residents say they are not surprised at what happened. Resident Michael Whiteford says he’s had run-ins with Officer Dausch before. "The way I look at him now, he's under some kind of power trip," Whiteford says. "He has that badge and he thinks he can shove other people around."
An original complaint against Whiteford shows he was arrested by officer Dausch in 2004 for public intoxication. A year later the charges were dismissed. Whiteford claims he was threatened by Dausch when all he was doing was drinking coffee outside his apartment building.
"We was asking the officer what's going on here. I thought I was a suspect in a robbery or something. He kept screaming get down on the ground...get down on the ground," says Whiteford.
Aurora police wouldn't comment on Dausch's arrest or his record. But in the department's lobby you'll find Dausch's name on a plaque. In 2006 he was named officer of the year. The plaque won't tell you the year before Dausch was suspended for conduct unbecoming an officer. His four years on the force have been troubled.
"There's good officers here in Aurora, but we also got some crooked ones in Aurora," says Whiteford.
In 2005, Dausch was suspended for 15 days after investigators found he was showing compromising pictures of a female reserve officer. Dausch said at the time those pictures were nothing beyond what you'd find in sports illustrated. In 2004 Dausch was investigated by the Dearborn County Sheriff's Department for allegations of battery on his then pregnant girlfriend. Dausch denied those allegations.
State police say a fight with officer Dausch's fiancee, Christina Good, spiraled out of control Saturday night when he hit Good and her friend. Later they say Dausch broke into a home where the two women went for safety. Not long after that, Dausch was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving.
Several residents say they are not surprised at what happened. Resident Michael Whiteford says he’s had run-ins with Officer Dausch before. "The way I look at him now, he's under some kind of power trip," Whiteford says. "He has that badge and he thinks he can shove other people around."
An original complaint against Whiteford shows he was arrested by officer Dausch in 2004 for public intoxication. A year later the charges were dismissed. Whiteford claims he was threatened by Dausch when all he was doing was drinking coffee outside his apartment building.
"We was asking the officer what's going on here. I thought I was a suspect in a robbery or something. He kept screaming get down on the ground...get down on the ground," says Whiteford.
Aurora police wouldn't comment on Dausch's arrest or his record. But in the department's lobby you'll find Dausch's name on a plaque. In 2006 he was named officer of the year. The plaque won't tell you the year before Dausch was suspended for conduct unbecoming an officer. His four years on the force have been troubled.
"There's good officers here in Aurora, but we also got some crooked ones in Aurora," says Whiteford.
In 2005, Dausch was suspended for 15 days after investigators found he was showing compromising pictures of a female reserve officer. Dausch said at the time those pictures were nothing beyond what you'd find in sports illustrated. In 2004 Dausch was investigated by the Dearborn County Sheriff's Department for allegations of battery on his then pregnant girlfriend. Dausch denied those allegations.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Veteran Officer John Degon Files False Report
A 14-year veteran of the Police Department was arrested yesterday for allegedly helping another city man commit insurance fraud by filing a phony report in his own department.
Officer John M. Degon, 38, of Worcester, and Timothy LaFratta, 25, of 19 Modoc St., Worcester, were both arrested last night after police learned a 1997 Jeep Wrangler, reported stolen by Mr. LaFratta on May 17, was in fact not stolen and the officer allegedly helped hide the false claim.
Police Chief Gary J. Gemme confirmed that the officer took a report from Mr. LaFratta knowing the vehicle was not stolen, then filed that report with his department.
Other police officers became aware of the false report and told supervisors, the chief said.
“Because of the nature of this incident we’re going to have to investigate other reports that Officer Degon has filed,” Chief Gemme said. Police need to make sure this was an isolated incident and not a pattern of behavior, he said.
Both men will be arraigned in Central District Court today.
Mr. LaFratta will be charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Officer Degon will be charged with conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and concealing a motor vehicle with intent to defraud insurance. Chief Gemme said the investigation is ongoing and expects other charges to be filed against the officer.
After the May 17 report, police began investigating the theft and used the Jeep’s LoJack system to find it, police spokesman Sgt. Kerry F. Hazelhurst said. The Jeep was discovered two days later at Somerville and Stoneham streets.
“Information was brought to light during the investigation that Officer Degon was involved with the owner of the vehicle in regard to the fraudulent report that the vehicle was stolen,” the sergeant said.
The department’s Bureau of Professional Standards and Detective Bureau continue both internal and criminal investigations.
Chief Gemme will discuss the matter with city officials and request that Officer Degon be immediately suspended without pay. He will then make a further recommendation to City Manager Michael V. O’Brien.
“My recommendation to the manager will be termination,” Chief Gemme said last night.
The chief said his department wanted to be up front with the public about the arrest, noting the officer allegedly committed a crime and violated his oath.
“I support the hardworking men and women of the Worcester Police Department and I will continue to support them and if and when we have an incident of this nature we will take appropriate action,” he said. “We want to reassure the public that 99.9 percent of all the officers come to work every day and do a difficult job with integrity.”
The chief said the message is two-fold: the Police Department has the ability to police itself and the public should know that and; he supports his officers and the public should know that as well.
“This came about because police officers in the Worcester Police Department and police officials recognized a crime was committed and came forward,” Chief Gemme said. “This crime would not have surfaced if it wasn’t for honest police officers and supervisors who came across information during their normal duties.”
Chief Gemme said he is sure some people in the community will look at some of the 450 sworn officers differently right now. But he noted the officers in his department know the rules and know if they are found to have committed a crime, they will be arrested.
“I think the members of the Worcester Police Department support this kind of action,” he said. “They don’t want to be associated with an officer who is committing a crime.”
Officer John M. Degon, 38, of Worcester, and Timothy LaFratta, 25, of 19 Modoc St., Worcester, were both arrested last night after police learned a 1997 Jeep Wrangler, reported stolen by Mr. LaFratta on May 17, was in fact not stolen and the officer allegedly helped hide the false claim.
Police Chief Gary J. Gemme confirmed that the officer took a report from Mr. LaFratta knowing the vehicle was not stolen, then filed that report with his department.
Other police officers became aware of the false report and told supervisors, the chief said.
“Because of the nature of this incident we’re going to have to investigate other reports that Officer Degon has filed,” Chief Gemme said. Police need to make sure this was an isolated incident and not a pattern of behavior, he said.
Both men will be arraigned in Central District Court today.
Mr. LaFratta will be charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Officer Degon will be charged with conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and concealing a motor vehicle with intent to defraud insurance. Chief Gemme said the investigation is ongoing and expects other charges to be filed against the officer.
After the May 17 report, police began investigating the theft and used the Jeep’s LoJack system to find it, police spokesman Sgt. Kerry F. Hazelhurst said. The Jeep was discovered two days later at Somerville and Stoneham streets.
“Information was brought to light during the investigation that Officer Degon was involved with the owner of the vehicle in regard to the fraudulent report that the vehicle was stolen,” the sergeant said.
The department’s Bureau of Professional Standards and Detective Bureau continue both internal and criminal investigations.
Chief Gemme will discuss the matter with city officials and request that Officer Degon be immediately suspended without pay. He will then make a further recommendation to City Manager Michael V. O’Brien.
“My recommendation to the manager will be termination,” Chief Gemme said last night.
The chief said his department wanted to be up front with the public about the arrest, noting the officer allegedly committed a crime and violated his oath.
“I support the hardworking men and women of the Worcester Police Department and I will continue to support them and if and when we have an incident of this nature we will take appropriate action,” he said. “We want to reassure the public that 99.9 percent of all the officers come to work every day and do a difficult job with integrity.”
The chief said the message is two-fold: the Police Department has the ability to police itself and the public should know that and; he supports his officers and the public should know that as well.
“This came about because police officers in the Worcester Police Department and police officials recognized a crime was committed and came forward,” Chief Gemme said. “This crime would not have surfaced if it wasn’t for honest police officers and supervisors who came across information during their normal duties.”
Chief Gemme said he is sure some people in the community will look at some of the 450 sworn officers differently right now. But he noted the officers in his department know the rules and know if they are found to have committed a crime, they will be arrested.
“I think the members of the Worcester Police Department support this kind of action,” he said. “They don’t want to be associated with an officer who is committing a crime.”
Cpl Minh Tran Arrested for Bribery
A Dallas police officer was arrested Wednesday on suspicion that he demanded and accepted money for not reporting potential violations of gambling laws, police said.
Senior Cpl. Minh Tran, 54, was arrested without incident on a felony bribery charge about 7 p.m. near Lakeland Drive and Ferguson Road, police said. The location of the arrest is believed to be a gambling hall.
The charge leveled against Cpl. Tran, who has been with the department since 2001, reportedly stems from an alleged shakedown of a Vietnamese family that was running a gambling operation.
Cpl. Tran is assigned to the northeast patrol division. He has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation, police said.
Last year, he was suspended for one day after internal investigators found that he refused to take a report from a victim who had just been robbed. “Instead, he instructed the citizen to call 911 because he was near the end of his shift,” department records show.
The suspension was subsequently reduced to a supervisor’s disciplinary report by Police Chief David Kunkle.
Officer Accused of Molesting Teen Girl
Officer Thomas Newton Durdick, a patrolman with the Simpsonville Police Department, has been arrested and charged with criminal sexual misconduct.
He is accused of molesting a teenage girl almost four years ago. Investigators say the girl told them that when she was 15 years old Officer Durdick molested her.
He's on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
He's being held in Greenville County Detention Center on an $80,000 bond.
He is accused of molesting a teenage girl almost four years ago. Investigators say the girl told them that when she was 15 years old Officer Durdick molested her.
He's on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
He's being held in Greenville County Detention Center on an $80,000 bond.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Officer Bill Hernandez Arrested For DWI
A Fort Worth police officer was charged Friday with driving while intoxicated while off duty after being arrested last weekend by a Tarrant Regional Water District officer in northwest Fort Worth.
Guillermo "Bill" Hernandez, 40, has been placed on restricted duty -- he is not allowed to carry a badge or gun -- until an internal investigation is complete, said Lt. Paul Henderson, a police spokesman.
Hernandez could not be reached to comment Friday evening.
According to an offense report, the water district officer was traveling west on Texas 199 behind Hernandez's pickup about 2 a.m. May 17 when he saw the driver swerve onto the shoulder and back into his lane more than once and saw him run a red light while turning onto Boat Club Road.
The report stated that the officer tried unsuccessfully to reach police from the jurisdictions the pickup went through but eventually pulled it over himself on Reef Point Lane after seeing the truck nearly strike another vehicle.
The officer reported that a strong odor of alcohol came from the pickup's cab and Hernandez's breath, and that Hernandez's speech was slurred. Hernandez told the officer that he was heading home from a bar on Camp Bowie Boulevard and that he had shifted lanes because he and his girlfriend, a passenger, were fighting, and that the wheel had been jerked around, the report states. Hernandez said he was unaware that he ran a red light and apologized, the report stated.
A Tarrant County sheriff's deputy arrived and supported the officer's observations about the smell of alcohol and Hernandez's red, watery eyes and slurred speech.
While waiting for a Fort Worth police supervisor to arrive, "Hernandez also stated that he had done many good things and that the good things should outweigh the bad and that I should show some professional courtesy," the water district officer noted in his report.
Hernandez was booked into the Tarrant County Jail but was released after posting $500 bail.
Hernandez first joined the Police Department in 1994 but left to pursue a career in federal law enforcement after attaining the rank of sergeant. He was rehired as a Fort Worth officer in 2006.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Maywood Officer Charged With Raping Three Women
Former Maywood police officer Ryan Allen West, 28, has been charged with 12 felony counts, including rape by threat to arrest or deport, sexual penetration by a foreign object, oral copulation under color of authority, assault by a public officer, burglary and sexual battery by restraint. All these crimes happened while Officer West was in uniform and on duty.
The investigation began last year after one of the women went to a hospital and reported that she had been raped by an officer. Two more victims were discovered during the investigation, authorities said.
West was arrested at his Riverside County home by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, and was charged Wednesday. All the crimes were committed while Officer West was on duty in 2006 and 2007.
West was the Maywood Police Department’s canine officer until March of this year.
He was taken to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Station in San Dimas, where he is being held on a $640,000 bail. West faces up to 24 years in prison.
This is another black eye for the small southeast L.A. County police department, which has long had a reputation of hiring MISFIT cops. Last year, the city’s police department found that at least one third of the officers on the force had either left other police jobs under a cloud or had brushes with the law while working for Maywood. Several officers in recent years left Maywood after being convicted of crimes.
West was hired by Maywood in September 2004 after he resigned amid allegations of misconduct in his job as a police officer in Brawley, Calif., about 30 miles north of Mexicali, Mexico, according to a law enforcement source.
West also was the subject of misconduct allegations in Maywood.
In July 2006, two students accused him and two other officers of handcuffing them and using a Taser on their genitals in an attack outside a Maywood bar. The students, who were not arrested, later filed a civil rights lawsuit against the officers and the department. West had been scheduled to give a deposition Wednesday, said the students' attorney, Ralph M. Rios.
The officers and the city have denied any wrongdoing.
Francisco Leal, who worked as the Maywood city attorney from November 2006 until March, said West was fired in March after a woman accused him of rape.
The woman alleged that West approached her while on duty and in uniform on May 18, 2007, and threatened to take her into custody on an outstanding warrant unless she met him at a local hotel, Leal said. West admitted that he had sex with the woman at the hotel but insisted that the encounter was consensual, Leal said.
Police officials did not determine whether West's actions amounted to rape but decided that he should be fired anyway.
"Our officers cannot be having sex on duty, period," Leal said.
West's attorney who represented him in the disciplinary case declined to comment Wednesday.
Maywood Mayor Felipe Aguirre said city officials were working to restore trust in the department and praised Police Chief Frank Hauptmann for firing West.
"We're not going to tolerate this type of situation. We're going to move on it," Aguirre said. "This shouldn't reflect on the rest of the department."
The woman's complaint also triggered a criminal investigation into West's conduct.
Similar complaints from two other women also surfaced, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Margo Baxter, who is assigned to the district attorney's division that prosecutes law enforcement officers.
Baxter said a prosecutor handling an unrelated case learned that a second woman alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by a Maywood officer and forwarded the information to the district attorney's justice system integrity division.
A third woman, who was a witness in another unrelated case, told a defense attorney that she had been sexually assaulted by a Maywood officer, Baxter said. The attorney then notified the district attorney's office. Investigators identified West as the assailant in all three cases, she said.
Prosecutors said the attacks occurred between September 2006 and May 2007. Baxter declined to discuss the evidence against West or describe the assaults.
The investigation began last year after one of the women went to a hospital and reported that she had been raped by an officer. Two more victims were discovered during the investigation, authorities said.
West was arrested at his Riverside County home by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, and was charged Wednesday. All the crimes were committed while Officer West was on duty in 2006 and 2007.
West was the Maywood Police Department’s canine officer until March of this year.
He was taken to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Station in San Dimas, where he is being held on a $640,000 bail. West faces up to 24 years in prison.
This is another black eye for the small southeast L.A. County police department, which has long had a reputation of hiring MISFIT cops. Last year, the city’s police department found that at least one third of the officers on the force had either left other police jobs under a cloud or had brushes with the law while working for Maywood. Several officers in recent years left Maywood after being convicted of crimes.
West was hired by Maywood in September 2004 after he resigned amid allegations of misconduct in his job as a police officer in Brawley, Calif., about 30 miles north of Mexicali, Mexico, according to a law enforcement source.
West also was the subject of misconduct allegations in Maywood.
In July 2006, two students accused him and two other officers of handcuffing them and using a Taser on their genitals in an attack outside a Maywood bar. The students, who were not arrested, later filed a civil rights lawsuit against the officers and the department. West had been scheduled to give a deposition Wednesday, said the students' attorney, Ralph M. Rios.
The officers and the city have denied any wrongdoing.
Francisco Leal, who worked as the Maywood city attorney from November 2006 until March, said West was fired in March after a woman accused him of rape.
The woman alleged that West approached her while on duty and in uniform on May 18, 2007, and threatened to take her into custody on an outstanding warrant unless she met him at a local hotel, Leal said. West admitted that he had sex with the woman at the hotel but insisted that the encounter was consensual, Leal said.
Police officials did not determine whether West's actions amounted to rape but decided that he should be fired anyway.
"Our officers cannot be having sex on duty, period," Leal said.
West's attorney who represented him in the disciplinary case declined to comment Wednesday.
Maywood Mayor Felipe Aguirre said city officials were working to restore trust in the department and praised Police Chief Frank Hauptmann for firing West.
"We're not going to tolerate this type of situation. We're going to move on it," Aguirre said. "This shouldn't reflect on the rest of the department."
The woman's complaint also triggered a criminal investigation into West's conduct.
Similar complaints from two other women also surfaced, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Margo Baxter, who is assigned to the district attorney's division that prosecutes law enforcement officers.
Baxter said a prosecutor handling an unrelated case learned that a second woman alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by a Maywood officer and forwarded the information to the district attorney's justice system integrity division.
A third woman, who was a witness in another unrelated case, told a defense attorney that she had been sexually assaulted by a Maywood officer, Baxter said. The attorney then notified the district attorney's office. Investigators identified West as the assailant in all three cases, she said.
Prosecutors said the attacks occurred between September 2006 and May 2007. Baxter declined to discuss the evidence against West or describe the assaults.
Chicago Cop Accused of Attacking Bar Patrons
Only a day after ABC’s 20/20’s “Are Cops Above the Law?” exposé, where Chicago police were highlighted for their recent rash of drunken cop beaters, another cop is on the beat, so to speak. Gerald Callahan, an off-duty Chicago cop, was arrested for allegedly attacking two patrons at Chambers Seafood Grill & Chop in Niles. Niles police were called to the lounge about 1:50 a.m. Saturday morning, but Callahan had fled. At 2:30 a.m., he was found a few blocks away, passed out in bushes. He was arrested and charged with two counts of battery.
The Chicago Police Department was notified, and they announced Saturday that Callahan had been relieved of his duties pending an investigation. According to the Sun-Times, Callahan has a history:
Callahan has a history of alleged erratic behavior -- keeping his job only after the Police Board rejected former Police Supt. Phil Cline's move to dismiss him in 2006 for threatening his fellow officers.
Callahan was released on bond, and will appear in court on June 17.
The Chicago Police Department was notified, and they announced Saturday that Callahan had been relieved of his duties pending an investigation. According to the Sun-Times, Callahan has a history:
Callahan has a history of alleged erratic behavior -- keeping his job only after the Police Board rejected former Police Supt. Phil Cline's move to dismiss him in 2006 for threatening his fellow officers.
Callahan was released on bond, and will appear in court on June 17.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Norwich officer arrested on drug charge
NORWICH, Conn. - Norwich's police chief says an internal investigation has begun after the arrest of a police lieutenant on a drug charge in New York City.
New York police say 42-two-year-old Lt. Michael Blanchette was arrested last Friday morning in possession of a small amount of heroin. He was released the same day without bond.
However, Blanchette's younger brother is facing more serious drug charges. Court records show that 29-year-old Anthony Blanchette was arrested in the Bronx on felony drug charges.
New York police say they found 390 envelopes of suspected heroin in Anthony Blanchette's pocket.
Lt. Blanchette reached his 20-year mark with the Norwich Police department last month, but has been out of work on medical leave for the past 16 months.
New York police say 42-two-year-old Lt. Michael Blanchette was arrested last Friday morning in possession of a small amount of heroin. He was released the same day without bond.
However, Blanchette's younger brother is facing more serious drug charges. Court records show that 29-year-old Anthony Blanchette was arrested in the Bronx on felony drug charges.
New York police say they found 390 envelopes of suspected heroin in Anthony Blanchette's pocket.
Lt. Blanchette reached his 20-year mark with the Norwich Police department last month, but has been out of work on medical leave for the past 16 months.
Police Officer arrested in Connection with fatal shooting
Former Officer Harrison Largo, has been identified by New Mexico State police as the suspect in the murder of a woman he lived with.
McKinley Sheriffs Department investigator Ed Marble said the woman was shot this morning, but her name is not being released at this time.
Investigator Marble says the woman was flown to the University of New Mexico Hospital where she died of her wounds. He also stated that he believe alcohol was a factor in the shooting.
Officer Largo was arrested during a traffic stop on New Mexico 605 north of Milan and was taken into custody without resistance.
McKinley Sheriffs Department investigator Ed Marble said the woman was shot this morning, but her name is not being released at this time.
Investigator Marble says the woman was flown to the University of New Mexico Hospital where she died of her wounds. He also stated that he believe alcohol was a factor in the shooting.
Officer Largo was arrested during a traffic stop on New Mexico 605 north of Milan and was taken into custody without resistance.
Vivian Officer Billy Washington Arrested for Burglary
Vivian Police officer Billy Washington, 46 was arrested by Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Deputies on a burglary charge, after he took furniture from a mobile home in a park he managed.
The woman who lived in the mobile home told sheriff's investigators she had to temporarily move out of her mobile home in Vivian because of a utility problem. When she checked on her property several months later, she found a freezer, two chests, a bed frame, end table and a mirror gone, deputies said.
Deputies said most of the property was taken to a mobile home where Washington lived. When detectives began investigating, it was moved to another residence in Vivian, deputies said.
Along with Washington, 34-year old Carylyn Washington and 41-year old Charles Watson are also charged in connection with the stolen items and booked on simple burglary charges.
Washington moved the furniture to a residence in Vivian after the sheriff's office started investigating, according to Cindy Chadwick, Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.
The sheriff's office recovered the property.
Washington at first denied taking the furniture but later admitted his involvement, according to Chadwick.
Seattle Jury Awards $268,000 for using Excessive Force
In a stunning setback for the Seattle Police Department, a federal civil court jury on Monday found patrol officers made a false and unlawful arrest and used excessive force when they detained and then jailed a young Seattle man on charges of obstruction and resisting arrest.
Romelle Bradford's case was featured in a Seattle P-I investigation of obstruction arrests.
The nine-member jury awarded Romelle Bradford $268,000 in damages. Though they rejected punitive damages, they also found the 2006 arrest was a federal civil rights violation, which means the city must pay Bradford's attorneys fees, an amount not yet determined.
An obviously happy Bradford, 22, said he dreamed last week he was going to win the case. But he had faced a tough uphill battle in waging the lawsuit. The city hasn't lost a police misconduct lawsuit before a judge or jury in more than a decade.
Bradford wasn't seriously injured during the arrest, yet Lem Howell, Bradford's attorney, argued his client suffered an "unseen injury" because the promising young man must from now on answer "yes" whenever a potential employer inquires whether he has ever been arrested.
Juror Debbie Girdler said she was particularly offended that police not only arrested Bradford, but booked and jailed him overnight after it should have been clear to them that Bradford did nothing wrong. Supervising police Sgt. Eric Zerr explained during a deposition that he approved the booking and jailing of Bradford that night in part because they needed to check whether he had suffered any injuries during the arrest and to verify his identification. Police officials told the Seattle P-I that is not a common practice.
"He should have been released," said Girdler, a retired software engineer from Bellevue. "Here we have a person who's never been in trouble with the police. Now he has an arrest record. Because they want to check his ID and his health? That's wrong."
Bradford and the city had gone to mediation, during which Howell said his client would have been ready to settle for $150,000, though he had hoped for $250,000. The city offered only a "nuisance value" of $10,000, then upped it to $25,000 just before trial -- still unacceptable, Howell said.
The arresting officer in the case, Jacob Briskey, said he was "disappointed" by the verdict but offered no other comment.
Bradford has a clean record and in 2003 was named youth of the year in the state for overcoming chronic truancy, getting good grades and for his work helping other disadvantaged youngsters at the Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club in South Seattle. His case was featured in a Seattle P-I investigation of obstruction arrests, titled "Strong Arm of the Law."
The P-I found blacks were eight times more likely than whites to be arrested for obstruction, and that about half of the cases were dismissed by the City Attorney's Office before trial. Bradford is black.
The criminal charges against him were dismissed before any attempt at prosecution.
It was after a club dance Bradford was supervising in August 2006 that he and club volunteers summoned police because of a potentially unruly crowd outside the club. Briskey, 26, was then a rookie officer. He arrived as things were settling down, spotted Bradford jogging down the street and ordered him to stop. When Bradford didn't halt immediately, Briskey rushed at him and slammed him to the ground.
Bradford said he didn't think the officer was talking to him because he said he was wearing a red T-shirt clearly identifying him as a Boys & Girls Club member. He said he was holding up his club badge and showing the officer his T-shirt when he said the officer decked him with his forearm.
Using the F-word, the young officer threatened to break Bradford's arm as he handcuffed him in front of several youngsters who were protesting that he was, indeed, a staff member trying to help.
After a police station interview in which Bradford insisted he was a staff member, police nevertheless booked and jailed him overnight. Briskey claimed Bradford's failure to immediately stop justified the obstructing charge and that a hesitation to offer one arm during handcuffing -- which Bradford doesn't recall -- justified the resisting charge.
Criminal defense attorneys refer to "obstructing a public officer" arrests by two other monikers: "Contempt of cop" and "the cover charge." Several told the P-I those nicknames are applied because the charges are sometimes abused to punish people for their being "mouthy" or to cover up when police might have used wrongful force against an innocent person.
"Sergeants, lieutenants, captains, assistant chiefs and chiefs should be alerted to the contempt of cop charge," Howell said after Monday's verdict. "These charges by their very nature are suspicious."
Several jurors said after issuing their ruling that they feel the department's internal investigation unit should investigate the case. Howell said he agreed.
Moses Garcia, the private attorney who defended the city and the police against the lawsuit, said there would be no point now in conducting an internal investigation, though he added that ironically an internal investigation might have provided him with more evidence to win his case. He also noted that Bradford didn't file a complaint with internal investigators, a tactical move by his attorney.
The jury didn't rule entirely in Bradford's favor. They found that Briskey had "reasonable suspicion to stop and temporarily detain" Bradford prior to arresting him. Thus they rejected an "illegal seizure" claim. They also found that Briskey didn't act "with evil motive, actual malice, deliberate violence or oppression, with intent to injure, or in willful disregard" for Bradford's rights. They also rejected other claims of "malicious prosecution," "abuse of process" and "assault and battery," denying an unspecified request for punitive damages.
But they did find that Briskey lacked "probable cause" to arrest Bradford, and that the arrest was unlawful. They said the force used was excessive under the federal civil rights law.
Several jurors said their verdict should send a message to the city to better supervise young officers. Several questioned department procedures and leadership. They even questioned the officer's use of the F-word in front of a crowd of Boys & Girls Club youngsters.
"I feel really strongly about (the need to examine the case)," said jury foreman Charles Young of Bothell. "I wouldn't want to be treated like that."
After a four-day trial, the jury took a day and a half to deliberate. Jurors said they spent a lot of time studying the statutes, particularly the obstructing statute, and comparing them to the events. They said they also struggled with the question of whether there was probable cause to arrest. They said though this case involved a civil-rights violation, race issues didn't arise in their deliberations. Briskey is white, but a more senior officer who assisted in the arrest is black.
Magistrate Judge James Donohue told jurors after they issued their verdict that this was "a very difficult case" and that "he was glad he didn't have to (decide) it," Girdler said.
The jurors said they felt Briskey made mistakes because of his lack of experience, and several said they felt badly for him.
"We felt that there should be better mentoring of young officers," said juror David Pippin, a Seattle schoolteacher, who added that Bradford was also very young and shouldn't have been left by his supervisors to oversee the dance that night.
"This was a case about babies arresting babies," said Girdler.
Garcia said he was disappointed in the verdict and took personal responsibility for it. He said he felt he must not have gotten the point across, because the evidence was on his side. He said the police had plenty of probable cause to arrest Bradford and even to jail him on suspicion of obstructing and arresting.
Seattle police have not lost an officer misconduct case before a judge or a jury for at least a decade and probably longer, said Anne Bremner, a partner at Stafford Frey Cooper, the firm that defends the city against such lawsuits. Some notable cases have been settled with payments made to plaintiffs, including a recent excessive force case on Capitol Hill and the settlement with WTO demonstrators.
Bremner said she has not lost such a case before a judge or jury in the 20 years she has defended Seattle officers against lawsuits.
"I was surprised," she said. "Appeal options are being analyzed. The verdict was disappointing given the fact the officers acted in good faith."
Jurors had to sort through conflicting statements. While Bradford and numerous witnesses said he was wearing the identifying red T-shirt, the police officers testified that he was wearing a plain white T-shirt. They did not explain why they took Bradford's red staff T-shirt into custody when they arrested him.
Zerr, the supervising sergeant, also made a misleading statement on an after-action "use of force" report, justifying Briskey's actions. He twice claimed that Bradford took a swing at Briskey. Even Briskey admitted that wasn't true. Zerr later explained that he interpreted Bradford's holding up of his identification badge, which was attached to a key chain, as a move tantamount to taking a swing at the officer. Briskey also claimed he thought the keys might be used as a weapon.
Jurors said Zerr's statements didn't affect them during their deliberations.
Bradford has not yet obtained his high school diploma, but is working on a GED and plans to attend computer classes at Bellevue Community College. He said he hopes to someday work for Microsoft, where he said he has been offered an internship. He said his earlier truancy had affected his ability to finish high school at one point, and he was slowed again by the arrest and the aftermath. He said after the verdict that "a weight has been lifted off of me."
Romelle Bradford's case was featured in a Seattle P-I investigation of obstruction arrests.
The nine-member jury awarded Romelle Bradford $268,000 in damages. Though they rejected punitive damages, they also found the 2006 arrest was a federal civil rights violation, which means the city must pay Bradford's attorneys fees, an amount not yet determined.
An obviously happy Bradford, 22, said he dreamed last week he was going to win the case. But he had faced a tough uphill battle in waging the lawsuit. The city hasn't lost a police misconduct lawsuit before a judge or jury in more than a decade.
Bradford wasn't seriously injured during the arrest, yet Lem Howell, Bradford's attorney, argued his client suffered an "unseen injury" because the promising young man must from now on answer "yes" whenever a potential employer inquires whether he has ever been arrested.
Juror Debbie Girdler said she was particularly offended that police not only arrested Bradford, but booked and jailed him overnight after it should have been clear to them that Bradford did nothing wrong. Supervising police Sgt. Eric Zerr explained during a deposition that he approved the booking and jailing of Bradford that night in part because they needed to check whether he had suffered any injuries during the arrest and to verify his identification. Police officials told the Seattle P-I that is not a common practice.
"He should have been released," said Girdler, a retired software engineer from Bellevue. "Here we have a person who's never been in trouble with the police. Now he has an arrest record. Because they want to check his ID and his health? That's wrong."
Bradford and the city had gone to mediation, during which Howell said his client would have been ready to settle for $150,000, though he had hoped for $250,000. The city offered only a "nuisance value" of $10,000, then upped it to $25,000 just before trial -- still unacceptable, Howell said.
The arresting officer in the case, Jacob Briskey, said he was "disappointed" by the verdict but offered no other comment.
Bradford has a clean record and in 2003 was named youth of the year in the state for overcoming chronic truancy, getting good grades and for his work helping other disadvantaged youngsters at the Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club in South Seattle. His case was featured in a Seattle P-I investigation of obstruction arrests, titled "Strong Arm of the Law."
The P-I found blacks were eight times more likely than whites to be arrested for obstruction, and that about half of the cases were dismissed by the City Attorney's Office before trial. Bradford is black.
The criminal charges against him were dismissed before any attempt at prosecution.
It was after a club dance Bradford was supervising in August 2006 that he and club volunteers summoned police because of a potentially unruly crowd outside the club. Briskey, 26, was then a rookie officer. He arrived as things were settling down, spotted Bradford jogging down the street and ordered him to stop. When Bradford didn't halt immediately, Briskey rushed at him and slammed him to the ground.
Bradford said he didn't think the officer was talking to him because he said he was wearing a red T-shirt clearly identifying him as a Boys & Girls Club member. He said he was holding up his club badge and showing the officer his T-shirt when he said the officer decked him with his forearm.
Using the F-word, the young officer threatened to break Bradford's arm as he handcuffed him in front of several youngsters who were protesting that he was, indeed, a staff member trying to help.
After a police station interview in which Bradford insisted he was a staff member, police nevertheless booked and jailed him overnight. Briskey claimed Bradford's failure to immediately stop justified the obstructing charge and that a hesitation to offer one arm during handcuffing -- which Bradford doesn't recall -- justified the resisting charge.
Criminal defense attorneys refer to "obstructing a public officer" arrests by two other monikers: "Contempt of cop" and "the cover charge." Several told the P-I those nicknames are applied because the charges are sometimes abused to punish people for their being "mouthy" or to cover up when police might have used wrongful force against an innocent person.
"Sergeants, lieutenants, captains, assistant chiefs and chiefs should be alerted to the contempt of cop charge," Howell said after Monday's verdict. "These charges by their very nature are suspicious."
Several jurors said after issuing their ruling that they feel the department's internal investigation unit should investigate the case. Howell said he agreed.
Moses Garcia, the private attorney who defended the city and the police against the lawsuit, said there would be no point now in conducting an internal investigation, though he added that ironically an internal investigation might have provided him with more evidence to win his case. He also noted that Bradford didn't file a complaint with internal investigators, a tactical move by his attorney.
The jury didn't rule entirely in Bradford's favor. They found that Briskey had "reasonable suspicion to stop and temporarily detain" Bradford prior to arresting him. Thus they rejected an "illegal seizure" claim. They also found that Briskey didn't act "with evil motive, actual malice, deliberate violence or oppression, with intent to injure, or in willful disregard" for Bradford's rights. They also rejected other claims of "malicious prosecution," "abuse of process" and "assault and battery," denying an unspecified request for punitive damages.
But they did find that Briskey lacked "probable cause" to arrest Bradford, and that the arrest was unlawful. They said the force used was excessive under the federal civil rights law.
Several jurors said their verdict should send a message to the city to better supervise young officers. Several questioned department procedures and leadership. They even questioned the officer's use of the F-word in front of a crowd of Boys & Girls Club youngsters.
"I feel really strongly about (the need to examine the case)," said jury foreman Charles Young of Bothell. "I wouldn't want to be treated like that."
After a four-day trial, the jury took a day and a half to deliberate. Jurors said they spent a lot of time studying the statutes, particularly the obstructing statute, and comparing them to the events. They said they also struggled with the question of whether there was probable cause to arrest. They said though this case involved a civil-rights violation, race issues didn't arise in their deliberations. Briskey is white, but a more senior officer who assisted in the arrest is black.
Magistrate Judge James Donohue told jurors after they issued their verdict that this was "a very difficult case" and that "he was glad he didn't have to (decide) it," Girdler said.
The jurors said they felt Briskey made mistakes because of his lack of experience, and several said they felt badly for him.
"We felt that there should be better mentoring of young officers," said juror David Pippin, a Seattle schoolteacher, who added that Bradford was also very young and shouldn't have been left by his supervisors to oversee the dance that night.
"This was a case about babies arresting babies," said Girdler.
Garcia said he was disappointed in the verdict and took personal responsibility for it. He said he felt he must not have gotten the point across, because the evidence was on his side. He said the police had plenty of probable cause to arrest Bradford and even to jail him on suspicion of obstructing and arresting.
Seattle police have not lost an officer misconduct case before a judge or a jury for at least a decade and probably longer, said Anne Bremner, a partner at Stafford Frey Cooper, the firm that defends the city against such lawsuits. Some notable cases have been settled with payments made to plaintiffs, including a recent excessive force case on Capitol Hill and the settlement with WTO demonstrators.
Bremner said she has not lost such a case before a judge or jury in the 20 years she has defended Seattle officers against lawsuits.
"I was surprised," she said. "Appeal options are being analyzed. The verdict was disappointing given the fact the officers acted in good faith."
Jurors had to sort through conflicting statements. While Bradford and numerous witnesses said he was wearing the identifying red T-shirt, the police officers testified that he was wearing a plain white T-shirt. They did not explain why they took Bradford's red staff T-shirt into custody when they arrested him.
Zerr, the supervising sergeant, also made a misleading statement on an after-action "use of force" report, justifying Briskey's actions. He twice claimed that Bradford took a swing at Briskey. Even Briskey admitted that wasn't true. Zerr later explained that he interpreted Bradford's holding up of his identification badge, which was attached to a key chain, as a move tantamount to taking a swing at the officer. Briskey also claimed he thought the keys might be used as a weapon.
Jurors said Zerr's statements didn't affect them during their deliberations.
Bradford has not yet obtained his high school diploma, but is working on a GED and plans to attend computer classes at Bellevue Community College. He said he hopes to someday work for Microsoft, where he said he has been offered an internship. He said his earlier truancy had affected his ability to finish high school at one point, and he was slowed again by the arrest and the aftermath. He said after the verdict that "a weight has been lifted off of me."
Monday, May 19, 2008
Chicago cop faces charges in beating
A Chicago Police officer has been relieved of his duties after allegedly severely beating two patrons at a north suburban lounge early Saturday morning.
The off-duty officer, Gerald Callahan, 42, was charged with two counts of battery after fleeing the scene of the alleged attack at Chambers Seafood Grill & Chop, at 6881 N. Milwaukee. in Niles.
Callahan has a history of alleged erratic behavior -- keeping his job only after the Police Board rejected former Police Supt. Phil Cline's move to dismiss him in 2006 for threatening his fellow officers.
Niles police were called to the restaurant at about 1:50 a.m. Callahan had fled, police there said. But he was arrested a few blocks away at 2:30 a.m. Sources told WLS-Channel 7 he was found by Niles police passed out in bushes.
Niles police said Saturday night that Callahan had attacked a 61-year-old Morton Grove man and a 50-year-old Niles woman.
"According to ... witnesses, Callahan attacked the two victims for no apparent reason," Niles police Sgt. Tom Davis said.
The man suffered lacerations and bruises to his head and face, while the woman suffered lacerations on her arm and lip, Niles police said.
The incident raises the specter of several incidents in the last year in which Chicago Police officers have been accused in alleged bar brawls or of beating people -- including the infamous February 2007 videotaped beating of a female bartender by a brawny officer.
Police Supt. Jody Weis had looked forward to closure on the bar beating saga, which he called "a very, very sad chapter" for the department.
After Callahan was arrested, the suburban department learned he was a Chicago Police officer.
"The Chicago Police Department was notified," Davis said.
Chicago Police officials said late Saturday night that Callahan was relieved of his police powers and the incident is under investigation.
In 2006, Cline had sought Callahan's dismissal for a 2004 incident in which he allegedly threatened several other officers, allegedly saying he would dump them in a garbage can, and swearing he would rip one officer's "f---ing head off."
Released on bond after the Niles incident, Callahan is due in court at 9 a.m. on June 17.
The off-duty officer, Gerald Callahan, 42, was charged with two counts of battery after fleeing the scene of the alleged attack at Chambers Seafood Grill & Chop, at 6881 N. Milwaukee. in Niles.
Callahan has a history of alleged erratic behavior -- keeping his job only after the Police Board rejected former Police Supt. Phil Cline's move to dismiss him in 2006 for threatening his fellow officers.
Niles police were called to the restaurant at about 1:50 a.m. Callahan had fled, police there said. But he was arrested a few blocks away at 2:30 a.m. Sources told WLS-Channel 7 he was found by Niles police passed out in bushes.
Niles police said Saturday night that Callahan had attacked a 61-year-old Morton Grove man and a 50-year-old Niles woman.
"According to ... witnesses, Callahan attacked the two victims for no apparent reason," Niles police Sgt. Tom Davis said.
The man suffered lacerations and bruises to his head and face, while the woman suffered lacerations on her arm and lip, Niles police said.
The incident raises the specter of several incidents in the last year in which Chicago Police officers have been accused in alleged bar brawls or of beating people -- including the infamous February 2007 videotaped beating of a female bartender by a brawny officer.
Police Supt. Jody Weis had looked forward to closure on the bar beating saga, which he called "a very, very sad chapter" for the department.
After Callahan was arrested, the suburban department learned he was a Chicago Police officer.
"The Chicago Police Department was notified," Davis said.
Chicago Police officials said late Saturday night that Callahan was relieved of his police powers and the incident is under investigation.
In 2006, Cline had sought Callahan's dismissal for a 2004 incident in which he allegedly threatened several other officers, allegedly saying he would dump them in a garbage can, and swearing he would rip one officer's "f---ing head off."
Released on bond after the Niles incident, Callahan is due in court at 9 a.m. on June 17.
Detroit Police Officer arrested after High Speed Chase
An off duty Detroit Police officer, who was allegedly driving drunk on his motorcycle led police on a high-speed chase that ended in a crash.
Police said the officer was spotted weaving through traffic on his motorcycle at high speeds. When police attempted to stop him, the driver accelerated to speeds above 100 miles per hour, ran traffic signals and led them on a chase.
The officer lost control of the motorcycle and crashed near Grand River and Telegraph Road on the city's northwest side. He was not seriously injured.
The officer was arrested and faces drunken driving charges.
Police are not released the officers name. However, the officer confirmed to police that he has been on an unpaid suspension, but he did not say for how long.
Police said the officer was spotted weaving through traffic on his motorcycle at high speeds. When police attempted to stop him, the driver accelerated to speeds above 100 miles per hour, ran traffic signals and led them on a chase.
The officer lost control of the motorcycle and crashed near Grand River and Telegraph Road on the city's northwest side. He was not seriously injured.
The officer was arrested and faces drunken driving charges.
Police are not released the officers name. However, the officer confirmed to police that he has been on an unpaid suspension, but he did not say for how long.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
NYPD sergeant accused of Molesting Boy
A sergeant assigned to New York City's Police Academy has been jailed on $500,000 bond after being charged with sexually preying on a child for six years.
Manhattan prosecutors said Friday that 38-year-old Jaime Katz is charged with criminal sex act and endangering the welfare of a child.
Katz is a 10-year police veteran and a former president of the Gay Officers Action League.
Prosecutor's spokeswoman Jennifer Kushner says the abuse began when the boy was 12.
Kushner says some of the encounters occurred in Katz's Rockland County house and at a relative's home in Bergen County, N.J.
Katz's lawyer, Andrew Quinn, did not immediately return a call for comment.
His next court appearance is May 21.
Manhattan prosecutors said Friday that 38-year-old Jaime Katz is charged with criminal sex act and endangering the welfare of a child.
Katz is a 10-year police veteran and a former president of the Gay Officers Action League.
Prosecutor's spokeswoman Jennifer Kushner says the abuse began when the boy was 12.
Kushner says some of the encounters occurred in Katz's Rockland County house and at a relative's home in Bergen County, N.J.
Katz's lawyer, Andrew Quinn, did not immediately return a call for comment.
His next court appearance is May 21.
Oklahoma Teen Bitten Between Legs By K9 Cop
Oklahoma City police are facing allegations of brutality, after a 15-year-old boy claims officers used a K-9 to help arrest him and then bite him between his legs.
15-year-old Mark Adkins is now facing several charges after taking a joy ride in stolen car and getting into a short pursuit with police in southwest Oklahoma city. But along with the charges he's now facing an uphill battle with his health after being captured by a K-9 officer that tore away flesh along with his scrotum.
Mark says "the doctors told me they didn't think they would be able to stitch me back together."
Mark's mother, Michelle, says "he was in trauma for 7 to 9 days and I've just never seen anything like this done to a minor."
Capt. Steve McCool of the Oklahoma City Police Department says "obviously they're not trained to bite in this particular area of the body."
Officers say Mark was not handcuffed when the dog attacked, and claim the animal was just doing what it was trained to do.
Capt. Steve McCool says "you had the officer on top of the individual, they're on the ground, the guy's resisting, the dog is trying to assist the handler with this aggressive behavior the best he can."
Mark says "I can't explain how painful it was. It was like being tied up and eaten alive."
But Mark says he was no longer resisting. His mother now hopes legal action will help the police admit they were wrong.
Michelle says "there are some good officers out there and there are some bad ones, but I think in order to clean it up let these officers take responsibility for what they do to the public."
Police are still investigating the incident and as of Thursday, neither the dog nor his handler has faced any disciplinary action.
**************************
Of course they are not going to recieve any disciplinary action. In their eyes the kid deserved what he got and they are probably still laughing about what happened. Personaly I don't think dogs should be allowed to attact another person because some lazy ass cop didn't want to take the bad guy down using his own strength.
I hope he sues and wins!!
15-year-old Mark Adkins is now facing several charges after taking a joy ride in stolen car and getting into a short pursuit with police in southwest Oklahoma city. But along with the charges he's now facing an uphill battle with his health after being captured by a K-9 officer that tore away flesh along with his scrotum.
Mark says "the doctors told me they didn't think they would be able to stitch me back together."
Mark's mother, Michelle, says "he was in trauma for 7 to 9 days and I've just never seen anything like this done to a minor."
Capt. Steve McCool of the Oklahoma City Police Department says "obviously they're not trained to bite in this particular area of the body."
Officers say Mark was not handcuffed when the dog attacked, and claim the animal was just doing what it was trained to do.
Capt. Steve McCool says "you had the officer on top of the individual, they're on the ground, the guy's resisting, the dog is trying to assist the handler with this aggressive behavior the best he can."
Mark says "I can't explain how painful it was. It was like being tied up and eaten alive."
But Mark says he was no longer resisting. His mother now hopes legal action will help the police admit they were wrong.
Michelle says "there are some good officers out there and there are some bad ones, but I think in order to clean it up let these officers take responsibility for what they do to the public."
Police are still investigating the incident and as of Thursday, neither the dog nor his handler has faced any disciplinary action.
**************************
Of course they are not going to recieve any disciplinary action. In their eyes the kid deserved what he got and they are probably still laughing about what happened. Personaly I don't think dogs should be allowed to attact another person because some lazy ass cop didn't want to take the bad guy down using his own strength.
I hope he sues and wins!!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Boston Officer Sentenced to 26 Years
Roberto "Kiko'' Pulido, the rogue Boston police officer who enlisted two fellow patrolman in a brazen scheme to escort trucks bringing cocaine into the city, was sentenced today to 26 years in federal prison by a judge who said the defendant had disgraced his badge.
"The people who wear that badge have a sense of honor,'' US District Judge William G. Young said, staring at Pulido, the ringleader of one of the most notorious police corruption scandals in recent Boston history. "You are ... dead to that sense of honor.''
The sentence was what a federal prosecutor had sought and six years longer than that recommended by Pulido's public defender, who said her client's abuse of steroids contributed to his crimes.
Pulido, who pleaded guilty in the middle of his trial in November to drug trafficking charges, apologized to both the Boston Police Department and the MBTA Transit Police, of which he had previously been a member.
"It was my lifelong goal to be a Boston police officer,'' said Pulido, wearing a khaki-colored jumpsuit and white sneakers. "No one is more disappointed than myself.''
Two rows of the courtroom were filled with supporters and relatives of Pulido. Most of them wore white T-shirts emblazoned with a photograph of a smiling Pulido beneath the words "Kiko We Love You.''
Michael K. Loucks, the first assistant US attorney in Massachusetts, who watched another federal prosecutor argue for the harsh punishment, said afterward that Pulido "deserves every second of that sentence.''
Pulido's guilty plea came on the fourth day of his trial in US District Court in Boston, capping an extraordinary police corruption scandal whose reverberations are still being felt.
In the previous two days, jurors heard a swaggering, expletive-spewing Pulido in two dozen conversations secretly recorded by the FBI as part of a carefully constructed sting that began in late 2003 and culminated with the arrests of Pulido and fellow officers Carlos Pizarro and Nelson Carrasquillo in July 2006. All three officers belonged to a police motorcycle unit.
Pulido and the two officers plotted an audacious scheme with men they thought were drug dealers to protect trucks that brought 140 kilograms of cocaine to Boston. The three officers did not know that the drug dealers were undercover FBI agents and that the cocaine had previously been seized by the government.
On April 23, 2006, Pulido and Carrasquillo monitored Police Department radio channels while a transfer of 40 kilograms of cocaine took place at a garage on Washington Street with the undercover FBI agents, according to prosecutors.
Then on June 8, 2006, the three police officers guided a truck containing about 100 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated wholesale value of more than $2 million from Western Massachusetts to the city, prosecutors said. The officers were paid a total of $51,000 by FBI agents posing as drug dealers.
The three officers were arrested in Miami in July 2006 by federal agent. Shortly before the arrests, the officers had arranged a deal to protect another shipment of 1,000 kilograms of cocaine and five kilograms of heroin.
The secret tape-recordings also featured Pulido allegedly running numerous other rackets involving identity fraud, fraudulently obtained store gift cards, steroid sales, and prostitution. Pulido was never charged in those schemes.
Jurors also saw a surveillance photograph of Pulido in a congratulatory embrace of an undercover agent posing as a drug dealer called Big Manny in an Atlantic City casino. Pulido hugged the phony drug dealer after receiving a softball-sized wad of $15,000 that bulged in his pocket.
Although the government had only presented part of its case against Pulido, the tapes and photographs had already made the defendant seem more like a grade B movie crime boss than a crimefighter.
Pulido pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and 1 kilogram of heroin and two counts of attempting to aid and abet the distribution of the cocaine. He pleaded no contest to a fourth charge of carrying a gun in a drug-trafficking crime.
In a Globe interview from a New Hampshire jail shortly after his plea, Pulido said he was pumped full of steroids when he suggested to undercover agents in Atlantic City that he knew a good way to transport cocaine into Boston.
He said a steroid addiction made him exaggerate many of the statements he made on the surveillance tapes and called many of his comments pure fantasy. In his mind at the time, he said, he was playing a role in a Hollywood movie. He even recited lines from "Training Day,'' the film about a corrupt officer.
"Anyone who knows me knows that I was acting,'' he said. "It was pure puffery.''
Pulido's co-defendants, Carrasquillo and Pizarro, were recently sentenced to 18 years and 13 years, respectively, after pleading guilty last year.
Authorities in March also charged an acquaintance of Pulido with helping to plant drugs and a gun on an innocent man and then breaking into his apartment to steal a safe containing $18,000 as part of a conspiracy with the rogue officer.
In addition, as many as a dozen Boston police officers have been summoned before a federal grand jury investigating steroid use and after-hours parties -- an offshoot of the probe that led to the convictions of the three officers, three law enforcement officials familiar with the case told the Globe in March.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Officer Thomas Chickos Arrested for Helping Thief Steal
Former city police officer Thomas Chickos is accused of acting as a lookout while on duty as a friend stole some large equipment. The 26-year-old was a probationary officer at the time the thefts took place.
Shelton police say cell phone records linked Officer Chickos to 28-year-old Jason Dennis, who is accused of the thefts. Dennis has pleaded guilty to first-degree larceny in the thefts that occurred in May 2007.
Officer Chickos surrendered Monday night, and is free after posting a $5000 bail.
Chickos was still a probationary officer when he resigned in June 2007 before an internal affairs investigation.
Shelton police say cell phone records linked Officer Chickos to 28-year-old Jason Dennis, who is accused of the thefts. Dennis has pleaded guilty to first-degree larceny in the thefts that occurred in May 2007.
Officer Chickos surrendered Monday night, and is free after posting a $5000 bail.
Chickos was still a probationary officer when he resigned in June 2007 before an internal affairs investigation.
Maricopa Police officer placed on unpaid administrative leave
A Maricopa Police officer arrested for allegedly having sex with three minors in Kings County has now been placed on unpaid administrative leave by the City of Maricopa.
But as we discovered, today's action is based on separate issues here in Kern County. The decision is based on the fact Ferguson has three temporary restraining orders against him from three different women in Kern County.
"If one is found and made a permanent restraining order, that could restrict him from carrying a firearm, he would be unable to perform his duties as an officer," said Maricopa Police Sgt. Louie Pennie.
The 30 year old has been on paid leave from the Maricopa Police Department since April 27Th, 2008. In a separate issue from Kern County, Ferguson is facing 12 felony counts of allegedly having sex with three minors in Kings County.
Ferguson remains in jail in Kings County with bail at $500,000. The temporary restraining order cases in Kern County are scheduled to be heard in court in Bakersfield next week.
But as we discovered, today's action is based on separate issues here in Kern County. The decision is based on the fact Ferguson has three temporary restraining orders against him from three different women in Kern County.
"If one is found and made a permanent restraining order, that could restrict him from carrying a firearm, he would be unable to perform his duties as an officer," said Maricopa Police Sgt. Louie Pennie.
The 30 year old has been on paid leave from the Maricopa Police Department since April 27Th, 2008. In a separate issue from Kern County, Ferguson is facing 12 felony counts of allegedly having sex with three minors in Kings County.
Ferguson remains in jail in Kings County with bail at $500,000. The temporary restraining order cases in Kern County are scheduled to be heard in court in Bakersfield next week.
NOPD Officer Arrested for Beating and Stealing from Citizens
A New Orleans police officer was arrested Thursday morning on charges he beat two people and stole a wallet while on duty.
Officer Rydell Diggs, 31, a seven-year veteran of the NOPD assigned to the 2nd District, was booked into the Orleans Parish jail on two counts of aggravated battery, one count of theft and one count of malfeasance in office, according to jail records.
The charges against Diggs allege that he committed aggravated battery with a police baton on a man and aggravated battery with pepper spray on a woman.
The charges resulted from a complaint brought to the Police Department's Public Integrity Bureau, the department's internal investigative unit, police said. The complainant accused the officer of taking $300 and beating the man during a traffic stop on Aug. 7, 2007, at Monroe and Hickory streets in West Carrollton.
Diggs was a patrolman assigned to the 2nd District, which covers a wide swath of Uptown. NOPD spokesman Bob Young said the time between the complaint and the charges are because of the extensive work required in developing the case.
"It took time to develop witnesses in the case," Young said.
As of Thursday, Diggs was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the case and final review by the police superintendent, according to police.
The charges against Diggs have been accepted by the Orleans Parish district attorney, according to jail records. The case, however, has not been allotted to a criminal court judge and a court date has not been set.
A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office declined to comment.
Diggs' criminal case file was not available Thursday, according to the magistrate clerk's office.
He was released on his own recognizance Thursday via an order by Judge Laurie White, according to court records. That means he did not have to pay bail or show up for a first appearance in magistrate court.
Officer Rydell Diggs, 31, a seven-year veteran of the NOPD assigned to the 2nd District, was booked into the Orleans Parish jail on two counts of aggravated battery, one count of theft and one count of malfeasance in office, according to jail records.
The charges against Diggs allege that he committed aggravated battery with a police baton on a man and aggravated battery with pepper spray on a woman.
The charges resulted from a complaint brought to the Police Department's Public Integrity Bureau, the department's internal investigative unit, police said. The complainant accused the officer of taking $300 and beating the man during a traffic stop on Aug. 7, 2007, at Monroe and Hickory streets in West Carrollton.
Diggs was a patrolman assigned to the 2nd District, which covers a wide swath of Uptown. NOPD spokesman Bob Young said the time between the complaint and the charges are because of the extensive work required in developing the case.
"It took time to develop witnesses in the case," Young said.
As of Thursday, Diggs was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the case and final review by the police superintendent, according to police.
The charges against Diggs have been accepted by the Orleans Parish district attorney, according to jail records. The case, however, has not been allotted to a criminal court judge and a court date has not been set.
A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office declined to comment.
Diggs' criminal case file was not available Thursday, according to the magistrate clerk's office.
He was released on his own recognizance Thursday via an order by Judge Laurie White, according to court records. That means he did not have to pay bail or show up for a first appearance in magistrate court.
Officer Sean Moran Fired after Being Charged With Attempted Murder
Duxbury
Sean Moran, who has been charged with assault and attempted murder on his girlfriend, a Milton police officer, has been fired from the Duxbury Police Department.
In Town Manager Richard MacDonald’s written decision to fire Moran, he stated that Moran violated the police department’s rules by committing acts that are arrestable offenses.
“In doing so, Officer Moran has made a mockery of his badge and the responsibilities it signifies,” MacDonald stated.
MacDonald went on to state that Moran’s actions undercut the reputation and morale of the department.
“The public cannot place confidence in police officers who themselves violate the standards to which they are required to apply to others,” he stated.
Moran, 30, was arrested Nov. 9 after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend by smashing her head against a highway overpass fence and used his fists to smash the dashboard of the vehicle she was driving. At a dangerousness hearing in November, Norfolk County Judge Mark Coven ruled that Moran was a danger to his girlfriend and ordered him held without bail.
During the hearing, Quincy Police Sgt. Joseph Lencki testified that Moran’s girlfriend called a friend and stayed outside until the friend arrived because she was afraid of what he would do to her.
On Jan. 17, Moran was indicted by Norfolk County Superior Court on charges of intimidation of a witness, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon (a gun), malicious destruction of property exceeding $250; three counts of assault and battery, and one count of threatening to commit a crime. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison for the most serious charge, armed assault with intent to murder.
On Feb. 7, Moran pleaded not guilty to all charges. On May 5, he was released on $10,000 bail after the 90-day dangerousness statute under which he was being held expired. Prosecutors asked for bail to be set at $100,000 cash, but the court set bail at $10,000. Moran is required to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet on his ankle, and he will reside at his parents’ home in Duxbury.
Moran has been on administrative leave from the Duxbury Police Department since he was arrested, at which time the department immediately confiscated his badge and gun.
MacDonald based his findings for firing Moran on a document prepared from a hearing conducted by attorney Charles M. Sabatt, who MacDonald designated as the hearing officer for Moran’s disciplinary hearing.
Sabatt concluded that Moran committed four violations specified by Police Chief Mark DeLuca, leading to his finding that Moran’s actions granted punishment or dismissal. The four violations were conduct unbecoming of an officer, neglect of duty, criminal conduct and absence.
In his decision, MacDonald found the that first two items in Sabatt’s conclusion warranted enough reason for Moran’s dismissal, and that the other two items were not necessary to support to his decision that Moran violated department policy.
“My decision was based on the facts as presented to me by the hearing officer,” MacDonald said. “This whole situation is unfortunate.”
The first violation in Sabatt’s report stemmed from the incident which led to his arrest, and the second referred to an Oct. 18, 2007, incident in which Moran allegedly removed his girlfriend’s loaded duty weapon and threatened to kill her and kill her and himself if she reported the incident.
The third violation in Sabatt’s report cited further incidents of alleged abuse by Moran, and the final violation was Moran’s unexcused absence from his duties as a police officer while incarcerated. Sabatt stated that Moran’s incarceration was caused by his own misconduct, which does not excuse him from his duty.
A disciplinary hearing for Moran was held on Jan. 24, and continued on April 1 at the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office. Moran, who is due back in court June 17 at 2 p.m., has the right to appeal his firing.
Moran’s lawyer, Daniel O’Malley, could not be reached for comment.
Sean Moran, who has been charged with assault and attempted murder on his girlfriend, a Milton police officer, has been fired from the Duxbury Police Department.
In Town Manager Richard MacDonald’s written decision to fire Moran, he stated that Moran violated the police department’s rules by committing acts that are arrestable offenses.
“In doing so, Officer Moran has made a mockery of his badge and the responsibilities it signifies,” MacDonald stated.
MacDonald went on to state that Moran’s actions undercut the reputation and morale of the department.
“The public cannot place confidence in police officers who themselves violate the standards to which they are required to apply to others,” he stated.
Moran, 30, was arrested Nov. 9 after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend by smashing her head against a highway overpass fence and used his fists to smash the dashboard of the vehicle she was driving. At a dangerousness hearing in November, Norfolk County Judge Mark Coven ruled that Moran was a danger to his girlfriend and ordered him held without bail.
During the hearing, Quincy Police Sgt. Joseph Lencki testified that Moran’s girlfriend called a friend and stayed outside until the friend arrived because she was afraid of what he would do to her.
On Jan. 17, Moran was indicted by Norfolk County Superior Court on charges of intimidation of a witness, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon (a gun), malicious destruction of property exceeding $250; three counts of assault and battery, and one count of threatening to commit a crime. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison for the most serious charge, armed assault with intent to murder.
On Feb. 7, Moran pleaded not guilty to all charges. On May 5, he was released on $10,000 bail after the 90-day dangerousness statute under which he was being held expired. Prosecutors asked for bail to be set at $100,000 cash, but the court set bail at $10,000. Moran is required to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet on his ankle, and he will reside at his parents’ home in Duxbury.
Moran has been on administrative leave from the Duxbury Police Department since he was arrested, at which time the department immediately confiscated his badge and gun.
MacDonald based his findings for firing Moran on a document prepared from a hearing conducted by attorney Charles M. Sabatt, who MacDonald designated as the hearing officer for Moran’s disciplinary hearing.
Sabatt concluded that Moran committed four violations specified by Police Chief Mark DeLuca, leading to his finding that Moran’s actions granted punishment or dismissal. The four violations were conduct unbecoming of an officer, neglect of duty, criminal conduct and absence.
In his decision, MacDonald found the that first two items in Sabatt’s conclusion warranted enough reason for Moran’s dismissal, and that the other two items were not necessary to support to his decision that Moran violated department policy.
“My decision was based on the facts as presented to me by the hearing officer,” MacDonald said. “This whole situation is unfortunate.”
The first violation in Sabatt’s report stemmed from the incident which led to his arrest, and the second referred to an Oct. 18, 2007, incident in which Moran allegedly removed his girlfriend’s loaded duty weapon and threatened to kill her and kill her and himself if she reported the incident.
The third violation in Sabatt’s report cited further incidents of alleged abuse by Moran, and the final violation was Moran’s unexcused absence from his duties as a police officer while incarcerated. Sabatt stated that Moran’s incarceration was caused by his own misconduct, which does not excuse him from his duty.
A disciplinary hearing for Moran was held on Jan. 24, and continued on April 1 at the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office. Moran, who is due back in court June 17 at 2 p.m., has the right to appeal his firing.
Moran’s lawyer, Daniel O’Malley, could not be reached for comment.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
FBI Agent Says Police Officer Feared Being Labeled a 'RAT'
Arthur Bruce Tesler said he didn't object to lies to get a search warrant and helped cover up the crime after an innocent woman was killed, because he feared retribution from Atlanta police if he became a "rat," an FBI agent said Tuesday.
"He said in 2003 he had tried to report an officer who was involved in excessive force," FBI Agent Joe Robuck told the Fulton County jury Tuesday. "All that resulted in his co-workers thinking of him as a rat and Mr. Tesler being transferred to a less desirable position in the Atlanta Police Department."
The prosecution rested at noon in Tesler's trial in Superior Court. where he faces charges including lying in an official investigation and violating his oath of office for his role in the narcotics raid that resulted in the death of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston on Nov. 21, 2006.
Tesler's two co-defendants, Gregg Junnier and Jason R. Smith, have already pleaded guilty.
They faced more serious charges, including murder, and agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
They have not yet been sentenced. Junnier testified last week and his sentence of up to 10 years is dependant on his cooperation.
He testified that Tesler, 42, participated in the coverup but he wasn't the main instigator of the illegal warrant or the coverup scheme, which Junnier blamed on Smith. In a surprise, the prosecution did not call Smith to testify.
FBI agent Robuck was the main witness Tuesday morning and he described a coverup that reached above Tesler and his two co-defendants. The three detectives briefed their sergeant, Wilbert Stallings, that they were changing their story about which officers witnessed an informant buying crack cocaine at Johnston's house at 933 Neal Street after Johnston was shot to death by narcotics unit officers.
"Sgt. Stallings was told there had been a change in the story and his comment, according to the investigation was, was 'Just pick one and stick to it," Robuck said.
The FBI agent described a police narcotics division that repeatedly lied to get warrants and planted evidence in investigations. Stallings, 44, was later convicted and is in prison on charges from another drug investigation that was turned up during the FBI investigation of the Neal Street case.
Robuck interviewed Tesler twice in the FBI investigation of police actions in getting a no-knock warrant to search for a reputed large stash of cocaine owned by a drug dealer, named "Sam," whom police believe operated from 933 Neal Street.
They had arrested a low-level dealer earlier that day who they said claimed to have seen a kilo of cocaine – 2.2 pounds — in the house that day, Nov. 21, 2006.
Instead, Johnston was waiting with a gun when officers broke down her door without announcing they were police. She fired one shot and was killed in a massive return fire.
Tesler, who was covering the back of the house and did not fire his pistol, was so shaken by the killing that he couldn't write his report, Robuck said.
Tesler told such a detailed lie about how he and his partners met with informant Alex White in the afternoon of the raid that he came across as very credible, Robuck said.
"His demeanor was very convincing," the FBI agent said.
The story matched the one that had been told by his partners. Smith, who lied to the magistrate to get the warrant, prepared a script for the detectives to go over to get their stories straight in the days following the shootings, Robuck said.
"Did you ever give [Tesler] a chance to come clean and tell the truth?" prosecutor Peter Odom asked Robuck of the first FBI interview with Tesler on Dec. 7, 2006.
"He said he didn't think there was anything he wanted to correct," Robuck said.
But White, the informant, had contacted the FBI to tell them he was being pressured to lie for the officers and Junnier, unknown to Tesler and Smith, soon confessed to the FBI.
On Dec. 21, 2006, Tesler told the FBI he would cooperate and gave them a lengthy interview after the holidays on Jan. 4, 2007.
Tesler said he went along with the cover-up story — that a reliable drug buy had been made at the house earlier this day — because "he was the low man on the totem pole," Robuck said.
"Did he ever express the concern that no one would believe him over a senior member of the team?" asked Tesler's lawyer, William McKenney, who was at the interview.
"He did say that," Robuck said.
Tesler said he knew Smith had lied to get the warrant when it was read to the eight-member narcotics team shortly before it raided the Johnston house.
He blamed Smith for planting marijuana in Johnston's basement to help justify the raid and claimed he had shaken his head "No" and walked out of the basement when Smith showed him the dope.
But he acknowledged going along with Smith's claim that cocaine seized from the low-level dealer earlier that day had been the cocaine bought from the Johnston house.
Tesler also was with Smith when they destroyed the rest of the marijuana seized earlier in the day at a different location because part of it was planted at Johnston's house and the samples could be linked through testing, Robuck said.
"They destroyed evidence," Odom said.
"Correct," Robuck said.
"He said in 2003 he had tried to report an officer who was involved in excessive force," FBI Agent Joe Robuck told the Fulton County jury Tuesday. "All that resulted in his co-workers thinking of him as a rat and Mr. Tesler being transferred to a less desirable position in the Atlanta Police Department."
The prosecution rested at noon in Tesler's trial in Superior Court. where he faces charges including lying in an official investigation and violating his oath of office for his role in the narcotics raid that resulted in the death of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston on Nov. 21, 2006.
Tesler's two co-defendants, Gregg Junnier and Jason R. Smith, have already pleaded guilty.
They faced more serious charges, including murder, and agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
They have not yet been sentenced. Junnier testified last week and his sentence of up to 10 years is dependant on his cooperation.
He testified that Tesler, 42, participated in the coverup but he wasn't the main instigator of the illegal warrant or the coverup scheme, which Junnier blamed on Smith. In a surprise, the prosecution did not call Smith to testify.
FBI agent Robuck was the main witness Tuesday morning and he described a coverup that reached above Tesler and his two co-defendants. The three detectives briefed their sergeant, Wilbert Stallings, that they were changing their story about which officers witnessed an informant buying crack cocaine at Johnston's house at 933 Neal Street after Johnston was shot to death by narcotics unit officers.
"Sgt. Stallings was told there had been a change in the story and his comment, according to the investigation was, was 'Just pick one and stick to it," Robuck said.
The FBI agent described a police narcotics division that repeatedly lied to get warrants and planted evidence in investigations. Stallings, 44, was later convicted and is in prison on charges from another drug investigation that was turned up during the FBI investigation of the Neal Street case.
Robuck interviewed Tesler twice in the FBI investigation of police actions in getting a no-knock warrant to search for a reputed large stash of cocaine owned by a drug dealer, named "Sam," whom police believe operated from 933 Neal Street.
They had arrested a low-level dealer earlier that day who they said claimed to have seen a kilo of cocaine – 2.2 pounds — in the house that day, Nov. 21, 2006.
Instead, Johnston was waiting with a gun when officers broke down her door without announcing they were police. She fired one shot and was killed in a massive return fire.
Tesler, who was covering the back of the house and did not fire his pistol, was so shaken by the killing that he couldn't write his report, Robuck said.
Tesler told such a detailed lie about how he and his partners met with informant Alex White in the afternoon of the raid that he came across as very credible, Robuck said.
"His demeanor was very convincing," the FBI agent said.
The story matched the one that had been told by his partners. Smith, who lied to the magistrate to get the warrant, prepared a script for the detectives to go over to get their stories straight in the days following the shootings, Robuck said.
"Did you ever give [Tesler] a chance to come clean and tell the truth?" prosecutor Peter Odom asked Robuck of the first FBI interview with Tesler on Dec. 7, 2006.
"He said he didn't think there was anything he wanted to correct," Robuck said.
But White, the informant, had contacted the FBI to tell them he was being pressured to lie for the officers and Junnier, unknown to Tesler and Smith, soon confessed to the FBI.
On Dec. 21, 2006, Tesler told the FBI he would cooperate and gave them a lengthy interview after the holidays on Jan. 4, 2007.
Tesler said he went along with the cover-up story — that a reliable drug buy had been made at the house earlier this day — because "he was the low man on the totem pole," Robuck said.
"Did he ever express the concern that no one would believe him over a senior member of the team?" asked Tesler's lawyer, William McKenney, who was at the interview.
"He did say that," Robuck said.
Tesler said he knew Smith had lied to get the warrant when it was read to the eight-member narcotics team shortly before it raided the Johnston house.
He blamed Smith for planting marijuana in Johnston's basement to help justify the raid and claimed he had shaken his head "No" and walked out of the basement when Smith showed him the dope.
But he acknowledged going along with Smith's claim that cocaine seized from the low-level dealer earlier that day had been the cocaine bought from the Johnston house.
Tesler also was with Smith when they destroyed the rest of the marijuana seized earlier in the day at a different location because part of it was planted at Johnston's house and the samples could be linked through testing, Robuck said.
"They destroyed evidence," Odom said.
"Correct," Robuck said.
Mexico Officer Kills Federal Officer
A police officer and four other people with suspected ties to a powerful drug cartel have been arrested in the assassination of Mexico's acting federal police chief, authorities said Monday.
The three men and two women belonged to a criminal cell believed to be acting on the orders of the Sinaloa drug cartel, said Gerardo Garay, the anti-drug coordinator for the federal police. The drug trafficking organization had been a key target of operations led by Edgar Millan Gomez, who was gunned down inside his Mexico City home last week.
The alleged leader of the cell, Jose Antonio Montes Garfias, had been assigned to a federal police unit in the northern state of Sinaloa since February but never reported to work during that period because he was on medical leave, Garay said. He is suspected in the killing of another federal officer days before Millan's death.
Officials at the attorney general's office could not say if lawyers had been assigned to the five suspects.
Garay refused to say if other federal officers were suspected of involvement, saying only that investigators were not ruling out any possibilities.
Millan was the highest-ranking of four senior officers killed since May 1 in attacks the government has blamed on gangs resisting its crackdown against drug trafficking. The assassinations have prompted stepped up calls from the Bush administration for Congress to approve a US$1.4 billion (euro910 million) proposal to help fight drug crime in Mexico and Central America.
Garay said a lone hit man waited inside Millan's Mexico City home and sprayed him with bullets shortly after the officer opened the door and turned on the lights. Millan's bodyguards immediately captured the alleged hit man, Alejandro Ramirez, who was found with keys to Millan's apartment. The other four suspects were tracked down hours later, Garay said.
Millan was responsible for coordinating drug trafficking operations between federal police and soldiers. He had recently announced the arrest of 12 suspected hit men tied to the Sinaloa cartel. He was named acting chief March 1 after his superior was promoted to a deputy Cabinet position.
Garay said Montes had suspected ties to top Sinaloa cartel leaders known as the Beltran Leyva brothers, although he refused to give any evidence, citing security reasons. One of the brothers, Alfredo Beltran Leyva, was arrested in Sinaloa state in January.
Montes was found with a list of license plates of five vehicles belonging to federal police commanders, including Roberto Bravo Velasco, an inspector gunned down in front of his home days before Millan was killed.
Before being assigned to Sinaloa, Montes had worked as an anti-drug officer in Mexico City's International Airport, Garay said. He had a notebook with detailed information on drug trafficking at the airport, and Garay said federal investigations into those operations may have been a key motive for Millan's killing.
The other three suspects were accused of providing logistical help for the plot, including vehicles and radios.
Since taking office in 2006, President Felipe Calderon has sent more than 25,000 troops to drug hotspots. Cartels have responded with unprecedented violence, beheading police and killing soldiers. Drug-related violence killed more than 2,500 people last year alone in Mexico.
The Bush administration reiterated its appeal Monday for Congress to approve the law enforcement aid package known as the Merida Initiative.
"We are shocked by the escalating violence against Mexican law enforcement officials," said U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, calling recent attacks "a brutal reaction to President Calderon's determination to fight organized crime."
The three men and two women belonged to a criminal cell believed to be acting on the orders of the Sinaloa drug cartel, said Gerardo Garay, the anti-drug coordinator for the federal police. The drug trafficking organization had been a key target of operations led by Edgar Millan Gomez, who was gunned down inside his Mexico City home last week.
The alleged leader of the cell, Jose Antonio Montes Garfias, had been assigned to a federal police unit in the northern state of Sinaloa since February but never reported to work during that period because he was on medical leave, Garay said. He is suspected in the killing of another federal officer days before Millan's death.
Officials at the attorney general's office could not say if lawyers had been assigned to the five suspects.
Garay refused to say if other federal officers were suspected of involvement, saying only that investigators were not ruling out any possibilities.
Millan was the highest-ranking of four senior officers killed since May 1 in attacks the government has blamed on gangs resisting its crackdown against drug trafficking. The assassinations have prompted stepped up calls from the Bush administration for Congress to approve a US$1.4 billion (euro910 million) proposal to help fight drug crime in Mexico and Central America.
Garay said a lone hit man waited inside Millan's Mexico City home and sprayed him with bullets shortly after the officer opened the door and turned on the lights. Millan's bodyguards immediately captured the alleged hit man, Alejandro Ramirez, who was found with keys to Millan's apartment. The other four suspects were tracked down hours later, Garay said.
Millan was responsible for coordinating drug trafficking operations between federal police and soldiers. He had recently announced the arrest of 12 suspected hit men tied to the Sinaloa cartel. He was named acting chief March 1 after his superior was promoted to a deputy Cabinet position.
Garay said Montes had suspected ties to top Sinaloa cartel leaders known as the Beltran Leyva brothers, although he refused to give any evidence, citing security reasons. One of the brothers, Alfredo Beltran Leyva, was arrested in Sinaloa state in January.
Montes was found with a list of license plates of five vehicles belonging to federal police commanders, including Roberto Bravo Velasco, an inspector gunned down in front of his home days before Millan was killed.
Before being assigned to Sinaloa, Montes had worked as an anti-drug officer in Mexico City's International Airport, Garay said. He had a notebook with detailed information on drug trafficking at the airport, and Garay said federal investigations into those operations may have been a key motive for Millan's killing.
The other three suspects were accused of providing logistical help for the plot, including vehicles and radios.
Since taking office in 2006, President Felipe Calderon has sent more than 25,000 troops to drug hotspots. Cartels have responded with unprecedented violence, beheading police and killing soldiers. Drug-related violence killed more than 2,500 people last year alone in Mexico.
The Bush administration reiterated its appeal Monday for Congress to approve the law enforcement aid package known as the Merida Initiative.
"We are shocked by the escalating violence against Mexican law enforcement officials," said U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, calling recent attacks "a brutal reaction to President Calderon's determination to fight organized crime."
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Officer Jeff Pelo on trial for Rape
Four times between the winters of 2002 and 2005, a blue-eyed man wearing a ski mask and dark clothes crept quietly into the bedrooms of women in Bloomington, Ill., and raped them.
He told the women — all in their 20s and single — that he'd studied them, tracking their habits. He threatened one woman's family if she resisted, reciting their address lest she doubt he knew where to find them.
"I've been watching you," prosecutors say the rapist told another victim as he held a knife to her throat on a December night in 2002.
On Monday, jury selection is expected to begin in the trial of the man prosecutors say was the attacker: Jeff Pelo, a 17-year veteran of the Bloomington Police Department and married father of three.
Pelo, 43, who has pleaded not guilty, faces 28 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and four counts of home invasion. If convicted of all the charges, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
His lawyers have argued that police have held the wrong man behind bars the past 22 months.
They say the charges are based on shaky identifications from women who saw only a man in a ski mask in their darkened bedrooms and who were asked more than a year later to identify him.
Prosecutor Mark Messman and defense attorney Mike Rosenblat of Chicago declined to discuss evidence or other details of the case as they prepared for trial, saying they didn't want to further complicate the process of seating a jury.
The rapes were scattered over 26 months, the first occurring in December 2002, the next in April 2003 and the last two in January 2005. There was little initial indication that they might be connected, only speculation.
"There was talk, but it seems like anytime there was talk, something else would happen, would shift the focus away from it," Messman recalled.
But in December 2005, after an FBI report found strong similarities between the crimes, Bloomington police asked the public for help catching the man they came to believe was a serial rapist.
In June 2006, Pelo, a well-paid sergeant at the time, was arrested and charged with attempted burglary, after another woman called police to report a late-night prowler.
Police say that when an officer found Pelo on foot outside the house just after midnight, he tried to walk away until the officer drew his gun.
"He had a blank stare on his face," Officer David Ziemer testified during one court hearing. "I was yelling 'Stop!' and he wasn't complying with me. I thought it was going to be a deadly force situation."
Pelo finally did stop, and told the officer he was in the neighborhood looking for a house to buy his mother-in-law. The house where he was arrested wasn't for sale.
Pelo faced burglary and stalking charges, but a month later the other charges were added after three of the four women identified Pelo from photos as their attacker. Two of them also said his voice was that of the man who'd raped them.
Pelo has been in jail since, held on $1 million bond. He continued to receive his $81,000-a-year salary until he resigned last November.
After he was charged, his wife, Rickielee, told reporters: "I know without any doubt in my heart that my husband is completely innocent of all these charges."
Messman said there are inherent problems in convincing a jury that a longtime police officer is capable of the sort of vicious, calculated crimes Pelo is charged with committing.
That said, "There are things about him being a police officer that make it more likely that he did," Messman said.
Messman declined to elaborate, but court records indicate that investigators believe Pelo used personal information from police reports and databases to stalk the women.
Other evidence includes a bag containing a ski mask, rope and a pry bar that investigators found in the home where the Pelos lived when he was arrested. Police have said the gear appears to have been used in at least one of the attacks.
Another police search turned up pornographic images of bondage and rape on Pelo's home computer.
The FBI and State Police have tested a human hair found on a pillow case in the bedroom of one of the women, a hair attached to a piece of duct tape used to bind one woman, and cat hair found on the ski mask taken from Pelo's garage.
He told the women — all in their 20s and single — that he'd studied them, tracking their habits. He threatened one woman's family if she resisted, reciting their address lest she doubt he knew where to find them.
"I've been watching you," prosecutors say the rapist told another victim as he held a knife to her throat on a December night in 2002.
On Monday, jury selection is expected to begin in the trial of the man prosecutors say was the attacker: Jeff Pelo, a 17-year veteran of the Bloomington Police Department and married father of three.
Pelo, 43, who has pleaded not guilty, faces 28 counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault and four counts of home invasion. If convicted of all the charges, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
His lawyers have argued that police have held the wrong man behind bars the past 22 months.
They say the charges are based on shaky identifications from women who saw only a man in a ski mask in their darkened bedrooms and who were asked more than a year later to identify him.
Prosecutor Mark Messman and defense attorney Mike Rosenblat of Chicago declined to discuss evidence or other details of the case as they prepared for trial, saying they didn't want to further complicate the process of seating a jury.
The rapes were scattered over 26 months, the first occurring in December 2002, the next in April 2003 and the last two in January 2005. There was little initial indication that they might be connected, only speculation.
"There was talk, but it seems like anytime there was talk, something else would happen, would shift the focus away from it," Messman recalled.
But in December 2005, after an FBI report found strong similarities between the crimes, Bloomington police asked the public for help catching the man they came to believe was a serial rapist.
In June 2006, Pelo, a well-paid sergeant at the time, was arrested and charged with attempted burglary, after another woman called police to report a late-night prowler.
Police say that when an officer found Pelo on foot outside the house just after midnight, he tried to walk away until the officer drew his gun.
"He had a blank stare on his face," Officer David Ziemer testified during one court hearing. "I was yelling 'Stop!' and he wasn't complying with me. I thought it was going to be a deadly force situation."
Pelo finally did stop, and told the officer he was in the neighborhood looking for a house to buy his mother-in-law. The house where he was arrested wasn't for sale.
Pelo faced burglary and stalking charges, but a month later the other charges were added after three of the four women identified Pelo from photos as their attacker. Two of them also said his voice was that of the man who'd raped them.
Pelo has been in jail since, held on $1 million bond. He continued to receive his $81,000-a-year salary until he resigned last November.
After he was charged, his wife, Rickielee, told reporters: "I know without any doubt in my heart that my husband is completely innocent of all these charges."
Messman said there are inherent problems in convincing a jury that a longtime police officer is capable of the sort of vicious, calculated crimes Pelo is charged with committing.
That said, "There are things about him being a police officer that make it more likely that he did," Messman said.
Messman declined to elaborate, but court records indicate that investigators believe Pelo used personal information from police reports and databases to stalk the women.
Other evidence includes a bag containing a ski mask, rope and a pry bar that investigators found in the home where the Pelos lived when he was arrested. Police have said the gear appears to have been used in at least one of the attacks.
Another police search turned up pornographic images of bondage and rape on Pelo's home computer.
The FBI and State Police have tested a human hair found on a pillow case in the bedroom of one of the women, a hair attached to a piece of duct tape used to bind one woman, and cat hair found on the ski mask taken from Pelo's garage.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Ex-police officer arrested on kidnapping, assault charges
A former Pearl River police officer has been arrested on charges of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and taking her forcefully for a drive in his car last Friday.
According to Pearl River Police Chief Bennie Raynor, ex-policeman Joseph Ciruti Jr. broke into the apartment of his ex-girlfriend, held her at gunpoint, handcuffed and shackled her before forcing her into his car and driving her around Slidell.
Raynor said the girlfriend eventually convinced Ciruti to let her go and to check into a hospital for psychiatric help.
When Ciruti got out of the hospital, Raynor said he was arrested.
Ciruti is in the St. Tammany Parish jail in Covington on charges of second-degree kidnapping, aggravated burglary and aggravated assault.
Officer Fratticcioli Arrested for Distribution of Prescription Drugs
Officer Nicholas A. Fratticcioli who recently graduated from the Trenton Police Academy has been suspended after his arrest on official misconduct and distribution of a prescription drugs.
The 24-year-old was arrested Wednesday night at the city’s police headquarters. He is accused of distributing more than 100 doses of muscle relaxants.
He has been suspended without pay, and is free on a $25,000 bond.
The 24-year-old was arrested Wednesday night at the city’s police headquarters. He is accused of distributing more than 100 doses of muscle relaxants.
He has been suspended without pay, and is free on a $25,000 bond.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Officer Charles Porter Beats Boy Severely
Officer Charles Porter, a 12-year veteran of the Denver Police Department was arrested Thursday on a felony charge of second degree assault after using excessive force against a 16-year-old boy.
The teenager, Juan "Willie" Vasquez suffered a lacerated liver, broken ribs, kidney injuries and still has a tube in his back.
He has also had two surgeries. A Denver Health physician said Vasquez sustained, "serious bodily injury to his internal organs."
Vasquez claims when he was lying on the ground, an officer stood on his back and jumped up an down three to five times causing him pain.
Lt. Ronald Saunier said that an investigation into the excessive-force case is ongoing and that a decision on formal charges is not expected from the Denver district attorney's office until later this week.
The Denver chapter of the Latino Peace Officers Association, which is composed of more than 80 Denver police officers, has asked Police Chief Gerry Whitman to turn the case over to the FBI for investigation of possible civil-rights violations.
Porter, who has declined comment, has had a past discipline issue.
Safety Manager Al LaCabe last year suspended Porter for 30 days without pay for failing to notify police dispatchers that his partner had shot a suspect on March 29, 2007. A police supervisor eventually made the proper notifications in that case.
Independent monitor Richard Rosenthal, who oversees police internal investigations, had pushed for a harsher penalty for the failure to notify dispatch of the shooting.
In a report on the incident, Rosenthal, without naming Porter, said he thought a harsher penalty of a 60-day suspension was warranted, in part, because Porter originally made a misleading statement to the dispatcher that he and his partner were investigating a one-car crash even after the shots had been fired.
"The officer was deceptive in his communication with dispatch, incomplete in his communication with his supervisor and, as such, put numerous lives in danger," Rosenthal wrote in the report. "In addition, his actions had a negative impact on the integrity of a well- thought out and long-standing officer-involved shooting investigation protocol."
For the recent assault allegations, Porter was booked by the Denver Sheriff Department and posted bond Thursday.
The teenager, Juan "Willie" Vasquez suffered a lacerated liver, broken ribs, kidney injuries and still has a tube in his back.
He has also had two surgeries. A Denver Health physician said Vasquez sustained, "serious bodily injury to his internal organs."
Vasquez claims when he was lying on the ground, an officer stood on his back and jumped up an down three to five times causing him pain.
Lt. Ronald Saunier said that an investigation into the excessive-force case is ongoing and that a decision on formal charges is not expected from the Denver district attorney's office until later this week.
The Denver chapter of the Latino Peace Officers Association, which is composed of more than 80 Denver police officers, has asked Police Chief Gerry Whitman to turn the case over to the FBI for investigation of possible civil-rights violations.
Porter, who has declined comment, has had a past discipline issue.
Safety Manager Al LaCabe last year suspended Porter for 30 days without pay for failing to notify police dispatchers that his partner had shot a suspect on March 29, 2007. A police supervisor eventually made the proper notifications in that case.
Independent monitor Richard Rosenthal, who oversees police internal investigations, had pushed for a harsher penalty for the failure to notify dispatch of the shooting.
In a report on the incident, Rosenthal, without naming Porter, said he thought a harsher penalty of a 60-day suspension was warranted, in part, because Porter originally made a misleading statement to the dispatcher that he and his partner were investigating a one-car crash even after the shots had been fired.
"The officer was deceptive in his communication with dispatch, incomplete in his communication with his supervisor and, as such, put numerous lives in danger," Rosenthal wrote in the report. "In addition, his actions had a negative impact on the integrity of a well- thought out and long-standing officer-involved shooting investigation protocol."
For the recent assault allegations, Porter was booked by the Denver Sheriff Department and posted bond Thursday.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Durant Officer Arrested for Burglary
Police Officer Lieutenant Johnny Rutherford has been arrested for second degree burglary.
On Tuesday a warrant was issued for Officer Rutherford arrest after the OSBI uncovered Rutherford may have been involved in a burglary at Morrison Drugs back in November.
Rutherford is also facing misdemeanor charges after court papers show he broke into his brother-in-law's home, a crime his brother-in-law says was never formally reported.
Dewayne Wingfield, Rutherford's brother-in-law, says, "I called police whenever the incident happened, but I did not do anything beyond that. I filed no police report."
Lt. Rutherford had taken personal time for reasons not related to this crime. Now he's been place on administrative leave.
Lt. Rutherford he says he has not contacted an attorney yet, so he did not want to talk on camera. He also says he's not as bad as everyone is making him out to be.
Officer Rutherford is currently free on bond.
City officials refuse to talk about the arrest, and are keeping his name off the daily report being released to the media.
**********************
Now don't all criminals say its not that bad?
Watch them try to sweep this one under the rug.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
San Antonia Officer Breaks his Own Son’s Jaw
Police Officer Jorge Isaac Garcia has been charged with injury to his own disabled son.
According to the release from SAPD:
"The victim, the officer's son, was treated at a San Antonio hospital for a broken jaw. Through the investigation process, Cibolo Police applied for, and was granted, an arrest warrant, charging the officer."
"Officer Garcia was taken into custody by SAPD without incident, and then turned over to Cibolo Police."
"Garcia will be placed on administrative duty, pending the outcome of both the criminal and administrative investigation."
*****************************
Now WTF is wrong with this cop?!! Been taking a few to many steriods? What a Jackass!!
According to the release from SAPD:
"The victim, the officer's son, was treated at a San Antonio hospital for a broken jaw. Through the investigation process, Cibolo Police applied for, and was granted, an arrest warrant, charging the officer."
"Officer Garcia was taken into custody by SAPD without incident, and then turned over to Cibolo Police."
"Garcia will be placed on administrative duty, pending the outcome of both the criminal and administrative investigation."
*****************************
Now WTF is wrong with this cop?!! Been taking a few to many steriods? What a Jackass!!
15 Philly Officers Beat Suspects
Philadelphia Police officers are investigating several of their own officers after a video surfaces showing several officers kicking and beating three suspects after being pulled from a car during a traffic stop.
The scenes were caught on tape by a TV helicopter crew on Monday. The footage shows three police cars stopping a car. About a dozen officers are seen gathering around the vehicle and pulling three men out. Some of the officers hold two of the men on the ground. Both are then kicked repeatedly, while one is seen being punched and struck with a baton. The third man is also pulled out and kicked.
The city's police commissioner on Tuesday said the video ''certainly does not look good'', but stressed the force did not want to ''rush to judgment''.
The officers were responding to a report of a shooting nearby, police said.
The commissioner told reporters that the suspects ''had been observed involved at a triple shooting at the time''.
Philadelphia officers have been on edge since Saturday, when an officer was fatally shot with an assault rifle after a robbery.
One of the robbery suspects was fatally shot by police, another was arrested on Sunday and a third remains on the run.
The officer was the third one slain on duty in the city in the last two years.
An attorney for one of the men said he did not know what preceded the traffic stop in the city's Hunting Park neighborhood, but that the video showed an unjustified police beating. He went on to say that police told him all three men would be charged with aggravated assault.
Video...
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05/07/police.beating/#cnnSTCVideo\
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Police Officer Garry Ferguson Arrested for Forcible Rape of Under Aged Girls
A Maricopa Police Officer from Bakersfield, California has been arrested for sexual misconduct with three minors.
Lemoore police said they arrested Officer Garry Ferguson, 29, late Friday night at a relative's home in Rosedale on an arrest warrant from the King's County district attorney.
Ferguson was in a King's County court Monday morning and pleaded not guilty to a total of 12 counts in three separate cases.
Charges include forcible rape, unlawful intercourse with a minor and oral copulation. The King's County district attorney said two of the girls are 14 to 16 years old.
They said Ferguson met one of the girls while taking a karate class in King's County and started a relationship with her.
The most serious charges against Ferguson are from a relationship they say he had with a 13-year-old girl.
The King’s County District Attorney’s Office said Ferguson knew the minor for a while and eventually developed a relationship with her that lasted for a few years.
Ferguson's bail is set at $300,000.
According to Maricopa police, Kern County has an ongoing investigation on Ferguson. The Kern County district attorney has not confirmed the investigation.
Maricopa police said the chief of police and city manager will be discussing whether Ferguson will be terminated. They said an action will be taken sometime this week.
Federal Court says Charges against Officer will be Upheld
Federal Appeals court has upheld the conviction and sentence of an Atlanta, Alabama police officer for lying about a prisoner who was injured during an arrest.
A federal judge sentenced Officer Jason Hardy Hunt, who was a narcotics detective for Prichard, Alabama, to five months in prison and just five months of home detention.
The suspect James Woodard became agitated and argued with officers back on March 22, 2005 when he was being detained, and searched. Officers tried to arrest him after he cursed and threatened them. Officer Hunt threw Woodard to the pavement, injuring his head.
Hunt reported that Woodard grabbed him first, and repeated the falsehood to an FBI agent almost a year later.
On appeal, Officer Hunt said the evidence was insufficient to convict him of deliberate falsehood and that the short 10-month sentence was excessive. (Poor little baby...go cry now.) A three-judge panel of the 11the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed in an opinion filed Monday.
A federal judge sentenced Officer Jason Hardy Hunt, who was a narcotics detective for Prichard, Alabama, to five months in prison and just five months of home detention.
The suspect James Woodard became agitated and argued with officers back on March 22, 2005 when he was being detained, and searched. Officers tried to arrest him after he cursed and threatened them. Officer Hunt threw Woodard to the pavement, injuring his head.
Hunt reported that Woodard grabbed him first, and repeated the falsehood to an FBI agent almost a year later.
On appeal, Officer Hunt said the evidence was insufficient to convict him of deliberate falsehood and that the short 10-month sentence was excessive. (Poor little baby...go cry now.) A three-judge panel of the 11the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed in an opinion filed Monday.
Trial begins for the 92-year old Woman Killed in botched Drug Raid
The attorney for a former police officer charged in a botched drug raid in which an elderly woman was shot to death described a renegade Atlanta narcotics unit that routinely planted drugs and lied to obtain search warrants.
Former officer Arthur Tesler's unit often took illegal shortcuts, ignored department policy and carried bags of drugs in their squad cars, defense attorney William McKenney said Monday in opening statements for Tesler's trial on charges of lying to help cover up misconduct in the raid.
Kathryn Johnston, 92, was killed November 26, 2006, shot 39 times as plainclothes narcotics officers busted into her home using a "no-knock" warrant. Johnston fired one shot from a pistol as police were breaking down her door, but she did not hit any of the officers.
Tesler's trial is likely the only one in the Johnston shooting because former officers Jason R. Smith and Gregg Junnier have already pleaded guilty to state manslaughter and federal civil rights charges. They are expected to testify against Tesler.
A prosecutor argued Tesler was also responsible for Johnston's death because he knew his colleagues lied to obtain the warrant. Tesler is charged with violation of oath by a public officer, making false statements and false imprisonment under color of legal process.
"This case is about drugs, deceit, death and disgrace," Fulton County prosecutor Kellie S. Hill told the jury.
Hill began her statement by showing a photograph of a smiling Johnston while the recorded sound of 39 gunshots was played for jurors. Tesler didn't show any emotion while it was played.
On the day Johnston was killed, prosecutors said that Smith, Junnier and Tesler were told by a man they arrested earlier in the day that drugs were being sold out of Johnston's house. But they violated department policy by not using a confidential informant to verify the information, Hill said.
Instead, Smith lied to a magistrate to get the warrant, swearing that he had gotten the information from a department-approved confidential informant. The trio is accused of telling the same lie to the rest of the narcotics unit, which helped them bust through Johnston's door.
The officer's lawyer argued that Tesler was in the backyard of the home when the shooting happened. Tesler, a rookie in the narcotics unit, was pressured by his superiors to cover up their misdeeds, McKenney said.
"Arthur Tesler was manipulated, controlled and exploited by two senior officers," McKenney said.
After the shooting, Smith planted three bags of marijuana in the basement. Prosecutors said the trio met secretly five times to coordinate their story for federal investigators looking at the shooting.
The fatal shooting prompted wide criticism of the police department, a shake-up of the narcotics unit and a review of how officers obtain and use no-knock warrants, which are intended to keep drug suspects from having time to destroy evidence.
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