Saturday, February 14, 2009

Officer Richard Hammer Arrested for Hitting Female

NEW WINDSOR

Last year’s police officer of the year in Orange County was arrested Friday night for hitting a female acquaintance, police said.

New Windsor police were dispatched to Anthony’s Pier 9 catering hall on Route 9W just before 11:30 p.m. for a report of an assault. Police said that Richard Hammer had a dispute with a woman and hit her.

Richard Hammer, 38, was charged with misdemeanor assault and will appear in New Windsor court March 19. The woman, whose name was not released, was treated at St. Luke’s Hospital in Newburgh and released. Anthony’s Pier 9 was the site of a party for police recruits following Friday’s police academy graduation.

Hammer was awarded the Police Officer of the Year in 2008 by the Police Chiefs’ Association of Orange County. Last February he was stabbed in the right thigh while trying to help the victim of a gang attack. City of Newburgh police declined to comment on Hammer’s arrest.

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http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/February09/14/Cop_arrest-14Feb09.htm

Another Death by Taser

Thomas County Deputies say at about two o'clock Friday morning an officer was driving on Highway 19, south of the 84 bypass when he noticed a Ford pickup truck in the middle of the road with a man inside.

When the man raised his arm, it could be seen that he was bleeding profusely.

Officers say Rudolph Byrd of Quincy, Florida then got out and a struggle began. Byrd was tasered as five officers tried to restrain him.

When EMS arrived, Byrd was put on a gurney and he stopped breathing.

Doctors were later able to revive him, but Byrd died moments later. The GBI is investigating.

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http://www.wctv.tv/news

Officer Christopher Miner Held Alone in Jail for Sexually Assaulting Woman

A Newport News police officer, accused of sexually assaulting and abducting a female acquaintance in December, is being confined alone at the city jail.

At his arraignment Friday, Officer Christopher E. Miner was ordered held without bail pending a bond hearing. He was placed in a single cell for his protection, according to Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kathleen Carey.

The 37-year-old Central Precinct patrolman is scheduled to return to court for the hearing on Wednesday. He faces charges of rape, forcible sodomy and abduction with intent to defile for an incident that allegedly took place at his home on Dec. 6, police said.

At the time of his arrest Thursday, Miner had been awaiting charges stemming from another incident involving a 27-year-old woman.

In January, he was charged with abduction for immoral purposes after the alleged victim told police that he refused to allow her to leave a residence after they had spent a social evening together, police said.

According to the Daily Press, Miner was accused of restraining her with leather restraints, taking her picture and threatening to post the photograph online if she didn't spend the night with him.

Miner was hired by the Police Department in 2003. He remains on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal and criminal investigation, police said.

Investigation Widens into Allegations of Brutality by 2 Fresno Officers

FRESNO

The investigation into allegations of brutality by two Fresno police officers widened Thursday, with Police Chief Jerry Dyer saying that the district attorney's office has launched an independent probe, and that the attorney general's office is set to review the case as well.

At issue is the videotaped arrest on Monday of Glen Beaty, 52, by two uniformed police officers. The video, which aired nationally after it was turned over to KSEE on Tuesday, shows one officer repeatedly punching Beaty in the head while the other struggles to handcuff him.

One task for the district attorney, Dyer said, is to decide whether Beaty will face charges of assault for allegedly hitting the police officers in the minutes before the incident was taped.

Attorney Rick Berman, who said he has been asked to represent Beaty, called it "ludicrous" that police would consider pursuing criminal charges "against the guy they beat up."

The two officers involved "did not follow accepted or proper procedures," he said. "They brutalized a mentally disturbed old man who was just sitting under a tree."

The videotaped arrest has prompted outcries from civil rights organizations and renewed calls for an independent police auditor, an idea that Mayor Ashley Swearengin said she supported in her 2008 mayoral campaign.

Neither officer in the video has been identified.

Both officers were placed on alternative duties after the tape was made publ

Deputy Mason Dixon Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Minor

COVINGTON, La.

Authorities said a former Vernon Parish sheriff's deputy has been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain said 31-year-old Mason Dixon, of Leesville, was arrested Wednesday by Vernon Parish sheriff's deputies on seven counts of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile and four counts of oral sexual battery.

Strain said Friday that his office received information from a Slidell woman about several alleged incidents, occurring from September through January, involving Dixon and her daughter. He says Dixon had been in St. Tammany Parish fulfilling Louisiana National Guard training obligations.

Dixon, who had worked for the Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office since 2006, was being held in lieu of $375,000 bond at the St. Tammany Parish Jail. Strain said he's been placed in isolation for his protection.

Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft said Dixon has been fired.

Judge Margaret Huddleston Arrested for DUI

Warren Family Court Judge Margaret R. Huddleston was arrested outside her home shortly after midnight Saturday on charges of careless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to a Bowling Green Police Department report, Huddleston, 59, 1288 Hayes Court, was driving a silver 1999 Mercedes on Main Avenue, traveling well below the speed limit. Police followed her up Main Avenue from Chestnut Street, watching Huddleston sit at a stop sign for several seconds before turning left onto Park Street.

Huddleston then turned right on Fairview Avenue, according to the report, after her car sat at the stop sign at Park Street for about 10 seconds. She then struck the center line five times on Fairview between Park Street and Hayes Lane, the report states, at which point the police officer turned on his emergency lights.

The officer followed Huddleston, who continued driving until she reached her driveway, according to the report. The officer reported that she had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and strongly smelled of alcohol.

According to the arrest report, a breath test indicated that Huddleston had a blood alcohol level of .174 - over twice the state’s legal limit of .08. She was arrested at 12:14 a.m. Saturday and lodged in Warren County Regional Jail, where she was later released on an unsecured bond.

Messages left at Huddleston’s home phone number were not returned; Warren County Attorney Amy Milliken was unavailable for comment.

Huddleston has been a family court judge in Warren County since the court was created in 1998. The division within Warren County Circuit Court handles divorce, child custody, visitation, child support, adoption and termination of parental rights cases. The court has jurisdiction also over cases involving domestic violence and abuse, cases of dependency, neglect and abuse and juvenile status offenses.

Deputy David Slocum Back on the Job After Domestic Violence Charge


A Pima County Sheriff's deputy arrested for domestic violence has his job back. A review board voted to reinstate Deputy David Slocum but with a suspension for 30 days.

Deputies say Slocum was arrested last November after an altercation with his estranged wife. Investigators say he dragged her down the hallway and fired his gun into the floor of his home.

"He became suicidal, and she was doing various interventions to try to keep him from doing this," says Deputy Mike O'Connor of PCSD. "He had a gun in his hand and was pointing it at himself."

Domestic violence charges are still pending against Deputy Slocum. The incident is also being investigated by the Arizona Peace Officer's Standards and Training Board.

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http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/fromcomments/110075.php

Former Detective Paul Dale Charged with Murder

A FORMER Victoria Police detective, Paul Noel Dale, has been charged with the murder of Terence Hodson, who was a corruption witness when he was shot dead along with his wife, Christine, in May 2004.

The former drug squad officer's arrest yesterday comes after a jailed underworld figure agreed to testify against Dale.

The witness' identity is suppressed, but it is believed he has told police about his relationship with Dale and the former detective's alleged role in commissioning the contract killing of Hodson.

Dale, 39, yesterday represented himself during a brief hearing at the Wangaratta Magistrates Court. "This is going to turn my life upside down. I am anxious to get these matters before the courts to clear my name," he said.

In late 2003, Hodson, Dale and detective David Miechel were charged over an attempt to steal $1.3 million in drugs from an East Oakleigh house.

After Hodson agreed to testify against the police, files identifying him as an informer were leaked to the underworld. Within weeks, Hodson and his wife were killed and the case against Dale collapsed.

Miechel was later sentenced to 12 years' jail.

Force command denied any link between corruption and the gangland killings after the Hodsons' death, despite holding information about Dale's underworld links and his suspected role in leaking the Hodson files.

The murders sparked calls for a royal commission and led to the creation of a new police watchdog, the Office of Police Integrity, which held two inquiries into issues related to the murders.

Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland said yesterday the reliability of the police witness "was obviously an issue" and that he expected evidence to be vigorously contested.

"We have obviously taken advice from the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) in relation to that and we have now got to the point where we believe we have sufficient evidence to charge," he said.

He also defended police handling of the case. "We didn't deny police involvement (at the outset), we just didn't leap to the conclusion that everyone else leapt to."

Police are investigating the hitman suspected of killing the Hodsons.

He is in jail facing unrelated murder charges.

Dale was remanded into custody and will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court in June.
A FORMER Victoria Police detective, Paul Noel Dale, has been charged with the murder of Terence Hodson, who was a corruption witness when he was shot dead along with his wife, Christine, in May 2004.

The former drug squad officer's arrest yesterday comes after a jailed underworld figure agreed to testify against Dale.

The witness' identity is suppressed, but it is believed he has told police about his relationship with Dale and the former detective's alleged role in commissioning the contract killing of Hodson.

Dale, 39, yesterday represented himself during a brief hearing at the Wangaratta Magistrates Court. "This is going to turn my life upside down. I am anxious to get these matters before the courts to clear my name," he said.

In late 2003, Hodson, Dale and detective David Miechel were charged over an attempt to steal $1.3 million in drugs from an East Oakleigh house.

After Hodson agreed to testify against the police, files identifying him as an informer were leaked to the underworld. Within weeks, Hodson and his wife were killed and the case against Dale collapsed.

Miechel was later sentenced to 12 years' jail.

Force command denied any link between corruption and the gangland killings after the Hodsons' death, despite holding information about Dale's underworld links and his suspected role in leaking the Hodson files.

The murders sparked calls for a royal commission and led to the creation of a new police watchdog, the Office of Police Integrity, which held two inquiries into issues related to the murders.

Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland said yesterday the reliability of the police witness "was obviously an issue" and that he expected evidence to be vigorously contested.

"We have obviously taken advice from the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) in relation to that and we have now got to the point where we believe we have sufficient evidence to charge," he said.

He also defended police handling of the case. "We didn't deny police involvement (at the outset), we just didn't leap to the conclusion that everyone else leapt to."

Police are investigating the hitman suspected of killing the Hodsons.

He is in jail facing unrelated murder charges.

Dale was remanded into custody and will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court in June.