Sunday, March 01, 2009

Officer Steven Mohseninia Arrested for DUI After Head-on Crash with Deputy

CANTON, Ohio

An off-duty Akron auxiliary police officer was arrested Sunday on suspicion of driving under the influence after he ran head-on into an on-duty Summity County deputy.

The crash occurred on Arlington Road just north of state Route 619 in the city of Green.

The off-duty Akron auxiliary police officer, Steven R. Mohseninia, was driving his personal vehicle. He made a left turn in front of on-duty Summit County deputy, Michael J. Walsh, who was driving a marked police car. The two vehicles hit head-on causing both vehicles to drive off the roadway.

Walsh received minor injuries as a result of the crash. He was taken to Akron City Hospital. He was treated and released.

Mohseninia was driving a black 2008 Honda Accord. After the crash, he was placed under arrest on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol. He was taken to the Canton Post of the State Highway Patrol Post where he refused to take a breath test.

All traffic and criminal related charges are pending final review.

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http://www.ohio.com/error?url=http%3A//www.ohio.com/news/break_news/40507517.html

Robert Lee Welch Dies After Being Tasered

A man died shortly after sheriff's deputies used a Taser on him at his Montgomery County home Saturday, authorities said.

Deputies received a call about 7 a.m. of a possible suicide attempt at a residence in the 6500 block of Golden Oaks Drive. Robert Lee Welch, 40, had been pushing people there and would not respond to family members, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies approached and tried to talk to Welch, who was not wearing clothing, authorities said. When Welch wouldn't respond, deputies tried to detain the man, who resisted and struggled, authorities said.

Deputies then used a Taser to help control the man, authorities said. Paramedics at the scene began treating Welch, who was not breathing and did not have a pulse.

Welch was taken to a Conroe hospital, where he died. An autopsy will be conducted at the Southeast Texas Forensic Center to determine the cause of death.

The incident is being investigated by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit, Texas Rangers as well as the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

Tasers, which can deliver a 50,000-volt electrical charge, have drawn controversy across the country. Montgomery County added Tasers to its arsenal in 2006 through federal grants.

The Houston Police Department started using Tasers in 2004. A Houston Chronicle analysis showed that HPD officers deployed their Tasers 1,724 times between December 2004 and May 2008, triggering 69 internal affairs investigations.

Critics worry that the weapons are often used on people who have not committed crimes.

Corrections Officer Lon Sainato Charged with Sexual Assault

MORRISTOWN

A Morris County corrections officer was charged with sexual assault and official misconduct after detectives said he coerced a man performing community service into allowing the officer to perform a sex act on him, Morris County Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi announced Sunday.

Lon Sainato, 52, of Whippany, was charged Sunday and remains in the Sussex County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail set by Superior Court Judge Salem Ahto.

The alleged act took place on Feb. 22 at the Cedar Knolls Fire House, while the victim was performing his community service and while Sainato was supervising him in his official capacity as a law-enforcement officer, Bianchi said.

The victim, 30, was ordered to perform 60 days on the Sheriff’s Labor Assistance Program (SLAP), a community-service program run by the Morris County Sheriff’s Department. As a SLAP inmate, the victim is on probation and/or parole and is institutionally detained on those days on which he serves his SLAP sentence.

Bianchi stated that the investigation was conducted by the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes Unit, Professional Standards Unit, and Special Enforcement Unit in cooperation with the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Facility Internal Affairs Unit.

“The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office has investigated and will now prosecute another public official who has violated their oath of office, and abused the privilege of honorably serving the public,” Bianchi said in a statement provided by his office.

“This officer brought shame and dishonor to himself but not to an otherwise honorable profession and well-run agency. Throughout this investigation Morris County Sheriff Edward V. Rochford, Undersheriff Ralph McGrane, Warden Frank Corrente and the Correctional Facility Internal Affairs staff fully cooperated and assisted in this investigation. I continue to have full confidence in the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Facility. The conduct of this officer in no way is reflective of the department as a whole.”

“If these allegations are proven, this officer is a disgrace to his profession,” Sheriff Edward Rochford said. “He had control over another person and completely violated the public trust. There is no place in law enforcement for anyone who is alleged to have acted in such a reprehensible way. The Prosecutor’s Office moved swiftly on this, and I thank them for getting this person off the street. Officer Sainato has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of his court hearing.”

Sainato was hired by Morris County in 1996. He has been assigned to the Sheriff’s Labor assistance program for the past 10 years. His annual salary is $73,000, Rochford said.

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http://www.ohio.com/error?url=http%3A//www.ohio.com/news/break_news/40507517.html

Two NYPD Officers Accused of Raping Drunk Woman

A police officer is being investigated in the rape of an East Village woman he escorted home after being told she was too drunk to stand, law enforcement sources said.

The officer and his partner came to the woman after a cab driver called 911 on Dec. 7, telling cops she had vomited in his car and couldn't find cab fare, the source said.

Law enforcement sources said they had surveillance video from the victim's apartment building showing the two cops helping the drunken woman inside and returning to the building a second time more than a half hour later. The woman reported the rape to the Manhattan district attorney's office, where officials are currently investigating the complaint, the source said.

Both cops, whose names were not released, were stripped of their guns and badges and placed on modified desk duty.

A lawyer for one of the officers, Stephen Worth, declined to comment.

NYPD Internal Affairs investigators searched both cops' lockers and found one packet of heroin.

The officer accused of rape told colleagues he had forgotten to voucher the drugs after confiscating them in a separate case.

Both cops were given drug tests and passed.

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http://www.metro.us/us/article/2009/03/02/04/0659-82/index.xml

Officer Javier Alonzo Arrested for Aggravated Sexual Assault

Update:

EL PASO, Tx.

An El Paso police officer is under arrest for Aggravated Sexual Assault against a woman.

Police say they began investigating the accusation against 16-year veteran officer Javier Alonzo on Tuesday. They found probable cause and issued an arrest warrant for Alonzo, however, he fled El Paso before officers could arrest him.

According to a news release from EPPD, U.S. Marshal's nabbed Alonzo in Austin and turned him over to Austin police. He is now being escorted back to El Paso.

Authorities have not released any details on the alleged attack; however, police chief Greg Allen has ordered the termination of Alonzo.

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