Officer Robert Szoyka Arrested for Domestic Battery Holds his Head in Shame

Wednesday night, police officer Robert Szoyka, was arrested by Indian River County Sheriff's Office for domestic battery on his wife. His wife claimed that he punched her and sat on her head during an argument.

Szoyka, 44, is a law enforcement officer for the North Palm Beach Police Department and was named 'Officer of the Month' last November.

In his mugshot, you can see a gloved hand appearing to be holding his head up.

Szoyka was released on $500 bail.

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Other Information:
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/mar/13/north-palm-beach-law-enforcement-officer-accused-p/

Squad-Car Video Shows Different Story then What Officer Joe Parker tells

One night last summer Raymond Bell was pulled over by a Chicago cop and arrested for driving under the influence. Officer Joe D. Parker, a 23-year veteran, reported that upon getting out of his car, Bell was stinking of alcohol, lurching and unable to walk a straight line or stand on one foot.

An officer with his stellar record would normally prevail against a DUI suspect. But in this case, Bell had something on his side: a video camera mounted on the dashboard of Parker's squad car that told a radically different story.

Far from revealing a staggering drunk, reported the Chicago Sun-Times, the video "showed Bell appearing to be perfectly balanced," passing the sobriety tests that Parker administered—and being refused when he asked to take a Breathalyzer. Prosecutors watched the video and promptly dismissed the case. They are now considering charges against Parker.

That episode raises the question: Nine years into the 21st Century, why isn't every squad car in America equipped with a dashboard video camera? Why do we persist in relying on the slippery, self-interested, incomplete and unverified accounts of opposing participants when we have the means to see the truth with our own eyes?

In this instance, the innocent man was lucky to be stopped by a cop driving a video-armed vehicle. The odds are against it, since only 11 percent of the Chicago Police Department's cars have cameras for recording traffic stops. Though the department is planning to use federal stimulus money to double that number and the mayor has said he wants cameras installed in the remaining vehicles "as quickly as possible," no one is radiating a sense of haste.

Why not? The department says the main obstacle is money. Equipping another 300 cars, as the city plans, will require $2.1 million. So making them standard on the rest would cost about $13 million.

But that shouldn't be an insurmountable obstacle. The Illinois State Police, with a fleet of nearly 1,100 vehicles, have managed to install cameras in more than 900.

Spending $13 million looks extravagant only until you compare it to the cost of losing lawsuits over police misconduct. From 2005 through the middle of 2008, says the Chicago Reader, the city paid out $155 million in police cases. Dashboard cameras don't have to prevent many million-dollar judgments to be a bargain.

The cops—at least the good ones, who are presumably the majority—have as much reason to want these recordings as the accused. The best defense against a phony charge of police brutality is a video showing exactly what the officer said and did. A suspect who is visibly inebriated or violent will have a hard time refuting the camera's testimony in court.

Yet Chicago has dragged its feet, and it's not alone. After the 1991 Rodney King beating, a commission recommended that the Los Angeles Police Department mount cameras in its squad cars. It installed some but soon got rid of them.

A federal monitor proposed the idea again in 2005, but the police chief, The Los Angeles Times reported, "said he saw it as a long-term project." Last year—17 years later—the LAPD finally decided to equip some vehicles.

Contrast that with Mayor Richard Daley's enthusiasm for other types of video. Chicago now has some 2,250 surveillance cameras to detect criminal conduct in public places. By 2016, Daley promised last month, Chicago will have one on every corner.

The city has also installed red-light cameras at some 132 intersections, with another 330 planned.

So what exactly is different about those cameras? Well, they are trained on the citizenry, not on the police. What's sauce for the goose seems to be regarded as a dubious liquid substance when proposed for the gander. The city is less eager to capture video evidence if it may expose wrongdoing by its own law enforcement agents.

But the rest of us might want to keep unsleeping electronic eyes on the people with guns and badges. A city with a good police department can gain a lot from squad-car video cameras. A city with a bad one can gain even more.

Taser Death of Robert Welch Being Investigated

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office views Tasers as safe and effective weapons. But Joe Welch Jr., a South County resident, has a very different view.

Welch’s son, Robert Lee Welch, 40, died Feb. 28 after MCSO deputies Tasered him several times when they were called to Joe Welch’s home in the 6500 block of Golden Oaks Drive, south of Texas 242.

Preliminary autopsy results did not determine the cause of death for Robert Welch, whose heart stopped after he was Tasered, Joe Welch said. Toxicology results have not been finalized, MCSO Lt. Bill Bucks said, but results of tests on the data from the Taser used should be in early next week.

Robert Welch, according to a 9-1-1 recording the MCSO released to The Courier Wednesday, was staggering around his home naked and in a daze, his stepmother told a dispatcher on the recording. He also was pushing his father, who has a pacemaker and defibrillator.

Deputies used a Taser on Robert Welch because he was “standoffish and pushing,” Bucks said.

“He was acting pretty much the way he was when the mother made the call,” he said.

But Joe Welch said his son presented no danger.

“No one in this house was in any danger at any time,” he said. “We were trying to get help for Robert, not for us. Their main concern was that Robert was pushing on me.

“We didn’t want the deputies; we called for an ambulance.”

Four deputies arrived at the home, Bucks said, and all four were put on paid administrative leave for three days, which is standard policy. The four deputies are back on regular patrol duty, he said.

Janell Welch, Joe Welch’s wife, made the 9-1-1 call around 7 a.m. She first spoke with an EMS call taker.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “Our son came in around 11 last night. ... He’s been staggering around since 5 this morning. He’s buck naked. I don’t know what he’s on. He won’t talk, and he doesn’t make any sense.”

The call taker asked whether Robert Welch was violent or had a weapon, and Janell Welch said “No” to both questions.

“Is this a suicide attempt?” the call taker asked.

“I have no idea. I wouldn’t doubt it,” Janell Welch said.

The EMS calltaker then got an MCSO call taker on the line, who asked Janell Welch what drugs Robert Welch had taken.

“I have no idea,” she said. “None at all.”

A few seconds later, Janell Welch yelled at Robert Welch.

“Robert, stop! You’re going to hurt your daddy!” she said.

“No, he’s going to hurt me,” Robert Welch said. “Get out of the way!”

Seconds later, Janell Welch called out to her daughter.

“Make sure he doesn’t hurt your dad,” she said. “He’s pushing really hard on him.”

The MCSO call taker then asked Janell Welch why she said it might be a suicide attempt.

“His girlfriend kicked him out last night,” she said. “He’s always threatening to do that.”

Janell Welch then said Robert Welch is diabetic, and also that Joe Welch has Type II diabetes and serious heart trouble.

“With that (unintelligible) going off, no one can touch him,” she said.

When Janell Welch asked why the ambulance hadn’t arrived, the MCSO call taker said EMS would not go to the scene until the MCSO officers arrived.

“With him being violent ...” the calltaker began to say.

“He’s not violent,” Janell Welch said. “He’s walking around in a daze.”

Deputies arrived 15 minutes and 45 seconds after Janell Welch called 9-1-1, and the call ended five seconds later.


MCSO Taser Use

MCSO deputies were involved in 694 use-of-force incidents from the beginning of 2006 through June 30, 2008, according to MCSO statistics provided to The Villager newspaper for a previous story. For the 122 incidents involving Tasers, the devices were considered effective 105 times, an 86 percent success ratio. By comparison, pepper spray was found effective in 76 percent of the incidents, and batons were effective 25 percent of the time.

Tasers were discharged 168 times in the 122 incidents. At least eight incidents involved multiple five-second shock cycles, including one in which a person received nine cycles. More than half of the 92 discharges did not include documentation on how many times a person was shocked.

MCSO also documented nine instances in which a person was reported injured by a Taser. Over the same time period, deputies were injured 43 times during use-of-force incidents, and 29 deputies were taken to the hospital.

About 90 percent of all MCSO deputies carry Tasers, and the department is aiming for 100 percent, said Lt. Ralph Smith, MCSO training coordinator.


Taser Training and Effects


Everyone who carries a Taser is trained to standards from Taser Internation, the stun-gun manufacturer, he said. All deputies get an initial eight-hour training, which includes being Tasered. Deputies must be re-certified every year but aren’t required to be Tasered during recertification.

“We don’t use Taser cartridges; we use training cartridges that shoot alligator clips,” he said. “If we discharged the actual Taser charge, it would cost too much.

“It’s 100 percent the same effect.”

Each five-second Taser charge carries 50,000 volts, which cannot be turned down, Smith said. The charge cannot be reduced to less than five seconds.

“It doesn’t affect you the same way electricity does,” he said.

The advantages of a Taser is that it gives deputies an option other than a lethal weapon, or duty guns, Smith said.

“It’s one of the best weapons you can arm yourself with,” he said. “It’s a very, very good tool, but it does not take the place of the duty weapon. Our thought here is safety first for the deputies and for citizens.

“If you can use a Taser in place of a weapon, you haven’t killed someone.”


Joe Welch’s Take on Tasers

Joe Welch insists his son wasn’t forcefully pushing anyone when he was Tasered.

“He didn’t hurt anybody. He’s 180 pounds, and these guys looked like linebackers from Green Bay,” he said. “They Tasered him six times, and he (a deputy) stood his foot on Robert’s neck.”

When paramedics arrived, Robert Welch had no pulse, and the paramedics were unable to revive him, Joe Welch said. He was taken to St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Joe Welch, who won’t say whether he plans to take legal action against MCSO, believes Tasers should be “taken away” from law enforcement.

“It’s a bad idea to give Tasers to everyone in the force,” he said. “They screwed up and they knew it.

“They Tasered my son to death. When they hear from me, God’s going to come with me.”

To hear the Feb. 28 9-1-1 call by Janell Welch in its entirety, go to www.thecourier-online.com.
911 Tape

Officer Michaelyn Culligan Charged with OWI Still on Duty

MANITOWOC

A Manitowoc police officer who was sitting on the board of directors for the Wisconsin D.A.R.E. Officers Association when she was arrested earlier this month for drunken driving remains on duty, Manitowoc Police Chief Tony Dick said today.

Michaelyn Culligan, 40, was picked up around 9:30 p.m. March 2 in Two Rivers after her car got stuck in a snow bank at Mishicot Road and 44th Street, Manitowoc County Sheriff Rob Hermann said. Because her husband, Timothy Culligan, is a patrol officer with the Two Rivers Police Department, the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department was called in to handle the arrest.

To avoid any further conflicts of interest, the woman was transported to the Calumet County Jail. Hermann said today that he doesn’t have access to records showing Culligan’s blood alcohol content at the time of her arrest.

“Obviously this is a sad day for Manitowoc — for the citizens and also the other officers,” Dick said. “This is not the conduct that we would expect from one of our officers.”

Culligan works on the second-shift patrol division and was serving as a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer for the Manitowoc Police Department at the time of her arrest. She remains on duty at the department while an internal investigation takes place, Dick said, but has been relieved of her D.A.R.E. duties. She also resigned from her post on the state D.A.R.E. board, he said.

“We’re going to let due process take it’s course, but until that happens there’s just no way that we feel that she could have legitimacy standing up in the front of a classroom teaching D.A.R.E.,” Dick said. “We don’t have any reports that lead us to believe this rises to the level where she shouldn’t be working at this point.”

If Culligan is convicted of drunken driving, Dick said that charge will be taken into consideration along with the results of the internal investigation to determine any disciplinary action. The department doesn’t have specific policies laying out punishment for officers convicted of operating while intoxicated.

“Our policy is more dealing with the general misbehaving,” he said. “We look at a lot of different things in general — more so than the criminal aspect or the violation of an ordinance would look at. In a case like this, we have to look at extenuating circumstances and we also have to look at what is right for the employer and the employee.”

Similar cases around the state have resulted in anything from a few days off work to officers quitting as a result of the investigation, Dick said. He declined to speculate on Culligan’s situation.

“When the internal investigation is done, we’ll take a look at all the factors … and put her on the right track,” he said. “She’ll be offered all the assistance that an employer would give an employee under similar circumstances.”

In the state of Wisconsin, a first-offense OWI conviction does not include jail time, but comes with a $150 to $300 fine, six- to nine-month license suspension and an alcohol assessment. An occupational driver’s license can be issued immediately, meaning Culligan legally could continue working as a patrol officer, even if convicted.

Culligan has been with the department since 1998.

“She’s a good officer — she did a lot to help our community through the years that she’s been here,” Dick said. “It’s just an unfortunate experience for her and also for all the officers. She’s a human being, and people make mistakes. I don’t think anyone feels worse than she does right now for what has happened.”

Officer Jasper White Junior Charged with Domestic Violence

ALLENDALE, S.C.

SLED agents put an Allendale Police Officer in jail and charged him with criminal domestic violence.

Jasper White Junior is accused of criminal domestic violence from an incident that happened on Hay Street between him and the victim, his wife, in September of 2008.

According to SLED, White had a physical fight with his wife where he allegedly hit her in the face with his fist, causing visible injury to her eye. He's also accused of forcibly removing her from his car. The victim says she then pushed him away and removed a gun from his console because she "was fearful he was going to do bodily harm to me or kill me."

White was arrested and released on his own personal recognizance.

Two Houston Residents Arrested for saying Fuck

Movie actors say it on screen. Some artists put it in their songs.

But using the “F-word” in public places is starting to get Houston-area residents handcuffed or arrested.

For the second time within the past eight months, a person using the word during private conversations in public places — once at a Wal-Mart in La Marque and then at a Mexican restaurant in Galveston — have been taken into custody and cited for disorderly conduct.

While the word is vulgar, disrespectful and in poor taste, constitutional scholars such at T. Gerald Treece, an associate dean at the South Texas College of Law, believe “criminalizing” the word is a violation of free speech.

Such a word has to “excite violence or an immediate disruption, where people feel they are forced to leave or not participate in an activity” before police action would be warranted, he said.

State law says the use of abusive, indecent, profane or vulgar language in a public place, which causes an “immediate breach of peace,” meets the definition of disorderly conduct.

Officer makes the call
Abraham Urquizo, 35, a visitor from Jamaica, N.Y., was arrested this week at Salsa’s Mexican and Seafood Restaurant on Seawall Boulevard in Galveston after twice using the word to berate his girlfriend, officials said.

A Galveston police officer overhead the conversation in which Urquizo was reported to have said, “I can’t believe you’re so (expletive deleted) stupid” which was followed by “what the (expletive deleted) were you thinking.”

The officer, eating his dinner nearby, took Urquizo outside to caution him about his speech , said Galveston police spokesman, Lt. D.J. Alvarez. The restaurant’s manager then stated the use of the word had offended him and asked the officer to do something, Alvarez said.

The officer arrested Urquizo on a charge of disorderly conduct.

Urquizo could not be reached for comment, but he has since pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor offense. The judge assessed his punishment as the hours he had already spent in jail prior to the pleading.

“Rather than arrest the customer, the appropriate response would have been for the manager to ask him to leave the premises. That was within the manager’s rights” said Treece, the law school dean. “But the government should not make the call.”

Out of batteries
However, he said citizens often “want to get on with their lives and don’t fight it,” although the La Marque case is headed for trial on May 1.

In this case, 28-year-old Kathryn “Kristi” Fridge, went to a Wal-Mart on Aug. 4 to buy batteries before Tropical Storm Edouard arrived.

After finding the battery shelf empty, she told the Chronicle that she turned to her mother and remarked, “They’re all (expletive deleted) gone!”

Capt. Alfred Decker, a La Marque assistant fire marshal who also is a certified peace officer, overheard the conversation.

He came from around the corner to tell her, “You need to watch your mouth,” she said.

When she told him it was a private conversation and none of his business, she said he ordered her outside so that he could retrieve his citation book and ticket her for disorderly conduct.

La Marque Fire Chief Todd Zacheri said Fridge had created a scene by cursing the officer and everyone else present, causing a “huge group” to gather.

Former Officer Anthony Doyle Recieves 12 Year Sentence for Racketeering

CHICAGO

A former police officer accused of providing information on gangland investigations to a reputed mob boss and being a "sleeper agent" for organized crime was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in federal prison for racketeering.

"You picked the wrong people to try to help," U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel told Anthony Doyle, who was convicted in 2007 along with three mobsters and an alleged henchman in the landmark Operation Family Secrets trial.

Unlike three of his co-defendants, though, the 64-year-old former officer was not held responsible for any of 18 murders outlined in the indictment. But prosecutors said that even before he joined the force, Doyle collected debts for Frank Calabrese Sr., a convicted loan shark and one of the five men prosecuted in the city's biggest organized crime trial in decades.

The case had focused on an alleged conspiracy spanning decades that included gambling, loan sharking, extortion and a series of gangland murders as the mob brought down real or suspected witnesses.

During the trial, prosecutors showed tapes of Doyle briefing the imprisoned Calabrese on the progress of a homicide investigation. Calabrese was also heard in a recording saying that Doyle would remove evidence in the murder probe.

Doyle testified at the trial that what Calabrese said in their prison conversation struck him as "gibberish" but he pretended to understand and go along because "I don't want to be a chumbalone, an idiot."

Defense attorney Ralph E. Meczyk, in pleading for leniency, said his client "wasn't a chumbalone, but he was a chum." He said Doyle had foolishly befriended Calabrese but now realizes he blundered in helping a man who was "the epitome of evil."

Meczyk also pointed to times as a policeman that Doyle had disarmed dangerous criminals, arrested a cop killer and led six people out of a burning building.

"He was a truly heroic and stellar and exemplary police officer — he took guns off the street," Meczyk told the judge.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Markus Funk told Zagel that such claims were "actually quite difficult to take seriously."

"This man is a disgrace, and to come here and say he was a stellar police officer, a man of good deeds, is an outrage," Funk said.

Only one Family Secrets defendant, Nicholas Calabrese, remains to be sentenced on March 26. Zagel has already sentenced Frank Calabrese to life and reputed mobster Paul Schiro to 20 years. Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo was sentenced to life for serving as the mob leader and for the murder of a government witness in a union pension fraud case.

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More Information:

http://www.suntimes.com/news/mob/1473629,w-family-secrets-mob-case-ex-cop-031209.article

Justice Department Launches Investigation into Officer Involved Shootings

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the Inglewood Police Department in the wake of several officer-involved shootings of unarmed suspects and other incidents in which the agency has been accused of using excessive force.

A Justice Department spokeswoman described the investigation as a "pattern or practice" inquiry into the Police Department that is being handled by the federal agency's civil rights division in Washington.

The probe marks the second ongoing investigation into the department, which was the focus of community protests last year when officers shot and killed four people -- three of them unarmed -- in the span of four months. The L.A. County Office of Independent Review, which monitors the Sheriff's Department, began probing the Police Department's tactics last year at the request of the city.

The announcement also comes less than three months after a Times investigation found that Inglewood police officers repeatedly resorted to physical or deadly force in the last several years against suspects who were unarmed or accused of minor offenses.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), who was among several politicians who called for an outside investigation into possible police misconduct, said she was gratified by the Justice Department's decision.

"I have been extremely concerned about the alarming number of police-involved shootings in Inglewood," she said in a statement Thursday.

City officials said federal investigators plan to examine past procedures and tactics involving force used by Inglewood officers.

"We will cooperate completely in all aspects of this investigation," Inglewood Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said in a statement. "We have been at work for months in implementing reforms aimed at improving how our officers go about their jobs."

The Justice Department alerted the city by letter Wednesday afternoon that the agency was beginning a review of the department, Lt. Mike McBride said.

The purpose of such reviews is to ensure proper management and oversight at police departments and, if needed, to bring federal lawsuits to pressure local authorities into reforming their operations.

The L.A. County district attorney's office is also reviewing each of the shootings for possible criminal charges against the officers -- as it does for all police shootings in the county that result in injuries or death.

Since 2003, Inglewood police have shot and killed 11 people, five of them unarmed, according to law enforcement records reviewed by The Times. Among them was Jule Dexter.

Dexter was shot in the back and the head in June 2005 after being detained for drinking in public. The officer who fired the shots said Dexter was slow to obey an order to remove his hands from his pockets and appeared to fumble with what the officer feared was a weapon.

But witnesses said Dexter, 27, was shot as he reached to pull up his slipping pants. The city paid $725,000 to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by Dexter's family. The officer was suspended for 16 days.

That shooting, along with others, prompted some officers to complain about the department's policy on when to shoot and about a lack of training.

In addition, the department has been criticized over its use of electric stun guns. The Times found that two Inglewood officers were involved in shooting unarmed suspects with Tasers four times in five weeks.

Waters called on the Justice Department to intervene after the Aug. 31 killing of Eddie Felix Franco, a 56-year-old homeless man who had a realistic-looking toy gun in his waistband. Authorities said officers fired at least 47 rounds at Franco when he appeared to reach for the gun. A nearby motorist was struck and grazed in the head by one of the bullets.

Franco was the fourth person killed in as many months. The others were:

* Michael Byoune, 19, who was killed on Mother's Day, May 11, after he went to a hamburger stand with friends. Police officials said officers believed they had come under fire when they killed Byoune and wounded his two friends. None of the men were armed.

* Ruben Walton Ortega, 23, an alleged gang member who was shot and killed July 1 by an officer who said Ortega reached into his waistband as he ran from police. He was unarmed. Last week, prosecutors concluded that the officer "honestly believed he was in imminent danger" when he opened fire.

* Kevin Wicks, 38, a postal worker who was killed inside his home July 21 when police said he raised a gun at Officer Brian Ragan, who was responding to a report of a family disturbance in Wicks' apartment complex. Ragan was also one of two officers involved in Byoune's shooting and remains on paid leave, McBride said.

Inglewood Councilman Daniel Tabor said he believed the Justice Department would find that the city had taken swift measures to reform police training after last year's shootings.

About 70% of the agency's 191 officers have been enrolled in a 120-hour training program to improve tactics, according to the department.

Adrianne Sears, chairwoman of the Inglewood Citizen Police Oversight Commission, said she hoped that the Justice Department's investigation would "help to restore the public's trust in our department."

Officer Scott Campbell Pleads Guilty to Filing False Income Tax Return

A Chicago police officer charged in a towing scandal pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to a misdemeanor charge of filing a false income tax return.

Grand Central District Officer Scott Campbell was accused of scheming to have his 1996 Volkswagen Passat towed so he could pretend it had been stolen. Campbell allegedly filed a false insurance claim and was paid about $4,000.

He pleaded guilty to failing to report the $4,000 payout on his 2007 federal income tax return. He faces up to 6 months in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 26.

Campbell has been relieved of his police powers and assigned to desk duty, said Chicago Police Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti.


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Officer John Passman Accused of Battery & Interference

BATON ROUGE, La.

An off-duty Baton Rouge Police officer was issued a misdemeanor summons after a fellow officer accused him of battery and interference.

Sgt. Charles Polozola responded to a call from a bar manager that 28-year-old Officer John Passman, who was off duty and in plain clothes, and two other men were drunk and causing problems early Thursday.

The men agreed to leave, but minutes later Polozola saw one of them entering another bar and when Polozola tried to detain the man, Passman allegedly interfered by grabbing Polozola from behind and pulling him away.

Passman was arrested and issued a summons for battery on a police officer and interfering with a police officer. He has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.

Corrections Officer James Howard Accused of Sexually Assaulting Prisoners

MILWAUKEE

An officer at the Milwaukee County House of Corrections is accused of sexually assaulting two female prisoners in their cells.

The complaint filed yesterday charges 28-year-old James Howard with two counts of second-degree sexual assault of an inmate by a correctional officer and two counts of third-degree sexual assault.

Both of the women are being held in custody while awaiting trial in felony cases.

They told authorities the assaults happened last Saturday. In both cases, they alleged the officer first approached the cell and slid a suggestive note under the door, then returned a short time later and committed the assault.

A preliminary hearing for Howard is scheduled next Thursday.

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Information and Video:
http://www.wsaw.com/daybreak/headlines/41203672.html

Manhattan Man Accuses Police of Beating him Until his Bladder Burst

The Manhattan man who accused Ocean Beach police of beating him so badly his bladder burst didn't contest Friday under cross-examination defense claims that he had a dozen or more drinks that night and hurled profanity at police before he was injured.

The department's former acting chief, George Hesse, 39, of East Islip, has been charged with attacking Sam Gilberd, 36, on Aug. 28, 2005, after the marketing executive kicked a door on his way out of the police station.

Hesse's lawyer, William Keahon of Islandia, cross-examined Gilberd Friday in a Riverhead courtroom and asked him if he had any memory of becoming profanely belligerent with police after he was ticketed, including shouting epithets at an officer.

"I don't recall saying that," Gilberd said after Keahon repeated the quote in question. "I don't really use language like that."

If someone says you did under oath, are they lying? Keahon pressed.

"If there's somebody that says I used language like that, I must have said it," Gilberd replied quietly.

During several hours of cross-examination, Gilberd said there were many details of the evening he did not recall. Among them was the moment he tossed a glass on the ground outside a bar - the event that spurred a bouncer to take Gilberd to the village's police station to receive the littering summons.

After Gilberd pocketed the ticket, both sides say he kicked the police station's front door as he left.

Officers pulled him back inside, where prosecutors said Hesse punched Gilberd in the face, stomped his abdomen with a work boot and left him on the ground unconscious.

Prosecutors said another officer, Arnold Hardman, 53, of St. James, failed to seek medical attention for Gilberd and lied to first responders about the extent of his injuries. Hardman is charged with unlawful imprisonment, conspiracy and other charges. Hesse faces first-degree assault, gang assault and other charges.

Lawyers for both defendants say Gilberd's bladder ruptured because of a fall.

Keahon spent much of yesterday's cross-examination aggressively pursuing a running tally of drinks he said Gilberd consumed that evening, saying evidence indicated the witness must have had "a minimum of 12 to 18 drinks."

"I don't recall, sir," Gilberd replied.

"Are you in a position to deny it?" Keahon said.

Gilberd admitted he was not.

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http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-licop146068684mar14,0,2404217.story