Sunday, July 19, 2009

Sgt. Brenda Stevenson Arrested for Using Excessive Force & Lying to FBI


A 45-year-old Highland Park Police Sergeant Brenda Stevenson finds herself on the wrong side of the law, indicted on federal charges for using excessive force and lying to FBI investigators.

The court documents against her indicate she struck and assaulted a victim identified as only V. B. and violated her constitutional rights.

According to the indictment, the woman suffered injuries in a November 2007 incident when Sgt. Stevenson punched her in the face.

The city of Highland Park's Web site still lists Sgt. Stevenson as one of the officers in charge on afternoons. We asked at the police department and mayor's office whether she's still on the job and our questions are not being answered.

"This officer just needs to go. She's in the wrong profession and she needs to be charged and she needs to be sentenced," said Ron Scott of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality. He applauds the victim for going forward with the case.

In addition to the assault charges, Stevenson is accused of making false statements to the FBI, telling investigators the victim struggled, kicked and fought with officers. The FBI says that never happened.

Stevenson faces up to 15 years in prison and a half a million dollar fine if convicted.

Officer Robert Sizemore Threatens Suicide After Reported Sexual Assault

A Chattahoochee Florida Police Officer was arrested after a reported sexual assault and later threatening suicide on Saturday.

Robert Sizemore, 50, was arrested late Saturday afternoon after Decatur County Sheriff's deployed their Strategic Response Team to the Jameson Inn on Tallahassee Highway.

Sheriff's Major Wendell Cofer stated that Robert Sizemore was in a hotel room and had threatened suicide. Being a Chattahoochee Policeman, his weapon's training created a tenuous situation for Sheriff's Deputies and the Sheriff's SRT were called in.

Major Cofer stated they were able to make contact with Sizemore by telephone and talk him out peaceably.

The situation began in the early hours Saturday morning when a sexual assault was reported. A family member reported to her mother that she had been assaulted by Robert Sizemore. Sizemore was reported to have checked into the Jameson Inn at approximately 3 am Saturday morning.

The Chattahoochee Police Chief also responded to the scene after a request by Sheriff's Deputies in case he was needed to talk with his officer.

The specific charges against Sizemore were being developed as of early Saturday evening.
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More Information: http://www.panhandleparade.com/index.php/mbb/article/chattahoochee_police_officer_arrested_in_georgia/mbb7717807/

Lawsuit Filed Against Duputies Who Tasered Boy Multiple Times

A state agency is actually suing the deputies, who work in Jefferson County. The Post-Dispatch quotes the lawsuit:

The suit says that without any physical provocation, Bowers used a Taser on one boy multiple times, including at least once on his neck. Bowers pushed another boy down on his bunk and threatened to sodomize him before shocking him multiple times and causing him to urinate and defecate, the suit says.

Lawler then handcuffed another boy before Bowers shocked him multiple times with the Taser. A 17-year-old girl who was pleading with the deputies to stop was then handcuffed by Lawler, choked and threatened by Bowers and then tossed into a closet, the suit says.
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http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/laworder/story/D8F2946CFAEB63A6862575F70007D1E5?OpenDocument