Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Polk County Officers Stop to Play Wii During Drug Raid

You know how every holiday season the stores all sell out of Nintendo Wiis? Well, that's because they're so awesome -- just ask the cops in Polk County, Fla.

In the midst of a drug raid on a house that apparently took nine full hours and cost $4,000, cops apparently were distracted by Wii bowling. Reports say they started the game up within 20 minutes of entering the house and spent hours playing it.

The incident is being investigated after it was caught on the drug dealer's security camera, though it should be noted that some cops were looking for drugs at the same time. (Also, in fairness, Wii bowling is super-fun.)

For video: check out this local news report

Sgt. Mark Gajeski Shoots Wife then Himself

Police in a Detroit suburb say an off-duty officer fatally shot his wife in the parking lot of a library and then shot himself.

Sgt. Mark Gajeski (Guy-ES'-ski) of the Canton Township Public Safety Department says they both were Detroit officers who live in Canton.

Police said the woman, 33-year-old Patricia Williams, was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital Tuesday. Gajeski says the man, 36-year-old Edward Williams II, died later after being taken off life support.

Gajeski says police had responded to a disturbance at the couple's home over the weekend. He says the woman was going to the Canton police station, which is near the library, when she was shot.

The Detroit Police Department had no immediate comment.

Former Sheriff & Undersheriff Sentenced for Stealing Money from Motorists

The former sheriff and undersheriff of McIntosh County have each been sentenced to more than two years in prison for illegally seizing money from motorists.

U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling said Tuesday that 36-year-old Terry Jones and 38-year-old Mykol Brookshire were each sentenced to 27 months for conspiracy under color of law to interfere with interstate commerce.

Prosecutors say the two seized cash from motorists and either underreported the amount or failed to report the seizure. The two are accused of then splitting the money.

Sperling says the two were arrested after seizing money from an undercover agent in May and underreporting the amount taken while keeping the remainder.

Both men resigned after being charged.

Two Officer Fired After Tasering 76-year-old Man During Parade

A small-town police department in Wyoming has fired two officers who chased down and used a Taser on a 76-year-old tractor driver during a parade in August.

The Glenrock Police Department issued a release today saying the decision was made "after careful consideration of all facts revealed through the investigation."

The town hired an outside consultant to review whether Sgt. Paul Brown and Officer Michael Kavenius broke department policies when they pursued and shocked Bud Grose.

Investigators have said Grose disobeyed an officer’s traffic command while he was driving an antique tractor during the Deer Creek Days parade. Prosecutors decided against filing any charges in the incident.

Wheelchair-Bound Man Tasered & Pushed Out of Wheelchair

A wheelchair-bound, legless man in Merced, California, says police officers tasered him twice, pushed him out of his wheelchair and left him handcuffed in broad daylight naked from the waist down before arresting him on charges that would never be pressed.

According to the Merced Sun-Star, the Merced Police Department is now investigating two officers who responded to a domestic disturbance call that resulted in 40-year-old Gregory Williams spending six days in jail without charges.

Several witnesses back up Williams' claims, the newspaper reports. The paper obtained a short, grainy video that appears to show Williams, naked from the waist down, sitting handcuffed outside his apartment complex.

The Sun-Star writes:

[A]lthough the two lead arresting officers are white, and Williams is black, it remains unknown whether race was a factor in the incident. Those two officers remain on duty.

Williams said the officers never used any racial epithets toward him. Although he does believe race and class played a role in his arrest, he also feels the police just wanted to be "downright nasty" to him. "They did what they did because they can get away with it," he said. "They've been doing it so long, it doesn't matter who they do it to. They just think they can get away with it."

The incident began when police responded to a call claiming an argument had broken out at Williams' home. One of the officers involved, John Pinnegar, claims Williams' wife said Williams had hit her, a charge Williams denies. Police say when they tried to take his two-year-old daughter from his lap to hand her over to Child Protective Services, Williams resisted. That's when the violence allegedly began.

In an emotional video interview, Williams said: "I'm not a violent person, I do not have a criminal background."

Added Williams: "How much resisting am I going to do with no legs, no feet? How much resisting am I going to do?"

"Williams said Pinnegar unholstered his Taser, jammed it into his rib cage and shocked him twice. Williams said he fell from his chair onto his stomach on the ground outside his doorway," the Sun-Star reports.

Williams also says an officer put his knee on Williams' neck after he was already on the ground, even though "I can't get up now -- I don't have any feet to get up with," Williams said.

He added: "And they tell me that I'm doing stupid stuff in front of my kids? These are cops and they come in my house -- what if they had accidentally tased my kid because of their [stupidity]?"

The Sun-Star reports that a "hostile" crowd gathered around the apartment building during the incident. The "apartment complex came to a roar because they were tasing a guy in a wheelchair and it was for no reason," said one witness interviewed on video.

Williams was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence and resisting arrest. He spent six days in lock-up before he was released, and the county prosecutor has laid no charges.

Williams has been a double amputee since 2004, when he was diagnosed with deep-vein thrombosis that led to gangrene in his legs.

The video can be found at The Merced Sun-Star.
Other Information:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/west/view/20090921did_california_police_use_a_taser_on_an_unarmed_legless_man_in_a_wheelchair/srvc=home&position=recent

Officer Gregory Moray Arrested for Punching Fan in Face

A Steubenville police officer was suspended without pay after police in Stark County said he got into a fight with rival fans during a high school football game.

Massillon police said the fight happened during a freshman game at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium over the weekend.

Police said Steubenville police Officer Gregory Moray was off duty in the stands when a verbal fight turned physical.

Moray, 42, faces a disorderly conduct charge and is accused of punching a Massillon Tigers fan in the face.

Sgt. John DiLoreto, Massillon police public information officer, said Moray and other Big Red fans were sitting on the side of the stadium for home team fans instead of in the visitors' section.

DiLoreto said, according to witnesses, Moray and other Big Red fans were getting rowdy and vulgar. He said Massillon fans told them to go on their own side of the stadium. At that point, Moray allegedly punched 63-year-old Thomas Cook in the face, DiLoreto said.

Cook also faces a disorderly conduct charge, as does 35-year-old Matthew Kell of Toronto.

All three men were arraigned before a Massillon municipal judge, pleaded not guilty and were released on their own recognizance.

DiLoreto said the investigation is ongoing and said other Massillon fans present during the altercation might also face charges.

Sgt. Salicca Wilson Arrested for Stealing Money from Department

A Bishopville police officer has been arrested according to Police Chief John Ewing.

Ewing says arresting one of his own is one of the toughest things he's had to do.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Ewing says he arrested officer Sgt. Salicca Wilson. Ewing says he caught the officer on tape stealing money from the department.

"We have to be held accountable for our actions," said Ewing. "Just because we wear a badge, it doesn't mean we can break the law. We need to treat our police officers like someone who was walking down the street who may commit the same crime."

Ewing says Sgt. Wilson has been released from the department.

Corporal Able Porras Arrested for Domestic Violence

A Pinal County Sheriff's corporal was arrested on charges of domestic violence, police said.

Able Porras, a certified peace officer for more than seven years, was booked Monday into the Pinal County Adult Detention Facility on suspicion of criminal damage, assault and prevention of the use of 911, according to a press release issued by Pinal County Police spokeswoman Lt. Tamatha Villar.

Authorities received a call Sunday night about a domestic disturbance at a San Tan Valley home.

Upon the arrival of police, the victim, who was not identified, told them Porras "had struck her in the face and head and would not allow her to use the home phone to call 911," according to the press release.

The press release also said that Porras was released without bail Monday and was ordered to appear in front of a judge at a later date.

"Deputies are not immune to family conflict, and there are increased pressures in all family relationships," Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said in the release. "However, violence is never the right answer."

Babeu added, "We take these allegations very seriously and have placed Corporal Porras on administrative leave until we can determine what actions we must take. Our deputies are charged with enforcing the law; they are clearly not above it."

The press release did not specify the relationship between Porras and the victim.
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Picture & More Information: http://www.inmaricopa.com/COMMUNITY/CommunityArticleDetails.aspx?mid1=434&&ArticleID=6698

Officer Leon Pullen Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Prostitute


An Uplands Park police officer sought out a woman in an online classified ad and then, in full uniform, sexually assaulted her in the police station, the FBI said in court documents released Monday.

FBI Agents arrested Leon F. Pullen, 31, at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday night on a charge of willful deprivation of civil rights under the color of law. He appeared in court Monday, where a federal prosecutor said he wanted him held in jail until trial.

In an affidavit filed in court, FBI Special Agent Greg LaCombe wrote that the woman had placed an online ad that featured her picture and advertised her services as a prostitute.

The affidavit goes on to say:

Pullen called the woman, said his name was “Jimmy,” and agreed to pay $400 for a sexual act. He also had her and another woman meet him in Uplands Park on July 15.

After the women arrived, Pullen drove by in his marked police car several times before pulling behind the women’s car.

He got out, and when the alleged victim asked why he was stopping her, Pullen pulled out the ad.

He then rubbed himself against her and told her that she had two choices: to give him all her money, or get naked, LaCombe wrote. Pullen apparently ignored the woman’s request for a lawyer.

Another officer was present, LaCombe wrote, but that officer is not named in the complaint.

Pullen then ordered her and the other woman back in the car and told them to follow him to the police station, where he took the victim to an office in the rear of the station, forced her to undress and then forcibly performed oral sex on her.

Pullen also said that he would have forcibly had intercourse with her if he had a condom, LaCombe wrote.

The woman, afraid that Pullen would call in the other officer to have sex with her, and tried to end the attack by offering to meet Pullen later. Pullen gave her his contact information, LaCombe wrote, and then she left, later calling the FBI.

The fate of the other woman was not mentioned in the affidavit.

Pullen appeared in court Monday morning, in a black and white Jennings jail outfit of scrub shirt and pants.

Before his initial hearing, he told a reporter that he was “dumbfounded” by his arrest.

During the hearing, Pullen told U.S. Magistrate Judge Frederick Buckles that he lives with his wife in Foley and that he could not afford a lawyer. Buckles said he would appoint one.

Pullen will be in court Tuesday for a hearing that could determine whether he stays in jail until his trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Drake said that prosecutors would be presenting the case to a grand jury this week, asking for an indictment.

Uplands Park is located in St. Louis County, south of Interstate 70 and north of the city of St. Louis, at 6390 Natural Bridge Road.

A reporter’s call to the village was referred to the police department, then the village attorney. That lawyer did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The FBI is asking anyone with information about the alleged attack, or other attacks, to call the FBI at 314-231-4324.
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More information: http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/1462902.html

Officer Anthony Hernandez Arrested for Assaulting His Ex-Wife


Bail was set at $100,000 for a Yakama Tribal Police officer accused of assaulting his estranged wife and the man she was with.

Twenty-six-year-old Anthony J. Hernandez appeared in Yakima County Superior Court Monday where a judge also ordered him to stay at least 1,000 feet away from his wife and the other man.

The Yakima Herald-Republic reports that police say Hernandez kicked in the bedroom door at his wife's house Friday and handcuffed and threatened to kill the man.

His wife was treated for a cut at Toppenish Community Hospital, and Hernandez was arrested in the emergency room.

Hernandez, who was brought to court from Yakima County Jail, is expected to face charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree domestic violence assault, unlawful imprisonment and felony harassment.
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Information from:
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/09/21/tribal-police-officer-held-on-100-000-bail