Officer Travis Ludwig Arrest on Drug Charges

A Tulsa police officer is free on bond after his arrest on drug complaints Tuesday night.

Police arrested 37-year-old Travis K. Ludwig at his home Tuesday evening. According to the arrest and booking report, police obtained several search reports and that those search warrants turned up three bags of a tannish-white substance, drug scales and money.

The report says the substance field-tested positive for cocaine.

Today, we spoke with Ludwig's attorney, Scott Wood, who says his client is innocent.

"Travis Ludwig is not a drug dealer," Wood said. "He abhors drug dealers and is not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing in this matter."

Police say they learned of the alleged drug dealing during an internal administrative investigation into Ludwig. We're told he has now been suspended until the investigation is complete.

He posted $10,000 bond and was released at 2:47 a.m. Wednesday.

In January 2006, Ludwig was disciplined by the Police Department for his relationship with a married exotic dancer.

He reportedly told the woman not to cooperate with an Internal Affairs investigation into the matter, according to documents that are part of a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the woman's husband.

In tape-recorded conversations and depositions, Ludwig urged the woman, Crystal Garr, not to talk to Tulsa Police Department Internal Affairs officers investigating him.

In 2005 Ludwig conducted a search of Garr's husband's house that resulted in drug charges against the man, Shannon Coyle.

Those charges have since been dropped.

Records show that Ludwig and Crystal Garr married in June 2009.

Three Officers Investigated for Tasering Death of Richard Battistata

Three Laredo police officers are on administrative duty pending investigation of the death of a man they shocked with a Taser gun.

Police spokesman Alberto Escobedo says the three officers answered a pre-dawn criminal mischief report Monday and confronted 44-year-old Richard Battistata. That's after the man allegedly had broken a bedroom window and entered an apartment.

Escobedo says that during the confrontation Battistata turned combative and one officer used the Taser to subdue him.

Instead, Battistata became unresponsive and police called an ambulance. He died soon after arriving at Doctors Hospital.
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More Information: http://www.pro8news.com/news/local/60417377.html

Sheriff Joe Arpaio At It Again

Sheriff Joe Arpaio's arrest of Supervisor Don Stapley is outrageous (Stapley arrested by deputies, Tuesday)!

Although the sheriff has the legal power to arrest people who have committed a crime, to do so for 100 alleged financial crimes without involving a county attorney and therefore without an indictment, especially when public safety is not threatened and the suspect is not a flight risk, is a misuse of that power.

Obviously, humiliating a perceived political foe is more important to Sheriff Joe than following the customary procedure of turning over the results of his office's investigation to the prosecutor.

Thankfully, our megalomaniac sheriff is not also the judge and jury.

Corrections Officer Daniel Vili Arrested for Sexual Assault on Minor

A Colorado corrections officer is suspected of supplying two teenage girls with alcohol, fondling them and then threatening a third girl.

Daniel Vili, 28, who has worked for the Colorado Department of Corrections since 2004 and was most recently a guard at the Camp George West correctional center in Golden, was arrested Friday in Loveland on suspicion of sexual assault on a child, unlawful sexual contact and contributing to the delinquency of minors, according to the Loveland Police Department.

Three teenage girls — ages 14, 15 and 16 — were "hanging out" on a lawn outside Vili's Loveland apartment Friday when he invited them inside, according to police. Vili gave alcohol to the two younger teens, and the 16-year-old declined it, police said.

Vili, who had been drinking, fondled both of the younger girls, the department said.

The 16-year-old urged her friends to leave and returned to the apartment to "confront" Vili, police said, when he "threatened to cut the throat" of the older girl.

Officer Sallica Wilson Fired After Taking Money from Department

Bishopville Police Chief John Ewing says one of his officers has been fired after being accused of taking money from his department.

Sallica Wilson has been arrested and charged with misconduct in office.

Ewing says that between September 11 and September 21, his department noticed that about $100 in cash was missing from the records money.

Officers says audio and videotapes helped them in their investigation.

"I want the citizens of the City of Bishopville to know that I hold our officers to a higher standard then everyone else," Ewing said in a written statement. "If we do wrong, then we should be held accountable just like everyone else. Just because we wear a badge does not mean we should be treated differently as it pertains to the law."

Wilson was an eight-year veteran of the force. She held the rank of sergeant.
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http://www.theitem.com/article/20090922/ITNEWS01/709229857/-1/ITNEWS

Officer Kyle Zumbrunn Arrested on Drug Charges

An officer with the Weston Police Department has been arrested on a pair of drug-related charges, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Kyle A. Zumbrunn, 26, was arrested on Tuesday by the KBI for sale of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school and using a telephonic device to facilitate a drug transaction. The KBI was acting on a request from the Atchison Police Department.

Zumbrunn was arrested after he sold a suspected controlled substance to an undercover KBI agent, officials said. He was slated to make his first appearance in court on Wednesday.

Officer Janet Hawkins Charged with Resisting Arrest

A Daytona Beach police officer was arrested in Holly Hill Tuesday night after authorities said she became violent during a traffic stop and two injured officers.

Janet Hawkins was placed on administrative leave following the incident and faces three charges: careless driving, resisting arrest with violence and resisting arrest without violence.

Investigators said Hawkins was stopped for speeding while apparently heading to the Holly Hill Police Department after learning her 25-year-old son had been arrested during a conflict at an apartment complex.

A police report indicated Hawkins was off-duty and driving her personal car at the time of the traffic stop. The report said she was angered after identifying herself as a police officer, called the Holly Hill officers rednecks and corrupt and said she would sue them for "messing with her family."

Holly Hill police said they tried to calm the situation, but that Hawkins only became more hostile and volatile when they tried to arrest her.

"As they attempt to take her into custody, she then enters her vehicle through the open window. They fear that she is trying to access a weapon. At that point, they went hands-on with her and attempted to place her in hand restraints. That's when she responded with law enforcement defensive tactics against my officers, ultimately injuring one of them," Holly Hill Police Chief Mark Barker said.

One officer involved in the incident suffered a sprained wrist and the other twisted a knee.

Authorities said Hawkins had a gun in her purse but it did not become a factor in the arrest.

The mayor of Holly Hill witnessed part of the confrontation.

"Agitated, belligerent, it was obvious she had some issues with being stopped," Roland Via said.

Hawkins was released from jail on bond on Wednesday and faces an internal affairs investigation. She most recently served in the Daytona Beach Police Department's cold case squad.

Hawkins' younger son said he doesn't buy the story.

"Her being an officer for more than 10 years, I think she would know what resisting arrest is and know not to do that," he said.

A check of her personnel records indicated there was an incident several years ago in which she slapped a fellow officer, but Daytona Beach Police Chief Michael Chitwood said she had done a great job recently, and he said he was very disappointed.
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http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpp/news/volusia_news/092309_detective_arrested

Officer Jeffrey Gibson Arrested After Inappropriately Touching Minor

A former law enforcement officer is out on bond after his arrest on charges of criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Jeffrey Gibson, 41, of 1307 Tyler Road, Dillon, was arrested Tuesday after a 12-year-old told authorities he touched her inappropriately while the two were “playfighting,” according to a Dillon Police Department incident report.

The victim told police Gibson “threw her on the couch and inappropriately touched her in one of her private areas,” according to the report. The victim said Gibson had touched her inappropriately several times in the past two months or so.

The victim was placed in the custody of the S.C. Department of Social Services, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Gibson served as an officer with the Dillon Police Department about 10 years ago and worked in law enforcement in Marion County, as well.
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http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=354064