Officer Christopher Mattila Arrested for Hit and Run

An Alton police officer was arrested early Monday morning on suspicion that he was involved in two hit-and-run accidents just outside of the city, Madison County Sheriff's Department officials said Monday.

Officer Christopher Mattila, 39, of the 3500 block of Hoover Drive in Alton, was charged with one count each of driving under the influence and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage. He was released late Monday morning from the Madison County Jail after posting $300 bail.

Madison County Sheriff's Department Capt. Mike Dixon said calls began coming in around 8:30 p.m. Sunday about an accident involving a Hummer and a dark colored sport utility vehicle at Godfrey Road and Tolle Lane where the driver of the dark SUV had fled the scene.

While at that scene, calls started coming in about another hit-and-run accident at North Humbert Road and Richland Woods Drive where the driver of a dark colored SUV had fled the scene after hitting a Pontiac Grand Am. No one was hurt in either accident, Dixon said.

Authorities later found a green Ford Explorer with extensive front-end damage abandoned on Seminary Road, about a mile from the second accident. The SUV was registered to Mattila.

Mattila was taken into custody at his home just before 1 a.m. Monday morning. Deputies had been at the home since 10 p.m., Dixon said, but Mattila didn't respond to knocks at the door.

Officer Eddie Smith Jr Waives Right to Hearing for Attempted Bank Robbery

A Fort Washington police officer who allegedly tried to burglarize a Temple Hills bank June 10 waived his right Thursday to a preliminary hearing in his upcoming trial.

After being arrested by his coworkers in police District 4, Eddie Smith Jr., 41, was suspended without pay.

His attorney, John McKenna of Upper Marlboro, did not immediately return calls for comment.

Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for the Prince George's County's state's attorney's office, said the office and the defense are working together to come up with a possible plea bargain.

Smith's next court date had not yet been determined, he said.

A 16-year veteran of the force, Smith was not on duty at the time of the incident but was carrying his department-issued handgun and was wearing his uniform.

Smith remained outside the SunTrust Bank at 4625 Old Branch Ave. during the attempted burglary while codefendant Earl Blake Sr., 52, of Capitol Heights tried to break into the bank's vault, police said.

The two men were found with burglars' tools, such as crowbars, an electrical cord, a cut-off saw and saw blades after fleeing from the scene.

Police picked up Blake on a nearby road and later picked up Smith after identifying him as a suspect.

Smith was charged with burglary, malicious destruction of property, for the damage to the vault, and with using a handgun in the commission of a felony. He was also charged with possessing and permitting the use of burglars' tools with intent to use in the commission of a burglary.

The criminal investigation has been turned over to the FBI. Richard Wolf, a spokesman for the bureau's Baltimore field office, said Friday the investigation is ongoing. After the criminal investigation and prosecution are completed, county police will begin an internal investigation.

Smith's next court date had not been determined, Korionoff said Thursday.

Blake was charged with burglary, malicious destruction of property and possessing burglars' tools with intent to use in the commission of a burglary.

Blake is being represented by public defenders Dent Lynch and Anne Gold-Rand.
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Officer Jeffrey Robinson Admitts to Slashing Homeless Man's Bike Tires

A police officer for Tarpon Springs has resigned after admitting to slashing a homeless man's bicycle tires.

The police officer said today it was retaliation.

Surveillance video from back in February shows officer Jeffrey Robinson taking the bike out of a storage unit.

His superiors said today that he took a knife, cut the tires on the bicycle, and put it back into storage.

The bike belonged to a homeless man named John Bilawsky, who Robinson arrested eight days earlier.

"According to officer Robinson, while he was transporting Mr. Bilawsky, Mr Bilawsky made several racial slurs against the officer and the officer stated he was damaging the bicycle in retaliation for those racial slurs," said Lt. Barb Templeton, with the Tarpon Springs Police Department.

The Tarpon Springs police say they were investigating Robinson, but he resigned before the investigation was complete.

This was the first time the officer ever faced disciplinary action.
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http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story/Tarpon-police-officer-accused-of-slashing-mans/E2owj29IkUaEPFmbecNYRg.cspx

Officer Ronald Debello Accused of Puncturing Tires

Shreveport Police Chief Henry Whitehorn has fired an officer accused of puncturing a tire on a vehicle parked May 2 in the 9000 block of Youree Drive in Shreveport.

Ronald Debello, 34, was dismissed late last week, police Cpl. Bill Goodin said.

Debello, a three-year member of the Police Department, had been on paid administrative leave since May 28, when he was issued a summons to appear in court on a charge of simple criminal property damage — a misdemeanor — and put on paid administrative leave, according to a police news release today.

A citizen reported seeing a uniformed officer get out of a marked patrol unit and puncture a vehicle tire.
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Officer Ronald Debello Arrested for Puncturing Tires

A Shreveport police officer faces a charge of simple criminal property damage as a result of a citizen report of seeing a uniformed officer get out of a marked patrol unit and puncture a vehicle tire.

Ronald Debello, 34, a three-year member of the Police Department, was issued a misdemeanor summons Thursday to appear in court and was put on paid administrative leave by Shreveport Police Chief Henry Whitehorn, according to a Police Department news release

The tire slashing May 2 involved a vehicle parked in the 9000 block of Youree Drive in Shreveport, according to the news release.
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http://www.wxvt.com/Global/story.asp?S=10443519&nav=menu1344_2

Deputy Joel Arnold Arrested for Domestic Violence

A Wicomico County Sheriff's Office Deputy arrested after allegedly choking and threatening to kill his girlfriend, then damaging the cruiser of a police officer who responded to the woman's call for help, has been suspended from his job with pay, county Sheriff Mike Lewis said Monday.

Joel Arnold also was hospitalized for treatment of an unknown injury, although a Salisbury Police Department report on a domestic dispute early Sunday said Arnold accidentally fell down a flight of steps during an altercation at the couple's residence on Canvasback Court.

The 32-year-old Arnold also cracked or bent a visor on the passenger side of a police cruiser that had arrived at the scene about 6 a.m., according to the SPD report.

The Salisbury Police Department is investigating the criminal case that charges Arnold with second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, false imprisonment and malicious destruction of property at or over $500, according to the SPD.

The county Sheriff's Office also is conducting an internal probe of the alleged incident, Lewis said.

"We are working cooperatively with the Salisbury Police Department in the criminal investigation," the Sheriff said late Monday, "and we are conducting a concurrent internal investigation, as it is also a personnel matter."

A telephone conversation between Arnold and his estranged wife triggered an argument between him and his girlfriend, Joy Powell, with whom the suspect shared the Canvasback Court residence, according to the SPD. The argument preceded the alleged assault and verbal threat on Powell, reports said.

According to police accounts, Powell awakened at about 4 a.m. Sunday to overhear Arnold on the phone "yelling and arguing" with a person he told his girlfriend was his wife. Moments later, Powell and Arnold began arguing, and when he "became extremely angry," she reached for a cell phone to call police, the victim told authorities.

"As she was dialing the number, Arnold grabbed her by the neck with two hands and began choking her while pressing her up against the wall," according to a summary of a statement Powell gave police.

The victim said that Arnold then pressed something against her throat, "cutting off the airway and yelling, 'I'm going to kill you,' " according to a police report.

The victim told police that she escaped, but was unsuccessful in an attempt to flee through the front door, saying Arnold "ran past her and prevented her from leaving ... by shutting the door and locking it, utilizing the deadbolt."

Arnold then grabbed Powell by the right wrist and left arm, pinning her against a wall, and police investigators said in a report that she had bruising in those areas of her body.

Powell told police that during a moment Arnold was distracted, she fled again to the front door, and he "tripped and fell down the entire flight of stairs and landed at the bottom."

A neighbor called authorities, she told police.

Powell refused medical attention or assistance by a crisis agency, according to police.

Arnold, meanwhile, sitting inside a police cruiser, "began damaging the interior of the marked Salisbury Police vehicle," according to a report.

The suspect then was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center, police said.

It was unclear whether the charge of malicious destruction of property also included items allegedly broken inside the residence during the confrontation between Arnold and Powell. Police said it was determined that those items belonged to the suspect.
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http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20090407/NEWS01/904070326

Deputy Justin Sumner Charged with Shooting out Lights

A Craig County, Oklahoma deputy is charged with felony destruction of property.

Justin Sumner is charged in neighboring Delaware County with two counts of maliciously defacing property of another.

Sumner is accused of shooting and damaging lights on the Arrowhead Yacht Club sign and shooting and damaging a power transformer.

The incident happened in late January and according to court documents, a security guard witnessed someone shooting the lights out.

That security guard told police he followed the suspect vehicle from the Yacht Club into Craig County.

Along the way, the witness told investigators he saw another Craig County deputy, and confirmed it was Sumner’s vehicle.

Sumner has plead not guilty to the charges and will be back in court in April.