Camera Wasn't Rolling when Officers Killed One Man & Wounded Another

It is not clear why the video and audio recording equipment in Senior Austin Police Officer Leonardo Quintana's patrol car was not activated when he attempted to arrest suspects in a parked car. It's also unclear why another camera in a backup unit also was not rolling.

An investigation will determine whether the cameras weren't working or simply weren't activated. What is clear is that officers are required to have their cameras rolling for all traffic and pedestrian stops, sobriety tests and pursuits.

Quintana's camera wasn't rolling, however, when the officer encountered Nathaniel Sanders II, 18, and two other young men in a parked car in an East Austin apartment complex. The occupants of the automobile were thought to be connected to an incident involving gunshots.

The encounter ended with Sanders dead and Sir Lawrence Smith wounded. It is a case that underscores the value of video cameras and recording equipment. Cameras can be a police officer's best friend. If the officer is following procedure and policy, the camera is there to record that. Likewise, the camera captures behavior of officers who abuse their badges. Because the cameras are incapable of bias, they are invaluable in boosting public trust in the police department.

At the moment, Chief Art Acevedo says the shooting appears lawful. Police say Quintana shot and killed Sanders, one of three black men in the parked Mercedes Benz, after Sanders went for a gun. A gun was found inside the automobile. As the chief pointed out, an officer is trained to meet lethal force with lethal force. He also noted that the investigation is not complete.

In the coming weeks, Acevedo must answer why the video and audio recorders were not engaged in Quintana's patrol car and in the vehicle of a backup officer. Those devices automatically record whenever a patrol car's emergency lights or sirens are activated. And if they were broken, that is not an excuse because officers are required to test their recorders prior to going out on shifts. With few exceptions, police policy prohibits officers from taking patrol cars with faulty, broken or malfunctioning equipment.

Acevedo must get tough on officers who fail to follow camera procedures. This city has seen too many incidents in which the simple act of turning on a camera could have prevented turmoil, distrust and division.

Tensions between police and the minority community were further inflamed when it was discovered that an officer failed to capture the 2005 shooting death of Daniel Rocha on his video camera, which was not activated. But police video in the 2006 case involving Michael Clark, who died after being stunned several times with a Taser, helped dispel claims of police brutality against a black suspect.

Acevedo wants to upgrade to digital recorders that would automatically turn on and run all the time. The police union supports that initiative, but the city does not have the $8 million to buy digital cameras. As it stands, the minimum penalty for failure to activate video recorders is a written reprimand, with the maximum being a three-day suspension. Acevedo said that most officers follow the rules. But he acknowledged there are some who don't. And those few are creating problems for the many.

That is why penalties should be enhanced. It's a matter of credibility and good policing.
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http://www.njlawman.com/the-column/003-mvr.htm

Officer Paul Hubka Charged with Killing His Canine Partner

SAN DIEGO

A San Diego police officer who was charged yesterday in the death of his canine partner is unlikely to lose his job but could face disciplinary action pending an internal investigation, San Diego police Chief William Lansdowne said.

The Police Department launched the investigation yesterday after the District Attorney's Office decided to charge Officer Paul Hubka with one misdemeanor count of animal endangerment. If convicted, he could face up to six months in jail, a fine and be ordered to pay restitution.

A necropsy performed on Forrest, a 5 year-old Belgian Malinois, found that the animal died of heatstroke on June 20 at the officer's home in Alpine.

Hubka, a 22-year veteran of the department, is accused of leaving the dog in the police cruiser with the windows rolled up on a day when temperatures in East County exceeded 100 degrees.

“There's no one who feels worse than he does,” Lansdowne said yesterday. “It's very clear that he lost a partner he was attached to, and he knows it was his fault, and he takes absolute responsibility.”

Michael Conger, an attorney who represented Hubka in an unrelated labor lawsuit but not in this case, said the officer had worked a double shift and was exhausted when he got home.

“He's a very solid, good person that made a very bad mistake,” Conger said.

The chief said he will decide on any discipline to administer in the case when the internal investigation is completed in two to three weeks. Hubka is assigned to administrative duties in the meantime.

“I do not see this as a termination case,” Lansdowne said. “I believe it was a mistake.”

In an effort to prevent similar tragedies in the future, the department announced yesterday that it plans to buy heat-alert systems for its fleet of 53 police dog cars similar to those used in other hot-temperature cities such as Dallas, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

When the back seat of the patrol car reaches a certain temperature, the system will automatically lower the car's windows, switch on the air conditioning and sound an alarm. The technology will cost about $36,000 total.

In 2006, a state law was enacted making it a misdemeanor for a person to leave a dog unattended in a vehicle causing great bodily injury or death. Only intentional animal cruelty is a felony.

Hubka's attorney could not be reached yesterday afternoon.

Carlsbad resident Janis Musante was one of several in the county who expressed outrage at Forrest's death.

“I think he needs to be held accountable and shouldn't be given any preferential treatment because he's a police officer,” said Musante, a retired San Francisco lawyer who is married to a retired police officer. “It was absolutely justified charging him.”

She also applauded City Attorney Michael Aguirre for filing a lawsuit against Hubka seeking to recover the cost of replacing the police dog.

Hubka is the third law enforcement officer in the county to be charged with a crime in the past three weeks.

San Diego police Officer Frank White faces two charges for his role in an off-duty shooting and road rage incident in Oceanside, and San Diego County sheriff's Detective Thomas Sadler faces five felony charges stemming from accusations that he molested a prostitute while on duty.

Sadler and Hubka are set to be arraigned Aug. 28 before the same judge.

Also yesterday, an officer whose police dog died after being left in a patrol car for 13 hours last summer in suburban Phoenix was acquitted of animal cruelty.

Chandler, Ariz., police Sgt. Tom Lovejoy was negligent, but prosecutors did not prove he acted recklessly, a justice of the peace ruled. Lovejoy could have been jailed for six months if he had been convicted of the misdemeanor count.

Lovejoy testified that on the morning of Aug. 11, 2007, after working an overnight shift, he parked his police SUV in his driveway and went inside. He said he was exhausted and forgot the Belgian Malinois was sleeping in the back.

Jail Officers Investigated for Inmate's Death

UPPER MARLBORO, Md.

A black man arrested in the hit-and-run death of a police officer was found strangled in his cell, and investigators focused Tuesday on guards at the suburban Maryland jail, which has a history of security lapses.

As state police took over the investigation, an attorney for inmate Ronnie L. White's family said the young man's attackers "took it upon themselves to be both the judge, the jury and the executioner."

White's death shocked and angered officials in Prince George's County, including County Executive Jack Johnson, who likened it to "vigilante justice."

Investigators from the FBI and state police joined the case Monday after the state medical examiner concluded that White had been strangled Sunday morning.

White, 19, was arrested early Saturday on charges of ramming a stolen pickup truck into police Cpl. Richard Findley. Findley had gotten out of his police cruiser Friday while trying to conduct a traffic stop on the truck. White allegedly struck him and dragged him for a short distance in the community of Laurel.

Johnson immediately moved to curb speculation that White's death was the result of police officers seeking revenge, saying the slaying was "unrelated to any act" by police.

Attorney Bobby G. Henry Jr., who represented White's family, urged the U.S. Department of Justice to join the investigation.

"Something is dreadfully wrong with our system," he said.

County State's Attorney Glenn Ivey said his office would convene a grand jury to review evidence in the case. He said investigators were scrutinizing seven correctional officers who had access to White, who was being held separately from other inmates. Ivey also said other workers at the county jail and inmates would be questioned.

"We'll follow the evidence wherever it leads," he said.

Rich Wolf, an FBI spokesman in Baltimore, confirmed that the agency had opened a civil rights case, but he would not comment on the investigation. Calls to state police were not immediately returned.

White's death is the latest in a series of security lapses at the jail, which is 20 miles outside Washington in one of Maryland's largest counties. Last month, the county's corrections director was fired after guns vanished from the armory. In February, a former police official convicted of second-degree murder was found with a handcuffs key.

A corrections officer suspected of being a gang member was charged in March with bringing cell phones to inmates who were members of the Bloods street gang. And earlier this year, two female officers were suspended for allegedly having sexual contact with inmates.

More than 450 guards work at the 20-year-old facility, which had an average daily population of 1,489 prisoners during the 2007 fiscal year. White was being held in a cell by himself, to protect him from other prisoners, because of the high profile of his alleged crime.

"This shouldn't happen," Johnson said Monday night. "Every citizen we bring into our custody should be protected."

Curtis Knowles, head of the county's correctional officers union, said Tuesday that union lawyers advised him not to comment on the case because of the investigation. On Monday, he urged people not to reach any conclusions before the investigation had run its course.

Corrections officials have said White had no visible signs of trauma on his body when guards bringing him a meal found him slumped on the floor next to his bed about 10:30 a.m. Sunday. He had been checked 15 minutes earlier and appeared to be well. A preliminary autopsy by the state medical examiner in Baltimore ruled the death a homicide and found two broken bones in his neck.

None of the seven guards or an unspecified number of supervisors who could have had contact with White have been suspended or placed on leave during the investigation, according to Vicki Duncan, spokeswoman for the corrections division.

White had a prior criminal record that included serving time for drug charges.

Members of his family did not attend a news conference Tuesday held by their attorney, and they could not be immediately reached.

Findley, 39, was a 10-year veteran of the county police force. A funeral was scheduled for Thursday, and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff until then.