Officer Ryan Eric Galliher Arrested for Committing Lewd Act

An off-duty LAPD officer was arrested for committing a lewd act in Huntington Beach.

Authorities say officers were conducting surveillance on Bolsa Chica Street, south of Los Patos Avenue, because of reports of a man exposing himself to several women over the last several months.

"Some were jogging, some were walking, some walking to school," Huntington Beach police Lt. Mitch O'Brien said.

Detectives observed a suspect, identified as 33-year-old Ryan Eric Galliher of Huntington Beach, committing a lewd act along an open pathway the morning of Oct. 23.

"He was on foot, he was dressed in shorts and he went down to the jogging trails, somebody watched him, and then on a public path committed a lewd act, which I don't want to get into the specifics because again there are still interviews being conducted," O'Brien said.

Galliher was hired by the LAPD in November 2011 and was assigned to the Southwest Division at the time of his arrest. LAPD has been notified of the arrest and is cooperating.

"It is appropriate that I reserve judgment on this matter until all of the facts have been gathered and the investigations have been completed," said LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. "However, let me be very clear, I will not tolerate any behavior that reflects negatively upon this Department and tarnishes our relationship with our Communities near or far."

Galliher was released from custody and is on administrative leave. Police say he lives in the area where the crimes took place.

Investigators are working to determine if there are any additional victims. Police have not released Galliher's booking photo because they say they don't want to harm the investigation by showing his picture before other victims have identified him.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Huntington Beach Police Tip Line at (714) 375-5066.

Lt. Benito Gonzalez Jr Accused of Masturbating in Starbucks

A high-ranking officer of the Camden County Police Department is accused of committing a lewd act in a Cherry Hill coffee shop.

Lt. Benito Gonzalez Jr., who supervises the department's narcotics unit, has been removed from duty over allegations that he masturbated in public at a Route 70 Starbucks, a county spokesman said Monday.

The Deptford man was arrested Friday in connection with the May 7 incident, according to Cherry Hill police records.

"We are deeply troubled by the allegations of this off-duty conduct," said county spokesman Dan Keashen. "A swift and thorough investigation is being conducted."

According to the police report, Gonzalez allegedly pulled down his shorts and exposed himself at the coffee shop, "knowing or reasonably expecting that the act was likely to be observed by a non-consenting person who likely would be affronted or alarmed."

Gonzalez left the shop, but a Starbucks employee reported the incident to police immediately, said company spokeswoman Laurel Harper.

"Our top priority is to provide a safe environment for our customers and employees, and we take all reports of inappropriate activity in our stores very seriously," she said.

Gonzalez was charged with a disorderly persons lewdness offense, according to a Cherry Hill police spokeswoman, Lt. Amy Winters. "The investigation is still ongoing," she said.

Keashen offered a similar outlook.

"We are working to ascertain all of the facts in this matter with Cherry Hill Police Department and the Camden County Prosecutor's Office," Keashen said.

Police posted surveillance photos of a suspect after the incident at the department's Facebook page, but they were no longer online Monday.

The incident occurred at a Starbucks in the 1100 block of Route 70, at the Kinko's Plaza.

Gonzalez is a 17-year veteran and a former member of the city-run police department that was disbanded to make way for the county force.

Gonzalez was honored by the county police department in July 2013, after he and two other officers helped an elderly woman return home to Kentucky after she got lost and ended up in Camden. Gonzalez found the woman asleep in a car at 2nd and Clinton streets; with two detectives, he got the woman to a Brooklawn motel and contacted a relative.

The officers then accompanied the woman to a Philadelphia bus station to ensure her return home.

Probation Officer Jeffrey Collins Charged with Groping Woman

A northwestern Pennsylvania probation officer has been suspended without pay after state police charged him with groping and sending lewd text messages to a woman he was supervising.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for 37-year-old Warren County probation officer Jeffrey Collins, of Sheffield. The Associated Press could not locate a listed telephone number for Collins.

The (Warren) Times-Observer reports Collins has been charged with indecent assault, harassment by lewd communication and other crimes by state troopers in Warren.

Police say the woman reported the incidents happened between Feb. 10 and March 2.

The woman told police that Collins threatened to revoke her probation, which would put her in jail, unless she didn’t comply with his advances.

Collins wasn’t arrested. He’s been summoned to court April 2 to answer the charges.

Officer Rajat Sharda Arrested for Rape

A city police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave after being charged with rape and witness intimidation.

Police said the incident occurred at Bancroft Tower in August 2013 while Officer Rajat Sharda was "working as a police officer."

According to court records, Officer Sharda allegedly asked a woman what she would be willing to do to avoid arrest and "made her do something against her will in exchange for not being arrested."

The woman told department investigators the officer exposed himself to her and raped her digitally, according to court records. Reports also accuse the officer of taking the woman's bed comforter, which she had her in possession at the time, and threatening her to keep quiet.

The woman told police that Officer Sharda said she "better not talk about this and if she did, he would find her, her children and her family."

Worcester police received the complaint sometime after the alleged incident, which allegedly occurred at Bancroft Tower, on Bancroft Tower Road.

Officer Sharda, 32, of Worcester, was arrested Monday night in Hudson and arraigned Tuesday in Central District Court. He is charged with aggravated rape, extortion by a police officer, open and gross lewdness, armed robbery and witness intimidation. Police list the officer as living in Hudson, but court records list a Worcester address.

Officer Sharda was placed on restricted duty while the case was being investigated by the department's sexual assault unit. Worcester police did not specify when the complaint was filed.

"Worcester police launched an extensive investigation into the allegations made against Mr. Sharda," police said in a news release. "Based on the findings in the investigation, Worcester police obtained an arrest warrant for Mr. Sharda."

Not-guilty pleas were entered during Tuesday's arraignment. Officer Sharda posted $7,500 bail. He is due to return to court on March 25.

The officer, who is the only Indian officer on the department, was also ordered to turn in his passport.

Bruce Hopper, the officer's lawyer, said his client denies the allegations.

"For this officer, there is more to this than just defending himself in court against false allegations," Mr. Hopper said. "Now he must defend his honor as well."

Mr. Hopper said his client was recalled to the Worcester Department in December 2011 after being part of the 2009 graduating class, which was later laid off by the city.

Sgt Brian Thies Accused of Masturbating at Work

WOLCOTT

Late on a cold February night, a police sergeant working the third shift sought comfort in the cell detention area and lay down on a bed.

What Sgt. Brian Thies, 36, did next — with his police radio inadvertently keyed on — is the subject of a state police investigation.

A recording of the police radio at 11:23 p.m. on Feb. 18 reveals a series of moans, vulgar-sounding intonations and deep breaths lasting for about 40 seconds.

Thies contends that he was sick and went into the cell area to rest. He told a dispatcher he was saying things such as "come on heat" and groaning because he had a fever. Then he fell asleep.

Other interpretations suggest that Thies was masturbating.

The garbled audio recording seems to include language such as "that's what you want puppy" and "that's what you like."

"I had no doubt in my mind that these sounds I heard were those of someone getting themselves off," according to a complaint filed with the mayor by dispatcher Linda Lanosa. She goes on to say that she was mortified and "embarrassed for both me and him."

Mayor Thomas G. Dunn has forwarded the complaint to state police. He said it would be a conflict of interest for Wolcott police to conduct an internal affairs investigation because Thies is Capt. Domenic Angiolillo's son-in-law. Angiolillo is the third highest-ranking officer in the 33-member department.

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Arraignment Set for Officer Joseph Houston Charged with Assault & Battery

BREWSTER

The Associated Press reported that former Brewster Police Officer Joseph Houston,29, is charged with assault and battery and open and gross lewdness stemming from an incident at a Metallica concert Jan. 18.

Houston, who is no longer with the Brewster Police Department, was accused by parents of a concertgoer of allegedly urinating on the concertgoer and harassing his 17 year-old sister in a lewd manner. He was later arrested for trespassing by Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police.

Arraignment is scheduled for April 8.
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