When the news broke last month that Niagara Falls Police Officer Ryan Warme had been arrested, reactions across the community were mixed.
Some were surprised that a police officer — a man charged with protecting residents — would find himself on the other side of the law.
Other more jaded residents pointed to the arrest as just another example of someone on the force abusing their power.
For local law enforcement officials, the prevailing mood was one of disappointment.
“You’re let down,” Sheriff James Voutour said. “You take an oath of office, and you trust the people you’re working with respect that oath. When someone lets you down like that, it does give a black eye to law enforcement.”
Warme, 27, was arrested Dec. 2 by his fellow Falls police, along with federal agents. Warme was charged with raping and tormenting women and buying cocaine on duty.
Warme has now been suspended from the Falls police, and he remains in custody.
He will return to court Jan. 23.
Lockport Police Chief Larry Eggert said when a law enforcement official goes corrupt, officers throughout the area feel the effects.
“Generally, what the repercussions are, of course, are the eroding of the public trust,” he said. “I like to think we have a pretty clean department here, and I wouldn’t tolerate anything else, but the perception the public sometimes gets is that, ‘Well, gee, if he’s dirty, then everybody else is.’ ”
Court records accuse Warme of providing information about undercover Falls police to cocaine dealers. He allegedly gave a crack cocaine dealer a heads-up about police investigation.
That charge, in particular, was upsetting to Voutour.
“It was very difficult to swallow, because of the danger he put his fellow officers in,” Voutour said. “(Telling the criminals) who the undercover drug officers are, what cars they’re driving, that even goes beyond criminal.”
Repercussions
Far away from Niagara Falls, in the small village of Barker, the reverberations of incidents like the one in Niagara Falls are still felt.
“Anytime a police officer does an act like that, it does put a black mark on officers,” Barker Police Chief Ross Annable said. “I think everybody takes a hard look at police officers because of the job, and you get singled out a little more than the average job.”
According to a 2006 Harris Interactive poll, 76 percent of Americans trust police officers to tell the truth. The profession was ranked fourth in trustworthiness, behind doctors, teachers and scientists.
Even with such a high ranking, the Internet abounds with Web sites keeping track of police activities, with addresses such as www.PoliceCrimes.com and www.PoliceAbuse.com.
If a police officer is arrested or suspected of a crime, it can erode the community’s trust to the point where that officer is no longer effective, Annable said.
“If you work at some manufacturing company, and you get arrested for something, you go back to work on Monday,” Annable said. “At a law enforcement agency, you get arrested for something and Monday’s a whole new ballgame. It’s going to change your life.”
Background checks
The Lockport Police Department hired two new officers — Ryan Adams and Tricia Denny — on Wednesday.
Earlier in the week, four binders full of stacks of paper sat on a chair in Eggert’s office, each one containing background check information for all eight candidates for the two positions.
“Each candidate’s got a quarter-inch stack of paper,” Eggert said.
The background checks include interviews with people in all aspects of the candidate’s lives: Parents, spouses, former and current bosses, teachers, neighbors and others.
Interviewers go back as far as high school transcripts, looking at how many times the candidate was marked late or how many absences they had.
“People generally don’t change the way they are,” Eggert said. “If you go back far enough, you can kind of determine what kind of person they are.”
He said the department is also considering running psychological exams on potential officers before they are hired.
In the past year, City of Tonawanda Police Chief Cindy Young has instituted a separate, psychological evaluation for her department's potential officers. The evaluations are conducted by Dr. Jay Supnick of Law Enforcement Psychological Associates in Rochester.
At the sheriff’s department, Voutour said they also do extensive background checks, checking financial histories for any sign the candidate has problems with money.
“(If they do), they have more tendency to maybe be corrupt,” Voutour said. “It’s difficult to predict the future character of a person, and the only way you can predict the future is to look at the past.”
In smaller communities like Barker, the application process also includes a background check, but the applicants are usually locals who are already known by the agency, Annable said.
No matter how much preparation is done, things can change. Eggert said there’s always an “unknown quantity” that can make otherwise good people go bad.
“Sometimes things happen in people’s lives. Bankruptcy, bad marriage, a hundred different things that could trigger an unintended problem,” he said.
Taking complaints
So far, the background checks and intense interview process have proven successful, Eggert said.
Still, complaints from the public are a common instance, and Eggert said each complaint that comes into the LPD is treated equally.
“No matter who comes in, or for what reason, or what condition they’re in, we take the information from them,” he said. “They get attention. There’s no, ‘Come back and see the guy tomorrow,’ or ‘We don’t do those.’ If someone comes in to file a complaint, we are bound by the rules to do it.”
Depending on the complaint, there are different avenues it may take. Some complaints are simple — for instance, a driver complaining an officer was rude during a traffic stop — while others may be more complex or serious.
The complaints go up the chain of command. Depending on the seriousness, they may result in a verbal warning, or they could potentially result in an investigation by an outside agency.
People who are uncomfortable going to the LPD to complain about an officer can go to the Niagara County District Attorney’s Office. Some law enforcement agencies, including the New York State Police, have internal affairs units that deal specifically with complaints and allegations of misconduct within that department.
“There’s a lot of different options that people have,” Eggert sad. “The DA’s office, they have investigators, and they’ll entertain the complaint the same as we will.”
District Attorney Michael Violante could not be reached to comment on how his office handles complaints and allegations of police misconduct.
At the sheriff’s department, anyone with a complaint should call dispatch and ask to speak to a shift supervisor, Voutour said.
He said they entertain a variety of complaints.
“We’ll look at it and get both sides of the story,” he said. “Obviously, if it’s just, ‘The officer was short with me,’ that may be handled at the shift supervisor level. Anything (at a) criminal level will come to me quickly.”
In Barker, Annable said, anyone who has a complaint is welcome to file it in person and sign a statement — but most of the time, people who call just want to blow off some steam.
“I’ve found 90 percent of the people will call and complain, and you invite them to come down and they never show up,” he said. “We do take complaints seriously.”
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Bank Teller Who Helped Former Officer Christian Torres to Rob Bank Sentenced to Jail
A bank teller who helped a rookie cop pull off two downtown Manhattan bank heists that netted $118,000 was sentenced Friday to 2-1/2 years in jail.
Christina Dasrath burst into tears as she told Manhattan Federal Judge Laura Taylor Swain that ex-NYPD cop Christian Torres walked into a Sovereign bank branch in June 2007 and gave her a note threatening to "start shooting."
"I was duped by my first love," Dasrath said, as her parents, who had opposed her relationship with Torres, wept. "I am 21 years old....They need me at home."
Dasrath met Torres when they were classmates at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She's been working as an emergency medical technician since her arrest. "Every day I help people," she said. "I try my best to make it up in that manner."
Two former co-workers who were forced into a bank vault and tied up told Swain they're still traumatized.
Isabel Sanchez said Torres repeatedly threatened her, leaving her fearing for her life. She said Dasrath watched as she walked into the vault, her legs trembling uncontrollably. "Everything goes through your mind, everything," Sanchez said.
For five months - until after Torres pulled the second robbery in November 2007 - Dasrath never let on that she knew Torres. "She looked at us in the face like nothing happened," Sanchez said.
Swain said Dasrath should have gone to the authorities after the first robbery, but instead took some of the money. "She continued to cover up and deceive people she had put at risk over several months," Swain said.
Deputy Mark Martin Accused of Sexually Assaulting Woman
A former Poweshiek County deputy is in trouble with the law. Thirty-seven-year-old Mark Martin is accused of assaulting and trying to sexually assault a woman in Grinnell last fall.
Investigators say it happened October 3 at Midwest Ambulance Service in Grinnell. The woman said Martin confronted her and then tackled her after she refused his advances.
The sheriff would not comment on the case, except to say Martin resigned on December 31. He said Martin planned to pursue other career opportunities.
While officials declined to talk, some others in the community have plenty to say.
"If you can't trust your policeman or sheriff department, who can you trust? That's the sad part of it. Because you believe in these people," said Gary Gibson of Grinnell.
The Mahaska County attorney is handling the case. Martin is scheduled to be arraigned on January 23.
Investigators say it happened October 3 at Midwest Ambulance Service in Grinnell. The woman said Martin confronted her and then tackled her after she refused his advances.
The sheriff would not comment on the case, except to say Martin resigned on December 31. He said Martin planned to pursue other career opportunities.
While officials declined to talk, some others in the community have plenty to say.
"If you can't trust your policeman or sheriff department, who can you trust? That's the sad part of it. Because you believe in these people," said Gary Gibson of Grinnell.
The Mahaska County attorney is handling the case. Martin is scheduled to be arraigned on January 23.
Former Jailer Accused of Sexually Assaulting Inmate
Durant, Oklahma
A former Bryan County jailer has been accused of sexually assaulting a female prisoner at the auxiliary jail in 2007.
Twenty-year-old Andrew Duane Sloan was charged Wednesday with sexual battery. Court papers say Sloan, while serving as a jailer, groped a 25-year-old inmate in August 2007.
Sloan was fired that month, but no charges were filed at that time.
He was later charged with unrelated sex crimes. In July 2008, he was charged with raping a woman and in August he was charged with sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 14.
Picture and Other Information: http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/37349204.html
A former Bryan County jailer has been accused of sexually assaulting a female prisoner at the auxiliary jail in 2007.
Twenty-year-old Andrew Duane Sloan was charged Wednesday with sexual battery. Court papers say Sloan, while serving as a jailer, groped a 25-year-old inmate in August 2007.
Sloan was fired that month, but no charges were filed at that time.
He was later charged with unrelated sex crimes. In July 2008, he was charged with raping a woman and in August he was charged with sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 14.
Picture and Other Information: http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/37349204.html
Friday, January 09, 2009
Another Taser Death-- No Charges Filed Against Officer J.J. Baird
MOBERLY, Mo.
A Howard County prosecutor says no criminal charges will be filed in the death of a suspected drunken driver killed after a police officer fired a Taser at him.
Prosecutor Mason Gebhardt says Moberly police officer J.J. Baird was justified in using a Taser to try to arrest 23-year-old Stanley Harlan of Moberly during a traffic stop in August.
Gebhardt says he reviewed reports and a video of the incident to determine Harlan was resisting arrest.
Baird made the stop, suspecting Harlan was driving drunk and placed him under arrest. Police say when Harlan resisted, the officer deployed his Taser twice to subdue him.
The first Taser shock lasted five seconds and the subsequent shock was only one second. Harlan became unresponsive soon thereafter.
Officers started CPR until an ambulance arrived.
Harlan was pronounced dead at a hospital.
A Howard County prosecutor says no criminal charges will be filed in the death of a suspected drunken driver killed after a police officer fired a Taser at him.
Prosecutor Mason Gebhardt says Moberly police officer J.J. Baird was justified in using a Taser to try to arrest 23-year-old Stanley Harlan of Moberly during a traffic stop in August.
Gebhardt says he reviewed reports and a video of the incident to determine Harlan was resisting arrest.
Baird made the stop, suspecting Harlan was driving drunk and placed him under arrest. Police say when Harlan resisted, the officer deployed his Taser twice to subdue him.
The first Taser shock lasted five seconds and the subsequent shock was only one second. Harlan became unresponsive soon thereafter.
Officers started CPR until an ambulance arrived.
Harlan was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Officer James Crespo III Arrested for DWI
An off-duty New Orleans police officer was arrested this week and charged with driving while intoxicated on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.
James Crespo III, 52, was headed northbound Monday around 2:30 a.m. when a Causeway police officer spotted him speeding on the bridge a few miles from the north shore, said Causeway Police Chief Nick Congemi.
The officer, who was using radar equipment, pulled Crespo over at the north toll plaza in Mandeville, Congemi said.
He asked for Crespo's information and that he step out of his vehicle, he said. It is unclear whether Crespo, who lives in New Orleans, was driving an unmarked squad car or his own personal vehicle.
Crespo, an administrative sergeant who has been with the NOPD since 1978, appeared unsteady as he walked to the rear of his vehicle, then upon reaching the rear of the vehicle, leaned against the rear for balance, Congemi said.
He removed his wallet, which contained his New Orleans police commission, and handed the officer his driver's license, he said. However, Crespo refused the officer's request that he submit to a field sobriety test, Congemi said.
The officer asked whether Crespo was carrying a weapon, and Crespo said that he had a gun and that it was in the vehicle, he said.
He then retrieved Crespo's gun, which apparently was his personal weapon, as opposed to his service revolver, Congemi said.
The officer then handcuffed Crespo and arrested him before taking him to Louisiana State Police Troop L, he said. Crespo refused to take a breathalyzer test at Troop L.
In addition to DWI, Crespo is charged with driving 77 mph in a 65-mph zone, Congemi said.
Crespo's age and address were not immediately available from Causeway police.
Congemi said he expects the charges to be filed Monday with the St. Tammany Parish district attorney's office.
James Crespo III, 52, was headed northbound Monday around 2:30 a.m. when a Causeway police officer spotted him speeding on the bridge a few miles from the north shore, said Causeway Police Chief Nick Congemi.
The officer, who was using radar equipment, pulled Crespo over at the north toll plaza in Mandeville, Congemi said.
He asked for Crespo's information and that he step out of his vehicle, he said. It is unclear whether Crespo, who lives in New Orleans, was driving an unmarked squad car or his own personal vehicle.
Crespo, an administrative sergeant who has been with the NOPD since 1978, appeared unsteady as he walked to the rear of his vehicle, then upon reaching the rear of the vehicle, leaned against the rear for balance, Congemi said.
He removed his wallet, which contained his New Orleans police commission, and handed the officer his driver's license, he said. However, Crespo refused the officer's request that he submit to a field sobriety test, Congemi said.
The officer asked whether Crespo was carrying a weapon, and Crespo said that he had a gun and that it was in the vehicle, he said.
He then retrieved Crespo's gun, which apparently was his personal weapon, as opposed to his service revolver, Congemi said.
The officer then handcuffed Crespo and arrested him before taking him to Louisiana State Police Troop L, he said. Crespo refused to take a breathalyzer test at Troop L.
In addition to DWI, Crespo is charged with driving 77 mph in a 65-mph zone, Congemi said.
Crespo's age and address were not immediately available from Causeway police.
Congemi said he expects the charges to be filed Monday with the St. Tammany Parish district attorney's office.
Officer Bobby Hoese Charged with Aggravated Battery
EDWARDSVILLE
A Pontoon Beach police officer was charged with two felonies -- aggravated battery and mob action -- on Friday in Madison County Circuit Court.
Sheriff's deputies took police Officer Bobby D. Hoese, 29, of Granite City, into custody on Wednesday after a fight outside the Inn Between Tavern in Granite City that left one man with facial fractures, according to Capt. Brad Wells, chief of detectives.
The argument between the off-duty officer and the victim, stemmed from a previous confrontation over a woman.
"We had understood that there was a problem in the past between Hoese and the victim over a female," Wells said.
After the argument inside the bar, Hoese called Dennis M. Barbee, 60, of Highland, from the bar and told him about the argument.
Barbee arrived at the bar on 5200 Maryville Road and he and Hoese followed the victim to the parking lot.
The victim was treated at a hospital and released.
Barbee was also charged with aggravated battery and mob action.
A bar patron told investigators that Hoese grabbed him by the throat and threw him to the ground when he tried to go outside and check on the victim.
Hoese also was charged with battery, which is a misdemeanor.
Both men surrendered at the Madison County Jail on Friday. Each man had bail set at $50,000, and both men posted bond by late Friday afternoon.
A news release issued by Pontoon Beach Police Chief Charles Luehmann stated Hoese was placed on administrative leave.
"Depending on the outcome of our internal investigation, we will establish the level of disciplinary action commensurate with the charges that are found to be true," stated the press release.
Information on whether Hoese would be paid while on leave was not available Friday evening.
Former Officer James Anthony Rodriguez Charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault
HOUSTON
A former Houston police officer is charged with aggravated sexual assault after a woman accused him of raping her while he was on patrol.
The Houston Chronicle reports 27-year-old James Anthony Rodriguez also is accused of brandishing a firearm during the Sept. 6 rape.
The incident allegedly occurred during a traffic stop while he worked as a patrol officer.
Police spokesman John Cannon says the victim reported the incident that day and the Houston Police Department immediately began an investigation.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office filed the charge against Rodriguez Dec. 15.
It wasn't immediately clear tonight whether Rodriguez had an attorney and a telephone number for him could not be found.
Rodriguez, who resigned from the police department on Nov. 22, was released on a $40,000 bond.
More Information:
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6594211
A former Houston police officer is charged with aggravated sexual assault after a woman accused him of raping her while he was on patrol.
The Houston Chronicle reports 27-year-old James Anthony Rodriguez also is accused of brandishing a firearm during the Sept. 6 rape.
The incident allegedly occurred during a traffic stop while he worked as a patrol officer.
Police spokesman John Cannon says the victim reported the incident that day and the Houston Police Department immediately began an investigation.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office filed the charge against Rodriguez Dec. 15.
It wasn't immediately clear tonight whether Rodriguez had an attorney and a telephone number for him could not be found.
Rodriguez, who resigned from the police department on Nov. 22, was released on a $40,000 bond.
More Information:
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6594211
Queensland Officer Accused of Assault
A Queensland police officer has been stood down from operational duties pending an investigation into an alleged assault.
A police statement said the 36-year-old sergeant from Brisbane's Metro North Region had been stood down on Thursday in relation to an alleged on-duty assault on December 21.
The officer will work in a non-operational position until the Ethical Standard Command investigation is finished.
No other information was given.
A police statement said the 36-year-old sergeant from Brisbane's Metro North Region had been stood down on Thursday in relation to an alleged on-duty assault on December 21.
The officer will work in a non-operational position until the Ethical Standard Command investigation is finished.
No other information was given.
Officer Duhamel Torres Accused of Sexually Assaulting Woman While on Duty
A Cleveland police officer is accused of sexually assaulting a woman while he was on duty.
Duhamel Torres, a 2nd District patrolman, faces kidnapping, rape and sexual battery charges, said Lt. Thomas Stacho, a police spokesman. Torres surrendered Thursday morning after investigators obtained an arrest warrant.
Stacho gave this description of the incident:
The woman was walking home and Torres offered her a ride. But he then drove past her house to a secluded area on Scranton Road and assaulted her.
The woman, who is acquainted with numerous police officers, told them about the assault. Those officers relayed the information to the department's Internal Affairs Unit.
Investigators received results from DNA tests Wednesday and consulted with prosecutors, Stacho said.
The city recently finished installing automatic-vehicle locators in its police cars. Investigators were able to confirm parts of the woman's story by using the locator in Torres' police car, Stacho said.
Torres has been on the force since October 2006 and was a Cleveland patrolman for about five years in the early 1990s but resigned, only to later rejoin the force.
He will be suspended without pay, Stacho said.
Steve Loomis, head of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, said the union was working to post bond and get Torres released from jail. The public shouldn't rush to judgment on Torres, Loomis said.
"Everybody is innocent until proven guilty," he said. "We look forward to our day in court."
Duhamel Torres, a 2nd District patrolman, faces kidnapping, rape and sexual battery charges, said Lt. Thomas Stacho, a police spokesman. Torres surrendered Thursday morning after investigators obtained an arrest warrant.
Stacho gave this description of the incident:
The woman was walking home and Torres offered her a ride. But he then drove past her house to a secluded area on Scranton Road and assaulted her.
The woman, who is acquainted with numerous police officers, told them about the assault. Those officers relayed the information to the department's Internal Affairs Unit.
Investigators received results from DNA tests Wednesday and consulted with prosecutors, Stacho said.
The city recently finished installing automatic-vehicle locators in its police cars. Investigators were able to confirm parts of the woman's story by using the locator in Torres' police car, Stacho said.
Torres has been on the force since October 2006 and was a Cleveland patrolman for about five years in the early 1990s but resigned, only to later rejoin the force.
He will be suspended without pay, Stacho said.
Steve Loomis, head of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, said the union was working to post bond and get Torres released from jail. The public shouldn't rush to judgment on Torres, Loomis said.
"Everybody is innocent until proven guilty," he said. "We look forward to our day in court."
More Informtaion:
Officer Michael North Charged with Buying Illegal Prescription Pills
McDONALD, Pa.
A municipal police officer in Washington County faces charges of drug possession following his arrest yesterday in McDonald.
Michael Andre North, 29, of McDonald, is charged with buying what he believed were oxycodone pills, a painkiller legally sold only by prescription.
He obtained the counterfeit drug from a police informant, according to an affidavit.
Mr. North remains on the roster as a part-time officer in Donora, where he was hired in 2003, and Smith Township, which hired him in 2005. Officials in the two municipalities said Mr. North will be off the job while the case is pending.
Mr. North was arraigned yesterday by District Judge David W. Mark in Canonsburg on charges of possession of a counterfeit controlled substance and attempting to possess a controlled substance.
He was freed on his own recognizance, with a preliminary hearing set for 9:45 a.m. Thursday before Judge Mark.
According to the affidavit, Mr. North had an ongoing arrangement to provide transportation to a pharmacy for an informant who regularly obtained prescriptions for oxycodone. The informant would share the pills with the officer.
On Thursday, state and county investigators arranged to record a conversation between the suspect and informant as they made arrangements for the next purchase, the affidavit said.
The two agreed that the informant would obtain transportation and leave Mr. North's share of the drugs in the informant's mailbox.
On his way home from work Thursday, Mr. North retrieved what he believed were oxycodone pills from the mailbox. Police followed the officer to his residence, where he was arrested.
Officials in Smith and Donora said they saw no indication Mr. North used the drugs while on duty.
More Information: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28580707/
A municipal police officer in Washington County faces charges of drug possession following his arrest yesterday in McDonald.
Michael Andre North, 29, of McDonald, is charged with buying what he believed were oxycodone pills, a painkiller legally sold only by prescription.
He obtained the counterfeit drug from a police informant, according to an affidavit.
Mr. North remains on the roster as a part-time officer in Donora, where he was hired in 2003, and Smith Township, which hired him in 2005. Officials in the two municipalities said Mr. North will be off the job while the case is pending.
Mr. North was arraigned yesterday by District Judge David W. Mark in Canonsburg on charges of possession of a counterfeit controlled substance and attempting to possess a controlled substance.
He was freed on his own recognizance, with a preliminary hearing set for 9:45 a.m. Thursday before Judge Mark.
According to the affidavit, Mr. North had an ongoing arrangement to provide transportation to a pharmacy for an informant who regularly obtained prescriptions for oxycodone. The informant would share the pills with the officer.
On Thursday, state and county investigators arranged to record a conversation between the suspect and informant as they made arrangements for the next purchase, the affidavit said.
The two agreed that the informant would obtain transportation and leave Mr. North's share of the drugs in the informant's mailbox.
On his way home from work Thursday, Mr. North retrieved what he believed were oxycodone pills from the mailbox. Police followed the officer to his residence, where he was arrested.
Officials in Smith and Donora said they saw no indication Mr. North used the drugs while on duty.
More Information: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28580707/
Deputy Christopher Barnes Arrested for Prescription Drug Trafficking
On Friday, January 9, 2009, a Walton Co. Sheriff Deputy was arrested and charged for prescription drug trafficking.
Deputy Sheriff-Investigators of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office arrested and charged Deputy Christopher J. Barnes with 1 count of trafficking in Oxycontin, 1 count of trafficking in hydrocodone, 1 count of obtaining prescriptions by fraud and 1 count of doctor shopping.
All counts are in violation of Florida State Statutes Chapter 893.
Christopher J. Barnes was a deputy with Walton Co. Sheriff’s Department at the time of the suspected criminal activity leading to the arrest.
Deputy Sheriff-Investigators of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office arrested and charged Deputy Christopher J. Barnes with 1 count of trafficking in Oxycontin, 1 count of trafficking in hydrocodone, 1 count of obtaining prescriptions by fraud and 1 count of doctor shopping.
All counts are in violation of Florida State Statutes Chapter 893.
Christopher J. Barnes was a deputy with Walton Co. Sheriff’s Department at the time of the suspected criminal activity leading to the arrest.
Sheriff Greg Bartlett Gives up Making Profit so Prisoners Can be Properly Fed
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.
An Alabama sheriff imprisoned after admitting he legally pocketed about $210,000 from his jail kitchen while providing skimpy meals to inmates agreed to give up future profits from the operation, a judge said Friday.
An order from U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon shows that Morgan County Sheriff Greg Bartlett has promised to use all government funding he receives for food to actually feed prisoners in the county lockup, which holds about 300 men and women.
That's a change from the past, when Bartlett — like other Alabama sheriffs — kept any profits generated by the kitchen under a state law dating to the 1920s.
Aside from forgoing the money, Clemon's order said Bartlett promised to follow USDA guidelines and provide inmates with meals that include fresh fruit and milk: two items prisoners said they rarely or never received in the past.
Clemon jailed Bartlett overnight this week in a federal prison after ruling he purposely fed prisoners inadequately to maximize his personal profits under Alabama's unusual feeding system.
Clemon called windfalls under the law "reprehensible," but he stopped short of addressing whether it violated the constitutional rights of prisoners.
A lawyer for inmates said she hoped the decision would lead to better meals in the Morgan County Jail and changes in the law statewide.
"We hope this will encourage the Legislature to revisit the statute that allows sheriffs to keep profits from feeding inmates," said attorney Melanie Velez of the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights.
Bartlett issued a statement Friday saying he had received only 15 complaints about food after serving almost 330,000 meals in 2008. He speculated that some of the complaining inmates might have been shorted by other inmates serving them.
He also said sheriffs can lose money under the jail food funding system.
"I agree that on the surface, Alabama state law on the feeding system is hard to understand and to defend," he said. "If a sheriff makes $4,000 or $1 in a month's time it's called starving inmates, if an inmate gains weight it's called wasting tax payer dollars feeding criminals that murdered, robbed, raped and molested the citizens of our community."
Because Alabama's law makes sheriffs responsible for feeding inmates, rather than the counties where they work, some have to pay out of pocket to cover shortfalls.
An Associated Press review last year found that sheriffs in 55 of Alabama's 67 counties operate under a Depression-era system that allows them to make money operating their jail kitchens.
Several sheriffs who agreed to speak to AP about their feeding operations said they were receiving small profits from the system, but none would disclose an exact amount.
Bartlett testified that he pocketed some $212,000 in kitchen profits over the last three years, reporting the money as income on his personal tax returns. Bartlett's profit margin last year was about 50 percent, based on his testimony.
"That's just an astronomical amount of money for a county," said Velez, the lawyer for prisoners.
The state pays sheriffs $1.75 a day for each prisoner they house and lets the elected officers keep any profits they can generate. Bartlett and some other sheriffs also receive a smaller state supplement, money from their counties and payments from the U.S. government for housing federal prisoners.
Clemon reviewed practices in Morgan County because of a 2001 settlement in a federal lawsuit over conditions in the jail. In that agreement, the jail is required to provide prisoners with "nutritionally adequate" meals — something Clemon said Bartlett had failed to do.
The judge's order dealt only with Morgan County, but the head of the Alabama Sheriff's Association, Bobby Timmons, said the case could have a statewide impact on jailhouse practices.
In his decision, Clemon said Morgan County would be responsible for any shortfall if the jail kitchen begins operating at a deficit.
**********************
I just don't understand how this fucker can still be running the jail...shouldn't he be locked up for theft? And then never allowed to work at the jail again?
An Alabama sheriff imprisoned after admitting he legally pocketed about $210,000 from his jail kitchen while providing skimpy meals to inmates agreed to give up future profits from the operation, a judge said Friday.
An order from U.S. District Judge U.W. Clemon shows that Morgan County Sheriff Greg Bartlett has promised to use all government funding he receives for food to actually feed prisoners in the county lockup, which holds about 300 men and women.
That's a change from the past, when Bartlett — like other Alabama sheriffs — kept any profits generated by the kitchen under a state law dating to the 1920s.
Aside from forgoing the money, Clemon's order said Bartlett promised to follow USDA guidelines and provide inmates with meals that include fresh fruit and milk: two items prisoners said they rarely or never received in the past.
Clemon jailed Bartlett overnight this week in a federal prison after ruling he purposely fed prisoners inadequately to maximize his personal profits under Alabama's unusual feeding system.
Clemon called windfalls under the law "reprehensible," but he stopped short of addressing whether it violated the constitutional rights of prisoners.
A lawyer for inmates said she hoped the decision would lead to better meals in the Morgan County Jail and changes in the law statewide.
"We hope this will encourage the Legislature to revisit the statute that allows sheriffs to keep profits from feeding inmates," said attorney Melanie Velez of the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights.
Bartlett issued a statement Friday saying he had received only 15 complaints about food after serving almost 330,000 meals in 2008. He speculated that some of the complaining inmates might have been shorted by other inmates serving them.
He also said sheriffs can lose money under the jail food funding system.
"I agree that on the surface, Alabama state law on the feeding system is hard to understand and to defend," he said. "If a sheriff makes $4,000 or $1 in a month's time it's called starving inmates, if an inmate gains weight it's called wasting tax payer dollars feeding criminals that murdered, robbed, raped and molested the citizens of our community."
Because Alabama's law makes sheriffs responsible for feeding inmates, rather than the counties where they work, some have to pay out of pocket to cover shortfalls.
An Associated Press review last year found that sheriffs in 55 of Alabama's 67 counties operate under a Depression-era system that allows them to make money operating their jail kitchens.
Several sheriffs who agreed to speak to AP about their feeding operations said they were receiving small profits from the system, but none would disclose an exact amount.
Bartlett testified that he pocketed some $212,000 in kitchen profits over the last three years, reporting the money as income on his personal tax returns. Bartlett's profit margin last year was about 50 percent, based on his testimony.
"That's just an astronomical amount of money for a county," said Velez, the lawyer for prisoners.
The state pays sheriffs $1.75 a day for each prisoner they house and lets the elected officers keep any profits they can generate. Bartlett and some other sheriffs also receive a smaller state supplement, money from their counties and payments from the U.S. government for housing federal prisoners.
Clemon reviewed practices in Morgan County because of a 2001 settlement in a federal lawsuit over conditions in the jail. In that agreement, the jail is required to provide prisoners with "nutritionally adequate" meals — something Clemon said Bartlett had failed to do.
The judge's order dealt only with Morgan County, but the head of the Alabama Sheriff's Association, Bobby Timmons, said the case could have a statewide impact on jailhouse practices.
In his decision, Clemon said Morgan County would be responsible for any shortfall if the jail kitchen begins operating at a deficit.
**********************
I just don't understand how this fucker can still be running the jail...shouldn't he be locked up for theft? And then never allowed to work at the jail again?
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Trooper Brian Smith was Questioned before Going on Shooting Spree
SOUTHLAKE
Just hours before he went on a shooting spree that left two people dead last month, a former Utah state trooper was questioned by Southlake police and learned he’d soon be arrested on burglary and robbery charges, according to police documents released Thursday.
Brian Gamble Smith, 37, shot himself early Dec. 23 in Garland during a standoff with police that followed three shootings on Interstate 635 in Dallas and a shooting and pharmacy robbery in Garland. He died the next day.
The documents released Thursday detail Southlake police officers’ investigation into a Dec. 17 mugging and a Dec. 22 vehicle burglary. Detectives connected Smith to crimes after a witness to the vehicle burglary wrote down his license plate number.
Southlake Detective Richard Anderson interviewed Gamble about the burglary about 12:45 p.m. Dec. 22, about two hours after it was reported, according to the documents.
Gamble was cooperative and "very calm" at first, denying any involvement, Anderson wrote in his arrest warrant affidavit. After about half an hour of questioning, Smith grew "irritated" and said he wanted to end the interview, Anderson wrote. Anderson agreed but told Smith he was going to obtain a warrant for Smith’s arrest later that day.
Anderson then walked Smith to the police department lobby and asked him to wait so Anderson could give him a business card. When Anderson returned, he told Smith he had surveillance video showing Smith committing the burglary, according to the affidavit. Anderson also said the video showed a woman in the car and asked if she was Smith’s wife. Smith said the woman wasn’t his wife but declined to identify her and asked to stop the interview.
Anderson then walked Smith to the parking lot, the affidavit states.
About 5:30 that night, a man identified himself as Brian Smith and said he needed to refill a prescription, then produced a handgun and stole OxyContin from behind the counter of a Kroger pharmacy in Garland. By 6 p.m., four shootings had been reported in the area and two men were dead.
Smith left the Utah state troopers after an investigation that found he was abusing prescription drugs and alcohol. The investigation was prompted by a January 2008 incident in which he threatened to commit suicide.
Just hours before he went on a shooting spree that left two people dead last month, a former Utah state trooper was questioned by Southlake police and learned he’d soon be arrested on burglary and robbery charges, according to police documents released Thursday.
Brian Gamble Smith, 37, shot himself early Dec. 23 in Garland during a standoff with police that followed three shootings on Interstate 635 in Dallas and a shooting and pharmacy robbery in Garland. He died the next day.
The documents released Thursday detail Southlake police officers’ investigation into a Dec. 17 mugging and a Dec. 22 vehicle burglary. Detectives connected Smith to crimes after a witness to the vehicle burglary wrote down his license plate number.
Southlake Detective Richard Anderson interviewed Gamble about the burglary about 12:45 p.m. Dec. 22, about two hours after it was reported, according to the documents.
Gamble was cooperative and "very calm" at first, denying any involvement, Anderson wrote in his arrest warrant affidavit. After about half an hour of questioning, Smith grew "irritated" and said he wanted to end the interview, Anderson wrote. Anderson agreed but told Smith he was going to obtain a warrant for Smith’s arrest later that day.
Anderson then walked Smith to the police department lobby and asked him to wait so Anderson could give him a business card. When Anderson returned, he told Smith he had surveillance video showing Smith committing the burglary, according to the affidavit. Anderson also said the video showed a woman in the car and asked if she was Smith’s wife. Smith said the woman wasn’t his wife but declined to identify her and asked to stop the interview.
Anderson then walked Smith to the parking lot, the affidavit states.
About 5:30 that night, a man identified himself as Brian Smith and said he needed to refill a prescription, then produced a handgun and stole OxyContin from behind the counter of a Kroger pharmacy in Garland. By 6 p.m., four shootings had been reported in the area and two men were dead.
Smith left the Utah state troopers after an investigation that found he was abusing prescription drugs and alcohol. The investigation was prompted by a January 2008 incident in which he threatened to commit suicide.
Officer Nicholas Parks Tasers Hula Hoop Lady
NORFOLK
The officer who used a Taser to shock the Hula Hoop Lady of Granby Street in October felt he had no choice but to do so, according to Norfolk's city attorney.
On Tuesday, lawyers for Pamela Brown filed a lawsuit in Norfolk Circuit Court, seeking $5 million in damages against Officer Nicholas Parks. The lawsuit says Parks violated Brown's civil rights and used excessive force during the incident.
Brown, 49, was charged with making excessive noise and assaulting Parks after he responded to a noise complaint on the median of Granby Street near Wards Corner, where she hula-hoops. Brown suffered a brain injury in 1977 when she was hit by a truck, and she has seizures and short-term memory loss. A prosecutor dropped the charges in November.
According to the lawsuit, Parks disregarded Brown's repeated statements that her injuries prevented her from putting her arm behind her back, as the officer had ordered. The lawsuit says Parks ignored Brown's efforts to tell him about the documents she had with her that described her condition.
The exchange was captured on a camera mounted on Parks' Taser. City Attorney Bernard Pishko said Tuesday that he had reviewed the tape with Parks.
"We're not defending it as best practice," Pishko said. However, "Officer Parks didn't know he was dealing with a citizen who was brain-injured.... All he knew was she was noncompliant and agitated."
Pishko said he supported dismissing the criminal charges against Brown because there wouldn't have been any point to prosecuting them. Further, he said, Brown had not suffered any serious injury from the shocks.
"The officer misjudged," Pishko said. "He didn't realize she was brain-damaged and overreacted."
Earlier Tuesday, Brown's lawyers gathered outside the courthouse. They said Brown had been injured by the Taser.
"She's a cracked egg to begin with," said Stephen Smith, one of her lawyers. "When she was out there with her hula hoop, she was somebody. Now she's scared. She needs more and intensive psychological therapy and rehabilitation."
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/01/attorney-officer-felt-he-had-taser-hula-hoop-lady
The officer who used a Taser to shock the Hula Hoop Lady of Granby Street in October felt he had no choice but to do so, according to Norfolk's city attorney.
On Tuesday, lawyers for Pamela Brown filed a lawsuit in Norfolk Circuit Court, seeking $5 million in damages against Officer Nicholas Parks. The lawsuit says Parks violated Brown's civil rights and used excessive force during the incident.
Brown, 49, was charged with making excessive noise and assaulting Parks after he responded to a noise complaint on the median of Granby Street near Wards Corner, where she hula-hoops. Brown suffered a brain injury in 1977 when she was hit by a truck, and she has seizures and short-term memory loss. A prosecutor dropped the charges in November.
According to the lawsuit, Parks disregarded Brown's repeated statements that her injuries prevented her from putting her arm behind her back, as the officer had ordered. The lawsuit says Parks ignored Brown's efforts to tell him about the documents she had with her that described her condition.
The exchange was captured on a camera mounted on Parks' Taser. City Attorney Bernard Pishko said Tuesday that he had reviewed the tape with Parks.
"We're not defending it as best practice," Pishko said. However, "Officer Parks didn't know he was dealing with a citizen who was brain-injured.... All he knew was she was noncompliant and agitated."
Pishko said he supported dismissing the criminal charges against Brown because there wouldn't have been any point to prosecuting them. Further, he said, Brown had not suffered any serious injury from the shocks.
"The officer misjudged," Pishko said. "He didn't realize she was brain-damaged and overreacted."
Earlier Tuesday, Brown's lawyers gathered outside the courthouse. They said Brown had been injured by the Taser.
"She's a cracked egg to begin with," said Stephen Smith, one of her lawyers. "When she was out there with her hula hoop, she was somebody. Now she's scared. She needs more and intensive psychological therapy and rehabilitation."
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/01/attorney-officer-felt-he-had-taser-hula-hoop-lady
Former Officer Arrested for Not Paying Child Support
A former Police officer was the latest father to be arrested for not paying child support; as ordered by the court.
On January 8, 2009 at 12:30 p.m. the defendant walked into the Road Town Police Station to conduct business in the Administration Office, when he was spotted by the Senior Court Officer.
A default warrant of $2,717.50 is in existence for the arrest and imprisonment of the defendant for not paying child support to the mother of his child as maintenance. The defendant had not paid for a period of over six (6) months.
He had informed local court marshals that he would have paid the money in December, 2008, but he did not pay as promised.
If the defendant does not pay the sum of $2,717.50 by 3p.m. on 8th January, 2009, he will be transported to Her Majesty’s Prison where he will be detained for six (6) months until the monies are paid.
If the monies are not paid after six (6) months period, he will spend a further six (6) months in prison.
On January 8, 2009 at 12:30 p.m. the defendant walked into the Road Town Police Station to conduct business in the Administration Office, when he was spotted by the Senior Court Officer.
A default warrant of $2,717.50 is in existence for the arrest and imprisonment of the defendant for not paying child support to the mother of his child as maintenance. The defendant had not paid for a period of over six (6) months.
He had informed local court marshals that he would have paid the money in December, 2008, but he did not pay as promised.
If the defendant does not pay the sum of $2,717.50 by 3p.m. on 8th January, 2009, he will be transported to Her Majesty’s Prison where he will be detained for six (6) months until the monies are paid.
If the monies are not paid after six (6) months period, he will spend a further six (6) months in prison.
Former Officer Jeffery Webb Sr. Charged Again with Statutory Rape of Minor
JACKSON, Miss.
A judge has set a $100,000 bond for a former police officer accused of raping a minor.
Jeffery Webb Sr. is charged with statutory rape and sexual battery, according to the Jackson police docket. Details of the crime have not been made public.
This is the second time the 50-year-old former Jackson officer has been accused of rape.
Webb was charged with rape in 2002 for allegedly forcing a 16-year-old girl to have sex. He was acquitted of the charges in 2006.
Webb was found not guilty of the crime in March 2006 following a jury trial in Hinds County.
Information from: The Clarion-Ledger, http://www.clarionledger.com
More Information: http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20090107/NEWS/90107034
A judge has set a $100,000 bond for a former police officer accused of raping a minor.
Jeffery Webb Sr. is charged with statutory rape and sexual battery, according to the Jackson police docket. Details of the crime have not been made public.
This is the second time the 50-year-old former Jackson officer has been accused of rape.
Webb was charged with rape in 2002 for allegedly forcing a 16-year-old girl to have sex. He was acquitted of the charges in 2006.
Webb was found not guilty of the crime in March 2006 following a jury trial in Hinds County.
Information from: The Clarion-Ledger, http://www.clarionledger.com
More Information: http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20090107/NEWS/90107034
Former Sheriff Jim Williamson Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud
DUBLIN
Former Telfair County Sheriff Jim Williamson pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of mail fraud and deprivation of honest services stemming from allegations that he embezzled fine money, accepted bribes and purchased personal items with county funds.
Williamson, 48, waived his right to indictment by a grand jury and the right to have his case tried by a jury. He instead signed a plea agreement. A sentencing date was not set, but he could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
As part of the agreement, Williamson, who did not seek re-election last year under the county’s two-term limit, agreed to pay restitution of $10,000. However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Tanner said receipt books from the sheriff’s office were never recovered, so investigators are not sure how much county money is actually missing.
“Mr. Williamson has made it very difficult for us to do that ... without having to track down every citation that was issued in the last eight years and tracking down every person who was issued a citation,” FBI agent Robert Jones said.
Jones testified Wednesday that a joint investigation by the FBI and GBI alleged that Williamson collected fines that were never paid to the county’s probate court and that he kept $5,000 seized in a traffic stop. The sheriff also mailed a letter and a check drawn from a county account to make a monthly payment on an all-terrain vehicle kept for his personal use, Jones said.
Williamson also was accused of accepting money to get a Telfair State Prison inmate transferred to the county jail so the inmate “could spend time with his girlfriend,” Jones said.
Williamson told U.S. District Judge Dudley Bowen that he denied accepting money from the inmate and pocketing the cash from the traffic stop but still wanted to plead guilty. He said he accepted the $10,000 restitution figure as a fair estimate.
“There’s probably one person who knows the extent of the malfeasance, and that’s you,” Bowen told Williamson.
Prosecutors allege that Williamson’s misconduct began in January 2004, about the time he began his second term. Jones’ testimony provided some details of the investigation:
Former sheriff’s deputy Glenn Giles told investigators that Williamson dropped charges from a traffic stop the deputy had made but kept the fine money with the intent of paying for a party celebrating his re-election. Giles said the party was never held.
Giles also said Williamson said he planned to buy shotguns and Tasers with the $5,000 seized in a separate traffic stop but that the items were never purchased. No charges were filed in the case. Williamson testified Wednesday that he believes the money was used to buy cars for the sheriff’s office.
Probate Judge Diane Walker and a probate court employee told investigators of four or five instances in which citations and paperwork were turned in by the sheriff but fines were not included. They also reported instances in which residents brought receipts to the probate court, showing they had paid the fines to the sheriff’s office but the money was not turned in.
A man charged with driving under the influence paid an $850 fine to the sheriff’s office. Williamson reduced the charge to driving too fast for conditions and returned some of the money but did not send the rest to the probate court.
Former deputy Johnny Smith, who is now sheriff, arrested a suspect on multiple counts of theft by taking involving automobiles. The man was released on a $15,000 cash bond. Later, while incarcerated in Telfair State Prison, the man asked Williamson to get him transferred to the county jail, saying it would be “worth something to him.” The bond money was never deposited in a sheriff’s office account, and eventually $6,500 was given back to the suspect. Williamson received $4,200, and $4,300 was sent to the court.
Williamson used county funds to buy a 2006 Polaris ATV for $6,100. He twice refinanced the loan for the four-wheeler, with the second loan on Aug. 20, 2008, also intended to buy another ATV. Investigators recovered the four-wheeler at Williamson’s home in Milan. “The interviews we conducted indicated that the four-wheeler was never used for official business, only personal business,” Jones said.
As terms of his bond, Bowen ordered Williamson to get rid of any firearms he still possessed and to not engage in law enforcement activities. The judge also restricted his travel to within the court’s Southern District of Georgia.
Though Williamson disputed some of the allegations, “he is cooperating fully,” his attorney, Ashley McLaughlin, said after the hearing.
Williamson was released on a $10,000 bond until a sentencing hearing is held.
“I’m just glad it’s over,” Williamson said outside the courtroom.
Former Officer Chu Vue Arrested for 23 Counts of Computer Access Violations
A former Sacramento sheriff's deputy who police have called a "principal" in the slaying of a California Medical Facility correctional officer last October was arrested Wednesday in connection with misusing Sheriff's Department computers.
Chu Vue, 43, was taken into custody around 8:30 a.m. in front of his Elk Grove residence on a warrant citing 23 counts of computer access violations.
"We believe that he accessed work computers to locate variations of the name Steve Lo and that he used that information to access Steve Lo's address," said Sgt. Norm Leong, spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department.
Vue was later booked into Sacramento County Jail and subsequently posted bail.
Steve Lo, 39, was gunned down outside his Sacramento residence on Oct. 15 as he was leaving for work early that morning. He later died at a local hospital.
Though Vue has not been arrested in connection with Lo's death, he later was arrested on suspicion of possessing an unregistered illegal assault rifle, which was discovered during a search of his residence. He later posted bail.
A record of the search warrant for Vue's residence linked Vue to the killing.
"Your affiant is confident that Chu Vue is not the perpetrator of this homicide, but he remains a principal in this case," the document stated. "Chu Vue's activities in the weeks and months leading up to this homicide strongly indicate that he was involved in the planning and/or the execution of this crime."
The Sacramento Police Department urges anyone with information regarding this homicide to contact Crime Alert at 916-443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000. An additional $50,000 reward is being offered by the Lo Family and the California Correctional Peace Officer's Association.
Chu Vue, 43, was taken into custody around 8:30 a.m. in front of his Elk Grove residence on a warrant citing 23 counts of computer access violations.
"We believe that he accessed work computers to locate variations of the name Steve Lo and that he used that information to access Steve Lo's address," said Sgt. Norm Leong, spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department.
Vue was later booked into Sacramento County Jail and subsequently posted bail.
Steve Lo, 39, was gunned down outside his Sacramento residence on Oct. 15 as he was leaving for work early that morning. He later died at a local hospital.
Though Vue has not been arrested in connection with Lo's death, he later was arrested on suspicion of possessing an unregistered illegal assault rifle, which was discovered during a search of his residence. He later posted bail.
A record of the search warrant for Vue's residence linked Vue to the killing.
"Your affiant is confident that Chu Vue is not the perpetrator of this homicide, but he remains a principal in this case," the document stated. "Chu Vue's activities in the weeks and months leading up to this homicide strongly indicate that he was involved in the planning and/or the execution of this crime."
The Sacramento Police Department urges anyone with information regarding this homicide to contact Crime Alert at 916-443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000. An additional $50,000 reward is being offered by the Lo Family and the California Correctional Peace Officer's Association.
Trial for Sgt. Shawn Scott Accused of Killing Man Rescheduled for May
FARMINGTON
The trial of a Farmington police officer accused of wrongfully shooting and killing Kirtland resident Clint John is scheduled for May.
The trial was scheduled for November in a Santa Fe federal court, but scheduling conflicts prevented it from taking place. It is set for May 18 to 22, said Kate Burke, a Durango-based attorney for John's family. She expects the trial to take place this time.
Burke said the delay is typical of a lawsuit of its kind.
"The more complicated and serious the issues are, the longer it does tend to take," she said.
The trial would come almost two years after John's family filed a lawsuit against the city and Farmington police Sgt. Shawn Scott.
Scott shot and killed John in 2006. John's mother, Della John; his girlfriend, Lynn Negale; and her daughter filed the lawsuit in June 2007.
John's family contends Scott battered John with his baton, wrongfully killed him and violated his constitutional rights. The city contends Scott followed Farmington Police Department policies.
After a June 10, 2006, scuffle, John charged Scott with the officer's baton in the East Main Street Wal-Mart parking lot as Scott drew his gun and stepped backward, the city claims.
John raised the baton over his head and moved toward Scott, who shot John four times, the city contends. But witnesses say John was not holding the baton when Scott fired, Burke said.
The lawsuit names the city, former Farmington Police Chief Mike Burridge and Scott as defendants.
The chances of a settlement are "less than they were," Burke said, considering neither side has decided to settle when given the opportunity. Either side still could settle.
City Attorney Jay Burnham declined to comment on the likelihood of a settlement.
City councilors met privately in October and rejected an offer from John's family to settle the Navajo Nation-financed lawsuit, Burke said.
Councilors have met privately three times since September to discuss the lawsuit and officials have declined to comment in the past on specifics of those meetings.
"Anytime you settle... it's easy for people to imagine you're admitting fault and so people don't like that," Burke said. "Even though when you settle, you don't admit fault."
That thinking has influenced the city's decision to avoid settling so far, Burnham said.
"We believe the officer acted correctly," he said. "We don't want people to perceive that we believe otherwise."
The trial of a Farmington police officer accused of wrongfully shooting and killing Kirtland resident Clint John is scheduled for May.
The trial was scheduled for November in a Santa Fe federal court, but scheduling conflicts prevented it from taking place. It is set for May 18 to 22, said Kate Burke, a Durango-based attorney for John's family. She expects the trial to take place this time.
Burke said the delay is typical of a lawsuit of its kind.
"The more complicated and serious the issues are, the longer it does tend to take," she said.
The trial would come almost two years after John's family filed a lawsuit against the city and Farmington police Sgt. Shawn Scott.
Scott shot and killed John in 2006. John's mother, Della John; his girlfriend, Lynn Negale; and her daughter filed the lawsuit in June 2007.
John's family contends Scott battered John with his baton, wrongfully killed him and violated his constitutional rights. The city contends Scott followed Farmington Police Department policies.
After a June 10, 2006, scuffle, John charged Scott with the officer's baton in the East Main Street Wal-Mart parking lot as Scott drew his gun and stepped backward, the city claims.
John raised the baton over his head and moved toward Scott, who shot John four times, the city contends. But witnesses say John was not holding the baton when Scott fired, Burke said.
The lawsuit names the city, former Farmington Police Chief Mike Burridge and Scott as defendants.
The chances of a settlement are "less than they were," Burke said, considering neither side has decided to settle when given the opportunity. Either side still could settle.
City Attorney Jay Burnham declined to comment on the likelihood of a settlement.
City councilors met privately in October and rejected an offer from John's family to settle the Navajo Nation-financed lawsuit, Burke said.
Councilors have met privately three times since September to discuss the lawsuit and officials have declined to comment in the past on specifics of those meetings.
"Anytime you settle... it's easy for people to imagine you're admitting fault and so people don't like that," Burke said. "Even though when you settle, you don't admit fault."
That thinking has influenced the city's decision to avoid settling so far, Burnham said.
"We believe the officer acted correctly," he said. "We don't want people to perceive that we believe otherwise."
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
More Information on Sgt. Faron White Accused of Faking his Abduction
DECATUR, Ala.
A north Alabama police officer accused of faking his abduction and flying to Las Vegas took about $70,000 from a safe containing confiscated drug money, according to an affidavit.
Authorities initially said Sgt. Faron White, a 20-year veteran of the Decatur Police Department, took about $2,500 from the safe of the narcotics unit he directed, although they said thousands more could be missing.
The affidavit with the new amount was filed Tuesday by Morgan County authorities in support of an arrest warrant for Sarah Richardson who is accused of helping White stage his disappearance.
The sworn statement by Decatur Sgt. Richard Archer said Richardson was aware that White had stolen about $70,000 and on Saturday morning drove him to the airport in Nashville.
Federal marshals arrested the 48-year-old White in a Hampton Inn hotel lobby Monday night in Las Vegas, three days after he was last seen working late in his office in Decatur. He faces an extradition hearing in Las Vegas Thursday. Police say he planned to try to win money to pay off gambling and other debts.
The affidavit says Richardson, a police volunteer, met up with White at the Decatur Police Training Center at about 11:30 p.m. Friday before driving him to Nashville early Saturday morning. Police have said the two were romantically involved.
The affidavit, which does not specifically say where Archer got the information, was first reported by The News Courier in Athens.
Richardson is accused of helping White scatter papers from his desk to make it look like he may have struggled with someone before being abducted.
A north Alabama police officer accused of faking his abduction and flying to Las Vegas took about $70,000 from a safe containing confiscated drug money, according to an affidavit.
Authorities initially said Sgt. Faron White, a 20-year veteran of the Decatur Police Department, took about $2,500 from the safe of the narcotics unit he directed, although they said thousands more could be missing.
The affidavit with the new amount was filed Tuesday by Morgan County authorities in support of an arrest warrant for Sarah Richardson who is accused of helping White stage his disappearance.
The sworn statement by Decatur Sgt. Richard Archer said Richardson was aware that White had stolen about $70,000 and on Saturday morning drove him to the airport in Nashville.
Federal marshals arrested the 48-year-old White in a Hampton Inn hotel lobby Monday night in Las Vegas, three days after he was last seen working late in his office in Decatur. He faces an extradition hearing in Las Vegas Thursday. Police say he planned to try to win money to pay off gambling and other debts.
The affidavit says Richardson, a police volunteer, met up with White at the Decatur Police Training Center at about 11:30 p.m. Friday before driving him to Nashville early Saturday morning. Police have said the two were romantically involved.
The affidavit, which does not specifically say where Archer got the information, was first reported by The News Courier in Athens.
Richardson is accused of helping White scatter papers from his desk to make it look like he may have struggled with someone before being abducted.
Officer Gary Utter Accused of Crashing his Patrol Car While Drunk on Duty
A Springettsbury Township police officer accused of crashing his patrol car while drunk on duty was rejected from a probationary program, but his attorney is seeking to have the rejection overturned.
Gary D.S. Utter, a seven-year officer, was denied into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program -- a program for nonviolent, first-time offenders.
York County District Attorney Stan Rebert rejected Utter on Dec. 4 "based on the circumstances of the case," according to court records. Rebert did not elaborate in the court records and could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Utter, 37, of Stewartstown, was charged with driving under the influence by state police after crashing a 2005 Crown Victoria into a wall on the morning of Aug. 23 in the 2000 block of Mount Zion Road, less than a mile from the Springettsbury Township Police Station.
Utter's blood-alcohol level was 0.123 percent, according to a test taken at Memorial Hospital. The level at which a driver in Pennsylvania is considered drunk is 0.08 percent.
Utter's attorney, Harry Ness, filed a motion Dec. 30 appealing Rebert's decision to a York County Common Pleas Court judge.
Ness said Tuesday that Rebert's reason was vague, allowing people to "read between the lines" that Utter was denied because he was an on-duty police officer.
Based on the handling of the 1998 case of Robert Gano -- an off-duty state trooper charged with drunken driving -- Rebert knows he cannot treat Utter differently because he is a police officer, Ness said.
Rebert approved Gano for ARD, a decision later rejected by Judge John Chronister and subsequently overturned by the state Superior Court. The appeals court ruled police officers cannot be held to a higher standard.
"You can't treat someone differently because they are a cop. You can't treat one cop better than you treat another cop. Stan has no problem allowing cops into the program," Ness said.
As a first-time, nonviolent offender, Utter qualifies for ARD, Ness said. Utter has been through a 30-day inpatient treatment program -- more than he would get if convicted of DUI or admitted into ARD, he said.
And Utter was not drinking on duty but still had the aftereffects from the night before, he said.
"The program is for people who make a mistake for the first time," he said.
Utter is currently on a paid leave of absence. If convicted of DUI, Utter could lose his ability to serve as a police officer.
Ness said Utter's drinking was triggered by his July 2007 killing of Ronald T. Whitaker Sr., a prisoner in custody. Utter is named in a wrongful death civil suit filed by Whitaker's family, which is pending in federal court.
While being held for robbing a grocery store, Whitaker tried to hang himself with his shoelaces. Utter revived Whitaker, and Whitaker became violent. During the struggle, Whitaker grabbed Utter's nightstick and was going for Utter's gun when Utter shot him.
"That was brought it (the drinking) to a head for him," Ness said.
Rebert ruled the shooting was justified and cleared Utter in October 2007.
THE GANO CASE
In 1998, off-duty state police Trooper Robert Gano was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after crashing his car into several parked cars in Penn Township. He applied for and was approved to ARD by York County District Attorney Stan Rebert.
He was later accepted into ARD along with 43 other people by York County Judge John Chronister. After reading about Gano the next day in the paper, Chronister removed Gano from ARD, saying law-enforcement officers should be held to a higher standard than the average citizen.
Gano appealed. The Pennsylvania Superior Court held that Chronister was wrong and that police officers cannot be held to a higher standard.
Rebert has previously said that the Gano case is the legal standard.
"That's pretty much the ruling case. The Supreme Court said cops could be denied ARD if you are convicted of an infamous crime. But they cannot be held to a higher standard," he has said.
More Information: http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_11405833?source=most_viewed
Gary D.S. Utter, a seven-year officer, was denied into the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program -- a program for nonviolent, first-time offenders.
York County District Attorney Stan Rebert rejected Utter on Dec. 4 "based on the circumstances of the case," according to court records. Rebert did not elaborate in the court records and could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Utter, 37, of Stewartstown, was charged with driving under the influence by state police after crashing a 2005 Crown Victoria into a wall on the morning of Aug. 23 in the 2000 block of Mount Zion Road, less than a mile from the Springettsbury Township Police Station.
Utter's blood-alcohol level was 0.123 percent, according to a test taken at Memorial Hospital. The level at which a driver in Pennsylvania is considered drunk is 0.08 percent.
Utter's attorney, Harry Ness, filed a motion Dec. 30 appealing Rebert's decision to a York County Common Pleas Court judge.
Ness said Tuesday that Rebert's reason was vague, allowing people to "read between the lines" that Utter was denied because he was an on-duty police officer.
Based on the handling of the 1998 case of Robert Gano -- an off-duty state trooper charged with drunken driving -- Rebert knows he cannot treat Utter differently because he is a police officer, Ness said.
Rebert approved Gano for ARD, a decision later rejected by Judge John Chronister and subsequently overturned by the state Superior Court. The appeals court ruled police officers cannot be held to a higher standard.
"You can't treat someone differently because they are a cop. You can't treat one cop better than you treat another cop. Stan has no problem allowing cops into the program," Ness said.
As a first-time, nonviolent offender, Utter qualifies for ARD, Ness said. Utter has been through a 30-day inpatient treatment program -- more than he would get if convicted of DUI or admitted into ARD, he said.
And Utter was not drinking on duty but still had the aftereffects from the night before, he said.
"The program is for people who make a mistake for the first time," he said.
Utter is currently on a paid leave of absence. If convicted of DUI, Utter could lose his ability to serve as a police officer.
Ness said Utter's drinking was triggered by his July 2007 killing of Ronald T. Whitaker Sr., a prisoner in custody. Utter is named in a wrongful death civil suit filed by Whitaker's family, which is pending in federal court.
While being held for robbing a grocery store, Whitaker tried to hang himself with his shoelaces. Utter revived Whitaker, and Whitaker became violent. During the struggle, Whitaker grabbed Utter's nightstick and was going for Utter's gun when Utter shot him.
"That was brought it (the drinking) to a head for him," Ness said.
Rebert ruled the shooting was justified and cleared Utter in October 2007.
THE GANO CASE
In 1998, off-duty state police Trooper Robert Gano was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after crashing his car into several parked cars in Penn Township. He applied for and was approved to ARD by York County District Attorney Stan Rebert.
He was later accepted into ARD along with 43 other people by York County Judge John Chronister. After reading about Gano the next day in the paper, Chronister removed Gano from ARD, saying law-enforcement officers should be held to a higher standard than the average citizen.
Gano appealed. The Pennsylvania Superior Court held that Chronister was wrong and that police officers cannot be held to a higher standard.
Rebert has previously said that the Gano case is the legal standard.
"That's pretty much the ruling case. The Supreme Court said cops could be denied ARD if you are convicted of an infamous crime. But they cannot be held to a higher standard," he has said.
More Information: http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_11405833?source=most_viewed
Former Officer Calvin Hullett Pleads Guilty to Break-in
NASHVILLE, Tenn.
A former Nashville police officer who also was a Teamsters organizer has pleaded guilty to charges he broke into a children's camp to set up cameras to discredit members of a rival union.
Calvin Hullett, 45, pleaded guilty Tuesday during his trial as part of a plea agreement. It was reported that he faces between 10 and 16 months in federal prison.
Hullett was arrested in 2007 after authorities learned that he had installed cameras at the camp for disadvantaged children operated by the Fraternal Order of Police. At the time, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Hullett's employer, and the FOP were competing to represent Nashville police officers at the bargaining table.
The Teamsters took over representation of the police in 2005 but were decertified in 2007 after a petition drive by the FOP.
Investigators have alleged the hidden cameras were placed at the camp to try to discredit the FOP by catching officers engaged in some type of misconduct.
Earlier, former Shelby County deputy Joe Everson pleaded guilty to lying to investigators in connection with the incident.
A former Nashville police officer who also was a Teamsters organizer has pleaded guilty to charges he broke into a children's camp to set up cameras to discredit members of a rival union.
Calvin Hullett, 45, pleaded guilty Tuesday during his trial as part of a plea agreement. It was reported that he faces between 10 and 16 months in federal prison.
Hullett was arrested in 2007 after authorities learned that he had installed cameras at the camp for disadvantaged children operated by the Fraternal Order of Police. At the time, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Hullett's employer, and the FOP were competing to represent Nashville police officers at the bargaining table.
The Teamsters took over representation of the police in 2005 but were decertified in 2007 after a petition drive by the FOP.
Investigators have alleged the hidden cameras were placed at the camp to try to discredit the FOP by catching officers engaged in some type of misconduct.
Earlier, former Shelby County deputy Joe Everson pleaded guilty to lying to investigators in connection with the incident.
Oscar Grant's Shot in Back by Police, Sue for 25 Million
Relatives of a man who claim he was shot in the back and killed by a policeman while lying unarmed on the ground are suing the officer's employers for $25m.
The shooting of Oscar Grant, 22, early on New Year's Day at a busy train station in Oakland, California, sparked widespread outrage. The incident was caught on video by at least three witnesses.
Footage shows Bay Area Rapid Transit police officers responding to a call about two groups of men fighting on a train around 2am on January 1. The officers put several of the young men on the ground against a wall on the station platform.
Mr Grant, who was travelling home after celebrating New Year's Eve in San Francisco, can be seen rising to his knees before being pushed back down by police. According to local television news reports, at least one of the home videos shows an officer putting his knee on Mr Grant before a colleague draws his gun and fires. Mr Grant, a butcher at an Oakland supermarket, died later that morning.
John Burris, a lawyer for the man's family, said Mr Grant, the father of a four-year-old girl, was lying on his stomach and posed no threat when he was shot. He said he would ask prosecutors to press criminal charges against the officer, who is on administrative leave.
"The officer leaned (in), was straddling over him and pointed his gun directly into the backside and shot (Grant)," said Mr Burris, one of Rodney King's lawyers in his 1994 civil suit against the Los Angeles Police Department. "This was not a deadly force situation."
In the claim, the officer who carried out the shooting is accused of having "mercilessly fired his weapon, mortally wounding Mr. Grant with a single gunshot wound to the back."
The document also states that Mr Grant "made a valiant effort to de-escalate the situation by appealing to the officer's sense of humanity by telling the officer that he had a four-year-old daughter" and asking the officer not to use a Taser gun on him.
The claim, the precursor to a wrongful death lawsuit, was sent to BART officials on Tuesday and alleges officers illegally detained Mr Grant, used excessive force and violated his civil rights. The authority has 45 days to respond. A spokesman said officials were reviewing the claim.
BART is meanwhile conducting its own investigation and has urged patience while the inquiry is carried out.
Linton Johnson, a BART spokesman, told local station KTVU-TV that authorities were trying to determine whether the officer who shot Mr Grant was actually reaching for his Taser gun and pulled out his handgun by accident.
News of the claim came as California?s attorney general, Jerry Brown, called for a "searching inquiry and investigation" into the shooting.
Interviewed by local television news station ABC7, he described amateur videos of the incident as "disturbing" and said there should not be "any kind of delay or shilly-shallying around" in dealing with the case.
Mr Grant's funeral was due to take place on Wednesday.
The shooting of Oscar Grant, 22, early on New Year's Day at a busy train station in Oakland, California, sparked widespread outrage. The incident was caught on video by at least three witnesses.
Footage shows Bay Area Rapid Transit police officers responding to a call about two groups of men fighting on a train around 2am on January 1. The officers put several of the young men on the ground against a wall on the station platform.
Mr Grant, who was travelling home after celebrating New Year's Eve in San Francisco, can be seen rising to his knees before being pushed back down by police. According to local television news reports, at least one of the home videos shows an officer putting his knee on Mr Grant before a colleague draws his gun and fires. Mr Grant, a butcher at an Oakland supermarket, died later that morning.
John Burris, a lawyer for the man's family, said Mr Grant, the father of a four-year-old girl, was lying on his stomach and posed no threat when he was shot. He said he would ask prosecutors to press criminal charges against the officer, who is on administrative leave.
"The officer leaned (in), was straddling over him and pointed his gun directly into the backside and shot (Grant)," said Mr Burris, one of Rodney King's lawyers in his 1994 civil suit against the Los Angeles Police Department. "This was not a deadly force situation."
In the claim, the officer who carried out the shooting is accused of having "mercilessly fired his weapon, mortally wounding Mr. Grant with a single gunshot wound to the back."
The document also states that Mr Grant "made a valiant effort to de-escalate the situation by appealing to the officer's sense of humanity by telling the officer that he had a four-year-old daughter" and asking the officer not to use a Taser gun on him.
The claim, the precursor to a wrongful death lawsuit, was sent to BART officials on Tuesday and alleges officers illegally detained Mr Grant, used excessive force and violated his civil rights. The authority has 45 days to respond. A spokesman said officials were reviewing the claim.
BART is meanwhile conducting its own investigation and has urged patience while the inquiry is carried out.
Linton Johnson, a BART spokesman, told local station KTVU-TV that authorities were trying to determine whether the officer who shot Mr Grant was actually reaching for his Taser gun and pulled out his handgun by accident.
News of the claim came as California?s attorney general, Jerry Brown, called for a "searching inquiry and investigation" into the shooting.
Interviewed by local television news station ABC7, he described amateur videos of the incident as "disturbing" and said there should not be "any kind of delay or shilly-shallying around" in dealing with the case.
Mr Grant's funeral was due to take place on Wednesday.
Officer Johannes Mehserle Quits Job & Skips Interview
OAKLAND
The BART police officer under investigation for the fatal New Year's Day shooting of an unarmed man quit his job Wednesday rather than speak with investigators, an official said.
Former officer Johannes Mehserle, 27, has given no comment to BART investigators since the incident in which cell phone videos appeared to capture Mehserle shooting Oscar Grant III as Grant lay facedown on the ground at the Fruitvale station, BART spokesman Linton Johnson said Wednesday.
"We had a meeting scheduled for him to talk, and his attorney and a union rep came in his place and dropped off a letter of resignation instead," Johnson said. "It's interesting, because he was supposed to be talking for the administrative part of our investigation, which is privileged information and couldn't have been used in any criminal investigation anyway."
While BART officials said they've been trying to get Mehserle to talk ever since the shooting, Mehserle's attorney said he hadn't received any requests for an interview from Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff's office as of Wednesday night.
"In general, a prosecutor would contact the attorney of anyone under investigation for a crime," said Christopher Miller, Mehserle's Sacramento-based union attorney. "So that would have come to me."
Orloff declined Wednesday to discuss any details of his office's investigation with the media, citing a standing policy his office has to allow police departments to act as the main public face of any officer-involved shooting investigation.
"We've confirmed the investigation, and that's about as much as we'll say," Orloff said. "The normal thing in a situation like this is to interview anyone who can shed light on it."
Mehserle's resignation takes away BART's ability to leverage a statement out of him, since he can no longer be fired for remaining silent, Orloff said. Orloff met with a group of about 50 clergy and community members in his office, after they held a rally outside the Oakland courthouse and packed the lobby outside his office with wall-to-wall demonstrators demanding he meet with them.
Among the demonstrators was Oakland Councilmember Desley Brooks (Eastmont-Seminary), who called the shooting an "execution" and demanded an explanation of the behavior of the other officers present during the shooting.
Brooks and the clergy spoke with a crowd of about 100 people outside the courthouse just after 9 a.m. and said they'd been denied a meeting with Orloff and demanded swift justice for Grant's killing.
"What shall we tell our sons?" said the Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith Sr. of Alan Temple Baptist Church. "Shall we tell them to fear the law? Is the law their enemy? If Oscar Grant is not safe, then I am not safe."
Minister Christopher Muhammad of the Nation of Islam said Mehserle should be arrested immediately.
"What is left to investigate? The whole world has seen this," Muhammad said, referring to widespread Internet videos taken from witnesses' cell phones. "We can discuss his mindset later. But right now he should be detained and held on criminal charges."
At a demonstration in protest of the shooting Wednesday afternoon at the Fruitvale station, Grant's younger sister, Audrena Gilbert, said Mehserle has not talked to the bereaved family.
"I want him to start. I want him to apologize for what he did," said Gilbert, 19, of Oakland. "I want him to tell the truth, why he shot him, what he shot him for. That's all I want."
The afternoon protest, which had a microphone open for anyone to speak but was led by speakers for the Coalition Against Police Executions, drew a crowd of 500 people, police estimated. The station was temporarily shut down, and trains let passengers off at stations on either side of the stop.
"It's not enough the officer resigned today," said Sean Dugar, president of the California National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Youth and College Division. "We demand he be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. "... We shut down one BART station this afternoon. Let's do another one next week."
Speakers at both the morning and afternoon protests led the crowd in a call-and-return chant, shouting, "I am Oscar Grant."
Several clergymen at the morning protest, speakers at the Fruitvale station protest and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums all expressed an understanding for the community's anger but urged demonstrators to refrain from violence.
"As we handle ourselves in this moment, so shall our children," Dellums said. "I think that in a community that's trying to get its hands around violence, that it's important for us to maintain the integrity of a peaceful community going forward, even in this moment of great anger, great loss and great tragedy."
Despite this appeal, protesters shouted angrily at a representative from Dellums' office sent to the Fruitvale station, and when the crowd later moved toward Lake Merritt, it prompted the police shutdown of the BART station there Members of the crowd lit a Dumpster's contents on fire and rammed the container into a police car. Dellums said the city of Oakland and its Police Department should not become involved in the shooting investigation at this point.
"You deal with the appropriate agencies on the ground, and I think right now that's Bay Area Rapid Transit and that's the district attorney's office," he said. "At this point, I view my role as simply trying to articulate the pain and the sorrow and even the anger that people feel at the loss of human life."
Dave Rose, a retired Placer County sheriff's lieutenant who's now an expert witness on police use of force and the co-author of "Police Use-of-Force Case Law," said every bit of Mehserle's training and all circumstances of the situation on the BART platform that night must be taken into account. All the videos should be professionally enhanced and then reviewed frame by frame for every detail, every twitch, he said.
Based on Mehserle's experience and how officers react physiologically in high-stress situations, Rose said, it could well have been nothing more than a tragic, noncriminal accident.
But UC Berkeley Boalt Hall Law School professor Franklin Zimring, a criminal justice expert, said "absolutely conclusive" videos of the shooting have convinced him there's no possible justification for Mehserle's actions.
"Normally, what you get in a police deadly force interaction is a 'he said, she said' in which there's at least an accusation like, 'There was a flash of metal as he reached toward his pocket,'"‰" Zimring said. "But this guy was already down on the ground. "... He's not in a position to be threatening anybody."
Use of deadly force is considered "in terms of a threat to the physical safety of the officer or somebody else, and there's none there in this case," he added. "So it's accident versus intention, but justification is off the table."
Whether Mehserle meant to draw his Taser but accidentally drew his firearm, or whether he meant to draw his sidearm but didn't mean to fire it, it looks like involuntary manslaughter, Zimring said.
"My money is on that second horse: I think it was an accident, but I don't think the drawing of the gun was an accident," he said, noting it probably wouldn't have been appropriate to draw the Taser but "under no circumstance I could imagine" should Mehserle have drawn his firearm given what's seen on the videos.
Zimring said accidental shootings by officers are rarely charged.
"They don't even have to meet criminal juries most of the time, but most of the time there's a plausible officer vulnerability," he said. "That's what juries can identify with, and that's what's missing in action here. If I were a U.S. or prosecuting attorney, I would not be afraid of taking a criminal case here, certainly for involuntary manslaughter, before an Alameda County jury."
In the absence of a statement from Mehserle, the proper thing to do is to charge the case based on the evidence at hand and then hear his side of the story later, Zimring said: "Not giving a statement in this context may be motivated by an unwillingness to incriminate oneself, but it also deprives the officer of an opportunity to allege that the conduct was unintended.
"If there isn't a criminal investigation in this case, I think it will be an enduring scandal," he said, "and therefore I think that you're going to see an investigation, and you're going to see it in a matter of a very few days."
The BART police officer under investigation for the fatal New Year's Day shooting of an unarmed man quit his job Wednesday rather than speak with investigators, an official said.
Former officer Johannes Mehserle, 27, has given no comment to BART investigators since the incident in which cell phone videos appeared to capture Mehserle shooting Oscar Grant III as Grant lay facedown on the ground at the Fruitvale station, BART spokesman Linton Johnson said Wednesday.
"We had a meeting scheduled for him to talk, and his attorney and a union rep came in his place and dropped off a letter of resignation instead," Johnson said. "It's interesting, because he was supposed to be talking for the administrative part of our investigation, which is privileged information and couldn't have been used in any criminal investigation anyway."
While BART officials said they've been trying to get Mehserle to talk ever since the shooting, Mehserle's attorney said he hadn't received any requests for an interview from Alameda County District Attorney Tom Orloff's office as of Wednesday night.
"In general, a prosecutor would contact the attorney of anyone under investigation for a crime," said Christopher Miller, Mehserle's Sacramento-based union attorney. "So that would have come to me."
Orloff declined Wednesday to discuss any details of his office's investigation with the media, citing a standing policy his office has to allow police departments to act as the main public face of any officer-involved shooting investigation.
"We've confirmed the investigation, and that's about as much as we'll say," Orloff said. "The normal thing in a situation like this is to interview anyone who can shed light on it."
Mehserle's resignation takes away BART's ability to leverage a statement out of him, since he can no longer be fired for remaining silent, Orloff said. Orloff met with a group of about 50 clergy and community members in his office, after they held a rally outside the Oakland courthouse and packed the lobby outside his office with wall-to-wall demonstrators demanding he meet with them.
Among the demonstrators was Oakland Councilmember Desley Brooks (Eastmont-Seminary), who called the shooting an "execution" and demanded an explanation of the behavior of the other officers present during the shooting.
Brooks and the clergy spoke with a crowd of about 100 people outside the courthouse just after 9 a.m. and said they'd been denied a meeting with Orloff and demanded swift justice for Grant's killing.
"What shall we tell our sons?" said the Rev. Dr. J. Alfred Smith Sr. of Alan Temple Baptist Church. "Shall we tell them to fear the law? Is the law their enemy? If Oscar Grant is not safe, then I am not safe."
Minister Christopher Muhammad of the Nation of Islam said Mehserle should be arrested immediately.
"What is left to investigate? The whole world has seen this," Muhammad said, referring to widespread Internet videos taken from witnesses' cell phones. "We can discuss his mindset later. But right now he should be detained and held on criminal charges."
At a demonstration in protest of the shooting Wednesday afternoon at the Fruitvale station, Grant's younger sister, Audrena Gilbert, said Mehserle has not talked to the bereaved family.
"I want him to start. I want him to apologize for what he did," said Gilbert, 19, of Oakland. "I want him to tell the truth, why he shot him, what he shot him for. That's all I want."
The afternoon protest, which had a microphone open for anyone to speak but was led by speakers for the Coalition Against Police Executions, drew a crowd of 500 people, police estimated. The station was temporarily shut down, and trains let passengers off at stations on either side of the stop.
"It's not enough the officer resigned today," said Sean Dugar, president of the California National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Youth and College Division. "We demand he be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. "... We shut down one BART station this afternoon. Let's do another one next week."
Speakers at both the morning and afternoon protests led the crowd in a call-and-return chant, shouting, "I am Oscar Grant."
Several clergymen at the morning protest, speakers at the Fruitvale station protest and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums all expressed an understanding for the community's anger but urged demonstrators to refrain from violence.
"As we handle ourselves in this moment, so shall our children," Dellums said. "I think that in a community that's trying to get its hands around violence, that it's important for us to maintain the integrity of a peaceful community going forward, even in this moment of great anger, great loss and great tragedy."
Despite this appeal, protesters shouted angrily at a representative from Dellums' office sent to the Fruitvale station, and when the crowd later moved toward Lake Merritt, it prompted the police shutdown of the BART station there Members of the crowd lit a Dumpster's contents on fire and rammed the container into a police car. Dellums said the city of Oakland and its Police Department should not become involved in the shooting investigation at this point.
"You deal with the appropriate agencies on the ground, and I think right now that's Bay Area Rapid Transit and that's the district attorney's office," he said. "At this point, I view my role as simply trying to articulate the pain and the sorrow and even the anger that people feel at the loss of human life."
Dave Rose, a retired Placer County sheriff's lieutenant who's now an expert witness on police use of force and the co-author of "Police Use-of-Force Case Law," said every bit of Mehserle's training and all circumstances of the situation on the BART platform that night must be taken into account. All the videos should be professionally enhanced and then reviewed frame by frame for every detail, every twitch, he said.
Based on Mehserle's experience and how officers react physiologically in high-stress situations, Rose said, it could well have been nothing more than a tragic, noncriminal accident.
But UC Berkeley Boalt Hall Law School professor Franklin Zimring, a criminal justice expert, said "absolutely conclusive" videos of the shooting have convinced him there's no possible justification for Mehserle's actions.
"Normally, what you get in a police deadly force interaction is a 'he said, she said' in which there's at least an accusation like, 'There was a flash of metal as he reached toward his pocket,'"‰" Zimring said. "But this guy was already down on the ground. "... He's not in a position to be threatening anybody."
Use of deadly force is considered "in terms of a threat to the physical safety of the officer or somebody else, and there's none there in this case," he added. "So it's accident versus intention, but justification is off the table."
Whether Mehserle meant to draw his Taser but accidentally drew his firearm, or whether he meant to draw his sidearm but didn't mean to fire it, it looks like involuntary manslaughter, Zimring said.
"My money is on that second horse: I think it was an accident, but I don't think the drawing of the gun was an accident," he said, noting it probably wouldn't have been appropriate to draw the Taser but "under no circumstance I could imagine" should Mehserle have drawn his firearm given what's seen on the videos.
Zimring said accidental shootings by officers are rarely charged.
"They don't even have to meet criminal juries most of the time, but most of the time there's a plausible officer vulnerability," he said. "That's what juries can identify with, and that's what's missing in action here. If I were a U.S. or prosecuting attorney, I would not be afraid of taking a criminal case here, certainly for involuntary manslaughter, before an Alameda County jury."
In the absence of a statement from Mehserle, the proper thing to do is to charge the case based on the evidence at hand and then hear his side of the story later, Zimring said: "Not giving a statement in this context may be motivated by an unwillingness to incriminate oneself, but it also deprives the officer of an opportunity to allege that the conduct was unintended.
"If there isn't a criminal investigation in this case, I think it will be an enduring scandal," he said, "and therefore I think that you're going to see an investigation, and you're going to see it in a matter of a very few days."
Officer Glenn Mearls & Officer Josh Calder Both Charged with DWI
FARMINGTON
The off-duty Farmington police officer accused of crashing his truck into city vehicles while intoxicated on prescription medication was fired in December following an internal investigation of the crash, city officials said Tuesday.
Glenn Mearls, a 14-year veteran of the department who worked with the bomb squad, crashed his personal truck Nov. 12 into two city vehicles parked outside the Farmington Police Station. Mearls was not scheduled to begin a shift at the time.
The 43-year-old officer was charged with DWI following the accident, which caused significant damage to one of the city's vehicles. Police who investigated the incident reported Mearls likely was under the influence of a sleep aid at the time of the crash.
The criminal charge is pending in magistrate court.
Farmington City Manager Rob Mayes said he fired Mearls on Dec. 19 after consulting with police administrators, who recommended termination after conducting an independent investigation of the crash.
"All of our officers deserve our support and have a right to due process under both the law and administratively under city of Farmington personnel rules. However, when serious lines are crossed, as with any of our city employees, we have no choice but to take serious action," Mayes said in a prepared statement.
Mearls has formally appealed his termination, Mayes said.
"I don't think he should have been charged at all. ... He had taken a prescription medication. He hadn't violated any laws," said attorney Steve Murphy, representing Mearls. "Officer Mearls was a very fine officer and the city acted in haste. We look forward to the appeal in district court of his termination."
Contact information for the former officer is not publicly listed.
DWI charges also are pending against a second Farmington police officer, Josh Calder, who is accused of drunken driving after crashing a motorcycle on San Juan Boulevard in August.
A termination decision in that case is dependent on the magistrate court's findings of guilt of the DWI charge, the city manager said.
Mearls, however, was fired from the department before being convicted of a DWI.
"Every situation involving city employees is unique and must be looked at under its own merit. We thoroughly investigate the issue at hand and make the appropriate decision," Mayes said.
The city manager declined to comment on what factors differentiated the two officers' DWI circumstances.
Mearls' attorney claimed city officials
treated the former officer differently than other officers in a similar situation.
"It's a double standard the city is using," Murphy said.
Police officers recognize they are held to a higher standard, Deputy Chief Kyle Westall said, and serious consequences are appropriate when officers make bad decisions.
"We all know when we decide to be police officers that with more responsibility comes more accountability," Westall said. "At the same time, you have to remember that police officers are people just like anybody else and they're susceptible to the mistakes that everyone else makes."
The off-duty Farmington police officer accused of crashing his truck into city vehicles while intoxicated on prescription medication was fired in December following an internal investigation of the crash, city officials said Tuesday.
Glenn Mearls, a 14-year veteran of the department who worked with the bomb squad, crashed his personal truck Nov. 12 into two city vehicles parked outside the Farmington Police Station. Mearls was not scheduled to begin a shift at the time.
The 43-year-old officer was charged with DWI following the accident, which caused significant damage to one of the city's vehicles. Police who investigated the incident reported Mearls likely was under the influence of a sleep aid at the time of the crash.
The criminal charge is pending in magistrate court.
Farmington City Manager Rob Mayes said he fired Mearls on Dec. 19 after consulting with police administrators, who recommended termination after conducting an independent investigation of the crash.
"All of our officers deserve our support and have a right to due process under both the law and administratively under city of Farmington personnel rules. However, when serious lines are crossed, as with any of our city employees, we have no choice but to take serious action," Mayes said in a prepared statement.
Mearls has formally appealed his termination, Mayes said.
"I don't think he should have been charged at all. ... He had taken a prescription medication. He hadn't violated any laws," said attorney Steve Murphy, representing Mearls. "Officer Mearls was a very fine officer and the city acted in haste. We look forward to the appeal in district court of his termination."
Contact information for the former officer is not publicly listed.
DWI charges also are pending against a second Farmington police officer, Josh Calder, who is accused of drunken driving after crashing a motorcycle on San Juan Boulevard in August.
A termination decision in that case is dependent on the magistrate court's findings of guilt of the DWI charge, the city manager said.
Mearls, however, was fired from the department before being convicted of a DWI.
"Every situation involving city employees is unique and must be looked at under its own merit. We thoroughly investigate the issue at hand and make the appropriate decision," Mayes said.
The city manager declined to comment on what factors differentiated the two officers' DWI circumstances.
Mearls' attorney claimed city officials
treated the former officer differently than other officers in a similar situation.
"It's a double standard the city is using," Murphy said.
Police officers recognize they are held to a higher standard, Deputy Chief Kyle Westall said, and serious consequences are appropriate when officers make bad decisions.
"We all know when we decide to be police officers that with more responsibility comes more accountability," Westall said. "At the same time, you have to remember that police officers are people just like anybody else and they're susceptible to the mistakes that everyone else makes."
Sheriff Robert Chavez May Retire After DWI Arrest
Guadalupe County's embattled Sheriff Robert Chavez may quit his job following his DWI arrest.
State police pulled Chavez over on December 19 in Santa Rosa after receiving reports that the sheriff was driving recklessly.
Chavez refused to take a breathalyzer or give a blood test.
The sheriff sent a letter to Guadalupe County commissioners saying that he plans to retire before completing his term, which runs until the end of 2010.
More Information and Video: http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/crime_krqe_santa_rosa_sheriff_takes_leave_over_dwi_arrest_200801070045
State police pulled Chavez over on December 19 in Santa Rosa after receiving reports that the sheriff was driving recklessly.
Chavez refused to take a breathalyzer or give a blood test.
The sheriff sent a letter to Guadalupe County commissioners saying that he plans to retire before completing his term, which runs until the end of 2010.
More Information and Video: http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/crime_krqe_santa_rosa_sheriff_takes_leave_over_dwi_arrest_200801070045
Officer Adam Northcutt Being Investigated for Sexual Assault
MISHAWAKA
A police officer is on administrative leave after allegations of sexual assault at a local bar.
Adam Northcutt, a patrol officer with the Mishawaka police department, is on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the St. Joseph County Family Violence and Special Victims Unit, a division of the county prosecutor’s office.
According to Mishawaka Asst. Chief Mike Samp, a woman reported to police that she was “groped” and harassed by the off-duty officer at Bleacher’s Bar, 4609 Grape Road, on Dec. 13.
Northcutt has not been arrested or charged with any crime.
Samp said Mishawaka police contacted the county’s special victims unit to investigate, both because of the nature of the allegations and because a Mishawaka officer was involved.
Catherine Wilson, spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office, said the case is still under investigation and has not been presented to the prosecutor for possible charges.
Although police released few details about the allegation, the woman involved told The Tribune that Northcutt was intoxicated and wouldn’t leave her alone that night.
The 21-year-old woman, who is not being identified because of the nature of the crime, said Northcutt followed her around the bar, touching her inappropriately.
At one point, she said, Northcutt attempted to push her into the bar’s bathroom. “He kept saying, ‘I’m a Mishawaka police officer, I’ve done two tours in Iraq,’ and he just wouldn’t leave me alone.”
The woman also said Northcutt wasn’t alone at the bar, but was with two other off-duty police officers who are regulars at the bar.
The woman said she told one of the other officers that he needed to persuade Northcutt to leave the bar, but she also said they probably weren’t aware that Northcutt was harassing her.
“I don’t think they were paying that close of attention to him,” the woman said.
Samp said Wednesday that he could not comment on the allegations that other officers were present, but he said no other Mishawaka officers have been placed on administrative leave.
Despite Northcutt’s alleged advances, the woman said she was reluctant to report the incident to police until patrons and employees at the bar urged her to do so.
“It was just shocking and upsetting,” the woman said. “The whole thing was just weird.”
Samp said the decision to place Northcutt on administrative leave was made internally at the police station and not by the Mishawaka Board of Public Works and Safety. He said it is likely Northcutt will remain on administrative leave until a decision has been reached by the prosecutor’s office.
According to minutes of the Mishawaka Board of Public Works and Safety, Northcutt was made a probationary patrol officer in October 2007 and was promoted to full patrol officer in October 2008.
Trooper Michael Ford Robbed while Playing Illegal Poker Game
The Maryland State Police say a trooper who was robbed while allegedly playing in an illegal poker game in Hagerstown has retired.
But an attorney for 34-year-old Michael Ford says Ford retired for medical reasons unrelated to the poker game.
State police spokeswoman Elena Russo Ford's retirement was effective Jan. 1. She says Ford had served 10 years, 11 months with the state police.
Prosecutors say Ford was among 18 people robbed at gunpoint of about $4,000 by two masked men May 30 during a Texas Hold 'Em game inside an office building.
Prosecutors dropped charges last month against the only suspect arrested for the robbery, citing a lack of strong evidence.
The man who rented the office for gambling was fined $1,000.
But an attorney for 34-year-old Michael Ford says Ford retired for medical reasons unrelated to the poker game.
State police spokeswoman Elena Russo Ford's retirement was effective Jan. 1. She says Ford had served 10 years, 11 months with the state police.
Prosecutors say Ford was among 18 people robbed at gunpoint of about $4,000 by two masked men May 30 during a Texas Hold 'Em game inside an office building.
Prosecutors dropped charges last month against the only suspect arrested for the robbery, citing a lack of strong evidence.
The man who rented the office for gambling was fined $1,000.
Officer Kimberly Torres Arrested for Unauthorized Access to Police Computer
A Polk County sheriff's deputy was arrested today, accused of using her agency-issued computer to access law enforcement databases and giving out information to a person not authorized to have it.
Kimberly Torres, 23, of Lakeland was charged with two felony counts of unlawful use of a computer, the sheriff's office said.
Torres has been suspended without pay pending her termination from the sheriff's office, spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer said in a statement.
Torres' computer was seized Friday after detectives received a tip that she had accessed a Florida Department of Law Enforcement database for a matter not related to her duties as a deputy, Eleazer said.
Torres became a deputy in 2006 after working for two years in the Polk County Animal Control Department, Eleazer said.
The investigation is ongoing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)