The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing whether to issue criminal charges against seven Detroit police officers who are accused of falsifying arrest records, the office's spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The cops labeled it Operation Ice Breaker, a city-suburban law enforcement effort to bust drug dealers and prostitutes along 8 Mile.
Instead, seven Detroit vice cops have been suspended with pay on allegations of falsifying the arrest reports.
The allegations against the cops are: They couldn't find any prostitutes on 8 Mile, so they went to Harper and Chalmers on the east side and arrested five people for prostitution during three days in mid-February. The officers are accused of writing their report to say the busts happened on 8 Mile to fit the roundup's purpose.
Members of the Board of Police Commissioners last week refused to suspend the cops without pay, despite a recommendation from police executives and Chief James Barren.
Commissioner Adela Rivera, a former Detroit police officer, told the Free Press Wednesday that she believes the cops should be paid until they appear before a departmental trial board to present their cases.
"Look at the economy, people can't afford to be laid off with no income," Rivera said. "I think the city blanketed all seven officers together under one allegation. Sometimes as a police officer you do what your boss tells you and if that's the case, I think they should be allowed to justify why they did what they did."
Police spokesman James Tate said the matter is under investigation by the department's internal affairs division.
"Once the allegations were presented, the department moved swiftly to assure no further allegations would take place," Tate said.
Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, said her office also is investigating.
John Goldpaugh, an attorney for the Detroit Police Officers Association, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer said his department was part of the crackdown in February along with other suburban communities along 8 Mile.
"It was something, quite frankly, that Chief Barren came up with and it was producing good results," Dwyer said. "It's not my place to comment on what happened. I talked to the chief and he indicated there were some problems."
Dwyer said there was supposed to be a news conference announcing the results of the anticrime blitz. He's uncertain whether the allegations against the seven cops led to cancellation of the news conference.
Rivera said she will change her stance if the officers are found guilty at their respective trial boards.
"We don't have any room for lying officers," she said. "But I don't think it's fair to suspend them without pay until they've had their day in court."
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Lawsuit Being Filed Against Suffolk County for Wrongful Death
A lawsuit will be announced today against Suffolk County, the district attorney's office and five police officers investigated but not charged in the death of a Bay Shore man beaten with flashlights, attorneys for the man's family said yesterday.
Kenny Lazo, 24, died on April 12 after a violent altercation with Suffolk police officers during a traffic stop on the shoulder of the Robert Moses Causeway.
Hempstead attorney Frederick K. Brewington said the lawsuit, which he plans to file in federal court in Central Islip and will announce today at his office, will allege wrongful death, battery and civil rights violations. Lazo's mother, Patricia Gonzalez, and his son's mother, Jennifer Gonzalez, will be the plaintiffs.
A grand jury convened by District Attorney Thomas Spota decided not to indict the officers in November. At the time, Spota's office said police used "necessary force" on Lazo.
A police investigation found Lazo fled on foot, was tackled by an officer and then tried to grab an officer's gun. He was beaten with flashlights and then taken to the 3rd precinct in Bay Shore where he passed out, police said. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
County Attorney Christine Malafi said yesterday: "The county again extends its sympathies to the Lazo family, but we stand behind the actions of our police officers, sergeants and detectives and district attorney's office in connection with this matter."
Spota's office, the police department and the officers - Sgt. James Scimone, Officers William Judge and Joseph Link and Dets. John Newton and Christopher Talt - referred questions to Malafi.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District continues to monitor the case, a spokesman said.
Kenny Lazo, 24, died on April 12 after a violent altercation with Suffolk police officers during a traffic stop on the shoulder of the Robert Moses Causeway.
Hempstead attorney Frederick K. Brewington said the lawsuit, which he plans to file in federal court in Central Islip and will announce today at his office, will allege wrongful death, battery and civil rights violations. Lazo's mother, Patricia Gonzalez, and his son's mother, Jennifer Gonzalez, will be the plaintiffs.
A grand jury convened by District Attorney Thomas Spota decided not to indict the officers in November. At the time, Spota's office said police used "necessary force" on Lazo.
A police investigation found Lazo fled on foot, was tackled by an officer and then tried to grab an officer's gun. He was beaten with flashlights and then taken to the 3rd precinct in Bay Shore where he passed out, police said. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
County Attorney Christine Malafi said yesterday: "The county again extends its sympathies to the Lazo family, but we stand behind the actions of our police officers, sergeants and detectives and district attorney's office in connection with this matter."
Spota's office, the police department and the officers - Sgt. James Scimone, Officers William Judge and Joseph Link and Dets. John Newton and Christopher Talt - referred questions to Malafi.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District continues to monitor the case, a spokesman said.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Deputy Rodney Killian Arrested for Stealing from Evidence Room
CHESTER
A Chester County sheriff's deputy is accused of stealing $300 from the department's evidence room.
Deputy Rodney Killian was arrested today on a charge of misconduct in office, according to a news release from Chester County Sheriff Richard Smith. Killian's arrest came after a State Law Enforcement Division investigation, the release states. The release does not specify what prompted the investigation, other than that Sheriff Richard Smith was told “several things were not right at the sheriff's office” when he took over in January. Contacted this afternoon, Smith declined to elaborate, saying the investigation is ongoing.
“I have known Deputy Killian for approximately 15 years and this was a total shock to me and the men and women of Chester County's Sheriff's Office,” Smith said in the release. “It is reprehensible when a deputy violates the law that he is entrusted to uphold and I will not stand for it.”
The money was taken between Oct. 1, 2007, and Jan. 1 of this year, according to an arrest warrant. The warrant also says Killian disposed of the evidence log book to hide the crime.
A Chester County sheriff's deputy is accused of stealing $300 from the department's evidence room.
Deputy Rodney Killian was arrested today on a charge of misconduct in office, according to a news release from Chester County Sheriff Richard Smith. Killian's arrest came after a State Law Enforcement Division investigation, the release states. The release does not specify what prompted the investigation, other than that Sheriff Richard Smith was told “several things were not right at the sheriff's office” when he took over in January. Contacted this afternoon, Smith declined to elaborate, saying the investigation is ongoing.
“I have known Deputy Killian for approximately 15 years and this was a total shock to me and the men and women of Chester County's Sheriff's Office,” Smith said in the release. “It is reprehensible when a deputy violates the law that he is entrusted to uphold and I will not stand for it.”
The money was taken between Oct. 1, 2007, and Jan. 1 of this year, according to an arrest warrant. The warrant also says Killian disposed of the evidence log book to hide the crime.
Officer Jason Rivers Arrested for Drunk Driving
Keeping drunk drivers off the roads is one of the duties of a local police officer, who now finds himself accused of drinking and driving.
It started last sunday morning when a Geneva police officer clocked an SUV traveling at 63 miles an hour in a 35 zone, and reported that the driver went left of center and nearly hit his cruiser.
He says he smelled alcohol on the driver's breath and was surprised when the man identified himself as an off duty Conneaut police officer.
Jason Rivers, 34, a four year veteran of the Conneaut force, failed a number of field sobriety tests and was arrested.
A breathalyzer test would later reveal his blood alcohol content was .189, more than twice the legal limit.
Rivers has pleaded "not guilty" to the drunk driving charge.
Conneaut police have placed him on administrative leave.
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http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_071223859.html
It started last sunday morning when a Geneva police officer clocked an SUV traveling at 63 miles an hour in a 35 zone, and reported that the driver went left of center and nearly hit his cruiser.
He says he smelled alcohol on the driver's breath and was surprised when the man identified himself as an off duty Conneaut police officer.
Jason Rivers, 34, a four year veteran of the Conneaut force, failed a number of field sobriety tests and was arrested.
A breathalyzer test would later reveal his blood alcohol content was .189, more than twice the legal limit.
Rivers has pleaded "not guilty" to the drunk driving charge.
Conneaut police have placed him on administrative leave.
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http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_071223859.html
Judge Felts Recieves PULBIC REPRIMAND for Pleading Guilty to Drunk Driving
The Indiana Supreme Court has decided a public reprimand is the appropriate disciplinary action for Allen Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Felts who pleaded guilty to drinking and driving last year.
July 18, 2008 Judge Felts was arrested in Marion County for Operating a Motor Vehicle with an alcohol content of at least .15, which is a misdemeanor. He was also arrested for public intoxication, also a misdemeanor.
In August, Judge Felts plead guilty to the OWI charge and the state dropped the public intoxication charge. A judge sentenced Felts to one year in jail and suspended the sentence for the time served. Judge Felts was also ordered to serve one year probation, have his driver's license suspended for 90 days and attend alcohol treatment.
Judge Felts could have faced a suspension or even lost his seat on the bench.
July 18, 2008 Judge Felts was arrested in Marion County for Operating a Motor Vehicle with an alcohol content of at least .15, which is a misdemeanor. He was also arrested for public intoxication, also a misdemeanor.
In August, Judge Felts plead guilty to the OWI charge and the state dropped the public intoxication charge. A judge sentenced Felts to one year in jail and suspended the sentence for the time served. Judge Felts was also ordered to serve one year probation, have his driver's license suspended for 90 days and attend alcohol treatment.
Judge Felts could have faced a suspension or even lost his seat on the bench.
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Sgt William Edwards Arrested on Sexual Charges Against Boy
NEW LONDON, Conn.
New London's police chief says he has fired a sergeant arrested in January on sexual assault charges involving a boy.
The chief says William Edwards, who had been suspended without pay since his arrest, was notified in person late Monday afternoon.
Edwards is accused of sexually assaulting a boy who told authorities he had four or five encounters with the officer when he was between 5 and 7 years old.
The chief says that Edwards was brought up on charges of violating the department's rules and regulations, such as alleged drug use, untruthfulness and conduct unbecoming an officer.
Edwards is charged with third-degree sexual assault, unlawful restraint, tampering with a witness and two counts of risk of injury to a minor.
Prosecutors have moved his case to Windham County.
Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com
New London's police chief says he has fired a sergeant arrested in January on sexual assault charges involving a boy.
The chief says William Edwards, who had been suspended without pay since his arrest, was notified in person late Monday afternoon.
Edwards is accused of sexually assaulting a boy who told authorities he had four or five encounters with the officer when he was between 5 and 7 years old.
The chief says that Edwards was brought up on charges of violating the department's rules and regulations, such as alleged drug use, untruthfulness and conduct unbecoming an officer.
Edwards is charged with third-degree sexual assault, unlawful restraint, tampering with a witness and two counts of risk of injury to a minor.
Prosecutors have moved his case to Windham County.
Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com
Officer 'mywebboys' Being Investigated for Posting Child Porn
Federal agents last week searched the Cottage Grove Police Department and a patrol officer’s Eugene home for evidence that the officer posted child pornography online, newly filed court documents show.
The Cottage Grove officer has not been arrested or charged with any crime in connection with the ongoing FBI investigation.
However, search warrant applications filed by FBI agent Christopher Luh state that investigators have probable cause to believe that the officer has violated federal child pornography laws.
The investigation began last September, when officials with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children informed the FBI that someone with the user name “mywebboys” had posted child pornography on a Web site known as Photobucket, the applications state.
The applications include graphic descriptions of photos posted online from an Internet provider address registered to the officer. All of the photos depict nude, prepubescent boys, some of whom are performing sex acts, the documents state.
FBI agents last Friday served a search warrant at the Cottage Grove Police Department and seized images from three desktop computers and one laptop.
According to a separate warrant served at the officer’s north Eugene home, FBI agents seized five cameras, five computers and other items.
________________
http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story/Cottage-Grove-officer-suspected-in-child-porn/tGJ79FeKPkCO1IkXAFIgJg.cspx
How he was caught>>http://www.kval.com/news/content/41114182.html
The Cottage Grove officer has not been arrested or charged with any crime in connection with the ongoing FBI investigation.
However, search warrant applications filed by FBI agent Christopher Luh state that investigators have probable cause to believe that the officer has violated federal child pornography laws.
The investigation began last September, when officials with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children informed the FBI that someone with the user name “mywebboys” had posted child pornography on a Web site known as Photobucket, the applications state.
The applications include graphic descriptions of photos posted online from an Internet provider address registered to the officer. All of the photos depict nude, prepubescent boys, some of whom are performing sex acts, the documents state.
FBI agents last Friday served a search warrant at the Cottage Grove Police Department and seized images from three desktop computers and one laptop.
According to a separate warrant served at the officer’s north Eugene home, FBI agents seized five cameras, five computers and other items.
________________
http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story/Cottage-Grove-officer-suspected-in-child-porn/tGJ79FeKPkCO1IkXAFIgJg.cspx
How he was caught>>http://www.kval.com/news/content/41114182.html
Woman Accuses Former Officer Joseph Garner of Threatening
BELLEFONTE
A woman has accused a former Penn State police officer of repeatedly threatening and assaulting her, and twice using his master key in February to get into her university office and leave her notes.
Joseph Garner resigned from his job in February around the same time he was suspended as a police officer for 15 days, Assistant Chief Tom Sowerby said Tuesday.
The woman also accuses Garner of threatening to kill her animals, and using his military and law enforcement training to physically restrain her, according to court papers.
She filed a protection from abuse order against Garner on Feb. 4, which makes it illegal for Garner to have contact with her.
In her request for the order, the woman wrote that Garner had strangled, punched, grabbed, slapped, bit and pinched her.
At one point, she said, she received up to 30 harassing calls and text messages from Garner in a half-hour period, court papers say.
Twice between Feb. 2 and 3, she alleged, Garner used his university master key issued to police officers to enter her office and leave notes for her, court papers say.
A hearing scheduled for Tuesday in front of President Judge David E. Grine was continued until next week.
State police Sgt. Jim Emigh at Rockview said an investigation of an officer with Penn State police was referred to him, but no criminal charges have been filed.
The protection order is a civil matter unless it is violated.
“We were asked to look into an incident involving a Penn State police officer for some of his conduct on duty to determine if it rose to the level of a criminal offense,” Emigh said.
“As of now, we are still conducting our investigations.”
As part of the protection order, Garner was required by Judge Pamela Ruest to surrender his weapons. The county Sheriff’s Office said that Garner relinquished his weapons to a third party — something the law permits if the defendant chooses not to have the sheriff hold the weapons.
A woman has accused a former Penn State police officer of repeatedly threatening and assaulting her, and twice using his master key in February to get into her university office and leave her notes.
Joseph Garner resigned from his job in February around the same time he was suspended as a police officer for 15 days, Assistant Chief Tom Sowerby said Tuesday.
The woman also accuses Garner of threatening to kill her animals, and using his military and law enforcement training to physically restrain her, according to court papers.
She filed a protection from abuse order against Garner on Feb. 4, which makes it illegal for Garner to have contact with her.
In her request for the order, the woman wrote that Garner had strangled, punched, grabbed, slapped, bit and pinched her.
At one point, she said, she received up to 30 harassing calls and text messages from Garner in a half-hour period, court papers say.
Twice between Feb. 2 and 3, she alleged, Garner used his university master key issued to police officers to enter her office and leave notes for her, court papers say.
A hearing scheduled for Tuesday in front of President Judge David E. Grine was continued until next week.
State police Sgt. Jim Emigh at Rockview said an investigation of an officer with Penn State police was referred to him, but no criminal charges have been filed.
The protection order is a civil matter unless it is violated.
“We were asked to look into an incident involving a Penn State police officer for some of his conduct on duty to determine if it rose to the level of a criminal offense,” Emigh said.
“As of now, we are still conducting our investigations.”
As part of the protection order, Garner was required by Judge Pamela Ruest to surrender his weapons. The county Sheriff’s Office said that Garner relinquished his weapons to a third party — something the law permits if the defendant chooses not to have the sheriff hold the weapons.
Officer Raphael Lora On Trial for Manslaughter
BRONX
A Bronx cop on trial for manslaughter said he had no choice but to shoot an unarmed man.
Officer Raphael Lora spent three hours on the stand Wednesday. He's a veteran cop and ex-combat Marine, but now he's fighting to stay out of prison.
"It's a very frightening situation to have to take the stand in your own defense. He's been living with this for the last 18 months. I thought he was professional, calm. Shots was fired, and he did hit the cop with the vehicle," said Lora's attorney Stuart London.
Lora called 9-1-1 the night he killed Honduran immigrant Fermin Arzu. Arzu was drunk when he crashed his van outside Lora's home. The off-duty cop grabbed his gun and ran to the vehicle. Lora said Arzu was incoherent, then suddenly Arzu threw something in Lora's face and started driving away.
Lora said his arm was stuck in the door. "My main intention was to extract myself from the car and that's when I fired my weapon," he said.
There were five shots. One hit Arzu in the back, killing him.
Juana Arzu, the victim's sister, said "I feel sick now. Yeah, I feel bad, I don't like nothing." The Arzu family says the cop's story doesn't hang together.
For instance, there's nothing in the EMT report to support Lora's claim that his tooth was chipped when Arzu threw something at his face, and the cop has told different versions of firing, both in order to break free of the moving van, and breaking free then firing.
"Frankly rather than acting like a heroic officer to render aid, he acted with a chicken heart," said Arzu family attorney Michael Hardy.
Lora decided against a jury trial, so a judge will decide if this shooting was justified, or a case of manslaughter.
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http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/95368/officer-accused-of-shooting-bronx-man-takes-the-stand/Default.aspx
A Bronx cop on trial for manslaughter said he had no choice but to shoot an unarmed man.
Officer Raphael Lora spent three hours on the stand Wednesday. He's a veteran cop and ex-combat Marine, but now he's fighting to stay out of prison.
"It's a very frightening situation to have to take the stand in your own defense. He's been living with this for the last 18 months. I thought he was professional, calm. Shots was fired, and he did hit the cop with the vehicle," said Lora's attorney Stuart London.
Lora called 9-1-1 the night he killed Honduran immigrant Fermin Arzu. Arzu was drunk when he crashed his van outside Lora's home. The off-duty cop grabbed his gun and ran to the vehicle. Lora said Arzu was incoherent, then suddenly Arzu threw something in Lora's face and started driving away.
Lora said his arm was stuck in the door. "My main intention was to extract myself from the car and that's when I fired my weapon," he said.
There were five shots. One hit Arzu in the back, killing him.
Juana Arzu, the victim's sister, said "I feel sick now. Yeah, I feel bad, I don't like nothing." The Arzu family says the cop's story doesn't hang together.
For instance, there's nothing in the EMT report to support Lora's claim that his tooth was chipped when Arzu threw something at his face, and the cop has told different versions of firing, both in order to break free of the moving van, and breaking free then firing.
"Frankly rather than acting like a heroic officer to render aid, he acted with a chicken heart," said Arzu family attorney Michael Hardy.
Lora decided against a jury trial, so a judge will decide if this shooting was justified, or a case of manslaughter.
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http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/95368/officer-accused-of-shooting-bronx-man-takes-the-stand/Default.aspx
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Stephen Pyles of Pasadena Talks of his Experience with Police
Stephen Pyles of Pasadena says he has lingering injuries after police investigated an April burglary at his home.
The day started badly enough for Stephen Pyles when he discovered that the home he shares with his elderly mother had been burglarized. But it only got worse when Pyles attempted to explain to police what had happened — and wound up taken from his home in handcuffs.
The 55-year-old Anne Arundel County man was accused of punching a police officer in the chest. But a paramedic who was there wrote in a report that Pyles, who is deaf and cannot speak clearly, simply pressed a note to the officer's chest and was then "violently wrestled to the ground" by the officer.
Prosecutors recently dropped charges against Pyles, citing a lack of evidence. And Anne Arundel County police say they are reviewing the incident and their policies.
"When the officer was pushing me, I couldn't breathe. I kept trying to mouth the word 'air, air, air' over and over again," Pyles, who says he had neck surgery six days before his arrest, said through a sign-language interpreter. "Every time I see the police, I get chills. If something happens to my mom, who do I call? I can't call the cops."
While it remains unclear exactly what happened at the Pasadena home that morning, the versions told by Pyles and the paramedic illustrate the difficulties that can arise in encounters between police and the hard of hearing.
"When police see someone who is blind, they know he cannot see. When they see someone in a wheelchair, they know he cannot walk. But when they see someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, the assumption is that he is not trying hard enough to hear or that he's unintelligent," says Shannon Smith Peinaldo, a New Mexico-based advocate for the deaf. "American Sign Language is a very visual language, and when you don't know it ... what is an expression of emotion can be viewed as aggression."
Some law enforcement agencies are taking steps to make officers more sensitive to the needs of the hearing impaired. The Maryland Sheriff's Association created visor cards to alert officers at a traffic stop that a driver is deaf. And the Frederick police recently learned basic sign language and took part in role play situations with students of the Maryland School for the Deaf.
"We found through this training that the police now have an understanding of deaf culture," said Frederick police spokesman Lt. Clark Pennington. "That's a big part of empathy."
The Anne Arundel County police dispatchers are equipped with TTY phones to communicate with the deaf, police spokesman Sgt. John Gilmer said. New police officers take part in a workshop on disabilities, he said. But a manual for officers, provided by the department, does not specifically address how police should handle calls involving deaf people.
Pyles says he is traumatized by his interactions with police. He lives with his mother in the same two-story home near Fort Smallwood Park where he grew up. Everyone in the immediate family was born deaf.
The house smells like wood smoke, and the walls are decorated with hand-painted bird feeders, family photos and cards that say "I love Grandma." A television with closed captioning runs in the living room, words scrolling above the heads of faces on screen.
But the tranquillity of the home is deceptive, Pyles said through an interpreter. The house has been burglarized at least six times in the past decade, he said, and he believes thieves target him and his mother because they are deaf.
When mother and son awoke April 16 to find a window smashed and 79-year-old Evelyn Pyles' purse missing, they called 911 on their TTY phone and hung up. As paramedics watched, Stephen Pyles showed police the shattered window and wrote a note expressing his frustration at feeling that his home was unsafe. At this point, the accounts of what occurred diverge.
According to court documents signed by Officer L.A. Facciponti, Pyles pointed his finger in the officer's face, pounded a table and slammed down a pen that ricocheted and nearly struck the officer. Then "he suddenly and without warning used ... his fist to punch me in the chest," the officer wrote. Facciponti, who joined the department in June 2007, tried to arrest Pyles, but the man resisted and the officer used "hand techniques to take him to the ground," according to the documents.
But Ashley Eckhardt, a paramedic with the county Fire Department, wrote a different account. Pyles apparently "frustrated from not being able to communicate with the officers, attempted to get an officer's attention by grabbing the officer's arm and placing a piece of paper with a note for the officer on the officer's chest," she wrote. "It was at this time that the officer began wrestling the patient to the ground." Pyles was "guarding himself from the officer," "pointing to his neck" and "motioning for officer to stop," she wrote.
Pyles said he was terrified and suffering intense pain as he lay on the floor with his hands bound behind his back. "I really thought my throat was going to close up," he said. "I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die."
According to the paramedic's report, Evelyn Pyles wrote a note explaining that her son was recovering from neck surgery and was in pain. A hearing brother-in-law, who had arrived to interpret, asked police to cuff Stephen Pyles' hands in front of him to alleviate the neck pain and to allow him to sign, but the officers refused several times. They also declined Pyles' request to be examined by paramedics before leaving the home, according to the report.
In the officer's account, the first mention of Pyles' medical condition occurs when he is at the police station. Paramedics examined him then and took him to the hospital for treatment.
It was at this time that the officers were "able to ascertain" that a purse had been stolen from Pyles' home. Pyles wrote up a list of things that had been taken. He was charged with second-degree assault and resisting arrest and was released.
Pyles said that he still suffers neck and back pain. And he says there still has not been an arrest in the burglary that started the chain of events.
His emphatic signing might have been interpreted by the officer as aggression, said Leo Yates Jr., the pastor of Magothy United Methodist Church of the Deaf, where Pyles is a member. As people grow more emotional, they sign with larger and more dramatic gestures, he said.
"When you're trying to express yourself, you're going to need to flap your arms and use parts of your body to express yourself," he said.
When the case came to Anne Arundel Circuit Court Feb. 25 assistant state's attorney Karen Anderson-Scott asked that charges be dropped due to lack of evidence.
Heather Tierney, Pyles' attorney from the public defender's office, said after the hearing that the police need more training in dealing with the deaf.
"The public and the police need to be made aware that this can't happen again," she said.
The day started badly enough for Stephen Pyles when he discovered that the home he shares with his elderly mother had been burglarized. But it only got worse when Pyles attempted to explain to police what had happened — and wound up taken from his home in handcuffs.
The 55-year-old Anne Arundel County man was accused of punching a police officer in the chest. But a paramedic who was there wrote in a report that Pyles, who is deaf and cannot speak clearly, simply pressed a note to the officer's chest and was then "violently wrestled to the ground" by the officer.
Prosecutors recently dropped charges against Pyles, citing a lack of evidence. And Anne Arundel County police say they are reviewing the incident and their policies.
"When the officer was pushing me, I couldn't breathe. I kept trying to mouth the word 'air, air, air' over and over again," Pyles, who says he had neck surgery six days before his arrest, said through a sign-language interpreter. "Every time I see the police, I get chills. If something happens to my mom, who do I call? I can't call the cops."
While it remains unclear exactly what happened at the Pasadena home that morning, the versions told by Pyles and the paramedic illustrate the difficulties that can arise in encounters between police and the hard of hearing.
"When police see someone who is blind, they know he cannot see. When they see someone in a wheelchair, they know he cannot walk. But when they see someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, the assumption is that he is not trying hard enough to hear or that he's unintelligent," says Shannon Smith Peinaldo, a New Mexico-based advocate for the deaf. "American Sign Language is a very visual language, and when you don't know it ... what is an expression of emotion can be viewed as aggression."
Some law enforcement agencies are taking steps to make officers more sensitive to the needs of the hearing impaired. The Maryland Sheriff's Association created visor cards to alert officers at a traffic stop that a driver is deaf. And the Frederick police recently learned basic sign language and took part in role play situations with students of the Maryland School for the Deaf.
"We found through this training that the police now have an understanding of deaf culture," said Frederick police spokesman Lt. Clark Pennington. "That's a big part of empathy."
The Anne Arundel County police dispatchers are equipped with TTY phones to communicate with the deaf, police spokesman Sgt. John Gilmer said. New police officers take part in a workshop on disabilities, he said. But a manual for officers, provided by the department, does not specifically address how police should handle calls involving deaf people.
Pyles says he is traumatized by his interactions with police. He lives with his mother in the same two-story home near Fort Smallwood Park where he grew up. Everyone in the immediate family was born deaf.
The house smells like wood smoke, and the walls are decorated with hand-painted bird feeders, family photos and cards that say "I love Grandma." A television with closed captioning runs in the living room, words scrolling above the heads of faces on screen.
But the tranquillity of the home is deceptive, Pyles said through an interpreter. The house has been burglarized at least six times in the past decade, he said, and he believes thieves target him and his mother because they are deaf.
When mother and son awoke April 16 to find a window smashed and 79-year-old Evelyn Pyles' purse missing, they called 911 on their TTY phone and hung up. As paramedics watched, Stephen Pyles showed police the shattered window and wrote a note expressing his frustration at feeling that his home was unsafe. At this point, the accounts of what occurred diverge.
According to court documents signed by Officer L.A. Facciponti, Pyles pointed his finger in the officer's face, pounded a table and slammed down a pen that ricocheted and nearly struck the officer. Then "he suddenly and without warning used ... his fist to punch me in the chest," the officer wrote. Facciponti, who joined the department in June 2007, tried to arrest Pyles, but the man resisted and the officer used "hand techniques to take him to the ground," according to the documents.
But Ashley Eckhardt, a paramedic with the county Fire Department, wrote a different account. Pyles apparently "frustrated from not being able to communicate with the officers, attempted to get an officer's attention by grabbing the officer's arm and placing a piece of paper with a note for the officer on the officer's chest," she wrote. "It was at this time that the officer began wrestling the patient to the ground." Pyles was "guarding himself from the officer," "pointing to his neck" and "motioning for officer to stop," she wrote.
Pyles said he was terrified and suffering intense pain as he lay on the floor with his hands bound behind his back. "I really thought my throat was going to close up," he said. "I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die."
According to the paramedic's report, Evelyn Pyles wrote a note explaining that her son was recovering from neck surgery and was in pain. A hearing brother-in-law, who had arrived to interpret, asked police to cuff Stephen Pyles' hands in front of him to alleviate the neck pain and to allow him to sign, but the officers refused several times. They also declined Pyles' request to be examined by paramedics before leaving the home, according to the report.
In the officer's account, the first mention of Pyles' medical condition occurs when he is at the police station. Paramedics examined him then and took him to the hospital for treatment.
It was at this time that the officers were "able to ascertain" that a purse had been stolen from Pyles' home. Pyles wrote up a list of things that had been taken. He was charged with second-degree assault and resisting arrest and was released.
Pyles said that he still suffers neck and back pain. And he says there still has not been an arrest in the burglary that started the chain of events.
His emphatic signing might have been interpreted by the officer as aggression, said Leo Yates Jr., the pastor of Magothy United Methodist Church of the Deaf, where Pyles is a member. As people grow more emotional, they sign with larger and more dramatic gestures, he said.
"When you're trying to express yourself, you're going to need to flap your arms and use parts of your body to express yourself," he said.
When the case came to Anne Arundel Circuit Court Feb. 25 assistant state's attorney Karen Anderson-Scott asked that charges be dropped due to lack of evidence.
Heather Tierney, Pyles' attorney from the public defender's office, said after the hearing that the police need more training in dealing with the deaf.
"The public and the police need to be made aware that this can't happen again," she said.
Former Officer Charles Coughlin on Trial for Faking Injuries to Get 9/11 Money
WASHINGTON
A former naval commander cited for his service during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is standing trial on charges that he faked injuries to get money from the victims' compensation fund.
In opening arguments Tuesday, a federal prosecutor accused Charles Coughlin and his wife, Sabrina, of stealing $331,000 from the fund by filing a false claim.
Attorneys for the Coughlins said the claim was legitimate. They said Charles Coughlin injured his neck when a plane crashed into the Pentagon about 75 feet from his office and pieces of the ceiling hit his head. They said he was hurt again when he went back into the burning building to rescue others and ran into a door jam.
Prosecutors contend his symptoms are from a 1998 injury that he suffered while doing home repairs.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/10/AR2009031003396.html
A former naval commander cited for his service during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is standing trial on charges that he faked injuries to get money from the victims' compensation fund.
In opening arguments Tuesday, a federal prosecutor accused Charles Coughlin and his wife, Sabrina, of stealing $331,000 from the fund by filing a false claim.
Attorneys for the Coughlins said the claim was legitimate. They said Charles Coughlin injured his neck when a plane crashed into the Pentagon about 75 feet from his office and pieces of the ceiling hit his head. They said he was hurt again when he went back into the burning building to rescue others and ran into a door jam.
Prosecutors contend his symptoms are from a 1998 injury that he suffered while doing home repairs.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/10/AR2009031003396.html
Corrections Officer Deandra McNeill Accused of having Sex with Inmate
GRANTS, N.M.
A Cibola County Detention Center corrections officer is accused of having sex with an inmate.
Deandra McNeill, 20, was arrested and charged with one count of criminal sexual penetration, according to a New Mexico State Police news release.
According to the release, McNeill and the inmate had an ongoing sexual relationship since early last month. She was fired on March 4.
McNeill is being held on a no-bond warrant at the McKinley County jail.
Deandra McNeill, 20, was arrested and charged with one count of criminal sexual penetration, according to a New Mexico State Police news release.
According to the release, McNeill and the inmate had an ongoing sexual relationship since early last month. She was fired on March 4.
McNeill is being held on a no-bond warrant at the McKinley County jail.
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Sgt. Michael Marcucilli Accused of Brutalizing 12-year-old
MOUNT VERNON
A city police sergeant who was stripped of his gun and badge after he was accused of brutalizing a 12-year-old burglary suspect has been identified by a spokesman for the boy's family.
Sgt. Michael Marcucilli's name was announced yesterday by Damon K. Jones, executive director of the Westchester County chapter of the National Black Police Association.
Marcucilli is a patrol sergeant with 14 years on the force and an unblemished record.
Police Commissioner David Chong was annoyed that Jones released the sergeant's name - as well as the names of other officers associated with the investigation.
"This is an open investigation," Chong said. "We have been investigating it for one week. We are investigating it with the district attorney's Public Integrity Unit.
"Damon Jones has my telephone number, and I have yet to receive a telephone call from him regarding this incident," added Chong. "We are not going to be forced into making rash accusations."
The case is being investigated by police Capt. Edward Adinaro and Lt. Dante Barrera, along with the county District Attorney's Office.
Jones yesterday called for an outside agency to probe the incident, which involved three boys: a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old from Mount Vernon and a 14-year-old from New Rochelle.
The New Rochelle boy's mother, who is a Mount Vernon teacher, was recently arrested in Mount Vernon after a traffic stop and faces a resisting arrest charge. During that incident, police said she fought with an officer and was struck on the legs with a retractable nightstick as she was subdued.
Police said the three boys either broke into A.B. Davis Middle School at 350 Gramatan Ave. about 8:30 p.m. Feb. 28 or were trespassing. They set off an alarm and police responded, surrounding the school and requesting a Yonkers K-9 unit because they did not have one available.
Jones said the parents of the 12-year-old said he was beaten by two police officers when he ran out of the school. He said Marcucilli hit the boy in the head with a retractable nightstick while he was handcuffed, causing a wound that required 19 stitches to the side of the child's head.
The officers told the boy to tell his parents he fell, Jones said, or they would sic the police dog on him.
The 14-year-old boy was bitten several times by the dog on the left leg, Jones said, and was also choked by a police officer.
His mother has filed a complaint against the officers.
The third boy had not filed a complaint. Jones said that a Mount Vernon detective who knows him has urged him not to.
After the incident, the youngest boy's parents tried to file a complaint, but Jones charged that Officer Neil Rosenberg, who works at the desk window, told them they couldn't without a lawyer.
Detectives Martin Bailey and Wayne Vanderpool later went to their house and brought the family back to file the complaint.
Jones said they were forced to wait 45 minutes before they were allowed to file it.
Jones added that Bailey was called "a whistle blower" by other members of the department for facilitating the family's complaint.
"The lone detective who has stood up and said 'enough is enough' cannot stand alone," Jones said in a statement.
The incident came to light after Bailey reported it to the Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit on March 4.
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http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6702209
A city police sergeant who was stripped of his gun and badge after he was accused of brutalizing a 12-year-old burglary suspect has been identified by a spokesman for the boy's family.
Sgt. Michael Marcucilli's name was announced yesterday by Damon K. Jones, executive director of the Westchester County chapter of the National Black Police Association.
Marcucilli is a patrol sergeant with 14 years on the force and an unblemished record.
Police Commissioner David Chong was annoyed that Jones released the sergeant's name - as well as the names of other officers associated with the investigation.
"This is an open investigation," Chong said. "We have been investigating it for one week. We are investigating it with the district attorney's Public Integrity Unit.
"Damon Jones has my telephone number, and I have yet to receive a telephone call from him regarding this incident," added Chong. "We are not going to be forced into making rash accusations."
The case is being investigated by police Capt. Edward Adinaro and Lt. Dante Barrera, along with the county District Attorney's Office.
Jones yesterday called for an outside agency to probe the incident, which involved three boys: a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old from Mount Vernon and a 14-year-old from New Rochelle.
The New Rochelle boy's mother, who is a Mount Vernon teacher, was recently arrested in Mount Vernon after a traffic stop and faces a resisting arrest charge. During that incident, police said she fought with an officer and was struck on the legs with a retractable nightstick as she was subdued.
Police said the three boys either broke into A.B. Davis Middle School at 350 Gramatan Ave. about 8:30 p.m. Feb. 28 or were trespassing. They set off an alarm and police responded, surrounding the school and requesting a Yonkers K-9 unit because they did not have one available.
Jones said the parents of the 12-year-old said he was beaten by two police officers when he ran out of the school. He said Marcucilli hit the boy in the head with a retractable nightstick while he was handcuffed, causing a wound that required 19 stitches to the side of the child's head.
The officers told the boy to tell his parents he fell, Jones said, or they would sic the police dog on him.
The 14-year-old boy was bitten several times by the dog on the left leg, Jones said, and was also choked by a police officer.
His mother has filed a complaint against the officers.
The third boy had not filed a complaint. Jones said that a Mount Vernon detective who knows him has urged him not to.
After the incident, the youngest boy's parents tried to file a complaint, but Jones charged that Officer Neil Rosenberg, who works at the desk window, told them they couldn't without a lawyer.
Detectives Martin Bailey and Wayne Vanderpool later went to their house and brought the family back to file the complaint.
Jones said they were forced to wait 45 minutes before they were allowed to file it.
Jones added that Bailey was called "a whistle blower" by other members of the department for facilitating the family's complaint.
"The lone detective who has stood up and said 'enough is enough' cannot stand alone," Jones said in a statement.
The incident came to light after Bailey reported it to the Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit on March 4.
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http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6702209
Detective Jerry Saldivar Arrested for Rape
Madera, CA
A Madera County Sheriff's Detective has been arrested for raping a woman and then, trying to keep her from calling for help.
37 year old Jerry Saldivar was booked into jail by Clovis Police on several felony charges. He has since bailed out.
Jerry Saldivar knew the woman who he is accused of raping. According to jail records, she was asleep or unconscious at some point when the crimes took place.
Police responded to a 9-1-1 call at the East Clovis home where Detective Jerry Saldivar lives. Only this time he became the subject of the investigation.
Action News has learned there is a videotape of the rape that has now been turned over to the District Attorney's Office.
Investigators are recommending prosecutors file three felony charges including rape, false imprisonment and a misdemeanor of preventing a 9-1-1 call from being made.
This is not the first time Saldivar has had brushes with the law.
In early 2007, he was charged with domestic violence and ordered to attend Anger Management and Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous.
Once he completed them, the charges were dropped.
The Madera County Sheriff's Department would only say once they heard about the arrest, Saldivar was immediately put on paid administrative leave. He's also now under an Internal Affairs Investigation.
The 37 year old was hired in 2002 initially as a deputy but later promoted to a detective.
The district attorney is reviewing the case. They have up to 30 days to file charges.
Saldivar is out of jail after posting a 161 thousand dollar bail.
A Madera County Sheriff's Detective has been arrested for raping a woman and then, trying to keep her from calling for help.
37 year old Jerry Saldivar was booked into jail by Clovis Police on several felony charges. He has since bailed out.
Jerry Saldivar knew the woman who he is accused of raping. According to jail records, she was asleep or unconscious at some point when the crimes took place.
Police responded to a 9-1-1 call at the East Clovis home where Detective Jerry Saldivar lives. Only this time he became the subject of the investigation.
Action News has learned there is a videotape of the rape that has now been turned over to the District Attorney's Office.
Investigators are recommending prosecutors file three felony charges including rape, false imprisonment and a misdemeanor of preventing a 9-1-1 call from being made.
This is not the first time Saldivar has had brushes with the law.
In early 2007, he was charged with domestic violence and ordered to attend Anger Management and Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous.
Once he completed them, the charges were dropped.
The Madera County Sheriff's Department would only say once they heard about the arrest, Saldivar was immediately put on paid administrative leave. He's also now under an Internal Affairs Investigation.
The 37 year old was hired in 2002 initially as a deputy but later promoted to a detective.
The district attorney is reviewing the case. They have up to 30 days to file charges.
Saldivar is out of jail after posting a 161 thousand dollar bail.
Hot Spring's Deputy Accused of Rape
A Hot Spring County Sheriff's deputy is accused of rape and state police are now investigating.
Most details are under wraps, but we do know the deputy was accused of rape very early Tuesday morning, about 2 am.
Because this is under investigation, we don't know who the deputy is, but we do know he's been placed on administrative leave with pay.
The deputy has been with the sheriff's office for about five years.
Sheriff Ryan Burris says when the rape accusation was made, the deputy was off duty.
At this point, no charges have been filed.
Officials with the sheriff's office say it was important to them to involve state police as quickly as possible.
"It's a departmental issue, I don't want people looking at me like, oh well, he's trying to cover up something. I wanted that completely out of the question, so I turned it over to state police just as soon as possible,” says Sheriff Ryan Burris.
Sheriff Burris says he isn't personally worried about this incident and thinks it will turn out ok.
Burris says during his tenure, the deputy involved hasn't had other disciplinary problems.
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http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news?cid=199391
Most details are under wraps, but we do know the deputy was accused of rape very early Tuesday morning, about 2 am.
Because this is under investigation, we don't know who the deputy is, but we do know he's been placed on administrative leave with pay.
The deputy has been with the sheriff's office for about five years.
Sheriff Ryan Burris says when the rape accusation was made, the deputy was off duty.
At this point, no charges have been filed.
Officials with the sheriff's office say it was important to them to involve state police as quickly as possible.
"It's a departmental issue, I don't want people looking at me like, oh well, he's trying to cover up something. I wanted that completely out of the question, so I turned it over to state police just as soon as possible,” says Sheriff Ryan Burris.
Sheriff Burris says he isn't personally worried about this incident and thinks it will turn out ok.
Burris says during his tenure, the deputy involved hasn't had other disciplinary problems.
____________
http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news?cid=199391
San Francisco Man Suing for Police Brutality
A 26-year-old San Francisco man who says police swooped in while he was in an early-morning argument with his girlfriend has sued the city, alleging that while being handcuffed, an officer smashed him in the face with his baton so fiercely that it shattered the man's jaw and broke his teeth.
Pieces of broken teeth had to be surgically extracted from Chen Ming's gums and mouth after the blows, according to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court.
The lawsuit contends Officer Sean Frost engaged in a racially motivated attack on Ming, who is Asian, allegations an attorney for the city rejected as simply "false."
"The officer did not do anything wrong," Deputy City Attorney Scott Wiener said.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office in August denied a claim that Ming filed seeking more than $25,000 from the city.
The incident began at about 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 27, 2008, when Ming, also know as Xia Li, was walking with his girlfriend and a group of friends in the 800 block of Folsom Street in the South of Market area, according to documents Ming filed with the city.
Ming had been arguing with his girlfriend, and his friends attempted to separate them, according to Ming's account. Police responding to a report of three or four men assaulting a woman tried to detain Ming and his friends.
Ming ran from officers, leading them on a chase for several blocks before being caught, according to his account. While one officer slammed Ming to the ground and tried to handcuff him, Frost hit Ming in the face with his baton, according to the lawsuit.
The blows smashed Ming's jaw and teeth, the lawsuit said. Frost actually struck the other officer at one point, injuring that officer's hand, the suit said.
Wiener declined to discuss specifics, but disputed Ming's account. He also suggested Ming's attorney was "judge shopping." Ming originally sued the city in U.S. District Court on Feb. 10, alleging his federal civil rights were violated.
A week later, Ming filed suit in state court and then dropped the federal case, records show.
"The plaintiff appears to be playing games," Wiener said. "The case was assigned to a federal judge that the plaintiff apparently did not like, so the plaintiff then dismisses the lawsuit and then re-files it in state court. These actions speak volumes about the weakness of their case."
Ming's attorney, John Scott, said the case was about "unnecessary, reckless" police behavior and "gratuitous violence."
"But other than that," Scott said sarcastically, "it's a very weak case."
Pieces of broken teeth had to be surgically extracted from Chen Ming's gums and mouth after the blows, according to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court.
The lawsuit contends Officer Sean Frost engaged in a racially motivated attack on Ming, who is Asian, allegations an attorney for the city rejected as simply "false."
"The officer did not do anything wrong," Deputy City Attorney Scott Wiener said.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office in August denied a claim that Ming filed seeking more than $25,000 from the city.
The incident began at about 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 27, 2008, when Ming, also know as Xia Li, was walking with his girlfriend and a group of friends in the 800 block of Folsom Street in the South of Market area, according to documents Ming filed with the city.
Ming had been arguing with his girlfriend, and his friends attempted to separate them, according to Ming's account. Police responding to a report of three or four men assaulting a woman tried to detain Ming and his friends.
Ming ran from officers, leading them on a chase for several blocks before being caught, according to his account. While one officer slammed Ming to the ground and tried to handcuff him, Frost hit Ming in the face with his baton, according to the lawsuit.
The blows smashed Ming's jaw and teeth, the lawsuit said. Frost actually struck the other officer at one point, injuring that officer's hand, the suit said.
Wiener declined to discuss specifics, but disputed Ming's account. He also suggested Ming's attorney was "judge shopping." Ming originally sued the city in U.S. District Court on Feb. 10, alleging his federal civil rights were violated.
A week later, Ming filed suit in state court and then dropped the federal case, records show.
"The plaintiff appears to be playing games," Wiener said. "The case was assigned to a federal judge that the plaintiff apparently did not like, so the plaintiff then dismisses the lawsuit and then re-files it in state court. These actions speak volumes about the weakness of their case."
Ming's attorney, John Scott, said the case was about "unnecessary, reckless" police behavior and "gratuitous violence."
"But other than that," Scott said sarcastically, "it's a very weak case."
Officer Joseph Gray Charged with DUI & Knocking out Window of Squad Car
PEORIA
A Peoria police officer is on paid leave following charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and knocking out the window of a Metamora squad car Sunday morning.
Joseph Gray, 33, a "patrol-level" officer who was hired by the Peoria Police Department in September 1999, was arrested after a single-vehicle accident on Hickory Point Road near Santa Fe Trail in Metamora.
According to a news release issued by Woodford County State's Attorney Michael Stroh, Gray has been charged with DUI, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and criminal damage to government supported property. The latter charge is a Class 4 felony, according to Stroh's release.
If Gray were to be convicted of a felony, he would be unable to serve as a police officer.
Woodford County Sheriff Jim Pierceall said Stroh was not allowing the accident report to be released to media because the crash remained under investigation Tuesday.
Stroh and Pierceall would not disclose Gray's blood-alcohol content, or confirm if tests had been conducted. They also would not say what Gray's vehicle crashed into.
Gray, who lives in Metamora, is next scheduled to appear in court April 2. According to the Woodford County Jail, Gray was arrested about 6:30 a.m. Sunday and bailed out Monday by posting $1,200 cash.
Peoria Police Chief Steven Settingsgaard said Gray is "on paid leave until we can obtain all the documentation and determine for certain what charges will be pursued."
Settingsgaard said an officer with pending criminal charges typically is placed on paid leave until the case, or the department's related internal investigation, is resolved. Discipline is determined at the conclusion of an internal investigation. An officer charged with a felony is placed on unpaid leave, and a felony conviction prevents employment as an officer.
According to Stroh's release, police found Gray alone in his car after the crash and arrested him for DUI based on their observations.
While being transported to the county jail, an agitated Gray reportedly began hitting and kicking the rear passenger-side window of the Metamora squad car, while also yelling to let him out. Glass in the window broke out, and window trim also was broken.
At that point, other officers assisted in restraining Gray and bringing him to jail, Stroh indicated.
Pierceall said his office provided a report to the state's attorney.
The monetary damage to the police car was not known. Metamora Police Chief Mike Todd did not return a phone call.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Use of Tasers being Reviewed in Missouri
A group calling itself the Coalition to Control Tasers is asking the Columbia, Missouri, police department to review its policy on the use of the weapons.
According to the Columbia Missourian, the coalition wants the police department to adopt a 52-policy guideline outlining how and when its officers should use Tasers. Last July the police department caught flak when they tasered a man who was threatening to commit suicide. Once shot, the man fell off a 15-foot overpass. The city later reached a $500,000 settlement with the man. The Columbia police now prohibit use of the weapons in misdemeanor offenses.
Meanwhile, in Jefferson City, state Sen. Joan Bray (D-St. Louis County) is pushing a bill that would create a statewide task force to review the safety of Tasers. The task force would include doctors, scientists, lawyers, police and two private citizens who've been shot with Tasers.
According to the Columbia Missourian, the coalition wants the police department to adopt a 52-policy guideline outlining how and when its officers should use Tasers. Last July the police department caught flak when they tasered a man who was threatening to commit suicide. Once shot, the man fell off a 15-foot overpass. The city later reached a $500,000 settlement with the man. The Columbia police now prohibit use of the weapons in misdemeanor offenses.
Meanwhile, in Jefferson City, state Sen. Joan Bray (D-St. Louis County) is pushing a bill that would create a statewide task force to review the safety of Tasers. The task force would include doctors, scientists, lawyers, police and two private citizens who've been shot with Tasers.
Officer Henry Knipple Arrested for Meancing
BROOMFIELD
A police officer found himself on the other side of the law last week.
Broomfield Police say Henry Jay Knipple was arrested last week following what they describe as a "traffic altercation" between two men.
Knipple was arrested; the other man does not face charges.
The Adams County District Attorney could file charges later this week. They say he could face a charge of felony menacing.
Knipple works in the Special Operations Division of the Denver Police Department. A spokesman tells 9NEWS he's now working a modified position pending any charges, which could come Wednesday.
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http://cbs4denver.com/local/officer.arrested.menacing.2.954581.html
A police officer found himself on the other side of the law last week.
Broomfield Police say Henry Jay Knipple was arrested last week following what they describe as a "traffic altercation" between two men.
Knipple was arrested; the other man does not face charges.
The Adams County District Attorney could file charges later this week. They say he could face a charge of felony menacing.
Knipple works in the Special Operations Division of the Denver Police Department. A spokesman tells 9NEWS he's now working a modified position pending any charges, which could come Wednesday.
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http://cbs4denver.com/local/officer.arrested.menacing.2.954581.html
Former Officer Jerry Bowens Accused of Shooting two Women
A former New York City police officer who resigned last year after being arrested on corruption charges is suspected of fatally shooting his 28-year-old ex-girlfriend and wounding another woman in Brooklyn on Sunday, the police said.
The police said the shooting happened shortly after 4:30 p.m. inside Apartment 1B of a condominium building at 84 Engert Avenue in Greenpoint.
The ex-girlfriend, identified by a family friend as Catherine D’Onofrio, was shot once in the head and taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The second woman, also 28, who lives in the apartment, suffered graze wounds to the head and arm and was listed in stable condition at Bellevue, the police said.
The police said the women were friends, possibly co-workers at a law firm.
The suspect, Jerry Bowens, 43, was identified by the surviving victim, the police said. Mr. Bowens was not in police custody as of late Sunday night, said Carlos Nieves, a police spokesman.
The police described Mr. Bowens as a former undercover narcotics unit officer who resigned last year after being arrested on corruption charges.
Mr. Bowens and another officer were accused in court papers of taking drugs and cash they had recovered and using the drugs to pay a confidential informant.
Four narcotics officers and a deputy police chief were arrested in the scandal. After the arrests, the Brooklyn district attorney dismissed the charges or vacated convictions in 183 cases that involved the accused officers. The investigation is continuing.
An attempt to reach a lawyer who represented Mr. Bowens in the corruption case was unsuccessful.
Annie Turchiano, who identified herself on Sunday as Ms. D’Onofrio’s godmother, said the woman worked as a legal secretary for a law firm in Manhattan and took care of her parents, both legally blind, at their home on 70th Street in Bensonhurst.
“The parents will never be the same,” Ms. Turchiano said.
Ms. Turchiano said that she met Mr. Bowens about two weeks ago at a dinner celebrating her goddaughter’s birthday. He was introduced by Ms. D’Onofrio as her “friend,” Ms. Turchiano said, adding that she believed the young woman was dating another man.
Later, Ms. Turchiano stood outside her goddaughter’s home, smoking a cigarette, lamenting that the world had lost something more than a young woman’s life.
The last time she saw Ms. D’Onofrio, she said she told her goddaughter that she was going to change the world, “one by one.”
“She would take in a cockroach if it needed her,” she said.
Neighbors gathered on Sunday night in the vestibule of the condominium building where the shooting occurred, discussing how such violence could seep into their complex, nine stories of glass and aluminum enclosing million-dollar penthouses and $700,000 apartments.
Shortly before 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Ms. D’Onofrio’s father, John D’Onofrio, walked his daughter’s dog, a white mutt, up and down her street. He walked quickly, manically, up and down the block.
At one point he turned and said, “There’s nothing to say and nothing to be done.”
_________________
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5877601.ece
The police said the shooting happened shortly after 4:30 p.m. inside Apartment 1B of a condominium building at 84 Engert Avenue in Greenpoint.
The ex-girlfriend, identified by a family friend as Catherine D’Onofrio, was shot once in the head and taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The second woman, also 28, who lives in the apartment, suffered graze wounds to the head and arm and was listed in stable condition at Bellevue, the police said.
The police said the women were friends, possibly co-workers at a law firm.
The suspect, Jerry Bowens, 43, was identified by the surviving victim, the police said. Mr. Bowens was not in police custody as of late Sunday night, said Carlos Nieves, a police spokesman.
The police described Mr. Bowens as a former undercover narcotics unit officer who resigned last year after being arrested on corruption charges.
Mr. Bowens and another officer were accused in court papers of taking drugs and cash they had recovered and using the drugs to pay a confidential informant.
Four narcotics officers and a deputy police chief were arrested in the scandal. After the arrests, the Brooklyn district attorney dismissed the charges or vacated convictions in 183 cases that involved the accused officers. The investigation is continuing.
An attempt to reach a lawyer who represented Mr. Bowens in the corruption case was unsuccessful.
Annie Turchiano, who identified herself on Sunday as Ms. D’Onofrio’s godmother, said the woman worked as a legal secretary for a law firm in Manhattan and took care of her parents, both legally blind, at their home on 70th Street in Bensonhurst.
“The parents will never be the same,” Ms. Turchiano said.
Ms. Turchiano said that she met Mr. Bowens about two weeks ago at a dinner celebrating her goddaughter’s birthday. He was introduced by Ms. D’Onofrio as her “friend,” Ms. Turchiano said, adding that she believed the young woman was dating another man.
Later, Ms. Turchiano stood outside her goddaughter’s home, smoking a cigarette, lamenting that the world had lost something more than a young woman’s life.
The last time she saw Ms. D’Onofrio, she said she told her goddaughter that she was going to change the world, “one by one.”
“She would take in a cockroach if it needed her,” she said.
Neighbors gathered on Sunday night in the vestibule of the condominium building where the shooting occurred, discussing how such violence could seep into their complex, nine stories of glass and aluminum enclosing million-dollar penthouses and $700,000 apartments.
Shortly before 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Ms. D’Onofrio’s father, John D’Onofrio, walked his daughter’s dog, a white mutt, up and down her street. He walked quickly, manically, up and down the block.
At one point he turned and said, “There’s nothing to say and nothing to be done.”
_________________
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5877601.ece
Officer Juan Nunez Charged with Assault
ROOSEVELT, N.Y.
A man who may have been panhandling outside a Long Island deli was beaten by a New York City police officer and three others, who hurled racial epithets at the victim as they punched, kicked and smacked him with a baseball bat, police said.
The victim, who was identified by police as a 52-year-old black man, was taken to Nassau University Medical Center for head injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.
The attack took place around 8 a.m. Sunday outside the deli in Roosevelt. Detective Sgt. Keenchant Sewell said three Hispanic brothers who work at the deli told a man loitering outside to leave the front of the business. When the man failed to leave, the brothers and Juan Nunez, an off-duty New York City police officer, allegedly began beating him.
During the attack, the victim told police one of the assailants uttered racial epithets.
At a briefing Monday, Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey said detectives have made a preliminary determination that the attack was not motivated by racial bias; he said the four men intended to have the victim leave the front of the store.
Nunez, 32, of Freeport, pleaded not guilty to assault at his arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead, where bail was set at $20,000. His attorney declined to speak with reporters. The NYPD suspended Nunez, a police officer since 2001, from his post at the 101st Precinct in Queens.
Arraignment information on the three other suspects was not immediately available.
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Other information:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29601956/
http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/law_enforcement/95256/police-officer-arrested-after-brawl-outside-deli/Default.aspx
A man who may have been panhandling outside a Long Island deli was beaten by a New York City police officer and three others, who hurled racial epithets at the victim as they punched, kicked and smacked him with a baseball bat, police said.
The victim, who was identified by police as a 52-year-old black man, was taken to Nassau University Medical Center for head injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.
The attack took place around 8 a.m. Sunday outside the deli in Roosevelt. Detective Sgt. Keenchant Sewell said three Hispanic brothers who work at the deli told a man loitering outside to leave the front of the business. When the man failed to leave, the brothers and Juan Nunez, an off-duty New York City police officer, allegedly began beating him.
During the attack, the victim told police one of the assailants uttered racial epithets.
At a briefing Monday, Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey said detectives have made a preliminary determination that the attack was not motivated by racial bias; he said the four men intended to have the victim leave the front of the store.
Nunez, 32, of Freeport, pleaded not guilty to assault at his arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead, where bail was set at $20,000. His attorney declined to speak with reporters. The NYPD suspended Nunez, a police officer since 2001, from his post at the 101st Precinct in Queens.
Arraignment information on the three other suspects was not immediately available.
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Other information:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29601956/
http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/law_enforcement/95256/police-officer-arrested-after-brawl-outside-deli/Default.aspx
Former Cpl Will Cosby in Court for Assault & Perjury
LEBANON, Tenn.
Former Mt. Juliet Police Cpl. Will Cosby went to a Wilson County courtroom Monday to resolve the charges against him.
Cosby stood accused of assault and perjury. Cosby asked for - and the state agreed on - pre-trial diversion because the former officer had no previous criminal record.
Cosby's courtroom appearance came from a controversial stop of a man last spring while Cosby was still on the job. Cosby thought James Anders had marijuana in his mouth. The former officer wanted to keep Anders from swallowing the drug, so he used a vascular restraint. After two minutes Anders collapsed.
An investigation revealed that Anders did not have any marijuana on him, and he also passed a drug test.
Anders also sued Cosby. They settled out of court for $56,000.
In court Monday, the judge told Cosby he must spend the next two years on un-supervised probation. If Cosby doesn't get into any trouble during that time, the incident will be expunged from his record.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Deputy Sydney Eghan Charged with Child Neglect
A form of punishment used on a 12-year-old boy led Saturday to the arrest of a Marion County sheriff's deputy and his fiancee.
Sydney S. Eghan, 24, is accused of handcuffing the boy's wrists behind his back and leaving him that way for six hours at the Southside home the deputy shares with Betsy Chestnut, 30, the boy's mother.
The boy would have remained in handcuffs even longer had Chestnut not called 911 about 2 a.m. Saturday after the cuffs had tightened and began cutting off circulation in her son's arms, said Sgt. Matthew Mount of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
"He was in some pretty serious pain," Mount said. "He was having swelling in the arms and swelling in the hands."
Police arrested Eghan and Chestnut on preliminary charges of child neglect. Chestnut consented to Eghan's decision to place the boy in handcuffs, police said.
Eghan works as a jailer for the Marion County Sheriff's Department. The department continues to operate the jail after most of the department was merged with Indianapolis Police Department to form IMPD.
"The sheriff considers this incident to be a very serious matter," said sheriff's Maj. Herman D. Humbles. He said Eghan has been suspended without pay pending an internal investigation.
The incident began when Chestnut suspected Friday that her son had stolen a cell phone from a family friend. Chestnut told Eghan, Mount said, and suggested they turn the boy over to authorities. Eghan disagreed, Mount said, and told Chestnut he would teach the boy a lesson.
At the home where the couple live along with Chestnut's two sons, Eghan placed the boy in handcuffs sometime after 8 p.m. Friday, Mount said, then left for his night shift. He did not intend to remove the handcuffs until he returned to the home about 7 a.m. Saturday, according to Mount.
Eghan made things worse for the boy by failing to follow a standard procedure used when handcuffing offenders, Mount said.
"It appears he failed to double-lock the handcuffs," Mount said. "Double-locking the handcuffs is what . . . makes sure those handcuffs do not tighten down further."
At one point during the night, Chestnut left home with her other son for about 90 minutes -- leaving the handcuffed son alone at the home in the 2900 block of Sleeping Ridge Way.
Had Eghan handcuffed the boy for only a brief period to show him what happens when people break the law, Mount said, the matter likely would not have risen to a criminal offense.
"Appropriate or not, we could argue," Mount said. "If he had gone to juvenile (detention), he would have been handcuffed, so maybe he could have shown him what it's like to be handcuffed half an hour or an hour."
But in this case, the handcuffing continued for several hours and caused injury, leading to the officers' decision to arrest the couple, Mount said.
Both the boys were taken into the custody of Child Protective Services, Mount said.
The criminal case against the couple, who continued to be held at the jail late Saturday, will be referred to the Marion County prosecutor's office for a decision on any formal charges.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29573803/
Sydney S. Eghan, 24, is accused of handcuffing the boy's wrists behind his back and leaving him that way for six hours at the Southside home the deputy shares with Betsy Chestnut, 30, the boy's mother.
The boy would have remained in handcuffs even longer had Chestnut not called 911 about 2 a.m. Saturday after the cuffs had tightened and began cutting off circulation in her son's arms, said Sgt. Matthew Mount of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
"He was in some pretty serious pain," Mount said. "He was having swelling in the arms and swelling in the hands."
Police arrested Eghan and Chestnut on preliminary charges of child neglect. Chestnut consented to Eghan's decision to place the boy in handcuffs, police said.
Eghan works as a jailer for the Marion County Sheriff's Department. The department continues to operate the jail after most of the department was merged with Indianapolis Police Department to form IMPD.
"The sheriff considers this incident to be a very serious matter," said sheriff's Maj. Herman D. Humbles. He said Eghan has been suspended without pay pending an internal investigation.
The incident began when Chestnut suspected Friday that her son had stolen a cell phone from a family friend. Chestnut told Eghan, Mount said, and suggested they turn the boy over to authorities. Eghan disagreed, Mount said, and told Chestnut he would teach the boy a lesson.
At the home where the couple live along with Chestnut's two sons, Eghan placed the boy in handcuffs sometime after 8 p.m. Friday, Mount said, then left for his night shift. He did not intend to remove the handcuffs until he returned to the home about 7 a.m. Saturday, according to Mount.
Eghan made things worse for the boy by failing to follow a standard procedure used when handcuffing offenders, Mount said.
"It appears he failed to double-lock the handcuffs," Mount said. "Double-locking the handcuffs is what . . . makes sure those handcuffs do not tighten down further."
At one point during the night, Chestnut left home with her other son for about 90 minutes -- leaving the handcuffed son alone at the home in the 2900 block of Sleeping Ridge Way.
Had Eghan handcuffed the boy for only a brief period to show him what happens when people break the law, Mount said, the matter likely would not have risen to a criminal offense.
"Appropriate or not, we could argue," Mount said. "If he had gone to juvenile (detention), he would have been handcuffed, so maybe he could have shown him what it's like to be handcuffed half an hour or an hour."
But in this case, the handcuffing continued for several hours and caused injury, leading to the officers' decision to arrest the couple, Mount said.
Both the boys were taken into the custody of Child Protective Services, Mount said.
The criminal case against the couple, who continued to be held at the jail late Saturday, will be referred to the Marion County prosecutor's office for a decision on any formal charges.
_____________
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29573803/
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Sergeant Timothy Richissin Arrested for Video Taping Women in Bathroom
MEDINA
A Cleveland police sergeant was suspended without pay following his arrest in connection with a video camera in a bathroom at a Medina County business.
Cleveland Public Safety Director Martin Flask said he suspended Sgt. Timothy Richissin Friday and that the officer will remain on suspension until the criminal charges in Medina are resolved.
Police say Richissin hid a small camera inside a bathroom at a warehouse in Medina County. An employee at the company found the images taken in the bathroom on Richissin's computer. Police said he invited a female Cleveland officer to work at the facility and recorded her in the bathroom. The crimes occurred in June, November and December, police said.
Richissin, of Brunswick, has been a Cleveland police officer since 1982.
He turned himself in Friday and will be arraigned at 9 a.m. Monday in Medina County Common Pleas Court. He's free on bond.
Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman said Richissin faces charges of tampering with evidence, voyeurism, possession of criminal tools and obstructing official business.
A Cleveland police sergeant was suspended without pay following his arrest in connection with a video camera in a bathroom at a Medina County business.
Cleveland Public Safety Director Martin Flask said he suspended Sgt. Timothy Richissin Friday and that the officer will remain on suspension until the criminal charges in Medina are resolved.
Police say Richissin hid a small camera inside a bathroom at a warehouse in Medina County. An employee at the company found the images taken in the bathroom on Richissin's computer. Police said he invited a female Cleveland officer to work at the facility and recorded her in the bathroom. The crimes occurred in June, November and December, police said.
Richissin, of Brunswick, has been a Cleveland police officer since 1982.
He turned himself in Friday and will be arraigned at 9 a.m. Monday in Medina County Common Pleas Court. He's free on bond.
Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman said Richissin faces charges of tampering with evidence, voyeurism, possession of criminal tools and obstructing official business.
Crowd Protest Alleged Brutality by Hartwell Police
HARTWELL, Ga.
Hundreds of people hit the streets in Hartwell, Ga., on Saturday calling for justice.
The crowd marched Saturday morning in support of Jimmy Lee Blackwell. Blackwell lost his eye in a fight with a police officer Feb. 16.
About 200 people attended the march, and some came from as far away as New York.
"He went in with two eyes and came out with one eye," a protester said. "That's bad."
Blackwell was walking and had been stopped by a police officer.
"We need the police to be on our side, not against us," another protester said.
He wound up in a hospital after a run-in with the officer.
"If someone's 51 years old and intoxicated, there's no reason you should beat him beyond recognition, first of all," said Tariq Alexander, president of Ruff Riders Films.
It's not exactly clear what happened between the time Blackwell met up with the officer and when he ended up in the hospital.
"It's just a shame the way that man was beat," Alexander said. "There's no justification for that."
The protesters said they're determined to keep it from happening again.
"We must stand up and say enough is enough," they said.
The Jimmy Lee Blackwell Support Group is named for one man, but the organizers said it's about the problems of many people. They said that what happened to Blackwell was just the straw that broke the camel's back.
"I think it's one of those things that's been swept under the rug so long that people thought, 'Hey, we can continue to sweep it under the rug,'" said Apostle Roderick Hughey, of the Jimmy Lee Blackwell Support Group. "But the rug has gotten so high off of the ground by the pile of the things that's been swept up under it that you can't hide it anymore."
The protesters walked a two-mile silent march. They said the idea is to let the talking do the walking, but everyone had so much to say.
"Everybody feels like it's wrong, regardless of what color you are," one person said.
"Stop giving thugs a badge," another person said.
The walk ended on the spot where Blackwell was injured. He was there with his family, who shielded him from questions about his legal record. But his friends said that the past is the past and they're ready to move forward.
The incident between Blackwell and the police officer is being investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. That officer was also injured in the altercation. He is on paid administrative leave.
Hundreds of people hit the streets in Hartwell, Ga., on Saturday calling for justice.
The crowd marched Saturday morning in support of Jimmy Lee Blackwell. Blackwell lost his eye in a fight with a police officer Feb. 16.
About 200 people attended the march, and some came from as far away as New York.
"He went in with two eyes and came out with one eye," a protester said. "That's bad."
Blackwell was walking and had been stopped by a police officer.
"We need the police to be on our side, not against us," another protester said.
He wound up in a hospital after a run-in with the officer.
"If someone's 51 years old and intoxicated, there's no reason you should beat him beyond recognition, first of all," said Tariq Alexander, president of Ruff Riders Films.
It's not exactly clear what happened between the time Blackwell met up with the officer and when he ended up in the hospital.
"It's just a shame the way that man was beat," Alexander said. "There's no justification for that."
The protesters said they're determined to keep it from happening again.
"We must stand up and say enough is enough," they said.
The Jimmy Lee Blackwell Support Group is named for one man, but the organizers said it's about the problems of many people. They said that what happened to Blackwell was just the straw that broke the camel's back.
"I think it's one of those things that's been swept under the rug so long that people thought, 'Hey, we can continue to sweep it under the rug,'" said Apostle Roderick Hughey, of the Jimmy Lee Blackwell Support Group. "But the rug has gotten so high off of the ground by the pile of the things that's been swept up under it that you can't hide it anymore."
The protesters walked a two-mile silent march. They said the idea is to let the talking do the walking, but everyone had so much to say.
"Everybody feels like it's wrong, regardless of what color you are," one person said.
"Stop giving thugs a badge," another person said.
The walk ended on the spot where Blackwell was injured. He was there with his family, who shielded him from questions about his legal record. But his friends said that the past is the past and they're ready to move forward.
The incident between Blackwell and the police officer is being investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. That officer was also injured in the altercation. He is on paid administrative leave.
Officer Stephen Vega Accused of Assaulting Girlfriend
FORT WORTH
A Fort Worth police officer was arrested Friday on accusations that he tried to force his girlfriend from a car while on duty, telling witnesses who came to her defense, "This is a police matter; you don’t need to get involved," court documents show.
Stephen R. Vega, who has been with the department almost 18 years, surrendered at the Tarrant County Jail on Friday morning on warrants accusing him of assault with bodily injury and official oppression. He was released on $20,000 bail.
Both charges are Class A misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Vega’s attorney, Kyle Whitaker, was out of the office Friday afternoon and could not be reached for comment.
Terry Daffron Hickey, who is representing Vega in the administrative investigation, said "all the facts, circumstances and details are not known at this time."
"It is my hope and my expectation that IAD [internal affairs division] will actually conduct a thorough, fair and impartial investigation into this matter revealing a complete and accurate account of the events that transpired," she said.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Vega and the 38-year-old victim had known each other for six years and had been romantically involved for the last two.
Vega confronted the woman at her workplace in late February, apparently agitated that their relationship was not progressing and that she had not proceeded with a divorce from her husband, the affidavit states.
On Monday morning, outside the Starbucks at 2600 W. Seventh St., the girlfriend was in the passenger seat of a car, waiting for a friend, when Vega pulled into the parking lot and parked one space away. According to the affidavit, Vega approached the car, opened the passenger door and demanded that his girlfriend come with him, grabbing her by the right arm and trying to force her from the car.
Sgt. Pedro Criado, a police spokesman, said Vega, most recently assigned to the department’s gang unit, was in civilian clothes during the encounter but was on duty.
The girlfriend, who witnesses told investigators appeared extremely frightened, began struggling with Vega in an attempt to pull away. A witness tried to break the officer’s grip on the woman’s arm, the affidavit states.
"Vega continued to pull [the victim] from the vehicle and proceeded to drag her against her will to his vehicle," the affidavit states.
Six other people also saw the incident, the affidavit states, at least one of whom also tried to get Vega to release his grip and another who called 911. According to a police report, patrol officers were sent to the scene on a reported kidnapping.
"This is a police matter; you don’t need to get involved," Vega told witnesses.
When a witness demanded to see the officer’s badge, Vega, his grasp on his girlfriend finally broken, said, "I’ll show you my badge." He then reached into his car through an open window and pulled out a police vest.
"Stay out of it. I’m a cop," the affidavit quotes Vega as telling the witness.
The victim then ran inside the Starbucks. Vega left in his car before patrol officers arrived, the affidavit states.
The woman told major case investigators that she had been surprised to see Vega at the coffee shop and that she was stunned and frightened by his actions. Officers observed bruises on both of the woman’s upper biceps and forearms, the affidavit stated.
"The detectives do believe that a crime did occur," Criado said.
Vega is on restricted duty during the internal investigation. Criado said Police Chief Jeff Halstead has 180 days to determine discipline.
Lt Joseph Gudziol Charged with DWI
BAY CITY, Mich.
A Macomb County deputy sheriff faces charges after he was arrested late Friday in Bay Countyon suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
Lt. Joseph Guzdziol was arrested at 11 p.m. Friday by two state troopers who received a call about a driver who was suspected to be drunk. The troopers stopped and arrested Guzdziol on U.S. 10 near Three Mile Road in Monitor Township.
After being held overnight on Friday and Saturday morning, Guzdziol posted bond and was freed from Bay County Jail, according to Shanon Akans, spokeswoman for the Michigan State Police in Lansing.
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Previous Post: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2009/02/deputy-lt-joseph-guzdziol-arrested-for.html
A Macomb County deputy sheriff faces charges after he was arrested late Friday in Bay Countyon suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
Lt. Joseph Guzdziol was arrested at 11 p.m. Friday by two state troopers who received a call about a driver who was suspected to be drunk. The troopers stopped and arrested Guzdziol on U.S. 10 near Three Mile Road in Monitor Township.
After being held overnight on Friday and Saturday morning, Guzdziol posted bond and was freed from Bay County Jail, according to Shanon Akans, spokeswoman for the Michigan State Police in Lansing.
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Previous Post: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2009/02/deputy-lt-joseph-guzdziol-arrested-for.html
Deputy Jeffrey Douglas Fleig Charged with Drunk Driving
An off-duty Pierce County sheriff’s deputy found passed out behind the wheel of a running car was charged Friday with drunken driving.
Charging documents filed in District Court say Jeffrey Douglas Fleig, 53, registered a 0.18 reading on a blood-alcohol breath test after he was stopped early Monday. The legal limit in Washington is 0.08.
Another sheriff’s deputy spotted Fleig about 2:30 a.m. in the 1400 block of 85th Street East, near Dawson Playfield, records state. The car Fleig was driving blocked the southbound lane.
The deputy drove past in the opposite direction, noticed the car wasn’t moving, and circled back. Fleig was behind the wheel, unconscious, his foot on the brake, records state. The car was in gear.
The deputy “had a difficult time waking the defendant,” records state. “The defendant finally awoke, but was fairly incoherent. The defendant stated he had too much to drink.”
Fleig had a hard time standing, according to the records. A deputy had to hold him upright.
Fleig “demonstrated six of six clues on the horizontal gaze nystagmus test,” records state, referring to a field sobriety test that measures visual reaction to a held finger or pen light.
He has been placed on paid administrative leave, pending an internal investigation, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said Friday.
Fleig is a 23-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department. Troyer said he did not know whether Fleig’s prior record included similar incidents.
A survey of court records shows Fleig was cited for drunken driving in 2002 in Pierce County. He received a deferred sentence, stipulating no further violations for five years. Records indicate he met the standard. The charge was dismissed in October 2007.
Charging documents filed in District Court say Jeffrey Douglas Fleig, 53, registered a 0.18 reading on a blood-alcohol breath test after he was stopped early Monday. The legal limit in Washington is 0.08.
Another sheriff’s deputy spotted Fleig about 2:30 a.m. in the 1400 block of 85th Street East, near Dawson Playfield, records state. The car Fleig was driving blocked the southbound lane.
The deputy drove past in the opposite direction, noticed the car wasn’t moving, and circled back. Fleig was behind the wheel, unconscious, his foot on the brake, records state. The car was in gear.
The deputy “had a difficult time waking the defendant,” records state. “The defendant finally awoke, but was fairly incoherent. The defendant stated he had too much to drink.”
Fleig had a hard time standing, according to the records. A deputy had to hold him upright.
Fleig “demonstrated six of six clues on the horizontal gaze nystagmus test,” records state, referring to a field sobriety test that measures visual reaction to a held finger or pen light.
He has been placed on paid administrative leave, pending an internal investigation, sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said Friday.
Fleig is a 23-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department. Troyer said he did not know whether Fleig’s prior record included similar incidents.
A survey of court records shows Fleig was cited for drunken driving in 2002 in Pierce County. He received a deferred sentence, stipulating no further violations for five years. Records indicate he met the standard. The charge was dismissed in October 2007.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Officer Phillip Mordick Arrested for Domestic Violence
DAYTON, Ohio
A Dayton police officer was arrested overnight after he allegedly hit his girlfriend and threatened someone with a gun.
Philip Mordick, 34, was arrested by Riverside police early Friday morning.
In a 911 call received shortly after midnight, a woman told dispatchers Mordick was angry because she went out drinking with friends. She said he pulled a gun on her cousin and then struck her in the jaw when she stepped in front of him.
The woman said the incident was very out-of-character for Mordick. He now faces charges of aggravated menacing and domestic violence.
He posted bond Friday afternoon. Dayton police said Mordick is currently on restricted status, and has been forced to surrender his gun.
A Dayton police officer was arrested overnight after he allegedly hit his girlfriend and threatened someone with a gun.
Philip Mordick, 34, was arrested by Riverside police early Friday morning.
In a 911 call received shortly after midnight, a woman told dispatchers Mordick was angry because she went out drinking with friends. She said he pulled a gun on her cousin and then struck her in the jaw when she stepped in front of him.
The woman said the incident was very out-of-character for Mordick. He now faces charges of aggravated menacing and domestic violence.
He posted bond Friday afternoon. Dayton police said Mordick is currently on restricted status, and has been forced to surrender his gun.
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More Information: http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/03/06/ddn030609copweb.html
More Information: http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/03/06/ddn030609copweb.html
New Hampshire Firefighters Mad at Newport Officers
The Professional Firefighters Union of New Hampshire is upset with the Newport Police Department after officers disguised themselves as firefighters to make an arrest.
Police devised the plan to take 34-year-old Matthew Miller into custody. Police went to his apartment Tuesday night for a noise complaint. When Miller answered the door he was holding a baby, and allegedly pointed a shotgun at the officer's face.
The officer, who knew Miller had a violent past, left the scene to avoid a confrontation. So the next day the officers came back in a fire truck dressed as firemen. They told Miller he had to evacuate due to a carbon monoxide issue. He was then arrested without incident.
"We need to have the trust of the public when we respond. If we allow others to co-opt our image, trade on our good name, no matter the circumstances, we'd create a breach of trust with the public that will be impossible for us to repair," said David Lang, of the Professional Firefighters of New Hampshire.
"If we as police didn't handle it correctly it was going to be disastrous for innocent people. This was the best possible scenario. It worked and it was very quick. It was not harmful to anybody. It's not to degrade those professions, to make those professions unsafe in any way. It's to accomplish our mission safely, without causing harm to anybody," said Newport Police Chief David Hoyt.
Hoyt went on to say he'd rather have firefighters criticizing his decisions than others questioning why innocent people were injured and killed.
Newport Fire Chief Wayne Conroy was in on the plot, and says he does not think residents will lose trust in his department.
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http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090305-NEWS-90305055
Police devised the plan to take 34-year-old Matthew Miller into custody. Police went to his apartment Tuesday night for a noise complaint. When Miller answered the door he was holding a baby, and allegedly pointed a shotgun at the officer's face.
The officer, who knew Miller had a violent past, left the scene to avoid a confrontation. So the next day the officers came back in a fire truck dressed as firemen. They told Miller he had to evacuate due to a carbon monoxide issue. He was then arrested without incident.
"We need to have the trust of the public when we respond. If we allow others to co-opt our image, trade on our good name, no matter the circumstances, we'd create a breach of trust with the public that will be impossible for us to repair," said David Lang, of the Professional Firefighters of New Hampshire.
"If we as police didn't handle it correctly it was going to be disastrous for innocent people. This was the best possible scenario. It worked and it was very quick. It was not harmful to anybody. It's not to degrade those professions, to make those professions unsafe in any way. It's to accomplish our mission safely, without causing harm to anybody," said Newport Police Chief David Hoyt.
Hoyt went on to say he'd rather have firefighters criticizing his decisions than others questioning why innocent people were injured and killed.
Newport Fire Chief Wayne Conroy was in on the plot, and says he does not think residents will lose trust in his department.
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http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090305-NEWS-90305055
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