TAMPA
A former Tampa police officer has been offered an agreement on a criminal charge stemming from an incident where investigators say he rammed the fence of a romantic rival.
The Polk County State Attorney's Office last week submitted a proposed agreement to Lawrence Alspaugh II, allowing him to enter a pre-trial diversion program for first-time offenders.
Alspaugh and his attorney have not yet responded to the offer, Chip Thullbery, a spokesman for the state attorney's office, said today.
Alspaugh, 32, resigned from the Tampa Police Department in January during a departmental investigation that found he had violated several policies. One of those was using a law-enforcement database to pull the driver's license photo of a Lakeland man he considered a romantic rival and posting the picture on MySpace, Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.
Alspaugh had been with the department since Nov. 2003. He will not receive a pension, police said.
Alspaugh, who lives in Lakeland, was off-duty in November when the Polk County Sheriff's Office said he rammed the cast-iron fence of Lakeland resident Donald Hardwick with a Nissan sport-utility vehicle.
McElroy said the situation arose because Hardwick had a relationship with Alspaugh's former girlfriend. His being off-duty at the time did not dampen the seriousness of the incident, she said. "Once you pin on the badge, you're always an officer."
In an interview today, Alspaugh said he and his girlfriend, who have a young son together, were still involved in a relationship when he learned she was seeing Hardwick. About two days before the fence incident, he was so upset about the situation he was prescribed sedatives, he said.
Alspaugh said that though he did strike the fence, it wasn't deliberate. "I was driving on sedatives when I shouldn't have been,'' he said.
Alspaugh said he has been unemployed since he resigned. "I'm trying to remain in law enforcement.''
Hardwick provided a description of the vehicle and the license tag to deputies, who stopped Alspaugh a short distance away from Hardwick's home.
In a sheriff's office report, Alspaugh told deputies he had gone to talk with Hardwick, but Hardwick would not open the fence.
Alspaugh also said in the report that his bumper had become jammed in the fence.
The sheriff's office charged Alspaugh on Nov. 20 with felony criminal mischief, saying he caused $1,600 in damage. Alspaugh in December entered a written plea of not guilty, online records show.
Before the department opened a lengthier investigation, Alspaugh had been reprimanded over the incident with the fence, but had no other serious discipline on his record.
He and two other officers received an award in 2004 after they pulled a motorist from a burning Jeep Cherokee in Ybor City, records show.
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http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/mar/20/na-ex-officer-offered-a-deal/
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Seven McKeesport Officers Suspended for Pay Scam
Seven McKeesport police officers suspended after city officials said they bilked the city of unearned overtime pay included two lieutenants and all four members of the department's narcotics unit. Two weeks ago, after Chief Joe Pero said he discovered that the officers were billing the city for court appearances they never made, the seven were suspended without pay. Officials declined to identify the officers involved, but sources familiar with the investigation said the group suspended included the lieutnenant and three detectives who constituted the narcotics unit, in addition to another detective, another lieutenant and a patrolman. All were reassigned. The four in the narcotics squad also were members of the District Attorney's Narcotics Enforcement Team, a county-wide task force that includes members of local police departments and investigators from the district attorney's office. Mike Manko, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, confirmed that some of the suspended officers had connections to DANET. "While we don't anticipate any problems with cases they have been on, we will be reviewing all of those cases to make sure there are no problems," he said in an e-mail.
Last week, the Allegheny County district attorney's office recommended that McKeesport audit cases involving the men going back to January 2008, to make sure all incidents of misappropriation are caught. Mayor Jim Brewster said last week that he had elected to use a private firm for the audit. Meanwhile, some public and elected officials expressed frustration that they were kept out of the loop of what was going on in the department. A few said they learned of the situation from media reports or when they were contacted by reporters. "I think that's poor communication flow, not keeping your council informed," said Councilman Paul Shelly Jr. "I wish the entire council and the [city] controller [Ray Malinchak] had been kept abreast as soon ... as the chief thought he had found something." Mr. Shelly was hesitant to comment further because he said he didn't know enough about what had happened. But he said he was pleased that the chief and the mayor moved quickly to rectify the situation. On Tuesday, Mr. Shelly sent a letter to council members and other city officials requesting a special meeting to discuss the issue. He said he hoped he would learn more then.
Mr. Malinchak said he had received no correspondence from the mayor or the police chief regarding the situation, and was highly skeptical of the mayor's claim that the city had not lost any money in the scheme. Last week, Mayor Brewster said the city was able to recover the money paid in unearned overtime because the men were suspended without pay. Mr. Malinchak said he wanted evidence that the officers actually paid the money back, and that suspending them without pay was not punishment enough. "If someone down at the city thinks they have the authority ... to negotiate another settlement, then I have a problem with that," he said. Councilman Dale McCall said he thought it was proper that the mayor and the chief handled the situation without council's oversight, noting that the police department is officially overseen by the mayor. "I give them a lot of credit for taking the bull by the horns and taking care of that," he said. Ultimately, he said that he trusted Mayor Brewster and Chief Pero to handle the situation wisely.
Last week, the Allegheny County district attorney's office recommended that McKeesport audit cases involving the men going back to January 2008, to make sure all incidents of misappropriation are caught. Mayor Jim Brewster said last week that he had elected to use a private firm for the audit. Meanwhile, some public and elected officials expressed frustration that they were kept out of the loop of what was going on in the department. A few said they learned of the situation from media reports or when they were contacted by reporters. "I think that's poor communication flow, not keeping your council informed," said Councilman Paul Shelly Jr. "I wish the entire council and the [city] controller [Ray Malinchak] had been kept abreast as soon ... as the chief thought he had found something." Mr. Shelly was hesitant to comment further because he said he didn't know enough about what had happened. But he said he was pleased that the chief and the mayor moved quickly to rectify the situation. On Tuesday, Mr. Shelly sent a letter to council members and other city officials requesting a special meeting to discuss the issue. He said he hoped he would learn more then.
Mr. Malinchak said he had received no correspondence from the mayor or the police chief regarding the situation, and was highly skeptical of the mayor's claim that the city had not lost any money in the scheme. Last week, Mayor Brewster said the city was able to recover the money paid in unearned overtime because the men were suspended without pay. Mr. Malinchak said he wanted evidence that the officers actually paid the money back, and that suspending them without pay was not punishment enough. "If someone down at the city thinks they have the authority ... to negotiate another settlement, then I have a problem with that," he said. Councilman Dale McCall said he thought it was proper that the mayor and the chief handled the situation without council's oversight, noting that the police department is officially overseen by the mayor. "I give them a lot of credit for taking the bull by the horns and taking care of that," he said. Ultimately, he said that he trusted Mayor Brewster and Chief Pero to handle the situation wisely.
Deputy Chris Johansen Arrested for Domestic Violence
Dallas County deputy sheriff Chris Johansen was arrested Saturday, March 14, and charged with OWI, first offense, as well as open container and failure to maintain control.
Johansen, 43, of rural Dallas Center was already being sought by fellow law enforcement regarding a domestic altercation earlier in the week. His arrested occurred only a short distance from his home.
An initial investigation was conducted by the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, and was then handed over to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. The drunk driving, open container and traffic offenses were filed by the Sheriff's Department.
Johansen appeared in Dallas County District Court Sunday on those charges, and was released to await trial by a magistrate.
Sheriff Chad Leonard was out of state on a planned family vacation when the alleged incidents leading to Johansen's arrest occurred. He was not able to comment on the case; phone calls seeking comment from the DCI were not returned.
Leonard said Johansen has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the DCI's investigation.
Johansen, 43, of rural Dallas Center was already being sought by fellow law enforcement regarding a domestic altercation earlier in the week. His arrested occurred only a short distance from his home.
An initial investigation was conducted by the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, and was then handed over to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. The drunk driving, open container and traffic offenses were filed by the Sheriff's Department.
Johansen appeared in Dallas County District Court Sunday on those charges, and was released to await trial by a magistrate.
Sheriff Chad Leonard was out of state on a planned family vacation when the alleged incidents leading to Johansen's arrest occurred. He was not able to comment on the case; phone calls seeking comment from the DCI were not returned.
Leonard said Johansen has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the DCI's investigation.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Officer James Bryant Charged with Contributing to Delinquency of Minor
COOS BAY, Ore.
Coos Bay police have arrested a Coquille police officer on charges of attempted contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor and furnishing alcohol to a minor.
A citizen complaint alleged that officer James Bryant gave alcohol to a teenage girl and solicited sex from another. Police say the teenagers are 17 and 18.
Coquille asked Coos Bay to investigate. Bryant was jailed and released.
Coquille Police Chief Mark Dannels says Bryant is on administrative leave.
Bryant is the second Coquille police officer arrested in six months. Randy Ulmer pleaded guilty to stealing at least $8,500 from the evidence locker at Coquille Police Department and is serving a 20-day sentence.
Information from: The World, http://www.theworldlink.com
Coos Bay police have arrested a Coquille police officer on charges of attempted contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor and furnishing alcohol to a minor.
A citizen complaint alleged that officer James Bryant gave alcohol to a teenage girl and solicited sex from another. Police say the teenagers are 17 and 18.
Coquille asked Coos Bay to investigate. Bryant was jailed and released.
Coquille Police Chief Mark Dannels says Bryant is on administrative leave.
Bryant is the second Coquille police officer arrested in six months. Randy Ulmer pleaded guilty to stealing at least $8,500 from the evidence locker at Coquille Police Department and is serving a 20-day sentence.
Information from: The World, http://www.theworldlink.com
Police in Mount Vernon & Yonkers Being Sued for Physically Abusing Woman & 3 Boys
WHITE PLAINS
Police in Mount Vernon and Yonkers are being sued for allegedly physically abusing a woman and three boys in two separate cases.
Their attorney, Jonathan Lovett, is seeking $1 million in punitive damages for each of those plaintiffs and $500,000 in compensatory damages. In both cases, the cops allegedly cursed and yelled racial slurs.
“It’s America 2009, it’s unbelievable,” Lovett said.
In a February 6 incident, it is alleged that a white Mount Vernon officer pulled over a black female motorist for a traffic violation and punched her in the face, dragged her from her car, slammed her head against the vehicle and forced her to the ground. A sergeant arrived and allegedly cursed at her and struck her in the head with a police baton.
In a February 28 incident, white Mount Vernon Police and Yonkers Police officers the latter with a K-9, responded to an alarm at the Mount Vernon Middle School where they allegedly beat three black boys, one 12 years old and the other two, 13 years of age. The court papers allege the officers yelled racial slurs and physically abused the boys.
Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton Young, Jr. issued a statement Tuesday that excessive force “is not tolerated by me or anyone in my administration.” He warned, though, that if the purpose of the lawsuit is to divide the city or the police department, “that goal is not one that will be realized.”
Young also had a message to the police officers in the city. “If you see anything going on in the department that you don’t like or that you have concerns over go to your superiors to report it,” he said. “If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, I have an open door policy. Come to me.”
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http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6716723
Police in Mount Vernon and Yonkers are being sued for allegedly physically abusing a woman and three boys in two separate cases.
Their attorney, Jonathan Lovett, is seeking $1 million in punitive damages for each of those plaintiffs and $500,000 in compensatory damages. In both cases, the cops allegedly cursed and yelled racial slurs.
“It’s America 2009, it’s unbelievable,” Lovett said.
In a February 6 incident, it is alleged that a white Mount Vernon officer pulled over a black female motorist for a traffic violation and punched her in the face, dragged her from her car, slammed her head against the vehicle and forced her to the ground. A sergeant arrived and allegedly cursed at her and struck her in the head with a police baton.
In a February 28 incident, white Mount Vernon Police and Yonkers Police officers the latter with a K-9, responded to an alarm at the Mount Vernon Middle School where they allegedly beat three black boys, one 12 years old and the other two, 13 years of age. The court papers allege the officers yelled racial slurs and physically abused the boys.
Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton Young, Jr. issued a statement Tuesday that excessive force “is not tolerated by me or anyone in my administration.” He warned, though, that if the purpose of the lawsuit is to divide the city or the police department, “that goal is not one that will be realized.”
Young also had a message to the police officers in the city. “If you see anything going on in the department that you don’t like or that you have concerns over go to your superiors to report it,” he said. “If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, I have an open door policy. Come to me.”
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http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6716723
Officer Francisco Santiago Arrested for Domestic Violence
A police officer assigned to LA/Ontario International Airport was arrested on suspicion of felony spousal abuse Tuesday in Rancho Cucamonga.
Francisco Santiago, 46, was arrested at about 5 p.m. in the 7100 block of Westhaven Place, which lies northeast of Rochester Avenue and Base Line Road.
Santiago remained jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail this afternoon at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
He is set to be arraigned Thursday morning in West Valley Superior Court, according to online records from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
The circumstances of Santiago's arrest remained unclear this afternoon. A spokeswoman for the Rancho Cucamonga sheriff's station did not return calls seeking comment today.
Sgt. Jim Holcomb, a public information officer for the Los Angeles Airport Police Department, said he can't reveal whether Santiago, an airport safety officer, is on leave or faces any other punishment because of his arrest.
Holcomb declined to say how long Santiago has been employed by the department. The position of airport safety officer is not an entry-level job, Holcomb said.
The Los Angeles Airport Police Department patrols LAX, LA/Ontario and other airports operated by Los Angeles World Airports.
Its officers are responsible for firefighting in addition to traditional police duties, Holcomb said.
Francisco Santiago, 46, was arrested at about 5 p.m. in the 7100 block of Westhaven Place, which lies northeast of Rochester Avenue and Base Line Road.
Santiago remained jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail this afternoon at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
He is set to be arraigned Thursday morning in West Valley Superior Court, according to online records from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
The circumstances of Santiago's arrest remained unclear this afternoon. A spokeswoman for the Rancho Cucamonga sheriff's station did not return calls seeking comment today.
Sgt. Jim Holcomb, a public information officer for the Los Angeles Airport Police Department, said he can't reveal whether Santiago, an airport safety officer, is on leave or faces any other punishment because of his arrest.
Holcomb declined to say how long Santiago has been employed by the department. The position of airport safety officer is not an entry-level job, Holcomb said.
The Los Angeles Airport Police Department patrols LAX, LA/Ontario and other airports operated by Los Angeles World Airports.
Its officers are responsible for firefighting in addition to traditional police duties, Holcomb said.
Officer Kevin Hicks Resigns After Hitting Woman
ST. PETERSBURG
Before he served the city as a police officer, Kevin Hicks served his country as a soldier. As an Army National Guard cavalry scout in Afghanistan, his commander said Hicks displayed "high moral standards and common sense."
But authorities say those traits were lacking in December when Hicks became involved in a drunken street brawl that left Hicks shirtless, bloody and under suspicion. Witnesses said Hicks slugged a woman during the fracas.
The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office believed them. After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors charged Hicks with misdemeanor battery last month.
Hicks denied it and said he was the one who was attacked. He had been restricted to desk duty since the Dec. 21 incident. But once charged with a crime, the department intended to suspend him without pay.
Before that happened, Hicks resigned Monday. The 29-year-old was an officer for 16 months.
But the fight's not over yet. Hicks pleaded not guilty to the charge. His attorney said Hicks will contest the allegations.
"That's exactly what they are," said attorney Joseph Ciarciaglino Jr. "Allegations."
• • •
Kevin Hicks and a host of witnesses provided dozens of pages of statements to a detective. Here's the short version:
Hicks said his evening started out at the St. Petersburg Bowl with his sister and brother. By 2 a.m., they were at Durty Nelly's at 661 Central Ave, Hicks told investigators.
It was his fifth bar that night, Hicks said, and he had imbibed 10 to 12 alcoholic drinks.
Central Avenue was in chaos. Two women fought on the street.
When one of the women tried to back her car out, police said, she accidentally rolled over a man who was leaning his bicycle against her car, breaking his leg.
Witnesses said Hicks reached into the woman's car and took her cell phone, then said he was an officer and needed to call 911.
A friend of the driver, Rebecca Reed, 21, said she told Hicks to give it back and to use his own phone. Reed said Hicks hid the phone behind his back and said he was an "undercover cop." The two kept arguing.
Then Reed said Hicks punched her with his right hand.
Her left jaw was visibly swollen and red, the report said.
Then several men, Reed said, rushed Hicks.
Two days after the incident, Hicks told a detective that's not what happened.
Hicks said he went to help the bicyclist. He denied reaching into the car or taking anything.
Then, Hicks said, several men confronted him. He showed them his badge. But Hicks said he was punched and kicked to the ground. His shirt was torn off and he was left bleeding.
His brother, Andrew Hicks, backed up that account.
"I mean, you could tell that these guys were just out for blood," Kevin Hicks said. "They were just going to fight."
• • •
The woman who ran over the bicyclist was not cited. A police spokesman could not say why, but speculated she may not have been at fault.
No one was arrested for assaulting Hicks. But two men who police said admitted taking part in that night's brawling were arrested on charges they carried illegal brass knuckles.
Joseph Vanwart, 26, pleaded no contest Feb. 24 to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon and paid a fine.
Steven Kelly, 25, faces a felony charge of being a felon in possession of a concealed weapon. He told police he carried them for protection in a bad economy.
Hicks, a graduate of St. Petersburg Catholic High School, was charged with battery on Feb. 27. An internal police investigation is ongoing. A police spokesman would not say if a conviction would have led to Hicks' firing.
His attorney said Hicks was done with law enforcement.
"He's just moving on," said Ciarciaglino, general counsel for the Pinellas County Police Benevolent Association. "This kid's a sharp kid with a lot of opportunities, and that's why he resigned."
Before he served the city as a police officer, Kevin Hicks served his country as a soldier. As an Army National Guard cavalry scout in Afghanistan, his commander said Hicks displayed "high moral standards and common sense."
But authorities say those traits were lacking in December when Hicks became involved in a drunken street brawl that left Hicks shirtless, bloody and under suspicion. Witnesses said Hicks slugged a woman during the fracas.
The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office believed them. After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors charged Hicks with misdemeanor battery last month.
Hicks denied it and said he was the one who was attacked. He had been restricted to desk duty since the Dec. 21 incident. But once charged with a crime, the department intended to suspend him without pay.
Before that happened, Hicks resigned Monday. The 29-year-old was an officer for 16 months.
But the fight's not over yet. Hicks pleaded not guilty to the charge. His attorney said Hicks will contest the allegations.
"That's exactly what they are," said attorney Joseph Ciarciaglino Jr. "Allegations."
• • •
Kevin Hicks and a host of witnesses provided dozens of pages of statements to a detective. Here's the short version:
Hicks said his evening started out at the St. Petersburg Bowl with his sister and brother. By 2 a.m., they were at Durty Nelly's at 661 Central Ave, Hicks told investigators.
It was his fifth bar that night, Hicks said, and he had imbibed 10 to 12 alcoholic drinks.
Central Avenue was in chaos. Two women fought on the street.
When one of the women tried to back her car out, police said, she accidentally rolled over a man who was leaning his bicycle against her car, breaking his leg.
Witnesses said Hicks reached into the woman's car and took her cell phone, then said he was an officer and needed to call 911.
A friend of the driver, Rebecca Reed, 21, said she told Hicks to give it back and to use his own phone. Reed said Hicks hid the phone behind his back and said he was an "undercover cop." The two kept arguing.
Then Reed said Hicks punched her with his right hand.
Her left jaw was visibly swollen and red, the report said.
Then several men, Reed said, rushed Hicks.
Two days after the incident, Hicks told a detective that's not what happened.
Hicks said he went to help the bicyclist. He denied reaching into the car or taking anything.
Then, Hicks said, several men confronted him. He showed them his badge. But Hicks said he was punched and kicked to the ground. His shirt was torn off and he was left bleeding.
His brother, Andrew Hicks, backed up that account.
"I mean, you could tell that these guys were just out for blood," Kevin Hicks said. "They were just going to fight."
• • •
The woman who ran over the bicyclist was not cited. A police spokesman could not say why, but speculated she may not have been at fault.
No one was arrested for assaulting Hicks. But two men who police said admitted taking part in that night's brawling were arrested on charges they carried illegal brass knuckles.
Joseph Vanwart, 26, pleaded no contest Feb. 24 to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon and paid a fine.
Steven Kelly, 25, faces a felony charge of being a felon in possession of a concealed weapon. He told police he carried them for protection in a bad economy.
Hicks, a graduate of St. Petersburg Catholic High School, was charged with battery on Feb. 27. An internal police investigation is ongoing. A police spokesman would not say if a conviction would have led to Hicks' firing.
His attorney said Hicks was done with law enforcement.
"He's just moving on," said Ciarciaglino, general counsel for the Pinellas County Police Benevolent Association. "This kid's a sharp kid with a lot of opportunities, and that's why he resigned."
Two Baltimore Officers Accused of Forcing Black Detective to View KKK Material
Two Baltimore police officers accused of forcing a black homicide detective to look at racist material on the Internet could be suspended without pay and have letters of reprimand placed in their permanent files, city police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said yesterday.
The officers, Lt. James W. Hagin Jr. and Detective Paul A. Kidd, can accept the discipline or fight the charges at a departmental hearing called a trial board.
In a complaint filed in March last year, Hagin is alleged to have ordered Sgt. Kelvin Sewell to view a Ku Klux Klan Web site. Guglielmi listed the administrative charges against Hagin as neglect of duty, bringing disrespect to the department and conduct unbecoming an officer related to inappropriate use of a police computer.
It is alleged that Kidd tampered with the computer by removing the hard drive. Guglielmi said the charge against him was neglect of duty.
The local chapter of the NAACP had pressured the Police Department to move forward on the case; the head of the police union backed the officers and said the police commissioner shouldn't be influenced by "outside groups and sources."
A third officer - Charles Bealefeld, the brother of Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III - was also found to have given a false report in the case. However, he has since joined the Annapolis Police Department. Baltimore police do not typically attempt to bring charges against former employees.
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008880048_apofficersracistmaterial.html
The officers, Lt. James W. Hagin Jr. and Detective Paul A. Kidd, can accept the discipline or fight the charges at a departmental hearing called a trial board.
In a complaint filed in March last year, Hagin is alleged to have ordered Sgt. Kelvin Sewell to view a Ku Klux Klan Web site. Guglielmi listed the administrative charges against Hagin as neglect of duty, bringing disrespect to the department and conduct unbecoming an officer related to inappropriate use of a police computer.
It is alleged that Kidd tampered with the computer by removing the hard drive. Guglielmi said the charge against him was neglect of duty.
The local chapter of the NAACP had pressured the Police Department to move forward on the case; the head of the police union backed the officers and said the police commissioner shouldn't be influenced by "outside groups and sources."
A third officer - Charles Bealefeld, the brother of Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III - was also found to have given a false report in the case. However, he has since joined the Annapolis Police Department. Baltimore police do not typically attempt to bring charges against former employees.
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008880048_apofficersracistmaterial.html
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
911 Dispatcher Jacque Stetler Charged with Misconduct
A 911 dispatcher was arrested on charges of misconduct stemming from an incident in 2008.
According to the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office, Jacque Stetler, 49, of Bath, allegedly used her position as a dispatcher to provide sensitive information to another.
Stetler will appear in Bath Town Court April 2.
According to the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office, Jacque Stetler, 49, of Bath, allegedly used her position as a dispatcher to provide sensitive information to another.
Stetler will appear in Bath Town Court April 2.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio Finally Being Investigated
You might not be familiar with Joe Arpaio. He is the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona.
Joe gained fame for making inmates wear pink underwear. He literally brags about it.
QUOTE: [ The MCSO uniform is now black and white stripes for every inmate and of course our world famous pink boxer shorts....And of course most men, especially those in jail, do not like the color pink.]
Joe also brags about having the only all-female chain gang in history. Yeah, he brought back chain gangs.
Joe has crossed the line on quite a few occasions. Last year, a class action suit was initiated against Joe.
In July 2008, five individuals and Somos America, a Latino community-based coalition, sued Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and Maricopa County, claiming that they or their members were unlawfully stopped and mistreated by law enforcement agents because they were Latino.
The county, of course, asked the U.S. District Court in Arizona to dismiss the lawsuit. This past February, the ruling was handed down.
A federal judge denied a request by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to dismiss a lawsuit against him that alleges his deputies have racially profiled Hispanics.The ruling Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Mary Murguia allows lawyers for the Hispanic civil rights group Somos America and other plaintiffs to continue pressing their allegations in court.
Now, the U.S. Justice Department is getting involved.
The U.S. Justice Department has launched a civil-rights investigation of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office after months of mounting complaints that deputies are discriminating in their enforcement of federal immigration laws.
Officials from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division notified Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Tuesday that they had begun the investigation, which will focus on whether deputies are engaging in "patterns or practices of discriminatory police practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures."
An expert said it is the department's first civil-rights probe related to immigration enforcement.
What's the big deal with Sheriff Joe Arpaio?
*Ole Joe has been ordering deputies to "scour" Latino neighborhoods looking for illegal immigrants based on skin color.*
Joe refuses to grant female inmates reproductive rights. Joe refuses to allow female inmates access to abortion clinics without a court order. Why? Joe claims he doesn't run a taxi service from jail to an abortion clinic and back.
Ambrett Spencer was nine months pregnant when she was serving her sentence for drunk driving. Unfortunately, she was in Joe's jail. Joe's sergeant on duty decided that Spencer was not top priority. The baby was born dead.
While Spencer is suing Joe, that is just one lawsuit of the more than 2,500 jail conditions lawsuits that have been filed against Arpaio in federal court alone.
Joe doesn't allow female inmates to see their babies after birth.
Joe has built a tent city to house his inmates. Temperatures can reach 138 degrees. Joe's response to complaints? "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and the soldiers are living in tents and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths."
Believe me...those examples are merely samples. There is more. But not everyone thinks Joe is a dick.
Despite criticism from Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Arizona Ecumenical Council, and the Anti-Defamation League, The Fox Reality Channel offered Sheriff Arpaio a reality TV show entitled, "Smile, You're Under Arrest." The show centers around elaborate sting operations run by Sheriff Arpaio to capture people wanted on outstanding warrants.
Ah...family programming.While the U.S. Justice Department is investigating, a petition has been created to urge Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to suspend Arpaio’s 287g agreement that allows him to enforce Federal immigration laws.
Joe gained fame for making inmates wear pink underwear. He literally brags about it.
QUOTE: [ The MCSO uniform is now black and white stripes for every inmate and of course our world famous pink boxer shorts....And of course most men, especially those in jail, do not like the color pink.]
Joe also brags about having the only all-female chain gang in history. Yeah, he brought back chain gangs.
Joe has crossed the line on quite a few occasions. Last year, a class action suit was initiated against Joe.
In July 2008, five individuals and Somos America, a Latino community-based coalition, sued Arpaio, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and Maricopa County, claiming that they or their members were unlawfully stopped and mistreated by law enforcement agents because they were Latino.
The county, of course, asked the U.S. District Court in Arizona to dismiss the lawsuit. This past February, the ruling was handed down.
A federal judge denied a request by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to dismiss a lawsuit against him that alleges his deputies have racially profiled Hispanics.The ruling Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Mary Murguia allows lawyers for the Hispanic civil rights group Somos America and other plaintiffs to continue pressing their allegations in court.
Now, the U.S. Justice Department is getting involved.
The U.S. Justice Department has launched a civil-rights investigation of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office after months of mounting complaints that deputies are discriminating in their enforcement of federal immigration laws.
Officials from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division notified Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Tuesday that they had begun the investigation, which will focus on whether deputies are engaging in "patterns or practices of discriminatory police practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures."
An expert said it is the department's first civil-rights probe related to immigration enforcement.
What's the big deal with Sheriff Joe Arpaio?
*Ole Joe has been ordering deputies to "scour" Latino neighborhoods looking for illegal immigrants based on skin color.*
Joe refuses to grant female inmates reproductive rights. Joe refuses to allow female inmates access to abortion clinics without a court order. Why? Joe claims he doesn't run a taxi service from jail to an abortion clinic and back.
Ambrett Spencer was nine months pregnant when she was serving her sentence for drunk driving. Unfortunately, she was in Joe's jail. Joe's sergeant on duty decided that Spencer was not top priority. The baby was born dead.
While Spencer is suing Joe, that is just one lawsuit of the more than 2,500 jail conditions lawsuits that have been filed against Arpaio in federal court alone.
Joe doesn't allow female inmates to see their babies after birth.
Joe has built a tent city to house his inmates. Temperatures can reach 138 degrees. Joe's response to complaints? "It's 120 degrees in Iraq and the soldiers are living in tents and they didn't commit any crimes, so shut your mouths."
Believe me...those examples are merely samples. There is more. But not everyone thinks Joe is a dick.
Despite criticism from Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Arizona Ecumenical Council, and the Anti-Defamation League, The Fox Reality Channel offered Sheriff Arpaio a reality TV show entitled, "Smile, You're Under Arrest." The show centers around elaborate sting operations run by Sheriff Arpaio to capture people wanted on outstanding warrants.
Ah...family programming.While the U.S. Justice Department is investigating, a petition has been created to urge Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to suspend Arpaio’s 287g agreement that allows him to enforce Federal immigration laws.
Charges Dismissed Against Officer Robert Schmidt Arrested for Soliciting Sex from Undercover Officer
A D.C. police officer was arrested in a downtown hotel last month after he allegedly solicited sex from an undercover officer in an Internet sting run by the department's anti-prostitution unit, authorities said yesterday.
The misdemeanor charge against Officer Robert A. Schmidt was routinely dismissed last week after he completed a day-long education program called "john school," in which first-time offenders are instructed in the risks of prostitution, according to his lawyer, Harold D. Martin. He said neither he nor Schmidt would comment on the sting.
Authorities alleged that Schmidt arranged to meet a woman he thought was a prostitute after responding to an advertisement investigators placed on Craigslist, an online classified service.
His meeting with Officer Madeline Collado, who was posing as a prostitute, took place Feb. 20, just after 5 p.m., in a fifth-floor room at the Embassy Suites hotel near 10th and K streets NW, according to an affidavit filed by police in D.C. Superior Court. The document quotes their conversation in a room wired for sound and video.
"So, what do you do for a living?" Collado asked him, after the two had exchanged pleasantries.
"I work with the government," Schmidt said, to which Collado replied, "How cool is that!"
After they set an $80 price for a half-hour of sex, other officers entered the room and arrested Schmidt. He was released with a court summons, a standard procedure in such cases. Because he completed the john school, sponsored by the U.S. attorney's office, the charge of soliciting for prostitution was dismissed March 10 at his first court appearance.
Asked whether Schmidt faces departmental disciplinary action, police spokeswoman Traci Hughes would only say, "There's an administrative investigation underway."
Schmidt, an officer since 1994, worked for several years in a drug enforcement unit in the Narcotics and Special Investigations Division before leaving the division in 2007, said Inspector Brian Bray, head of the NSID. The sting that led to Schmidt's arrest was run by the division's prostitution enforcement unit, Bray said.
He said Schmidt was among eight men arrested in the sting that night.
"He was really one of the better officers in the department when he was working for me, a real hardworking guy," said Bray, who called Schmidt's arrest "sad."
At the time of the sting, Bray said, Schmidt was a youth crimes investigator, a job that often is a path to a promotion to detective. Yesterday, though, Schmidt was working in the 4th District, in the northern part of the city, assigned to a program in which officers walk foot beats to stay in close touch with residents, officials said.
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Other Information:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008879655_apofficerprostitutionsting.html
The misdemeanor charge against Officer Robert A. Schmidt was routinely dismissed last week after he completed a day-long education program called "john school," in which first-time offenders are instructed in the risks of prostitution, according to his lawyer, Harold D. Martin. He said neither he nor Schmidt would comment on the sting.
Authorities alleged that Schmidt arranged to meet a woman he thought was a prostitute after responding to an advertisement investigators placed on Craigslist, an online classified service.
His meeting with Officer Madeline Collado, who was posing as a prostitute, took place Feb. 20, just after 5 p.m., in a fifth-floor room at the Embassy Suites hotel near 10th and K streets NW, according to an affidavit filed by police in D.C. Superior Court. The document quotes their conversation in a room wired for sound and video.
"So, what do you do for a living?" Collado asked him, after the two had exchanged pleasantries.
"I work with the government," Schmidt said, to which Collado replied, "How cool is that!"
After they set an $80 price for a half-hour of sex, other officers entered the room and arrested Schmidt. He was released with a court summons, a standard procedure in such cases. Because he completed the john school, sponsored by the U.S. attorney's office, the charge of soliciting for prostitution was dismissed March 10 at his first court appearance.
Asked whether Schmidt faces departmental disciplinary action, police spokeswoman Traci Hughes would only say, "There's an administrative investigation underway."
Schmidt, an officer since 1994, worked for several years in a drug enforcement unit in the Narcotics and Special Investigations Division before leaving the division in 2007, said Inspector Brian Bray, head of the NSID. The sting that led to Schmidt's arrest was run by the division's prostitution enforcement unit, Bray said.
He said Schmidt was among eight men arrested in the sting that night.
"He was really one of the better officers in the department when he was working for me, a real hardworking guy," said Bray, who called Schmidt's arrest "sad."
At the time of the sting, Bray said, Schmidt was a youth crimes investigator, a job that often is a path to a promotion to detective. Yesterday, though, Schmidt was working in the 4th District, in the northern part of the city, assigned to a program in which officers walk foot beats to stay in close touch with residents, officials said.
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Other Information:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008879655_apofficerprostitutionsting.html
Fairfax County Officers Accused of Cheating Scandal
Two Fairfax County police officers accused in a cheating scandal involving promotional exams have left the department, and two others have been placed on administrative duties with pay, according to police sources.
First Lt. Susan Lamar, 44, an assistant commander in the organized crime-narcotics unit, retired last week after 23 years with the department, sources said. Sgt. Keela M. Lowry, 39, the county's first black female police supervisor, resigned last month, they said.
The scandal erupted last month when Lamar was accused of offering questions from the police department's upcoming sergeant's exam to an officer studying for the exam. Instead of taking the questions, the officer turned in the lieutenant, prompting an internal investigation. Lowry, who was on the testing committee, has since been accused of leaking the questions to Lamar.
Two other sergeants -- Eric P. Leeds and Michael J. Guston -- have been placed on administrative leave with pay while the investigation continues, the sources said. Both declined to comment.
The police internal affairs unit is also investigating the 2006 sergeant's exam, on which Lowry did well and was soon promoted. The written test is given every three years, along with an oral "assessment center," and a promotional list for each rank is created based on the total performance on all test phases.
Mary Ann Jennings, a Fairfax police spokeswoman, confirmed that four people had been linked to the cheating allegations and that one had retired and one had resigned. An officer who retires is allowed to collect pension and benefits, but an officer who resigns cannot, Jennings said.
Meanwhile, a new test was quickly composed so that the promotional exam can still be given Saturday.
In 2008, Fairfax police officers were paid base salaries ranging from about $45,000 to $81,631 for the most experienced officers, county records show. Sergeants were paid a minimum base of about $74,000 and a maximum of $85,713, though some officers and sergeants earn more by working overtime.
Jennings said more than 30 officers were elevated to sergeant in the past three years based on their performance on the 2006 test. Some officers have said that if some of their colleagues were unfairly promoted after the 2006 test, then other officers were unfairly denied promotions and their accompanying pay raises. They asked how the department would rectify that and whether an outside agency should be brought in to investigate.
Jennings said: "The question remains, how does the police department make it right when we don't know who, if anyone, didn't get promoted because of what happened? We're still investigating to see how many people might have been involved. We're trying to be fair. But the bottom line is, it's time to replace that [promotional] list."
She also said there was no reason to ask an outside agency to investigate. The police internal affairs unit uncovered the current problems, and "given the scope and quality of investigations conducted by IA, we see no reason to change our practices," she said.
________________
Other Information:
FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE: Cheating Admission Raises More Doubts
Fairfax Probes Police Exam Cheating Case, Suspends Two
First Lt. Susan Lamar, 44, an assistant commander in the organized crime-narcotics unit, retired last week after 23 years with the department, sources said. Sgt. Keela M. Lowry, 39, the county's first black female police supervisor, resigned last month, they said.
The scandal erupted last month when Lamar was accused of offering questions from the police department's upcoming sergeant's exam to an officer studying for the exam. Instead of taking the questions, the officer turned in the lieutenant, prompting an internal investigation. Lowry, who was on the testing committee, has since been accused of leaking the questions to Lamar.
Two other sergeants -- Eric P. Leeds and Michael J. Guston -- have been placed on administrative leave with pay while the investigation continues, the sources said. Both declined to comment.
The police internal affairs unit is also investigating the 2006 sergeant's exam, on which Lowry did well and was soon promoted. The written test is given every three years, along with an oral "assessment center," and a promotional list for each rank is created based on the total performance on all test phases.
Mary Ann Jennings, a Fairfax police spokeswoman, confirmed that four people had been linked to the cheating allegations and that one had retired and one had resigned. An officer who retires is allowed to collect pension and benefits, but an officer who resigns cannot, Jennings said.
Meanwhile, a new test was quickly composed so that the promotional exam can still be given Saturday.
In 2008, Fairfax police officers were paid base salaries ranging from about $45,000 to $81,631 for the most experienced officers, county records show. Sergeants were paid a minimum base of about $74,000 and a maximum of $85,713, though some officers and sergeants earn more by working overtime.
Jennings said more than 30 officers were elevated to sergeant in the past three years based on their performance on the 2006 test. Some officers have said that if some of their colleagues were unfairly promoted after the 2006 test, then other officers were unfairly denied promotions and their accompanying pay raises. They asked how the department would rectify that and whether an outside agency should be brought in to investigate.
Jennings said: "The question remains, how does the police department make it right when we don't know who, if anyone, didn't get promoted because of what happened? We're still investigating to see how many people might have been involved. We're trying to be fair. But the bottom line is, it's time to replace that [promotional] list."
She also said there was no reason to ask an outside agency to investigate. The police internal affairs unit uncovered the current problems, and "given the scope and quality of investigations conducted by IA, we see no reason to change our practices," she said.
________________
Other Information:
FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE: Cheating Admission Raises More Doubts
Fairfax Probes Police Exam Cheating Case, Suspends Two
Officer Matthew Madson Resigns After Investigation of Shots Fired
AMES, Iowa
An Eagle Grove police officer resigned Tuesday from his job following an investigation into a chase in which he fired his weapon.
The chase involved a male juvenile who fled in his pickup truck when Officer Matthew Madson approached the vehicle.
Authorities said that during the chase Madson fired his weapon at one of the truck's tires.
City officials released the following statement on Tuesday in connection with the resignation:
“After reviewing the report and the city’s policy and procedures manual, city officials discussed this information with Officer Madson. The City chose to accept Madson’s resignation at that time. He resigned on March 17, 2009. The City will be looking to fill this position soon."
City officials said they wouldn't comment further about the resignation.
Previous Stories: March 9, 2009: Officer On Leave After Shooting At Truck
March 6, 2009: Neighbors Question Officer's Chase, Shooting
An Eagle Grove police officer resigned Tuesday from his job following an investigation into a chase in which he fired his weapon.
The chase involved a male juvenile who fled in his pickup truck when Officer Matthew Madson approached the vehicle.
Authorities said that during the chase Madson fired his weapon at one of the truck's tires.
City officials released the following statement on Tuesday in connection with the resignation:
“After reviewing the report and the city’s policy and procedures manual, city officials discussed this information with Officer Madson. The City chose to accept Madson’s resignation at that time. He resigned on March 17, 2009. The City will be looking to fill this position soon."
City officials said they wouldn't comment further about the resignation.
Previous Stories: March 9, 2009: Officer On Leave After Shooting At Truck
March 6, 2009: Neighbors Question Officer's Chase, Shooting
Two Peoria Officers Arrested After Video Tape Beating
PEORIA, Ill.
Two Peoria police officers have been arrested in connection with the 2008 beating of a man who claims he was pepper sprayed, kicked, punched and shocked with a stun gun following a police chase that was videotaped by a squad car camera.
Officers Andrew Smith, 29, and Gerald Suelter, 39, were arrested Monday night on charges of official misconduct, aggravated battery, battery and mob action, according to the police department. They were jailed pending a Wednesday afternoon court appearance, Peoria County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Joe Needham said Tuesday.
Peoria County State's Attorney Kevin Lyons, who decided to pursue the case after seeing the videotape, said the recording shows Bryce Scott stopped running and cooperated before the officers allegedly beat him.
"You can tell that a person made a conscious decision to pull over," Lyons said. "When you for whatever reason, say 'I'm going to give myself up,' if this is what they are going to do to you ..."
A call to a Peoria telephone listing for an Andrew Smith was not returned. A number listed for a Gerald Suelter was not answered. It was not immediately clear if the men had attorneys.
Police spokesman Doug Burgess declined to comment on specifics of the case, saying only that the officers were on leave, which will be unpaid if they are charged with felonies.
Scott was beaten early May 3 after leading officers on the car chase, authorities said. In a January lawsuit filed against Smith, Suelter and four other unnamed officers, Scott said officers pursued him after his girlfriend's mother called them saying Scott was outside her home.
Scott says he got out of his car at officers' request but was then pepper sprayed, kicked, shocked with a stun gun and punched.
The squad car video shows Scott's SUV being chased, stopping at a stop sign and, after a shouted order from a police officer, the driver sticking his hands out the driver's side window.
An officer then opens the SUV's door and the driver steps out before quickly dropping to the ground and out of the frame. One officer kneels over the spot where the driver appears to be and screaming and moaning can be heard.
Lyons said he didn't pursue the case earlier because he didn't know about the incident until the lawsuit was filed and the videotape emerged. Police never forwarded information about Scott to him, he said.
It wasn't immediately clear whether charges were filed against Scott from the chase.
Scott's attorney in the civil lawsuit, Dan Cusack of Peoria, said that while much of the action his client alleges doesn't appear in the videotape, it's clear to him what happens just off camera.
"Bryce, you know, was in a high speed chase, but then he stopped," Cusack said. "He appears to me and a lot of other people ... to have been obeying commands when the aggressive part of the tape picks up."
Burgess wasn't sure how long either officer had been with the department, only that both had worked there fewer than seven years.
Two Peoria police officers have been arrested in connection with the 2008 beating of a man who claims he was pepper sprayed, kicked, punched and shocked with a stun gun following a police chase that was videotaped by a squad car camera.
Officers Andrew Smith, 29, and Gerald Suelter, 39, were arrested Monday night on charges of official misconduct, aggravated battery, battery and mob action, according to the police department. They were jailed pending a Wednesday afternoon court appearance, Peoria County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Joe Needham said Tuesday.
Peoria County State's Attorney Kevin Lyons, who decided to pursue the case after seeing the videotape, said the recording shows Bryce Scott stopped running and cooperated before the officers allegedly beat him.
"You can tell that a person made a conscious decision to pull over," Lyons said. "When you for whatever reason, say 'I'm going to give myself up,' if this is what they are going to do to you ..."
A call to a Peoria telephone listing for an Andrew Smith was not returned. A number listed for a Gerald Suelter was not answered. It was not immediately clear if the men had attorneys.
Police spokesman Doug Burgess declined to comment on specifics of the case, saying only that the officers were on leave, which will be unpaid if they are charged with felonies.
Scott was beaten early May 3 after leading officers on the car chase, authorities said. In a January lawsuit filed against Smith, Suelter and four other unnamed officers, Scott said officers pursued him after his girlfriend's mother called them saying Scott was outside her home.
Scott says he got out of his car at officers' request but was then pepper sprayed, kicked, shocked with a stun gun and punched.
The squad car video shows Scott's SUV being chased, stopping at a stop sign and, after a shouted order from a police officer, the driver sticking his hands out the driver's side window.
An officer then opens the SUV's door and the driver steps out before quickly dropping to the ground and out of the frame. One officer kneels over the spot where the driver appears to be and screaming and moaning can be heard.
Lyons said he didn't pursue the case earlier because he didn't know about the incident until the lawsuit was filed and the videotape emerged. Police never forwarded information about Scott to him, he said.
It wasn't immediately clear whether charges were filed against Scott from the chase.
Scott's attorney in the civil lawsuit, Dan Cusack of Peoria, said that while much of the action his client alleges doesn't appear in the videotape, it's clear to him what happens just off camera.
"Bryce, you know, was in a high speed chase, but then he stopped," Cusack said. "He appears to me and a lot of other people ... to have been obeying commands when the aggressive part of the tape picks up."
Burgess wasn't sure how long either officer had been with the department, only that both had worked there fewer than seven years.
Former Deputy Ron Chris Crabtree Charged with Child Sexual Misconduct
Authorities with the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office arrested 35-year-old Ron Christopher “Chris” Crabtree, former Georgetown County Sheriff’s Deputy, this afternoon for Criminal Sexual Conduct 2nd Degree and Lewd Act on a Child.
The investigation began on February 2, 2009 when authorities in Ohio made contact with the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office with sexual assault allegations against Deputy Crabtree. The allegations were received from Ohio authorities because the victim lives in Ohio and the incident allegedly occurred in Pawley’s Island.
Georgetown County Sheriff’s Investigators made a preliminary inquiry into the allegations with the authorities in Ohio and subsequent to the preliminary inquiry; Deputy Crabtree was placed on leave with pay.
Sheriff A. Lane Cribb requested that SLED assist in the investigation. During the course of the investigation, Deputy Crabtree’s employment was terminated.
Crabtree was arrested at the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office after turning himself in and transported to the Georgetown County Detention Center by SLED. Crabtree served with the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office for 2.5 years.
http://www.carolinalive.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=274727
The investigation began on February 2, 2009 when authorities in Ohio made contact with the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office with sexual assault allegations against Deputy Crabtree. The allegations were received from Ohio authorities because the victim lives in Ohio and the incident allegedly occurred in Pawley’s Island.
Georgetown County Sheriff’s Investigators made a preliminary inquiry into the allegations with the authorities in Ohio and subsequent to the preliminary inquiry; Deputy Crabtree was placed on leave with pay.
Sheriff A. Lane Cribb requested that SLED assist in the investigation. During the course of the investigation, Deputy Crabtree’s employment was terminated.
Crabtree was arrested at the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office after turning himself in and transported to the Georgetown County Detention Center by SLED. Crabtree served with the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office for 2.5 years.
http://www.carolinalive.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=274727
Monday, March 16, 2009
Detective Michael Cordova Charged with Assault Appears in Court
DENVER
A Denver police officer who was videotaped hitting, kicking and slamming a man's head into the ground during an arrest last April says he's not guilty of assault.
Detective Michael Cordova appeared in court Tuesday to fight two counts of second-degree assault from the arrest on April 4th last year.
The district court judge postponed the disposition and motions hearing in the case one month because Cordova's attorney Marc Colin wants to have an expert analyze the videotape.
The tape was shot by a local sports TV crew on the home opening day of the Colorado Rockies last year outside of Coors Field. It shows the arrest of John Heaney riding his bike past Coors Field and getting into an altercation with Cordova and other officers who were working undercover in a scalping sting.
Before the videotape surfaced, Cordova testified in a court case under oath that Heaney swung and punched at him several times, forcing Cordova to punch back.
Cordova said Heaney "continued to throw wild punches at me, hitting me in the chest area several times forcing me to punch him in the face several times," according to court records and a Denver Police statement.
When he was asked how Heaney's two front teeth were broken, Cordova responded, "I have not a clue."
Heaney was charged with assault in the arrest and was facing prison time when the tape surfaced and was given to 9NEWS.
The tape shows two officers, including Cordova, hitting, kicking and using elbow strikes against Heaney, who does not appear to be resisting. Once on the ground, the videotape shows Cordova grabbing Heaney's ponytail, lifting up his head and slamming it into the ground, breaking his teeth. The sound of the breaking teeth can be heard on the videotape.
Once prosecutors and police were shown the tape, charges were dropped against Heaney and Cordova was charged with assault.
Cordova is out of jail on bond and has been suspended from the police department without pay during his court case.
The case has been continued until April 21st.
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http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=112048&catid=339
A Denver police officer who was videotaped hitting, kicking and slamming a man's head into the ground during an arrest last April says he's not guilty of assault.
Detective Michael Cordova appeared in court Tuesday to fight two counts of second-degree assault from the arrest on April 4th last year.
The district court judge postponed the disposition and motions hearing in the case one month because Cordova's attorney Marc Colin wants to have an expert analyze the videotape.
The tape was shot by a local sports TV crew on the home opening day of the Colorado Rockies last year outside of Coors Field. It shows the arrest of John Heaney riding his bike past Coors Field and getting into an altercation with Cordova and other officers who were working undercover in a scalping sting.
Before the videotape surfaced, Cordova testified in a court case under oath that Heaney swung and punched at him several times, forcing Cordova to punch back.
Cordova said Heaney "continued to throw wild punches at me, hitting me in the chest area several times forcing me to punch him in the face several times," according to court records and a Denver Police statement.
When he was asked how Heaney's two front teeth were broken, Cordova responded, "I have not a clue."
Heaney was charged with assault in the arrest and was facing prison time when the tape surfaced and was given to 9NEWS.
The tape shows two officers, including Cordova, hitting, kicking and using elbow strikes against Heaney, who does not appear to be resisting. Once on the ground, the videotape shows Cordova grabbing Heaney's ponytail, lifting up his head and slamming it into the ground, breaking his teeth. The sound of the breaking teeth can be heard on the videotape.
Once prosecutors and police were shown the tape, charges were dropped against Heaney and Cordova was charged with assault.
Cordova is out of jail on bond and has been suspended from the police department without pay during his court case.
The case has been continued until April 21st.
__________________
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=112048&catid=339
Guthrie Woman Files Lawsuit Claiming she was Wrongfully Arrested
EDMOND
A Guthrie woman claims she was wrongfully arrested on a traffic stop and taken to the Logan County jail where she was subjected to an improper strip search, court papers show.
Anna Lynn Self, of Guthrie, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma that names the Logan County sheriff and the City of Guthrie as defendants. The suit was filed in January.
On March 23, 2008, Guthrie Police Officer Wes Henry was patrolling when he noticed a green 1999 four-door hardtop Volkswagen with the rear driver’s side brake light out, according to a Guthrie Police Department report.
Henry stopped the car at Noble and Seventh Street. Police ran a warrant check, which showed that Self was wanted on a Logan County warrant.
At about 11:47 p.m., Henry arrested Self for the outstanding warrant and a sergeant transported Self to the jail, where she was booked.
That was the end of the police report narrative.
Allegations
Self claims she was forced to remove all of her clothing and expose her private parts for viewing by “agents” of Logan County, a practice and procedure she states was utilized by the county jail, according to court papers.
The sheriff had authority as the final decision-maker for the jail to institute and condone such practices, that have occurred in a “systematic pattern,” making him liable, the lawsuit states.
Furthermore, the sheriff failed to adequately train, supervise and discipline including those who “acting under color of law and based upon past policy and custom, deprived Plaintiff of her Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights, inflicting severe mental and physical anguish, humiliation and degradation, all to her detriment,” the lawsuit claims.
The conduct of personnel involved in the plaintiff’s detention and strip search was “intentional, malicious, willful, wanton and in reckless disregard of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights, and grossly negligent, in that this conduct shocks the conscience and is fundamentally offensive to a civilized society,” the lawsuit states.
Self seeks $250,000 for past and future physical and mental pain and suffering, past and future loss of enjoyment of life, and past and future loss of earnings, according to court papers. She also seeks compensation for costs, interest and attorney’s fees, and such other relief as deemed proper.
David Kirk, Guthrie’s attorney in the lawsuit, said he cannot comment on specifics because the case involves pending litigation. Kirk said he has represented the city in several similar cases in the past and the city usually wins. He said he expects Guthrie to prevail in this matter.
Chris Collins, an attorney for former Logan County Sheriff Randy Richardson, listed as a defendant in the original complaint, declined comment because the case involves pending litigation.
In February, an uncontested motion to substitute party was filed on behalf of Richardson, who left office before the lawsuit was filed.
Court Responses
In court proceedings, Guthrie admits the plaintiff was arrested on a traffic complaint and taken to the county jail, but stated that it lacks sufficient information to either admit or deny any allegation regarding what happened to the plaintiff after she was taken to the jail.
Guthrie denies there was a “false arrest, and that the plaintiff was “subjected to a strip search.” The city denies the allegations stemming from the alleged strip search, and denies that the plaintiff is entitled to the relief she is seeking.
Also in court proceedings, the sheriff denies the allegations listed in the lawsuit.
The plaintiff failed to state a claim against the sheriff in his official capacity for any applicable constitutional violation or remedies, and failed to state a claim under the Fourth, Fifth or 14th amendments, the sheriff’s response states.
The sheriff denied allegations of a “pattern of persistent practices known to and approved by the sheriff, in his official capacity, that would be unconstitutional,” according to court papers.
The sheriff “cannot be held liable for any constitutional violations resulting from the acts of its agents, servants or employees under the doctrine of respondeat superior or vicarious liability.”
The sheriff also states there was probable cause for the plaintiff’s arrest, and that any search was based on a legitimate penal and/or safety and security purpose. Furthermore, the sheriff is exempt from liability under state tort claims law, the sheriff states.
A Guthrie woman claims she was wrongfully arrested on a traffic stop and taken to the Logan County jail where she was subjected to an improper strip search, court papers show.
Anna Lynn Self, of Guthrie, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma that names the Logan County sheriff and the City of Guthrie as defendants. The suit was filed in January.
On March 23, 2008, Guthrie Police Officer Wes Henry was patrolling when he noticed a green 1999 four-door hardtop Volkswagen with the rear driver’s side brake light out, according to a Guthrie Police Department report.
Henry stopped the car at Noble and Seventh Street. Police ran a warrant check, which showed that Self was wanted on a Logan County warrant.
At about 11:47 p.m., Henry arrested Self for the outstanding warrant and a sergeant transported Self to the jail, where she was booked.
That was the end of the police report narrative.
Allegations
Self claims she was forced to remove all of her clothing and expose her private parts for viewing by “agents” of Logan County, a practice and procedure she states was utilized by the county jail, according to court papers.
The sheriff had authority as the final decision-maker for the jail to institute and condone such practices, that have occurred in a “systematic pattern,” making him liable, the lawsuit states.
Furthermore, the sheriff failed to adequately train, supervise and discipline including those who “acting under color of law and based upon past policy and custom, deprived Plaintiff of her Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights, inflicting severe mental and physical anguish, humiliation and degradation, all to her detriment,” the lawsuit claims.
The conduct of personnel involved in the plaintiff’s detention and strip search was “intentional, malicious, willful, wanton and in reckless disregard of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights, and grossly negligent, in that this conduct shocks the conscience and is fundamentally offensive to a civilized society,” the lawsuit states.
Self seeks $250,000 for past and future physical and mental pain and suffering, past and future loss of enjoyment of life, and past and future loss of earnings, according to court papers. She also seeks compensation for costs, interest and attorney’s fees, and such other relief as deemed proper.
David Kirk, Guthrie’s attorney in the lawsuit, said he cannot comment on specifics because the case involves pending litigation. Kirk said he has represented the city in several similar cases in the past and the city usually wins. He said he expects Guthrie to prevail in this matter.
Chris Collins, an attorney for former Logan County Sheriff Randy Richardson, listed as a defendant in the original complaint, declined comment because the case involves pending litigation.
In February, an uncontested motion to substitute party was filed on behalf of Richardson, who left office before the lawsuit was filed.
Court Responses
In court proceedings, Guthrie admits the plaintiff was arrested on a traffic complaint and taken to the county jail, but stated that it lacks sufficient information to either admit or deny any allegation regarding what happened to the plaintiff after she was taken to the jail.
Guthrie denies there was a “false arrest, and that the plaintiff was “subjected to a strip search.” The city denies the allegations stemming from the alleged strip search, and denies that the plaintiff is entitled to the relief she is seeking.
Also in court proceedings, the sheriff denies the allegations listed in the lawsuit.
The plaintiff failed to state a claim against the sheriff in his official capacity for any applicable constitutional violation or remedies, and failed to state a claim under the Fourth, Fifth or 14th amendments, the sheriff’s response states.
The sheriff denied allegations of a “pattern of persistent practices known to and approved by the sheriff, in his official capacity, that would be unconstitutional,” according to court papers.
The sheriff “cannot be held liable for any constitutional violations resulting from the acts of its agents, servants or employees under the doctrine of respondeat superior or vicarious liability.”
The sheriff also states there was probable cause for the plaintiff’s arrest, and that any search was based on a legitimate penal and/or safety and security purpose. Furthermore, the sheriff is exempt from liability under state tort claims law, the sheriff states.
Officer John Newman Charged with Indecent Exposure
A Vanderbilt University police officer has been charged with indecent exposure.
A grand jury in Williamson County indicted John B. Newman, 38, last week.
A grand jury in Williamson County indicted John B. Newman, 38, last week.
Newman, who lives on Cavalry Drive in Franklin, is accused of exposing himself to a female while driving on Interstate 65 in Brentwood.
Court records state Newman exposed his genitals to Kacie F. Dunavan on Dec. 17. Dunavan took note of the license plate number on Newman’s vehicle and filed a report with the Brentwood Police Department, according to Capt. Jeff Hughes.
Newman, who holds the rank of commander, was placed on administrative leave on Jan. 15, according to a Vanderbilt University spokeswoman.
“That’s when we were informed about him being under investigation,” said Elizabeth Latt, spokeswoman for the university.
Newman was booked into the Williamson County jail on Friday and released 45 minutes later after posting a $1,000 bond. He is set to appear before a judge for arraignment on March 30.
Newman has been a Vanderbilt police officer since June 24, 2002, according to Latt. He is considered a senior officer. Newman was once reprimanded for getting into a verbal altercation with another officer.
_________________
Officer Thomas Crawford Arrested for Drunk Driving
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio
A Steubenville police officer was arrested on a drunken driving charge this weekend, police said.
According to police reports, Officer Thomas Crawford was off-duty when he ran a red light and crashed into another car at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Estelle Avenue.
Police Chief Bill McCafferty said the city placed Crawford on administrative suspension without pay pending the outcome of the judicial case.
A Steubenville police officer was arrested on a drunken driving charge this weekend, police said.
According to police reports, Officer Thomas Crawford was off-duty when he ran a red light and crashed into another car at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Estelle Avenue.
Police Chief Bill McCafferty said the city placed Crawford on administrative suspension without pay pending the outcome of the judicial case.
Former Officer Hughes Facing Incest & Child Porn Charges
A former Elko police captain facing incest and child pornography charges has been released from jail after a judge reduced his bail.
Court records show Elko District Judge Andrew Puccinelli last week lowered bail for Aaron Hughes from $500,000 to $200,000.
The Elko Daily Free Press reports Hughes posted bail on Friday and was released from a Lander County jail where he was being held.
Under the judge's order, he cannot contact any witnesses in the case or leave Elko County and must live with family.
Hughes was charged in December after police searched his home while investigating unrelated grand larceny charges and seized a computer allegedly containing videos of him engaging in sex with an underage, blood relative.
___
Information from: Elko Daily Free Press, http://www.elkodaily.com
Court records show Elko District Judge Andrew Puccinelli last week lowered bail for Aaron Hughes from $500,000 to $200,000.
The Elko Daily Free Press reports Hughes posted bail on Friday and was released from a Lander County jail where he was being held.
Under the judge's order, he cannot contact any witnesses in the case or leave Elko County and must live with family.
Hughes was charged in December after police searched his home while investigating unrelated grand larceny charges and seized a computer allegedly containing videos of him engaging in sex with an underage, blood relative.
___
Information from: Elko Daily Free Press, http://www.elkodaily.com
Deputy Alberta Gilbert Accused of Trying to Intimidate Victim
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.
Orange County Deputy Alberta Gilbert is the subject of an Internal Investigation. She is accused of trying to intimidate a victim in a case against her ex-husband.
Deputy Gilbert’s still lives with her ex-husband, James Gilbert. He is a former State Trooper who was fired last year, after Eyewitness News first exposed the serious allegations against him.
James Gilbert is accused of sending more than 600 text messages to a high school student. Many of them were sexually explicit. He was eventually arrested for soliciting a minor.
Now a month before James Gilbert’s trial, an internal investigation is underway at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, involving Deputy Alberta Gilbert.
The mother of the girl who received all of those inappropriate text messages claimed Deputy Gilbert walked into the Turkey Lake Service Plaza, where the woman works, and tried to intimidate her.
The mother said Deputy Gilbert, while in uniform, called her names and hovered over her while rubbing her sheriff’s office handgun.
We tried to get Gilbert’s side of the story, but no one answered at her house. Now, the Sheriff’s Office is trying to determine if she violated policy.
Gilbert is a DUI and motorcycle Deputy. She’s been with the Sheriff’s Office since 1993. She is still on the job, while the Sheriff’s Office completes its investigation.
Her ex-husband’s trial is scheduled to begin on April 27th.
Orange County Deputy Alberta Gilbert is the subject of an Internal Investigation. She is accused of trying to intimidate a victim in a case against her ex-husband.
Deputy Gilbert’s still lives with her ex-husband, James Gilbert. He is a former State Trooper who was fired last year, after Eyewitness News first exposed the serious allegations against him.
James Gilbert is accused of sending more than 600 text messages to a high school student. Many of them were sexually explicit. He was eventually arrested for soliciting a minor.
Now a month before James Gilbert’s trial, an internal investigation is underway at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, involving Deputy Alberta Gilbert.
The mother of the girl who received all of those inappropriate text messages claimed Deputy Gilbert walked into the Turkey Lake Service Plaza, where the woman works, and tried to intimidate her.
The mother said Deputy Gilbert, while in uniform, called her names and hovered over her while rubbing her sheriff’s office handgun.
We tried to get Gilbert’s side of the story, but no one answered at her house. Now, the Sheriff’s Office is trying to determine if she violated policy.
Gilbert is a DUI and motorcycle Deputy. She’s been with the Sheriff’s Office since 1993. She is still on the job, while the Sheriff’s Office completes its investigation.
Her ex-husband’s trial is scheduled to begin on April 27th.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Officer James Watson Charged with Solicitation of Sodomy
James Watson, 27, a Nashville police officer, was arrested Friday night and charged with one count of solicitation of sodomy.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says the Berrien County Sheriff's office received a complaint and turned the matter over to the GBI to investigate.
Watson was not on duty at the time of his arrest.
Officials with the Nashville police department and Sheriff's office declined to comment on this case, saying it is an on-going investigation.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says the Berrien County Sheriff's office received a complaint and turned the matter over to the GBI to investigate.
Watson was not on duty at the time of his arrest.
Officials with the Nashville police department and Sheriff's office declined to comment on this case, saying it is an on-going investigation.
Officer Joseph D'Amelio Charged with Drug Trafficking
A Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer was arrested last night immediately after he and another man received a FedEx package containing hundreds of prescription painkillers, including OxyContin, police said.
Officer Joseph D'Amelio, 38, of East Boston, and Anthony Christallo, 39, of Derry, N.H., face a minimum of 10 years in prison on drug trafficking charges.
Based on FedEx's "internal policies," the company became suspicious of a package addressed to a London Street auto garage in East Boston and notified State Police narcotics detectives. State Police, working in conjunction with Boston police, the Suffolk district attorney's office, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement set up a controlled delivery of the package in an attempt to catch the intended recipients.
According to the district attorney's office, D'Amelio showed up at the garage, Advanced Automotive, shortly after 6 p.m. yesterday to accept the package. He was in a marked MIT police cruiser and wearing his police uniform.
D'Amelio and Christallo were arrested, and the package was seized, along with $12,000. The package reportedly contained 360 OxyContin tablets and an additional quantity of Roxicodone tablets. Roxicodone and OxyContin are brand names for the opioid narcotic painkiller Oxycodone.
The doses in the package are among the strongest available. There was no word on who sent the package.
A spokeswoman for MIT said D'Amelio has been placed on unpaid administrative leave and that the school was cooperating with police.
The men are being held in custody and will be arraigned tomorrow in East Boston District Court.
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http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/03/16/MIT-police-officer-faces-drug/1237201290.html
Officer Joseph D'Amelio, 38, of East Boston, and Anthony Christallo, 39, of Derry, N.H., face a minimum of 10 years in prison on drug trafficking charges.
Based on FedEx's "internal policies," the company became suspicious of a package addressed to a London Street auto garage in East Boston and notified State Police narcotics detectives. State Police, working in conjunction with Boston police, the Suffolk district attorney's office, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement set up a controlled delivery of the package in an attempt to catch the intended recipients.
According to the district attorney's office, D'Amelio showed up at the garage, Advanced Automotive, shortly after 6 p.m. yesterday to accept the package. He was in a marked MIT police cruiser and wearing his police uniform.
D'Amelio and Christallo were arrested, and the package was seized, along with $12,000. The package reportedly contained 360 OxyContin tablets and an additional quantity of Roxicodone tablets. Roxicodone and OxyContin are brand names for the opioid narcotic painkiller Oxycodone.
The doses in the package are among the strongest available. There was no word on who sent the package.
A spokeswoman for MIT said D'Amelio has been placed on unpaid administrative leave and that the school was cooperating with police.
The men are being held in custody and will be arraigned tomorrow in East Boston District Court.
___________________
http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/03/16/MIT-police-officer-faces-drug/1237201290.html
Former Sheriff Bill Keating & 16 others Indicted
MONTAGUE, Texas
For months, perhaps longer, the Montague County Jail was "Animal House" meets Mayberry.
Inside the small brick building across from the courthouse, inmates had the run of the place, having sex with their jailer girlfriends, bringing in recliners, taking drugs and chatting on cell phones supplied by friends or guards, according to authorities. They also disabled some of the surveillance cameras and made weapons out of nails.
The doors to two groups of cells didn't lock, but apparently no one tried to escape — perhaps because they had everything they needed inside.
The jailhouse escapades — some of which date to 2006, according to authorities — have rocked Montague (pronounced mahn-TAYG), a farming and ranching town of several hundred people near the Oklahoma line, about 65 miles northwest of Fort Worth.
There were whispers in the past year about an affair between a female jailer and male inmate, but folks dismissed the rumors as small-town gossip. It was not until late last month, when a Texas grand jury returned a 106-count indictment against the former sheriff and 16 others, that the inmates-gone-wild scandal broke wide open.
The indictment charged Bill Keating, sheriff from 2004 until December, with official oppression and having sex with female inmates. The others indicted include nine guards — seven women and two men — who were charged with various offenses involving sex or drugs and other contraband. Four inmates also were charged.
Local, state and federal authorities are still trying to figure out how this small-town Texas jail was turned into something resembling a frat house.
The new sheriff, Paul Cunningham, said he was stunned while touring the jail for the first time just hours after being sworn into office Jan. 1. He saw partitions made of paper towels that blocked jailers' view into cells, and pills scattered about.
Cunningham, who had not worked for the county before his election in November, immediately ordered the jail closed and moved the nearly 60 inmates to another institution.
"It literally scared me — not for myself but for the employees," Cunningham said. "How somebody kept from being killed was beyond me."
Cunningham, who defeated Keating in the Republican primary last spring, suggested that Keating lost interest in the jail after that and turned his back on the place.
Separately from the indictment, Keating, 62, faces up to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in January to charges he coerced a woman into having sex with him by threatening to jail her on drug charges.
Keating's attorney, Mark Daniel, called the latest charges against the former sheriff "kind of silly in the face of the federal investigation, like piling on." He declined further comment.
The investigation began with a tip last fall from inside the jail.
An official received a handwritten letter on notebook paper from an inmate arrested on charges of kidnapping his girlfriend. The inmate, Luke C. Bolton, said they met in 2007 when she was a jail guard and he was behind bars on another charge. He said their sexual relationship started in a jail shower and continued during her late-night visits to his cell.
"I'm just reaching out for help to show (the jailer) is a person who abused her power. She broke the law by having sex with me in cell #16 while I was an inmate. ... Please help me. I am telling the truth. Everybody knows I am," Bolton wrote, offering to take a polygraph.
The former jailer is among those indicted. Bolton remains in jail.
Current employees said they were shocked by the scandal.
"People say, `How could you not know?' Well, it didn't go on during our shift," said Jerrie Reed, who works the day shift. Reed said the then-sheriff sometimes asked to see female inmates privately in his office, but she assumed they were informants. She said none ever seemed upset as she led them shackled to and from Keating's office.
Cunningham said it appears that most of the illegal activities occurred in a certain section of the 100-bed, one-story jail, which has several long corridors that make it difficult for anyone to hear what is going on beyond their immediate areas.
The jail will reopen this week following about $1 million in repairs, needed after years of damage by inmates, Cunningham said. Also, the entire department is getting new uniforms, badges and vehicles.
"I just think this office needs to change the image completely," the new sheriff said. "I think we're well on our way to getting the public's confidence back."
For months, perhaps longer, the Montague County Jail was "Animal House" meets Mayberry.
Inside the small brick building across from the courthouse, inmates had the run of the place, having sex with their jailer girlfriends, bringing in recliners, taking drugs and chatting on cell phones supplied by friends or guards, according to authorities. They also disabled some of the surveillance cameras and made weapons out of nails.
The doors to two groups of cells didn't lock, but apparently no one tried to escape — perhaps because they had everything they needed inside.
The jailhouse escapades — some of which date to 2006, according to authorities — have rocked Montague (pronounced mahn-TAYG), a farming and ranching town of several hundred people near the Oklahoma line, about 65 miles northwest of Fort Worth.
There were whispers in the past year about an affair between a female jailer and male inmate, but folks dismissed the rumors as small-town gossip. It was not until late last month, when a Texas grand jury returned a 106-count indictment against the former sheriff and 16 others, that the inmates-gone-wild scandal broke wide open.
The indictment charged Bill Keating, sheriff from 2004 until December, with official oppression and having sex with female inmates. The others indicted include nine guards — seven women and two men — who were charged with various offenses involving sex or drugs and other contraband. Four inmates also were charged.
Local, state and federal authorities are still trying to figure out how this small-town Texas jail was turned into something resembling a frat house.
The new sheriff, Paul Cunningham, said he was stunned while touring the jail for the first time just hours after being sworn into office Jan. 1. He saw partitions made of paper towels that blocked jailers' view into cells, and pills scattered about.
Cunningham, who had not worked for the county before his election in November, immediately ordered the jail closed and moved the nearly 60 inmates to another institution.
"It literally scared me — not for myself but for the employees," Cunningham said. "How somebody kept from being killed was beyond me."
Cunningham, who defeated Keating in the Republican primary last spring, suggested that Keating lost interest in the jail after that and turned his back on the place.
Separately from the indictment, Keating, 62, faces up to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in January to charges he coerced a woman into having sex with him by threatening to jail her on drug charges.
Keating's attorney, Mark Daniel, called the latest charges against the former sheriff "kind of silly in the face of the federal investigation, like piling on." He declined further comment.
The investigation began with a tip last fall from inside the jail.
An official received a handwritten letter on notebook paper from an inmate arrested on charges of kidnapping his girlfriend. The inmate, Luke C. Bolton, said they met in 2007 when she was a jail guard and he was behind bars on another charge. He said their sexual relationship started in a jail shower and continued during her late-night visits to his cell.
"I'm just reaching out for help to show (the jailer) is a person who abused her power. She broke the law by having sex with me in cell #16 while I was an inmate. ... Please help me. I am telling the truth. Everybody knows I am," Bolton wrote, offering to take a polygraph.
The former jailer is among those indicted. Bolton remains in jail.
Current employees said they were shocked by the scandal.
"People say, `How could you not know?' Well, it didn't go on during our shift," said Jerrie Reed, who works the day shift. Reed said the then-sheriff sometimes asked to see female inmates privately in his office, but she assumed they were informants. She said none ever seemed upset as she led them shackled to and from Keating's office.
Cunningham said it appears that most of the illegal activities occurred in a certain section of the 100-bed, one-story jail, which has several long corridors that make it difficult for anyone to hear what is going on beyond their immediate areas.
The jail will reopen this week following about $1 million in repairs, needed after years of damage by inmates, Cunningham said. Also, the entire department is getting new uniforms, badges and vehicles.
"I just think this office needs to change the image completely," the new sheriff said. "I think we're well on our way to getting the public's confidence back."
Lt. Donnie Lowe Arrested for Drunk Driving Pleads Not Guilty
A Seattle police lieutenant who was allowed to supervise a Seattle Police Department security detail at President Obama's inauguration after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving pleaded not guilty this morning.
Donnie R. Lowe, 42, entered the plea through his attorney, Jeffrey Veitch, in King County District Court in Redmond.
Lowe was cited for driving under the influence Nov. 23 after being stopped on Interstate 5 in South Seattle by a State Patrol trooper.
A blood-alcohol test administered to Lowe about an hour after the stop registered 0.113 percent, above the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent for those over 21, according to a State Patrol report.
Officers convicted of drunken driving can face internal discipline, often a suspension.
A police spokesman previously declined to comment on the arrest.
But the spokesman noted that Lowe began working on the inauguration assignment before the incident and carried out his duty to supervise a 42-member Seattle police detail assisting in the Jan. 20 inaugural in Washington, D.C. Lowe works in the department's Homeland Security Bureau, overseeing planning for special events and disaster management.
Lowe, who was with a passenger, was stopped about 1:45 a.m. after a trooper noticed his car drifting in the lanes, the State Patrol report said.
The trooper recognized an odor of alcohol in the car and saw a glass filled with a dark-colored liquid that smelled of alcohol in the middle drink holder, the report said. Lowe had bloodshot and watery eyes, the trooper wrote.
Lowe's record with the Police Department includes a written reprimand following a June 2006 incident in which he entered a jail cell and made inappropriate physical contact with his son, then 13, who had been arrested for obstructing officers and was handcuffed.
The boy alleged he was punched and pushed against a wall, while Lowe told internal investigators he grabbed the boy by his sweat shirt and pulled him up from a bench in way that was "not gentle," according to police records.
The City Attorney's Office reviewed the case but declined to bring charges, citing proof problems and a parent's right to discipline a child, the records show.
Lowe also received an oral reprimand stemming from a September 2002 incident in which he entered a private home in an attempt to recover nude photographs of a woman he knew from a man who reportedly had been romantically involved with her.
In 2007, a citizen-review-board report cited that case as one of several in which Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske reduced disciplinary findings. The director of the department's Office of Professional Accountability had recommended findings of misuse of authority and violation of rules, regulations and laws, the board said.
Kerlikowske reached a lesser finding, concluding that the officer engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer, the report said.
Kerlikowske has come under scrutiny in recent years for softening officer discipline.
Donnie R. Lowe, 42, entered the plea through his attorney, Jeffrey Veitch, in King County District Court in Redmond.
Lowe was cited for driving under the influence Nov. 23 after being stopped on Interstate 5 in South Seattle by a State Patrol trooper.
A blood-alcohol test administered to Lowe about an hour after the stop registered 0.113 percent, above the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent for those over 21, according to a State Patrol report.
Officers convicted of drunken driving can face internal discipline, often a suspension.
A police spokesman previously declined to comment on the arrest.
But the spokesman noted that Lowe began working on the inauguration assignment before the incident and carried out his duty to supervise a 42-member Seattle police detail assisting in the Jan. 20 inaugural in Washington, D.C. Lowe works in the department's Homeland Security Bureau, overseeing planning for special events and disaster management.
Lowe, who was with a passenger, was stopped about 1:45 a.m. after a trooper noticed his car drifting in the lanes, the State Patrol report said.
The trooper recognized an odor of alcohol in the car and saw a glass filled with a dark-colored liquid that smelled of alcohol in the middle drink holder, the report said. Lowe had bloodshot and watery eyes, the trooper wrote.
Lowe's record with the Police Department includes a written reprimand following a June 2006 incident in which he entered a jail cell and made inappropriate physical contact with his son, then 13, who had been arrested for obstructing officers and was handcuffed.
The boy alleged he was punched and pushed against a wall, while Lowe told internal investigators he grabbed the boy by his sweat shirt and pulled him up from a bench in way that was "not gentle," according to police records.
The City Attorney's Office reviewed the case but declined to bring charges, citing proof problems and a parent's right to discipline a child, the records show.
Lowe also received an oral reprimand stemming from a September 2002 incident in which he entered a private home in an attempt to recover nude photographs of a woman he knew from a man who reportedly had been romantically involved with her.
In 2007, a citizen-review-board report cited that case as one of several in which Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske reduced disciplinary findings. The director of the department's Office of Professional Accountability had recommended findings of misuse of authority and violation of rules, regulations and laws, the board said.
Kerlikowske reached a lesser finding, concluding that the officer engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer, the report said.
Kerlikowske has come under scrutiny in recent years for softening officer discipline.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Deputy Flips of Public
HAMLIN, W.Va.
The 2009 edition of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department calendar is the talk of the town after some say one of the deputies was giving the finger to the camera.
It looks like one deputy is sending the wrong message with his finger. The deputy right next to him also appears to be trying to make the same gesture, but he doesn't commit.
"I honestly don't think it was intentional for anyone of the guys. Both of them have been good friends of mine," said Lincoln County Sheriff Jerry Bowman.
But, he ordered both men to collect all of the calendars from the community and cover up the fingers in question with black markers.
"We gathered up all the calendars, we brought (the calendars) back in and these two guys on their time corrected it with the Sharpie," said Bowman. They blacked out part of their fingers and redistributed."
400 calendars were printed and distributed, so it wasn't easy for the deputies to find all of them and make the corrections.
"I guarantee the next picture it will be a little more scrutinized," said Bowman. "I don't think this will happen again."
Sheriff Bowman says he'll look over next year's picture carefully to make sure it's perfect before it goes to print.
Officer Jeffrey Fowler Arrested for Drunk Driving
A Dallas police officer was arrested on Saturday for intoxication assault, police said.
Officer Jeffrey Fowler, who was assigned to the Northwest Patrol Division, was off duty, when he was involved in a two-vehicle accident at Midway Road and Bonham Street.
Investigating officers determined Officer Fowler was drunk and arrested him.
A passenger in the Officer Fowler's vehicle was seriously injured and taken to Parkland Hospital.
No other individuals were injured.
Officer Fowler has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Officer Robert Szoyka Arrested for Domestic Battery Holds his Head in Shame
Wednesday night, police officer Robert Szoyka, was arrested by Indian River County Sheriff's Office for domestic battery on his wife. His wife claimed that he punched her and sat on her head during an argument.
Szoyka, 44, is a law enforcement officer for the North Palm Beach Police Department and was named 'Officer of the Month' last November.
In his mugshot, you can see a gloved hand appearing to be holding his head up.
Szoyka was released on $500 bail.
________________
Other Information:
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/mar/13/north-palm-beach-law-enforcement-officer-accused-p/
Squad-Car Video Shows Different Story then What Officer Joe Parker tells
One night last summer Raymond Bell was pulled over by a Chicago cop and arrested for driving under the influence. Officer Joe D. Parker, a 23-year veteran, reported that upon getting out of his car, Bell was stinking of alcohol, lurching and unable to walk a straight line or stand on one foot.
An officer with his stellar record would normally prevail against a DUI suspect. But in this case, Bell had something on his side: a video camera mounted on the dashboard of Parker's squad car that told a radically different story.
Far from revealing a staggering drunk, reported the Chicago Sun-Times, the video "showed Bell appearing to be perfectly balanced," passing the sobriety tests that Parker administered—and being refused when he asked to take a Breathalyzer. Prosecutors watched the video and promptly dismissed the case. They are now considering charges against Parker.
That episode raises the question: Nine years into the 21st Century, why isn't every squad car in America equipped with a dashboard video camera? Why do we persist in relying on the slippery, self-interested, incomplete and unverified accounts of opposing participants when we have the means to see the truth with our own eyes?
In this instance, the innocent man was lucky to be stopped by a cop driving a video-armed vehicle. The odds are against it, since only 11 percent of the Chicago Police Department's cars have cameras for recording traffic stops. Though the department is planning to use federal stimulus money to double that number and the mayor has said he wants cameras installed in the remaining vehicles "as quickly as possible," no one is radiating a sense of haste.
Why not? The department says the main obstacle is money. Equipping another 300 cars, as the city plans, will require $2.1 million. So making them standard on the rest would cost about $13 million.
But that shouldn't be an insurmountable obstacle. The Illinois State Police, with a fleet of nearly 1,100 vehicles, have managed to install cameras in more than 900.
Spending $13 million looks extravagant only until you compare it to the cost of losing lawsuits over police misconduct. From 2005 through the middle of 2008, says the Chicago Reader, the city paid out $155 million in police cases. Dashboard cameras don't have to prevent many million-dollar judgments to be a bargain.
The cops—at least the good ones, who are presumably the majority—have as much reason to want these recordings as the accused. The best defense against a phony charge of police brutality is a video showing exactly what the officer said and did. A suspect who is visibly inebriated or violent will have a hard time refuting the camera's testimony in court.
Yet Chicago has dragged its feet, and it's not alone. After the 1991 Rodney King beating, a commission recommended that the Los Angeles Police Department mount cameras in its squad cars. It installed some but soon got rid of them.
A federal monitor proposed the idea again in 2005, but the police chief, The Los Angeles Times reported, "said he saw it as a long-term project." Last year—17 years later—the LAPD finally decided to equip some vehicles.
Contrast that with Mayor Richard Daley's enthusiasm for other types of video. Chicago now has some 2,250 surveillance cameras to detect criminal conduct in public places. By 2016, Daley promised last month, Chicago will have one on every corner.
The city has also installed red-light cameras at some 132 intersections, with another 330 planned.
So what exactly is different about those cameras? Well, they are trained on the citizenry, not on the police. What's sauce for the goose seems to be regarded as a dubious liquid substance when proposed for the gander. The city is less eager to capture video evidence if it may expose wrongdoing by its own law enforcement agents.
But the rest of us might want to keep unsleeping electronic eyes on the people with guns and badges. A city with a good police department can gain a lot from squad-car video cameras. A city with a bad one can gain even more.
An officer with his stellar record would normally prevail against a DUI suspect. But in this case, Bell had something on his side: a video camera mounted on the dashboard of Parker's squad car that told a radically different story.
Far from revealing a staggering drunk, reported the Chicago Sun-Times, the video "showed Bell appearing to be perfectly balanced," passing the sobriety tests that Parker administered—and being refused when he asked to take a Breathalyzer. Prosecutors watched the video and promptly dismissed the case. They are now considering charges against Parker.
That episode raises the question: Nine years into the 21st Century, why isn't every squad car in America equipped with a dashboard video camera? Why do we persist in relying on the slippery, self-interested, incomplete and unverified accounts of opposing participants when we have the means to see the truth with our own eyes?
In this instance, the innocent man was lucky to be stopped by a cop driving a video-armed vehicle. The odds are against it, since only 11 percent of the Chicago Police Department's cars have cameras for recording traffic stops. Though the department is planning to use federal stimulus money to double that number and the mayor has said he wants cameras installed in the remaining vehicles "as quickly as possible," no one is radiating a sense of haste.
Why not? The department says the main obstacle is money. Equipping another 300 cars, as the city plans, will require $2.1 million. So making them standard on the rest would cost about $13 million.
But that shouldn't be an insurmountable obstacle. The Illinois State Police, with a fleet of nearly 1,100 vehicles, have managed to install cameras in more than 900.
Spending $13 million looks extravagant only until you compare it to the cost of losing lawsuits over police misconduct. From 2005 through the middle of 2008, says the Chicago Reader, the city paid out $155 million in police cases. Dashboard cameras don't have to prevent many million-dollar judgments to be a bargain.
The cops—at least the good ones, who are presumably the majority—have as much reason to want these recordings as the accused. The best defense against a phony charge of police brutality is a video showing exactly what the officer said and did. A suspect who is visibly inebriated or violent will have a hard time refuting the camera's testimony in court.
Yet Chicago has dragged its feet, and it's not alone. After the 1991 Rodney King beating, a commission recommended that the Los Angeles Police Department mount cameras in its squad cars. It installed some but soon got rid of them.
A federal monitor proposed the idea again in 2005, but the police chief, The Los Angeles Times reported, "said he saw it as a long-term project." Last year—17 years later—the LAPD finally decided to equip some vehicles.
Contrast that with Mayor Richard Daley's enthusiasm for other types of video. Chicago now has some 2,250 surveillance cameras to detect criminal conduct in public places. By 2016, Daley promised last month, Chicago will have one on every corner.
The city has also installed red-light cameras at some 132 intersections, with another 330 planned.
So what exactly is different about those cameras? Well, they are trained on the citizenry, not on the police. What's sauce for the goose seems to be regarded as a dubious liquid substance when proposed for the gander. The city is less eager to capture video evidence if it may expose wrongdoing by its own law enforcement agents.
But the rest of us might want to keep unsleeping electronic eyes on the people with guns and badges. A city with a good police department can gain a lot from squad-car video cameras. A city with a bad one can gain even more.
Taser Death of Robert Welch Being Investigated
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office views Tasers as safe and effective weapons. But Joe Welch Jr., a South County resident, has a very different view.
Welch’s son, Robert Lee Welch, 40, died Feb. 28 after MCSO deputies Tasered him several times when they were called to Joe Welch’s home in the 6500 block of Golden Oaks Drive, south of Texas 242.
Preliminary autopsy results did not determine the cause of death for Robert Welch, whose heart stopped after he was Tasered, Joe Welch said. Toxicology results have not been finalized, MCSO Lt. Bill Bucks said, but results of tests on the data from the Taser used should be in early next week.
Robert Welch, according to a 9-1-1 recording the MCSO released to The Courier Wednesday, was staggering around his home naked and in a daze, his stepmother told a dispatcher on the recording. He also was pushing his father, who has a pacemaker and defibrillator.
Deputies used a Taser on Robert Welch because he was “standoffish and pushing,” Bucks said.
“He was acting pretty much the way he was when the mother made the call,” he said.
But Joe Welch said his son presented no danger.
“No one in this house was in any danger at any time,” he said. “We were trying to get help for Robert, not for us. Their main concern was that Robert was pushing on me.
“We didn’t want the deputies; we called for an ambulance.”
Four deputies arrived at the home, Bucks said, and all four were put on paid administrative leave for three days, which is standard policy. The four deputies are back on regular patrol duty, he said.
Janell Welch, Joe Welch’s wife, made the 9-1-1 call around 7 a.m. She first spoke with an EMS call taker.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “Our son came in around 11 last night. ... He’s been staggering around since 5 this morning. He’s buck naked. I don’t know what he’s on. He won’t talk, and he doesn’t make any sense.”
The call taker asked whether Robert Welch was violent or had a weapon, and Janell Welch said “No” to both questions.
“Is this a suicide attempt?” the call taker asked.
“I have no idea. I wouldn’t doubt it,” Janell Welch said.
The EMS calltaker then got an MCSO call taker on the line, who asked Janell Welch what drugs Robert Welch had taken.
“I have no idea,” she said. “None at all.”
A few seconds later, Janell Welch yelled at Robert Welch.
“Robert, stop! You’re going to hurt your daddy!” she said.
“No, he’s going to hurt me,” Robert Welch said. “Get out of the way!”
Seconds later, Janell Welch called out to her daughter.
“Make sure he doesn’t hurt your dad,” she said. “He’s pushing really hard on him.”
The MCSO call taker then asked Janell Welch why she said it might be a suicide attempt.
“His girlfriend kicked him out last night,” she said. “He’s always threatening to do that.”
Janell Welch then said Robert Welch is diabetic, and also that Joe Welch has Type II diabetes and serious heart trouble.
“With that (unintelligible) going off, no one can touch him,” she said.
When Janell Welch asked why the ambulance hadn’t arrived, the MCSO call taker said EMS would not go to the scene until the MCSO officers arrived.
“With him being violent ...” the calltaker began to say.
“He’s not violent,” Janell Welch said. “He’s walking around in a daze.”
Deputies arrived 15 minutes and 45 seconds after Janell Welch called 9-1-1, and the call ended five seconds later.
MCSO Taser Use
MCSO deputies were involved in 694 use-of-force incidents from the beginning of 2006 through June 30, 2008, according to MCSO statistics provided to The Villager newspaper for a previous story. For the 122 incidents involving Tasers, the devices were considered effective 105 times, an 86 percent success ratio. By comparison, pepper spray was found effective in 76 percent of the incidents, and batons were effective 25 percent of the time.
Tasers were discharged 168 times in the 122 incidents. At least eight incidents involved multiple five-second shock cycles, including one in which a person received nine cycles. More than half of the 92 discharges did not include documentation on how many times a person was shocked.
MCSO also documented nine instances in which a person was reported injured by a Taser. Over the same time period, deputies were injured 43 times during use-of-force incidents, and 29 deputies were taken to the hospital.
About 90 percent of all MCSO deputies carry Tasers, and the department is aiming for 100 percent, said Lt. Ralph Smith, MCSO training coordinator.
Taser Training and Effects
Everyone who carries a Taser is trained to standards from Taser Internation, the stun-gun manufacturer, he said. All deputies get an initial eight-hour training, which includes being Tasered. Deputies must be re-certified every year but aren’t required to be Tasered during recertification.
“We don’t use Taser cartridges; we use training cartridges that shoot alligator clips,” he said. “If we discharged the actual Taser charge, it would cost too much.
“It’s 100 percent the same effect.”
Each five-second Taser charge carries 50,000 volts, which cannot be turned down, Smith said. The charge cannot be reduced to less than five seconds.
“It doesn’t affect you the same way electricity does,” he said.
The advantages of a Taser is that it gives deputies an option other than a lethal weapon, or duty guns, Smith said.
“It’s one of the best weapons you can arm yourself with,” he said. “It’s a very, very good tool, but it does not take the place of the duty weapon. Our thought here is safety first for the deputies and for citizens.
“If you can use a Taser in place of a weapon, you haven’t killed someone.”
Joe Welch’s Take on Tasers
Joe Welch insists his son wasn’t forcefully pushing anyone when he was Tasered.
“He didn’t hurt anybody. He’s 180 pounds, and these guys looked like linebackers from Green Bay,” he said. “They Tasered him six times, and he (a deputy) stood his foot on Robert’s neck.”
When paramedics arrived, Robert Welch had no pulse, and the paramedics were unable to revive him, Joe Welch said. He was taken to St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Joe Welch, who won’t say whether he plans to take legal action against MCSO, believes Tasers should be “taken away” from law enforcement.
“It’s a bad idea to give Tasers to everyone in the force,” he said. “They screwed up and they knew it.
“They Tasered my son to death. When they hear from me, God’s going to come with me.”
To hear the Feb. 28 9-1-1 call by Janell Welch in its entirety, go to www.thecourier-online.com.
911 Tape
Welch’s son, Robert Lee Welch, 40, died Feb. 28 after MCSO deputies Tasered him several times when they were called to Joe Welch’s home in the 6500 block of Golden Oaks Drive, south of Texas 242.
Preliminary autopsy results did not determine the cause of death for Robert Welch, whose heart stopped after he was Tasered, Joe Welch said. Toxicology results have not been finalized, MCSO Lt. Bill Bucks said, but results of tests on the data from the Taser used should be in early next week.
Robert Welch, according to a 9-1-1 recording the MCSO released to The Courier Wednesday, was staggering around his home naked and in a daze, his stepmother told a dispatcher on the recording. He also was pushing his father, who has a pacemaker and defibrillator.
Deputies used a Taser on Robert Welch because he was “standoffish and pushing,” Bucks said.
“He was acting pretty much the way he was when the mother made the call,” he said.
But Joe Welch said his son presented no danger.
“No one in this house was in any danger at any time,” he said. “We were trying to get help for Robert, not for us. Their main concern was that Robert was pushing on me.
“We didn’t want the deputies; we called for an ambulance.”
Four deputies arrived at the home, Bucks said, and all four were put on paid administrative leave for three days, which is standard policy. The four deputies are back on regular patrol duty, he said.
Janell Welch, Joe Welch’s wife, made the 9-1-1 call around 7 a.m. She first spoke with an EMS call taker.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “Our son came in around 11 last night. ... He’s been staggering around since 5 this morning. He’s buck naked. I don’t know what he’s on. He won’t talk, and he doesn’t make any sense.”
The call taker asked whether Robert Welch was violent or had a weapon, and Janell Welch said “No” to both questions.
“Is this a suicide attempt?” the call taker asked.
“I have no idea. I wouldn’t doubt it,” Janell Welch said.
The EMS calltaker then got an MCSO call taker on the line, who asked Janell Welch what drugs Robert Welch had taken.
“I have no idea,” she said. “None at all.”
A few seconds later, Janell Welch yelled at Robert Welch.
“Robert, stop! You’re going to hurt your daddy!” she said.
“No, he’s going to hurt me,” Robert Welch said. “Get out of the way!”
Seconds later, Janell Welch called out to her daughter.
“Make sure he doesn’t hurt your dad,” she said. “He’s pushing really hard on him.”
The MCSO call taker then asked Janell Welch why she said it might be a suicide attempt.
“His girlfriend kicked him out last night,” she said. “He’s always threatening to do that.”
Janell Welch then said Robert Welch is diabetic, and also that Joe Welch has Type II diabetes and serious heart trouble.
“With that (unintelligible) going off, no one can touch him,” she said.
When Janell Welch asked why the ambulance hadn’t arrived, the MCSO call taker said EMS would not go to the scene until the MCSO officers arrived.
“With him being violent ...” the calltaker began to say.
“He’s not violent,” Janell Welch said. “He’s walking around in a daze.”
Deputies arrived 15 minutes and 45 seconds after Janell Welch called 9-1-1, and the call ended five seconds later.
MCSO Taser Use
MCSO deputies were involved in 694 use-of-force incidents from the beginning of 2006 through June 30, 2008, according to MCSO statistics provided to The Villager newspaper for a previous story. For the 122 incidents involving Tasers, the devices were considered effective 105 times, an 86 percent success ratio. By comparison, pepper spray was found effective in 76 percent of the incidents, and batons were effective 25 percent of the time.
Tasers were discharged 168 times in the 122 incidents. At least eight incidents involved multiple five-second shock cycles, including one in which a person received nine cycles. More than half of the 92 discharges did not include documentation on how many times a person was shocked.
MCSO also documented nine instances in which a person was reported injured by a Taser. Over the same time period, deputies were injured 43 times during use-of-force incidents, and 29 deputies were taken to the hospital.
About 90 percent of all MCSO deputies carry Tasers, and the department is aiming for 100 percent, said Lt. Ralph Smith, MCSO training coordinator.
Taser Training and Effects
Everyone who carries a Taser is trained to standards from Taser Internation, the stun-gun manufacturer, he said. All deputies get an initial eight-hour training, which includes being Tasered. Deputies must be re-certified every year but aren’t required to be Tasered during recertification.
“We don’t use Taser cartridges; we use training cartridges that shoot alligator clips,” he said. “If we discharged the actual Taser charge, it would cost too much.
“It’s 100 percent the same effect.”
Each five-second Taser charge carries 50,000 volts, which cannot be turned down, Smith said. The charge cannot be reduced to less than five seconds.
“It doesn’t affect you the same way electricity does,” he said.
The advantages of a Taser is that it gives deputies an option other than a lethal weapon, or duty guns, Smith said.
“It’s one of the best weapons you can arm yourself with,” he said. “It’s a very, very good tool, but it does not take the place of the duty weapon. Our thought here is safety first for the deputies and for citizens.
“If you can use a Taser in place of a weapon, you haven’t killed someone.”
Joe Welch’s Take on Tasers
Joe Welch insists his son wasn’t forcefully pushing anyone when he was Tasered.
“He didn’t hurt anybody. He’s 180 pounds, and these guys looked like linebackers from Green Bay,” he said. “They Tasered him six times, and he (a deputy) stood his foot on Robert’s neck.”
When paramedics arrived, Robert Welch had no pulse, and the paramedics were unable to revive him, Joe Welch said. He was taken to St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Joe Welch, who won’t say whether he plans to take legal action against MCSO, believes Tasers should be “taken away” from law enforcement.
“It’s a bad idea to give Tasers to everyone in the force,” he said. “They screwed up and they knew it.
“They Tasered my son to death. When they hear from me, God’s going to come with me.”
To hear the Feb. 28 9-1-1 call by Janell Welch in its entirety, go to www.thecourier-online.com.
911 Tape
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