Sgt Jonathan Gardenhire Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Woman

A New Jersey State Police sergeant was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with sexually assaulting and holding captive a woman in his unmarked police car on Easter morning, authorities said.

Sgt. Jonathan Gardenhire, 41, of Franklinville, was taken into custody for allegedly picking up a woman at a Carneys Point truck stop on April 12 around 5:30 a.m., driving her to an undisclosed location and allegedly committing an act of sexual penetration on her, according to the Salem County Prosecutor's Office.

Salem County Prosecutor John Lenahan said Gardenhire had allegedly identified himself to the 27-year-old victim as an undercover officer, holding her "in a condition of involuntary servitude" and apparently making her believe she had to remain in the vehicle.

An employee of the Flying J rest stop here said, on condition of anonymity, that the victim was believed to be a prostitute who frequented the area. Police would not comment on that statement.

He added prostitutes are known to hang around the truckers constantly passing through here, the last stop along Interstate 295 before reaching the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

Charges against Gardenhire include sexual assault, criminal restraint and one count of official misconduct.

Lenahan said Gardenhire is a 16-year veteran of the force who had been working out of the Woodstown Barracks.

In the wake of his arrest he has been suspended without pay, said state police Sgt. Stephen Jones.

"It's disturbing and it's disappointing when you have to investigate a law enforcement officer for allegedly breaking the law," Lenahan said. "(Officers) did a very thorough and professional job during the course of this investigation."

The case is being handled by detectives from the Salem County Prosecutor's Office, state police Office of Professional Standards and Carneys Point Police.

"All I can say is, it's an unfortunate situation," said Carneys Point Police Chief Edmund Spinelli Jr.

Neighbors of Gardenhire's around the Wilshire Hunt development in Franklinville expressed utter disbelief that he was arrested. He is their good guy, they explained.

"I highly doubt Jon Gardenhire would do anything like this," said Lisa Yeager. "I've known him since I was in third grade. There's just no way."

Yeager said they graduated from Delsea Regional High School together, where he was a standout athlete and excellent student.

She said he is a family man now with a wife, four teenage daughters and an impeccable reputation as a neighbor.

"It would take a lot for me to believe he would ever do such a thing," Yeager said.

Patricia Rohe also shared her skepticism that Gardenhire could be involved in any illegal activity.

"He's always been gracious to me and waved hello," Rohe said. "I shared my wood with him."

Gardenhire was lodged in the Salem County Correctional Facility in lieu of $75,000 bail.

"I can't condemn him. Who am I to judge others?" Rohe said. "I can just truthfully say I'm shocked."

Anyone with information concerning the case and events that transpired during the early morning of April 12 is urged to contact prosecutor's office Lt. Dave Cornman at (856) 935-7510 ext. 8333.

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http://www.nj.com/south/index.ssf/2009/04/new_jersey_state_police_sergea.html

Former Officer Gerald Copeland Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Prostitutes

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office is investigating three cases where prostitutes were picked up in Atlanta and brought to Fayette County. In all three cases, victims were sexually assaulted and beaten then abandoned in north Fayette County.

On April 20, 2009 during the early morning hours, Fayette County Sheriff’s deputies responded to north Fayette County when a motorist observed a partially clothed female, with no shoes, walking in an undeveloped subdivision.

The victim provided Sheriff Deputies with a description of the suspect and the vehicle that the suspect was driving. Evidence left at the scene led investigators to the suspect in this case.

Gerald Copeland, 48, a former 20 year veteran of the Fulton County Police Department and current resident of Fayette County was arrested for aggravated sexual battery, battery and false imprisonment. While other charges are pending, Copeland will appear before a Magistrate Judge for a first appearance hearing at 2:00 p.m. today.

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http://www.ajc.com/traffic/content/metro/fayette/stories/2009/04/21/prostitutes_beaten_fayette.html

Former Officer Robert Vargas Guilty of Stalking

A jury found a former Lansing police officer guilty on Tuesday of stalking a Blackman Township public safety officer who arrested him in 2007.

After nearly a day of deliberations, jurors acquitted Robert Vargas, 39, of Mason of aggravated stalking, a felony, and convicted him of the lesser charge of misdemeanor stalking.

They also found him not guilty of malicious use of a telephone, a misdemeanor.

Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson is to sentence Vargas May 28. His crime is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Public Safety Officer Joseph Merritt testified that Vargas twice called him in April 2008 and made threatening statements.

The threats occurred after Merritt arrested Vargas in 2007 in Blackman Township on a domestic violence charge.

A Jackson County jury found Vargas not guilty of domestic violence, but guilty of harassing his former girlfriend with a telephone. He was sentenced to probation.

Soon after his probation ended, Vargas called Merritt, according to Merritt and cell phone and court records.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Blumer argued the threats "terrified" Merritt, who sent his wife and children from their home after he received the first call.

Merritt testified he worried often about Vargas, who lives within a half mile of Merritt's home.

"I think about it when I am out plowing snow, I think about it when I am weeding flower beds. I think about it all the time," Merritt testified.

Defense lawyer Fred Blackmond argued Merritt was not really afraid of Vargas.

Blackmond said the elements to prove the felony charge of aggravated stalking "weren't really there."

Blackmond said Vargas, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, is retired from the Lansing Police Department. He received a duty disability pension after he was shot four times and killed one of the suspects during a robbery in progress in April 2004.

Officer Derek Dayoub Charged with Assaulting McDonald's Employee

A suburban Pittsburgh police officer faces preliminary hearings on charges he assaulted an employee at a McDonald's restaurant in October and another man in September.

Washington County District Attorney Steven Toprani says 26-year-old Derek Dayoub is charged with simple assault, official oppression and harassment in both incidents. Dayoub has not commented and is suspended from the Smith Township police department.

Toprani says Dayoub threw a man headfirst into the rear tail light of a car then emptied a can of pepper spray on him without being provoked.

Dayoub had previously been accused of squeezing a pressure point near the McDonald's worker's collarbone during a dispute. The nerve hold caused the 19-year-old worker to collapse.

Dayoub's hearings are scheduled Tuesday.
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09112/964483-58.stm

Former Deputy Brandon Claggett Arrested for Domestic Violence

A former Clackamas County sheriff's deputy was arrested late Monday night after an incident in Oregon City.

Officers were called to a home near the intersection of South Meyers and Deer Meadows roads at about 7:30 p.m. after a report of a domestic situation. A woman had run away from the home and called police from the nearby Haggen grocery store, according to authorities.

She told police that she had been injured in a fight with her estranged husband Brandon Claggett, who was suicidal, authorities said.

A standoff ensued at the home, but police said they later reached Claggett on his cell phone and learned that he had left his home and was in Salem to pick up his children. Officers said they convinced Claggett to meet them at the Haggen's grocery store, where he was arrested without incident.

Neighbors described the situation as hectic during the brief standoff.

"There was cops up and down the road and like 30 minutes later there was ten more cop cars. We saw them running back and forth between the street and Haggens," neighbor Nicole Beach said. "They had every street blocked in the neighborhood. My mom could not even come up. They made her turn around and leave."

Police returned to his house Tuesday with search warrants and reported recovering evidence along with several guns and one from his truck.

Claggett made his first court appearance by camera in Oregon City on Tuesday. His charges include kidnapping, menacing, unlawful use of a weapon and assault. His bail was set at more than $250,000.

Claggett, who was a 14-year deputy with the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, resigned in October 2008 after being accused of inappropriately touching a 20-year-old woman who was participating in a ride-along with him. An internal investigation into the incident was suspended when Claggett resigned.
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Video: Ex-Sheriff's Deputy Arrested In Oregon City
Other information: http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_042109_news_deputy_assault.f7ed80aa.html

Two Florida Officers Arrested on Drug Charges

Two law enforcement officers in the Florida Keys were arrested on drug charges in an FBI-led undercover operation, a U.S. attorney's spokeswoman said.

Shawn Hernandez, a corrections officer with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, and Jonathon Jacox, a officer with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, were charged with possession with intent to distribute narcotics, conspiracy to traffic in narcotics and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday.

Hernandez and Jacox were arrested after allegedly accepting and transporting in Florida what they believed were cocaine and heroin, said Alicia Valle, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office.

Florida fish and wildlife officers "are an exemplary group of people and we offer no refuge to those within our ranks who choose to break the law,'' said commission Chairman Rodney Barreto.
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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1009803.html

Former Officer Ken Hammond Gets 90 Days for Sexual Battery

As the judge called his case number, Ken Hammond stood up from the audience and began the long walk to the podium to face his sentence.

He passed the sort of people he had once arrested as an Ogden police officer — people facing charges for DUI, assault and domestic problems. This time, he was the one facing a charge.

The ex-cop who was hailed as a hero for stopping the killing spree at the Trolley Square mall was sentenced to 90 days in jail on Tuesday, having pleaded no contest to a class A misdemeanor charge of sexual battery.

"There are a lot of good people who do bad things," 2nd District Judge Pamela Heffernan told him.

Hammond, 35, was ordered to report to the Weber County Jail on April 29. He will be allowed out of jail to go to work each day, and he will remain on probation for a year. He was also ordered to pay a $370 fine, undergo a mental-health evaluation and pay for counseling for his victim.

Hammond was originally charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old, a third-degree felony, but struck a plea deal with Weber County prosecutors. In 2005, the officer responded to a disturbance at an apartment where a 17-year-old girl had been staying with her friend. He ran background checks and left, but returned two hours later.

Prosecutors said that the girl performed oral sex on Hammond, at the encouragement of others at the apartment.

"This case is not the fault of the victim. The law protects a 17-year-old girl from a 32-year-old," prosecutor Sandra Corp said. "As a police officer, he was in a position to know this was wrong."

Hammond said nothing during his sentencing and declined to talk about it outside of court. Supporters flooded the judge with letters, including one from Stacy Hanson, who was shot during the mall massacre. Hanson wrote that if it weren't for Hammond's actions, he would be dead.

Hammond was decorated as a hero for his role in ending the 2007 shooting rampage at the Trolley Square mall. The officer was off duty and on an early Valentine's date with his wife when Sulejman Talovic, 18, entered the mall and began shooting.

Five people were killed and four were wounded before Hammond got into a shootout with Talovic, keeping him distracted until Salt Lake police arrived. Talovic was shot and killed by police.

On Tuesday, as Hammond stood silently before the judge, his lawyer, Brenda Beaton, said, "He has been punished already." She noted Hammond's notoriety and the "media onslaught" that has followed him since his heroic actions at the Trolley Square mall. Hammond quit the Ogden police force and will never be a police officer again in Utah.

The alleged victim in the case did not show up to speak, and in a letter, supported a sentence that is proportionate to what others facing a misdemeanor charge would receive, Beaton said. She reported the actions years after they occurred.

Hammond also is facing a civil lawsuit from another woman accusing him of misconduct.

Heffernan said that because Hammond was a police officer and on duty, his case was more egregious. His actions at Trolley Square, she said, "to some degree are irrelevant in this case."

Beaton said that if sentenced to jail time, Hammond would become an immediate security risk.

"In light of the fact that you are recognizable, that makes you more vulnerable," Heffernan said, giving Weber County authorities options for his jail sentence. "They will determine what is most appropriate and safe."
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http://www.kutv.com/content/news/topnews/story/Ken-Hammond-Sentenced-To-90-Days-For-Sex-Charge/ozjuCsFo0ES3CTe9BLupew.cspx

Former Deputy Harold Morales Arrested for ID Theft

The e-mails referred to one of the highest-ranking officers at the Hernando County Sheriff's Office as "racist." They alleged discriminatory treatment against some of the deputies. They were supposedly coming from Sgt. George Smith.

However, the e-mails were all the work of an online thief, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Former deputy Harold Morales, who was fired in October during his probationary period, has been charged with seven felony counts of identity theft after being accused of using a former supervisor's e-mail address to send out the e-mails.

The motive "appears to be revenge," said Sgt. Donna Black, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office. "It's not an issue of what he said as much as the identity theft."

Morales, 41, of Spring Hill, was arrested Monday and later booked into the Hernando County jail, according to the Sheriff's Office. It wasn't immediately clear if Morales remained in custody Monday evening.

A message left with an unidentified woman at Morales' home wasn't returned.

Trooper Franklin Ryle Accused of Violating Civil Rights & Kidnapping

A lawyer representing a Wyoming state trooper accused of federal civil rights violations has asked a judge to send the trooper for mental health counseling.

The Justice Department last month charged Trooper Franklin Ryle with violating another man's civil rights in January by kidnapping him at gunpoint and unlawfully arresting him.

Ryle is a 12-year veteran of the patrol and remains in custody at a detention center in Nebraska.
Assistant Federal Public Defender Jim Barrett in Cheyenne represents Ryle.

Barrett has filed papers in court informing U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer of Cheyenne that Ryle is so depressed that it might affect his ability to consult with his lawyer. Barrett asked the judge to allow Ryle to get mental health counseling in Nebraska.
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More Information:
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=10214087&nav=menu554_1_1

Sheriff Detective Nathan Woodstock Arrested

WOODSTOCK, Ga.

A Cherokee County sheriff's detective has been arrested and charged with violation of oath of office, tampering with evidence, felony marijuana possession and six counts of theft by taking.

Authoritites say 29-year-old Nathan Watson of Woodstock was being held at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center on $40,000 bond following his arrest April 13. It was not immediately known if he had a lawyer.

The charges are related to evidence obtained in criminal investigations.

Watson, a member of the National Guard, was in Mississippi awaiting deployment to Afghanistan when investigators went to his home and found electronic devices and about two ounces of marijuana.

He had 10 years with the sheriff's department.

Another Mesquite Officer Under Investigation for Having Sex in His Police Car

Less than a week after the City of Mesquite was served with a lawsuit over allegations of sexual assault by former police officer Kirt Hughes, another Mesquite police officer is under investigation for alleged sexual impropriety.

An internal investigation has been ongoing for the last few weeks as the department looks into allegations that one of its officers may have been involved in sexual misconduct.

Specifically, the unnamed officer is accused of having consensual sex in his police car.

While the police department has confirmed that an investigation is underway, they have released few details about the allegations.

If confirmed, the officer is facing suspension or even possible termination.

The investigation marks the second time in the last six months that a Mesquite police officer has been accused of sexual misconduct.

Former police officer of the year Kirt Hughes was fired in December following two investigations into allegations that he sexually assaulted several local women.

The Clark County District Attorney refused to file charges in that case, but Hughes was terminated from the department as a result of the investigation.

While the two cases come within months of each other, police officials have indicated that the incidents and investigations are unrelated.
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http://www.mesquitelocalnews.com/viewnews.php?newsid=2665&id=2

Former Officer Rodney Sanders Pleads Guilty to Drunk Driving Accident

A city police officer whose blood-alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit when he caused a 2007 car crash has given up his job after pleading guilty to assault by auto and other charges in the three-car collision, authorities said.

Rodney D. Sanders, a 40-year-old North Plainfield resident, pleaded guilty April 17 to third-degree assault by auto, driving while intoxicated and failure to exhibit a driver's license in connection with the crash on Route 22 in North Plainfield, according to
authorities.

Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne J. Forrest said in a statement that Sanders pleaded guilty 10 days after his motion to suppress an Alcotest reading of 0.23 percent — almost three times the legal blood-alcohol limit of 0.08 percent — was denied by Superior Court Judge Paul Armstrong.

As part of a plea agreement with prosecutors, Sanders faces probation with 60 days in the Somerset County Jail, the loss of his license and registration for two years, 30 days of community service, 48 hours in the state Intoxicated Drivers Resource Center and fines, authorities said.

Sanders — a veteran city police officer with 19 years on the force — also forfeited his job upon pleading guilty, authorities said. His sentencing is scheduled for June 12.

"That's an issue he has to deal with, and he made a very poor decision to drive that night,'' city Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig said. "But we have to be held accountable for our actions — and that's the result.''

Authorities have said Sanders was intoxicated when he hit a pickup truck and car the night of July 31, 2007, while traveling eastbound on Route 22 near Wilson Avenue in North Plainfield. Sanders attempted to pass a 2002 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Florida resident Joseph J. McKernan, who was traveling eastbound in the highway's left lane, police said.

Sanders, who was driving the same direction in a 1999 GMC Yukon Denali, struck the rear passenger side of McKernan's vehicle and then rear-ended Sherifat A. Kasunmu's 1995 Nissan Altima, which spun onto the lawn of the Red Tower II restaurant, according to police.

Kasunmu, of Newark, was airlifted to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for back and neck pain while Sanders and McKernan declined treatment at the scene.

The night of the wreck, Sanders was arrested by North Plainfield police on a drunken driving charge after failing a field sobriety test and registering the high blood-alcohol level, authorities said. The assault by auto charge was added after an investigation by the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Collision Analysis Reconstruction Team.

Sanders, who is free on bail, had been suspended without pay since the wreck.

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http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/plainfield_police_officer_lose.html

Gary Decker Dies After Tucson Police Taser Him

A man who died after Tucson police shocked him with a Taser stun gun has been identified as a resident of Kentucky.

Police say Gary A. Decker died several hours after officers trying to subdue him shocked him with a Taser stun gun. They gave no city of residence.

Officers were called to the 50-year-old's downtown Tucson hotel room early Thursday because staff heard loud banging and music coming from his room. Sgt. Mark Robinson says they used a pass key to get inside after he wouldn't open the door.

They found the room ransacked, furniture broken and a nude Decker holding a toilet seat he had ripped from the commode. They used a Taser but it had no apparent affect and they eventually wrestled him to the ground.

Decker was in Tucson for a temporary job as a furniture liquidator.
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http://www.wbko.com/news/headlines/43255612.html

Two People Suing Modesto Police for Using Excessive Force

Two people are suing Modesto in separate lawsuits claiming they were roughed up by police while being arrested at downtown clubs.

One case centers on Wendell Jamon Jones, a San Jose attorney, who says police used excessive force to arrest him as he left a 10th Street club as the 2005 X-Clamation Festival wound down. His case heads to trial May 4 at the U.S. District Court in Fresno.

The other comes from Margaret Shepherd, a Stockton mother who was caught up in an altercation at another 10th Street bar while she celebrated her son's 21st birthday in January 2007. Her case is moving through the same court.

The city says Jones and Shepherd resisted arrest and that police acted within the scope of their authority.

"The city's position has been that there was probable cause to arrest in both cases, and any force that was used was lawful and reasonable," said Jim Wilson, Modesto senior deputy city attorney.

Jones and Shepherd are seeking seven-figure payouts in punitive damages. The cases highlight the city's liability in policing downtown clubs.

"When you're dealing with people under the influence of alcoholic beverages, they become unpredictable," said police Sgt. Brian Findlen, department spokesman, who was speaking in general terms.

Jones, 39, says that police acted inappropriately while trying to empty out the Palladium nightclub in the early hours of July 24, 2005. He was there with friends after watching performances at the outdoor X-Fest.

By his telling, and accounts from a bouncer and four other witnesses, police aggressively sought to clear out the bar about 1:30 a.m. Jones and the witnesses say he was talking with a bouncer and not drinking when then-police Sgt. Adam McGill struck him. Jones contends he put his hands in the air and said, "What did I do? I didn't do anything."

Hit in the abdomen, leg

Officers counter that they were moving patrons out of the club and perceived Jones as not complying with their requests. They say Jones pushed McGill first, though Jones' friends wrote they didn't see that.

Officers struck Jones in the abdomen and on his right leg with a flashlight and baton when they determined he was resisting arrest.

A key piece of evidence in the trial is expected to be a video of the incident taken from inside the club. Jones was charged with misdemeanor offenses of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. In August 2007, he pleaded no contest to an infraction of fighting in a public place.

He contends that the incident left him unable to work in his practice as a patent attorney, costing him $200,000 while he recovered. He's seeking an additional $2 million in punitive damages.

"Before this incident, Jones had a zero criminal record," said his attorney, Anthony Harris. "This guy was like a monk. It was an anomaly that his friends would drag him out. After the situation, he was really a monk. He didn't want to go out. He was nervous around any police officer."

Palladium owner Rudy Baca declined to comment. He appeared frustrated with police in a witness statement he wrote shortly after the incident because of the manner in which officers sought to close his club early that night.

Shepherd has dropped some of her original claims against the city, focusing on her assertion that two officers used excessive force when they arrested her at the Copper Rhino bar Jan. 14, 2007.

She says police broke her ribs when they sought to subdue her after she attempted to find out why one of her son's friends was ejected from the club by a bouncer. She is seeking $1 million in damages.

Shepherd's attorney did not return calls for comment.

Wilson succeeded in his most recent defense of a lawsuit against the Modesto Police Department. A jury a year ago held that police were not liable in the death of Sammy Galvan, who was shot eight times when officers responded to a domestic dispute at his home in 2004.

Trooper James Gilbert Charged with Soliciting Sex from Minor

A state trooper accused of having sexual communications with the teenage daughter of another FHP employee has been fired and charged with soliciting sex from a minor.

And now an internal probe by the Orange County Sheriff's Office has targeted the trooper's ex-wife after she was accused of trying to intimidate the teen's mother.

James E. Gilbert was a trooper for more than 15 years when he was arrested Dec. 4 on 10 counts of solicitation of a minor via a computer. The Florida Highway Patrol terminated him the next day.

Gilbert is accused of having sexual conversations and text messages with a 17-year-old. An FHP investigative report said Gilbert, who was a corporal, sent the girl more than 600 text messages during a one-month period last year.

In a written statement filed in Orange County court, the girl's mother said Gilbert talked about taking the teen to a cabin in Tennessee where they would "take things slow."

The teen told an investigator she told Gilbert he shouldn't talk to her that way. She said Gilbert, 45, responded by saying things like, "Nothing illegal about this; we're doing nothing wrong." And, "It's your choice, even if anybody found out, if I still want to do something or if you did, nobody can stop us; there's nothing wrong with it."

Gilbert would not comment Thursday. When questioned in November by an investigator, Gilbert also chose not to make a statement, an FHP report said.

He is free on bond and is slated to go to trial in August.

Meanwhile, the teen's mother said their stress about the situation intensified when Gilbert's ex-wife, Orange County Deputy Alberta Gilbert, tried to intimidate her at work last month.

The mother runs a business at a Florida's Turnpike service plaza. She said Alberta Gilbert came to the plaza, walked past her business and mouthed a curse word. She said Gilbert's wife then sat at a table near her business for more than an hour. She said the deputy rubbed her gun and stared at her.

"I was scared that she was going to do something," the woman said.

The mother said she gave the Orange County Sheriff's Office a surveillance video from inside the plaza. The Sheriff's Office confirmed Gilbert is being investigated internally, but an agency spokesman couldn't comment or confirm the allegations because the case is open. An attempt to reach Alberta Gilbert was unsuccessful.

A temporary injunction was filed against James Gilbert in September — before he was charged criminally — because the teen is afraid of him and his persistent sexual advances.

"It's very stressful. It's very upsetting," the teen's mother said Thursday. "I'm constantly outside checking around. We worry about revenge or retaliation."

The Orlando Sentinel is not publishing the mother's name because it would identify her daughter.
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com

Michael Jacobs Jr Dies After Being Tasered by Fort Worth Police

Fort Worth police are investigating following the death of a mentally ill 24-year-old after police subdued him with a Taser stun gun.

The parents of Michael Jacobs Jr. called police to a Fort Worth home on Saturday morning, saying their son was causing problems, police said in a statement.

Police said an officer stunned him with a Taser when he became combative.

The officers planned to take Jacobs to John Peter Smith Hospital for a mental detention. He was handcuffed but began to have difficulty breathing, police said.

Police said he was later taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Tarrant County medical examiner's office will determine what caused Jacobs' death.

Family members told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that police officers used excessive force to subdue Jacobs, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Charlotte Jacobs, Michael's mother, says that while he was being stunned, her son was writhing on the ground and foaming at the mouth. She said she begged the officers to stop.

Helena Wigfall, 37, a cousin of Michael Jacobs, said police had nothing to fear from her cousin, who weighed about 150 pounds.

Kyev Tatum, pastor of the Servant House Baptist Church, said the Jacobs family would like an outside investigation as well as an autopsy from someone unaffiliated with the medical examiner's office.

Fort Worth Police Chief Jeffrey Halstead told the newspaper that he could not comment on the incident until he was briefed by investigators, which he expected to happen Monday.

Amnesty International reported this year that 351 people have died after being stunned with Taser guns since June 2001.
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http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=238347

Capt. Willard Oliphant Investigated for Unauthorized Use of Database

A Pennsylvania State Police supervisor fined by the feds last year for wiretapping a subordinate is again under scrutiny for allegedly ordering underlings to investigate the boss of the Secret Service's Scranton branch.

Capt. Willard Oliphant, who heads the internal-affairs division for the state police, allegedly demanded that a trooper investigate Bill Slavoski, resident agent-in-charge of the Secret Service in Scranton, after learning that Slavoski had checked Oliphant's vehicle registration on a law-enforcement-records database.

When the trooper's 14-month probe ended, Slavoski's access to the database was put on probationary status for a year, according to a complaint Slavoski filed March 31 with the state police. Probation is the first step in barring him from the system, according to the complaint, which the Daily News obtained this week.

Slavoski declined to comment yesterday, but his attorney, Don Bailey, said he plans to lodge a federal civil-rights lawsuit on Slavoski's behalf next week.

The action against Slavoski is part of a pattern of state police bigwigs' ordering improper investigations to camouflage their own devilish doings or to bully enemies, Bailey charged.

"It was an unlawful action; they don't have the jurisdiction or authority to audit him," Bailey said. "The Pennsylvania State Police is a place of favor-mongering, cliques and buddies, and they use the IAD [internal-affairs division] as a bludgeon. The Pennsylvania State Police needs to be thoroughly investigated from top to bottom by an objective third party."

Cpl. Linette Quinn, a state police spokeswoman, said she couldn't comment on internal complaints and investigations. Oliphant couldn't be reached for comment.

The saga started, Slavoski wrote in an appeal of his probation, when an acquaintance told him he felt that he was being followed. The man was a small-town detective out on disability who worried that his stalker was a vengeful convict, Slavoski wrote.

The detective got the stalker's license-plate number and asked Slavoski to run it in a database that authorities routinely use to check driver records, vehicle registration and such details, Slavoski wrote.

The database showed that the car was registered to Oliphant; Slavoski later learned that Oliphant's son investigated workers' compensation claims for an insurance company and borrowed his father's car for surveillance trips, Slavoski wrote.

Slavoski contends that his database query was lawful.

The complaint comes a year after a federal jury found Oliphant and another supervisor guilty of secretly recording a 2003 phone conversation with a trooper who was on medical leave.

The trooper claimed that his bosses taped the call to trap him into admitting he wasn't hurt and to discourage his workers' compensation claim. Although the jury ordered $501,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, Oliphant wasn't criminally charged with violating the wiretap law.

Officer Leo Liston Charged with Stealing Money

ST. LOUIS

A St. Louis police officer has resigned after being indicted on charges of stealing money.

Leo Liston was indicted Thursday on a federal charge of stealing more than $5,000 in police funds last year. He was the third city officer to be charged in connection to the missing funds.

Police spokeswoman Erica Van Ross said Liston resigned from the department earlier this week. It was not immediately clear from electronic court records who his lawyer is.

Two other officers, Bobby Lee Garrett and Vincent Carr, were indicted in December and accused of planting evidence, stealing money and dealing drugs. Garrett has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Carr pleaded guilty in February.

The indictment says Liston, Garrett and "others" stole the money on June 11, 2008.

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http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/laworder/story/9EE3A4F98199F4928625759C00104170?OpenDocument

Deputy Leanno Martinez Charged with Beating Girlfriend

A San Diego County sheriff's deputy has been charged with five felonies and a misdemeanor linked to the alleged beating of his girlfriend after a raucous party at his home in San Ysidro.

Deputy Leanno Martinez, 32, is set for a readiness conference May 12 in Superior Court and a preliminary hearing June 4. He was arrested April 5 and released on bail this week. He has pleaded not guilty.

The charges include battery, false imprisonment, making a criminal threat, assault with intent to inflict great bodily harm, and inflicting injury. Martinez had been assigned to the Imperial Beach station.
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http://www.10news.com/news/19214553/detail.html

Trooper Jonathan Williams Arrested for Indecent Behavior with Juvenile

The Louisiana State Police had to arrest one of their own Friday.

29-year-old Jonathan Williams of West Monroe was arrested at Troop F for warrants out of Rapides Parish a two felony counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile.

Williams allegedly began to exchange emails with a State Police investigator who was posing online as a juvenile and he allegedly emailed inappropriate pictures of himself and solicited similar photos from the investigator who posed as a juvenile.

Williams was a probationary officer assigned to Troop F in Monroe and was a recent graduate of the State Police Academy.

He has since been terminated.

Williams has been booked into the Ouachita Parish jail, but is being transported to Rapides Parish where the charges will be filed.

The investigation is continuing and other charges will likely be filed in the coming days, according to State Troopers.

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http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20090417/UPDATES01/90417029

Former Deputy David Brady Accused of Stealing Gas

MANATEE COUNTY

A Manatee sheriff's deputy resigned Wednesday after an internal investigation concluded he stole about 500 gallons of county fuel and then lied about the theft while under oath.

Former deputy David Brady, a canine handler, resigned after nearly 10 years at the Manatee Sheriff's Office, where his attorney says he maintained a "stellar" record and is being punished harshly as an example.

A criminal investigation began after a sheriff's sergeant reported seeing Brady fuel his personal vehicle March 13 at the Manatee County fuel site.

The investigation revealed a "clear pattern of unusual and suspicious fuel consumption" from January 2008 to March 2009, according to the sheriff's Internal Affairs report released Thursday.

Brady's 2008 fuel records showed he used an average of 930 more gallons of fuel than two other K-9 deputies who drive the same type of vehicle with about the same mileage.

The total fuel unaccounted for was determined to be nearly 500 gallons.

Authorities said Brady initially admitted fueling his personal truck with county gas once because he did not have money to buy gas.

Two weeks later, Brady reportedly confessed that he had illegally siphoned county gas three or four times but not to the extent suggested by records.

An internal investigation concluded March 30 sustained two counts of conduct unbecoming a deputy. The theft case has been forwarded to the state attorney's office.

Charlie Britt, Brady's attorney, said Brady took a "small fraction" of what the Sheriff's Office estimated, and he believes the inspectors chose certain deputies to illustrate their point to the extreme.

Brady may lose his license with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Britt said. "I just feel it's truly unfortunate that a career of good deeds is kicked out to the curb for one screwup," he said.

Former Officer Nicholas Valastro Pleads Guilty to Stealing

Three days after his 28th birthday, Nicholas Valastro admitted in Orange County Court Thursday that he threw away his law-enforcement career over some parts for a truck.

The former Montgomery town police officer pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct, admitting that while he was on duty Oct. 28, he acted as a lookout while Montgomery Officer Clifford Barber III and then-Assistant Maybrook Fire Chief Bryan Dunn tried to steal panels for the bed of a Chevy Avalanche from Midway Auto Sales on Route 17K in Montgomery.

"I was aware they were going to attempt to steal property," Valastro told Judge Jeffrey G. Berry. "I did nothing about it."

Valastro became the third person, and the second cop, to plead guilty to playing a role in what prosecutors have described in court papers as a series of massive thefts orchestrated by Barber, who's been suspended from the town police department since he was arrested in early November.

Valastro resigned last month, after he was implicated during court proceedings.

Barber, Dunn and Kevin Burchell were all accused of taking part in a conspiracy to loot two Orange County Wal-Mart stores of up to $1 million dollars worth of merchandise, some of which was sold on eBay. Dunn and Burchell have both pleaded guilty, and Burchell's arrest cost him his job as a Tuxedo Park police officer.

No one was charged in connection with the incident that Valastro described.

Dunn and Burchell are awaiting sentencing.

Valastro will be sentenced on June 24. In return for his guilty plea, he faces a maximum of six months in jail and five years' probation. His lawyer, Ben Greenwald, said that Valastro won't be able to work again in law enforcement.

Barber's lawyer, Stewart Rosenwasser, said Thursday that he's still discussing a possible plea bargain with prosecutors, who are seeking a sentence of 31/3 to 10 years in state prison. Judge Robert Freehill has indicated he'd sentence Barber to 11/3 to four years. Barber faces seven felony charges.

Barber is due back in court on April 29. That's the same day that Dunn, his admitted co-conspirator, will be sentenced for grand larceny and conspiracy.
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http://www.recordonline.com

Detective Monica Geddry Arrested for Drunk Driving

A Reno police detective was arrested early today on drunken driving charges -- marking the second DUI investigation for the department in the last two months.

Detective Monica Geddry, 42, was arrested by officers with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department about 1 a.m. near McCarran Boulevard and Talbot Lane in South Reno, said Deputy Brooke Keast, spokeswoman for the department.

Geddry was charged with making an improper turn, failure to drive within marked lanes and driving under the influence, Keast said. She is scheduled to appear in Reno Justice Court on May 1.

Reno Police Deputy Chief Jim Johns said he could not comment on the case because it was a “personnel matter,” but said, that “as a matter of policy, we will conduct an administrative review and investigation” into the charges before making a decision about how it should be handled.

Geddry will continue to work as a detective during the review, he said.

In 2002, Geddry was a Reno traffic officer who organized a program called ALIVE -- Actively Learning About Intoxication and Vehicle Education -- a Reno police program run with a $14,000 federal grant that taught local high school students about the dangers of driving drunk.

Geddry was the second Reno police officer arrested for DUI in the past two months.

In February, Reno patrol officer Chad Johnston was investigated for possible DUI after he was found passed out in his vehicle at the Silver Legacy parking garage. The Washoe County District Attorney’s office is still investigating that case for possible charges.

Officer Gary Sutton Jr Arrested for Watching Girls in Dressing Room

FAIRMONT

An FBI police officer is under arrest and a warrant has been issued for the arrest of another officer, after the pair allegedly used a security camera to watch girls in a dressing room, during a charity prom dress event, court documents say.

Gary Sutton Jr., 40 of New Milton, is charged with criminal invasion of privacy and being a party to a crime.

Both charges are misdemeanors.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a second officer on the same charges.

Sutton turned himself into authorities and was arraigned Friday morning in Marion County Magistrate Court.

He was released on $6,000 bond.

There is no word on when the second officer will be arrested.

If convicted, the men would face a year in jail and a $5,000 fine, according to the statute.

On Saturday, April 4, Hospice Care Corporation held "The Cinderella Project" at the Middletown Mall in White Hall.

The event offered prom dresses, shoes and jewelry at affordable prices and raised money for Hospice Care.

Hundreds of people attended the event.

Temporary dressing rooms were set up for the event.

The dressing rooms did not have ceilings.

Sutton and the other officer were on duty at the FBI's satellite control room at the mall during the event, investigators say.

The camera in question was in scanning mode when it began recording on Saturday morning, court documents say.

At 8:26 a.m., the camera stopped above the dressing area, according to the criminal complaint for Sutton.

At 9:34 a.m., after a young woman entered the dressing area, the camera zoomed in and remained zoomed in until 11:00 a.m.

During that time period, several young woman entered the room and undressed.

One young woman was seen topless, investigators say.

Investigators with the Marion County Sheriff's Department say the two officers were the only ones in the FBI control room at the time of the incident and the only ones who could control the camera.

It is important to note that the men in question are FBI police officers, not FBI agents.

All of the agencies involved have had an overwhelming response to this case and have set up a hot line.

Anyone with more information or questions is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Officials at the FBI's CJIS Center in Clarksburg have declined to comment on the situation or the status of the officers.

The FBI has deferred all comment to the Office of the Inspector General in Washington, D.C.

A spokesperson with the Inspector General's office has confirmed that the agency is investigating the incident.

Neither the Marion County Sheriff's Department or the Marion County Prosecutor's Office have issued a statement on the case.

A spokeswoman with Hospice Care says the organization is aware of the matter, but has deferred any questions to the Marion County Prosecutor's Office.
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http://www.wdtv.com/news/local/43196907.html

Fomre Deputy Thomas Taylor III Accused of Having On-Duty Sex May Lose Peace Officer's Certificate

A former Pima County sheriff's deputy accused of having on-duty sex with a fellow deputy's wife could find himself unable to work as a law officer in Arizona.

Thomas E. Taylor III resigned his deputy's job Jan. 20, and the Arizona Peace Officer's Standards and Training Board voted this week to review the case and determine whether Taylor should keep his peace officer's certificate, or have it suspended or revoked.

Without the certificate issued by the board, also known as Az POST, a person cannot work as a law enforcement officer in the state.

According to a report from Az POST, Taylor, 28, who started as a deputy May 11, 2007, scheduled a rendezvous with the other man's wife for Jan. 12 at a secluded spot east of the city in the Rincon Patrol District, where Taylor was assigned patrol duties.

The couple met about 3 a.m., with Taylor in uniform and driving a marked patrol car, the report said. Taylor directed the woman to a secluded parking area where they kissed, fondled and engaged in oral sex, the report said.

The woman, not identified in the report, also is a Sheriff's Department employee, but she was off duty and in her own car.

The alleged incident came to official attention after the woman, feeling "very guilty" about the matter, told her husband that night. Two days later, the husband sent a memorandum through the chain of command to the Internal Affairs Section.

The woman's husband also called Taylor, confronting him about the affair and Taylor admitted to it and "apologized to him for what he had done," according to the board.

Taylor was interviewed by an internal affairs detective Jan. 14 and his account of what happened "mirrored" the woman's account, except for the specific sex act in which they had engaged, the board said.

The internal affairs detective told an Az POST staff member that there was no evidence Taylor missed calls to duty while with the woman, the report said.

The woman involved is a civilian employee assigned to duties at the Pima County Jail, said Bureau Chief Richard Kastigar, in charge of uniformed patrol operations.

Kastigar said she violated no departmental rules as she was off duty when she met with Taylor and she is not facing discipline.

Taylor is not eligible for being rehired by the department, Kastigar said.

Several Sheriff Department Employees Arrested for Alcohol Related Charges

LOS ANGELES

The number of Sheriff’s Department employees arrested here on alcohol-related charges has risen sharply since 2004, an independent report has found. Those arrested were often charged with driving under the influence and included off-duty deputies carrying guns while drunk.

Seventy Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department employees, sworn deputies and civilian staff members were arrested in 2008 on alcohol-related charges, according to the annual report released Wednesday by the Office of Independent Review, a six-member independent agency that monitors the department. None of those arrested were on duty. The agency reported 24 such arrests five years ago.

“Deputies, as all peace officers, are entrusted with enforcing laws and given a lot of awesome authority,” said Michael Gennaco, who heads the agency. “They are expected to be officers 24 hours a day, so they are held to a higher standard. This is a problem.”

The year began with one deputy’s accidental shooting of his cousin in the abdomen at a New Year’s Eve house party, Mr. Gennaco said. In separate incidents cited in the report, two deputies brandished their weapons in and around bars after drinking.

“This is a personal failure,” said Steve Whitmore, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman. “Everything that can humanly be done for this issue is being done.”

In November, Sheriff Lee Baca proposed a policy prohibiting off-duty deputies from carrying firearms while drinking. Unions representing department employees opposed the policy, saying it could place deputies in danger without adequate defense. The county Employee Relations Commission is reviewing the proposal, Mr. Whitmore said.

“The department doesn’t need a new policy,” said Brian Moriguchi, president of the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association, a union representing Sheriff’s Department employees. “What they need to do is start enforcing their existing policies. There’s no need to create a new policy related to alcohol.”

Mr. Moriguchi added, “There are more incidents of accidental discharges of firearms by those who are sober.”

With about 17,000 employees, including almost 9,500 sworn deputies, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is the largest in the country, Mr. Gennaco said. The higher number of arrests, he said, may indicate a shift in the culture of law enforcement here.

“In the old days, maybe 10 years ago, there was the concept of what officers called ‘professional courtesy,’ ” when off-duty officers caught driving drunk would “get a pass,” he said. “That’s gone away.”

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A version of this article appeared in print on April 16, 2009, on page A16 of the New York edition.

Metro Man Mistakenly Tasered by US Marshals

GRANDVIEW, MO

A metro man and father of four found himself caught up in a case of mistaken identity after he was yanked off a community center basketball court and tasered by U.S. Marshals.

Surveillance video released on Friday shows Stuart Wright, 30, was playing basketball at the Grandview Community Center when U.S. Marshals, acting on a tip from an informant, surrounded him with guns drawn and hit him with a Taser.

"I just heard all this commotion and screaming, and as I turned I heard this gentleman screaming and he had a gun pointed at me," said Wright. "And as I put my hands up I guess he was screaming the gentleman's name who they were after, and I said my name is Stuart Wright, that's not my name and I heard pop,pop and I felt my body tense up, and I was on the ground."

Officials with the U.S. Marshals Office says that an informant told them that their suspect was at the community center playing basketball, wearing a jersey with the number 23 on the back and with braids in his hair. That description fit Wright, who happened to be given that particular shirt for the game.

"I honestly think it was poor planning and strategy, and I think somebody didn't do their homework," said Wright. "I think they were out of control."

Pip Dukes, who organizes the men's basketball league, says he was working the scoreboard when the U.S. Marshals entered the gym, telling him to stop the game.

"Those guys just bum rushed the gentleman, and it was maybe 8 of them and they had their guns out and where they approached him at it was a stand behind him full of kids," said Dukes. "I'm still disappointed because it was a stand full of kids."

The U.S. Marshals Office admitted that entering a crowded community center with guns drawn was not an ideal situation, but they said that the man they were looking for was armed and dangerous.

Officials with the agency said that they thought Wright, who works for the Wyandotte County Unified Government, was going to hit a deputy who had grabbed his arm. They say that's why he was tasered.

"It just humiliated me," said Wright, who says he hopes law enforcement will learn from the incident before they act in the future. "I was so embarrassed, honestly."
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Information & Video: http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-story-taser-mistake-marshals-041609,0,4275021.story

Judge Christine McEvoy Arrested for Drunk Driving

An esteemed judge of the state Superior Court has been arrested for drunken driving, but is already taking responsibility for her alleged actions.

Judge Christine M. McEvoy, 58, of Belmont, was stopped by police in Lexington at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. She was released on personal recognizance following her arraignment yesterday in Concord District Court.

McEvoy is due back in court May 8 for a pretrial conference. Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone Jr.’s office will be calling in an outside prosecutor to handle her case because McEvoy is the sister of his chief trial counsel, John McEvoy Jr., spokesman Corey Welford said.

Defense attorney William H. Kettlewell said in a statement, “Judge McEvoy has the greatest respect for the institution of the court. She deeply regrets the fact that her actions may have cast the court in an unfavorable light and intends to deal with the pending case as swiftly as possible.

“Judge McEvoy,” he continued, “has requested that the chief justice of the Superior Court not assign her to any matters, civil or criminal, involving a charge of operating under the influence for the foreseeable future.”

Superior Court Chief Justice Barbara J. Rouse, who issued her own statement, said, “I have agreed to her request. Judge McEvoy for now will continue to sit in civil sessions in Woburn, where she is currently assigned.”

McEvoy, a mother of two, has presided over several of the state’s most high-profile cases, including the trial of Dr. Richard Sharpe, the cross-dressing dermatologist who shot his estranged wife to death in Wenham in 2000. Sharpe hanged himself in prison last year.

In 2005, McEvoy sentenced Saudi Prince Bader Al Saud to one year in the Dukes County House of Correction on Martha’s Vineyard for killing a pedestrian with his BMW SUV in a drunken-driving crash.

Last month, she ran the trial of Casimiro Barros, the first of two men convicted for the 2007 shooting death of Chiara Levin.
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http://www.masslawyersweekly.com/index.cfm/archive/view/id/447934

Camille Laffoon Claims Officer Roger Peele Slammed her into Squad Car

HAMMOND

A Portage police officer who was twice cleared of brutality allegations by the city now faces a federal lawsuit from a woman who claims she was beaten in a parking lot in 2007.

Camille Laffoon claims Officer Roger Peele slammed her into a squad car, threw her to the ground and pulled her hair in April 14, when Laffoon was arrested for firing a handgun during a brawl in the parking lot of a Denny's on U.S. 20.

Laffoon was charged with multiple counts in the incident, but video taken by the Portage Fire Department, and shown during police Merit Board disciplinary hearings, shows Peele manhandling Laffoon.

After an 11-hour hearing, Merit Board members voted unanimously to dismiss disciplinary charges against Peele.

Peele also faced charges of excessive force in connection with another arrest that year. He was briefly assigned to desk duty before he was cleared of wrongdoing by the board.

Laffoon's suit also names several other officers who were on hand, the city and police department.

Peele's attorney and attorneys for the city could not be reached for comment Thursday.
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http://cbs2chicago.com/local/police.brutatliy.lawsuit.2.987585.html

Officer James Cousins II Suspended After Video Posted on YouTube

A city police officer was suspended after someone posted to the Web a video of him, in a bar and apparently intoxicated, joking about a homicide victim.

In his profanity-laced rant, James Cousins II talks about the victim being shot in the forehead and his body lying outside a bar below a malt liquor sign that reads, "take it to the head." He laughs as he recounts seeing the dead man's leg twitch and the reaction of the victim's mother as she identifies him. Cousins also says he used his camera phone to take photos of the victim.

"We're looking at it like, 'One less drug dealer to deal with. Cool,'" he says on the video.

Cousins, who was hired in 2004, was suspended with pay Wednesday after the Erie Times-News asked about the video. A phone message left Thursday at a number for a James Cousins was not immediately returned.

Erie Police Chief Steve Franklin said Cousins was apparently drunk, but that an investigation would place the officer's comments in context.

"We see what's on the picture," Franklin said. "Let's see what's behind the picture before we make any rash decisions."

It's not clear when the nearly eight-minute video was recorded. The shooting occurred in late March and the video was posted to YouTube on April 6. The video was still up Thursday, but Erie police said they were trying to have it removed.

The county's district attorney called Cousin's behavior unacceptable and apologized to the victim's family.

The victim, who had convictions including possessing drugs and paraphernalia, was shot outside a bar after fighting with another man, police have said.
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Other information:
Erie police try to remove video from YouTube
Videotaped policeman suspended from part-time job in Girard