Officer Shieed Haniff Arrested for DWI

A city cop was arrested for driving drunk, smashing into cars and speeding through a police stop as fellow officers gave chase, authorities said Monday.

The alleged intoxicated ride by Shieed Haniff, 30, ended Sunday minutes before midnight when he was stopped in East New York, Brooklyn.

Police saw Haniff drive erratically and hit a car, before making a u-turn and crashing into another car, causing injuries for occupants in both vehicles, court papers alleged.

The seven-year NYPD veteran then drove off and plowed through a traffic stop with “police jumping out of the way,” the document said.

Cops charged Haniff with leaving the scene of an accident, DWI, reckless driving and refusing to take a breath test. He was released without bail, but his license was revoked.

Officer James Foutch Arrested After Crash that Killed Man

Authorities say a central Indiana police officer has been arrested after a crash that killed a man and badly hurt his pregnant wife.

The Madison County Sheriff's Department says Edgewood police Officer James Foutch was off duty when his SUV ran into the back of a car driven by 22-year-old Rebecca Marie Sperry of Pendleton on Sunday.

The Herald Bulletin reports the car went off Indiana 32 near the town of Lapel and into a utility pole, crushing the car's passenger side. The county coroner says Jesse Sperry died. His wife was taken to an Indianapolis hospital.

Police say Foutch was possibly under the influence of prescription medication and was jailed on a preliminary charge of driving while intoxicated causing death. It wasn't clear whether he had an attorney.

Former Officer Jeremy Rose Charged with Sexual Exploitation of Minor

Former Tremonton police officer Jeremy Rose has been charged with 15 offenses in the collection of thousands of photos of a teenage girl in various stages of undress.
 

Rose was arrested and booked into the Box Elder County Jail Thursday, said Utah Attorney General's Office spokeswoman Missy Larsen, and is scheduled for arraignment April 7 before 1st District Judge Ben Hadfield.

 

Rose, 37, is charged with nine counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, and two counts of voyeurism, a third-degree felony. He's also charged with single counts of dealing in material harmful to a minor, communications fraud, obstruction of justice, and stalking, all felonies but the stalking, a class A misdemeanor.

 

While employed by the Tremonton force, Rose convinced a then-15-year-old Tremonton girl to pose semi-nude for photos he said he would sell for her on the Internet and to private buyers, according to charging documents. That was a ruse in order to collect the photos for himself, the charges say.

 

He also allegedly hid a camera in the girl's bedroom to record video of her dressing and undressing.

 

Rose is being held in lieu of $145,000 bail. The case was handed off by the Box Elder County Attorney's Office last year to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest since prosecutors there had worked with Rose for years.

 

Rose resigned from the Tremonton department in July after investigation began by the Attorney General's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which was assisted by Tremonton police.

 

The case features a 15-page probable cause affidavit, a document rarely longer than a page.

It details Rose's apparent obsession with the teen beginning in early 2012 and continuing through much of last year until his initial arrest in June. Due to the complex investigation detailed in the affidavit, the charges weren't filed until Thursday by the attorney general's office.  Rose was a 12-year veteran on the Tremonton force.

 

Rose set up fake email accounts and links to a bogus online company where he told her he was selling the photos, the affidavit says.

 

He sent emails under assumed names from the fake company encouraging her in her nude and semi-nude posing for photos with Rose, as well as those she took herself and sent to the fake Internet site, according to the affidavit.

 

They told her she could make more money by wearing less clothing, one of the emails said.

Investigators were informed last June by Rose's wife that he had confessed to her and other family members, according to the affidavit.

 

The thousands of images of the minor were found on Rose's several cell phones "as well the laptop computer he was assigned through his employment at the Tremonton Police Department," it reads.

 

The document refers to Rose paying the girl $300 for her pictures and buying her an iPhone for her picture-taking.

Officer Patrick Anthony Klis Charged with Three Counts of Sexual Battery of Juvenile

Patrick Anthony Klis, a police officer with the Long Beach Police Department, has been arrested and charged with three counts of sexual battery of a juvenile, according to a news release Saturday from Harrison County Sheriff Melvin Brisolara.

Brisolara said investigators received information on Thursday that Klis was having sexual relations with a 15-year-old juvenile.

Investigators were able to recover evidence and conduct interviews, which led to an arrest warrant being issued for Klis.

He was taken into custody at the Long Beach Police Department and booked into the Harrison County Adult Detention Facility.

Bond was set at $300,000 by Circuit Court Judge John Garguilo.

The Department of Human Resources was called and took custody of the 15-year-old victim. 

Jury Convicts Officer Jeffrey Holmes of Corruption

A suspended Kansas City police officer has been convicted of one count corruption but found not guilty on four other charges after he was accused of having sex with two women in exchange for not arresting them.

The jury convicted Jeffrey Holmes on Friday of one corruption charge but found him not guilty of four other charges involving corruption and sex-related accusations. The jury also recommended that Holmes be sentenced to 15 days in the county jail and pay an undetermined fine.

The Kansas City Star reports (http://bit.ly/Px6Vjf) that two women accused Holmes of coming to their hotel rooms in 2012, indicating he was going to arrest them for prostitution, but having sex with each of them instead.

Holmes has been on unpaid suspension from the department.

Officer Johnny Bridges Charged with Domestic Violence

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy has charged Detroit Police Officer Johnny Ray Bridges, 47, with assault with intent to do great bodily harm, unlawful imprisonment, domestic violence and reckless discharge of a firearm.

The charges stem from an event that allegedly occurred on Saturday between Bridges and his girlfriend on March 3.

The woman appears to have escaped the situation by jumping out of a window and running to a nearby restaurant while wearing barely any clothing. An employee at the restaurant tells Isom the woman was only wearing a shirt and her face was "a little bit beat up." Employees gave her some clothes to cover up and called for help.

Prosecutors say Bridges was off-duty when the alleged incident occurred, and both had been drinking. An argument began and, at some point during the argument, Bridges fired a handgun into the air and punched and kicked the victim's face and body.

Bridges was arraigned on Wednesday and a judge set his bond at $5,000. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim and to not possess or purchase firearms.

He is scheduled to be back in court March 13.

Chief Mikel White and Officer Gregory Armstead Arrested on Several Felony Charges

A Louisiana police chief and an officer are now on the other side of the law.

Louisiana State Police arrested Lecompte police chief Mikel White and officer Gregory Armstead on several felony charges Friday.

According to state police, a man says the pair came to his home in March -- and threatened to hurt him if he didn't pay back a personal loan.

He says White threatened to arrest him for theft, and on his orders, Armstead took him into custody.

The man was later released without being charged.

According to state police, the whole thing was caught on camera.

Both the chief and the officer are charged with malfeasance in office and false imprisonment.

Additionally, the chief is charged with extortion.

Both are held on a $500,000 bond each.

Lt Terry Austin Accused of Bribing Fellow Officers to Pull Over His Ex-Wife

A Greenfield police officer is accused of trying to bribe other officers to pull over his ex-wife.

Lieutenant Terry Austin faces charges of bribery and official misconduct.

Police say he offered two McCordsville police officers a $200 steak dinner to pull over his ex-wife because her driver’s license is suspended.

Austin is now on administrative leave.

Officer Matthew Switzer Arrested for Stealing Pain Medication From Senior Citizens

The Concord police officer arrested for illegally obtaining pain medication from senior citizens made his first appearance before a judge Friday.

The officer is facing two counts of first degree burglary, one count of second degree burglary, one count of fraudulently obtaining prescription drugs, and one count of elder abuse.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office says, Matthew Switzer used his status as a police officer to steal prescription drugs from the apartments of several Concord senior citizens.

Friday the judge postponed the arraignment until Tuesday, giving attorneys on both sides more time to work the case.

Switzer's attorney Harry Stern says his client has a drug problem.

"Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. Unfortunately it appears that Officer Switzer is another casualty of that unfortunate trend," Stern said.

Stern says Switzer is battling an addiction, and had checked into rehab for treatment.

"He had prescriptions, and the particular drugs that were involved were essentially heroine," said Stern. Stern continues on to say his client has numerous issues, including suffering from post-traumatic stress.

"He was fighting a very serious addition problem.  It started out with prescriptions. He had an on-duty injury," says Stern.

Officials have not said what that injury was or how it happened.

Concord Police Chief Guy Swanger, who requested the District Attorney investigation, would only say Switzer will be on paid leave, while the department conducts its own internal investigation.

Switzer's bail is now set at $480,000.

Dectective Hassan Hamdy Charged in 2012 Fatal Shooting

Police in New York City say officers involved in a fatal 2012 shooting of an unarmed National Guardsman should face departmental charges.

NYPD Deputy Chief Kim Royster says in a statement Friday the charges were determined based on an internal review of the Oct. 4 shooting of Noel Polanco during a Queens traffic stop.

Royster says a disciplinary process will now commence. She says regardless of the department's findings, the police commissioner will ultimately decide their penalties.

Polanco was shot by Detective Hassan Hamdy through an open passenger window after he believed Polanco was reaching under the seat.

A grand jury cleared Hamdy of criminal wrongdoing and federal prosecutors said Hamdy didn't intentionally violate Polanco's civil rights. The city has agreed to a $2.5 million settlement with Polanco's family.

Former Officer Jeffrey Copeland Arrested for Misconduct

A former City of Greenville police officer was arrested by SLED agents on Wednesday and charged with misconduct in office and unlawful possession of a sawed-off rifle.

According to a warrant, the former officer, Jeffrey Scott Copeland, 36, of Greenville, responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle. He's accused of taking a Glenfield .22. caliber rifle with a sawed off barrel and two knives from the vehicle's occupant.

No arrest was made after the seizure, and the warrant accuses Copeland of keeping the items.

Copeland was booked at the Greenville County Detention Center.

The arrest is the result of an investigation conducted by SLED at the request of the City of Greenville Police Department. The case will be prosecuted by the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office.

Retired Officer Joseph Ferrante Out on Bail for Child Porn Found Drunk Outside Liquor Store

A retired Peabody cop, out on bail in a child pornography case, was found parked outside a liquor store swigging from separate bottles of vodka and cranberry juice Tuesday morning, police said.

As a result, Joseph Ferrante, 60, of 30 Bresnahan St., Peabody, is being held in custody without bail after a Peabody District Court judge revoked his bail in the child porn case.

According to a police report, Ferrante begged Patrolman Patrick Berardino not to arrest him after Berardino spotted him in a rented Hyundai idling outside of A&L Liquors on Foster Street at 10:25 a.m.

“Pat, please don’t arrest me,” Ferrante allegedly asked the officer. “They will revoke my bail, and I will go to jail.”

Before he approached Ferrante, Berardino watched him drink from the two bottles, one a 200-milliliter (6.8 ounces) bottle of vodka and the other a 16-ounce bottle of cranberry juice. Ferrante then got out of his car holding the two nearly empty bottles and stumbled toward a Dumpster, police said.

Police said Ferrante nearly fell while doing field sobriety tests. There is no indication in court papers that he took a Breathalyzer test.

Ferrante was arrested at the scene and arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Peabody District Court, where Judge Richard Mori not only revoked his $5,000 bail in the child porn case but set additional bail of $500 in the drunken-driving case.

Ferrante is also charged with violating the city’s open container ordinance. He pleaded not guilty to both charges.

In November, he also pleaded not guilty to charges that he stored and shared child pornography on his home computer, which was connected to an online file-sharing service frequently used by pedophiles. Those charges came after an investigator from the Internet Crimes Against Children unit of the state police linked his IP address to one that was offering explicit images of boys.

He is due back in court on April 16 for a probable cause hearing in the child pornography case and a pretrial hearing in the drunken-driving case.

Officer Kyle James McCartin Arrested for Robbing Store

Tuscon Police Officer, Kyle James McCartin, was drunk and belligerent when he walked into a Giant Gas Station wearing his bullet proof vest and began pointing his pistol at the clerk.

Deputies were called to a Giant Gas Station and learned two men who appeared very intoxicated entered the store wearing bulletproof vests.

Authorities say one of the men pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the clerk twice.

The incident was caught on the gas station’s surveillance camera:

 YouTube Video of Incident

The fact that McCartin was drunk is irrelevant in this instance, however the fact that he assaulted a man with a firearm is not. The clerk did not know what these two drunk idiots in bullet proof vests intentions were.

What would have happened if the gun would have gone off?

McCartin was subsequently fired and faced 1 count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a Class 3 Felony. He originally plead not guilty as he claimed to have no memory of the incident, luckily it was caught on camera.

In October of last year McCartin changed his plea to guilty.

Now on to your daily dose of above the law injustice. McCartin plead guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; a charge that carries a sentence of 2 to 21 years.

And exactly how many of those 2 to 21 years will he be serving behind bars? Zero.

Instead, his actions, like the majority of unjust actions committed by members of the state, will remain unaccountable.

Yes, McCartin, who drunkenly and negligently endangered the life of an innocent man will not see one hour behind bars.

Instead, his actions, like the majority of unjust actions committed by members of the state, will remain unaccountable.

Ask yourself this question. Had McCartin not been a cop, would he have spent time behind bars?

Yes, McCartin, who drunkenly and negligently endangered the life of an innocent man will not see one hour behind bars.
Instead, his actions, like the majority of unjust actions committed by members of the state, will remain unaccountable.
Ask yourself this question. Had McCartin not been a cop, would he have spent time behind bars?

Read more at http://thefreethoughtproject.com/drunken-cop-caught-camera-pulling-gun-gas-station-clerk/#Z4TGHHhdKbM1fcOu.99

Yes, McCartin, who drunkenly and negligently endangered the life of an innocent man will not see one hour behind bars.

Officer Craig Taylor Charged with Elderly Mans Death

Park Forest Police Officer Craig Taylor is charged with felony reckless conduct in the death of a 95-year-old man at a senior facility.

He was allowed to remain free without posting bond Wednesday.

John Wrana, 95, died during an altercation with police at the Victory Centre Senior Living Facility in the south suburb. Officer Taylor used a stun gun and fired beanbag rounds at the elderly man, prosecutors say.

Workers at the senior home called paramedics in July 2013 when Wrana became belligerent. They called police, who used a stun gun on Wrana. When that didn't work, Officer Taylor allegedly shot Wrana, who was sitting in a chair, in the stomach with six beanbag rounds from a shotgun.

Police say Wrana threatened workers and officers with a cane, 2-foot-long metal shoehorn originally thought to be a machete and 12-inch butcher knife.

Wrana died from internal bleeding hours after the altercation.

Wrana's family believes excessive force was used, and their attorney said he would have preferred an upgraded charge.

"In an ideal world, perhaps involuntary manslaughter because the statute says where there is a death. There is no question, there was a death that resulted here," Nicholas Grapsas, Wrana family attorney, said.

Taylor, 43, and the father of five, has a spotless record, according to attorney Terry Ekl, and was following orders.

"This is a tragic incident. There no question about that but every tragic incident does not translate into a criminal act. From what I know about this case, I don't believe Officer Taylor engaged in any criminal behavior whatsoever," Ekl said.

Last year, Wrana's family called for an investigation into the case. That led to the charges announced Wednesday. Prosecutors said Taylor was 6 to 8 feet from Wrana when he fired the beanbags, and the required minimum distance is 15 feet.

If convicted, Taylor, a 10-year-veteran with the Park Forest Police Department, faces a 1 to 3 year prison term, according to the Cook County State's Attorney. No other officers are charged in the case.

Officer Mike Russo Arrested for DUI

A Spokane Police Officer has been  placed on administrative leave after he was arrested for DUI Saturday night.

Mike Russo was not on duty at the time of the incident, according to Police spokesperson Monique Cotton.

Russo was arrested after a single car crash in North Spokane. Spokane Police responded to the crash, but the Washington State Patrol was called to the scene and arrested Russo.

The Washington State Patrol is investigating the incident while the police department has launched an internal administrative investigation into Russo's DUI.

Russo was hired by the Spokane Police Department in 2003 and has received eight commendations during his time on the force.

Officer Edward Sawicki III Charged with Assault and Disorderly Conduct

A Philadelphia police officer is charged with disorderly conduct, terroristic threats, assault and related charges in connection with an off-duty incident last year.

The district attorney's office said that at around 3 a.m. on Oct. 20, Edward Sawicki III backed his car into a man walking on a south Philadelphia street, hitting his knee.

The victim banged his hand on the trunk of Sawicki's car when he was struck.

Prosecutors said Sawicki got out of his car, pulled up his shirt to show his city-issued handgun and rushed at the victim, yelling racial epithets and threatening to kill him.

The victim contacted police and Sawicki was identified as a Philadelphia police officer.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said Wednesday that the 34-year-old officer is suspended with the intent to dismiss.

Officer Frederick Allen Pleads Guilty to Two Counts of Sexual Abuse of Minor

A Baltimore police officer has pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual abuse of a minor. Baltimore City State’s Attorney said Frederick Allen, 49, sexually abused a child after knowing her and her family for years. Allen met the victim when she started attending the Fort Worthington Police Athletic League after-school program at the age of six or seven. During the years, Allen forged a close relationship to the victim and her family, frequently driving her home from school and attending family gatherings, officials said. The victim's mother also allowed her and her sister to visit Allen at his home, where the two girls would babysit for Allen and help him with minor home-improvement projects, officials said. In 2005, when the victim was 15 years old and working at the Fort Worthington PAL program, Allen, her on-site supervisor, began to engage in sexual acts with her. Officials said the sexual abuse continued through the victim’s freshman and sophomore years of high school. Allen also sent inappropriate text messages to the cellphone that he bought for her. Allen is scheduled for sentencing on May 23. As a condition of the plea, he was to resign from the police department within one week; however, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts immediately terminated Allen. The police department released a statement saying, "Frederick Allen's reprehensible acts only serve to bring discredit to the hard work of the women and men of the Baltimore Police Department. Due to his felony guilty plea for sexual abuse of a minor, Commissioner Batts rejected any resignation offer and immediately terminated Allen."

Corrections Officer Richard Hanson Accused of Sex Crimes

Continuing coverage on the Presque Isle County corrections officer accused of sex crimes against a woman outside the jail.

The victim says Richard Hanson touched her inappropriately at her home in Rogers City.
Today, Hanson was charged with two counts of force or coercion, which are sex crimes.

State police say the charges involve touching another person for personal gratification.

Hanson is on administrative leave from his position in Presque Isle County.

The case is being handled in Cheboygan County to avoid a conflict of interest.

DOC Lt. John Randall Charged with Child Sexual Assault

A 36-year-old lieutenant with the Texas Department of Corrections was arrested Tuesday afternoon after being indicted by a Bexar County grand jury Monday on a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child, deputies say.

Members of the Bexar County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Apprehension Unit arrested John Randall at his place of work, the Ruben M. Torres Correctional Facility in Hondo.

Deputies said Randall has worked at the facility since May 1, 2012.

Randall is accused of repeated sexual assault of a child from incidents dating back to the summer of 2012, according to the Sheriff's Office.

According to SAPD spokesman Officer Roger Zuniga, the incidents occurred between June 20 and July 5, 2012, at Randall's home on the Northwest Side.

The victim was a 13-year-old female.

The case was originally reported to Hays County Sheriff's officials, who passed it on to San Antonio police after it was determined the incidents occurred in San Antonio.

The victim's guardian said that Randall had assaulted the girl several times in his residence during that two-week period.

It is unclear what the victim was doing in Randall's home or what their relationship may have been.

After his arrest, deputies said Randall was brought to the Magistrate's Office in San Antonio. His bond is set at $75,000.

Former Officer Rex Newport Pleads Guilty to Multiple Felonies

Former Colville Police Officer Rex Newport spent 15 years putting countless criminals in prison. On Tuesday, Newport found out he would be heading off to prison for 29 months himself.

Newport pleaded guilty in February to multiple felony and misdemeanor charges, including unlawful imprisonment with sexual motivation. The court identified Newport's behavior as reckless and the arrogance he displayed was truly disturbing.

"Your honor, I messed up," Newport said, addressing a packed Stevens County courtroom Tuesday morning. "I'm absolutely ashamed of myself."

Last year a woman came forward saying she was drunk when Newport came into her home, handcuffed and sexually assaulted her while he was on duty. Four other women later said Newport made sexual advances towards them as well. In February Newport accepted a plea deal.

Newport's lawyer argued he's a good man, who made terrible mistakes, but the court argued that Newport, "identified and isolated not just these women and others and used the authority of your office to coerce them into sexual activity for no reason but to satisfy your desires," adding that his actions brought shame to himself and black eyes to other Colville police officers. "With the multiple victims, multiple incidents, I would say the only appropriate decision would be the maximum sentence."

Washington Assistant Attorney General John Hillman said he was pleased with Newport's sentence.

"He's also now a convicted felon, a sex offender who will have to register when he is released from prison, he will no longer be able to carry a firearm or work as a police officer in his state," Hillman said.

After years of putting people in handcuffs, Newport was the one to be handcuffed and taken away to prison. Like all Department of Corrections inmates, Newport will be transported to the prison in Shelton, where he'll be assessed and DOC will determine which prison to send him to. They'll take several things into consideration including the length of sentence, nature of crime and his background.

After Newport gets out of prison, he will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Former Officer Walter Knox Charged with Sexual Assault

A former Mesa police officer was arrested and accused of sexually assaulting two women inside an art gallery he owns in Old Town Scottsdale.

42-year-old Walter Knox says he was floored when police arrested him for sexual assault and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Knox has not been charged and he says the alleged victims' claims are bogus and it's all a scam.

The owner of Knox Artifacts near Goldwater and Main Street in Scottsdale was arrested at his high end gallery Thursday.

The alleged victims say a handgun was involved.

"Any incident like that is totally out of whack," said Antonio Mona of Casa de Artistas of Scottsdale.

Fellow gallery owners were taken aback by the allegations.

Knox, who wouldn't talk with us on camera, told us off-camera that he was assaulted in a strip club earlier that night, where he says police identification and prior duty weapon were stolen.

He says a man and the two alleged victims, who claimed to have witnessed that attack, came back to his gallery where he says they tried to get him to invest in a project.

In a police report, Knox admitted to having consensual contact with the women.  He showed us photos of the two alleged victims.  Topless, in the gallery and smiling as they showed off ancient artifacts.

Police say they found meth and suspected cocaine in the back of the gallery, something Knox says the alleged victims left there.  He also claims they stole thousands of dollars from him.

According to the police report, investigators staked out the business for about six hours before arresting Knox as the store closed following an art walk Thursday.

The arrest comes as a shock to others in the high-end art community.

"It's a close knit community of very wonderful people who not only promote the arts, but promote the downtown area of Scottsdale," said Mona.

The alleged victims are 28 and 29-years-old.

Mesa police say Knox took medical retirement in 2005 after serving about 10 years with the department.  They add that retired officers get a police ID saying they're retired officers.  They're also allowed to buy their duty weapon.

Former Dispatcher Tyler Graumenz Sentenced to Probation for Sharing Child Porn

A former Pennsylvania State Police dispatcher from Whitehall Township will spend the next few years on probation for sharing child pornography online.

Tyler Lee Graumenz, 24, was sentenced to five years of probation today by Lehigh County Judge Kelly Banach. Graumenz, who has been free on 10 percent of $10,000 bail, faced a maximum of seven years in prison.

Graumenz will have his computer usage monitored by probation officials and will also have to register as a sex offender under the state's Megan's Law.

Graumenz pleaded guilty back in December to a felony count of possession of child pornography. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped charges of criminal use of a communication facility and sending or receiving obscene or sexual materials via computer.
Graumenz, of the 3000 block of South Second Street, was arrested in August after police said he shared at least six child porn videos online, including one depicting a 9-year-old girl having sex with an adult male.

Graumenz was a dispatcher at the state police station in Lehighton starting in March 2013 and was terminated three days before his arrest.

The videos were discovered during an Allentown Police Department investigation of computers whose users were sharing images of child sexual assaults on the Internet, authorities said.

An officer used software to query searches on a network for known codes for images when he established a connection with a computer sharing six child pornography files, police said. That computer was tracked to Graumenz's home, and a consent search of one of his two computers turned up a folder of pornographic files.

Albuquerque Cops Murder Homeless Man, Then Sick Dog on Him

A graphic video that shows a police shooting of a homeless man in the Albuquerque foothills is raising a firestorm of controversy, and it’s not the first time police there have faced backlash over citizen shootings.

Hundreds have posted outraged comments online and a public protest of the Albuquerque Police Department is planned for Tuesday evening after police last week released the helmet-cam video, which shows officers shooting at a homeless man March 16 who they said was illegally camping, reports CBS affiliate KRQE.

 In the video, the man, James Boyd, 38, appears to turn away before he is shot by police. Boyd later died. He was struck by at least one live round, but the medical investigator’s office hasn’t determined what killed him, reports the Albuquerque Journal.

According to an Albuquerque police spokeswoman, Boyd was carrying knives and threatening to kill the officers. But critics say the incident raises alarming questions about how Albuquerque police use deadly force.

“We’ve reviewed the video, and like many people who have seen it, we found it to be fairly disturbing,” Steve Allen, public policy director for the ACLU of New Mexico, told CBS News’ Crimesider. “It certainly does raise questions about why this tragedy couldn’t have been avoided.”

For critics, the police shooting is an all-too-common occurrence in Albuquerque. Boyd’s death marks the 22nd deadly police-involved shooting since early 2010, said Andrew Lipman, who chaired the city council’s Police Oversight Task Force.

Lipman’s 11-member task force released recommendations in January calling for the creation of a totally new and independent body to act as a citizen oversight group for police.

The task force also called Tuesday for an independent review of Boyd’s shooting.
“They’re viewing this man as kind of the enemy, in a combat situation, and that’s not really what they’re there to do — they’re there to ensure public safety,” Lipman said. “…This man lost his life because he was illegally camping.”

youtube video

Jailer Bobby Byargeon Arrested for Child Molestation

A Stephens County jailer was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated child molestation, the GBI said.

Bobby Byargeon, 57, of Toccoa, faces 10 charges related to the alleged molestation and was booked into the Rabun County jail, GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said in an emailed statement.

On Thursday, the Toccoa Police Department requested the GBI's assistance with an investigation after a victim came forward alleging Byargeon had been molesting them for over a year," Lang said. Byargeon's residence was searched for evidence related to the allegations, she said.

The GBI then obtained arrest warrants for Byargeon, Lang said.

Byargeon has worked as a jailer at the Stephens County jail for seven months, according to the GBI.

Former Officer Alvin Brook Charged with Robbing Bank

A disgraced former officer with the  Mukwonago Police Department was charged on Jan. 17 in federal court with robbing a M&I Bank in June 2010.

According to the federal complaint, Alvin J. Brook was off-duty on June 15, 2010 when he allegedly jumped over the service counter at the M&I Bank in Mukwonago and used his department-issued firearm to strong arm three clerks into giving him more than $50,000 in unmarked cash.

The complaint states that Brooks, 41, threatened to kill the employees if they exited the bank vault and then fled the scene.

One clerk told police investigating the robbery at the time that the suspect seemed to have police or military training, according to the complaint. Another employee said the gun used in the robbery resembled one issued to the investigating officer, a glock model 23.

Police noted that in the surveillance footage it appeared the robber had a hand-held radio antenna protruding from his pocket. One victim said in the complaint that she heard “police chatter” during the incident, as if the suspect had a police scanner on him, the complaint states.

The Wisconsin State Crime Lab was able to pull a latent finger print from a plastic bag left at the scene, according to the complaint, but they could find no matches for the print in the state database.

That changed after Brook was charged in November 2010 with felony misconduct. According to the criminal complaint in that case, Brook falsified preliminary breath tests for his 39-year-old live-in girlfriend, who was ordered to maintain absolute sobriety by a Waukesha County court after being convicted of her third drunken-driving offense.

Brook resigned from the Mukwonago Police Department in December 2010 after 21 years of service. He pleaded no contest to the charges in September 2011 and was sentenced to two years probation with a minimum five-month jail sentence.

Last August law enforcement received information from an unspecified source that Brook had committed the M&I Bank robbery, according to the federal complaint.

The Wisconsin Crime Lab tested the latent print developed from the plastic bag and found it matched a print for Brook. Investigators note in the complaint that it was standard procedure for Mukwonago Police officers to take home hand-held radios and Brook was issued a glock model 22 by the department.

Brook is expected to appear at a bond hearing at the Milwaukee federal courthouse on Monday, Jan. 27.

Brook’s attorney Paul Bucher said that he hopes to get his client out on bail.

“He is presumed innocent and we will have to look at the evidence available to us,” Bucher said.

Brook is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret B. Honrath, according to court records.

Officer Michael Baggett Charged with Domestic Violence

A St. Cloud police officer is under criminal and internal investigations after he was accused of domestic violence, authorities said today.

Officer Michael Baggett was arrested today and charged with domestic violence after he was served with a domestic-violence injunction, St. Cloud Sgt. Denise Roberts said in an email.

Baggett was immediately relieved of his duty as a law enforcement officer and was placed on administrative leave pending a criminal and internal investigation, Roberts said..

Baggett has been employed with the St. Cloud Police Department since June 2011.

He was taken to the Osceola County Jail, where he is being held without bond.

His photo wasn't released. Other details aren't available.

"This is an ongoing 'open' investigation; more information will be released at a later time when it becomes available," Roberts said.

Former Chief Michael Parker Facing Child Sex Charges

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 Everyone, we received a message earlier stating that this cop may have all charges against him dropped in a plea deal because the chief has twice tried to commit suicide. This cop raped and sodomized a little 7-year-old boy dozens of times in the police chief's office at the police department. We ask that all of our followers like and share this post in hopes it goes viral and that the resulting publicity shames the district attorney enough so that he reconsiders and prosecutes this case.
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A big development in case we've been following. You may recall when the former West Columbia police chief disappeared. Now more than a month later, he's turned up again, and he's been indicted on some very serious charges.

As the child sexual assault case against him moves forward, everyone wants to know -- where had he been?

Last August, Michael Parker was running the West Columbia Police Department. We talked to him then about a suspicious letter he was investigating.

"Given the way things are these days, you never know what's going to show up in your mailbox anymore," Parker told us in August 2012.

Now a year later, Palmer is facing multiple charges, including aggravated sexual assault of a child, and eight counts of tampering with evidence.

The former chief went on the run over a month ago when investigators turned up evidence that he'd bound, gagged and sexually assaulted a young boy, repeatedly, beginning in 1998. They even say they found bondage gear in Palmer's office at the police department.

Police and EquuSearch volunteers spent days trying to find him. He finally turned up Monday, near the town of Brazoria, where investigators with the county district attorney's arrested him.

The DA won't say exactly where he was arrested or where he'd been hiding. Palmer was released Tuesday after posting a $75,000 bond.

He wasn't home Friday when we stopped by.

West Columbia residents we talked to said they're glad he's off the street.

"He's got a problem. He's a sick fella evidently. They certainly need to take care of somebody like that," said resident Ike French.

Palmer lost his job in February before the child sex charges were filed when fellow officers complained he was stealing pain killers taken as evidence in police investigations.

Palmer still faces trial on all of the charges against him. The child sex abuse charges alone are enough to send him to prison for life if he's convicted.

Officer Desmond Pleads Guilty to Sex Charges

New Orleans police Officer Desmond Pratt, a former homicide detective who investigated a 2009 murder pinned on accused Central City crime boss Telly Hankton, stood up in orange jail scrubs Friday and lightly fist-bumped a courtroom bailiff.

He crossed his chest with a shackled hand, heaved a nervous breath and gestured to a pair of relatives sitting in the gallery. Pratt then turned to the judge and pleaded guilty to three felony sex charges stemming from separate allegations spanning 15 years, back to his days as a rookie cop.

Criminal District Court Judge Franz Zibilich recited the rights Pratt already knew and was giving up with his plea, then handed him a three-year prison sentence.

Pratt pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual battery and one count of carnal knowledge of a juvenile. He shook his head and frequently glanced back at his weeping family, who sat alongside the dry-eyed mother of the most recent victim.

The deal culminated weeks of plea negotiations between prosecutors and Pratt’s attorney, Robert Jenkins, before a trial scheduled for Tuesday.

Indicted in August, Pratt, 43, faced as much as two decades behind bars if convicted in an aggravated sex crime involving the most recent victim, whose allegation dates from last spring.

The allegation in that case was reduced to sexual battery. Pratt also faced charges of aggravated sexual assault and carnal knowledge of a juvenile from earlier incidents in 1998 and 2001. He pleaded guilty as charged to those counts. All three victims were from 13 to 15 years old at the time of the incidents.

The two older allegations stemmed from complaints made after Pratt was arrested last April.

First, a Texas woman came forward to say Pratt had abused her while she was a student at a New Orleans public school. Police then unearthed an old complaint against Pratt from 2001, when another victim accused him of abuse; NOPD detectives at the time of that complaint determined the evidence to be “inconclusive.”

Prosecutor Jason Napoli acknowledged that the two earlier victims refused to testify in the case and rebuffed prosecutors’ attempts to gain their cooperation. Most recently, Napoli said, the victim from the 1998 incident last week “informed us she was not willing to get on that flight.”

Also, the victim in the most recent incident “does not wish a severe penalty on him,” Napoli told Zibilich.

The girl’s desire, and the lack of cooperation from the others, weighed on the sentence, said Zibilich, who also noted that none of the victims wanted to make a statement in court following Pratt’s plea, as the law allows.

Still, “one can only assume at least some activity occurred,” the judge said of the allegations.

“Whether these victims have actually forgiven you is something I don’t really know,” Zibilich told Pratt. The judge urged Pratt to “address this issue” while in prison and said he would recommend that the state assign him to a special facility for security reasons.

At an earlier hearing, Zibilich had urged Pratt to consider a plea deal, noting that the most serious of the charges in the indictment could have landed him in prison for 20 years if he was convicted. “You’re at risk here,” he said at the March 13 hearing.

Just how Pratt’s conviction could affect pending criminal cases in which he has played a role remains uncertain.

Hankton, who is serving a life prison sentence for a 2008 murder, is among 13 family members and alleged associates charged in a federal racketeering case that wraps together other murders, violent crimes and an alleged drug ring dating back decades.

Among the murders was the slaying of Hankton rival Jessie “TuTu” Reed in 2009. A witness in that case, Hasan “Hockie” Williams, identified Hankton as one of the shooters, according to police, and was gunned down a few weeks later. Pratt played a lead role in the investigation of Reed’s murder, and he requested witness protection for Williams shortly before his killing, according to police documents.

In the meantime, Pratt’s involvement in another case already has caused trouble for District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office. Last year, Pratt refused to testify about a murder investigation. Through his testimony, prosecutors were trying to introduce witness statements that he took, but they were stymied by his silence on the witness stand.

That prosecution, accusing Terrance Nobles, 22, and Demond Taylor, 29, of gunning down 18-year-old Roderick Sheppard in October 2010, remains pending.

Christopher Bowman, a spokesman for Cannizzaro’s office, said he didn’t know how many pending cases may still involve Pratt as a potential witness or what will become of them.

“We’re going to deal with those on a case-by-case basis,” Bowman said.

He also said he didn’t know whether any criminal cases had been scuttled because of the sex allegations against Pratt.

Although Napoli offered no opinion in court Friday about what sentence Zibilich should impose — sexual battery carries a possible sentence of zero to 10 years — Cannizzaro agreed to the plea deal because it locked in prison time for the officer, Bowman said.

“What we got out of the deal was a guarantee for years in prison,” Bowman said. “Also, for the crimes he was convicted of, he will have to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender. We were able to satisfy our public safety objectives as well as the desires of the victims, so this was a good day.”

Pratt will get credit for the 11 months he has spent behind bars, mostly in St. Charles Parish. As he left the courtroom accompanied by an Orleans Parish sheriff’s deputy, Pratt mouthed, “I didn’t do it.” Ambling down the hallway in chains, he stopped to chat with family members and the mother of the most recent victim.

Prosecutors said she had been uncooperative in their investigation — a claim she hotly disputed to the judge.

Former Officer Alexis Robinson Arrested for Child Sex Crimes

A former police officer and head of security at a school district was arrested for multiple child sex crimes, now spanning two states.

Alexis Robinson, 51, was out on bond for sex assault charges in Kansas, when he was recently arrested by El Paso County deputies.

Robinson served as a police officer in Wichita, Kan. for 22 years. He retired as a sergeant in 2006. Then he signed on as a security supervisor with a school district in that community.

More than a year ago, police in Kansas started investigating Robinson for sexually assaulting several children after a 24-year-old man came forward saying he had been molested a decade earlier.

According to arrest papers, during that investigation detectives say an accuser in Colorado came forward, years after the alleged sex abuse. The papers say Robinson visited a family several times at their home in El Paso County in the 1990s. During those visits, the papers allege the suspect made the young boy watch pornographic movies and had him perform sexual acts.

Three victims came forward in Wichita and one has come forward in El Paso County. We are told they were all between the ages of 12 and 15 at the time of those alleged crimes.

Robinson is scheduled to be in court again later this week to discuss his bond.

Officer John T McCavitt Arrested Again for Unauthorized Videotaping

A Peoria police officer who was acquitted of rape charges last week has been arrested again — this time in connection with video recording a different alleged victim without permission.

    John T. McCavitt, 32, of 1710 W. Westaire Ave. was booked Friday into the Peoria County Jail on a felony charge of unauthorized videotaping.

    He admitted in testimony last week that he did not have his alleged victim’s permission in that case to take photographs or video recordings of their sexual encounter.

    But the new arrest stems from a different incident than the one for which he was previously charged, said Peoria police Capt. Mike Eddlemon.

    “We discovered some more information that hadn’t come to light, which led to the new criminal case,” Eddlemon said Friday. “It’s a totally different victim.”

    The evidence for the new case was uncovered during an internal investigation into McCavitt, which commenced after the criminal case concluded. The Peoria Police Department by policy waits to conduct an internal investigation until pending criminal matters against officers are resolved.

    McCavitt was taken into custody at 7:35 p.m. Friday in the 5900 block of North Sherwood Place, according to a news release from the department. Eddlemon said the alleged unauthorized video recording took place at McCavitt’s home on Westaire Avenue last year.

    When the allegation of sexual assault surfaced in July, the Illinois State Police were called in to investigate, and McCavitt was placed on paid administrative leave. The trial on that case commenced last week. A jury deliberated for only 40 minutes March 19 after a two-day trial before acquitting McCavitt of a charge of sexual assault.

    His alleged victim was an acquaintance who had been out drinking with McCavitt and his live-in girlfriend on the night of July 16 before the trio ended up back at McCavitt’s home early on the morning of July 17.

    The woman testified she went to sleep in a spare bedroom fully clothed and woke up in restraints before she was sexually assaulted. She claimed she “played possum” while she was being raped out of fear.

    McCavitt, however, told jurors the sex was consensual after she flirted with him, and he stopped and removed the restraints when the acquaintance asked him.

    The day after the alleged rape, McCavitt called in sick for his patrol shift, would not answer the door for Illinois State Police investigators and attempted to delete files from his phone and computer, according to court documents and trial testimony.

    McCavitt remains on leave from the department and will be kept on that status until the new criminal charges are resolved.