A family in Brooklyn is claiming police used excessive force on a man.
NYPD officers were called to the home to help a man who is bipolar and schizophrenic. They were asked to take him to the hospital.
The family claims 26-year-old Gamalier Reyes was beaten by officers. But police claim he attacked them first and may also have suffered injuries elsewhere.
It happened inside one apartment, with the alleged victim's family in another. They could hear what was going on, but could do nothing to help.
"I saw my brother," Zully DelaCruz said. "He was already handcuffed, and I could see the blood."
DelaCruz says she called 911 for paramedics, not for what she claims was police brutality.
Her brother needed a doctor Saturday because he didn't take his medication for his schizophrenia. She says minutes later, eight officers crammed into the hallway of their Bushwick apartment building and shoved her family into a next door apartment, leaving her mentally ill brother alone with police.
"He only demanded to be left alone," she said. "Instead, he was attacked by the police officers."
"Just imagine yourself on the other side of a door, while your loved one is screaming and begging for help while they hit them," sister Indhira Reyes said.
In front of the 83rd Police Precinct Tuesday morning, the family demanded the officers be held accountable.
But police tell a very different story about what happened inside the Irving Avenue apartment.
Officers say Gamalier told them, "You're going to have to kill me. I'm not going."
And they say that when they tried to restrain him, he punched one in the face and hurt another officer's leg.
Also, 911 transcripts show an emergency operator saying, "Alright, so he's threatening. Irrational. And he's restless, he won't go to sleep, right?"
Then, the family's social worker says, "No, they just came back from the Dominican Republic. They had to come back early because he got in a fight; he was very aggressive over there; he got in a fight over there; he got his head cracked open and they just came back."
Gamalier's sister admits her brother was in a fight. But she claims the multiple surgeries her brother now needs were caused by police.
"When he arrived to the United States, he was fine," she said. "He was not injured. All those bruises and broken bones, the police department did that to him."
The family put in a complaint to the precinct. They have met with an attorney and plans to fill a lawsuit.
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WEB PRODUCED BY: Bill King
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/nyregion/14complaint.html
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Officer Bryan Carter Reprimanded Twice Before
A Kingsport police officer recently investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was reprimanded on two previous occasions for improper handling of seized items.
In February 2003, Kingsport Police Department Officer Bryan Carter’s superiors discovered he had not turned in a gun, three ammunition clips and a bottle of Absolut vodka to the evidence unit. The items were seized 11 months prior, in March 2002, while Carter was moonlighting as a security officer at Coconuts nightclub.
And in April 2005, police called Carter at his home because he had failed to turn in money seized during an arrest the previous evening.
For each incident, Carter was suspended for eight hours without pay. He was not placed on probation.
This February, following a TBI investigation of a traffic stop Carter effected on two Mexican citizens in October, Carter was suspended three days without pay. He was also suspended from working the interstate for 90 days and issued remedial training on the preservation and handling of evidence.
During that Interstate 81 stop, $2,675 was seized from the subjects, who were then allowed to drive away despite the fact that neither had a valid driver’s license and they were in possession of drug paraphernalia: a pill crusher, marijuana grinder and clear baggies.
Carter provided the driver a Tennessee Notice of Property Seizure detailing the seizure of $2,675. However, he did not identify himself as the officer effecting the seizure, or even the law enforcement agency. And no incident report on the stop was filed at the police station.
The Mexican citizens contacted Johnson City attorney Don Spurrell, claiming Carter seized about $4,500. According to Sullivan County District Attorney Greeley Wells, who requested that the TBI investigate the October incident, Carter’s actions would have been presented to the grand jury under the official misconduct statute except that the car’s occupants have returned to Mexico and will not return as witnesses.
Kingsport Police Chief Gale Osborne wrote in a February memo to Carter that “I believe we handled this particular case in a very poor manner.” Osborne also noted that Carter had been counseled twice previously on the proper handling of evidence, and has “brought questions as to the integrity and professionalism of the Kingsport Police Department.”
“I will not tolerate this type of sloppy police work in the future,” Osborne wrote.
Carter’s personnel file indicates he was hired as a jailer in 1998 and promoted to police officer in 2001. His first reprimand in regard to handling evidence came in 2003.
According to a KPD memo from April of that year, Capt. Ed Swayze discovered a Smith & Wesson gun, three ammunition clips and bottle of vodka were missing from the evidence unit. All the items had been seized as evidence more than a year earlier in an arrest initiated by Carter.
The memo says Carter was moonlighting at Coconuts nightclub on March 22, 2002. While there he arrested a man for driving while intoxicated, two counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by an intoxicated person.
City records state that Officer Terry Christian, who was on duty at the time, filled out most of the incident report. The narrative, explaining what happened in the incident, was completed by Carter. Christian then listed the vodka, guns and clips as seized evidence.
However, according to the police memo from 2003, it was about 11 months after the arrest before it was discovered that none of the items had been turned in to the evidence unit. When asked about the items, Carter told his supervisors he obtained a “destruction order” for the evidence. Carter claimed he turned the order into the evidence unit and retained a copy for himself.
“No destruction order has been produced by you or located in the evidence unit,” reads the memo from Mark Addington, chief of Kingsport police at the time.
Carter was suspended eight hours without pay for his handling of the incident. He was also issued a refresher course on “remedial training on the handling of Evidence/Found Property and the Code of Conduct,” according to the memo.
According to a police memo dated June 10, 2005, another disciplinary action against Carter was initiated by complaints from the mother of a man he arrested. The amount of money seized and the reason the suspect was arrested are not addressed in the memo. It states that the suspect was released the following day, but his money had not been entered as evidence.
“There was no record in the evidence unit of the cash having been turned in to the evidence unit,” reads the memo from Chief Addington. “Subsequently, an inquiry with you that morning after being called at home determined that you had, in fact, seized money during the arrest in accordance with state law. However, you had kept the money and other paperwork in your car as opposed to turning it in to the evidence unit before you went home from work.”
The memo states that general orders for filing evidence had been discussed with Carter before; that all paperwork and seized items are to be submitted as evidence at the end of a shift.
“This office recognizes that you have excellent skills in performing your police duties and I appreciate that, however, it is paramount that for the benefit of maintaining your integrity as well as the department’s and criminal justice system as a whole by following the evidence procedures,” Addington wrote. “I strongly urge you to make a better effort in following the rules.”
In this incident, Carter was again suspended eight hours without pay. He was also again ordered to be retrained on the handling of evidence and was “transferred from the Community Policing Unit to a patrol platoon for closer supervision.”
Tim Whaley, the city’s public relations director, said Osborne had no comment on Carter’s previous reprimands, as they were issued under a previous police chief.
The Times-News has attempted to acquire a copy of the TBI’s recent probe of Carter. After learning of his October traffic stop of two Mexican citizens, a request was filed with the city on April 3.
The city has denied that request, claiming that under Tennessee Code, TBI records are confidential. The Times-News has asked its attorney to review the matter.
According to Nashville attorney Frank Gibson, executive director for the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, the city’s stance would be correct only if the incident were still under investigation. Since the case has been closed and no criminal charges are pending, “There’s no need to keep it secret.”
_______________________
Previous articles:
Kingsport officials awaiting information on TBI report involving officer
TBI investigates Kingsport officer for taking money during traffic stop, letting suspects go free with no charges
District attorney holding Kingsport Police Department to higher standard
Kingsport denies FOIA request for TBI investigation of police officer
In February 2003, Kingsport Police Department Officer Bryan Carter’s superiors discovered he had not turned in a gun, three ammunition clips and a bottle of Absolut vodka to the evidence unit. The items were seized 11 months prior, in March 2002, while Carter was moonlighting as a security officer at Coconuts nightclub.
And in April 2005, police called Carter at his home because he had failed to turn in money seized during an arrest the previous evening.
For each incident, Carter was suspended for eight hours without pay. He was not placed on probation.
This February, following a TBI investigation of a traffic stop Carter effected on two Mexican citizens in October, Carter was suspended three days without pay. He was also suspended from working the interstate for 90 days and issued remedial training on the preservation and handling of evidence.
During that Interstate 81 stop, $2,675 was seized from the subjects, who were then allowed to drive away despite the fact that neither had a valid driver’s license and they were in possession of drug paraphernalia: a pill crusher, marijuana grinder and clear baggies.
Carter provided the driver a Tennessee Notice of Property Seizure detailing the seizure of $2,675. However, he did not identify himself as the officer effecting the seizure, or even the law enforcement agency. And no incident report on the stop was filed at the police station.
The Mexican citizens contacted Johnson City attorney Don Spurrell, claiming Carter seized about $4,500. According to Sullivan County District Attorney Greeley Wells, who requested that the TBI investigate the October incident, Carter’s actions would have been presented to the grand jury under the official misconduct statute except that the car’s occupants have returned to Mexico and will not return as witnesses.
Kingsport Police Chief Gale Osborne wrote in a February memo to Carter that “I believe we handled this particular case in a very poor manner.” Osborne also noted that Carter had been counseled twice previously on the proper handling of evidence, and has “brought questions as to the integrity and professionalism of the Kingsport Police Department.”
“I will not tolerate this type of sloppy police work in the future,” Osborne wrote.
Carter’s personnel file indicates he was hired as a jailer in 1998 and promoted to police officer in 2001. His first reprimand in regard to handling evidence came in 2003.
According to a KPD memo from April of that year, Capt. Ed Swayze discovered a Smith & Wesson gun, three ammunition clips and bottle of vodka were missing from the evidence unit. All the items had been seized as evidence more than a year earlier in an arrest initiated by Carter.
The memo says Carter was moonlighting at Coconuts nightclub on March 22, 2002. While there he arrested a man for driving while intoxicated, two counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by an intoxicated person.
City records state that Officer Terry Christian, who was on duty at the time, filled out most of the incident report. The narrative, explaining what happened in the incident, was completed by Carter. Christian then listed the vodka, guns and clips as seized evidence.
However, according to the police memo from 2003, it was about 11 months after the arrest before it was discovered that none of the items had been turned in to the evidence unit. When asked about the items, Carter told his supervisors he obtained a “destruction order” for the evidence. Carter claimed he turned the order into the evidence unit and retained a copy for himself.
“No destruction order has been produced by you or located in the evidence unit,” reads the memo from Mark Addington, chief of Kingsport police at the time.
Carter was suspended eight hours without pay for his handling of the incident. He was also issued a refresher course on “remedial training on the handling of Evidence/Found Property and the Code of Conduct,” according to the memo.
According to a police memo dated June 10, 2005, another disciplinary action against Carter was initiated by complaints from the mother of a man he arrested. The amount of money seized and the reason the suspect was arrested are not addressed in the memo. It states that the suspect was released the following day, but his money had not been entered as evidence.
“There was no record in the evidence unit of the cash having been turned in to the evidence unit,” reads the memo from Chief Addington. “Subsequently, an inquiry with you that morning after being called at home determined that you had, in fact, seized money during the arrest in accordance with state law. However, you had kept the money and other paperwork in your car as opposed to turning it in to the evidence unit before you went home from work.”
The memo states that general orders for filing evidence had been discussed with Carter before; that all paperwork and seized items are to be submitted as evidence at the end of a shift.
“This office recognizes that you have excellent skills in performing your police duties and I appreciate that, however, it is paramount that for the benefit of maintaining your integrity as well as the department’s and criminal justice system as a whole by following the evidence procedures,” Addington wrote. “I strongly urge you to make a better effort in following the rules.”
In this incident, Carter was again suspended eight hours without pay. He was also again ordered to be retrained on the handling of evidence and was “transferred from the Community Policing Unit to a patrol platoon for closer supervision.”
Tim Whaley, the city’s public relations director, said Osborne had no comment on Carter’s previous reprimands, as they were issued under a previous police chief.
The Times-News has attempted to acquire a copy of the TBI’s recent probe of Carter. After learning of his October traffic stop of two Mexican citizens, a request was filed with the city on April 3.
The city has denied that request, claiming that under Tennessee Code, TBI records are confidential. The Times-News has asked its attorney to review the matter.
According to Nashville attorney Frank Gibson, executive director for the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, the city’s stance would be correct only if the incident were still under investigation. Since the case has been closed and no criminal charges are pending, “There’s no need to keep it secret.”
_______________________
Previous articles:
Kingsport officials awaiting information on TBI report involving officer
TBI investigates Kingsport officer for taking money during traffic stop, letting suspects go free with no charges
District attorney holding Kingsport Police Department to higher standard
Kingsport denies FOIA request for TBI investigation of police officer
Deputy Melissa McKissick Arrested for Battery
Floyd County Sheriff’s Deputy Melissa McKissick has been arrested and charged with battery, affray and public disturbance of a public school following a fight at Rome High School.
According to the affidavits for arrest McKissick was involved in a fight with a student inside Rome High. The affidavit for the battery charge said: McKissick “did commit the offense of battery when she caused substantial visible bodily harm to (a student) at Rome High School.” The name of the student had been marked out.
Rome City Police are investigating the incident. Attempts to contact the detective in charge of the case have not yet been successful.
Chief Deputy Tom Caldwell said that McKissick works in operations at the Floyd County jail. He said she is on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation. He couldn’t comment further because the investigation is ongoing.
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http://romenews-tribune.com/pages/full_story?article-Deputy%20arrested%20in%20wake%20of%20Rome%20High%20altercation%20%20=&page_label=home&id=2316690&widget=push&instance=home_Most_popular&open=&
Officer Gino G Payne Quits Amid Allegations he Sexually Assaulted Woman
The Atlanta police officer who quit amid allegations he sexually assaulted a woman while on duty has been identified as Gino G. Payne, 24, of Atlanta, police said.
Payne resigned on Feb. 19, almost two weeks after a Marietta woman accused Payne and another officer of assaulting her while they were supposed to be giving her a ride home.
Both officers were put on desk duty when the allegations surfaced. The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office is handling the criminal investigation, which is ongoing, according to Atlanta police.
Payne began working for the department on Sept. 4, 2007.
On the night of the incident, the woman and a female friend left a bar and were heading home when they were involved in a wreck in East Atlanta.
Atlanta police arrested the driver and offered the passenger a ride home.
The passenger later called police from a hospital in north Cobb County and reported the allegations.
___________________
Other information:
http://wsbradio.com/localnews/2009/04/accused-apd-cop-quits.html
Payne resigned on Feb. 19, almost two weeks after a Marietta woman accused Payne and another officer of assaulting her while they were supposed to be giving her a ride home.
Both officers were put on desk duty when the allegations surfaced. The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office is handling the criminal investigation, which is ongoing, according to Atlanta police.
Payne began working for the department on Sept. 4, 2007.
On the night of the incident, the woman and a female friend left a bar and were heading home when they were involved in a wreck in East Atlanta.
Atlanta police arrested the driver and offered the passenger a ride home.
The passenger later called police from a hospital in north Cobb County and reported the allegations.
___________________
Other information:
http://wsbradio.com/localnews/2009/04/accused-apd-cop-quits.html
Robert Mitchells Family Vents Anger Over Taser Death
Warren
Relatives of a Detroit high school student who died Friday after Warren Police zapped him with a Taser are vowing legal action against the city and have joined forces with an anti-police brutality group to speak out against the devices.
Family members of Robert Mitchell say the 16-year-old was a quiet kid with a learning disability who loved sports and stayed out of trouble. They say they don't understand why Warren officers felt the unarmed teen, who took medication for attention-deficit disorder, posed a threat after a foot chase that ended in an abandoned home in Detroit.
"I want some answers," said Mitchell's grandmother, Charlotte McGlory of St. Clair Shores. "This doesn't make sense. Is this how we deal with our youth? Is this the behavior of those sworn to protect them?"
According to police, the Detroit Kettering High School sophomore bailed out of the Dodge Stratus he was riding in during a traffic stop for an expired license plate on Eight Mile near Schoenherr. He discarded his jacket before leading officers on a half-block chase to a home on Pelkey.
Police said Mitchell complied at first, but when officers tried to pat him down, he resisted and was stunned one time with a Taser. Shortly after, he became unresponsive and died. He was the second Michigan teen to die after being hit with a Taser in the past month; a 15-year-old from Bay City died March 22.
The results of an autopsy conducted Saturday are pending, but police said the medical examiner found no signs of trauma to the body.
Paul Broschay, a Southfield attorney retained by the family, said his firm is investigating the incident and plans to file a lawsuit on the family's behalf.
"It's becoming more and more common for police officers to resort to the use of these dangerous weapons for no justifiable reason," he said. "Especially when we have a 16-year-old boy who is unarmed and terrified and police officers on the scene have overwhelming force."
But Warren Police maintain the actions of both officers involved were justified. The two were placed on paid leave Friday and are expected to return to work today.
"We're confident our officers were within guidelines and policies and their actions were appropriate," Warren Deputy Police Commissioner Jere Green said. "This person was bolting from the vehicle and it certainly raises the level of suspicion."
Mitchell's family has partnered with the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality and plans to go before Warren City Council to argue against Taser use by its police force.
"I am going to do everything I can to make sure this doesn't happen to another family," McGlory said. Mitchell's funeral is being planned for this weekend.
_____________________
Other information:
http://www.detnews.com/
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090415/METRO/904150384/1409/METRO/Officials+pressured+to+rethink+Taser+use
Relatives of a Detroit high school student who died Friday after Warren Police zapped him with a Taser are vowing legal action against the city and have joined forces with an anti-police brutality group to speak out against the devices.
Family members of Robert Mitchell say the 16-year-old was a quiet kid with a learning disability who loved sports and stayed out of trouble. They say they don't understand why Warren officers felt the unarmed teen, who took medication for attention-deficit disorder, posed a threat after a foot chase that ended in an abandoned home in Detroit.
"I want some answers," said Mitchell's grandmother, Charlotte McGlory of St. Clair Shores. "This doesn't make sense. Is this how we deal with our youth? Is this the behavior of those sworn to protect them?"
According to police, the Detroit Kettering High School sophomore bailed out of the Dodge Stratus he was riding in during a traffic stop for an expired license plate on Eight Mile near Schoenherr. He discarded his jacket before leading officers on a half-block chase to a home on Pelkey.
Police said Mitchell complied at first, but when officers tried to pat him down, he resisted and was stunned one time with a Taser. Shortly after, he became unresponsive and died. He was the second Michigan teen to die after being hit with a Taser in the past month; a 15-year-old from Bay City died March 22.
The results of an autopsy conducted Saturday are pending, but police said the medical examiner found no signs of trauma to the body.
Paul Broschay, a Southfield attorney retained by the family, said his firm is investigating the incident and plans to file a lawsuit on the family's behalf.
"It's becoming more and more common for police officers to resort to the use of these dangerous weapons for no justifiable reason," he said. "Especially when we have a 16-year-old boy who is unarmed and terrified and police officers on the scene have overwhelming force."
But Warren Police maintain the actions of both officers involved were justified. The two were placed on paid leave Friday and are expected to return to work today.
"We're confident our officers were within guidelines and policies and their actions were appropriate," Warren Deputy Police Commissioner Jere Green said. "This person was bolting from the vehicle and it certainly raises the level of suspicion."
Mitchell's family has partnered with the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality and plans to go before Warren City Council to argue against Taser use by its police force.
"I am going to do everything I can to make sure this doesn't happen to another family," McGlory said. Mitchell's funeral is being planned for this weekend.
_____________________
Other information:
http://www.detnews.com/
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090415/METRO/904150384/1409/METRO/Officials+pressured+to+rethink+Taser+use
Attorney Billy Spruell Sues Troopers who Threw Him Against Wall
Originally accused of obstructing officers, attorney sues troopers who witnesses said threw him against a wall after he was told to turn off his phone outside courtroom.
More than two years after he was thrown to the ground and arrested after being warned to put away his cell phone as he waited to plead a client's DUI case, charges against Marietta, Ga., attorney Billy L. Spruell have been dropped by the Fulton County district attorney.
But the case is not over: Spruell has filed suit in federal court in Atlanta against the two state troopers who hauled him, bleeding and in handcuffs, out of a waiting area at the Office of State Administrative Hearings in downtown Atlanta and charged him with obstructing an officer.
According to witnesses who spoke to the Daily Report at the time, Spruell was among several attorneys waiting outside the administrative courtroom in the Peachtree Street building housing OSAH on Feb. 13, 2007, when State Patrol Cpl. George R. Harper approached and told them to either put away their phones or leave the court offices.
Attorney David M. Zagoria said Spruell continued to talk on his phone, but walked out past a security checkpoint to "a little alcove where the stairs are."
Harper again told Spruell to leave the suite or hang up and, according to a State Patrol spokesman at the time, Spruell "became uncooperative" and cursed the officer. Harper, who was working off-duty at the court, attempted to arrest him. Trooper Stacey A. Forrest, who was attending court to testify in an unrelated case, pitched in to subdue Spruell, wrestling the then-68-year-old lawyer to the ground.
In the process, said Zagoria, Spruell was pushed into a wall, "and his head just made this sickening crunch."
The troopers, said attorney Gregory A. Willis, who was also on hand, "slammed Billy's head into the wall, into this black metal frame. I saw hair and blood there afterward."
Spruell's Feb. 10 suit accuses the troopers of excessive force and battery and essentially reiterates that version of events. It says that Harper followed Spruell into the hallway after ordering him from the waiting area "whereupon, suddenly and without warning, assaulted him, following which Defendant Forrest joined Defendant Harper and 'took him down,' which they did in such a violent way as to cause serious physical injuries."
Among those injuries, says the suit, were a concussion and contusions and lacerations to his lip, face and head. His teeth were also damaged, and his wrist and shoulder were strained, it says.
Spruell referred questions to his attorney, James A. Eidson of Hapeville, who said he had numerous witnesses to the arrest who could corroborate Spruell's version.
"They charged him with obstruction, but they never even told him he was under arrest until after they tackled him," said Eidson. "What was he obstructing?"
In fighting that charge, Spruell sought the help of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' "Strike Force," which provides representation to member attorneys charged with contempt or other offenses during their representation of a client. He requested that Lawrenceville, Ga., attorney Christine A. Koehler, who was recently named president of the organization, take his case.
On April 1 she received a letter from Fulton County Senior Assistant District Attorney Kellie S. Hill of the office's Public Integrity Unit saying the charges had been dropped.
Her office had "exhaustively investigated" the allegations surrounding the incident, wrote Hill, "and our findings indicate that there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution against your client, Mr. Spruell, or any other party involved."
Eidson said that, as a result of that letter, he also will be adding a charge of false arrest to his complaint.
On April 4, the office of Georgia Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker filed a motion to dismiss, citing sovereign immunity. Baker spokeswoman Kelley Jackson declined further comment on the case.
A Georgia State Patrol public information officer, Lt. Paul L. Cosper, said he was unfamiliar with Spruell's suit and unaware of any related investigations conducted by his department.
I don't know Mr. Spruell or what his intentions are," said Coster. "These troopers were doing their job."
More than two years after he was thrown to the ground and arrested after being warned to put away his cell phone as he waited to plead a client's DUI case, charges against Marietta, Ga., attorney Billy L. Spruell have been dropped by the Fulton County district attorney.
But the case is not over: Spruell has filed suit in federal court in Atlanta against the two state troopers who hauled him, bleeding and in handcuffs, out of a waiting area at the Office of State Administrative Hearings in downtown Atlanta and charged him with obstructing an officer.
According to witnesses who spoke to the Daily Report at the time, Spruell was among several attorneys waiting outside the administrative courtroom in the Peachtree Street building housing OSAH on Feb. 13, 2007, when State Patrol Cpl. George R. Harper approached and told them to either put away their phones or leave the court offices.
Attorney David M. Zagoria said Spruell continued to talk on his phone, but walked out past a security checkpoint to "a little alcove where the stairs are."
Harper again told Spruell to leave the suite or hang up and, according to a State Patrol spokesman at the time, Spruell "became uncooperative" and cursed the officer. Harper, who was working off-duty at the court, attempted to arrest him. Trooper Stacey A. Forrest, who was attending court to testify in an unrelated case, pitched in to subdue Spruell, wrestling the then-68-year-old lawyer to the ground.
In the process, said Zagoria, Spruell was pushed into a wall, "and his head just made this sickening crunch."
The troopers, said attorney Gregory A. Willis, who was also on hand, "slammed Billy's head into the wall, into this black metal frame. I saw hair and blood there afterward."
Spruell's Feb. 10 suit accuses the troopers of excessive force and battery and essentially reiterates that version of events. It says that Harper followed Spruell into the hallway after ordering him from the waiting area "whereupon, suddenly and without warning, assaulted him, following which Defendant Forrest joined Defendant Harper and 'took him down,' which they did in such a violent way as to cause serious physical injuries."
Among those injuries, says the suit, were a concussion and contusions and lacerations to his lip, face and head. His teeth were also damaged, and his wrist and shoulder were strained, it says.
Spruell referred questions to his attorney, James A. Eidson of Hapeville, who said he had numerous witnesses to the arrest who could corroborate Spruell's version.
"They charged him with obstruction, but they never even told him he was under arrest until after they tackled him," said Eidson. "What was he obstructing?"
In fighting that charge, Spruell sought the help of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' "Strike Force," which provides representation to member attorneys charged with contempt or other offenses during their representation of a client. He requested that Lawrenceville, Ga., attorney Christine A. Koehler, who was recently named president of the organization, take his case.
On April 1 she received a letter from Fulton County Senior Assistant District Attorney Kellie S. Hill of the office's Public Integrity Unit saying the charges had been dropped.
Her office had "exhaustively investigated" the allegations surrounding the incident, wrote Hill, "and our findings indicate that there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution against your client, Mr. Spruell, or any other party involved."
Eidson said that, as a result of that letter, he also will be adding a charge of false arrest to his complaint.
On April 4, the office of Georgia Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker filed a motion to dismiss, citing sovereign immunity. Baker spokeswoman Kelley Jackson declined further comment on the case.
A Georgia State Patrol public information officer, Lt. Paul L. Cosper, said he was unfamiliar with Spruell's suit and unaware of any related investigations conducted by his department.
I don't know Mr. Spruell or what his intentions are," said Coster. "These troopers were doing their job."
Colby Students Rally Against Excessive Force
An Easter Sunday encounter between students at Colby College and campus security has thrown the campus into turmoil. College officials say that security was trying to restrain students who were interfering with their task of helping another student who was ill. But a student-made video of the incident now widely viewed on campus has drawn cries of excessive force from the student body, who turned out by the hundreds this afternoon for a rally.
At noon, about 800 Colby students, roughly half the student body, stopped what they were doing and converged on the campus center to protest a Sunday incident at the Pugh student center that resulted in the arrest of two students. They wore red shirts in solidarity.
"So on the night in question I also was there in the Pugh Center," said Cynia Barnwell, one of about 10 students who shared eyewitness accounts with the crowd from under a towering flagpole. "The security officers knees was on the back of student A's neck and I began to cry and I questioned why this was happening, I questioned why they were using such force, what did he do, things of that nature."
The two students arrested were identified as 22-year-old Ozzy Ramirez, of the Bronx, New York, and 21-year-old Jacob Roundtree, of St. Albans, New York. Both were charged with assault and criminal trespass.
Police, who were called to assist campus police, say the incident unfolded after a college dance, when Colby's emergency's response team was trying to help an intoxicated student.
Joseph Massey is Waterville's police chief. "It all stemmed from apparently some students not wanting another student, who was intoxicated - and medical treatment was trying to be delivered to that student by some EMTs who were also students, and for some reason this large group of students, who obviously a lot of them had been drinking, didn't want the student to receive medical treatment."
The college says one student -- a reference to Ramirez, according to student eyewitnesses -- reportedly took issue with what was going on, and intefered with what the emergency response team was doing, both verbally and physically. The second student, identified as Roundtree by students, also verbally and physically interfered. Police say both were also drunk.
But fellow students say that campus security was overreacting and they point to a video that student Reesa Kashuk captured with her digital camera. The video shows two security officers restraining a man identified as Ramierez to the ground, as a small pool of blood collects around his face. The man screams "Let me go!" as his friends alternate between screaming and urging him to calm down.
Students demanded an apology from the college administration, who were invited to speak at the rally. They didn't get one. But college President William Adams expressed his sympathy toward the students. "I hear you, I understand, and I understand the level of upset that has been expressed today and previously and will continue to be expressed, and I need you to know that I share a level of profound upset."
Adams said that the college was conducting a thorough and fair investigation into what happened. The school has not taken any action against the students who were arrested or the security officers. "I'm working on identifying somebody from outside the institution to look at all these pieces that we're putting together, an independent voice, if you will, an investigator to take stock of what we gather and what we have said and what is being said by students and others."
Adams said the college administration would also sponsor a forum with the public that would allow students to ask questions.
The fact that the two students arrested were Hispanic and African-American, respectively, has prompted student complaints of racial discrimination. Juniors Lane Phillips and Kelsey Gibbs, who are white, said they didn't think that white students would have been treated the same way. I don't think it's a coincidence they happen to be two minority students on a campus of predominantly white, odds are against it being possible. There's no doubt in my mind," Phillips says.
"At the same time, I don't think security had the intention of beating up minority students. But at a same time, I don't think, in that same situation, I don't think it would have escalated to that level if they had been white.
Waterville Police Chief Massey said there have been no charges of racial discrimination filed. He says the allegations distract from the real issue: excessive college drinking.
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Other Information: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090415/NEWS0104/904159972/-1/CITIZEN
At noon, about 800 Colby students, roughly half the student body, stopped what they were doing and converged on the campus center to protest a Sunday incident at the Pugh student center that resulted in the arrest of two students. They wore red shirts in solidarity.
"So on the night in question I also was there in the Pugh Center," said Cynia Barnwell, one of about 10 students who shared eyewitness accounts with the crowd from under a towering flagpole. "The security officers knees was on the back of student A's neck and I began to cry and I questioned why this was happening, I questioned why they were using such force, what did he do, things of that nature."
The two students arrested were identified as 22-year-old Ozzy Ramirez, of the Bronx, New York, and 21-year-old Jacob Roundtree, of St. Albans, New York. Both were charged with assault and criminal trespass.
Police, who were called to assist campus police, say the incident unfolded after a college dance, when Colby's emergency's response team was trying to help an intoxicated student.
Joseph Massey is Waterville's police chief. "It all stemmed from apparently some students not wanting another student, who was intoxicated - and medical treatment was trying to be delivered to that student by some EMTs who were also students, and for some reason this large group of students, who obviously a lot of them had been drinking, didn't want the student to receive medical treatment."
The college says one student -- a reference to Ramirez, according to student eyewitnesses -- reportedly took issue with what was going on, and intefered with what the emergency response team was doing, both verbally and physically. The second student, identified as Roundtree by students, also verbally and physically interfered. Police say both were also drunk.
But fellow students say that campus security was overreacting and they point to a video that student Reesa Kashuk captured with her digital camera. The video shows two security officers restraining a man identified as Ramierez to the ground, as a small pool of blood collects around his face. The man screams "Let me go!" as his friends alternate between screaming and urging him to calm down.
Students demanded an apology from the college administration, who were invited to speak at the rally. They didn't get one. But college President William Adams expressed his sympathy toward the students. "I hear you, I understand, and I understand the level of upset that has been expressed today and previously and will continue to be expressed, and I need you to know that I share a level of profound upset."
Adams said that the college was conducting a thorough and fair investigation into what happened. The school has not taken any action against the students who were arrested or the security officers. "I'm working on identifying somebody from outside the institution to look at all these pieces that we're putting together, an independent voice, if you will, an investigator to take stock of what we gather and what we have said and what is being said by students and others."
Adams said the college administration would also sponsor a forum with the public that would allow students to ask questions.
The fact that the two students arrested were Hispanic and African-American, respectively, has prompted student complaints of racial discrimination. Juniors Lane Phillips and Kelsey Gibbs, who are white, said they didn't think that white students would have been treated the same way. I don't think it's a coincidence they happen to be two minority students on a campus of predominantly white, odds are against it being possible. There's no doubt in my mind," Phillips says.
"At the same time, I don't think security had the intention of beating up minority students. But at a same time, I don't think, in that same situation, I don't think it would have escalated to that level if they had been white.
Waterville Police Chief Massey said there have been no charges of racial discrimination filed. He says the allegations distract from the real issue: excessive college drinking.
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Other Information: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090415/NEWS0104/904159972/-1/CITIZEN
Former Officer Michael Roberts Indicted for Selling Police Records to Gang Members
Federal officials have denied a request for some documents in the case against a former Minneapolis Police officer accused of corruption and tax fraud. However, a judge ruled elements of the case would be separated.
Former Officer Michael David Roberts has been indicted by a federal grand jury, accused of selling police records to a gang member and failing to report $100,000 in income from off-duty security jobs to the IRS, according to court documents.
Earlier this month, his attorneys had asked to throw out some internal affairs reports and sever the tax accounts against him.
According to court documents, attorneys argue that Roberts was told by internal affairs investigators to either make a statement regarding the accusations against him or risk losing his job.
Roberts’ attorneys say that threat deprived him of his constitutional protections. They also want the tax case against Roberts to be separated from the other allegations because they’re unrelated.
The prosecution filed its own motion seeking, in part, to stop the defense from alleging at trial that Roberts is being prosecuted because of racism inside the Minneapolis Police Department.
The government responded Monday, stating the internal affairs reports would not be tossed out, based on entrapment and prejudicial claims made by Roberts' attorneys. But a federal judge ruled Tuesday that the tax and bribery counts against Roberts would be explored in a separate case.
Prosecutors say Roberts has confessed to selling the records, but hasn't pleaded in the tax charges. Roberts' trial is set for May 5.
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Related stories: Indicted former MPD officer asks for reports to be thrown out Mpls. Police officer reindicted, counts added
Former Officer Michael David Roberts has been indicted by a federal grand jury, accused of selling police records to a gang member and failing to report $100,000 in income from off-duty security jobs to the IRS, according to court documents.
Earlier this month, his attorneys had asked to throw out some internal affairs reports and sever the tax accounts against him.
According to court documents, attorneys argue that Roberts was told by internal affairs investigators to either make a statement regarding the accusations against him or risk losing his job.
Roberts’ attorneys say that threat deprived him of his constitutional protections. They also want the tax case against Roberts to be separated from the other allegations because they’re unrelated.
The prosecution filed its own motion seeking, in part, to stop the defense from alleging at trial that Roberts is being prosecuted because of racism inside the Minneapolis Police Department.
The government responded Monday, stating the internal affairs reports would not be tossed out, based on entrapment and prejudicial claims made by Roberts' attorneys. But a federal judge ruled Tuesday that the tax and bribery counts against Roberts would be explored in a separate case.
Prosecutors say Roberts has confessed to selling the records, but hasn't pleaded in the tax charges. Roberts' trial is set for May 5.
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Related stories: Indicted former MPD officer asks for reports to be thrown out Mpls. Police officer reindicted, counts added
Monday, April 13, 2009
Deputy Ryan Huizenga Arraigned for Shooting Unarmed Student During Raid
Ottawa County Sheriff's Dept. Deputy Ryan Huizenga has been arraigned in Holland District Court in the shooting of an unarmed Grand Valley State University student during a drug raid at his off-campus apartment.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Holland District Court on April 29th.
The Kalamazoo County Prosecutor authorized criminal charges against Huizenga on April 6th. Huizenga is charged with Careless Discharge of a Firearm causing Injury or Death. The charge is punishable by possible jail time, probation, or fines and other monetary charges.
Huizenga is on unpaid suspension pending the outcome of the Ottawa County internal revue.
On March 11th, Huizenga, along with other law enforcement officers, was conducting a search warrant for drugs at GVSU student Derek Copp's off-campus apartment.
According to the investigator of the case, Michigan State Police Det. Lt. Curt Schram, Copp answered the door. Lt. Schram said that, "When Mr. Copp opened the glass door, he indicated that there was a flashlight that was shown (sic) into his face and in his eyes." Lt. Schram says Copp shielded his face from the light, but did not have a weapon in his hand. Huizenga then shot Copp in the chest.
Copp has since returned to school.
Trial Under Way for Deputy Marshal John Ambrose Accused of Leaking Secrets to Mob
The trial is under way for a deputy U.S. marshal accused of leaking the secrets of an FBI investigation to the mob.
Prosecutors said in court Monday that 42-year-old deputy marshal John T. Ambrose deliberately helped the mob, while Ambrose's defense attorney claims he merely said too much while boasting to a friend.
Ambrose is accused of leaking the contents of a secret file on the star witness in the government's landmark Operation Family Secrets mob investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Markus Funk told jurors the case is about, "a criminal betrayal of trust." Defense attorney Francis Lipuma told them Ambrose merely went too far while talking about his job with a former police officer who was like a father to him.
Prosecutors said in court Monday that 42-year-old deputy marshal John T. Ambrose deliberately helped the mob, while Ambrose's defense attorney claims he merely said too much while boasting to a friend.
Ambrose is accused of leaking the contents of a secret file on the star witness in the government's landmark Operation Family Secrets mob investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Markus Funk told jurors the case is about, "a criminal betrayal of trust." Defense attorney Francis Lipuma told them Ambrose merely went too far while talking about his job with a former police officer who was like a father to him.
Border Protection Officer Edwin Barbo Accused of Stalking
A judge on Monday continued a protective order against a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer accused of stalking a woman, jamming a pistol into her chest and threatening to kill her.
Edwin Barbot, 46, is accused of harassing the 47-year-old woman at her work and home. He was arrested in November on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated stalking and battery.
Last month, an Osceola County judge granted a temporary order against Barbot. On Monday, a circuit court judge continued the order until after Barbot's criminal trial, which is scheduled to begin April 21 in Osceola County.
Barbot was suspended from his Customs job at Orlando International Airport, agency spokeswoman Maria M. Alvarado said.
In mid-November, the woman told Osceola County deputy sheriffs that Barbot followed her home and argued with her outside her apartment. Barbot told the woman "that she better not be with anyone else or he will kill her," a sheriff's report said.
The woman told deputies that Barbot pulled at her, causing her to fall on the steps, and then "jammed" a semiautomatic pistol into her chest. The woman said he stood over her and said, "I want to kill you."
When the woman screamed, Barbot ran to his car and drove away, according to the report.
In hs report, the deputy noted that he saw a small, red circular mark on the woman's chest. Barbot was arrested Nov. 19 and released from the Osceola County Jail the same day on $5,500 bond.
In a written statement filed in court, the woman said Barbot put his gun in her mouth when she told him she was going to get a restraining order.
"He will kill me, he promised he would!" the woman wrote.
The woman stated she is "so afraid," she can't sleep, is having trouble concentrating and feels as though she's being followed. She said Barbot harassed her at work while wearing his federal uniform and carrying his badge and gun.
In her court filing for the protective order, the woman also stated that Barbot had an incident with another woman in January at work while he was on administrative duty. She gave no details about that allegation.
Alvarado said she couldn't comment on any allegations made against Barbot because he is under investigation.
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Other Information: http://www.wftv.com/news/19166797/detail.html
Edwin Barbot, 46, is accused of harassing the 47-year-old woman at her work and home. He was arrested in November on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated stalking and battery.
Last month, an Osceola County judge granted a temporary order against Barbot. On Monday, a circuit court judge continued the order until after Barbot's criminal trial, which is scheduled to begin April 21 in Osceola County.
Barbot was suspended from his Customs job at Orlando International Airport, agency spokeswoman Maria M. Alvarado said.
In mid-November, the woman told Osceola County deputy sheriffs that Barbot followed her home and argued with her outside her apartment. Barbot told the woman "that she better not be with anyone else or he will kill her," a sheriff's report said.
The woman told deputies that Barbot pulled at her, causing her to fall on the steps, and then "jammed" a semiautomatic pistol into her chest. The woman said he stood over her and said, "I want to kill you."
When the woman screamed, Barbot ran to his car and drove away, according to the report.
In hs report, the deputy noted that he saw a small, red circular mark on the woman's chest. Barbot was arrested Nov. 19 and released from the Osceola County Jail the same day on $5,500 bond.
In a written statement filed in court, the woman said Barbot put his gun in her mouth when she told him she was going to get a restraining order.
"He will kill me, he promised he would!" the woman wrote.
The woman stated she is "so afraid," she can't sleep, is having trouble concentrating and feels as though she's being followed. She said Barbot harassed her at work while wearing his federal uniform and carrying his badge and gun.
In her court filing for the protective order, the woman also stated that Barbot had an incident with another woman in January at work while he was on administrative duty. She gave no details about that allegation.
Alvarado said she couldn't comment on any allegations made against Barbot because he is under investigation.
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Other Information: http://www.wftv.com/news/19166797/detail.html
Officer Vally Getejanc Accused of Abuse Twice
DAVIE
Five months before a rookie police officer was charged with aggravated battery on his pregnant wife, an ex-girlfriend made similar accusations of abuse.
The wife of Officer Vally Getejanc, 25, told Davie police he held a gun to her head on one occasion and threw her to the ground on another. Davie officers arrested Getejanc on Feb. 27 after his wife called 911.
In October, Getejanc's ex-girlfriend, Casey-Lyn Bird, sought a restraining order against him, claiming the two had a three-year relationship marked by a "history of violence." Her request, denied by a judge two weeks later, triggered an Internal Affairs investigation into whether Getejanc had engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer.
Bird, 27, claimed Getejanc had punched, choked, kicked and head-butted her during their relationship and sent her a threatening text message in October. She also told Internal Affairs he once threatened to shoot her in the head. Getejanc admitted he and his ex-girlfriend had a "tumultuous" relationship but denied ever hitting her.
On Feb. 28, the day after Getejanc's arrest in the battery case involving his wife, Police Chief Patrick Lynn cleared him in the Internal Affairs case involving his ex-girlfriend, citing a lack of evidence.
"One case doesn't have anything to do with the other," Lynn said.
Getejanc, hired in March 2007, is on paid administrative leave from his $53,644-a-year job pending the outcome of the battery case. He declined to comment through his attorney, Anthony Livoti.
Livoti called his client a "really good guy" and questioned both women's version of events.
"I'm just saying that when emotions are involved, the facts oftentimes get lost," Livoti said. "If someone puts a gun to your head, do you marry them?" he said of Getejanc's wife, who requested her name not be published.
Getejanc's wife, 25, told detectives the two argued on Feb. 27 after he complained she'd spent too much time visiting her mother. Getejanc, while in uniform, wrapped his right forearm around her neck and threw her to the ground, according to the police report. The two had been married just four days and the wife was five months pregnant, the report says.
On Feb. 3, according to police records, Getejanc put his duty weapon to his wife's head and said "Say one more f------ word and I will shoot you!"
Getejanc's wife obtained a restraining order against him on March 2.
"She is afraid of him" and plans to file for divorce, said her attorney, Greg Lauer. "She wants nothing to do with him."
Lauer said the 911 tape speaks for itself and questioned whether Getejanc should be entrusted with police work.
"There are certain people who don't need a badge and a gun and he may be one of them," Lauer said. "If he did these things, he most definitely should not be a police officer."
Bird declined to comment on her former boyfriend, saying she wanted to move on with her life.
On Oct. 21, Judge Jack Tuter denied her request for a restraining order against Getejanc. The officer told the judge he never hit Bird and showed messages she had sent days after an argument professing her love and asking him to stay in the relationship. He also claimed she was jealous of his new girlfriend.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/davie-copp-battery-041409,0,3488554.story
Five months before a rookie police officer was charged with aggravated battery on his pregnant wife, an ex-girlfriend made similar accusations of abuse.
The wife of Officer Vally Getejanc, 25, told Davie police he held a gun to her head on one occasion and threw her to the ground on another. Davie officers arrested Getejanc on Feb. 27 after his wife called 911.
In October, Getejanc's ex-girlfriend, Casey-Lyn Bird, sought a restraining order against him, claiming the two had a three-year relationship marked by a "history of violence." Her request, denied by a judge two weeks later, triggered an Internal Affairs investigation into whether Getejanc had engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer.
Bird, 27, claimed Getejanc had punched, choked, kicked and head-butted her during their relationship and sent her a threatening text message in October. She also told Internal Affairs he once threatened to shoot her in the head. Getejanc admitted he and his ex-girlfriend had a "tumultuous" relationship but denied ever hitting her.
On Feb. 28, the day after Getejanc's arrest in the battery case involving his wife, Police Chief Patrick Lynn cleared him in the Internal Affairs case involving his ex-girlfriend, citing a lack of evidence.
"One case doesn't have anything to do with the other," Lynn said.
Getejanc, hired in March 2007, is on paid administrative leave from his $53,644-a-year job pending the outcome of the battery case. He declined to comment through his attorney, Anthony Livoti.
Livoti called his client a "really good guy" and questioned both women's version of events.
"I'm just saying that when emotions are involved, the facts oftentimes get lost," Livoti said. "If someone puts a gun to your head, do you marry them?" he said of Getejanc's wife, who requested her name not be published.
Getejanc's wife, 25, told detectives the two argued on Feb. 27 after he complained she'd spent too much time visiting her mother. Getejanc, while in uniform, wrapped his right forearm around her neck and threw her to the ground, according to the police report. The two had been married just four days and the wife was five months pregnant, the report says.
On Feb. 3, according to police records, Getejanc put his duty weapon to his wife's head and said "Say one more f------ word and I will shoot you!"
Getejanc's wife obtained a restraining order against him on March 2.
"She is afraid of him" and plans to file for divorce, said her attorney, Greg Lauer. "She wants nothing to do with him."
Lauer said the 911 tape speaks for itself and questioned whether Getejanc should be entrusted with police work.
"There are certain people who don't need a badge and a gun and he may be one of them," Lauer said. "If he did these things, he most definitely should not be a police officer."
Bird declined to comment on her former boyfriend, saying she wanted to move on with her life.
On Oct. 21, Judge Jack Tuter denied her request for a restraining order against Getejanc. The officer told the judge he never hit Bird and showed messages she had sent days after an argument professing her love and asking him to stay in the relationship. He also claimed she was jealous of his new girlfriend.
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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/davie-copp-battery-041409,0,3488554.story
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Prosecuting Police an Uphill Battle
Each time a police officer uses deadly force, wounding or killing a civilian, prosecutors gather facts and grand jurors weigh whether the actions may have been criminal, rarely returning indictments. Even less common, according to a Houston Chronicle review, are cases where an officer is convicted.
Last week’s indictment of Bellaire Police Sgt. Jeff Cotton, a white officer who shot a black man in his own driveway in an incident that raised allegations of racial profiling, marks the first time in more than three years that an officer in Harris County has been charged in such a shooting, the Chronicle found in a review of police prosecutions. In recent years, local officers have shot an average of 32 people.
Such incidents, ranging from a drunken off-duty officer’s 1989 shooting of Ida Lee Delaney in a traffic spat to the 2003 gunning down of two unarmed teens, have ignited community outrage. But, lawyers say, prosecutors in cases against those sworn to protect and serve have an uphill battle.
Only once in more than a decade has a Harris County jury found an officer criminally responsible for injuring or killing a citizen with a weapon.
The law is forgiving, lawyers said, and an officer can justify his use of deadly force by claiming he perceived grave peril to himself or others.
“Jurors will give police officers more credit because they put themselves in harm’s way to help others,” said Joe Owmby, who until December headed the police integrity division of the District Attorney’s Office and investigated numerous officers. “Jurors will bend over backward to hear it from the (officer’s) point of view, but if it appears an officer did not do what he was supposed to, they are more skeptical.”
Deadly force cases are emotionally charged, observed South Texas College of Law’s Geoffrey Corn. “These are hard cases,” he said. “I have a visceral reaction to those who say these cases aren’t fair, that juries don’t convict enough. … When we start saying that juries are incapable of trying this type of case or that, we kind of gut our concepts of justice. Juries are not always right, but if the process is fair, the outcome is respectable.”
Case in 2007 typical
Typical of many cases was Harris County’s most recent deadly force prosecution, that of two Pasadena policemen accused of killing Pedro Gonzales Jr. in July 2007.
Gonzales suffered eight broken ribs and a punctured lung as officers Jason Buckaloo and Christopher Jones used force to arrest him. They were indicted on charges of criminally negligent homicide.
Testimony in their trial revealed Gonzales was not intoxicated at the time of his arrest, as the officers suspected, but may have been suffering severe alcohol withdrawal.
Jurors acquitted the officers, who returned to work.
Owmby, who prosecuted the case, said jurors’ perceptions of Gonzales, a chronic alcoholic who often slept on the street, affected the outcome.
“The problem we had was that Mr. Gonzales was so ill, the jury just did not want to blame the police officers for what happened,” he said.
The only recent conviction of an officer in a fatal shooting came in a case with a sympathetic victim: a 14-year-old boy who had been playing video games minutes before an officer killed him.
On Nov. 21, 2003, Houston Police officer Arthur Carbonneau approached a group of youths, looking for two teens who had assaulted a 10-year-old boy. Eli Eloy Escobar, who had not been involved in the assault, tried to leave. Carbonneau detained him. During the scuffle, Carbonneau’s firearm discharged.
A grand jury indicted Carbonneau on a murder charge and he was convicted of criminally negligent homicide — the lightest conviction option — and got 10 years’ probation. The judge required him to serve 60 days in jail.
Owmby, who prosecuted Carbonneau, said he sees similarities between that case and the one against Cotton, 39, who is charged with aggravated assault by a public servant.
“It appears that in both cases we had an officer who overreacted, who never slowed down to evaluate what was happening and pulled the trigger when it was not necessary,” Owmby said.
Mistake on SUV’s plates
Cotton shot 23-year-old Robert Tolan, a former Bellaire High School baseball player, just after 2 a.m. on Dec, 31. Tolan and a cousin were returning to his parents’ house after getting off work at a restaurant.
An officer ran the plates on Tolan’s SUV but pulled up the wrong information, leading him to believe it was stolen.
Several officers approached as the men exited the SUV, ordering them to the ground. At one point, Tolan raised up to protest the treatment of his mother, who had come outside. Cotton fired several times, striking Tolan once in the chest.
Cotton’s lawyer said last week that he will prove Cotton’s actions were justified.
“When we get our day in court it will come out that the indictment against him was not warranted,” said David Donahue, a spokesman for Cotton’s lawyer, Paul Aman.
The case against Cotton will be prosecuted by Clint Greenwood, who joined the District Attorney’s Office in January after District Attorney Pat Lykos asked him to head the police integrity division. Greenwood, a peace officer who defended a number of policemen in his private practice, said he anticipates the Cotton case will be “a difficult case for both sides.”
He added, “Cases where a police officer is the defendant can be extremely difficult due to conceptions by the community at large. But, it is my job to advocate on behalf of the citizens of Harris County and I will do so vigorously.”
Another case involving police that resulted in a conviction was the 20-year-old fatal shooting of Delaney, a 51-year-old janitor killed in an encounter with three off-duty Houston officers after they had been out drinking.
The officers approached Delaney after a traffic altercation. One, Alex Gonzales, in civilian clothes and wearing no badge, charged her car with pistol drawn. She fired at the officer, striking him in the belly. He fired back.
Gonzales was tried twice and eventually convicted of voluntary manslaughter, receiving the minimum penalty — two years probation and a $5,000 fine. His light treatment prompted protest.
Former City Councilwoman Ada Edwards, who participated in those protests, called the outcome a “miscarriage of justice. I was not a jury member … but this was murder.”
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Search for Double Murder Suspect Deputy Derrick Yancey Continues
Acting on a tip, authorities searched three Greyhound buses in Dalton early Sunday morning for former DeKalb County deputy and double murder suspect Derrick Yancey but came up empty-handed.
The DeKalb Sheriff’s Department was called about 12:45 a.m. by someone who said they thought they saw Yancey standing in line to board a bus at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Atlanta, said Mikki Jones, spokeswoman for the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department.
DeKalb County news Authorities learned that three buses left the station at about that time headed for Dalton, with final destinations of Chicago and Cleveland, Ohio, Jones said. The buses were checked at a Pilot Travel Center by local authorities in Dalton, she said. Yancey was not found.
Yancey, 49, is accused of killing his 44-year-old wife, Linda Yancey, and a 20-year-old day laborer, Marcial Cax Puluc, last summer.
Officials said Yancey disappeared from his mother’s home last week after cutting off his electronic ankle bracelet. A judge had released Yancey on $150,000 bond under the condition that he wear the tracking device and remain under house arrest.
The Fugitive Squad can be reached at 404-298-8200.
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http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2008/09/officer-arrested-for-double-murder-is.html
The DeKalb Sheriff’s Department was called about 12:45 a.m. by someone who said they thought they saw Yancey standing in line to board a bus at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Atlanta, said Mikki Jones, spokeswoman for the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department.
DeKalb County news Authorities learned that three buses left the station at about that time headed for Dalton, with final destinations of Chicago and Cleveland, Ohio, Jones said. The buses were checked at a Pilot Travel Center by local authorities in Dalton, she said. Yancey was not found.
Yancey, 49, is accused of killing his 44-year-old wife, Linda Yancey, and a 20-year-old day laborer, Marcial Cax Puluc, last summer.
Officials said Yancey disappeared from his mother’s home last week after cutting off his electronic ankle bracelet. A judge had released Yancey on $150,000 bond under the condition that he wear the tracking device and remain under house arrest.
The Fugitive Squad can be reached at 404-298-8200.
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http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2008/09/officer-arrested-for-double-murder-is.html
Officer Bobby Cole Faces Losing Job After he Failed to Protect and Serve
Officer Bobby Cole is facing losing his job next week on the Dallas police force after investigators found that he failed to protect and serve.
In one case, internal investigators found that he didn't arrest a robbery suspect. In another, he failed to charge a man with family violence, records show.
Cole, a nearly seven-year veteran, had a hearing Thursday in front of Assistant Chief Floyd Simpson, who recommended that he be fired. Police Chief David Kunkle is expected to make a final decision this coming Thursday.
In the first situation, Cole and another officer were working off duty security at a club on the North Central Expressway on Feb. 4, 2008, when they intervened to stop three robbers who were holding a man at gunpoint.
Two of the suspects fled. Cole and the other officer captured the third.
The victim, Josh Goad, told investigators that the suspected robber had told the officers that he could take them to his accomplices. He said the officers asked for his contact information and told him that they would be in contact.
After Goad left, the suspected robber was released. The officers did not file a police report, nor they notify did anyone that armed robbery suspects were on the loose.
In the meantime, two more robberies happened. Police captured the suspected robbers, including the one who the officers had released.
In his statement to investigators, Cole said the victim wasn't able to identify the third attacker, so he didn't think he had enough evidence to arrest him. He also told investigators that he didn't broadcast a suspect description over the radio was because his battery was dead.
"I was going to call in the Aggravated Robbery report when I got home and I forgot," Cole wrote in his statement to investigators.
The other officer, Irene Alanis, told internal investigators that Cole took charge at the scene and interviewed Goad. She said Cole was the lead officer at the scene and made the decision to release the suspect.
She has received a written reprimand over the incident.
"Thinking back, I should have done things differently," Cole told investigators. "I am truly sorry if (in) anyway the department's name was tarnished due to my actions."
The second incident occurred Feb. 11 when Cole and another officer responded to a report of a disturbance.
When Cole arrived, he said he spoke to the alleged victim who told him that a man had hit her and pulled her hair.
The man was taken into custody for outstanding warrants, but was not arrested on suspicion of family violence.
Cole didn't tell the other officer that the woman had claimed the man attacked her, investigators concluded.
In 2004, he also received a 15-day suspension for violating the department's sick leave policy, lying to a supervisor and making a false statement.
In one case, internal investigators found that he didn't arrest a robbery suspect. In another, he failed to charge a man with family violence, records show.
Cole, a nearly seven-year veteran, had a hearing Thursday in front of Assistant Chief Floyd Simpson, who recommended that he be fired. Police Chief David Kunkle is expected to make a final decision this coming Thursday.
In the first situation, Cole and another officer were working off duty security at a club on the North Central Expressway on Feb. 4, 2008, when they intervened to stop three robbers who were holding a man at gunpoint.
Two of the suspects fled. Cole and the other officer captured the third.
The victim, Josh Goad, told investigators that the suspected robber had told the officers that he could take them to his accomplices. He said the officers asked for his contact information and told him that they would be in contact.
After Goad left, the suspected robber was released. The officers did not file a police report, nor they notify did anyone that armed robbery suspects were on the loose.
In the meantime, two more robberies happened. Police captured the suspected robbers, including the one who the officers had released.
In his statement to investigators, Cole said the victim wasn't able to identify the third attacker, so he didn't think he had enough evidence to arrest him. He also told investigators that he didn't broadcast a suspect description over the radio was because his battery was dead.
"I was going to call in the Aggravated Robbery report when I got home and I forgot," Cole wrote in his statement to investigators.
The other officer, Irene Alanis, told internal investigators that Cole took charge at the scene and interviewed Goad. She said Cole was the lead officer at the scene and made the decision to release the suspect.
She has received a written reprimand over the incident.
"Thinking back, I should have done things differently," Cole told investigators. "I am truly sorry if (in) anyway the department's name was tarnished due to my actions."
The second incident occurred Feb. 11 when Cole and another officer responded to a report of a disturbance.
When Cole arrived, he said he spoke to the alleged victim who told him that a man had hit her and pulled her hair.
The man was taken into custody for outstanding warrants, but was not arrested on suspicion of family violence.
Cole didn't tell the other officer that the woman had claimed the man attacked her, investigators concluded.
In 2004, he also received a 15-day suspension for violating the department's sick leave policy, lying to a supervisor and making a false statement.
Officer Joseph Frugoli Bond Set at $500,000
Bond was set at $500,000 Sunday for an off-duty Chicago Police detective accused of killing two men when he allegedly plowed into a disabled car in a drunken-driving crash early Friday on the Dan Ryan Expressway.
After the hearing, a family member of one of the victims was taken into custody after a disturbance in the hallway that spilled out into the street, authorities said.
Joseph Frugoli, 41, of the Bridgeport area, was charged Friday with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence, two counts of reckless homicide and one count of leaving the scene of an accident, said Sally Daly, spokeswoman for the Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
Frugoli was ordered held on $500,000 bond at a Sunday hearing at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse at 3100 S. California Ave.
About 70 friends and family members of the two men killed in the crash became upset after bond was set and raised their voices in the courtroom hallway, Cook County Sheriff’s police spokesman Steve Patterson said.
Once outside the building, the group began telling strangers the bond was a travesty and Sheriff’s police took one of the family members into custody for his own safety, Patterson said. He was released without being charged.
Frugoli was taken into custody Friday after he drove his black Lexus into a red Dodge Intrepid that broke down in the southbound lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94) near the 18th Street ramp, authorities said.
Frugoli, an 18-year-department veteran, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where tests indicated his blood-alcohol level was about triple the legal limit of .08, sources said.
The officer was walking away from the crash scene when he was apprehended, police said.
A bystander, Marcus Copeland, said he tried to pull the victims from the burning Intrepid shortly before 4 a.m., but the flames were overpowering. “I couldn’t do anything,” he said.
One of the victims was Andrew Cazares, 23, of Summit, who attended Argo Community High School. Cazares worked construction and continued to live with his family in the 7700 block of West 62nd Place. Friends said he was a talented skateboarder and graphic artist.
Alexander Myles, 14, said he and a buddy were skateboarding one day when Cazares noticed their lack of skill.
“He said, ‘You guys want to learn some tricks?’” and gave the younger boys some lessons, according to Myles.
The Illinois State Police identified the other victim as Fausto Manzera, 21, of Chicago.
Manzera was a student at DePaul University, according to his friends, who said he was artistic, too. He and Cazares may have been on the way to Manzera’s father’s home in Bridgeport where Manzera stayed.
“He was just a wonderful friend. He will be truly missed,” said a friend, Claudia Godinez.
The Chicago Police Department released a statement saying Frugoli has been relieved of his police powers. In addition to the traffic investigation being conducted by the State Police, the Chicago Police Department launched a probe by its Internal Affairs Division.
Frugoli has been involved in other serious wrecks, including one not far from the scene of Friday’s fatal collision and another that injured two police officers.
Just last week, Frugoli was ordered to pay $7,100 to Joseph Cairo after a jury trial involving a 2005 accident.
Frugoli was driving a new BMW sedan that rear-ended Cairo’s Jeep Cherokee on the in-bound Dan Ryan near 31st. Cairo, 65, struck a median and suffered neck and shoulder injuries, while Frugoli went to the hospital for a head injury, records show.
Cairo’s lawyer, Benjamin Kelly of the Vrdolyak Law Group, said Frugoli gave two stories about the accident: he told the State Police at the accident scene that he did not know what happened. But in a legal deposition, Frugoli said Cairo slammed on his brakes, causing the crash. Kelly denied that Cairo caused the collision.
Both men live in the Bridgeport neighborhood near the site of their collision.
Frugoli’s other accidents include a collision near the intersection of 37th and Wallace in Bridgeport when he allegedly ran a stop sign and struck a Chicago police car, injuring two officers, records show.
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http://www.nwi.com/articles/2009/04/12/updates/breaking_news/doc49e252851f4b4251588990.txt
After the hearing, a family member of one of the victims was taken into custody after a disturbance in the hallway that spilled out into the street, authorities said.
Joseph Frugoli, 41, of the Bridgeport area, was charged Friday with two counts of aggravated driving under the influence, two counts of reckless homicide and one count of leaving the scene of an accident, said Sally Daly, spokeswoman for the Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
Frugoli was ordered held on $500,000 bond at a Sunday hearing at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse at 3100 S. California Ave.
About 70 friends and family members of the two men killed in the crash became upset after bond was set and raised their voices in the courtroom hallway, Cook County Sheriff’s police spokesman Steve Patterson said.
Once outside the building, the group began telling strangers the bond was a travesty and Sheriff’s police took one of the family members into custody for his own safety, Patterson said. He was released without being charged.
Frugoli was taken into custody Friday after he drove his black Lexus into a red Dodge Intrepid that broke down in the southbound lanes of the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94) near the 18th Street ramp, authorities said.
Frugoli, an 18-year-department veteran, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where tests indicated his blood-alcohol level was about triple the legal limit of .08, sources said.
The officer was walking away from the crash scene when he was apprehended, police said.
A bystander, Marcus Copeland, said he tried to pull the victims from the burning Intrepid shortly before 4 a.m., but the flames were overpowering. “I couldn’t do anything,” he said.
One of the victims was Andrew Cazares, 23, of Summit, who attended Argo Community High School. Cazares worked construction and continued to live with his family in the 7700 block of West 62nd Place. Friends said he was a talented skateboarder and graphic artist.
Alexander Myles, 14, said he and a buddy were skateboarding one day when Cazares noticed their lack of skill.
“He said, ‘You guys want to learn some tricks?’” and gave the younger boys some lessons, according to Myles.
The Illinois State Police identified the other victim as Fausto Manzera, 21, of Chicago.
Manzera was a student at DePaul University, according to his friends, who said he was artistic, too. He and Cazares may have been on the way to Manzera’s father’s home in Bridgeport where Manzera stayed.
“He was just a wonderful friend. He will be truly missed,” said a friend, Claudia Godinez.
The Chicago Police Department released a statement saying Frugoli has been relieved of his police powers. In addition to the traffic investigation being conducted by the State Police, the Chicago Police Department launched a probe by its Internal Affairs Division.
Frugoli has been involved in other serious wrecks, including one not far from the scene of Friday’s fatal collision and another that injured two police officers.
Just last week, Frugoli was ordered to pay $7,100 to Joseph Cairo after a jury trial involving a 2005 accident.
Frugoli was driving a new BMW sedan that rear-ended Cairo’s Jeep Cherokee on the in-bound Dan Ryan near 31st. Cairo, 65, struck a median and suffered neck and shoulder injuries, while Frugoli went to the hospital for a head injury, records show.
Cairo’s lawyer, Benjamin Kelly of the Vrdolyak Law Group, said Frugoli gave two stories about the accident: he told the State Police at the accident scene that he did not know what happened. But in a legal deposition, Frugoli said Cairo slammed on his brakes, causing the crash. Kelly denied that Cairo caused the collision.
Both men live in the Bridgeport neighborhood near the site of their collision.
Frugoli’s other accidents include a collision near the intersection of 37th and Wallace in Bridgeport when he allegedly ran a stop sign and struck a Chicago police car, injuring two officers, records show.
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http://www.nwi.com/articles/2009/04/12/updates/breaking_news/doc49e252851f4b4251588990.txt
SWAT Tactics Examined after Oakland Cop Killings
Law enforcement experts call residential entryways the "fatal funnel" _and that is where two Oakland police officers met death when they confronted a barricaded gunman, who allegedly had already killed two other officers hours earlier. The SWAT team's decision to rush an apartment rather than wait out an armed man is expected to be the subject of Special Weapons and Tactics training classes across the country, experts said.
And the Oakland Police Department said Friday that its internal investigation of the March 21 killings will include a review by outside SWAT experts.
It was the deadliest incident involving California officers since 1970.
Lawyers, police trainers and others expect the examination to determine whether police followed departmental guidelines and whether they made tactical or procedural mistakes.
Police say parolee Lovelle Mixon shot motorcycle patrolmen Mark Dunakin and John Hege with a handgun during a traffic stop, then later killed SWAT team members Ervin Romans and Daniel Sakai with an assault weapon. Another SWAT officer was injured, and Mixon was killed.
Police have not said why Dunakin and Hege stopped Mixon. The two patrolmen were killed without drawing their own weapons.
After that shooting, investigators said, Mixon fled a few blocks away to a sister's apartment. An anonymous tip exposed Mixon's hiding place- and about two hours after the traffic stop the SWAT team stormed through the apartment's front door, detonating flash-bang devices.
Much of the focus outside the Oakland department has been on the SWAT team because the highly trained officers were killed while in pursuit of someone they believed already had gunned down two of their colleagues.
The department's written guidelines for resolving such situations begins with "containment" but also includes "breach and entry of objective site" among 10 options.
"In any event, a resolution will be accomplished with the utmost consideration given to the safety of citizens, police personnel and all involved parties," states the department's general orders for SWAT operations.
Police officials have said the SWAT team entered the apartment to clear and search it, but precisely what prompted their decision is unclear.
The department turned down requests to interview a SWAT team commander and Police Chief Howard Jordan.
"The whole incident is still under investigation and OPD is not releasing any details or reports," police spokesman Jeff Thomason said in an April 2 e-mail. "This is to protect the integrity of the investigation until it can be completed."
Law enforcement experts said that without knowing more about the circumstances, it is difficult to second-guess the officers' actions.
Some speculated that the SWAT team decided to enter the apartment because they feared waiting for the gunman to give up could result in more violence and harm to building occupants.
They said the officers faced one of the most dangerous scenarios in law enforcement: a gunman holed up in a residence and presumably training his sights on the entryway.
"I don't see where it was necessarily prudent for the officers to go in when they went in," said Michael Lyman, a criminal justice professor at Columbia College in Missouri, who based his comments on publicly available information. "Unless there is compelling need to go through that fatal funnel, don't do it."
Ed Nowicki, executive director of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association based in Twin Lakes, Wis., said the people inside the building always have the advantage over those outside, simply because they have more knowledge.
"It's their turf, not your turf," he said.
Nowicki said SWAT officers should avoid storming a residence unless there are strong signals that a gunman is on the verge of more violence.
"You go in pretty much as a last resort," Nowicki said. "And if you don't have to, you don't. If you can wait them out, you wait them out."
Experts widely agree that the Oakland police shootings will be one of the most widely studied cases in law enforcement training.
It will certainly alter SWAT training in some way, said Robert Stresak, a spokesman for the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.
"It is a watershed law enforcement moment," Stresak said. "Obviously, when four heroes are killed, something didn't go right."
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Officer Ray F. Robert Refuses to be Tasered as Part of his Training Exercise
Should a sheriff be able to reassign an officer to a different, less desirable position if the officer refuses to undergo a training exercise?
What if that training exercise required the officer to receive a shock from a Taser?
And what if that officer had a note from his doctor advising against it?
Those are among the provocative questions at the center of a lawsuit filed this week by Ray F. Robert against the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department.
And how those questions are answered depends greatly on whom is being asked.
Robert, who spoke with The Indianapolis Star on Wednesday, said he can't fathom being fired for basically taking his doctor's advice.
"I'd been in law enforcement for more than 31 years, and (when I was terminated), it felt like it was all for nothing," Robert, 54, said. "Just because I can't be Tased doesn't mean I can't do my job."
Robert said two doctors -- including a physician chosen by the Sheriff's Department -- advised him against being Tased. He feared the electrical jolt and ensuing muscle spasms could further injure a damaged vertebra and a metal plate in his back.
"What happens if I become paralyzed? How long is the county going to pay me?" he asked. "What would I be able to do with my life if that happens?"
But Hamilton County Sheriff Doug Carter said other officers, including a 73-year-old employee and another officer with severe back problems, each received a two-second Taser jolt with no ill effects.
"Every single person who underwent the training found value in the exposure," Carter said. "I would never put one of my officers in danger. The vast majority of Taser injuries come from falls, which is why we have the training on a mat with people holding the person (getting Tased)."
Both sides agree that after Robert refused to be shocked in December, the department offered to create a position for him at the Hamilton County Jail.
But Robert's attorney, Daniel Lapointe Kent, called the gesture inadequate.
"They offered another position with a substantial reduction in the overall compensation package, with not as many benefits," he said. "He would have to work weekends and holidays and no longer have use of a squad car."
After Robert refused the position in the jail, Carter said he had no alternative but to fire him.
The issue drew divided reaction Wednesday.
Dalia Hashad, a policy director with human rights watchdog Amnesty International, praised Robert for his refusal and chastised the sheriff's decision.
"It seems they (the Sheriff's Department) lack a strong understanding how dangerous a Taser really is," Hashad said. "Given his medical history and the two doctor's notes, it's obvious he wasn't an appropriate person to be Tased. With that attitude, I'm curious how they're using the weapon on the street. Is there anyone they think shouldn't be Tased?"
Amnesty International is a longtime critic of Taser use. The organization attributes 335 deaths from July 2001 to August 2008 to the device.
But Noblesville Police Lt. Bruce Barnes said that if an officer can't be Tased, it may raise other questions.
"You have to question if someone is fit for duty if they say they can't train for a situation that might occur in real life," said Barnes, whose department is among several in Central Indiana, including Indianapolis police, that require such training. "What happens if you're wrestling with a suspect, and he grabs your Taser (and shoots you)? If you can't perform your duties, you're putting everyone else at risk."
Lapointe Kent said Robert didn't need a Taser because he had other weapons at his disposal, such as a nightstick and his firearm. Carter, however, said Tasers have become integral tools in police officers' nonlethal arsenals.
"The presence of Tasers has quickly de-escalated many violent situations," Carter said. "In five seconds, the situation is brought under control with no injury to the person or the officer. (If you were a suspect,) would you rather be hit in the head with a nightstick or stunned with a Taser with no injuries afterward?"
Tasers temporarily incapacitate suspects by delivering five seconds of 50,000 volts of low-amperage electricity through two barbs shot into the body from up to 21 feet away.
Most training programs give officers the choice of being shot with the barbs or receiving a shorter jolt through a pair of alligator clips attached to a pant leg.
Many agencies believe it is imperative for officers to understand what a Taser shock feels like, in part so they will show restraint before using the device.
In a written statement, Taser company spokesman Steve Tuttle said fewer than 100 injuries have occurred during more than 625,000 training exposures.
Greenwood Police Chief Joe Pitcher said he has had a couple of officers with heart issues who were cleared by their doctors to be Tased.
"Their doctors told them there was no evidence that it would be harmful, so to go ahead and do it," Pitcher said. The training "gives us a good lesson that if we do have to resort to these instruments, we know how painful they are to the people we have to use them on."
"Tasers are very painful but not lethal," he said. "They are subject to abuse if you are not familiar with how painful they are."
Robert's suit, filed in federal court, alleges his constitutional rights were violated and seeks reinstatement, back wages and punitive damages.
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PDF...
http://www.indystar.com/assets/pdf/BG13244149.PDF
http://www.indystar.com
What if that training exercise required the officer to receive a shock from a Taser?
And what if that officer had a note from his doctor advising against it?
Those are among the provocative questions at the center of a lawsuit filed this week by Ray F. Robert against the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department.
And how those questions are answered depends greatly on whom is being asked.
Robert, who spoke with The Indianapolis Star on Wednesday, said he can't fathom being fired for basically taking his doctor's advice.
"I'd been in law enforcement for more than 31 years, and (when I was terminated), it felt like it was all for nothing," Robert, 54, said. "Just because I can't be Tased doesn't mean I can't do my job."
Robert said two doctors -- including a physician chosen by the Sheriff's Department -- advised him against being Tased. He feared the electrical jolt and ensuing muscle spasms could further injure a damaged vertebra and a metal plate in his back.
"What happens if I become paralyzed? How long is the county going to pay me?" he asked. "What would I be able to do with my life if that happens?"
But Hamilton County Sheriff Doug Carter said other officers, including a 73-year-old employee and another officer with severe back problems, each received a two-second Taser jolt with no ill effects.
"Every single person who underwent the training found value in the exposure," Carter said. "I would never put one of my officers in danger. The vast majority of Taser injuries come from falls, which is why we have the training on a mat with people holding the person (getting Tased)."
Both sides agree that after Robert refused to be shocked in December, the department offered to create a position for him at the Hamilton County Jail.
But Robert's attorney, Daniel Lapointe Kent, called the gesture inadequate.
"They offered another position with a substantial reduction in the overall compensation package, with not as many benefits," he said. "He would have to work weekends and holidays and no longer have use of a squad car."
After Robert refused the position in the jail, Carter said he had no alternative but to fire him.
The issue drew divided reaction Wednesday.
Dalia Hashad, a policy director with human rights watchdog Amnesty International, praised Robert for his refusal and chastised the sheriff's decision.
"It seems they (the Sheriff's Department) lack a strong understanding how dangerous a Taser really is," Hashad said. "Given his medical history and the two doctor's notes, it's obvious he wasn't an appropriate person to be Tased. With that attitude, I'm curious how they're using the weapon on the street. Is there anyone they think shouldn't be Tased?"
Amnesty International is a longtime critic of Taser use. The organization attributes 335 deaths from July 2001 to August 2008 to the device.
But Noblesville Police Lt. Bruce Barnes said that if an officer can't be Tased, it may raise other questions.
"You have to question if someone is fit for duty if they say they can't train for a situation that might occur in real life," said Barnes, whose department is among several in Central Indiana, including Indianapolis police, that require such training. "What happens if you're wrestling with a suspect, and he grabs your Taser (and shoots you)? If you can't perform your duties, you're putting everyone else at risk."
Lapointe Kent said Robert didn't need a Taser because he had other weapons at his disposal, such as a nightstick and his firearm. Carter, however, said Tasers have become integral tools in police officers' nonlethal arsenals.
"The presence of Tasers has quickly de-escalated many violent situations," Carter said. "In five seconds, the situation is brought under control with no injury to the person or the officer. (If you were a suspect,) would you rather be hit in the head with a nightstick or stunned with a Taser with no injuries afterward?"
Tasers temporarily incapacitate suspects by delivering five seconds of 50,000 volts of low-amperage electricity through two barbs shot into the body from up to 21 feet away.
Most training programs give officers the choice of being shot with the barbs or receiving a shorter jolt through a pair of alligator clips attached to a pant leg.
Many agencies believe it is imperative for officers to understand what a Taser shock feels like, in part so they will show restraint before using the device.
In a written statement, Taser company spokesman Steve Tuttle said fewer than 100 injuries have occurred during more than 625,000 training exposures.
Greenwood Police Chief Joe Pitcher said he has had a couple of officers with heart issues who were cleared by their doctors to be Tased.
"Their doctors told them there was no evidence that it would be harmful, so to go ahead and do it," Pitcher said. The training "gives us a good lesson that if we do have to resort to these instruments, we know how painful they are to the people we have to use them on."
"Tasers are very painful but not lethal," he said. "They are subject to abuse if you are not familiar with how painful they are."
Robert's suit, filed in federal court, alleges his constitutional rights were violated and seeks reinstatement, back wages and punitive damages.
______________________
PDF...
http://www.indystar.com/assets/pdf/BG13244149.PDF
http://www.indystar.com
A Bunny Tale...Officer Alvin Perez Maces the Rabbit
A Denver sheriff's deputy who pleaded guilty to a charge of animal cruelty for using Mace on a rabbit continues to oversee inmates at the Denver County Jail.
Alvin Perez, 41, was suspended for two months without pay and then was reinstated, said people familiar with the case. The date of his reinstatement was not available Monday.
A criminal complaint says that on May 28, Perez saw a rabbit near where he was standing outside the Denver County Jail during his break.
He got a can of Mace and sprayed the rabbit for no apparent reason.
Perez pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty and was sentenced in December to one year of supervised probation, a one-year suspended jail sentence and a $500 fine.
Perez declined to comment.
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http://policecrimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6449
Alvin Perez, 41, was suspended for two months without pay and then was reinstated, said people familiar with the case. The date of his reinstatement was not available Monday.
A criminal complaint says that on May 28, Perez saw a rabbit near where he was standing outside the Denver County Jail during his break.
He got a can of Mace and sprayed the rabbit for no apparent reason.
Perez pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty and was sentenced in December to one year of supervised probation, a one-year suspended jail sentence and a $500 fine.
Perez declined to comment.
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http://policecrimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6449
Retired Officer Cecil Ramsay Shoots Other Officer then Himself
A retired New York City police officer shot an off-duty officer he suspected was having an affair with his police officer wife, then killed himself in the driveway of his suburban home, authorities said Saturday. Cecil Ramsay confronted his wife and a friend, both off-duty New York Police Department officers, when the pair arrived at the family's home Saturday morning, Suffolk County police said.
He accused Officer Edwin Chittick "of seeing his wife," Dady Belfort, said Suffolk County police Detective Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick.
"It's our understanding that that is not the case. They're just acquaintances," Fitzpatrick said.
Chittick told Ramsay "in effect, 'I'm not here to have an argument with you,' and walks out," getting into Belfort's sport utility vehicle with her, Fitzpatrick said. Ramsay fired at least three times at the departing SUV, hitting Chittick in the hand.
He then put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger in front of several construction workers doing work on his home, Fitzpatrick said. Other family members had also been at the home with him at the time of his wife's arrival, police said.
Chestean Howard said he called 911 after hearing several gunshots in the neighborhood, then looked out his window.
"He wasn't moving," Howard told Newsday Saturday. "I thought, 'That's it. He's dead.'"
Belfort, who was not injured, drove a short distance to a hospital emergency room, where Chittick was treated for wounds that were not life-threatening.
The SUV - its front passenger-side window shattered and driver and passenger seats smeared with blood - was on the grounds of the hospital for several hours Saturday.
Outside the home about 40 miles east of New York City, a body covered by a yellow tarp lay in the driveway for hours Saturday morning under a steady rain before it was removed on a gurney.
Ramsay, 51, had been ill with heart problems and was awaiting a heart transplant, Fitzpatrick said.
A 2007 article about Belfort in the Congressional Record said she has been an officer since 1989 and was promoted to detective in 2005. She was pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice at the time and has three children with Ramsay, according to the profile.
New York City police wouldn't comment on the shootings or give information about the officers, referring all questions to Long Island authorities.
He accused Officer Edwin Chittick "of seeing his wife," Dady Belfort, said Suffolk County police Detective Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick.
"It's our understanding that that is not the case. They're just acquaintances," Fitzpatrick said.
Chittick told Ramsay "in effect, 'I'm not here to have an argument with you,' and walks out," getting into Belfort's sport utility vehicle with her, Fitzpatrick said. Ramsay fired at least three times at the departing SUV, hitting Chittick in the hand.
He then put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger in front of several construction workers doing work on his home, Fitzpatrick said. Other family members had also been at the home with him at the time of his wife's arrival, police said.
Chestean Howard said he called 911 after hearing several gunshots in the neighborhood, then looked out his window.
"He wasn't moving," Howard told Newsday Saturday. "I thought, 'That's it. He's dead.'"
Belfort, who was not injured, drove a short distance to a hospital emergency room, where Chittick was treated for wounds that were not life-threatening.
The SUV - its front passenger-side window shattered and driver and passenger seats smeared with blood - was on the grounds of the hospital for several hours Saturday.
Outside the home about 40 miles east of New York City, a body covered by a yellow tarp lay in the driveway for hours Saturday morning under a steady rain before it was removed on a gurney.
Ramsay, 51, had been ill with heart problems and was awaiting a heart transplant, Fitzpatrick said.
A 2007 article about Belfort in the Congressional Record said she has been an officer since 1989 and was promoted to detective in 2005. She was pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice at the time and has three children with Ramsay, according to the profile.
New York City police wouldn't comment on the shootings or give information about the officers, referring all questions to Long Island authorities.
Officer Joseph Frugoli Charged with Reckless Homicide
A veteran Chicago police officer charged in the drunk driving deaths of two men has been released from the hospital into police custody.
Joseph Frugoli has been charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence. He also faces one count of leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
The Chicago police detective is set to appear in bond court Sunday. Investigators say he caused the crash that claimed the lives of two promising young men: 21-year-old Fausto Manzera and Andrew Cazares, 23.
Detective Frugoli turned away from cameras Saturday as he was released from the hospital and into police custody, one day after investigators say he caused a fiery early morning crash that claimed the lives of the two men.
Frugoli's attorney. Greg Smith, accompanied by an unidentified man, left court Saturday afternoon after a bond hearing for his client was rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday because there was a delay in formally processing the 41-year-old veteran police officer.
Disappointed family and friends of one of the men killed also left court with little to say Saturday.
"We have no comments," said Manzera family spokesperson Michael Rihani said when asked if he was disappointed that justice had been delayed.
Relatives and friends continued to gather at the home of Manzera Saturday afternoon. The DePaul University marketing student was the passenger in the vehicle of his best friend when the accident happened.
Friend Patrick O'Malley has known Manzera since they graduated high school together in 2006.
"It was a shame what happened. He was a great kid. He was really artistic, outgoing, always happy and fun to be around," said O'Malley.
Investigators say Frugoli was off-duty and had a blood alcohol content three-times the legal limit when he slammed into the disabled Dodge intrepid driven by Andrew Cazares. Cazares's vehicle was stopped in the right lane on the outbound Dan Ryan expressway near 18th Street, possibly with a flat tire, when Frugoli's black Lexus SUV rear-ended the car, which then burst into flames.
Some who knew Cazares said, after some tough years as a teen, he was turning his life around.
"He told me he had been doing good for a whole year. He said he was picking himself up," said neighbor Sterling Pfizer.
While the two men died, officers say Frugoli fled, walking away from the crash. However, he was arrested a few blocks away.
Colleagues of the 18-year police officer describe him as a good cop who loved his job. Frugoli's neighbors remain shocked.
"He seems like a nice guy. His mom and dad just passed away. He's a good neighbor. I can't say anything bad about him," said one unidentified neighbor.
Published reports indicate the recent crash is the most serious traffic incident for Frugoli. The Chicago Tribune reports Frugoli was cited in at least three traffic incidents dating back to 1990, the most similar to Friday's crash being a January 2005 accident on the Ryan expressway. In that case, a civil court judge reportedly ordered Frugoli to pay $7,000 in damages, after he struck a 61-year-old man's car from behind and pushed it into a median wall.
In all the accidents, tickets issued to Frugoli were either dropped or thrown out.
Detective Frugoli has been stripped of his police powers.
Joseph Frugoli has been charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence. He also faces one count of leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
The Chicago police detective is set to appear in bond court Sunday. Investigators say he caused the crash that claimed the lives of two promising young men: 21-year-old Fausto Manzera and Andrew Cazares, 23.
Detective Frugoli turned away from cameras Saturday as he was released from the hospital and into police custody, one day after investigators say he caused a fiery early morning crash that claimed the lives of the two men.
Frugoli's attorney. Greg Smith, accompanied by an unidentified man, left court Saturday afternoon after a bond hearing for his client was rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday because there was a delay in formally processing the 41-year-old veteran police officer.
Disappointed family and friends of one of the men killed also left court with little to say Saturday.
"We have no comments," said Manzera family spokesperson Michael Rihani said when asked if he was disappointed that justice had been delayed.
Relatives and friends continued to gather at the home of Manzera Saturday afternoon. The DePaul University marketing student was the passenger in the vehicle of his best friend when the accident happened.
Friend Patrick O'Malley has known Manzera since they graduated high school together in 2006.
"It was a shame what happened. He was a great kid. He was really artistic, outgoing, always happy and fun to be around," said O'Malley.
Investigators say Frugoli was off-duty and had a blood alcohol content three-times the legal limit when he slammed into the disabled Dodge intrepid driven by Andrew Cazares. Cazares's vehicle was stopped in the right lane on the outbound Dan Ryan expressway near 18th Street, possibly with a flat tire, when Frugoli's black Lexus SUV rear-ended the car, which then burst into flames.
Some who knew Cazares said, after some tough years as a teen, he was turning his life around.
"He told me he had been doing good for a whole year. He said he was picking himself up," said neighbor Sterling Pfizer.
While the two men died, officers say Frugoli fled, walking away from the crash. However, he was arrested a few blocks away.
Colleagues of the 18-year police officer describe him as a good cop who loved his job. Frugoli's neighbors remain shocked.
"He seems like a nice guy. His mom and dad just passed away. He's a good neighbor. I can't say anything bad about him," said one unidentified neighbor.
Published reports indicate the recent crash is the most serious traffic incident for Frugoli. The Chicago Tribune reports Frugoli was cited in at least three traffic incidents dating back to 1990, the most similar to Friday's crash being a January 2005 accident on the Ryan expressway. In that case, a civil court judge reportedly ordered Frugoli to pay $7,000 in damages, after he struck a 61-year-old man's car from behind and pushed it into a median wall.
In all the accidents, tickets issued to Frugoli were either dropped or thrown out.
Detective Frugoli has been stripped of his police powers.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Sgt. Jeff Cotton Indicted for Shooting Civilian
The Bellaire police sergeant charged in the shooting of a civilian that raised accusations of racial profiling was shocked by his indictment and maintains that he “in no way is a racist,” a spokesman for his lawyer said Tuesday.
A grand jury on Monday indicted Sgt. Jeff Cotton, who is white, in the Dec. 31 shooting of a black man in the driveway of his own home near a vehicle that Cotton mistakenly believed was stolen. The shooting prompted allegations that Cotton’s actions were racially motivated and ignited concerns about the treatment of minorities in Bellaire.
Cotton’s representatives, offering his perspective for the first time Tuesday, said race played no role in the encounter.
“Sgt. Cotton did what any prudent officer would have done in the same circumstances,” said David Donahue, an assistant to attorney Paul Aman. “This was a split-second decision and he is not a racial profiler.”
Cotton, 39, stands charged with first-degree aggravated assault by a public servant. He turned himself in Monday night and is free on a $20,000 bail.
Since 2004, five local officers have faced charges after incidents ranging from questionable use of a Taser to the fatal shooting of an unarmed teen. Prosecutors won a conviction against only one, Arthur Carbonneau, who killed 14-year-old Eli Escobar in November 2003.
Cotton’s case will be the first test of new District Attorney Pat Lykos’ police integrity division. The prosecutor who led investigations into law officers before Lykos’ arrival, Joe Owmby, left the office in December.
The incident that led to Cotton’s indictment began shortly after 2 a.m. Dec. 31. Robert Tolan, a 23-year-old former Bellaire High School baseball player who has tried to play professionally, drove toward his parents’ home after getting off of work at a restaurant.
An officer ran the plates on Tolan’s Nissan Xterra but pulled up the wrong information, leading him to believe the car was stolen. Several officers approached Tolan and his cousin as they got out of the SUV, ordering them to the ground.
Tolan’s family came outside and tried to convince officers of their mistake. During the exchange, Tolan’s mother was pushed against a wall. When Tolan rose to protest, Cotton fired several times, striking him once in the chest.
A grand jury began hearing testimony about the incident last week. Cotton spoke to them for two hours.
“He felt positive,” Donahue said of Cotton. “He was quite shocked the grand jury even came up with the conclusion to indict him.”
Cotton’s next court appearance is scheduled for April 17. The Bellaire Police Department’s own investigation is ongoing, and Cotton remains suspended with pay.
Phoenix Police Raid Bloggers Home
In what should send a frightening chill down the spine of every blogger, writer, journalist and First Amendment advocate in the United States, Phoenix police raided the home of a blogger who has been highly critical of the department.
Jeff Pataky, who runs Bad Phoenix Cops, said the officers confiscated three computers, routers, modems, hard drives, memory cards and everything necessary to continue blogging.
The 41-year-old software engineer said they also confiscated numerous personal files and documents relating to a pending lawsuit he has against the department alleging harassment - which he says makes it obvious the raid was an act of retaliation.
Maricopa County Judge Gary Donahoe signed the search warrant that allowed at least ten cops to raid his home in North Phoenix on March 12 while handcuffing his female roommate for three hours as they tore the place apart.
Pataky, who was out of town on a business trip during the raid, also believes police were retaliating against him for the content of his blog, much of it which comes from inside sources within the department.
“They broke into my safe and took the backups of my backups,” he said in a phone interview with Photography is Not a Crime on Wednesday.
“I can’t even file my taxes because all my business plans are gone. They took everything.”
The search warrant lists “petty theft” and “computer tampering with the intent to harass” as probable causes. He has yet to see an actual affidavit that lists in detail the probable cause and is skeptical that one even exists.
“They say everything has been sealed,” he said.
The conflict between Pataky and the Phoenix Police Department began two years ago during “a nasty divorce” after moving out of the house he had shared with his wife. His said she was not taking the divorce too well and began filing false allegations against him accusing him of stalking and harassing her.
Many of the reports she filed accused him of doing things when he was out of town, he said.
So he began filing complaints with everybody from Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon down to Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris to no avail. He was eventually indicted for harassing his ex-wife.
A month before the trial, he and a few friends launched the website as a rant against the police department. When he went to trial in May 2008, his charges were immediately dismissed because of lack of evidence, he said.
“We were going to shut down the website after that but then all of a sudden all these good cops started hitting the site and sending us tips,” he said.
He said they would also deliver all kinds of internal documents from within the department exposing everything from a cop with multiple DUIs to another cop whose son was a child molester and was trying to get on the force (and was eventually arrested).
“We have about 50 to 100 retired and active cops who provide us information,” he said.
Police apparently believe one of the tipsters is an officer named David Barnes, who fell out of favor with the department in 2007 when he was a detective and went public with claims of mismanaged evidence at the city crime lab.
Police also raided Barnes’ home and according to Pataky’s inside sources, plan to raid the homes of more cops.
Police have been extremely vague about the nature of the raids, according to the arizona republic.
Police officials said Wednesday that a Phoenix detective prompted the investigation after complaining about harassment, though they declined further comment…
Phoenix Assistant Chief Andy Anderson said the harassment case is unique because of the connection to an unaccredited grassroots Web site. He said the blog is one part of the case, though he did not provide specifics of the ongoing investigation.
“This isn’t about the blog,” Anderson said. “That’s just where the investigation led.”
The allegation of “petty theft” against Pataky stem from photos he posted on his blog of police name plates that appear to have been taken from within the department. He said he actually made the plates himself.
The allegation of “computer tampering with the intent to harass” obviously has to do with his no holds barred criticism of the department.
Pataky, who has since purchased a new laptop, is taking the raid in stride and has added it to the allegations in his pending lawsuit.
And he has not let it stop him from blogging.
“They thought they were going to scare us into a corner but they just made us stronger.”
_____________________
http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=26697
Jeff Pataky, who runs Bad Phoenix Cops, said the officers confiscated three computers, routers, modems, hard drives, memory cards and everything necessary to continue blogging.
The 41-year-old software engineer said they also confiscated numerous personal files and documents relating to a pending lawsuit he has against the department alleging harassment - which he says makes it obvious the raid was an act of retaliation.
Maricopa County Judge Gary Donahoe signed the search warrant that allowed at least ten cops to raid his home in North Phoenix on March 12 while handcuffing his female roommate for three hours as they tore the place apart.
Pataky, who was out of town on a business trip during the raid, also believes police were retaliating against him for the content of his blog, much of it which comes from inside sources within the department.
“They broke into my safe and took the backups of my backups,” he said in a phone interview with Photography is Not a Crime on Wednesday.
“I can’t even file my taxes because all my business plans are gone. They took everything.”
The search warrant lists “petty theft” and “computer tampering with the intent to harass” as probable causes. He has yet to see an actual affidavit that lists in detail the probable cause and is skeptical that one even exists.
“They say everything has been sealed,” he said.
The conflict between Pataky and the Phoenix Police Department began two years ago during “a nasty divorce” after moving out of the house he had shared with his wife. His said she was not taking the divorce too well and began filing false allegations against him accusing him of stalking and harassing her.
Many of the reports she filed accused him of doing things when he was out of town, he said.
So he began filing complaints with everybody from Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon down to Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris to no avail. He was eventually indicted for harassing his ex-wife.
A month before the trial, he and a few friends launched the website as a rant against the police department. When he went to trial in May 2008, his charges were immediately dismissed because of lack of evidence, he said.
“We were going to shut down the website after that but then all of a sudden all these good cops started hitting the site and sending us tips,” he said.
He said they would also deliver all kinds of internal documents from within the department exposing everything from a cop with multiple DUIs to another cop whose son was a child molester and was trying to get on the force (and was eventually arrested).
“We have about 50 to 100 retired and active cops who provide us information,” he said.
Police apparently believe one of the tipsters is an officer named David Barnes, who fell out of favor with the department in 2007 when he was a detective and went public with claims of mismanaged evidence at the city crime lab.
Police also raided Barnes’ home and according to Pataky’s inside sources, plan to raid the homes of more cops.
Police have been extremely vague about the nature of the raids, according to the arizona republic.
Police officials said Wednesday that a Phoenix detective prompted the investigation after complaining about harassment, though they declined further comment…
Phoenix Assistant Chief Andy Anderson said the harassment case is unique because of the connection to an unaccredited grassroots Web site. He said the blog is one part of the case, though he did not provide specifics of the ongoing investigation.
“This isn’t about the blog,” Anderson said. “That’s just where the investigation led.”
The allegation of “petty theft” against Pataky stem from photos he posted on his blog of police name plates that appear to have been taken from within the department. He said he actually made the plates himself.
The allegation of “computer tampering with the intent to harass” obviously has to do with his no holds barred criticism of the department.
Pataky, who has since purchased a new laptop, is taking the raid in stride and has added it to the allegations in his pending lawsuit.
And he has not let it stop him from blogging.
“They thought they were going to scare us into a corner but they just made us stronger.”
_____________________
http://www.informationliberation.com/?id=26697
New School Occupation: What The Fuck Happened Friday Morning?
WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED FRIDAY MORNING?
That's the question on just about every New School student's mind right now. Too make a long story short what happened was a peaceful act of civil disobedience and reclaimation of space was violently evicted by the NYPD in cooperation with the New School administration. But here's the full story:
5:00 AM: About 60 Students enter 65 5th Avenue. No property was destroyed in the process. Students begin to lock doors and barricade themselves in the building.
5:30: Two maintainence individuals in the building were asked to leave. One individual who the students believe was another maintainence employee attempted to open a door from the outside as the building was being barricaded, students pull the door shut and the individual's leg was momentarily accidently caught in the door in the process. His leg was not injured, he did not need to be hospitalized.
5:45: Police arrive
6:00: More police arrive and they work out their gameplan with New School security and Linda Reimer. Police use Fanton hall as a planning area.
6:30: A picket begins in front of the building, but is shut down by police move supporters from corner to corner. One officer is heard to say "get them as far back as possible." Media begins to arrive
7:00: More supporters are arriving only to be constantly dispersed by police.
7:30: Student representives of the "Advisory Committee on Free Speech Activities" set up to determine what should happen in just such an instance as this attempt to meet with Linda Reimer. Linda Reimer refuses to meet with them, saying that this is "the big time." Predictabally, this committee is revealed to be a sham. The administration calls the shots, not the students
The student occupiers appear on the roof and start giving speeches.
8:30: Supporters continue to be pushed away from 5th Avenue. Kerrey releases a statement that he "no longer considers [the protesters] students." This despite the statement in the University's 'Guidelines for Demonstrations at University Facilities' that states: "The Code of Conduct indicates that when members of the university community are alleged to have committed violations, 'they will be accorded the due process to which they are entitled. Members of the university community are granted a fair hearing: they are fully advised of any charges against them, they are afforded ample opportunity to respond to accusations, and they are given a clear explanation of the right to an appeal.'"
9:00: Many police are showing up now. It becomes clear there is going to be a raid. Police appear on the roof of the building.
10:30: The occupiers attempt to leave peacefully out of a door on 14th street. Cops slam the doors closed and spray pepper-spray at the students. This incredible incident was captured on video and can be viewed on the New York Times webpage. Supporters, including at least one New School student, apprently vocally shaming the police for their brutality, and beaten up, pepper-sprayed, and arrested.
11:00: There are hundreds of police now. The entire area is shut down. Helicopters circle in the sky. Confused spectators think this is some kind of bomb threat. Police throw tear gas into the building, presumably to move the students towards the first floor.
11:30: 19 are arrested from within the occupation. The rest presumably escaped safely sometime throughout the morning. Police begin to get rough with spectators outraged by the absurd excessive force and brutality they have witnessed.
12:00: The arrested students are brought to central booking. Shock begins to spread with the rumors of beatings and teargas.
12:40: Bob Kerrey releases a message wiping his hands clean of the situation and justifying the police intervention by fabricating an incident where a security guard had been injured. Upon talking to security guards, students discover that this a complete lie, no security guard has been involved in any physical altercation with protesters throughout the morning. It appears Kerrey purposefully twisted the incident at 5:30 AM to justify the use of violence.
After this, things begin to settle down. Legal aid goes to central booking, a support rally is called for Union Square at 10PM.
How can we make sense of what happened here? The president of the New School authorized the use of teargas and pepper-spray against his own students. When he realizes what a disgrace he has caused he invents a story to justify it. As word spreads from student to student rage about how this action was handled reaches a fury. Videos surface of the brutality. People's friends and classmates are in jail.
This has to be the last straw. Bob Kerrey, the students who were ambivlent towards you before certainly fucking hate you now. You gassed our friends, you locked them up. You will never be able to walk through your campus again. We need to get this violent fucker out of our school now in solidarity with the beaten and choked students sitting in jail. Write Bob Kerrey and tell him how disgusted you are, write the Free Press, write the board of trustees, student senators, deans, administrators, anyone you can. Kerrey needs to understand what a disgrace his handling of this event was for our university.
_______________________________
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2009/04/104645.shtml
That's the question on just about every New School student's mind right now. Too make a long story short what happened was a peaceful act of civil disobedience and reclaimation of space was violently evicted by the NYPD in cooperation with the New School administration. But here's the full story:
5:00 AM: About 60 Students enter 65 5th Avenue. No property was destroyed in the process. Students begin to lock doors and barricade themselves in the building.
5:30: Two maintainence individuals in the building were asked to leave. One individual who the students believe was another maintainence employee attempted to open a door from the outside as the building was being barricaded, students pull the door shut and the individual's leg was momentarily accidently caught in the door in the process. His leg was not injured, he did not need to be hospitalized.
5:45: Police arrive
6:00: More police arrive and they work out their gameplan with New School security and Linda Reimer. Police use Fanton hall as a planning area.
6:30: A picket begins in front of the building, but is shut down by police move supporters from corner to corner. One officer is heard to say "get them as far back as possible." Media begins to arrive
7:00: More supporters are arriving only to be constantly dispersed by police.
7:30: Student representives of the "Advisory Committee on Free Speech Activities" set up to determine what should happen in just such an instance as this attempt to meet with Linda Reimer. Linda Reimer refuses to meet with them, saying that this is "the big time." Predictabally, this committee is revealed to be a sham. The administration calls the shots, not the students
The student occupiers appear on the roof and start giving speeches.
8:30: Supporters continue to be pushed away from 5th Avenue. Kerrey releases a statement that he "no longer considers [the protesters] students." This despite the statement in the University's 'Guidelines for Demonstrations at University Facilities' that states: "The Code of Conduct indicates that when members of the university community are alleged to have committed violations, 'they will be accorded the due process to which they are entitled. Members of the university community are granted a fair hearing: they are fully advised of any charges against them, they are afforded ample opportunity to respond to accusations, and they are given a clear explanation of the right to an appeal.'"
9:00: Many police are showing up now. It becomes clear there is going to be a raid. Police appear on the roof of the building.
10:30: The occupiers attempt to leave peacefully out of a door on 14th street. Cops slam the doors closed and spray pepper-spray at the students. This incredible incident was captured on video and can be viewed on the New York Times webpage. Supporters, including at least one New School student, apprently vocally shaming the police for their brutality, and beaten up, pepper-sprayed, and arrested.
11:00: There are hundreds of police now. The entire area is shut down. Helicopters circle in the sky. Confused spectators think this is some kind of bomb threat. Police throw tear gas into the building, presumably to move the students towards the first floor.
11:30: 19 are arrested from within the occupation. The rest presumably escaped safely sometime throughout the morning. Police begin to get rough with spectators outraged by the absurd excessive force and brutality they have witnessed.
12:00: The arrested students are brought to central booking. Shock begins to spread with the rumors of beatings and teargas.
12:40: Bob Kerrey releases a message wiping his hands clean of the situation and justifying the police intervention by fabricating an incident where a security guard had been injured. Upon talking to security guards, students discover that this a complete lie, no security guard has been involved in any physical altercation with protesters throughout the morning. It appears Kerrey purposefully twisted the incident at 5:30 AM to justify the use of violence.
After this, things begin to settle down. Legal aid goes to central booking, a support rally is called for Union Square at 10PM.
How can we make sense of what happened here? The president of the New School authorized the use of teargas and pepper-spray against his own students. When he realizes what a disgrace he has caused he invents a story to justify it. As word spreads from student to student rage about how this action was handled reaches a fury. Videos surface of the brutality. People's friends and classmates are in jail.
This has to be the last straw. Bob Kerrey, the students who were ambivlent towards you before certainly fucking hate you now. You gassed our friends, you locked them up. You will never be able to walk through your campus again. We need to get this violent fucker out of our school now in solidarity with the beaten and choked students sitting in jail. Write Bob Kerrey and tell him how disgusted you are, write the Free Press, write the board of trustees, student senators, deans, administrators, anyone you can. Kerrey needs to understand what a disgrace his handling of this event was for our university.
_______________________________
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2009/04/104645.shtml
Officer Jionta L Gary Arrested for Assaulting Girlfriend
Cleveland
A Cleveland Police Officer has been arrest for felonious assault after police say he assaulted and threatened his live-in girlfriend following an argument in the home they share.
According to Cleveland Police Lt. Thomas Stacho, internal affairs detectives arrested 23-year old Cleveland Police Officer Jionta L. Gary on Thursday.
Gary, who has been with Cleveland P.D. since October, 2007, was charged on Friday with one count of felonious assault. Prosecutors say Gary allegedly battered the victim so severely that she suffered a fractured orbital bone. The alleged victim is being treated at MetroHealth Medical Center.
According to the victim, Gary then threatened to kill her if she reported the assault to police. He was arrested after reporting for work at the 2nd District Police Headquarters yesterday afternoon and is being held in Cleveland City Jail.
Gary will be suspended from duty without pay pending the outcome of the criminal case against him.
Cpl Jason King Accused of Hitting Man laying on Ground
An internal police investigation alleges that a city officer should be suspended from the force after he repeatedly hit a man as he lay unresisting in the street.
Cpl. Jason King has been accused of conduct unbecoming of an officer because of the attack and allegations that he falsified a police report in an effort to cover up the incident.
According to a letter outlining the allegations, written by Police Chief Darryl Boykins and addressed to the Board of Public Safety, King is accused of attacking Skee Katlun after a high-speed car chase on the city’s southwest side on the evening of Feb. 14.
In King’s police report, he writes that Katlun left the car and took a defensive stance, forcing King to hit him. A video recorded at the scene from a police cruiser, however, allegedly shows Katlun dropping face down on the ground, with his arms and legs spread.
Boykins’ letter, written after an internal investigation, said King began to repeatedly hit Katlun, using his right fist to deliver blows to Katlun’s head and back.
King’s police report states that Katlun struggled with officers and attempted to kick them.
But Boykins said the video shows that Katlun, now handcuffed and held by Patrolman David Klein and Sgt. Joseph Leszczynski, showed no signs of aggression as King pinned his leg back toward his buttock.
Those allegations, which Boykins said violate the department’s duty manual and constitute “duty unbecoming of an officer,” will be heard Wednesday, when the Board of Public Safety holds a special meeting to discuss the charges.
Boykins has requested that King, who has been working on “light duty” for several weeks, be suspended from the force, without pay, for 30 days. He also recommended that King be demoted from corporal to patrolman for one year.
Capt. Phil Trent, South Bend police spokesman, said King has been on “light duty” because of a medical condition and not because of the allegations. Light duty typically requires officers to do work inside the police station that does not include contact with the public.
Katlun, who has a criminal history including time in prison for theft, resisting law enforcement and drug possession, remains in jail on charges stemming from the February incident.
Court and police records do not indicate the extent of Katlun’s injuries, if any, from the incident. A relative contacted by The Tribune said Katlun said he had been in the jail’s infirmary, but county officials were unavailable to provide confirmation of that or a jail mug shot of Katlun on Thursday.
The charges
Katlun has been charged with resisting law enforcement and criminal confinement.
According to court documents, King spotted Katlun driving in a stolen car about 6 p.m. Feb. 14.
King, with lights activated, pursued Katlun, who allegedly ran several red lights and stop signs before forcing a police car off the road and crashing his car against a curb.
The criminal confinement charge stems from the accusations of a woman in Katlun’s car, who says she begged him to stop.
Trent said the investigation into the incident didn’t begin with a complaint, but with the routine review of police video footage.
He said police routinely review footage from high-speed pursuits or uses of force, as a way to ensure that proper procedures are followed.
The other two officers involved are not under investigation, Trent said.
Other incidents
King — who won the Chief’s Award of Valor in 2005 for attempting to pull a man out of a burning vehicle — has had physical altercations with suspects before.
In June 2006, King was hospitalized with a broken hand and cuts to his face after fighting a man while reportedly breaking up an alleged drug exchange.
In November 2006, King shot and killed 25-year-old Joseph Hanrath in the yard of a home in the 1900 block of South Vernon Street.
King shot Hanrath in the chest after the two began fighting. Hanrath grabbed King in a “military hold,” authorities said, forcing the officer to shoot from close range.
An investigation by the St. Joseph County Homicide Unit later declared the shooting justifiable.
In December 2007, King was critically injured in a traffic accident after his patrol car collided with that of another officer while responding to a burglary alarm. King reportedly fractured two vertebra in his neck and spent several days in the hospital before returning to the force several weeks later.
Officer Brian Adams Arrested for Tasering his Brother
A South Carolina police officer has been fired and faces a criminal charge after authorities say he used his department-issued Taser to attack his older brother.
Kershaw County deputies say 35-year-old Brian Adams has been charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
Authorities say Adams' brother came to the officer's home in Lugoff to pick up his four kids Tuesday when the brothers started arguing and Adams fired his Taser while the children watched.
Forest Acres Police Chief Gene Sealy says Adams was fired Wednesday after working for the force since 2000.
A number for Adams was not published and a message left at the Kershaw County jail was not immediately returned.
_________________________
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/04/09/20090409police-taser0409-ON.html
Kershaw County deputies say 35-year-old Brian Adams has been charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
Authorities say Adams' brother came to the officer's home in Lugoff to pick up his four kids Tuesday when the brothers started arguing and Adams fired his Taser while the children watched.
Forest Acres Police Chief Gene Sealy says Adams was fired Wednesday after working for the force since 2000.
A number for Adams was not published and a message left at the Kershaw County jail was not immediately returned.
_________________________
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/04/09/20090409police-taser0409-ON.html
15-Year-Old Teen Dies After Being Tasered by Warren Police
A 15-year-old male who ran from police died after an officer used an electronic stun gun on him during a confrontation, Warren police said today.
The teen, whose name isn't being released because he is a minor, died about an hour after officers tried to pull over the vehicle he was riding in because of an expired license plate, said Deputy Commissioner Gere Green.
"For some unknown reason, he ran. He bolted across 8 Mile" into Detroit's east side, Green said.
Officers chased the teen south on Pelkey into an abandoned home, Green said. The teen resisted and got into a physical altercation with the officers, he said.
"He was Tasered once by one of our officers," Green said. "After that, he became unresponsive."
Officers administered CPR and the teen was rushed to Henry Ford Macomb Hospital's Warren campus, where he died at 10:17 a.m.
"It just turned bad, fast," Green said. "It's a sad situation."
Green said of the four officers at the scene, two have been placed on administrative leave because they are emotionally shaken by the incident.
Family members told police that the teen had some medical issues. An autopsy is being conducted by the Macomb County Medical Examiner's Office this weekend to determine the exact cause of death.
Green said the teen had no outstanding warrants or other issues that explained why he ran when pulled over. Two other young adults in the car were reportedly cooperative.
Detroit Police spokesman James Tate earlier today said his department would handle the death investigation. Green said that investigation instead will be handled by Macomb officials.
_______________
Other information: http://www.candgnews.com/Homepage-Articles/2009/4-8-09/Warren-teen-dies-Taser.asp
http://www.freep.com/article/20090410/NEWS01/90410046/1003/NEWS01/Teen+dies+after+Warren+police+use+Taser
The teen, whose name isn't being released because he is a minor, died about an hour after officers tried to pull over the vehicle he was riding in because of an expired license plate, said Deputy Commissioner Gere Green.
"For some unknown reason, he ran. He bolted across 8 Mile" into Detroit's east side, Green said.
Officers chased the teen south on Pelkey into an abandoned home, Green said. The teen resisted and got into a physical altercation with the officers, he said.
"He was Tasered once by one of our officers," Green said. "After that, he became unresponsive."
Officers administered CPR and the teen was rushed to Henry Ford Macomb Hospital's Warren campus, where he died at 10:17 a.m.
"It just turned bad, fast," Green said. "It's a sad situation."
Green said of the four officers at the scene, two have been placed on administrative leave because they are emotionally shaken by the incident.
Family members told police that the teen had some medical issues. An autopsy is being conducted by the Macomb County Medical Examiner's Office this weekend to determine the exact cause of death.
Green said the teen had no outstanding warrants or other issues that explained why he ran when pulled over. Two other young adults in the car were reportedly cooperative.
Detroit Police spokesman James Tate earlier today said his department would handle the death investigation. Green said that investigation instead will be handled by Macomb officials.
_______________
Other information: http://www.candgnews.com/Homepage-Articles/2009/4-8-09/Warren-teen-dies-Taser.asp
http://www.freep.com/article/20090410/NEWS01/90410046/1003/NEWS01/Teen+dies+after+Warren+police+use+Taser
Randy Huffman Files Brutality Lawsuit Against Bradley Police Department
Randy Huffman of Bourbonnais filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the Bradley Police Department and an off-duty Bourbonnais police detective alleging he was the victim of police brutality.
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For the rest of the story please click on this link:
http://daily-journal.com/archives/dj/display.php?id=438389
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For the rest of the story please click on this link:
http://daily-journal.com/archives/dj/display.php?id=438389
Lansing Officer Accused of Using Excessive Force
A Lansing police officer is accused of using excessive force. A Lansing couple filed a complaint with the police department about an incident that happened Sunday at the Richwood apartment complex in Lansing. Raymond Gee is a 62-year-old man who lives in the apartment complex. He says he was sitting Sunday when a police officer asked him to move his car.
I said yeah as soon as my friend comes out.
He says the officer asked him again, and again, but he refused to move, and he says that's when the officer crossed the line.
Raymond Gee, filed a complaint against officer: "Next thing I'm getting hit in the neck and then next thing I turn my head towards him I get sprayed."
So Raymond's wife, Maryann, says she came outside and started arguing with the officer.
Maryann Gee, filed a complaint against officer: "I started walking away, he comes behind me and grabs me, pulls me down to the ground, puts the cuffs on me and he maced me."
Noel Garcia, Lansing Police Department: "The officer struggled in trying to get both of the Gees under arrest. Pepper spray was used and a taser was deployed."
Police say the officer reported the need to use force during the arrest, but the Gees say he went too far. Maryann's arm is in a sling and Raymond has cuts on his wrist and face. They filed a complaint with the Lansing Police Department. The department is investigating the incident.
Noel Garcia: "That process is interviewing a number of people that were witnesses."
We spoke to two people who say they saw everything, but tell different stories.
Doris Williams, witness: "I think he acted appropriately and I think he done his job to the best of his ability."
David Bosse, witness: "The cop started it. I mean, Raymond didn't do nothing."
So who was in the wrong? It's now up to those investigating the incident to decide. The Gees are both charged with resisting arrest and obstructing an officer. They will be back in court next week.
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http://www.wilx.com/news/headlines/42781942.html
I said yeah as soon as my friend comes out.
He says the officer asked him again, and again, but he refused to move, and he says that's when the officer crossed the line.
Raymond Gee, filed a complaint against officer: "Next thing I'm getting hit in the neck and then next thing I turn my head towards him I get sprayed."
So Raymond's wife, Maryann, says she came outside and started arguing with the officer.
Maryann Gee, filed a complaint against officer: "I started walking away, he comes behind me and grabs me, pulls me down to the ground, puts the cuffs on me and he maced me."
Noel Garcia, Lansing Police Department: "The officer struggled in trying to get both of the Gees under arrest. Pepper spray was used and a taser was deployed."
Police say the officer reported the need to use force during the arrest, but the Gees say he went too far. Maryann's arm is in a sling and Raymond has cuts on his wrist and face. They filed a complaint with the Lansing Police Department. The department is investigating the incident.
Noel Garcia: "That process is interviewing a number of people that were witnesses."
We spoke to two people who say they saw everything, but tell different stories.
Doris Williams, witness: "I think he acted appropriately and I think he done his job to the best of his ability."
David Bosse, witness: "The cop started it. I mean, Raymond didn't do nothing."
So who was in the wrong? It's now up to those investigating the incident to decide. The Gees are both charged with resisting arrest and obstructing an officer. They will be back in court next week.
___________________
http://www.wilx.com/news/headlines/42781942.html
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