PEKIN
A Pekin police officer arrested for DUI on Dec. 19 will not be charged with DUI because of a lack of evidence. However, he has voluntarily accepted a suspension for affecting public confidence in the department.
Patrolman Andrew J. Thompson, 29, of Pekin, had just left a bar on Broadway Road, Pekin, when he was rear-ended by another car sliding on the ice at Broadway Road and North 20th Street. Thompson was off duty, driving his own personal vehicle and was not at fault in the accident.
A Pekin police officer at the scene noticed the odor of alcohol coming from Thompson and notified the commanding officer. The Illinois State Police were called by Pekin police command to handle the accident, as is the policy of the police department when one of its officers is a suspect.
Thompson refused all alcohol testing — both field sobriety and a Breathalyzer test. He was taken to the Tazewell County Justice Center where he was released on a bond of 10 percent of a $1,000 bond, or $100.
Pekin Police Deputy Chief Ted Miller issued a written statement this morning concerning the decision by the state’s attorney.
Miller said, “The Pekin Police Department recognizes that we cannot operate efficiently or effectively absent the public’s trust and respect. We have worked diligently to that end by steadfastly promoting those values within our organization that are consistent with that endeavor. When this incident occurred, the initial responding officer immediately contacted a superior officer to come to the scene. The responding command officer followed protocol by calling for a neutral agency (the Illinois State Police) to investigate the incident.”
Miller said the department even went so far as to contact local media to inform them of the incident so the matter would be “completely open and transparent.”
Tazewell County State’s Attorney Stewart Umholtz said his office reviewed all reports, video tapes taken by the state police at the scene and other information and found insufficient evidence to meet the burden of proof required of the state for a DUI charge or a summary suspension.
“This case was review just like any other DUI arrest ...,” said Umholtz. “Based on our review ... we determined there was insufficient evidence of impairment.
“This individual was not given any more or less consideration than any other citizen arrested for (DUI). I will say this, if any citizen is asked by a police officer to take a breath test or a field sobriety test, they should take that test to remove all doubt.”
Umholtz said the occupation of any suspect is not considered in determining if charges are to be filed.
Thompson’s attorney, Brian Addy of Pekin, issued a press release stating that, “Thompson has accepted a 10-day suspension without pay for conduct unbecoming an officer from the city of Pekin Police Chief Tim Gillespie. Mr. Thompson admitted that his off-duty conduct impaired the morale of his department and affected the public’s confidence in said department.”
“Without admitting that he was intoxicated on the night in question, he has taken responsibility for his actions and both Mr. Thompson and the city of Pekin Police Department are completely satisfied with the resolution of this matter,” said Addy
Illinois Secretary of State Attorney Jay Mesi said the Secretary of State’s Office cannot suspend a license for failure to submit to drug or alcohol testing unless the arresting agency sends a sworn report of the refusal to submit to testing.
“What happens is the officer fills out a sworn report and sends it to the circuit clerk,” said Mesi. “The circuit clerk sends the sworn report to the Secretary of State.
“We can’t suspend unless we get that sworn report. The officer is required to send the report to us and the circuit clerk.”
If a person requests and receives an Illinois Driver’s License they automatically consent to any chemical testing for drugs and alcohol. If the driver refuses such testing, they are subject to a summary statutory suspension, said Mesi.
Mesi said citizens have the right to a suspension hearing to determine if the burden of proof has been met by the state.
Had sufficient evidence been available for charges in the incident, Thompson would have faced a mandatory six-month suspension for refusing to take the breath test.
Miller said the department initiated its own internal investigation. He said the department could not release department discipline of an officer, but that Thompson had waived his rights and allowed his attorney to do so.
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If he wasn't guilty...why did he refuse the test? Hmmmmmm?
Friday, January 23, 2009
Officer Corey Earl Charged with Telephone Harassment
LORAIN
Police officer Corey Earl pleaded not guilty to two counts of telephone harassment Jan. 21 at the Oberlin Municipal Court, according to the clerk of court. Earl is set to appear in court on Feb. 5 for his pretrial.
Earl was arrested Jan. 4 by Amherst police after his ex-wife complained of telephone harassment.
Lorain police Lt. Jim Rohner said the Lorain Police Department would conduct an internal investigation pending the outcome of any criminal charges to determine whether he violated the standards of conduct. But he added the incidents occurred off-duty.
Earl has been on medical leave for the past six months after suffering a stroke last May.
Earl was disciplined in early January 2008 after he admitted to making inappropriate comments to his girlfriend’s ex-husband during a traffic stop, according to an internal police investigation report.
Also in January 2008, the Amherst Law Director’s office dismissed a charge that Earl violated a protection order concerning his ex-wife. Amherst police were called to Earl’s home for domestic disputes on July 6 and Aug. 13 of 2007.
Police officer Corey Earl pleaded not guilty to two counts of telephone harassment Jan. 21 at the Oberlin Municipal Court, according to the clerk of court. Earl is set to appear in court on Feb. 5 for his pretrial.
Earl was arrested Jan. 4 by Amherst police after his ex-wife complained of telephone harassment.
Lorain police Lt. Jim Rohner said the Lorain Police Department would conduct an internal investigation pending the outcome of any criminal charges to determine whether he violated the standards of conduct. But he added the incidents occurred off-duty.
Earl has been on medical leave for the past six months after suffering a stroke last May.
Earl was disciplined in early January 2008 after he admitted to making inappropriate comments to his girlfriend’s ex-husband during a traffic stop, according to an internal police investigation report.
Also in January 2008, the Amherst Law Director’s office dismissed a charge that Earl violated a protection order concerning his ex-wife. Amherst police were called to Earl’s home for domestic disputes on July 6 and Aug. 13 of 2007.
Officer William Edwards Charged with Sexually Assaulting Boy
NEW LONDON, Conn.
A New London police officer has been charged with sexually assaulting a boy who told authorities he had four or five encounters with the officer when he was between 5 and 7 years old.
Forty-five-year-old William Edwards was arrested at the state police barracks in Montville on Thursday. He posted $100,000 bail after being charged with third-degree sexual assault and other crimes.
Edwards has also been suspended without pay from his job.
A police report says Edwards admitted he engaged in inappropriate behavior with the boy, now 12, about four or five years ago during what he called a "dark period" in his life.
Police say Edwards told them he had been depressed for years and had a drug problem. He is due in Danielson Superior Court on Feb. 11.
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Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com
A New London police officer has been charged with sexually assaulting a boy who told authorities he had four or five encounters with the officer when he was between 5 and 7 years old.
Forty-five-year-old William Edwards was arrested at the state police barracks in Montville on Thursday. He posted $100,000 bail after being charged with third-degree sexual assault and other crimes.
Edwards has also been suspended without pay from his job.
A police report says Edwards admitted he engaged in inappropriate behavior with the boy, now 12, about four or five years ago during what he called a "dark period" in his life.
Police say Edwards told them he had been depressed for years and had a drug problem. He is due in Danielson Superior Court on Feb. 11.
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Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Officer Gary Pignato Accused of Coercing a Woman into Sex
A suspended Greece police officer accused of coercing a woman into sex is now scheduled to go on trial June 1.
Officer Gary Pignato, 48, of Hilton is accused of a felony crime of accepting a bribe and two misdemeanor counts — coercion and official misconduct.
A Greece woman alleges that Pignato came to her home in August in response to a domestic dispute, then coerced her into a sexual encounter later.
Those allegations, however, are contained in legal papers filed by the woman in a notice that she intends to sue Pignato and the town of Greece.
In the woman's legal papers, filed Nov. 18, she alleges that Pignato responded to a domestic dispute at her home on Aug. 24. She told Pignato she had been drinking, a possible probation violation.
The woman alleges that Pignato told her she could "avoid going to jail" if she met him later that evening. She did meet Pignato and went to his home, she alleges. There, the notice alleges, Pignato "forcibly" required her to submit to sex.
Her attorney has said that the sex between the two was not consensual, but "was a coerced act under the threat of arrest and jail" and that the woman was on probation for a petit larceny of less than $50.
Prosecutors have not detailed specifics of the criminal allegations against Pignato, but do say it stems from his response as an officer to an argument at the Greece home.
The Democrat and Chronicle is not printing the name of the woman because she alleges she was the victim of sexual coercion in her legal papers.
Pignato has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer says Pignato did not commit a crime. He has been suspended without pay.
Officer Gary Pignato, 48, of Hilton is accused of a felony crime of accepting a bribe and two misdemeanor counts — coercion and official misconduct.
A Greece woman alleges that Pignato came to her home in August in response to a domestic dispute, then coerced her into a sexual encounter later.
Those allegations, however, are contained in legal papers filed by the woman in a notice that she intends to sue Pignato and the town of Greece.
In the woman's legal papers, filed Nov. 18, she alleges that Pignato responded to a domestic dispute at her home on Aug. 24. She told Pignato she had been drinking, a possible probation violation.
The woman alleges that Pignato told her she could "avoid going to jail" if she met him later that evening. She did meet Pignato and went to his home, she alleges. There, the notice alleges, Pignato "forcibly" required her to submit to sex.
Her attorney has said that the sex between the two was not consensual, but "was a coerced act under the threat of arrest and jail" and that the woman was on probation for a petit larceny of less than $50.
Prosecutors have not detailed specifics of the criminal allegations against Pignato, but do say it stems from his response as an officer to an argument at the Greece home.
The Democrat and Chronicle is not printing the name of the woman because she alleges she was the victim of sexual coercion in her legal papers.
Pignato has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer says Pignato did not commit a crime. He has been suspended without pay.
Former Probation Officer Daniel Hendrickson Accused of Inappropriately Touching Woman
GRAND RAPIDS
A former Kent County probation officer accused of inappropriately touching a 24-year-old woman under his supervision will undergo a psychological exam.
A hearing for Daniel Neland Hendrickson, 35, was adjourned today because of the exam.
Hendrickson is charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct for what investigators say was inappropriate contact with a woman who had to appear before him monthly on a drunken driving charge.
The alleged touching occurred at the Grand Rapids Township District Court building at 644 Kenmoor Ave. SE.
Information: Grand Rapids Press
Veteran Officer Jerry Starnes Indicted on 2 More Charges of Molesting Boys
A veteran Bennettsville police officer has been indicted on two more charges in connection with molesting young boys.
There are now six state grand jury indictments against Jerry Starnes.
According to the indictments, Starnes molested four boys between 1969 and 1981.
SLED began an investigation in 1997 after the initial complaint, but that case never made it to court.
Two more men came forward in 2004 and that lead to Starnes being arrested last year.
Court officials say his trial is scheduled to begin next month.
Starnes is on administrative leave without pay from the Bennettsville Police Department.
More Information: http://www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/pee_dee/article/bennettsville_police_officer_faces_more_indictments/29374/
Man Wins $20,000 Against Detroit Officer Who Squeezed His Genitals
A Wayne County man who said a Detroit Police officer groped him during a 2006 search settled a lawsuit against the city today for $20,000, an amount city officials say was not an admission of guilt but a way to end the case as cheaply as possible.
The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan for Elvis Ware, said Ware was stopped at a gas station in May 2006 when officers Michael Parish and Michael Osman approached him and questioned him about drugs. Ware claimed he was removed from his car, handcuffed and then searched by Parish. Ware claimed Parish shoved his bare hand down his pants and squeezed his genitals.
Ware’s suit had been scheduled for trial today in U.S. District Court in Detroit. Acting city corporation counsel Krystal Crittendon said the city could have been ordered to pay fees for Ware’s lawyers if it lost the case.
“The officers didn’t do anything wrong,” Crittendon said, adding that Parish and Osman both were investigated by Detroit police and federal authorities. “The officers were cleared,” she said.
The ACLU – which had refused to disclose the settlement amount – said as part of its settlement the city agreed to read search procedures to officers at roll call one day a month for three months.
Ware, 36, has no criminal record and was an Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm, said ACLU lawyer Mark Fancher. Fancher said the officers who stopped Ware are still on the force.
Ware said today he did not report the incident to Detroit Police because “I didn’t trust them.”
The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan for Elvis Ware, said Ware was stopped at a gas station in May 2006 when officers Michael Parish and Michael Osman approached him and questioned him about drugs. Ware claimed he was removed from his car, handcuffed and then searched by Parish. Ware claimed Parish shoved his bare hand down his pants and squeezed his genitals.
Ware’s suit had been scheduled for trial today in U.S. District Court in Detroit. Acting city corporation counsel Krystal Crittendon said the city could have been ordered to pay fees for Ware’s lawyers if it lost the case.
“The officers didn’t do anything wrong,” Crittendon said, adding that Parish and Osman both were investigated by Detroit police and federal authorities. “The officers were cleared,” she said.
The ACLU – which had refused to disclose the settlement amount – said as part of its settlement the city agreed to read search procedures to officers at roll call one day a month for three months.
Ware, 36, has no criminal record and was an Army veteran of Operation Desert Storm, said ACLU lawyer Mark Fancher. Fancher said the officers who stopped Ware are still on the force.
Ware said today he did not report the incident to Detroit Police because “I didn’t trust them.”
Officer William Edwards Sr Charged with Sexual Assault of Child
New London Community Police Officer William R. Edwards Sr. appeared in Norwich Superior Court this morning on charges related to the sexual assault of a child.
Edwards, 45, has been charged with third-degree sexual assault, second-degree unlawful restraint, tampering with a witness and two counts of risk of injury to a minor. He was arrested this morning by state police at Troop E in Montville.
New London Police Chief Bruce Rinehart suspended Edwards without pay following Edwards' arrest.
The suspension was effective immediately, said Rinehart, and will be in effect pending the outcome of the court case. Rinehart had been unable to suspend Edwards until his arrest because Edwards had been hospitalized since early December.
The chief and New London Police Capt. Margaret Ackley met Edwards at Troop E where state police processed him.
“It's an unfortunate thing,'' Rinehart said. “Law enforcement is one big family and when these things happen to our brothers and sisters, these things affect us all.''
He said the department is also conducting an internal investigation into the allegations.
Edwards was accompanied in court by his attorney, Paul Guernsey, and by his brother, Kenneth Edwards, a former New London police officer. He posted $100,000 bond.
Judge Barbara Jongbloed issued a full protective order forbidding William Edwards from having any contact with the victim and added the condition that he cooperate with the Institute of the Living, a psychiatric institution in Hartford, where he had been hospitalized since early December.
His case has been transferred to Danielson Superior Court and his next appearance is scheduled for Feb. 11
Edwards, 45, has been charged with third-degree sexual assault, second-degree unlawful restraint, tampering with a witness and two counts of risk of injury to a minor. He was arrested this morning by state police at Troop E in Montville.
New London Police Chief Bruce Rinehart suspended Edwards without pay following Edwards' arrest.
The suspension was effective immediately, said Rinehart, and will be in effect pending the outcome of the court case. Rinehart had been unable to suspend Edwards until his arrest because Edwards had been hospitalized since early December.
The chief and New London Police Capt. Margaret Ackley met Edwards at Troop E where state police processed him.
“It's an unfortunate thing,'' Rinehart said. “Law enforcement is one big family and when these things happen to our brothers and sisters, these things affect us all.''
He said the department is also conducting an internal investigation into the allegations.
Edwards was accompanied in court by his attorney, Paul Guernsey, and by his brother, Kenneth Edwards, a former New London police officer. He posted $100,000 bond.
Judge Barbara Jongbloed issued a full protective order forbidding William Edwards from having any contact with the victim and added the condition that he cooperate with the Institute of the Living, a psychiatric institution in Hartford, where he had been hospitalized since early December.
His case has been transferred to Danielson Superior Court and his next appearance is scheduled for Feb. 11
Steven Bass Arrested for Throwing Snowball at Officer
Greenville, NC
A freshman college student was placed in handcuffs by a police officer during a snowball fight involving more than 200 students.
Greenville police confirm Steven Bass was arrested after allegedly throwing a snowball at an officer during the snowball fight.
Campus police say some injuries were a result of the fight and an officer even had to use pepper spray.
Officers say they were called out three time Tuesday afternoon to control the situation.
No one was seriously hurt.
The incident was later posted to popular video sharing website YouTube.com. The video shows an officer chasing the student before tackling him on the snowy ground.
ON THE WEB: Additional snowball fight video
WARNING: Audio does contain language that may not be appropriate for all viewers.
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WTF??? It was a SNOWBALL!!! Poor little pussy officer...deal with it.
A freshman college student was placed in handcuffs by a police officer during a snowball fight involving more than 200 students.
Greenville police confirm Steven Bass was arrested after allegedly throwing a snowball at an officer during the snowball fight.
Campus police say some injuries were a result of the fight and an officer even had to use pepper spray.
Officers say they were called out three time Tuesday afternoon to control the situation.
No one was seriously hurt.
The incident was later posted to popular video sharing website YouTube.com. The video shows an officer chasing the student before tackling him on the snowy ground.
ON THE WEB: Additional snowball fight video
WARNING: Audio does contain language that may not be appropriate for all viewers.
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WTF??? It was a SNOWBALL!!! Poor little pussy officer...deal with it.
Officer Wilfredo Rosario Charged with 4th Rape
NEW YORK
A New York City police officer who was previously charged with sexually abusing three women has been charged with raping a fourth victim.
Wilfredo Rosario was arrested Thursday and arraigned in state Supreme Court in Manhattan on charges including felony rape and sexual abuse.
He pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer, Glenn Morak, says he will fight the charges vigorously.
Rosario is suspended from duty at the 26th Precinct in Harlem.
Prosecutors say Rosario raped a woman in her apartment in 2003 and then stalked her in 2008.
He was previously indicted twice on sexual abuse charges involving three different women.
Prosecutors say all of the women had asked about after-school programs for their children.
Rosario is being held on $150,000 bail.
Previous Post: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-york-police-officer-arrested-on-sex.html
Other Information: http://www.wpix.com/landing/?NYC-Cop-Faces-Another-Sex-Abuse-Charge=1&blockID=193237&feedID=1404
A New York City police officer who was previously charged with sexually abusing three women has been charged with raping a fourth victim.
Wilfredo Rosario was arrested Thursday and arraigned in state Supreme Court in Manhattan on charges including felony rape and sexual abuse.
He pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer, Glenn Morak, says he will fight the charges vigorously.
Rosario is suspended from duty at the 26th Precinct in Harlem.
Prosecutors say Rosario raped a woman in her apartment in 2003 and then stalked her in 2008.
He was previously indicted twice on sexual abuse charges involving three different women.
Prosecutors say all of the women had asked about after-school programs for their children.
Rosario is being held on $150,000 bail.
Previous Post: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-york-police-officer-arrested-on-sex.html
Other Information: http://www.wpix.com/landing/?NYC-Cop-Faces-Another-Sex-Abuse-Charge=1&blockID=193237&feedID=1404
Officer Naham James Perry Sentenced to 4 years for Sexually Abusing Stepdaughter
SALISBURY
A former University of Maryland Eastern Shore police officer accused of sexually abusing his teenage stepdaughter was sentenced to serve four years in jail by a Somerset County judge on Wednesday.
Naham James Perry, a 41-year-old Princess Anne resident, faced seven charges, including multiple counts of sex abuse.
Perry entered an Alford plea, a plea that does not admit guilt but concedes there is sufficient evidence to win a conviction, in October on the sex abuse of a minor charge and was found guilty.
The state dismissed the other six charges.
In court Wednesday, the judge sentenced Perry to eight years in prison, but suspended four years. He will also serve two years of supervised probation and is prohibited from having unsupervised contact with the victim or other minors. He must also attend sex abuse counseling.
Perry admitted to one sexual encounter with the teenage victim during the sentencing hearing, but said he was sleeping when the teen performed a sex act on him.
The problem, according to defense attorney James E. Crawford Jr., occurred when Perry told his supervisor and others at his job.
"Boom. It gets blown up and pushed against him," Crawford said.
However, the prosecutor, Wicomico County Assistant State's Attorney Jamie Dykes, said Perry, the victim and the victim's mother told investigators that multiple sexual incidents took place between April 2005 and June 2008. Perry's wife told Maryland State Police investigators that she had to put a stop to the "playful biting"(WTF???? and she didn't say anything else?) between the victim and Perry, Dykes said.
"This victim was in the twilight zone," Dykes said. "It appeared there were no sexual boundaries in the home."
Perry's wife requested her husband not serve any jail time. She said her daughter had a history of lying and made the allegations against her husband because she was jealous of their relationship.
"She's lied on her father and said he was mistreating her and that's how I got custody of her," Perry's wife told the judge.
The victim had previously made false accusations about a board of education employee stalking her.
"He's a good person," Perry's wife said. "He's been upfront and honest with me"
Other Information: http://www.examiner.com/a-1807694~Man_sentenced_to_prison_in_sex_abuse.html
A former University of Maryland Eastern Shore police officer accused of sexually abusing his teenage stepdaughter was sentenced to serve four years in jail by a Somerset County judge on Wednesday.
Naham James Perry, a 41-year-old Princess Anne resident, faced seven charges, including multiple counts of sex abuse.
Perry entered an Alford plea, a plea that does not admit guilt but concedes there is sufficient evidence to win a conviction, in October on the sex abuse of a minor charge and was found guilty.
The state dismissed the other six charges.
In court Wednesday, the judge sentenced Perry to eight years in prison, but suspended four years. He will also serve two years of supervised probation and is prohibited from having unsupervised contact with the victim or other minors. He must also attend sex abuse counseling.
Perry admitted to one sexual encounter with the teenage victim during the sentencing hearing, but said he was sleeping when the teen performed a sex act on him.
The problem, according to defense attorney James E. Crawford Jr., occurred when Perry told his supervisor and others at his job.
"Boom. It gets blown up and pushed against him," Crawford said.
However, the prosecutor, Wicomico County Assistant State's Attorney Jamie Dykes, said Perry, the victim and the victim's mother told investigators that multiple sexual incidents took place between April 2005 and June 2008. Perry's wife told Maryland State Police investigators that she had to put a stop to the "playful biting"(WTF???? and she didn't say anything else?) between the victim and Perry, Dykes said.
"This victim was in the twilight zone," Dykes said. "It appeared there were no sexual boundaries in the home."
Perry's wife requested her husband not serve any jail time. She said her daughter had a history of lying and made the allegations against her husband because she was jealous of their relationship.
"She's lied on her father and said he was mistreating her and that's how I got custody of her," Perry's wife told the judge.
The victim had previously made false accusations about a board of education employee stalking her.
"He's a good person," Perry's wife said. "He's been upfront and honest with me"
Other Information: http://www.examiner.com/a-1807694~Man_sentenced_to_prison_in_sex_abuse.html
Officer Joshua Calder Resigns After Drunk Driving Charge
FARMINGTON, N.M.
A Farmington police officer accused of drunken driving has resigned to take another job.
Police Chief Jim Runnels says Joshua Calder gave the department two weeks' notice Wednesday because he'd found another job.
He did not say whether the drunken driving charge played a part in his decision.
Calder was charged with aggravated drunken driving earlier this month.
The charge arose from an August motorcycle crash that injured Calder's passenger.
A San Juan County deputy says Calder reported drinking three beers before the crash. Calder's friends say he drank a beer and a half.
Authorities say Calder's blood-alcohol was 0.06. Drivers with blood-alcohol between 0.04 and 0.08 are considered to have driven drunk only with additional evidence.
Information from: The Daily Times, http://www.daily-times.com
Previous Post & More Information: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2009/01/charges-of-dwi-filed-against-officer.html
A Farmington police officer accused of drunken driving has resigned to take another job.
Police Chief Jim Runnels says Joshua Calder gave the department two weeks' notice Wednesday because he'd found another job.
He did not say whether the drunken driving charge played a part in his decision.
Calder was charged with aggravated drunken driving earlier this month.
The charge arose from an August motorcycle crash that injured Calder's passenger.
A San Juan County deputy says Calder reported drinking three beers before the crash. Calder's friends say he drank a beer and a half.
Authorities say Calder's blood-alcohol was 0.06. Drivers with blood-alcohol between 0.04 and 0.08 are considered to have driven drunk only with additional evidence.
Information from: The Daily Times, http://www.daily-times.com
Previous Post & More Information: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2009/01/charges-of-dwi-filed-against-officer.html
Officer Kurt Rosenthal Accused of Leaving Sexually Explicit Messages on Cell Phone While Driving Drunk
DES MOINES, Iowa
The Iowa Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a ruling that allows a Dubuque police officer who left a drunken, sexually explicit telephone message with a female officer to keep his job.
Officer Kurt Rosenthal was accused of placing calls to the female officer's cell phone while out drinking with other off-duty officers in October 2007. Court records said he left one sexually explicit message. He also was accused of driving around the city the same evening while intoxicated.
The following month, Rosenthal was fired and he challenged the termination. The Dubuque Civil Service Commission reduced his punishment to a 30-day suspension without pay, but the city appealed that decision to the Dubuque County District Court.
That court upheld the suspension, finding that the firing of Rosenthal, an officer since 2002 with no prior disciplinary record, wasn't warranted. The city also appealed that decision.
Barry Lindahl, an attorney for the city of Dubuque, said Thursday morning that even the majority of the three-member appeals court panel "thought it was a close case." He said he'll speak with the chief of police and city manager to consider further legal options including asking the full appeals court to review the case, or applying for the supreme court to hear the case.
Lindahl said Rosenthal remains on paid administrative leave as the case works its way through the courts. He confirmed that the female officer continues to work for the police department.
In its ruling, the appeals court said there is "no question that Rosenthal's actions constituted misconduct," but it notes his prior record and lack of any previous discipline.
"In fact, his personnel file is replete with letters of commendation from his superiors and notes of appreciation from members of the public," the court wrote in its ruling. "The absence of a disciplinary history militates in favor of suspension rather than termination."
The court also points out that the day after the incident Rosenthal called the female officer to apologize for his phone calls the night before, and the following month he enrolled in an alcohol rehabilitation program.
"That apology reflects an understanding of the severity of his misconduct and reflects remorse for that conduct," the court wrote.
Finally, the court examined Rosenthal's action on the public, saying he placed members of the community at risk by driving while intoxicated and he affected the "prestige of the police department." However, it found that his record suggests the misconduct was an isolated incident.
Chief Judge Rosemary Shaw Sackett dissented from the majority opinion. She would reverse the district court opinion, saying the "officer's conduct is such that the police chief was clearly justified in firing him."
Other Information: http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=FF694989-5056-B82A-37B9C7FFDC66F4DE
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What about the Drunk Driving? Just because he didn't get caught and he has a clean record...he's good to go? He's just another bad cop that hasn't got caught yet.
The Iowa Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a ruling that allows a Dubuque police officer who left a drunken, sexually explicit telephone message with a female officer to keep his job.
Officer Kurt Rosenthal was accused of placing calls to the female officer's cell phone while out drinking with other off-duty officers in October 2007. Court records said he left one sexually explicit message. He also was accused of driving around the city the same evening while intoxicated.
The following month, Rosenthal was fired and he challenged the termination. The Dubuque Civil Service Commission reduced his punishment to a 30-day suspension without pay, but the city appealed that decision to the Dubuque County District Court.
That court upheld the suspension, finding that the firing of Rosenthal, an officer since 2002 with no prior disciplinary record, wasn't warranted. The city also appealed that decision.
Barry Lindahl, an attorney for the city of Dubuque, said Thursday morning that even the majority of the three-member appeals court panel "thought it was a close case." He said he'll speak with the chief of police and city manager to consider further legal options including asking the full appeals court to review the case, or applying for the supreme court to hear the case.
Lindahl said Rosenthal remains on paid administrative leave as the case works its way through the courts. He confirmed that the female officer continues to work for the police department.
In its ruling, the appeals court said there is "no question that Rosenthal's actions constituted misconduct," but it notes his prior record and lack of any previous discipline.
"In fact, his personnel file is replete with letters of commendation from his superiors and notes of appreciation from members of the public," the court wrote in its ruling. "The absence of a disciplinary history militates in favor of suspension rather than termination."
The court also points out that the day after the incident Rosenthal called the female officer to apologize for his phone calls the night before, and the following month he enrolled in an alcohol rehabilitation program.
"That apology reflects an understanding of the severity of his misconduct and reflects remorse for that conduct," the court wrote.
Finally, the court examined Rosenthal's action on the public, saying he placed members of the community at risk by driving while intoxicated and he affected the "prestige of the police department." However, it found that his record suggests the misconduct was an isolated incident.
Chief Judge Rosemary Shaw Sackett dissented from the majority opinion. She would reverse the district court opinion, saying the "officer's conduct is such that the police chief was clearly justified in firing him."
Other Information: http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=FF694989-5056-B82A-37B9C7FFDC66F4DE
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What about the Drunk Driving? Just because he didn't get caught and he has a clean record...he's good to go? He's just another bad cop that hasn't got caught yet.
Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard Investigating Claim of Excessive Force
The Peoria Police Chief responds to a lawsuit claiming his officers used excessive force in an arrest. Peoria Police Officers say Bryce Scott was resisting arrest. Scott's Attorney calls it a case of police brutality. Chief Steve Settingsgaard is now conducting an investigation.
Is it a case of police brutality or were officers justified in using their force?
Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard says he's conducting an investigation to find out the facts in a May 2008 arrest. Chief Settingsgaard says if he's going to do a full investigation he needs a statement from the alleged victim, Bryce Scott. He has yet to get one even though the incident happened eight months ago. Officers say Bryce Scott was resisting arrest. Scott's Attorney, Dan Cusack, calls it a case of police brutality. "It's not right. I think the tape will tell you it's not right.
That's the bottom line to the whole thing. Do you see the guy getting pepper sprayed. Was he resisting? That's when you saw his hands out the window," Cusack says. Cusack provided News 25 video from the dashboard of a Peoria Squad Car. The incident started as a police chase and ended up with what Cusack shows in pictures as a bloodied Bryce Scott. "I take these allegations very seriously. I have very serious questions about what I see on the video. But, I can't jump to any conclusions, and I need to conduct a thorough investigation before I can make any determination," Chief Settingsgaard says. Chief Settingsgaard does question why it took eight months for the lawsuit to be filed.
"Normally, when we have an allegation of misconduct or an allegation of excessive force, you learn very quickly after the incident was made," Settingsgaard says. "We're not going to go and participate with the school principal when my client the pupil got the hell beat out of him, ain't going to happen," Cusack says. The Chief says his officers report the struggle on the ground, which is not visible on the video tape, included the alleged victim battering an officer. "That officer indicated in his report that the suspect grabbed him by the inner thigh and wouldn't release him and was squeezing I guess very hard," Settingsgaard says.
Cusack is ready for the courts to decide whether this was excessive force as his client is seeking more than 50-thousand dollars in damages. The six officers involved in the incident remain on the job during the police chief's investigation.
Other Information: http://centralillinoisproud.com/content/fulltext/?cid=42631
Is it a case of police brutality or were officers justified in using their force?
Peoria Police Chief Steve Settingsgaard says he's conducting an investigation to find out the facts in a May 2008 arrest. Chief Settingsgaard says if he's going to do a full investigation he needs a statement from the alleged victim, Bryce Scott. He has yet to get one even though the incident happened eight months ago. Officers say Bryce Scott was resisting arrest. Scott's Attorney, Dan Cusack, calls it a case of police brutality. "It's not right. I think the tape will tell you it's not right.
That's the bottom line to the whole thing. Do you see the guy getting pepper sprayed. Was he resisting? That's when you saw his hands out the window," Cusack says. Cusack provided News 25 video from the dashboard of a Peoria Squad Car. The incident started as a police chase and ended up with what Cusack shows in pictures as a bloodied Bryce Scott. "I take these allegations very seriously. I have very serious questions about what I see on the video. But, I can't jump to any conclusions, and I need to conduct a thorough investigation before I can make any determination," Chief Settingsgaard says. Chief Settingsgaard does question why it took eight months for the lawsuit to be filed.
"Normally, when we have an allegation of misconduct or an allegation of excessive force, you learn very quickly after the incident was made," Settingsgaard says. "We're not going to go and participate with the school principal when my client the pupil got the hell beat out of him, ain't going to happen," Cusack says. The Chief says his officers report the struggle on the ground, which is not visible on the video tape, included the alleged victim battering an officer. "That officer indicated in his report that the suspect grabbed him by the inner thigh and wouldn't release him and was squeezing I guess very hard," Settingsgaard says.
Cusack is ready for the courts to decide whether this was excessive force as his client is seeking more than 50-thousand dollars in damages. The six officers involved in the incident remain on the job during the police chief's investigation.
Other Information: http://centralillinoisproud.com/content/fulltext/?cid=42631
Officer William Cozzi Pleads Guilty to Beating 60-year-old Man in Wheelchair
Yesterday I wrote about Michael Ciancio, the ex-Chicago cop who plead guilty to extortion in a sting over cops shaking down tow truck companies to provide them work at accident scenes. Today, we have another ex-Chicago cop pleading guilty in Federal court over another crime: beating a 60-year old man in a wheelchair.
The Federal charge was a civil rights violation, brought against 51 year old ex-Chicago cop William Cozzi. Cozzi has been with the force since 1992, serving in the 25th District. The Chicago Sun Times broke the story further initially when they obtained a video of the police officer beating the victim, Randle Miles, who was handcuffed to a wheelchair.
Authorities state that Randle Miles, a stabbing victim, was brought to Norwegian American Hospital in Humboldt Park on August 2, 2005. They also have stated that Miles was drunk and uncooperative with the hospital staff, leading to the police call to have Miles restrained. Officer Cozzi arrived at the scene, and handcuffed Miles to the wheelchair. Miles became beligerent with Cozzi, who then hit Miles 10 times to the face and torso with his police bludgeon, also known as a “sap.” The video tape clearly shows Miles not resisting, but he was charged by police for resisting arrest.
On August 2, Miles was stabbed by a young woman. His friends and family pleaded with him to go to a hospital for treatment, but instead he “downed a bottle of gin,” according to his lawyer, Timothy Whiting. His abusive behavior towards hospital staff was attributed to his drunkenness.
Cozzi was originally charged, plead guilty to and convicted in 2007 under a State statute of misdemeanor battery and was sentenced to 18 months probation. While on leave from the Chicago Police Department, the Sun Times discovered the video tape of the incident, and reported it to the Chicago Police Department. Superintendent Jody Weis then referred the case to the FBI, who pursued the civil rights charges against Cozzi in April of 2008.
Cozzi is still on suspension from the Chicago Police Department. In Federal court on Thursday, January 22, 2009, under U.S. District Judge Blanche M. Manning, Cozzi plead guilty to the civil rights charges. Cozzi told the judge, “I made a mistake. I should not have hit him because he was handcuffed and secured.” Cozzi is being defended by attorney Terence Gillespie, who stated that his client is looking forward to giving a more detailed explanation of the actions he committed, and that Cozzi is “very nervous and scared.” Cozzi is set to be sentenced on March 26, 2009, and his plea agreement should bring him 6-8 years in jail, with a maximum sentence of 10 years for the crime committed, with a maximum fine of $250,000. “I lost it,” Officer William Cozzi admitted in federal court.
Cozzi also admitted to the court that he prepared a false arrest report and misdemeanor complaints stating that Miles tried to punch him and two hospital security guards. He also filed a false tactical response report stating that he used an “open hand strike” on the victim but omitted that he struck the victim with a sap.
The Fraternal Order of Police has criticized Superintendent Weis for pushing the case to the FBI under the defense of “Double Jeopardy,” where a person can not be charged twice for the same crime. In this case, the charges seem justified as the State charge was for battery, and the Federal charge was for a civil rights violation. Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Loretta King, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office made the announcement of the plea agreement today. ”The defendant violated the public trust by abusing his law enforcement authority,” said King. “This prosecution demonstrates that the Civil Rights Division is committed to aggressively prosecuting law enforcement officers who willfully use excessive force.”
The Federal charge was a civil rights violation, brought against 51 year old ex-Chicago cop William Cozzi. Cozzi has been with the force since 1992, serving in the 25th District. The Chicago Sun Times broke the story further initially when they obtained a video of the police officer beating the victim, Randle Miles, who was handcuffed to a wheelchair.
Authorities state that Randle Miles, a stabbing victim, was brought to Norwegian American Hospital in Humboldt Park on August 2, 2005. They also have stated that Miles was drunk and uncooperative with the hospital staff, leading to the police call to have Miles restrained. Officer Cozzi arrived at the scene, and handcuffed Miles to the wheelchair. Miles became beligerent with Cozzi, who then hit Miles 10 times to the face and torso with his police bludgeon, also known as a “sap.” The video tape clearly shows Miles not resisting, but he was charged by police for resisting arrest.
On August 2, Miles was stabbed by a young woman. His friends and family pleaded with him to go to a hospital for treatment, but instead he “downed a bottle of gin,” according to his lawyer, Timothy Whiting. His abusive behavior towards hospital staff was attributed to his drunkenness.
Cozzi was originally charged, plead guilty to and convicted in 2007 under a State statute of misdemeanor battery and was sentenced to 18 months probation. While on leave from the Chicago Police Department, the Sun Times discovered the video tape of the incident, and reported it to the Chicago Police Department. Superintendent Jody Weis then referred the case to the FBI, who pursued the civil rights charges against Cozzi in April of 2008.
Cozzi is still on suspension from the Chicago Police Department. In Federal court on Thursday, January 22, 2009, under U.S. District Judge Blanche M. Manning, Cozzi plead guilty to the civil rights charges. Cozzi told the judge, “I made a mistake. I should not have hit him because he was handcuffed and secured.” Cozzi is being defended by attorney Terence Gillespie, who stated that his client is looking forward to giving a more detailed explanation of the actions he committed, and that Cozzi is “very nervous and scared.” Cozzi is set to be sentenced on March 26, 2009, and his plea agreement should bring him 6-8 years in jail, with a maximum sentence of 10 years for the crime committed, with a maximum fine of $250,000. “I lost it,” Officer William Cozzi admitted in federal court.
Cozzi also admitted to the court that he prepared a false arrest report and misdemeanor complaints stating that Miles tried to punch him and two hospital security guards. He also filed a false tactical response report stating that he used an “open hand strike” on the victim but omitted that he struck the victim with a sap.
The Fraternal Order of Police has criticized Superintendent Weis for pushing the case to the FBI under the defense of “Double Jeopardy,” where a person can not be charged twice for the same crime. In this case, the charges seem justified as the State charge was for battery, and the Federal charge was for a civil rights violation. Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Loretta King, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office made the announcement of the plea agreement today. ”The defendant violated the public trust by abusing his law enforcement authority,” said King. “This prosecution demonstrates that the Civil Rights Division is committed to aggressively prosecuting law enforcement officers who willfully use excessive force.”
Glenn Seldon Dies After Being Jailed for Unpaid Parking Tickets
Unpaid parking tickets proved fatal for a terminally ill Queens man who died after callous cops locked him up for four days for a minor traffic offense, a lawsuit claims.
Glenn Seldon, 50, was battling advanced colon cancer in 2007 but still hoped his chemotherapy regimen would make him well enough to go on a family vacation being planned for Hawaii.
Then, on May 11, 2007, he was arrested for driving with a license that had been suspended for unpaid parking tickets.
According to a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court, cops disregarded his weakened condition and ignored his need for daily medication to control an infection and blood clots.
When he finally staggered out of Queens Criminal Court four nights behind bars, his clothing was soiled, he was gaunt from dehydration, incontinent and weeping uncontrollably, his family said. "They broke his spirit," said his wife, Angela Seldon. "Why couldn't they have just given him a summons and let him come home to us?"
Family attorney Fred Brewington called the officers' actions appalling.
"This matter could have been handled in a more compassionate and humane way," Brewington said.
A spokeswoman for the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority refused to comment on the actions of its police officers.
Seldon was heading into Manhattan to pick up his wife at work when he apparently missed an exit for the Queensboro Bridge and stopped near the Midtown Tunnel to ask cops for directions.
It's unclear what happened next, but at some point the cops determined Seldon's license was suspended for failing to pay six tickets in Nassau County traffic court.
Seldon, an insurance claims adjuster for Geico, was once a strapping 320-pounder with a deep voice. His love of singing earned him the nickname "Barry White" after the crooner he resembled.
But cancer had taken its toll. Seldon shed more than 100 pounds, his skin was discolored and covered with scales, and he was unsteady on his feet.
His wife was able to track him to the 108th Precinct stationhouse and from there, to Elmhurst Hospital Center where, according to the suit, she found him handcuffed to a chair and sitting in his own waste.
He was not freed, and he was later taken to Central Booking and Criminal Court.
Authorities would not say why he was held so long. Seldon's daughter Criscelle Seldon, 24, was shocked at the sight of her father when she found him May 15 sitting nearly catatonic on a courthouse bench, his soiled pants hanging around his ankles. "He looked like he had been in a concentration camp," she recalled.
Concerned about his condition, relatives took him to North Shore University Hospital, where doctors said his infection had worsened and his blood platelet level was dangerously low.
"The doctors asked us, 'What happened to him?'" Criscelle Seldon recalled.
Two days later, Seldon was suffering seizures and ministrokes and was placed on a respirator. He died May 20, nine days after taking a wrong turn.
The death certificate says he died of cardiac arrest, but Angela Seldon said her husband's heart was broken by the cruelty the gentle giant endured during his last week on Earth.
"I believe the stress and the trauma accelerated his death," she said.
Glenn Seldon, 50, was battling advanced colon cancer in 2007 but still hoped his chemotherapy regimen would make him well enough to go on a family vacation being planned for Hawaii.
Then, on May 11, 2007, he was arrested for driving with a license that had been suspended for unpaid parking tickets.
According to a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court, cops disregarded his weakened condition and ignored his need for daily medication to control an infection and blood clots.
When he finally staggered out of Queens Criminal Court four nights behind bars, his clothing was soiled, he was gaunt from dehydration, incontinent and weeping uncontrollably, his family said. "They broke his spirit," said his wife, Angela Seldon. "Why couldn't they have just given him a summons and let him come home to us?"
Family attorney Fred Brewington called the officers' actions appalling.
"This matter could have been handled in a more compassionate and humane way," Brewington said.
A spokeswoman for the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority refused to comment on the actions of its police officers.
Seldon was heading into Manhattan to pick up his wife at work when he apparently missed an exit for the Queensboro Bridge and stopped near the Midtown Tunnel to ask cops for directions.
It's unclear what happened next, but at some point the cops determined Seldon's license was suspended for failing to pay six tickets in Nassau County traffic court.
Seldon, an insurance claims adjuster for Geico, was once a strapping 320-pounder with a deep voice. His love of singing earned him the nickname "Barry White" after the crooner he resembled.
But cancer had taken its toll. Seldon shed more than 100 pounds, his skin was discolored and covered with scales, and he was unsteady on his feet.
His wife was able to track him to the 108th Precinct stationhouse and from there, to Elmhurst Hospital Center where, according to the suit, she found him handcuffed to a chair and sitting in his own waste.
He was not freed, and he was later taken to Central Booking and Criminal Court.
Authorities would not say why he was held so long. Seldon's daughter Criscelle Seldon, 24, was shocked at the sight of her father when she found him May 15 sitting nearly catatonic on a courthouse bench, his soiled pants hanging around his ankles. "He looked like he had been in a concentration camp," she recalled.
Concerned about his condition, relatives took him to North Shore University Hospital, where doctors said his infection had worsened and his blood platelet level was dangerously low.
"The doctors asked us, 'What happened to him?'" Criscelle Seldon recalled.
Two days later, Seldon was suffering seizures and ministrokes and was placed on a respirator. He died May 20, nine days after taking a wrong turn.
The death certificate says he died of cardiac arrest, but Angela Seldon said her husband's heart was broken by the cruelty the gentle giant endured during his last week on Earth.
"I believe the stress and the trauma accelerated his death," she said.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Two Officers Assault 14-year-old Boy and Leave Him Half-Naked in Marsh Recieve NO Jail Time
Two police officers accused of assaulting a 14-year-old boy they suspected of making Halloween mischief and leaving him half-naked in a desolate Staten Island marsh pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct on Wednesday, prosecutors said.
The officers, Thomas Elliassen and Richard Danese, both 29, were indicted last March on 33 criminal counts, including 13 felonies, but reached a deal with prosecutors after the boy, Rayshawn Moreno of Staten Island, now 15, refused to testify in court, according to prosecutors.
The officers were sentenced in State Supreme Court on Staten Island to conditional discharge for one year, said Daniel M. Donovan Jr., the Staten Island district attorney, and will serve no time in jail. But the officers have been assigned to modified duty and are facing departmental charges, a police official said.
Officers Elliassen and Danese, who both live on Staten Island, were arrested on Nov. 2, 2007, and charged with unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a minor.
Prosecutors said the officers came across Rayshawn on a street corner on Halloween night a few days earlier, and, believing that he had been throwing eggs at passing cars, stopped the boy and placed him in their patrol car. He was driven to an isolated marshy area, where he was pulled from the police car and told to strip to his underwear and lie face down in the roadway, prosecutors said. The officers then kicked and struck him and abandoned him there, prosecutors said.
Lawyers for Rayshawn and his family had said the officers, who are white, had used a racial epithet while threatening the teenager, who is black.
Salvatore Strazzullo, Officer Danese’s lawyer, maintained his client’s innocence, calling the case a sham.
“Basically, the district attorney’s case fell apart,” Mr. Strazzullo said on Wednesday night. “The evidence just didn’t match up.”
Mr. Strazzullo said the officers arrested Rayshawn but changed their minds about taking him to the police station, and decided to take him home instead. But when they asked his name, age and address, he refused to tell them, Mr. Strazzullo said. He said that as soon as they let the boy out of the car he took off running.
“At the end of the day, the officers did Mr. Moreno a favor,” Mr. Strazzullo said.
In a related case, Officer Danese was charged in Brooklyn with unauthorized use of computerized police records in what was described as an attempt to find negative information about Rayshawn and his father.
Mr. Donovan said in a statement on Wednesday that Rayshawn’s story was credible.
“The victim’s account of the events leading to this prosecution remained consistent,” Mr. Donovan said. But as prosecutors began to prepare for trial, Rayshawn began refusing to cooperate, he said.
“While we were prepared to go forward, we believe we could not adequately present our case without the full cooperation of our victim,” Mr. Donovan said.
Other Information: http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/das_statement_on_plea_deal_off.html
The officers, Thomas Elliassen and Richard Danese, both 29, were indicted last March on 33 criminal counts, including 13 felonies, but reached a deal with prosecutors after the boy, Rayshawn Moreno of Staten Island, now 15, refused to testify in court, according to prosecutors.
The officers were sentenced in State Supreme Court on Staten Island to conditional discharge for one year, said Daniel M. Donovan Jr., the Staten Island district attorney, and will serve no time in jail. But the officers have been assigned to modified duty and are facing departmental charges, a police official said.
Officers Elliassen and Danese, who both live on Staten Island, were arrested on Nov. 2, 2007, and charged with unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a minor.
Prosecutors said the officers came across Rayshawn on a street corner on Halloween night a few days earlier, and, believing that he had been throwing eggs at passing cars, stopped the boy and placed him in their patrol car. He was driven to an isolated marshy area, where he was pulled from the police car and told to strip to his underwear and lie face down in the roadway, prosecutors said. The officers then kicked and struck him and abandoned him there, prosecutors said.
Lawyers for Rayshawn and his family had said the officers, who are white, had used a racial epithet while threatening the teenager, who is black.
Salvatore Strazzullo, Officer Danese’s lawyer, maintained his client’s innocence, calling the case a sham.
“Basically, the district attorney’s case fell apart,” Mr. Strazzullo said on Wednesday night. “The evidence just didn’t match up.”
Mr. Strazzullo said the officers arrested Rayshawn but changed their minds about taking him to the police station, and decided to take him home instead. But when they asked his name, age and address, he refused to tell them, Mr. Strazzullo said. He said that as soon as they let the boy out of the car he took off running.
“At the end of the day, the officers did Mr. Moreno a favor,” Mr. Strazzullo said.
In a related case, Officer Danese was charged in Brooklyn with unauthorized use of computerized police records in what was described as an attempt to find negative information about Rayshawn and his father.
Mr. Donovan said in a statement on Wednesday that Rayshawn’s story was credible.
“The victim’s account of the events leading to this prosecution remained consistent,” Mr. Donovan said. But as prosecutors began to prepare for trial, Rayshawn began refusing to cooperate, he said.
“While we were prepared to go forward, we believe we could not adequately present our case without the full cooperation of our victim,” Mr. Donovan said.
Other Information: http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/das_statement_on_plea_deal_off.html
Sgt. Michael Hanson Investigated for Not Living in City Where he Works
A Boston police sergeant has been placed on administrative leave and could be fired in allegedly violating a residency regulation that requires employees of the city to live within its boundaries, officials said yesterday.
Sergeant Michael Hanson, 38, was placed on leave following an investigation by the city's compliancy unit, which responds to tips about employees who violate the rule.
Hanson, a veteran of 10 years who is assigned to the district covering West Roxbury, could not be reached for comment yesterday. The head of his union, the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, said the organization stands behind him.
"Sergeant Hanson has the full backing and support of the Superior Officers Federation," said Joseph Gillespie, the union president. "We feel this is in response to our ongoing contractual negotiations."
Gillespie declined to elaborate.
The union has been without a contract since 2006. The department's two other unions, the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association and the Detective Benevolent Society, negotiated contracts in 2006 that allow members who have been with the department for 10 years to live outside the city. Other unions have negotiated similar exceptions to the 1976 ordinance. Fewer than 10,000 of the city's roughly 18,000 employees are subject to the regulation, said John McGonagle, chairman of the city's residency commission, which hears complaints.
The compliancy unit is also investigating at least two firefighters accused of violating the residency rule, officials said. Their names were not released because of the ongoing probe.
In January, a police civilian - Keri Mastrogiacomo, who was assigned to the ballistics unit - left the department after the compliancy unit accused her of violating the rule. She resigned before her residency hearing at City Hall, police said.
Mastrogiacomo, who acknowledged she was living in Braintree, said she and her husband own a home in Boston and pay taxes on it.
She said the investigation into her residency occurred about a month after she complained that a supervisor had sexually harassed her and discriminated against her.
Mastrogiacomo said she has filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. A police spokeswoman declined to comment.
"The residency rule isn't worth the paper that it's written on," Mastrogiacomo said in a telephone interview. "It's enforced only when it suits them."
The compliancy unit falls under the city's Property and Construction Management department and has one full-time investigator. The department may contract with a private company for more investigators if there is a backlog of cases, McGonagle said.
The unit is investigating about a dozen cases, he said.
After receiving a tip, investigators typically follow employees home to verify whether they live at the address they say is theirs, McGonagle said. They also examine documents like voting records, insurance forms, and registrations, he said.
The residency commission then holds a hearing during which both sides present their cases, said McGonagle, who noted that he has heard about 150 cases since 1994, when the city, under Mayor Thomas M. Menino, began enforcing the ordinance more aggressively.
Of those cases, about 50 have resulted in the employee being fired or resigning, McGonagle said.
"The city wants to have some stability and some control over its workforce and would like to know that the people who are good enough to work for the city would also want to live in the city," he said.
Sergeant Michael Hanson, 38, was placed on leave following an investigation by the city's compliancy unit, which responds to tips about employees who violate the rule.
Hanson, a veteran of 10 years who is assigned to the district covering West Roxbury, could not be reached for comment yesterday. The head of his union, the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation, said the organization stands behind him.
"Sergeant Hanson has the full backing and support of the Superior Officers Federation," said Joseph Gillespie, the union president. "We feel this is in response to our ongoing contractual negotiations."
Gillespie declined to elaborate.
The union has been without a contract since 2006. The department's two other unions, the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association and the Detective Benevolent Society, negotiated contracts in 2006 that allow members who have been with the department for 10 years to live outside the city. Other unions have negotiated similar exceptions to the 1976 ordinance. Fewer than 10,000 of the city's roughly 18,000 employees are subject to the regulation, said John McGonagle, chairman of the city's residency commission, which hears complaints.
The compliancy unit is also investigating at least two firefighters accused of violating the residency rule, officials said. Their names were not released because of the ongoing probe.
In January, a police civilian - Keri Mastrogiacomo, who was assigned to the ballistics unit - left the department after the compliancy unit accused her of violating the rule. She resigned before her residency hearing at City Hall, police said.
Mastrogiacomo, who acknowledged she was living in Braintree, said she and her husband own a home in Boston and pay taxes on it.
She said the investigation into her residency occurred about a month after she complained that a supervisor had sexually harassed her and discriminated against her.
Mastrogiacomo said she has filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. A police spokeswoman declined to comment.
"The residency rule isn't worth the paper that it's written on," Mastrogiacomo said in a telephone interview. "It's enforced only when it suits them."
The compliancy unit falls under the city's Property and Construction Management department and has one full-time investigator. The department may contract with a private company for more investigators if there is a backlog of cases, McGonagle said.
The unit is investigating about a dozen cases, he said.
After receiving a tip, investigators typically follow employees home to verify whether they live at the address they say is theirs, McGonagle said. They also examine documents like voting records, insurance forms, and registrations, he said.
The residency commission then holds a hearing during which both sides present their cases, said McGonagle, who noted that he has heard about 150 cases since 1994, when the city, under Mayor Thomas M. Menino, began enforcing the ordinance more aggressively.
Of those cases, about 50 have resulted in the employee being fired or resigning, McGonagle said.
"The city wants to have some stability and some control over its workforce and would like to know that the people who are good enough to work for the city would also want to live in the city," he said.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Charges of DWI Filed Against Officer Joshua Calder
FARMINGTON
A drunken driving charge was filed against a Farmington police officer who said he drank beer and crashed his motorcycle, injuring himself a passenger.
The 8th Judicial District Attorney's Office filed an aggravated driving while intoxicated charge against Farmington police officer Joshua Calder on Jan. 5. The charge also alleges Calder caused bodily injury to his passenger, Danielle Utton, when he crashed his motorcycle after leaving KB Dillon's Bar and Grill on Aug. 2.
Gallegos's office decided not to file the charge at first, but later reversed course. The office thought the case would be dismissed because Calder was not arrested, Gallegos has said. Gallegos disagreed and in November said his office would file a charge.
Gallegos's judicial district, which covers is Taos, Colfax and Union counties, is prosecuting Calder. The District Attorney's Office in San Juan County excused itself from the case because it wanted to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
Previous Post: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2009/01/officer-glenn-mearls-officer-josh.html
A drunken driving charge was filed against a Farmington police officer who said he drank beer and crashed his motorcycle, injuring himself a passenger.
The 8th Judicial District Attorney's Office filed an aggravated driving while intoxicated charge against Farmington police officer Joshua Calder on Jan. 5. The charge also alleges Calder caused bodily injury to his passenger, Danielle Utton, when he crashed his motorcycle after leaving KB Dillon's Bar and Grill on Aug. 2.
Gallegos's office decided not to file the charge at first, but later reversed course. The office thought the case would be dismissed because Calder was not arrested, Gallegos has said. Gallegos disagreed and in November said his office would file a charge.
Gallegos's judicial district, which covers is Taos, Colfax and Union counties, is prosecuting Calder. The District Attorney's Office in San Juan County excused itself from the case because it wanted to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
Previous Post: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2009/01/officer-glenn-mearls-officer-josh.html
Former Officer Anthony Miller Appears in Court for Downloading Child Porn
A police officer accused of downloading child pornography while on duty, appeared in court.
Anthony T. Miller from New Richmond waived his right to a preliminary hearing and is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.
Miller was arrested in December and was charged with possessing child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child.
For two years, officers say Miller admittedly downloaded and traded pornographic images of children between 9 and 15 years old while he was on duty.
Officers say he is an 11-year veteran of the police department in Hastings, Minnesota.
Anthony T. Miller from New Richmond waived his right to a preliminary hearing and is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.
Miller was arrested in December and was charged with possessing child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child.
For two years, officers say Miller admittedly downloaded and traded pornographic images of children between 9 and 15 years old while he was on duty.
Officers say he is an 11-year veteran of the police department in Hastings, Minnesota.
Deputy Steven Slusser Arrested for DUI
MOUNT DORA, Fla.
A Lake County sheriff's detention deputy arrested on DUI charges has resigned.
Steven Slusser, 26, was arrested about 11 p.m. Sunday after being pulled over by a Mount Dora police officer. The officer, who suspected Slusser of speeding, said Slusser reeked of alcohol. The officer said he asked Slusser to perform sobriety tests, which he failed, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Slusser was arrested and took three breath tests, one of which registered a blood alcohol level of 0.223, according to the sheriff's office. A person is considered legally intoxicated in Florida if he or she has a blood alcohol level higher than 0.08.
Slusser, who had been employed by the Lake County Sheriff's Office since August 2007, resigned Monday as the sheriff's office launched an internal investigation into the incident.
There had been no disciplinary action against Slusser prior to his arrest, the Lake County Sheriff's Office said.
A Lake County sheriff's detention deputy arrested on DUI charges has resigned.
Steven Slusser, 26, was arrested about 11 p.m. Sunday after being pulled over by a Mount Dora police officer. The officer, who suspected Slusser of speeding, said Slusser reeked of alcohol. The officer said he asked Slusser to perform sobriety tests, which he failed, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
Slusser was arrested and took three breath tests, one of which registered a blood alcohol level of 0.223, according to the sheriff's office. A person is considered legally intoxicated in Florida if he or she has a blood alcohol level higher than 0.08.
Slusser, who had been employed by the Lake County Sheriff's Office since August 2007, resigned Monday as the sheriff's office launched an internal investigation into the incident.
There had been no disciplinary action against Slusser prior to his arrest, the Lake County Sheriff's Office said.
Police Chief Sam Granato Still Discriminating Against Union Members
YAKIMA
After being found guilty of discriminating against police officers, what's next for Yakima Police Chief Sam Granato?
Yakima Police Patrolman's Association President Bob Hester said that officers can continue working with Granato, but only if he stops discriminating against union members and violating officers' rights.
Granato became chief in 2003. Since then, he's been found guilty of discriminating against officers four times.
Hester says the department - chief relationship is strained, but could be fixed if Granato changes his ways.
Those ways have cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hester is not sure if or when City Manager Dick Zais will say enough is enough.
"I do believe that at some point you have to look at the entire portion of all the moneys that are being spent and try to figure out a way to reduce that liability to the city," Hester said.
Friday's verdict stems from a disagreement with Officer Elaine Gonzalez. The city of Yakima was also found guilty of withholding public records from the union.
There is also the matter of two civil cases filed against Granato last week by Sgt. Brenda George and Capt. Rod Light.
While the union won't get involved in those, Hester thinks this ruling helps the officer's cases.
After being found guilty of discriminating against police officers, what's next for Yakima Police Chief Sam Granato?
Yakima Police Patrolman's Association President Bob Hester said that officers can continue working with Granato, but only if he stops discriminating against union members and violating officers' rights.
Granato became chief in 2003. Since then, he's been found guilty of discriminating against officers four times.
Hester says the department - chief relationship is strained, but could be fixed if Granato changes his ways.
Those ways have cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hester is not sure if or when City Manager Dick Zais will say enough is enough.
"I do believe that at some point you have to look at the entire portion of all the moneys that are being spent and try to figure out a way to reduce that liability to the city," Hester said.
Friday's verdict stems from a disagreement with Officer Elaine Gonzalez. The city of Yakima was also found guilty of withholding public records from the union.
There is also the matter of two civil cases filed against Granato last week by Sgt. Brenda George and Capt. Rod Light.
While the union won't get involved in those, Hester thinks this ruling helps the officer's cases.
Officer Sherri Barnes Accused of Prescription Drug Abuse
SCHENECTADY
A seasoned city police investigator has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of an internal probe into allegations of prescription drug abuse, according to individuals familiar with the situation.
Officer Sherri Barnes, who works in the department's Youth Aid Bureau, was placed on paid leave over the weekend for at least 30 days as the department's Office of Professional Standards looks into the matter. She did not return a call Monday to her home seeking comment, but the sources, who requested anonymity, said the prescription drug abuse accusations against Barnes were launched by the state Department of Health, which later notified her employer. Several calls Monday to the cellphones of members of the agency's press office were not returned.
Barnes is the latest Schenectady police officer to be forced off the job for alleged misdeeds.
Last week, Officer John Lewis, 39, was arrested for the fifth time in nine months for allegedly trashing his mother's home during a physical altercation with his police officer brother. He is on unpaid leave. Lewis' attorney later said his client was seeking treatment for substance abuse.
Lewis also face charges for a drunken-driving incident in which he is accused of running into another car and also for allegedly threatening to kill his former wife and anyone she dated.
In early December, Sgt. Joseph A. Peters IV, 42, was placed on paid leave after being issued a ticket for driving while intoxicated and another for having a blood alcohol level above 0.08. He had been pulled over after a motorist reported seeing an erratic driver. It's unclear whether he is back on the job.
Five other Schenectady officers recently cleared in an alleged police brutality case stemming from a run-in with a drunken-driving suspect in December 2007 have been on paid leave since then.
Officials have said the departmental probe into the actions of officers Andrew Karaskiewicz, Eric Reyell, Daryl Mallard, Gregory Haffensteiner, Kevin Derkowski is winding down.
Barnes has been on the force since October 1984, according to city records. Her husband, Donald, also a city officer, has been with the department just over 23 years. Both currently work in the city youth bureau. In 2005, Barnes and another officer suffered minor injuries when a city man resisted arrest after a failed attempt to rob a bank on State Street.
While police interviewed his father, Kendall Spraragen entered the residence and fought with Barnes and Officer Philip Feldhaus when they tried to take him into custody. As a result, Barnes injured her knee and wrist and Feldhaus injured his hand. Both were treated at Ellis Hospital and released.
A seasoned city police investigator has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of an internal probe into allegations of prescription drug abuse, according to individuals familiar with the situation.
Officer Sherri Barnes, who works in the department's Youth Aid Bureau, was placed on paid leave over the weekend for at least 30 days as the department's Office of Professional Standards looks into the matter. She did not return a call Monday to her home seeking comment, but the sources, who requested anonymity, said the prescription drug abuse accusations against Barnes were launched by the state Department of Health, which later notified her employer. Several calls Monday to the cellphones of members of the agency's press office were not returned.
Barnes is the latest Schenectady police officer to be forced off the job for alleged misdeeds.
Last week, Officer John Lewis, 39, was arrested for the fifth time in nine months for allegedly trashing his mother's home during a physical altercation with his police officer brother. He is on unpaid leave. Lewis' attorney later said his client was seeking treatment for substance abuse.
Lewis also face charges for a drunken-driving incident in which he is accused of running into another car and also for allegedly threatening to kill his former wife and anyone she dated.
In early December, Sgt. Joseph A. Peters IV, 42, was placed on paid leave after being issued a ticket for driving while intoxicated and another for having a blood alcohol level above 0.08. He had been pulled over after a motorist reported seeing an erratic driver. It's unclear whether he is back on the job.
Five other Schenectady officers recently cleared in an alleged police brutality case stemming from a run-in with a drunken-driving suspect in December 2007 have been on paid leave since then.
Officials have said the departmental probe into the actions of officers Andrew Karaskiewicz, Eric Reyell, Daryl Mallard, Gregory Haffensteiner, Kevin Derkowski is winding down.
Barnes has been on the force since October 1984, according to city records. Her husband, Donald, also a city officer, has been with the department just over 23 years. Both currently work in the city youth bureau. In 2005, Barnes and another officer suffered minor injuries when a city man resisted arrest after a failed attempt to rob a bank on State Street.
While police interviewed his father, Kendall Spraragen entered the residence and fought with Barnes and Officer Philip Feldhaus when they tried to take him into custody. As a result, Barnes injured her knee and wrist and Feldhaus injured his hand. Both were treated at Ellis Hospital and released.
Canada Investigating Taser Death of Robert Dziekanski
A public inquiry has begun in Canada into the case of a man who died on an airport floor after police officers used a Taser electric stun gun on him.
Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who did not speak English, was confronted by four policemen at Vancouver airport in 2007.
A bystander filmed the officers repeatedly stunning him with a Taser.
The police were heavily criticised when the recording emerged but no charges were brought.
The inquiry will hear from up to 80 witnesses and is expected to last six months. It could find the officers guilty of misconduct.
Heated debate
In October 2007, the 40-year-old Mr Dziekanski became agitated and began to behave erratically after wandering around Vancouver's airport for 10 hours.
Unable to speak English, he had become increasingly confused as he failed to find the public arrivals area where his mother had been waiting for him.
He was confronted by four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers who stunned him five times with a Taser gun.
The incident has led to a heated debate about the use of the stun guns, the BBC's Lee Carter in Toronto says.
Video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7095875.stm
Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who did not speak English, was confronted by four policemen at Vancouver airport in 2007.
A bystander filmed the officers repeatedly stunning him with a Taser.
The police were heavily criticised when the recording emerged but no charges were brought.
The inquiry will hear from up to 80 witnesses and is expected to last six months. It could find the officers guilty of misconduct.
Heated debate
In October 2007, the 40-year-old Mr Dziekanski became agitated and began to behave erratically after wandering around Vancouver's airport for 10 hours.
Unable to speak English, he had become increasingly confused as he failed to find the public arrivals area where his mother had been waiting for him.
He was confronted by four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers who stunned him five times with a Taser gun.
The incident has led to a heated debate about the use of the stun guns, the BBC's Lee Carter in Toronto says.
Video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7095875.stm
Monday, January 19, 2009
Ex-Cop Christopher Cole Committs Suicide in Jail Wasn't Placed on Suicide Watch
An ongoing feud between Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and Sheriff Warren Evans continues to intensify and has caught in its cross fire the family of a jail inmate who committed suicide.
Christopher Cole, an ex-Detroit cop with a controversial past, wasn't placed on a suicide watch at the Wayne County Jail when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after a crash that left another man in a coma, despite claims by others that he warned that he would kill himself.
Evans' staff says the county's mental health staff assesses the needs of inmates during the intake process and should have detected suicidal tendencies. Ficano's staff counters that sheriff's deputies should have kept a closer eye on Cole.
Evans and Ficano are in the midst of a months-long battle over proposed budget cuts, a fight that has landed in Wayne County Circuit Court.
Last Monday, Cole, 46, of Macomb Township entered the Wayne County Jail after his bond was raised from tether release to $500,000 at the request of police officers. He was arrested Jan. 9 after police say he crashed into a car driven by Gary Holcomb, 22, of Detroit about 1:30 a.m. at the westbound I-94 service drive and Yorkshire.
Cole's lawyer, Mike Rataj, said Cole's former colleagues told sheriff's staff that Cole needed to be on suicide watch and that Cole said he would kill himself rather than go to prison.
Two nights later, he hanged himself with a torn bedsheet in his jail cell and was found dead Thursday morning and left several suicide notes, Rataj said.
"I don't think there's any question that the sheriff had information from the police that Chris Cole was suicidal," Rataj said.
Cole's was the second suicide in as many days at the jail.
Cole's 49-year-old brother, Michael Cole, said his brother had a long history of threatening suicide when he got into trouble. Christopher Cole had three drunken driving convictions and struggled with drugs, his brother said.
In 2001, he was acquitted of federal drug racketeering and civil rights abuses while four other cops were convicted of looting drug houses and gamblers. But, despite being cleared of the charges, Cole's friends and family said, he never got over the case.
He retired from the police department in 2005.
After the Jan. 9 accident, Cole "was absolutely devastated and the thought that he had hurt someone was the last straw," Michael Cole said. "I knew his intention was to get out on bail and hurt himself. I didn't want him to get out."
After his bond was raised, Christopher Cole called his 22-year-old daughter, Phaelyn Cole, and spoke cryptically, she said.
"He started telling me, no matter how everything turns out that he wanted us to know that he loves us no matter what," said Phaelyn Cole, who lives in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Grosse Pointe Park attorney Kevin Geer, who represents Holcomb's family, said Friday that Holcomb is in a coma at Detroit's St. John Hospital. He was in critical condition at the hospital Sunday, a hospital spokesperson said.
John Roach, a spokesman for Sheriff Warren Evans, agreed that Cole should have been on a suicide watch, but was instead placed in general population.
"Somebody needs to ask the county executive for answers," he said of Ficano. "For somebody who had such clear indicators, we cannot understand why they would not have seen those risk factors and assigned Mr. Cole to special accommodations at the jail."
Ficano spokeswoman Vanessa Denha-Garmo replied: "Appropriate mental and physical screenings were conducted as they always are when inmates enter the jail. The sheriff's deputies are in charge of placing inmates inside the jail. It is unfortunate that politics are playing a part of such a tragic case."
Jury Decides Officers Did NOT use Excessive Force After Shooting Man in Back
HOUSTON
A jury decided Friday that four LaPorte police officers did not use excessive force when they shot and killed a mentally ill man seven years ago.
Read Court Document:
Plaintiffs' Original Complaint
During the trial, the Meadours family used a detailed recreation of the shooting to try to prove the officers used excessive force. The family said they called police in October 2001 to try to get help taking Bob Meadours to a mental hospital. They said he was paranoid and delusional.
The officers said they shot Bob Meadours when he rushed one of them with a screw driver.
"These officers were exonerated by their own department, they were exonerated by the District Attorney's Office and now they've been exonerated by a jury of their peers," defense attorney William Helfand said.
A key witness for the family, a ballistics expert, testified that at least six shots hit Meadours in the back as he ran from the officers. One of the shots penetrated Meadours' upper leg as he stood atop a dog house, the expert said.
The defense put on witnesses who testified the plaintiffs’ analysis can’t be backed up scientifically – that there’s not a way to tell with both Meadours and the officers moving, their exact positions when it happened.
"A life was taken and that's never easy," said Sgt. Steve Ermel, one of the officers who was sued. "That's something the Meadours family has to live with. That something each one of us has to live with."
The Meadours' family asked for what its attorney describes as "substantial" damages from the four officers involved. The family said it was not happy with the verdict but it accepted the jury's decision.
A jury decided Friday that four LaPorte police officers did not use excessive force when they shot and killed a mentally ill man seven years ago.
Read Court Document:
Plaintiffs' Original Complaint
During the trial, the Meadours family used a detailed recreation of the shooting to try to prove the officers used excessive force. The family said they called police in October 2001 to try to get help taking Bob Meadours to a mental hospital. They said he was paranoid and delusional.
The officers said they shot Bob Meadours when he rushed one of them with a screw driver.
"These officers were exonerated by their own department, they were exonerated by the District Attorney's Office and now they've been exonerated by a jury of their peers," defense attorney William Helfand said.
A key witness for the family, a ballistics expert, testified that at least six shots hit Meadours in the back as he ran from the officers. One of the shots penetrated Meadours' upper leg as he stood atop a dog house, the expert said.
The defense put on witnesses who testified the plaintiffs’ analysis can’t be backed up scientifically – that there’s not a way to tell with both Meadours and the officers moving, their exact positions when it happened.
"A life was taken and that's never easy," said Sgt. Steve Ermel, one of the officers who was sued. "That's something the Meadours family has to live with. That something each one of us has to live with."
The Meadours' family asked for what its attorney describes as "substantial" damages from the four officers involved. The family said it was not happy with the verdict but it accepted the jury's decision.
Officer Sean Christopher Letona Arrested for Battery
ST. PETERSBURG
Police officers arrested a seven-year veteran of the Pinellas Park Police Department and his sister Sunday after a brawl in a bar parking lot.
Sean Christopher Letona, 30, of St. Petersburg was arrested and charged with misdemeanor simple battery. Letona has worked for the Pinellas Park Police Department since October 2001. He earns $44,900 a year.
Also arrested and charged with disorderly intoxication, a misdemeanor, was Alma Charice Letona, 25, also of St. Petersburg. Both Letonas were released on their own recognizance.
The incident began around 1 a.m. when Pinellas Park police Sgt. William Lowe received a message to call the St. Petersburg Police Department. When he did, St. Petersburg officers told him they had arrested Letona at a bar near Beach Drive SE and First Avenue S.
They said a brawl had begun inside the bar but the bouncers were able to move those involved into the parking lot. An off-duty St. Petersburg police officer was working a detail less than a block away and came when he heard the commotion in the parking lot. He was eventually joined by a second St. Petersburg police officer.
When the officers arrived at the bar, the fighting was over and several people had left the scene. As an officer told the remaining folks to leave, a man — later identified as Letona — "came out of nowhere," grabbed one of the bar patrons and began punching him. They fell to the ground, and Letona continued punching the other man despite police orders to stop.
"The officer deployed his Taser and that is when Officer Letona complied," Lowe wrote in his report. It was unclear which St. Petersburg officer used the Taser.
"While they were attempting to handcuff him, Officer Letona's sister tried to pull the officer away and continued to interfere. She was also arrested," according to the report.
St. Petersburg officers searched Letona and they found an ankle holster with a small-caliber handgun, his police badge and identification.
A St. Petersburg police sergeant called Pinellas Park, told Lowe what happened and that Letona was "extremely intoxicated." The sergeant asked if Lowe wanted to come pick up Letona or allow him to be arrested. Lowe said he would have to check with his superiors.
Capt. Mike Haworth, second in command at the Pinellas Park Police Department, told Lowe to "have the St. Petersburg police process (Letona) as they saw fit."
Lowe called St. Petersburg to say they could do what they "felt was warranted in this incident." After the St. Petersburg officer talked with his superiors, Letona was taken to jail.
Information on what started the bar brawl was unavailable Sunday.
Police officers arrested a seven-year veteran of the Pinellas Park Police Department and his sister Sunday after a brawl in a bar parking lot.
Sean Christopher Letona, 30, of St. Petersburg was arrested and charged with misdemeanor simple battery. Letona has worked for the Pinellas Park Police Department since October 2001. He earns $44,900 a year.
Also arrested and charged with disorderly intoxication, a misdemeanor, was Alma Charice Letona, 25, also of St. Petersburg. Both Letonas were released on their own recognizance.
The incident began around 1 a.m. when Pinellas Park police Sgt. William Lowe received a message to call the St. Petersburg Police Department. When he did, St. Petersburg officers told him they had arrested Letona at a bar near Beach Drive SE and First Avenue S.
They said a brawl had begun inside the bar but the bouncers were able to move those involved into the parking lot. An off-duty St. Petersburg police officer was working a detail less than a block away and came when he heard the commotion in the parking lot. He was eventually joined by a second St. Petersburg police officer.
When the officers arrived at the bar, the fighting was over and several people had left the scene. As an officer told the remaining folks to leave, a man — later identified as Letona — "came out of nowhere," grabbed one of the bar patrons and began punching him. They fell to the ground, and Letona continued punching the other man despite police orders to stop.
"The officer deployed his Taser and that is when Officer Letona complied," Lowe wrote in his report. It was unclear which St. Petersburg officer used the Taser.
"While they were attempting to handcuff him, Officer Letona's sister tried to pull the officer away and continued to interfere. She was also arrested," according to the report.
St. Petersburg officers searched Letona and they found an ankle holster with a small-caliber handgun, his police badge and identification.
A St. Petersburg police sergeant called Pinellas Park, told Lowe what happened and that Letona was "extremely intoxicated." The sergeant asked if Lowe wanted to come pick up Letona or allow him to be arrested. Lowe said he would have to check with his superiors.
Capt. Mike Haworth, second in command at the Pinellas Park Police Department, told Lowe to "have the St. Petersburg police process (Letona) as they saw fit."
Lowe called St. Petersburg to say they could do what they "felt was warranted in this incident." After the St. Petersburg officer talked with his superiors, Letona was taken to jail.
Information on what started the bar brawl was unavailable Sunday.
Rookie Officer Jeffrey Fowler Arrested for Public Intoxication
A 28-year-old rookie Dallas police officer was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor public intoxication Sunday night in Oak Lawn.
At 11 p.m., Jeffrey Fowler was off duty and riding in a vehicle that was involved in a crash near Lemmon and Cole avenues, Dallas police Sgt. Gil Cerda said. No injuries were reported. Records show that Sunday was the officer’s birthday, but it’s unclear where he had been prior to the crash.
Fowler was taken to the Dallas city marshal’s detention facility at 1600 Chestnut St. He was released at 7:30 a.m. Monday on the class C misdemeanor charge, city marshals said.
Cerda said that Fowler had not been put on administrative leave over the incident. He is, however, on restricted duty, officials said.
Fowler is assigned to northwest patrol. He was hired in January 2007.
At 11 p.m., Jeffrey Fowler was off duty and riding in a vehicle that was involved in a crash near Lemmon and Cole avenues, Dallas police Sgt. Gil Cerda said. No injuries were reported. Records show that Sunday was the officer’s birthday, but it’s unclear where he had been prior to the crash.
Fowler was taken to the Dallas city marshal’s detention facility at 1600 Chestnut St. He was released at 7:30 a.m. Monday on the class C misdemeanor charge, city marshals said.
Cerda said that Fowler had not been put on administrative leave over the incident. He is, however, on restricted duty, officials said.
Fowler is assigned to northwest patrol. He was hired in January 2007.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Former Officer Gregory White Jr Pleads Guilty to Putting Gun to Girlfriends Head
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.
A former police officer has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of hitting his girlfriend and putting a gun to her head.
Gregory White Jr. pleaded guilty Friday to corporal injury charges and will serve 60 days in jail and participate in domestic violence court. An assault with a firearm charge was dismissed against the 32-year-old.
White was arrested on Wednesday following the Jan. 4 incident. Authorities say his live-in girlfriend needed medical attention but wasn't admitted to a hospital.
Prosecutors say White no longer works for the San Bernardino Police Department.
———
Information from: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, http://www.dailybulletin.com/
Other Information: http://www.sbsun.com/ci_11478898?source=most_emailed
A former police officer has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of hitting his girlfriend and putting a gun to her head.
Gregory White Jr. pleaded guilty Friday to corporal injury charges and will serve 60 days in jail and participate in domestic violence court. An assault with a firearm charge was dismissed against the 32-year-old.
White was arrested on Wednesday following the Jan. 4 incident. Authorities say his live-in girlfriend needed medical attention but wasn't admitted to a hospital.
Prosecutors say White no longer works for the San Bernardino Police Department.
———
Information from: Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, http://www.dailybulletin.com/
Other Information: http://www.sbsun.com/ci_11478898?source=most_emailed
Former Sheriff Mike Burgess Found Guilty of Sexually Abusing Inmates
FAIRVIEW
A Major County jury on Saturday convicted former Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess on multiple counts of sexually abusing inmates and defendants in a county drug court program.
The jury convicted Burgess on 13 felony counts, including five counts of second-degree rape, and recommended he serve 94 years in prison.
The 56-year-old former lawman initially was charged with 36 felony counts, but the jury acquitted him on 23.
"I didn't think he was guilty of anything," said Burgess' attorney, Steve Huddleston. He said he expects Burgess will appeal the convictions.
Huddleston maintained the accusers were either lying or that the sex between Burgess and the women was consensual. Under state law, an inmate cannot legally consent to sexual relations with a jailer or anyone else who controls the conditions of the prisoner's confinement.
A Major County jury on Saturday convicted former Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess on multiple counts of sexually abusing inmates and defendants in a county drug court program.
The jury convicted Burgess on 13 felony counts, including five counts of second-degree rape, and recommended he serve 94 years in prison.
The 56-year-old former lawman initially was charged with 36 felony counts, but the jury acquitted him on 23.
"I didn't think he was guilty of anything," said Burgess' attorney, Steve Huddleston. He said he expects Burgess will appeal the convictions.
Huddleston maintained the accusers were either lying or that the sex between Burgess and the women was consensual. Under state law, an inmate cannot legally consent to sexual relations with a jailer or anyone else who controls the conditions of the prisoner's confinement.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Victoria Officer being Investigated for Using Excessive Force
VICTORIA ,Canada
Victoria's police chief has ordered a criminal investigation into an allegation of excessive use of force by one of his officers.
Chief Jamie Graham says the allegation arose from an October arrest of two people for being intoxicated in public.
Mr. Graham says the people involved were not seriously hurt, but he could not provide any further details.
An internal police review and investigation under B.C.'s Police Act were launched and because the allegation involves use of force, Mr. Graham said yesterday he has ordered a criminal investigation as well.
The officer involved, who has been on the force for three years, has been reassigned.
Mr. Graham said the incident and others like it show the need for more supervision in the police cell block, so as of this week there is a sergeant posted in the jail full-time.
"We owe all inmates and prisoners, no matter what their condition and behaviour, an additional level of care. Many are sick, injured, intoxicated; many are mentally ill, and may not be able to look after themselves or behave as they normally do," Mr. Graham said at a news conference.
"Any use of force in the cell area must be justified in law. Regardless of the circumstances of why someone is in our custody, they deserve to be treated with respect."
Last year, a B.C. jury awarded $60,000 to Willow Kinloch, a Victoria teen who spent four hours tied up in a padded cell and tethered to the cell door in May of 2005. The Victoria Police Department has appealed the decision.
The police force has had other high-profile internal investigations recently.
Deputy chief John Ducker is facing a conflict-of-interest investigation after allegations surfaced that he was contacted to help an acquaintance whose son had been arrested for theft under $5,000.
Police said the acquaintance wanted Mr. Ducker's help to ensure that the young man would face stern consequences for a crime that sometimes doesn't even result in charges.
The allegations of conflict of interest were later found to be unsubstantiated by Abbotsford's police chief.
And last August, former police chief Paul Battershill quit days before he was to face a disciplinary hearing.
An RCMP investigation found no criminal wrongdoing but found complaints of favouritism over Mr. Battershill's personal relationship with a person who provided services to the police department.
Mr. Graham, Mr. Battershill's replacement, also faced heavy criticism as Vancouver's chief of police for the way he handled allegations of misconduct against his officers.
An independent investigation by another police force found Mr. Graham guilty of discreditable conduct for failing to co-operate with an RCMP probe of 50 allegations of misconduct against Vancouver police on behalf of residents of the city's notorious Downtown Eastside neighbourhood.
B.C. Police Complaint Commissioner Dirk Ryneveld wrote that although Mr. Graham did not condone the lack of co-operation by the officers, he did not take the necessary steps to ensure they complied.
Victoria's police chief has ordered a criminal investigation into an allegation of excessive use of force by one of his officers.
Chief Jamie Graham says the allegation arose from an October arrest of two people for being intoxicated in public.
Mr. Graham says the people involved were not seriously hurt, but he could not provide any further details.
An internal police review and investigation under B.C.'s Police Act were launched and because the allegation involves use of force, Mr. Graham said yesterday he has ordered a criminal investigation as well.
The officer involved, who has been on the force for three years, has been reassigned.
Mr. Graham said the incident and others like it show the need for more supervision in the police cell block, so as of this week there is a sergeant posted in the jail full-time.
"We owe all inmates and prisoners, no matter what their condition and behaviour, an additional level of care. Many are sick, injured, intoxicated; many are mentally ill, and may not be able to look after themselves or behave as they normally do," Mr. Graham said at a news conference.
"Any use of force in the cell area must be justified in law. Regardless of the circumstances of why someone is in our custody, they deserve to be treated with respect."
Last year, a B.C. jury awarded $60,000 to Willow Kinloch, a Victoria teen who spent four hours tied up in a padded cell and tethered to the cell door in May of 2005. The Victoria Police Department has appealed the decision.
The police force has had other high-profile internal investigations recently.
Deputy chief John Ducker is facing a conflict-of-interest investigation after allegations surfaced that he was contacted to help an acquaintance whose son had been arrested for theft under $5,000.
Police said the acquaintance wanted Mr. Ducker's help to ensure that the young man would face stern consequences for a crime that sometimes doesn't even result in charges.
The allegations of conflict of interest were later found to be unsubstantiated by Abbotsford's police chief.
And last August, former police chief Paul Battershill quit days before he was to face a disciplinary hearing.
An RCMP investigation found no criminal wrongdoing but found complaints of favouritism over Mr. Battershill's personal relationship with a person who provided services to the police department.
Mr. Graham, Mr. Battershill's replacement, also faced heavy criticism as Vancouver's chief of police for the way he handled allegations of misconduct against his officers.
An independent investigation by another police force found Mr. Graham guilty of discreditable conduct for failing to co-operate with an RCMP probe of 50 allegations of misconduct against Vancouver police on behalf of residents of the city's notorious Downtown Eastside neighbourhood.
B.C. Police Complaint Commissioner Dirk Ryneveld wrote that although Mr. Graham did not condone the lack of co-operation by the officers, he did not take the necessary steps to ensure they complied.
NOPO Arrested for Raping Stepson & Stepdaughters
St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a New Orleans police officer Thursday, accused of raping his stepson and two stepdaughters, Sheriff Jack Strain confirmed Saturday morning.
With his lawyer in tow, the 50-year-old Slidell man, a 17-year- veteran and sergeant of the NOPD patrol section, turned himself into authorities Thursday about 4:30 p.m., Strain said.
He was booked into St. Tammany Parish Jail in Covington on three counts of aggravated rape and aggravated incest, Strain said. Strain did not reveal the alleged victims' ages, but under Louisiana law aggravated rape can be charged when a victim is 13 or younger.
Aggravated rape carries a mandatory life in prison sentence if convicted.
The alleged abuse came to light when one of the children told an 'educator' about the abuse, Strain said.
An investigation was launched, and 'obviously it didn't take long to realize who (the suspect was),' Strain said.
'I personally spoke with (NOPD Police) Chief Warren Riley to tell him about our investigation,' Strain said. 'He offered any support the department can give and complete cooperation.'
The man, whose name is being withheld to protect the victims, has been suspended from the NOPD pending the investigation, Bob Young, an NOPD spokesman said.
The investigation took six weeks after the 'kids were removed from custody' because St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office investigators wanted to build a strong case, Strain said.
'We believe this case is just as good as any we solved,' Strain said. 'It's an incredibly unfortunate incident, but it shows how serious we are.'
Detectives investigated where other abuses occurred in the suspect's role as a police officer, but to date 'we have seen no evidence that there could be any other victims related to his job,' Strain said.
With his lawyer in tow, the 50-year-old Slidell man, a 17-year- veteran and sergeant of the NOPD patrol section, turned himself into authorities Thursday about 4:30 p.m., Strain said.
He was booked into St. Tammany Parish Jail in Covington on three counts of aggravated rape and aggravated incest, Strain said. Strain did not reveal the alleged victims' ages, but under Louisiana law aggravated rape can be charged when a victim is 13 or younger.
Aggravated rape carries a mandatory life in prison sentence if convicted.
The alleged abuse came to light when one of the children told an 'educator' about the abuse, Strain said.
An investigation was launched, and 'obviously it didn't take long to realize who (the suspect was),' Strain said.
'I personally spoke with (NOPD Police) Chief Warren Riley to tell him about our investigation,' Strain said. 'He offered any support the department can give and complete cooperation.'
The man, whose name is being withheld to protect the victims, has been suspended from the NOPD pending the investigation, Bob Young, an NOPD spokesman said.
The investigation took six weeks after the 'kids were removed from custody' because St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office investigators wanted to build a strong case, Strain said.
'We believe this case is just as good as any we solved,' Strain said. 'It's an incredibly unfortunate incident, but it shows how serious we are.'
Detectives investigated where other abuses occurred in the suspect's role as a police officer, but to date 'we have seen no evidence that there could be any other victims related to his job,' Strain said.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Officer Wayne Fisher Investiegated for Having Sexual Contact with Prostitutes
NASHVILLE, Tenn.
The recommended punishment for a Metro police officer investigated on suspicion of having sexual contact with prostitutes is a three-day suspension.
Officer Wayne Fisher was recently investigated for allegedly going too far with prostitutes while working undercover.
An independent investigation recommends Fisher lose three vacation days, which is basically a three-day suspension.
Chief Ronal Serpas still has to approve the recommendation.
Fisher has already been taken out of the vice unit.
In the case file, Fisher indicated he didn't know he couldn't have sexual contact with prostitutes.
Previous Story:
November 10, 2008: Officer Accused Of Sex With Prostitute
The recommended punishment for a Metro police officer investigated on suspicion of having sexual contact with prostitutes is a three-day suspension.
Officer Wayne Fisher was recently investigated for allegedly going too far with prostitutes while working undercover.
An independent investigation recommends Fisher lose three vacation days, which is basically a three-day suspension.
Chief Ronal Serpas still has to approve the recommendation.
Fisher has already been taken out of the vice unit.
In the case file, Fisher indicated he didn't know he couldn't have sexual contact with prostitutes.
Previous Story:
November 10, 2008: Officer Accused Of Sex With Prostitute
Officer Paul Sparks Committs Suicide After Woman Files Sexual Assault Complaint
Just hours before Officer Paul Sparks committed suicide, a woman filed a sexual assault complaint against him. The Dalton Police Chief says his investigation shows Sparks had 'improper sexual conduct' with the woman, but he's still trying to figure out if that conduct was criminal.
Step inside the Oyster Pub and Grill and you'll meet a number of Officer Paul Sparks' friends.
"He would just come in here and check on everything in the bar and keep us all laughing and cut up, everybody loved him," Kellie Frye, a friend, says.
"If we had a girl that was too drunk he would put her in a car and always get her home safely," Sabrina Henderson, a friend, says.
We've learned that while on duty Sparks responded to break up a fight inside of the bar just hours before he took his own life inside of the Dalton Police Department.
Employees tell us that one of the women involved in the fight had to leave the Oyster Pub and go next door to the Guest Inn to get her id out of her room. According to the police report the Guest Inn is where the alleged sexual assault took place.
The police report states that at four a.m. officers responded to a sexual assault call at the Guest Inn - that's two hours before Sparks committed suicide.
"Well I think we're still in shock at the loss of officer sparks and its difficult to work through these things however I think we owe it to the citizens and the public to make sure we get all the facts," Dalton Police Chief Jason Parker says.
Facts which could shed light as to why Sparks took his own life. Parker says both his office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are now looking into the sexual assault allegation.
"I don't believe it for one minute in the world," Frye says. "He's just not that kind of person at all."
"Naw I don't believe it, I can't believe it," Henderson says.
But while the investigation continues, the people who knew Sparks the best want to remember the officer who helped them get home and always kept them smiling.
"He was a friend," Henderson says.
"He was a friend, a police officer, he was just a very well loved man," Frye says.
The Dalton Police Chief says that his investigation shows that none of his other officers were involved in this incident.
Step inside the Oyster Pub and Grill and you'll meet a number of Officer Paul Sparks' friends.
"He would just come in here and check on everything in the bar and keep us all laughing and cut up, everybody loved him," Kellie Frye, a friend, says.
"If we had a girl that was too drunk he would put her in a car and always get her home safely," Sabrina Henderson, a friend, says.
We've learned that while on duty Sparks responded to break up a fight inside of the bar just hours before he took his own life inside of the Dalton Police Department.
Employees tell us that one of the women involved in the fight had to leave the Oyster Pub and go next door to the Guest Inn to get her id out of her room. According to the police report the Guest Inn is where the alleged sexual assault took place.
The police report states that at four a.m. officers responded to a sexual assault call at the Guest Inn - that's two hours before Sparks committed suicide.
"Well I think we're still in shock at the loss of officer sparks and its difficult to work through these things however I think we owe it to the citizens and the public to make sure we get all the facts," Dalton Police Chief Jason Parker says.
Facts which could shed light as to why Sparks took his own life. Parker says both his office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are now looking into the sexual assault allegation.
"I don't believe it for one minute in the world," Frye says. "He's just not that kind of person at all."
"Naw I don't believe it, I can't believe it," Henderson says.
But while the investigation continues, the people who knew Sparks the best want to remember the officer who helped them get home and always kept them smiling.
"He was a friend," Henderson says.
"He was a friend, a police officer, he was just a very well loved man," Frye says.
The Dalton Police Chief says that his investigation shows that none of his other officers were involved in this incident.
Jury Deliberations Begin for Former Sheriff Mike Burgess
Fairview, Oklahoma
Jury deliberations began this afternoon in the trial of former Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess, who is accused of using his power over inmates and drug court defendants to force them to have sex with him.
Deliberations began about 4:30 p.m. In closing arguments, a prosecutor said Burgess' position as a member of a team controlling a drug court put him in position to sexually coerce defendants.
A defense attorney says the accusers are either lying for financial gain in civil litigation, or the sex was consensual.
Burgess has pleaded not guilty to 36 charges of rape, rape by instrumentation, kidnapping, sexual battery and oral sodomy
Jury deliberations began this afternoon in the trial of former Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess, who is accused of using his power over inmates and drug court defendants to force them to have sex with him.
Deliberations began about 4:30 p.m. In closing arguments, a prosecutor said Burgess' position as a member of a team controlling a drug court put him in position to sexually coerce defendants.
A defense attorney says the accusers are either lying for financial gain in civil litigation, or the sex was consensual.
Burgess has pleaded not guilty to 36 charges of rape, rape by instrumentation, kidnapping, sexual battery and oral sodomy
Jury Acquitted Former Sheriff Michael Carona of Bribery Charges
A jury acquitted former Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona of charges that he took bribes in exchange for the power of his office, a verdict that stunned the courtroom and was hailed by the elated defendant as "an absolute miracle." Carona was convicted of one witness-tampering count, but the jury rejected the heart of a case that federal prosecutors spent five years assembling against the former head of the nation's fifth-largest sheriff's department.
He had been accused of doing favors for a multimillionaire businessman and appointing him assistant sheriff in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts. Several jurors said they believed Carona was involved in misconduct but that the government hadn't proven its case.
Carona, 53, began shaking as the verdicts were being read in U.S. District Court, then put his head down on the counsel table and sobbed loudly.
In the gallery, his wife, Deborah, and friends gasped. "Oh my God!" blurted his wife, who, along with her husband's ex-mistress, faces related charges.
The conspiracy charge alone alleged 64 overt criminal acts. Although the statute of limitations expired on most of those acts, the jury only had to find one of the remaining acts true for a conspiracy conviction.
"If you all don't believe in miracles, if you don't believe in God, what you just witnessed was an absolute miracle and God is watching over me," Carona said later. "Based on what you heard in this trial, some of the salacious stuff, there's a lot of things I need to apologize for in my life. I've made some mistakes along the way. The good news is God forgives people and apparently I'm one of the people he forgave."
If convicted of all counts, Carona could have spent the rest of his life in prison. Instead, he faces up to 20 years, but is likely to get only two or three, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Julian. The defense said probation is possible.
Several jurors said they believe the allegations against Carona but could not find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt because they considered businessman Don Haidl - the government's chief witness and the sheriff's alleged benefactor - to be untrustworthy. They also wanted to hear from another witness who was said to be the conduit for payments to the sheriff but was not called by the government.
"In my mind there's no doubt that he did what he did, but we have to go by what the law said," juror Jim Ybarra said. "They were obviously in some kind of cahoots and everybody felt that."
The jury, which had deliberated since Jan. 8 after a 10-week trial, found Carona not guilty of one count of conspiracy, three counts of mail fraud and one count of witness tampering.
His lone witness-tampering conviction involved a secretly recorded conversation in which he attempted to persuade Haidl to match their stories in front of the grand jury. Haidl, who was named as an unindicted coconspirator in the case, reached a plea deal with prosecutors in exchange for his cooperation.
Defense attorney Jeff Rawitz said he will appeal the conviction and has filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss the entire case on grounds of egregious grand jury conduct.
Prosecutor Julian said he was disappointed at the outcome but was pleased by jurors' comments.
"What I heard from the jurors was they thought the charged conduct had occurred but the indictment was brought too late and they had to follow the law, and we'll respect that," he said.
The judge said Carona could be released on bond, with restrictions against travel.
Carona, once dubbed "America's sheriff" by CNN's Larry King for helping put away a child murderer, was indicted in October 2007 and retired three months later.
The government charged in 1998, the year he was first elected, Carona solicited Haidl's help to launder at least $30,000 in campaign contributions.
Once elected, Carona rewarded Haidl with the post of assistant sheriff, prosecutors said. Haidl received a car, a gun, a badge, a "get-out-of-jail-free" card, and control over a new reserve deputy program that allowed him to hand out law enforcement badges to his friends, relatives and associates, the government said.
Haidl continued to bribe Carona once in office by paying him $1,000 a month, paying for luxurious trips and tailored suits, lending Carona his yacht and private jet and bailing out Carona's mistress and her foundering law firm with a questionable bridge loan, the government said.
The prosecution contended that Haidl's gifts to Carona exceeded $430,000 over several years.
Haidl eventually became a government informant, along with another former assistant sheriff and Carona's one-time campaign manager, George Jaramillo. Both men reached plea deals with prosecutors.
Haidl wore a wire to three meetings with Carona in summer 2007, producing hours of profanity-laced audio tapes that were repeatedly played at trial. Haidl spent 10 days on the witness stand but Jaramillo did not testify.
Ybarra, the juror, said putting Jaramillo on the stand "would have made a huge difference" because Haidl testified he funneled all payments to Carona through Jaramillo.
Haidl continued to bribe Carona once in office by paying him $1,000 a month, paying for luxurious trips and tailored suits, lending Carona his yacht and private jet and bailing out Carona's mistress and her foundering law firm with a questionable bridge loan, the government said.
The prosecution contended that Haidl's gifts to Carona exceeded $430,000 over several years.
Haidl eventually became a government informant, along with another former assistant sheriff and Carona's one-time campaign manager, George Jaramillo. Both men reached plea deals with prosecutors.
Haidl wore a wire to three meetings with Carona in summer 2007, producing hours of profanity-laced audio tapes that were repeatedly played at trial. Haidl spent 10 days on the witness stand but Jaramillo did not testify.
Ybarra, the juror, said putting Jaramillo on the stand "would have made a huge difference" because Haidl testified he funneled all payments to Carona through Jaramillo.
Julian said the decision not to call Jaramillo as a witness was a strategic one.
Jaramillo, like Haidl a former assistant sheriff, was listed as an unindicted coconspirator in Carona's indictment and was fired by Carona in 2004 for misconduct. He reached a plea deal in the current federal case and has also served time in state prison for unrelated felony charges.
Ybarra said the jury also was frustrated that the statute of limitations left only five acts to consider for a conspiracy. Three other acts fingered other members of the alleged conspiracy.
"If they had issued that indictment in June that would have brought in about 30 other overt acts and we could have been able to find him guilty," said Ybarra, 54, a teacher from Garden Grove.
Carona's former mistress, Debra Hoffman, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud and bankruptcy fraud. His wife is charged with a single count of conspiracy.
The women are facing trial together, but Julian said the government was reviewing what to do with the two remaining defendan
He had been accused of doing favors for a multimillionaire businessman and appointing him assistant sheriff in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts. Several jurors said they believed Carona was involved in misconduct but that the government hadn't proven its case.
Carona, 53, began shaking as the verdicts were being read in U.S. District Court, then put his head down on the counsel table and sobbed loudly.
In the gallery, his wife, Deborah, and friends gasped. "Oh my God!" blurted his wife, who, along with her husband's ex-mistress, faces related charges.
The conspiracy charge alone alleged 64 overt criminal acts. Although the statute of limitations expired on most of those acts, the jury only had to find one of the remaining acts true for a conspiracy conviction.
"If you all don't believe in miracles, if you don't believe in God, what you just witnessed was an absolute miracle and God is watching over me," Carona said later. "Based on what you heard in this trial, some of the salacious stuff, there's a lot of things I need to apologize for in my life. I've made some mistakes along the way. The good news is God forgives people and apparently I'm one of the people he forgave."
If convicted of all counts, Carona could have spent the rest of his life in prison. Instead, he faces up to 20 years, but is likely to get only two or three, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Julian. The defense said probation is possible.
Several jurors said they believe the allegations against Carona but could not find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt because they considered businessman Don Haidl - the government's chief witness and the sheriff's alleged benefactor - to be untrustworthy. They also wanted to hear from another witness who was said to be the conduit for payments to the sheriff but was not called by the government.
"In my mind there's no doubt that he did what he did, but we have to go by what the law said," juror Jim Ybarra said. "They were obviously in some kind of cahoots and everybody felt that."
The jury, which had deliberated since Jan. 8 after a 10-week trial, found Carona not guilty of one count of conspiracy, three counts of mail fraud and one count of witness tampering.
His lone witness-tampering conviction involved a secretly recorded conversation in which he attempted to persuade Haidl to match their stories in front of the grand jury. Haidl, who was named as an unindicted coconspirator in the case, reached a plea deal with prosecutors in exchange for his cooperation.
Defense attorney Jeff Rawitz said he will appeal the conviction and has filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss the entire case on grounds of egregious grand jury conduct.
Prosecutor Julian said he was disappointed at the outcome but was pleased by jurors' comments.
"What I heard from the jurors was they thought the charged conduct had occurred but the indictment was brought too late and they had to follow the law, and we'll respect that," he said.
The judge said Carona could be released on bond, with restrictions against travel.
Carona, once dubbed "America's sheriff" by CNN's Larry King for helping put away a child murderer, was indicted in October 2007 and retired three months later.
The government charged in 1998, the year he was first elected, Carona solicited Haidl's help to launder at least $30,000 in campaign contributions.
Once elected, Carona rewarded Haidl with the post of assistant sheriff, prosecutors said. Haidl received a car, a gun, a badge, a "get-out-of-jail-free" card, and control over a new reserve deputy program that allowed him to hand out law enforcement badges to his friends, relatives and associates, the government said.
Haidl continued to bribe Carona once in office by paying him $1,000 a month, paying for luxurious trips and tailored suits, lending Carona his yacht and private jet and bailing out Carona's mistress and her foundering law firm with a questionable bridge loan, the government said.
The prosecution contended that Haidl's gifts to Carona exceeded $430,000 over several years.
Haidl eventually became a government informant, along with another former assistant sheriff and Carona's one-time campaign manager, George Jaramillo. Both men reached plea deals with prosecutors.
Haidl wore a wire to three meetings with Carona in summer 2007, producing hours of profanity-laced audio tapes that were repeatedly played at trial. Haidl spent 10 days on the witness stand but Jaramillo did not testify.
Ybarra, the juror, said putting Jaramillo on the stand "would have made a huge difference" because Haidl testified he funneled all payments to Carona through Jaramillo.
Haidl continued to bribe Carona once in office by paying him $1,000 a month, paying for luxurious trips and tailored suits, lending Carona his yacht and private jet and bailing out Carona's mistress and her foundering law firm with a questionable bridge loan, the government said.
The prosecution contended that Haidl's gifts to Carona exceeded $430,000 over several years.
Haidl eventually became a government informant, along with another former assistant sheriff and Carona's one-time campaign manager, George Jaramillo. Both men reached plea deals with prosecutors.
Haidl wore a wire to three meetings with Carona in summer 2007, producing hours of profanity-laced audio tapes that were repeatedly played at trial. Haidl spent 10 days on the witness stand but Jaramillo did not testify.
Ybarra, the juror, said putting Jaramillo on the stand "would have made a huge difference" because Haidl testified he funneled all payments to Carona through Jaramillo.
Julian said the decision not to call Jaramillo as a witness was a strategic one.
Jaramillo, like Haidl a former assistant sheriff, was listed as an unindicted coconspirator in Carona's indictment and was fired by Carona in 2004 for misconduct. He reached a plea deal in the current federal case and has also served time in state prison for unrelated felony charges.
Ybarra said the jury also was frustrated that the statute of limitations left only five acts to consider for a conspiracy. Three other acts fingered other members of the alleged conspiracy.
"If they had issued that indictment in June that would have brought in about 30 other overt acts and we could have been able to find him guilty," said Ybarra, 54, a teacher from Garden Grove.
Carona's former mistress, Debra Hoffman, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud and bankruptcy fraud. His wife is charged with a single count of conspiracy.
The women are facing trial together, but Julian said the government was reviewing what to do with the two remaining defendan
Reserve Officer Edward Henry Charged with Sexual Battery
A reserve Oakland police officer was charged last month with sexual battery on a woman he's known for 20 years.
Edward L. Henry, who worked with the Oakland police since 2004, was arrested last month after the victim went to the police.
Henry, 40, admitted that he forced himself upon the victim who had gone to his home with the intention of dying his hair, reports show.
The woman told police she repeatedly asked the Henry to stop having sex with her, according to an arrest affidavit. They had had consensual sexual relations about seven years prior, the report said.
Henry was relieved of duty from Oakland Police Department on Dec. 20, the day he was arrested, said Lt. Wesner Osselyn. Henry worked on the bike patrol unit as an un-paid reserve deputy. Osselyn said Henry did not have a disciplinary history with the department.
Henry was booked into the Orange County Jail on sexual battery charges, but has since been released.
Officer James Stafford Will Stand Trial for Stalking
BOULDER, Colo.
A Lafayette police officer will stand trial on charges of stalking his ex-girlfriend.
James Edward Stafford plead not guilty Thursday to charges of stalking, felony harassment, criminal mischief related to domestic violence and official misconduct. That last charge comes from allegations that he ticketed his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend last summer and then sent her a text message that said, "Your boyfriend just received a ticket, ha ha."
The 34-year-old officer is on unpaid leave. His attorney declined to comment and says Stafford would not answer questions. Trial is set for June 22.
Stafford also is accused of sending his ex text messages indicating he was watching her at a restaurant where she worked.
Information from: Daily Camera, http://www.thedailycamera.com
A Lafayette police officer will stand trial on charges of stalking his ex-girlfriend.
James Edward Stafford plead not guilty Thursday to charges of stalking, felony harassment, criminal mischief related to domestic violence and official misconduct. That last charge comes from allegations that he ticketed his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend last summer and then sent her a text message that said, "Your boyfriend just received a ticket, ha ha."
The 34-year-old officer is on unpaid leave. His attorney declined to comment and says Stafford would not answer questions. Trial is set for June 22.
Stafford also is accused of sending his ex text messages indicating he was watching her at a restaurant where she worked.
Information from: Daily Camera, http://www.thedailycamera.com
Officer James Gaddis & Neighbor Rob Bank
CARBONDALE, Ill.
A Carbondale police officer has been suspended without pay after prosecutors alleged he and his neighbor were the two men that robbed a bank at gunpoint while wearing motorcycle helmets.
Jackson County prosecutors charged city patrolman James Gaddis, 26, and Anthony Fike, 35, both of Murphysboro, in the Oct. 9 holdup of the First Southern Bank in this southern Illinois city.
Authorities would not discuss a possible motive in the holdup, though Jackson County Circuit Court files show that Flagstar Bank filed mortgage foreclosure proceedings against Gaddis in December.
Investigators say two robbers wearing motorcycle helmets entered the bank and one suspect held an employee at gunpoint while the other snatched cash from the bank's drawers. Investigators say the suspects fled on motorcycle, making off with about $22,000. No one was injured.
Gaddis, a Carbondale patrolman since 2004, was arrested Wednesday and remained jailed Friday on $1 million bond. Fike surrendered to Jackson County deputies Thursday and was freed on $50,000 bond later that day.
It was not immediately clear whether either man has an attorney. Gaddis and Fike do not have listed home telephone numbers.
"If the charge is proven true, Mr. Gaddis not only violated the law but also betrayed his oath of office and the trust which his fellow officers and the citizens of this community placed in him," Mike Wepsiec, the county's state's attorney, told reporters Thursday in announcing the charges.
The prosecutor declined to discuss the evidence but said the investigation made it "abundantly clear a police officer was involved," alleging without elaboration that Gaddis "used some of his tools as a police officer to perpetrate the robbery."
Messages seeking comment were left Friday by The Associated Press with Wepsiec and interim Police Chief Jeff Grubbs, whose offices said they were out of the office for the day.
Preliminary hearings for Gaddis and Fike are scheduled for Jan. 30.
Information: http://www.wrex.com/Global/story.asp?S=9685589
A Carbondale police officer has been suspended without pay after prosecutors alleged he and his neighbor were the two men that robbed a bank at gunpoint while wearing motorcycle helmets.
Jackson County prosecutors charged city patrolman James Gaddis, 26, and Anthony Fike, 35, both of Murphysboro, in the Oct. 9 holdup of the First Southern Bank in this southern Illinois city.
Authorities would not discuss a possible motive in the holdup, though Jackson County Circuit Court files show that Flagstar Bank filed mortgage foreclosure proceedings against Gaddis in December.
Investigators say two robbers wearing motorcycle helmets entered the bank and one suspect held an employee at gunpoint while the other snatched cash from the bank's drawers. Investigators say the suspects fled on motorcycle, making off with about $22,000. No one was injured.
Gaddis, a Carbondale patrolman since 2004, was arrested Wednesday and remained jailed Friday on $1 million bond. Fike surrendered to Jackson County deputies Thursday and was freed on $50,000 bond later that day.
It was not immediately clear whether either man has an attorney. Gaddis and Fike do not have listed home telephone numbers.
"If the charge is proven true, Mr. Gaddis not only violated the law but also betrayed his oath of office and the trust which his fellow officers and the citizens of this community placed in him," Mike Wepsiec, the county's state's attorney, told reporters Thursday in announcing the charges.
The prosecutor declined to discuss the evidence but said the investigation made it "abundantly clear a police officer was involved," alleging without elaboration that Gaddis "used some of his tools as a police officer to perpetrate the robbery."
Messages seeking comment were left Friday by The Associated Press with Wepsiec and interim Police Chief Jeff Grubbs, whose offices said they were out of the office for the day.
Preliminary hearings for Gaddis and Fike are scheduled for Jan. 30.
Information: http://www.wrex.com/Global/story.asp?S=9685589
Former FBI John Connolly Sentenced to 40 Years for Murder
Miami, FL
Former FBI agent John Connolly has been sentenced to 40 years for the 1982 mob-related killing of a Miami gambling executive that was connected to the killing of a Tulsa businessman a year earlier.
Judge Stanford Blake imposed the sentence Thursday after rejecting defense claims that the statute of limitations expired on Connolly's second-degree murder conviction. Prosecutors said that didn't apply because a gun was used in the killing of 45-year-old John Callahan.
Trial testimony showed Connolly provided information to Boston mobsters leading to Callahan's killing by a hit man.
Mob bosses feared Callahan would implicate them in the 1981 killing of businessman Roger Wheeler in Tulsa.
The 68-year-old Connolly is serving a 10-year federal prison sentence for his corrupt dealings with Boston's Winter Hill Gang.
Former FBI agent John Connolly has been sentenced to 40 years for the 1982 mob-related killing of a Miami gambling executive that was connected to the killing of a Tulsa businessman a year earlier.
Judge Stanford Blake imposed the sentence Thursday after rejecting defense claims that the statute of limitations expired on Connolly's second-degree murder conviction. Prosecutors said that didn't apply because a gun was used in the killing of 45-year-old John Callahan.
Trial testimony showed Connolly provided information to Boston mobsters leading to Callahan's killing by a hit man.
Mob bosses feared Callahan would implicate them in the 1981 killing of businessman Roger Wheeler in Tulsa.
The 68-year-old Connolly is serving a 10-year federal prison sentence for his corrupt dealings with Boston's Winter Hill Gang.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Danville Organization Wants State Wide Moratorium on Use of Tasers
Danville, VA
A Danville organization is calling for a state wide moratorium on the use of a taser. The city's chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference held a press conference at the Mount Caramel Baptist Church -- to address the use of tasers by law enforcement.
The conference comes exactly one week after a 17 year old Martinsville boy died after an officer tasered him. Organization leaders say they understand tasers can be used to save lives but say the risks may outweigh the benefits.
Rev. William Keen, Southern Christian Leadership Conference - "We want a moratorium on the taser ‘til further study is done to prove what is causing the deaths of those that are tasered."
The organization says they'd like to hold public hearings in Martinsville to raise awareness about the use of tasers.
A Danville organization is calling for a state wide moratorium on the use of a taser. The city's chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference held a press conference at the Mount Caramel Baptist Church -- to address the use of tasers by law enforcement.
The conference comes exactly one week after a 17 year old Martinsville boy died after an officer tasered him. Organization leaders say they understand tasers can be used to save lives but say the risks may outweigh the benefits.
Rev. William Keen, Southern Christian Leadership Conference - "We want a moratorium on the taser ‘til further study is done to prove what is causing the deaths of those that are tasered."
The organization says they'd like to hold public hearings in Martinsville to raise awareness about the use of tasers.
Non-Lethal Tasers Have Killed More than 400 People
They are marketed as non-lethal weapons that allow police to capture suspects or criminals without causing any permanent harm.
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and businessman Bernard Kerik made millions selling the idea to police departments across the country.
But Tasers have killed more than 400 people in the United States and Canada since 2001, according to a new study commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Police departments across Canada began banning use of Tasers by their officers after the report found that Tasers deliver more power than the manufacturer says is possible.
It is unknown if U.S. police departments will follow suit.
The study includes a medical analysis that concluded someone shot with a Taser could face as high as a 50 percent chance of cardiac arrest.
The Taser company, however, still says its weapons can't kill.
"It is unfortunate that false allegations based on scientifically flawed data can create such uncertainty," Steve Tuttle, a Taser vice president, told The Arizona Republic.
Stories of Taser-related deaths have stacked up over the years, many involving police officers who never realized the harm their Taser could cause.
A man described as "emotionally disturbed" fell to his death after police Tasered him on a fire escape. Not long after, the officer who gave the order took a Glock 9mm from the locker room and shot himself in the head.
Police Tasered a man who had gone into Diabetic shock while driving. The officers later said they felt "extremely bad" about shocking him when they realized he wasn't drunk or high but in need of medical attention.
"Taser's marketing coup has been to convince consumers that there is such a thing as a gun that won't kill," AlterNet reported. On the Taser Web site, a marketing slogan reads: "Who says safety can't be stylish?"
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and businessman Bernard Kerik made millions selling the idea to police departments across the country.
But Tasers have killed more than 400 people in the United States and Canada since 2001, according to a new study commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Police departments across Canada began banning use of Tasers by their officers after the report found that Tasers deliver more power than the manufacturer says is possible.
It is unknown if U.S. police departments will follow suit.
The study includes a medical analysis that concluded someone shot with a Taser could face as high as a 50 percent chance of cardiac arrest.
The Taser company, however, still says its weapons can't kill.
"It is unfortunate that false allegations based on scientifically flawed data can create such uncertainty," Steve Tuttle, a Taser vice president, told The Arizona Republic.
Stories of Taser-related deaths have stacked up over the years, many involving police officers who never realized the harm their Taser could cause.
A man described as "emotionally disturbed" fell to his death after police Tasered him on a fire escape. Not long after, the officer who gave the order took a Glock 9mm from the locker room and shot himself in the head.
Police Tasered a man who had gone into Diabetic shock while driving. The officers later said they felt "extremely bad" about shocking him when they realized he wasn't drunk or high but in need of medical attention.
"Taser's marketing coup has been to convince consumers that there is such a thing as a gun that won't kill," AlterNet reported. On the Taser Web site, a marketing slogan reads: "Who says safety can't be stylish?"
Henry Tavarez & Stephen Anderson Charged with Tampering with Evidence
A pair of undercover cops were indicted Thursday for boosting their arrest figures and their paychecks by busting four innocent men on bogus cocaine charges.
Henry Tavarez, 27, and Stephen Anderson, 33, surrendered on a 42-count indictment stemming from the January 2008 "buy and bust" operation in a Queens tavern, District Attorney Richard Brown said.
The officers tampered with evidence to arrest four innocent men - including one who spent three days behind bars before making bail, Brown said.
"Such egregious conduct not only taints the reputation of their fellow officers, but erodes public confidence and trust in the department," Brown said. "Conduct like this can never be tolerated."
Maximo Colon, 24, who was wrongly arrested with his brother Jose, was at the Queens courthouse after the indictment was announced.
"I want to know what's going to happen," he said. "I want justice."
The Colon brothers filed a $20 million lawsuit earlier this month against the city and the NYPD over the fake arrest.
The two undercover cops were working inside the Club Delicioso on January 5, 2008 when Anderson purchased three bags of cocaine for $60 from a pair of suspects, Brown said.
Anderson then slipped two of the bags to Tavarez, who claimed he purchased the cocaine from four other men inside the bar, Brown said. All six defendants were arrested; charges were dropped against the four innocent men last June.
Maximo Colon was jailed for three days before he could post $2,500 bail. The rigged charges disappeared after Jose Colon went back to the bar and found a security video showing no contact between the undercover cops and the suspects, authorities said.
Brown, asked about the officers' motive, said the duo "wanted to appear as if they were doing their job, and make a little extra overtime."
Anderson has since retired from the NYPD, while Tavarez was placed on desk duty. Each faces up to nine years in prison for unlawful imprisonment, conspiracy, official misconduct and other charges.
Information and Pictures: http://www.1010wins.com/2-NYPD-Cops-Indicted-in-Elmhurst-Phony-Drug-Bust/3666651
Henry Tavarez, 27, and Stephen Anderson, 33, surrendered on a 42-count indictment stemming from the January 2008 "buy and bust" operation in a Queens tavern, District Attorney Richard Brown said.
The officers tampered with evidence to arrest four innocent men - including one who spent three days behind bars before making bail, Brown said.
"Such egregious conduct not only taints the reputation of their fellow officers, but erodes public confidence and trust in the department," Brown said. "Conduct like this can never be tolerated."
Maximo Colon, 24, who was wrongly arrested with his brother Jose, was at the Queens courthouse after the indictment was announced.
"I want to know what's going to happen," he said. "I want justice."
The Colon brothers filed a $20 million lawsuit earlier this month against the city and the NYPD over the fake arrest.
The two undercover cops were working inside the Club Delicioso on January 5, 2008 when Anderson purchased three bags of cocaine for $60 from a pair of suspects, Brown said.
Anderson then slipped two of the bags to Tavarez, who claimed he purchased the cocaine from four other men inside the bar, Brown said. All six defendants were arrested; charges were dropped against the four innocent men last June.
Maximo Colon was jailed for three days before he could post $2,500 bail. The rigged charges disappeared after Jose Colon went back to the bar and found a security video showing no contact between the undercover cops and the suspects, authorities said.
Brown, asked about the officers' motive, said the duo "wanted to appear as if they were doing their job, and make a little extra overtime."
Anderson has since retired from the NYPD, while Tavarez was placed on desk duty. Each faces up to nine years in prison for unlawful imprisonment, conspiracy, official misconduct and other charges.
Information and Pictures: http://www.1010wins.com/2-NYPD-Cops-Indicted-in-Elmhurst-Phony-Drug-Bust/3666651
Mayor Gary Becker Arrested for Child Enticement
Racine Mayor Gary Becker was held in the Kenosha County Jail for a short time Wednesday, after being arrested on tentative charges of child enticement and several other offenses.
Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation agents took Becker into custody Tuesday night at Brookfield Square Mall in suburban Milwaukee.
He was taken to Racine and later booked into the Kenosha jail to avoid conflict-of-interest issues, as he is a high-profile Racine official, a Racine County Sheriff’s official said. He was released at 5:30 p.m. after a relative posted his $165,000 cash bond.
The Division of Criminal Investigation is recommending charges including child enticement, possession of child pornography, exposing a child to harmful materials, attempted second-degree sexual assault, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and misconduct in public office.
Racine County District Attorney Michael Niekes said he was reviewing documents Wednesday, and that any formal charges would likely be filed this morning. If he is charged, Becker is expected to make an initial appearance in Racine County Circuit Court this afternoon.
State Department of Justice spokesman Bill Cosh declined to comment Wednesday on the details of Becker’s alleged offenses. Cosh said the information will likely emerge along with a criminal complaint from Nieskes’ office. Cosh would not confirm whether Becker was arrested as part of a sting operation.
Racine Police Lt. James Dobbs said his department was made aware of possible allegations against Becker several weeks ago, at which time the investigation was referred to the state.
Becker, 51, was first elected mayor in April 2003 and re-elected unopposed in 2007.
He has been a vocal supporter of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail proposal.
The city’s Web site states Becker has been married since 1981 and has two daughters.
In Becker’s absence, Racine City Council President David Maack will serve as acting mayor, City Administrator Ben Hughes said. Hughes said preparations were being made to make sure city government operations would continue without interruption.
“This city will continue to operate smoothly, and we will not miss a beat,” Hughes said.
Racine County Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Klatt said his department requested Becker’s transfer to the Kenosha County Jail.
If Becker is charged formally and does not post bond, Klatt said Becker will be jailed in Kenosha and be transported to his Racine court appearances.
“We’ve kept people for Kenosha County, and they keep people for us occasionally,” Klatt said.
In an unrelated matter, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department was asked in June 2006 to investigate a Racine Police Department action against Becker.
That investigation found Racine police did not commit misconduct when squads were dispatched to search for and intercept Becker on a report he was driving drunk. Becker, who was not arrested at the time, said then he believed police were acting on a tip from a political opponent.
Former Corrections Officer Jarrod Yates Sentenced to Prison for Beating Inmate
Muskogee
A former Sequoyah County corrections officer has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for beating an arrestee.
U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling said Wednesday 24-year-old Jarrod Yates was sentenced on a charge that he violated the civil rights of an arrestee.
Sperling said that on June 25, 2006, at the Sequoyah County Jail in Sallisaw, Yates punched, kneed and stomped an arrestee on his head and face, causing serious injuries, including a fractured orbital socket and severe lacerations that required stitches.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's office.
A former Sequoyah County corrections officer has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for beating an arrestee.
U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling said Wednesday 24-year-old Jarrod Yates was sentenced on a charge that he violated the civil rights of an arrestee.
Sperling said that on June 25, 2006, at the Sequoyah County Jail in Sallisaw, Yates punched, kneed and stomped an arrestee on his head and face, causing serious injuries, including a fractured orbital socket and severe lacerations that required stitches.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's office.
Officer James Stafford Pleads Not Guilty to Stalking
LAFAYETTE, Colo.
A Lafayette police officer pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he gave his ex’s new boyfriend a traffic ticket, kept both under “surveillance” and damaged the hood of her car during an argument.
James Edward Stafford, 34, was arrested by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office in July on suspicion of stalking, a felony, harassment, official misconduct and criminal mischief related to domestic violence.
On Thursday, Stafford’s attorney, Michael T. Lowe, arranged for a three-day jury trial beginning June 22.
Lowe declined to comment on the case and said his client also would not answer questions.
Lafayette Cmdr. Mark Battersby attended the brief hearing. He said he was there to keep up to date on the case because it involves one of his officers — who remains on unpaid leave.
According to sheriff’s investigators, Stafford’s ex-girlfriend, a manager at Sonic in Lafayette whose name wasn’t released, told police she met Stafford in the summer of 2007 and that they had an on-and-off relationship.
The official misconduct charge stems from the traffic ticket, issued July 23.
Stafford, while driving an unmarked Lafayette police truck equipped with warning sirens, gave the woman’s boyfriend a ticket for weaving. Stafford then sent the woman a text message that said, “Your boyfriend just received a ticket, ha ha,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Lafayette police have since cleared the ticket.
In an interview with police, Stafford said he pulled the man over after he swerved over the yellow line into the oncoming lane of traffic, believing the man might be drunk. He told police he didn’t know the driver was the new boyfriend until after he pulled him over.
Battersby said police have since been able to recover video footage of the traffic stop from the truck’s dash-mounted camera.
The other charges stem from various other encounters.
In June, the woman told police, Stafford called her boss at Sonic and told him to fire her because she was stealing money and dating an employee.
She also told police Stafford sent her text messages while she was at work that indicated he was watching her.
Stafford remains free on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond. Police also took 13 guns from Stafford’s home, including rifles, pistols and a shotgun.
Lawsuit Filed Against Officer Accused of Planting Drugs
HUNTSVILLE, Ala.
A lawsuit has been filed after a Huntsville police officer was accused of planting drugs in a man's car.
Quincy Turner filed suit against the city of Huntsville, Officer Wesley Little and Chief Henry Reyes.
Turner was stopped by Officer Little in September 2007.
He was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana after Little allegedly found drugs in the car.
However, Turner claims the marijuana was planted by Officer Little. The charges against Turner were dropped last year.
Turner is seeking compensatory and punitive damages in the suit.
Little and another officer, Ryan Moore, were indicted May 2008 on criminal charges, including evidence tampering.
An investigation was launched after a statement allegedly made by Little in October 2007 that, "there could be some marijuana inside the vehicle if it needed to be."
They both resigned from the HPD last June.
A lawsuit has been filed after a Huntsville police officer was accused of planting drugs in a man's car.
Quincy Turner filed suit against the city of Huntsville, Officer Wesley Little and Chief Henry Reyes.
Turner was stopped by Officer Little in September 2007.
He was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana after Little allegedly found drugs in the car.
However, Turner claims the marijuana was planted by Officer Little. The charges against Turner were dropped last year.
Turner is seeking compensatory and punitive damages in the suit.
Little and another officer, Ryan Moore, were indicted May 2008 on criminal charges, including evidence tampering.
An investigation was launched after a statement allegedly made by Little in October 2007 that, "there could be some marijuana inside the vehicle if it needed to be."
They both resigned from the HPD last June.
Former Officer Teddy Nobles Charged with Robbing Bank
Austin police today have charged a former officer with aggravated robbery after they said he robbed a Northwest Austin bank on Wednesday.
Teddy Nobles, 48, who resigned from the force in 2001, is being held at the Williamson County Jail, Lt. Mark Spangler said. Bail has been set at $250,000.
Spangler said that Nobles walked into a Compass Bank in the 13000 block of Research Boulevard and demanded money from a teller while reaching toward his waist. Nobles fled after receiving an undisclosed amount of cash, Spangler said. Police do not know whether he was armed, and nobody was injured, Spangler said.
Spangler said witnesses provided a description of Nobles and his burgundy Dodge pickup. After a search by ground and air, officers spotted the truck in the apartment complex where they said Nobles was living in the 5200 block of Thunder Creek Road.
He was arrested without incident outside his apartment, Spangler said.
Investigators have since searched Nobles’ apartment and found evidence of the robbery, Spangler said.
“He never made any positive comments about why he was doing what he was doing,” Spangler said. “I think he realized he was caught. I think this was something motivated by the need for money and greed.”
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