Jury selection begins tomorrow in federal court for a trial stemming from a lawsuit that claims excessive force involving a Taser.
It stems from a traffic stop June 10, 2005, when Utah Highway Patrol says Anthony Rogers was spotted driving with a broken tail light. Troopers say he subsequently ran a red light and was interrogated for possibly driving under the influence.
He failed his sobriety tests and was about to be arrested, but that's when Rogers' attorney Michael Studebaker says the story took a disturbing turn.
He says, "Through the video we learned that actually at different times the Utah Highway Patrol/Riverdale Police officer used a Taser multiple times on Anthony, including while he was in handcuffs and in the back of a trooper's car. They actually took him out of the vehicle to Taser him some more."
In total, Rogers claims he was tased four times. More specifically, dash-cam video shows Rogers being tased twice as he's restrained by three officers. Then later, he is pulled from a police cruiser after he yelled and hit his head against the window of the car. Rogers' testimony indicates he was tasered two more times.
UHP says it was the Riverdale officer who tased him, but a spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol denies excessive force was used.
"He was belligerent. He would not respond to our officers' commands," says Sgt. Jeff Nigbur. "And that is when he was out of cuffs and also after the fact when he was cuffed."
Nigbur says Rogers then tried to escape several times. Studebaker believes he has indisputable video evidence. He says, "Definitely, the video's there. I don't know how they can say he's out of control or not in restraints. There's three different officers on him, and when they go to execute the Taser on him just the first time, they actually have to jump off of him."
Riverdale police are declining comment pending the outcome of the court case.
Rogers is suing for damages.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Lt. Adrian Mascorro Arrested for DWI
A Brownsville police lieutenant was arrested last week and charged with driving while intoxicated, the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed on Tuesday.
Lt. Adrian Mascorro on Friday night was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche on Expressway 77/83, just south of San Benito, when a trooper spotted him speeding, said DPS spokesman Johnny Hernandez.
The trooper noticed the possible presence of alcohol on Mascorro's breath and put him through a field sobriety test, Hernandez said.
"After the field sobriety test he was arrested for DWI," the spokesman said. "It's a state jail felony instead of a misdemeanor because he had a person in the vehicle under 15 years of age."
According to the DPS, a state jail felony carries a sentence of 180 days to a maximum of two years and an optional fine up to $10,000
Mascorro was travelling with his family at the time of the arrest.
He was transported to Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center where he was booked at 1 a.m. Saturday and released approximately 3 a.m. on a $2,000 personal recognizance bond, said Cameron County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Gus Reyna.
Mascorro has been placed on administrative leave with pay until the matter is resolved, said Carlos Garcia, chief of the Brownsville Police Department. The police department will conduct an administrative investigation into the arrest pursuant to departmental policy, he added.
"Lt. Mascorro has expressed deep regret for this incident especially for his family and the department," Garcia said.
Lt. Adrian Mascorro on Friday night was driving a 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche on Expressway 77/83, just south of San Benito, when a trooper spotted him speeding, said DPS spokesman Johnny Hernandez.
The trooper noticed the possible presence of alcohol on Mascorro's breath and put him through a field sobriety test, Hernandez said.
"After the field sobriety test he was arrested for DWI," the spokesman said. "It's a state jail felony instead of a misdemeanor because he had a person in the vehicle under 15 years of age."
According to the DPS, a state jail felony carries a sentence of 180 days to a maximum of two years and an optional fine up to $10,000
Mascorro was travelling with his family at the time of the arrest.
He was transported to Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center where he was booked at 1 a.m. Saturday and released approximately 3 a.m. on a $2,000 personal recognizance bond, said Cameron County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Gus Reyna.
Mascorro has been placed on administrative leave with pay until the matter is resolved, said Carlos Garcia, chief of the Brownsville Police Department. The police department will conduct an administrative investigation into the arrest pursuant to departmental policy, he added.
"Lt. Mascorro has expressed deep regret for this incident especially for his family and the department," Garcia said.
Sgt Darryl Storey Arrested for Collision that Killed 18-year-old Woman
THUNDER BAY, Ont.
An Ontario Provincial Police officer has been criminally charged in the death of an 18-year-old woman following a collision in northwestern Ontario last December.
Sgt. Darryl Storey was arrested Monday and faces one count of criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death in the Dec. 3, 2008 collision.
He has been released and set to appear in a Thunder Bay courtroom on March 5, said a Tuesday news release.
The crash occurred between a OPP cruiser driven by Storey and a car driven by Jasmine Veneruzzo on Highway 11 and Twin City Crossroads in Thunder Bay.
Veneruzzo, an 18-year-old Murillo, Ont., woman, died from the crash.
Storey was believed to be have been on a routine patrol at the time of the collision.
The charges come as a result of an investigation launched by the Special Investigations Unit, a provincial body that looks into cases involving police and civilians resulting in sex assault, serious injuries or death.
Meanwhile, earlier Tuesday, the OPPalso announced that another officer has been charged with street racing for driving 65 kilometres over the speed limit.
Police say Det. Const. Heidi Fischer was not within the lawful execution of her duties on Jan. 31 when Brant County OPP stopped her unmarked police vehicle on Highway 403 for driving 165 kilometres per hour in a 100 km/h zone.
Fischer, an OPP officer for four years, had her driver's licence suspended for seven days. Her vehicle was also impounded for seven days.
She will appear in court in Brantford on March 24.
An Ontario Provincial Police officer has been criminally charged in the death of an 18-year-old woman following a collision in northwestern Ontario last December.
Sgt. Darryl Storey was arrested Monday and faces one count of criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death in the Dec. 3, 2008 collision.
He has been released and set to appear in a Thunder Bay courtroom on March 5, said a Tuesday news release.
The crash occurred between a OPP cruiser driven by Storey and a car driven by Jasmine Veneruzzo on Highway 11 and Twin City Crossroads in Thunder Bay.
Veneruzzo, an 18-year-old Murillo, Ont., woman, died from the crash.
Storey was believed to be have been on a routine patrol at the time of the collision.
The charges come as a result of an investigation launched by the Special Investigations Unit, a provincial body that looks into cases involving police and civilians resulting in sex assault, serious injuries or death.
Meanwhile, earlier Tuesday, the OPPalso announced that another officer has been charged with street racing for driving 65 kilometres over the speed limit.
Police say Det. Const. Heidi Fischer was not within the lawful execution of her duties on Jan. 31 when Brant County OPP stopped her unmarked police vehicle on Highway 403 for driving 165 kilometres per hour in a 100 km/h zone.
Fischer, an OPP officer for four years, had her driver's licence suspended for seven days. Her vehicle was also impounded for seven days.
She will appear in court in Brantford on March 24.
Campus Officer Investigated for Abusing His Police Dog
RENO, Nev.
University of Nevada, Reno's police chief says a campus police officer is under investigation following two separate complaints of citizen abuse and abuse of his police dog.
Chief Adam Garcia says the dog, a male German shepherd named Niko, was removed from service following the Jan. 29 complaint of animal cruelty. The dog was taken to a veterinary clinic for an examination and is being kept there pending an investigation.
Garcia tells the Reno Gazette-Journal that the incident is being investigated by the state attorney general's office.
Garcia also says the officer was placed on paid leave after another complaint was received Feb. 3 from several people alleging police abuse.
The officer's name was not released.
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Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com
More Information: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090210/NEWS01/902100347/1321/NEWS
University of Nevada, Reno's police chief says a campus police officer is under investigation following two separate complaints of citizen abuse and abuse of his police dog.
Chief Adam Garcia says the dog, a male German shepherd named Niko, was removed from service following the Jan. 29 complaint of animal cruelty. The dog was taken to a veterinary clinic for an examination and is being kept there pending an investigation.
Garcia tells the Reno Gazette-Journal that the incident is being investigated by the state attorney general's office.
Garcia also says the officer was placed on paid leave after another complaint was received Feb. 3 from several people alleging police abuse.
The officer's name was not released.
_____________
Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com
More Information: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090210/NEWS01/902100347/1321/NEWS
Officer Kurtiss Kessler Arrested Again for Domestic Violence
A Kenosha police officer with a previous conviction for domestic violence was arrested Monday for allegedly pushing his girlfriend, pulling her hair and hitting her with a shoe.
Kurtiss J. Kessler, 35, of Kenosha, was shackled and wore a blue jailhouse uniform when he appeared for a bond hearing in Kenosha County Circuit Court. A $2,500 cash bond was ordered. Kessler must post that amount to get out of jail.
As a condition of bond, Kessler will not be allowed to carry a gun. Unless that condition is lifted, Kenosha Police Chief John Morrissey said Kessler is not qualified to work as a police officer.
Kessler will be put on an unpaid leave of absence, effective immediately upon his release from jail, Morrissey said.
No charges were filed Monday. However, prosecutor Richard Ginkowski said a criminal complaint would be ready this afternoon in time for Kessler’s next court hearing.
Kessler was arrested about 8 a.m. Monday at his home. Kenosha County Sheriff’s deputies were called regarding what Ginkowski described as a weekend-long argument that escalated from name-calling to physical abuse.
The alleged victim, Kessler’s girlfriend and the mother of his young child, reportedly recanted after talking to investigators. Prosecutors relied on her initial statements for the bond hearing.
The situation allegedly began about noon Friday, when the woman said she told Kessler she wanted to leave. Ginkowski said Kessler somehow kept the woman from leaving and the woman spent the night.
By 10 a.m. Saturday, the woman said she and Kessler got into a series of squabbles that led to Kessler pushing her. The woman’s 7-year-old son — Kessler is not his father — said his mother nearly fell.
Arguments continued throughout Saturday, culminating when Kessler allegedly twice threw a remote control at his girlfriend. She was not hit.
Another round of arguments Sunday led the girlfriend to try to leave again. Kessler reportedly said he did not want her to leave, but the woman continued toward the door.
“I felt Kurtiss grab my hair and pull me away and down to the ground,” the woman said.
When the woman tried again to leave, she said Kessler threw a tennis shoe at her. Both of the woman’s sons were watching as the shoe hit the back of her neck.
Throughout the weekend, the woman said she felt she could not leave the home. Ginkowski did not elaborate about why, although another court official said the woman did not drive and relied on Kessler for transportation.
The woman tried to take back her story Monday. However, Ginkowski said, she told deputies over the weekend that she feared for her safety. She also feared that Kessler might lose his job at the Kenosha Police Department.
“That is in the balance,” defense attorney Larry Keating said.
Keating pressed for a lesser bond, largely because the alleged victim was not seriously hurt.
Mason rejected the request, largely because of Kessler’s job.
“He is a police officer and he, quote, ought to know better,” Mason said.
Kessler’s criminal history also figured into his bond.
In 2004, Kessler was charged for pointing his duty handgun at his then-girlfriend’s head.
Kessler pleaded guilty to vandalism and two counts of disorderly conduct for the November 2003 incident. He was sentenced to three days in jail and two years probation, which he successfully completed. He also was ordered to pay $1,500 in fines and pay restitution.
Other charges of vandalism, disorderly conduct and pointing a firearm at a person’s head were dismissed but read into Kessler’s record, which meant they were considered for sentencing.
But Kessler was suspended for 55 days without pay. Much of that suspension was served while Kessler was on bond, which also prevented him from carrying a gun. He could not work for four months, as a result.
Former Police Chief Dan Wade said investigators found nothing “legally substantial” to support the gun claim and, therefore, dismissal from the department was not warranted.
Morrissey said it was too early to decide Kessler’s future with the department in light of the new allegations, but said he would not wait until the case was over to decide.
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http://dailykenoshan.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7392&Itemid=102
Kurtiss J. Kessler, 35, of Kenosha, was shackled and wore a blue jailhouse uniform when he appeared for a bond hearing in Kenosha County Circuit Court. A $2,500 cash bond was ordered. Kessler must post that amount to get out of jail.
As a condition of bond, Kessler will not be allowed to carry a gun. Unless that condition is lifted, Kenosha Police Chief John Morrissey said Kessler is not qualified to work as a police officer.
Kessler will be put on an unpaid leave of absence, effective immediately upon his release from jail, Morrissey said.
No charges were filed Monday. However, prosecutor Richard Ginkowski said a criminal complaint would be ready this afternoon in time for Kessler’s next court hearing.
Kessler was arrested about 8 a.m. Monday at his home. Kenosha County Sheriff’s deputies were called regarding what Ginkowski described as a weekend-long argument that escalated from name-calling to physical abuse.
The alleged victim, Kessler’s girlfriend and the mother of his young child, reportedly recanted after talking to investigators. Prosecutors relied on her initial statements for the bond hearing.
The situation allegedly began about noon Friday, when the woman said she told Kessler she wanted to leave. Ginkowski said Kessler somehow kept the woman from leaving and the woman spent the night.
By 10 a.m. Saturday, the woman said she and Kessler got into a series of squabbles that led to Kessler pushing her. The woman’s 7-year-old son — Kessler is not his father — said his mother nearly fell.
Arguments continued throughout Saturday, culminating when Kessler allegedly twice threw a remote control at his girlfriend. She was not hit.
Another round of arguments Sunday led the girlfriend to try to leave again. Kessler reportedly said he did not want her to leave, but the woman continued toward the door.
“I felt Kurtiss grab my hair and pull me away and down to the ground,” the woman said.
When the woman tried again to leave, she said Kessler threw a tennis shoe at her. Both of the woman’s sons were watching as the shoe hit the back of her neck.
Throughout the weekend, the woman said she felt she could not leave the home. Ginkowski did not elaborate about why, although another court official said the woman did not drive and relied on Kessler for transportation.
The woman tried to take back her story Monday. However, Ginkowski said, she told deputies over the weekend that she feared for her safety. She also feared that Kessler might lose his job at the Kenosha Police Department.
“That is in the balance,” defense attorney Larry Keating said.
Keating pressed for a lesser bond, largely because the alleged victim was not seriously hurt.
Mason rejected the request, largely because of Kessler’s job.
“He is a police officer and he, quote, ought to know better,” Mason said.
Kessler’s criminal history also figured into his bond.
In 2004, Kessler was charged for pointing his duty handgun at his then-girlfriend’s head.
Kessler pleaded guilty to vandalism and two counts of disorderly conduct for the November 2003 incident. He was sentenced to three days in jail and two years probation, which he successfully completed. He also was ordered to pay $1,500 in fines and pay restitution.
Other charges of vandalism, disorderly conduct and pointing a firearm at a person’s head were dismissed but read into Kessler’s record, which meant they were considered for sentencing.
But Kessler was suspended for 55 days without pay. Much of that suspension was served while Kessler was on bond, which also prevented him from carrying a gun. He could not work for four months, as a result.
Former Police Chief Dan Wade said investigators found nothing “legally substantial” to support the gun claim and, therefore, dismissal from the department was not warranted.
Morrissey said it was too early to decide Kessler’s future with the department in light of the new allegations, but said he would not wait until the case was over to decide.
_____________
http://dailykenoshan.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7392&Itemid=102
Judge Curtissa Cofield Faces Disciplinary Hearing in DUI Case
HARTFORD, Conn.
A judge charged with drunken driving and videotaped using racial slurs while arguing with police officers was suspended without pay Monday for 240 days by a judicial review panel.
Superior Court Judge E. Curtissa Cofield, who was confirmed as Connecticut's first black female judge in 1991, apologized to the state Judicial Review Council.
"I regret that my actions may have tarnished the institution that I love," she said. "I've embarrassed and humiliated my family and loved ones, and disappointed my friends."
The panel determined, by unanimous vote, that Cofield's "disparaging and demeaning" comments failed to live up to the standards of integrity and impartiality expected of judges. The council could have imposed up to a one-year suspension and recommended her permanent removal by the Connecticut Supreme Court, but instead settled on the lesser suspension.
Cofield told reporters she would not appeal.
She was arrested the night of Oct. 9 after her car hit a parked state police cruiser in a construction zone on Route 2 in Glastonbury. Police say she told them she hadn't had any alcohol, but she failed a sobriety test, and urine tests later that night showed she had a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit of 0.08.
She also argued with state and Glastonbury police officers. A surveillance camera at the Glastonbury police department captured the exchanges on video, which shows her using the N-word, calling a black state trooper "Negro," threatening that trooper's job, referring to a female officer as "little girl" and "Barbie" and using other offensive language.
"When I watched the video, I did not recognize myself," Cofield told the council. "The woman I observed that night is not the woman I am."
Cofield acknowledged that her conduct was "reprehensible," but said she did not willfully violate the conduct code because her judgment was impaired by her intoxication.
Judge Susan S. Reynolds appeared to stump Cofield when she asked why Cofield's comments were not racist.
"Why is it not racism .... hmmm. I think for crimes like bias you have to have intent," Cofield said. "All I can say is I was really intoxicated. ... I can't explain it. Why is it not racism ... I don't know. But if it is or someone perceives that it is, I apologize for that."
Other judges subpoenaed to testify said Cofield received above-average job evaluations and her reputation was excellent.
Marvin Zelman, a psychiatrist who said he has spent 15 hours with Cofield, testified that she was under a lot of stress in 2008. Her father died that year, her mother's house burned down and her adult children had legal problems.
"She's had an impeccable record (as a judge) for 17 years and I see no reason she couldn't continue," Zelman said.
Cofield has been accepted into the state's alcohol education program for first-time DUI offenders, and the drunken driving charge will be dismissed if she successfully completes the program.
More Information: http://www.kansascity.com/811/story/1025587.html
Shoot First...Ask Questions Later
A man is approached by four plain-clothed officers on the streets of New York City and is told to stop what he is doing and to put his hands up. The officers briefly question this young man, who is 23-years-old and a recent immigrant to America. The young man is confused and reaches for his wallet to show his identification. As soon as the young man makes this move, one of the officers shouts “Gun!” and the officers quickly fire 41 fatal shots into his body.
This man, Amadou Diallo, was viciously murdered by police officers on Feb. 4, 1999. Diallo was approached because he was mistaken for a rapist, as he supposedly fit the description. Diallo came to America from West Africa with the hope of furthering his education and living a more successful life. Sadly, his ambitions did not come true because he was brutally murdered by the police.
A few months back, in late October of 2008, a young man of just 20 years stepped outside his house because he heard suspicious noises. He was recently married, and his wife was expecting. He wanted to make sure that his household was safe, so he grabbed a broom and stepped out to his front lawn to see what was causing the commotion. Soon after, he was shot twice and fell to the floor dead. One bullet struck his heart. This young man was Julian Alexander. Today he is dead because police officers mistook him for a burglar they were chasing. This occurred in Anaheim, California, not too far from Irvine.
On New Year’s Eve, Oscar Grant was taken out of a subway train by police officers. He was unarmed and lying face down on the ground when an officer pulled out his gun and shot him in the back. Just before he died, Grant pleaded with the cops not to shoot him, telling them that he had a 4-year-old daughter at home. I could go on about how many innocent lives were taken by bullets fired by police officers; but the point is that police brutality happens all the time, and overwhelmingly, black and brown men are the victims.
The cops just get away with it.
Police officers are human like everyone else. But this also means that they may hold racist views that anyone may hold. The only difference is they have a badge and a gun. If they see a black man walking down the street, they can act on their racist thinking, can legally shoot and kill that man and label him as a threat to justify their actions. Police officers have the law on their side, while a man on the street does not. Judges rarely, if ever, sentence cops for their discriminatory acts toward innocent people. They are legally allowed to racially profile and murder black and brown people.
Diallo was shot because he “fit the description” of a rapist. What was the description? Diallo was black, and therefore a threat. Julian Alexander was black, 6-feet-5-inches and 240 pounds. Does his appearance mean that he should be dead? Time and time again, police officers use their guns and weapons before asking questions. Unfortunately, the murders of innocent people continue because the police can get away with it. The police have a job to “serve and protect,” but the question is, serve and protect who?
In the case of Grant, brave witnesses recorded the horrendous actions of the police and put it on YouTube, despite officer’s demands that they turn in their cell phones and cameras. This time, America witnessed inequality and racism in action. The video on YouTube that broadcasted Oscar Grant’s death led to protests in Oakland and around the country. People were not angry over this isolated incident that happened at the Bay Area Rapid Transit Station. People were angry because they have seen men like Oscar Grant murdered too many times before. Demonstrations against police brutality erupted because of the unjust killings of numerous innocent victims, who for many were sons, husbands, brothers, friends and neighbors. Grant was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.
On Monday, Jan. 26, concerned students around the UC system gathered together to stand up against police brutality. UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UCLA and UC Irvine walked out of class and held a march and rally in honor of those who died from police brutality. Students expressed the need to be aware of this critical issue. They will not tolerate police brutality.
Clearly, the stories of Grant, Alexander, Diallo and countless others demonstrate that racist ideologies still permeate America, even though our president is black. People still die every day because of the color of their skin. We must be aware of what is going on, in order to make this society a better place. In a fair society, no one is above the law.
Written by Hui-Ling Malone. He is a third-year international studies major. He can be reached at hmalone@uci.edu.
This man, Amadou Diallo, was viciously murdered by police officers on Feb. 4, 1999. Diallo was approached because he was mistaken for a rapist, as he supposedly fit the description. Diallo came to America from West Africa with the hope of furthering his education and living a more successful life. Sadly, his ambitions did not come true because he was brutally murdered by the police.
A few months back, in late October of 2008, a young man of just 20 years stepped outside his house because he heard suspicious noises. He was recently married, and his wife was expecting. He wanted to make sure that his household was safe, so he grabbed a broom and stepped out to his front lawn to see what was causing the commotion. Soon after, he was shot twice and fell to the floor dead. One bullet struck his heart. This young man was Julian Alexander. Today he is dead because police officers mistook him for a burglar they were chasing. This occurred in Anaheim, California, not too far from Irvine.
On New Year’s Eve, Oscar Grant was taken out of a subway train by police officers. He was unarmed and lying face down on the ground when an officer pulled out his gun and shot him in the back. Just before he died, Grant pleaded with the cops not to shoot him, telling them that he had a 4-year-old daughter at home. I could go on about how many innocent lives were taken by bullets fired by police officers; but the point is that police brutality happens all the time, and overwhelmingly, black and brown men are the victims.
The cops just get away with it.
Police officers are human like everyone else. But this also means that they may hold racist views that anyone may hold. The only difference is they have a badge and a gun. If they see a black man walking down the street, they can act on their racist thinking, can legally shoot and kill that man and label him as a threat to justify their actions. Police officers have the law on their side, while a man on the street does not. Judges rarely, if ever, sentence cops for their discriminatory acts toward innocent people. They are legally allowed to racially profile and murder black and brown people.
Diallo was shot because he “fit the description” of a rapist. What was the description? Diallo was black, and therefore a threat. Julian Alexander was black, 6-feet-5-inches and 240 pounds. Does his appearance mean that he should be dead? Time and time again, police officers use their guns and weapons before asking questions. Unfortunately, the murders of innocent people continue because the police can get away with it. The police have a job to “serve and protect,” but the question is, serve and protect who?
In the case of Grant, brave witnesses recorded the horrendous actions of the police and put it on YouTube, despite officer’s demands that they turn in their cell phones and cameras. This time, America witnessed inequality and racism in action. The video on YouTube that broadcasted Oscar Grant’s death led to protests in Oakland and around the country. People were not angry over this isolated incident that happened at the Bay Area Rapid Transit Station. People were angry because they have seen men like Oscar Grant murdered too many times before. Demonstrations against police brutality erupted because of the unjust killings of numerous innocent victims, who for many were sons, husbands, brothers, friends and neighbors. Grant was just the straw that broke the camel’s back.
On Monday, Jan. 26, concerned students around the UC system gathered together to stand up against police brutality. UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UCLA and UC Irvine walked out of class and held a march and rally in honor of those who died from police brutality. Students expressed the need to be aware of this critical issue. They will not tolerate police brutality.
Clearly, the stories of Grant, Alexander, Diallo and countless others demonstrate that racist ideologies still permeate America, even though our president is black. People still die every day because of the color of their skin. We must be aware of what is going on, in order to make this society a better place. In a fair society, no one is above the law.
Written by Hui-Ling Malone. He is a third-year international studies major. He can be reached at hmalone@uci.edu.
Monday, February 09, 2009
Sheriff Joe Arpaio Makes Arizona a Laughing-Stock
Arizona's recent claims to fame have included the Cardinals' improbable and heart-wrenching trip to the Super Bowl and a mammoth budget deficit that has led the State Legislature to make sizeable cuts in education, health care and public services. But the state's perennial national blemish is none other than four-time re-elected sheriff of Maricopa County, the infamous Joe Arpaio, better known simply as Sheriff Joe.
Sheriff Joe is known to his supporters as "America's Toughest Sheriff," and to his many detractors, including Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Arizona Ecumenical Council, the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League as an alarming public official, prone to flirting with human rights violations in order to maintain his "tough" reputation. Famous examples of his flouting prisoner's rights include reinstating the archaic practice of chain-gangs, feeding prisoners just twice a day and with expired food, housing them in tents that can reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit in Arizona summers, and obliging them to wear pink underwear emblazoned with the words "Go Joe."
In 2005, Sheriff Joe forced 700 maximum-security prisoners to march four blocks between jails in nothing but pink boxer-shorts and flip-flops. His excuse was that he didn't want the inmates to be able to hide weapons in their clothes, but the march served as just another publicity stunt to dehumanize and disgrace the detainees.
Recently, Sheriff Joe has been at his best. In an exploit that caused the Huffington Post to name Arpaio its "unconscionable idiot of the week," he arranged massive media coverage and on Feb. 4 paraded 200 undocumented immigrants dressed in old-fashioned striped prison garb and shackles from the county jail to Tent City, where they will await trial. That's right: none of the hundreds of detainees has even been sentenced yet. Arpaio claimed that the event was a "cost-saver," an excuse I can't even begin to fathom. How is outfitting 200 untried men in new prison uniforms and orchestrating a full-fledged media circus a cost-saver?
With Sheriff Joe's notorious dearth of transparency, we'll probably never understand that excuse. But even so, when has cutting costs ever justified gross Constitutional and human-rights violations? The New York Times called Arpaio "off the rails" in a Feb. 5 editorial about the incident. If one county's sheriff is drawing the notice and antipathy of the largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, then Arizona has a major public relations problem.
To add insult to injury, Sheriff Joe stars in a reality television show on Fox Reality. "Smile… You're Under Arrest!" aired Dec. 27, 2008. The show's premise is that people with outstanding warrants are hoodwinked into presenting themselves for arrest, with stunts like fake movie casting calls or fashion shows. At the end of each episode, Sheriff Joe and his costars arrest the unwitting crooks.
Clearly, Arpaio has a strong taste for publicity at others' expense. But he's an elected official and as such, this sort of behavior is unacceptable. How does the sheriff of the fourth-most-populated county in the nation have time for a television show? Still, he manages to fulfill his other self-proclaimed duties, chief among them barefacedly breaching prisoner's rights and terrorizing undocumented migrants.
And here we come to why residents of Maricopa County continue, unfathomably, to re-elect Sheriff Joe. He is "tough on illegal immigration." Well, yes, but Joe McCarthy was famously "tough on Communism." Toughness does not indicate sound policy, and Arpaio is nothing more than a dangerous buffoon whose fear-mongering will do little to improve Arizona in the long run. All he will really do is make himself, and our fair state, a national laughing-stock. Thanks, Joe!
Sheriff Joe is known to his supporters as "America's Toughest Sheriff," and to his many detractors, including Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Arizona Ecumenical Council, the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League as an alarming public official, prone to flirting with human rights violations in order to maintain his "tough" reputation. Famous examples of his flouting prisoner's rights include reinstating the archaic practice of chain-gangs, feeding prisoners just twice a day and with expired food, housing them in tents that can reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit in Arizona summers, and obliging them to wear pink underwear emblazoned with the words "Go Joe."
In 2005, Sheriff Joe forced 700 maximum-security prisoners to march four blocks between jails in nothing but pink boxer-shorts and flip-flops. His excuse was that he didn't want the inmates to be able to hide weapons in their clothes, but the march served as just another publicity stunt to dehumanize and disgrace the detainees.
Recently, Sheriff Joe has been at his best. In an exploit that caused the Huffington Post to name Arpaio its "unconscionable idiot of the week," he arranged massive media coverage and on Feb. 4 paraded 200 undocumented immigrants dressed in old-fashioned striped prison garb and shackles from the county jail to Tent City, where they will await trial. That's right: none of the hundreds of detainees has even been sentenced yet. Arpaio claimed that the event was a "cost-saver," an excuse I can't even begin to fathom. How is outfitting 200 untried men in new prison uniforms and orchestrating a full-fledged media circus a cost-saver?
With Sheriff Joe's notorious dearth of transparency, we'll probably never understand that excuse. But even so, when has cutting costs ever justified gross Constitutional and human-rights violations? The New York Times called Arpaio "off the rails" in a Feb. 5 editorial about the incident. If one county's sheriff is drawing the notice and antipathy of the largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, then Arizona has a major public relations problem.
To add insult to injury, Sheriff Joe stars in a reality television show on Fox Reality. "Smile… You're Under Arrest!" aired Dec. 27, 2008. The show's premise is that people with outstanding warrants are hoodwinked into presenting themselves for arrest, with stunts like fake movie casting calls or fashion shows. At the end of each episode, Sheriff Joe and his costars arrest the unwitting crooks.
Clearly, Arpaio has a strong taste for publicity at others' expense. But he's an elected official and as such, this sort of behavior is unacceptable. How does the sheriff of the fourth-most-populated county in the nation have time for a television show? Still, he manages to fulfill his other self-proclaimed duties, chief among them barefacedly breaching prisoner's rights and terrorizing undocumented migrants.
And here we come to why residents of Maricopa County continue, unfathomably, to re-elect Sheriff Joe. He is "tough on illegal immigration." Well, yes, but Joe McCarthy was famously "tough on Communism." Toughness does not indicate sound policy, and Arpaio is nothing more than a dangerous buffoon whose fear-mongering will do little to improve Arizona in the long run. All he will really do is make himself, and our fair state, a national laughing-stock. Thanks, Joe!
Son of Former Sheriff Steve Whitmill Charged with Impersonating Officer
The son of a former sheriff has been charged with impersonating an undercover drug task force officer after allegedly threatening to arrest a man during the weekend.
Dustin Evan Whitmill, 22, was charged after allegedly threatening to take a man to jail Saturday night if he did not provide them with information about illegal drug activity, according to a police report.
Whitmill’s father is former Washington County Sheriff Steve Whitmill.
Facing different charges are brothers Andrew and Brian Wesoloski, both 23.
A neighbor of Dustin Whitmill’s asked Whitmill and the others not to drive around recklessly and Dustin Whitmill was reported to have said, “Do you know who I am?” He then identified himself as the former sheriff’s son, presented identification and said he worked for the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force, the police report said.
The neighbor told a police dispatcher the men were intoxicated and said the Wesoloski brothers had threatened him with guns. The three men were later arrested on U.S. 71, the report said.
Dustin Whitmill worked as a jailer for the Washington County Detention Center for just more than a week in February 2006 but is no longer employed with the sheriff’s office, a spokeswoman for the county said. She was not able to give details on why he left the position, she said.
Dustin Whitmill faces preliminary charges of criminal impersonation, criminal use of a prohibited weapon, first-degree false imprisonment and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Both Wesoloski brothers face preliminary charges of aggravated assault, first-degree false imprisonment and criminal use of a prohibited weapon, while Andrew Wesoloski was also arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated.
All three men could face enhanced sentencing if convicted under the state’s anti-gang laws for “engaging in violent criminal group activity.”
Steve Whitmill resigned from his sheriff’s position in March 2004 after accepting a security job with Tyson Foods Inc. He had been elected sheriff in 2000.
Dustin Whitmill was released from Washington County Detention Center Sunday after posting bail on a $15,000 bond, while the Wesoloski brothers remained in jail Monday.
Dustin Evan Whitmill, 22, was charged after allegedly threatening to take a man to jail Saturday night if he did not provide them with information about illegal drug activity, according to a police report.
Whitmill’s father is former Washington County Sheriff Steve Whitmill.
Facing different charges are brothers Andrew and Brian Wesoloski, both 23.
A neighbor of Dustin Whitmill’s asked Whitmill and the others not to drive around recklessly and Dustin Whitmill was reported to have said, “Do you know who I am?” He then identified himself as the former sheriff’s son, presented identification and said he worked for the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force, the police report said.
The neighbor told a police dispatcher the men were intoxicated and said the Wesoloski brothers had threatened him with guns. The three men were later arrested on U.S. 71, the report said.
Dustin Whitmill worked as a jailer for the Washington County Detention Center for just more than a week in February 2006 but is no longer employed with the sheriff’s office, a spokeswoman for the county said. She was not able to give details on why he left the position, she said.
Dustin Whitmill faces preliminary charges of criminal impersonation, criminal use of a prohibited weapon, first-degree false imprisonment and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Both Wesoloski brothers face preliminary charges of aggravated assault, first-degree false imprisonment and criminal use of a prohibited weapon, while Andrew Wesoloski was also arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated.
All three men could face enhanced sentencing if convicted under the state’s anti-gang laws for “engaging in violent criminal group activity.”
Steve Whitmill resigned from his sheriff’s position in March 2004 after accepting a security job with Tyson Foods Inc. He had been elected sheriff in 2000.
Dustin Whitmill was released from Washington County Detention Center Sunday after posting bail on a $15,000 bond, while the Wesoloski brothers remained in jail Monday.
Arraignment Held for Former Deputy Marc Diaz Accused of Rape
On Friday, the former Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy accused of raping a woman in La Quinta on Saturday pled not guilty to the charges. 35-year old Marc Diaz of Indio was arraigned on charges of kidnapping to commit rape, and two counts of rape under the threat of the authority of a public official. If convicted, he could face life in prison, without the possibility of parole.
The arraignment took place at the same Indio courthouse where the nine-year veteran of the sheriff's department once worked. Diaz is accused of walking into a business in the 78-000 block of Highway 111, and displaying a law enforcement badge. He then allegedly ordered a woman into his pickup truck, and drove her to a secluded place near Washington Street and Country Club Drive, where he raped her.
We've also learned more about Diaz's 2004 arrest on suspicion of hiring a prostitute. According to Indio police, the solicitation took place on June 25, 2004, near Bliss and Oasis streets. But today, the Riverside District Attorney's office said it did not file charges because of insufficient evidence.
On the rape charges, Diaz is being held on $1 million dollars bail and has requested a public defender. A felony settlement conference is set for February 19th. Meantime, the Coachella Valley Unified School District continues to have no comment on reports that Diaz worked for that district.
Former Trooper Mark Lemieux Pleads Guilty to Extortion
BOSTON
A former state trooper has pleaded guilty to using extortion to collect drug debts and conspiring to distribute the prescription painkiller OxyContin.
The U.S. Attorney's office says Mark Lemieux of Norfolk pleaded guilty Monday, the first day of his trial in federal court. He faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $1.25 million in fines when he is sentenced May 21.
Lemieux and three others, including a retired state trooper, were arrested in May 2007 on charges they participated in an Oxycontin ring.
Joseph Catanese, who had worked with Lemieux on a police task force targeting drug dealers, pleaded guilty last fall in a deal with prosecutors to using extortion to collect drug debts and conspiring to obstruct justice.
Tara Drummey of Norfolk and Patrick McCarthy of Yarmouth also have pleaded guilty in the case. Drummey was sentenced to more than three years in prison and McCarthy to nearly 3 1/2 years.
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http://www.metrobostonnews.com/us/article/2009/02/10/04/1427-80/index.xml
A former state trooper has pleaded guilty to using extortion to collect drug debts and conspiring to distribute the prescription painkiller OxyContin.
The U.S. Attorney's office says Mark Lemieux of Norfolk pleaded guilty Monday, the first day of his trial in federal court. He faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $1.25 million in fines when he is sentenced May 21.
Lemieux and three others, including a retired state trooper, were arrested in May 2007 on charges they participated in an Oxycontin ring.
Joseph Catanese, who had worked with Lemieux on a police task force targeting drug dealers, pleaded guilty last fall in a deal with prosecutors to using extortion to collect drug debts and conspiring to obstruct justice.
Tara Drummey of Norfolk and Patrick McCarthy of Yarmouth also have pleaded guilty in the case. Drummey was sentenced to more than three years in prison and McCarthy to nearly 3 1/2 years.
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http://www.metrobostonnews.com/us/article/2009/02/10/04/1427-80/index.xml
Police Investigator Matthew Sullivan Accused of DWI
ONEIDA COUNTY, N.Y.
A State Police Investigator has been arrested after being accused of driving under the influence.
State Police say Investigator Matthew Sullivan's BAC was.09 when he was pulled over for speeding in Remsen Friday night. Sullivan, also the Director of the Great American Irish Festival, is a 19 year veteran of the State Police and assigned to Troop D. He has been charged with DWI and has been suspended with pay.
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More Information:
http://www.wktv.com/news/local/39331232.html
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Deputy Christopher Grube Arrested for DUI
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL
A Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy was arrested early Saturday morning around 2 a.m.
Deputy Christopher Grube was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. The 38-year-old refused a sobriety test.
According to PBSO spokeswoman, Teri Barbera, Grube was assigned court service duty.
Grube was arrested by Officer Secord of the West Palm Beach Police Department.
Grube was released about 3 hours later on his own recognizance.
Drunken Officer Martin Abreu Runs Over Couple
A drunken Jersey City cop plowed his car into a young couple as they crossed a downtown street early today, killing the woman and leaving her friend in intensive care, sources said.
Officer Martin Abreu, 25, from Jersey City, who was off-duty, allegedly mowed down Huang Feng, 26, and her unidentified male friend, also 26, as they walked across West Street, at Albany Street, at about 3:40 a.m.
Feng, who lived nearby, died immediately, cops said.
Her companion was rushed to St. Vincent's Hospital, where he was listed in critical, but stable condition.
Abreu, who was driving a Toyota Camry, was cuffed at the scene and charged with vehicular manslaughter, vehicular assault and DWI, police said.
Abreu, who has been with the Jersey City police since 2005, was suspended without pay.
"The charges surrounding this incident are most serious and this type of activity will not be tolerated by the JCPD," said Chief Tom Comey.
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http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/93572/jersey-police-officer-charged-in-pedestrian-death/Default.aspx
Officer John Dalziel Charged with Having Unlawful Contract
BRIMFIELD TOWNSHIP
Police arrested the township's fiscal officer, John Dalziel, 40, on a charge of having an unlawful interest in a public contract.
The contract involved Dalziel's insurance agency. Brimfield police Chief David A. Blough did not provide details. The Portage County Prosecutor's Office and the Ohio Ethics Commission assisted in the investigation.
Dalziel was arrested Jan. 30 and arraigned Wednesday. He is free on bond on the 1st-degree misdemeanor charge and is due back in court Feb. 26. The offense carries a maximum sentence of 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Officer Carl Beckman Accused of Stealing More than $23,000
Carl Beckman was a respected Sylvania police officer who received several awards over the years and had no disciplinary record in his file.
But the 36-year veteran who was trusted enough to serve in the department's property room is now charged with stealing thousands of dollars of forfeiture money.
Mr. Beckman, 58, was indicted by a Lucas County grand jury on one count of theft in office. The former officer is accused of pilfering more than $23,000 from the department's property-room safe between January, 1996, and January, 2009.
Because the amount taken is more than $5,000, the offense is a third-degree felony. Mr. Beckman faces up to five years in prison if convicted. He is to be arraigned Feb. 19 by Judge Ruth Ann Franks.
"This is not only disappointing but very shocking," Sylvania Police Chief Gerald Sobb said. "Obviously, a person in that position was trusted. If there was any question of his honesty, he wouldn't have been there."
Mr. Beckman joined the police department in April, 1973. In November, 1988, he was assigned to the property room. When he left the department last month, his base pay was $68,800, the chief said.
Chief Sobb said the property room houses all evidence found and seized during the investigation of crimes. Included in that is cash taken from suspects, which is then secured, labeled, and placed in a property-room safe.
After a case concludes, the money is either returned or the court orders it forfeited to the department. That money is deposited into the law enforcement trust fund, Chief Sobb said.
The fund shortage was discovered during an attempt to deposit recently forfeited money, Chief Sobb said.
"He didn't bring me the money on some of these cases. That's when we discovered this," the chief said.
Authorities said $23,711 is believed missing from the property room. The chief said he was not aware of any financial problems that Mr. Beckman was facing or any reason for the alleged thefts.
Mr. Beckman could not be reached for comment. He retired from the department on Monday, Chief Sobb said, and was indicted on Thursday. The chief said that during Mr. Beckman's time on the force, he had no discipline problems and received several awards, including his fourth Police Star in April.
Mayor Craig Stough said the county prosecutor's office was notified soon after money was discovered to be missing.
"It's very sad and disappointing when a trusted officer of 36 years is discovered to be stealing," he said. "But I'd like to emphasize that these are not taxpayer dollars that are missing. These are funds missing from the property room and funds seized from ongoing investigations, although I've been told that nothing missing would impact an ongoing investigation."
Chief Sobb said the department is conducting a full audit of the property room to make sure nothing else is missing.
"We're going through every piece of evidence and property in the property room," he said. "We want to know if anything else is missing. Hopefully, [money] is all that was taken."
The law enforcement trust fund is made up of money seized in criminal investigations and forfeited through the courts. Laws specify what it can be used for, including equipment for officers and for drug programs and education, the chief said.
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http://www.10tv.com/live/content/onnnews/stories/2009/02/07/story_sylvania.html?sid=102
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Judge George Korpita Convicted of of Making Threats to Officers While Drunk
The New Jersey Supreme Court has suspended from law practice a former municipal court judge convicted of making threats to officers during a drunken-driving arrest.
Though the Disciplinary Review Board had recommended only a reprimand for George R. Korpita, of Dover, finding his actions stemmed from his drunken state, not dishonesty, the court said a three-month suspension was the appropriate quantum of discipline.
His threats of harm to public servants constituted a criminal act that reflects adversely on a his honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer under Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(c), the court said in an order issued Feb. 2.
Korpita, who had been a sitting judge in Rockaway Borough, Dover and Victory Gardens, was arrested in Roxbury, N.J., on Nov. 6, 2007, after a passing motorist called police to report a man passed out at the wheel of a car at a traffic signal on Route 46. Patrolman Jonathan Edmunds, as he arrived at the scene, observed Korpita's car drift slowly from the right to the left lane. When the officer put on his overhead lights, Korpita veered into the right lane, turned onto a side road and pulled into a driveway.
Edmunds approached the car and asked for a driver's license. Korpita handed him a state judiciary identification card and said, "I'm a judge." When the officer again asked for the license, Korpita said, "I'm OK, bro, I'm OK."
Edmunds took Korpita to the police station and said later, in a letter to Morris County Assignment Judge B. Theodore Bozonelis, that Korpita made "statements that caused [him] great concern as a police officer."
Korpita told Edmunds he was a supporter of law enforcement and "when the cops beat the shit out of a guy, I do the right thing ... . I'll never take care of cops again. After tonight, I'm done," according to Edmunds' letter. Korpita then said he had cases that could have gone either way and he had always decided in favor of the police. But, he added, "never again, I'm going to stick it up their asses. Get the Vaseline out and bend over."
When another officer, Sgt. Kevin Carroll, asked Korpita whether that statement was a threat, Korpita said no, and then asked whether he could be charged with reckless driving instead of drunken driving, the letter continued.
Korpita resigned his municipal judge posts shortly after he was arrested, and on Dec. 28, 2007, he pleaded guilty to N.J.S.A. 2C:27-3A(3), which makes it a crime to threaten a public servant. He admitted saying to the police officers that he would take some adverse action against them in the future, if the arrest process were to continue.
Judge Salem Vincent Ahto sentenced Korpita to three years' probation and 100 days community service instead of the two-year prison term the statute prescribed. Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi had told Ahto that the mandatory incarceration was aimed at cracking down on corruption, which he said was not present in Korpita's case. However, Korpita was banned for life from holding public employment. He also pleaded guilty to drunken driving and had his license suspended for one year.
During proceedings at the DRB, Korpita said he was rehabilitated from his alcohol problem, had attended more than 200 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and had been sober for 200 days.
The DRB concluded last Dec. 4 that Korpita's conduct "was not the result of dishonesty or a flaw in his character, but the product of severe intoxication."
The panel said that Korpita "paid a high price for his offenses. He lost his position as a judge in three municipalities, reportedly his principal source of income, and is barred from ever holding public employment. In view of the foregoing, we believe that a censure sufficiently addresses the extent of respondent's conduct and, at the same time, preserves the public's confidence in the disciplinary system and the judiciary as a whole," the DRB said.
Korpita did not dispute the Supreme Court's decision to suspend him, says Blair Zwillman, who represented him at the DRB level. Zwillman says the court likely gave Korpita a stiffer penalty because it did not want him to get off free after committing a crime. "I think the penalties he paid are enough. He's a lifetime felon," Zwillman said.
The suspension is only the latest setback for Korpita, who practices with his father at Dover's Korpita & Korpita.
On May 4, 2007, he had a confrontation with Warren Hartzman at a restaurant in Rockaway Borough. When Hartzman joined a woman friend outside the restaurant while she smoked a cigarette, he leaned against Korpita's Maserati and caused a scratch. After Korpita and Hartzman argued, Rockaway officers arrived and took Hartzman into custody, allegedly at Korpita's request.
Hartzman, who was held for several hours but was not charged, sued Korpita and Rockaway for civil rights violations in U.S. District Court. The suit claimed that his arrest was in retaliation for scratching Korpita's car.
U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton dismissed the civil case, Hartzman v. Korpita, 2:07-cv-03848, as settled on Jan. 21. The defendant's attorney, Robert Greenbaum of Greenbaum & Flanagan in Roseland, N.J., and the plaintiff's attorney, William Pinilis of Kaplan, Fox & Kilsheimer in Morristown, N.J., decline to discuss the settlement.
While the Roxbury drunken-driving arrest was pending, Korpita was charged with drunken driving on Feb. 18, 2008, after his car was pulled over on Route 181 in Sparta, N.J. He was also charged with careless driving, failure to keep right and refusing to take a breath test. If convicted of a second DWI charge, Korpita could face another $1,000 in fine, loss of his license for an additional period of up to four years and up to 90 days in jail.
Though the Disciplinary Review Board had recommended only a reprimand for George R. Korpita, of Dover, finding his actions stemmed from his drunken state, not dishonesty, the court said a three-month suspension was the appropriate quantum of discipline.
His threats of harm to public servants constituted a criminal act that reflects adversely on a his honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer under Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(c), the court said in an order issued Feb. 2.
Korpita, who had been a sitting judge in Rockaway Borough, Dover and Victory Gardens, was arrested in Roxbury, N.J., on Nov. 6, 2007, after a passing motorist called police to report a man passed out at the wheel of a car at a traffic signal on Route 46. Patrolman Jonathan Edmunds, as he arrived at the scene, observed Korpita's car drift slowly from the right to the left lane. When the officer put on his overhead lights, Korpita veered into the right lane, turned onto a side road and pulled into a driveway.
Edmunds approached the car and asked for a driver's license. Korpita handed him a state judiciary identification card and said, "I'm a judge." When the officer again asked for the license, Korpita said, "I'm OK, bro, I'm OK."
Edmunds took Korpita to the police station and said later, in a letter to Morris County Assignment Judge B. Theodore Bozonelis, that Korpita made "statements that caused [him] great concern as a police officer."
Korpita told Edmunds he was a supporter of law enforcement and "when the cops beat the shit out of a guy, I do the right thing ... . I'll never take care of cops again. After tonight, I'm done," according to Edmunds' letter. Korpita then said he had cases that could have gone either way and he had always decided in favor of the police. But, he added, "never again, I'm going to stick it up their asses. Get the Vaseline out and bend over."
When another officer, Sgt. Kevin Carroll, asked Korpita whether that statement was a threat, Korpita said no, and then asked whether he could be charged with reckless driving instead of drunken driving, the letter continued.
Korpita resigned his municipal judge posts shortly after he was arrested, and on Dec. 28, 2007, he pleaded guilty to N.J.S.A. 2C:27-3A(3), which makes it a crime to threaten a public servant. He admitted saying to the police officers that he would take some adverse action against them in the future, if the arrest process were to continue.
Judge Salem Vincent Ahto sentenced Korpita to three years' probation and 100 days community service instead of the two-year prison term the statute prescribed. Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi had told Ahto that the mandatory incarceration was aimed at cracking down on corruption, which he said was not present in Korpita's case. However, Korpita was banned for life from holding public employment. He also pleaded guilty to drunken driving and had his license suspended for one year.
During proceedings at the DRB, Korpita said he was rehabilitated from his alcohol problem, had attended more than 200 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and had been sober for 200 days.
The DRB concluded last Dec. 4 that Korpita's conduct "was not the result of dishonesty or a flaw in his character, but the product of severe intoxication."
The panel said that Korpita "paid a high price for his offenses. He lost his position as a judge in three municipalities, reportedly his principal source of income, and is barred from ever holding public employment. In view of the foregoing, we believe that a censure sufficiently addresses the extent of respondent's conduct and, at the same time, preserves the public's confidence in the disciplinary system and the judiciary as a whole," the DRB said.
Korpita did not dispute the Supreme Court's decision to suspend him, says Blair Zwillman, who represented him at the DRB level. Zwillman says the court likely gave Korpita a stiffer penalty because it did not want him to get off free after committing a crime. "I think the penalties he paid are enough. He's a lifetime felon," Zwillman said.
The suspension is only the latest setback for Korpita, who practices with his father at Dover's Korpita & Korpita.
On May 4, 2007, he had a confrontation with Warren Hartzman at a restaurant in Rockaway Borough. When Hartzman joined a woman friend outside the restaurant while she smoked a cigarette, he leaned against Korpita's Maserati and caused a scratch. After Korpita and Hartzman argued, Rockaway officers arrived and took Hartzman into custody, allegedly at Korpita's request.
Hartzman, who was held for several hours but was not charged, sued Korpita and Rockaway for civil rights violations in U.S. District Court. The suit claimed that his arrest was in retaliation for scratching Korpita's car.
U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton dismissed the civil case, Hartzman v. Korpita, 2:07-cv-03848, as settled on Jan. 21. The defendant's attorney, Robert Greenbaum of Greenbaum & Flanagan in Roseland, N.J., and the plaintiff's attorney, William Pinilis of Kaplan, Fox & Kilsheimer in Morristown, N.J., decline to discuss the settlement.
While the Roxbury drunken-driving arrest was pending, Korpita was charged with drunken driving on Feb. 18, 2008, after his car was pulled over on Route 181 in Sparta, N.J. He was also charged with careless driving, failure to keep right and refusing to take a breath test. If convicted of a second DWI charge, Korpita could face another $1,000 in fine, loss of his license for an additional period of up to four years and up to 90 days in jail.
Judge David Cooper Arrested for Being Drunk at Sporting Event
The Yuma County Attorney's Office has filed a motion asking a local judge to recluse himself from all current and future drunk driving cases following his arrest for an alcohol-related offense. Prosecutors are targeting Judge David Cooper after his December arrest in San Diego where police say he was intoxicated at a sporting event.
"A lot of judges on the bench now, I've went up against them in the past," says Attorney at Law, John Minore who has gone head-to-head with Cooper on many occasions. He says the justice of the peace is at the center of a witch hunt.
"I think it crosses ethical lines, and in viewing the motion and the attachments to it, it's pretty offensive that they went in there and attached police reports it," says Minore. The motion includes embarrassing details about the arrest-- details that say Cooper was so drunk that he fell down and wet himself. It also comes with a police report on Cooper's 2001 DUI arrest which took place before he was appointed,
Defense attorneys for more than two dozen active DUI cases have until the end of next week to respond to the motion.
"It says he breached judicial ethics and canons and how do I respond as a defense attorney to the judge's conduct outside?"
The motion further questions Cooper's rulings on past drunk driving cases. Formal proceedings will now determine whether a judge with a history of alcohol-related arrests can be fair and unbiased in the courtroom.
"A lot of judges on the bench now, I've went up against them in the past," says Attorney at Law, John Minore who has gone head-to-head with Cooper on many occasions. He says the justice of the peace is at the center of a witch hunt.
"I think it crosses ethical lines, and in viewing the motion and the attachments to it, it's pretty offensive that they went in there and attached police reports it," says Minore. The motion includes embarrassing details about the arrest-- details that say Cooper was so drunk that he fell down and wet himself. It also comes with a police report on Cooper's 2001 DUI arrest which took place before he was appointed,
Defense attorneys for more than two dozen active DUI cases have until the end of next week to respond to the motion.
"It says he breached judicial ethics and canons and how do I respond as a defense attorney to the judge's conduct outside?"
The motion further questions Cooper's rulings on past drunk driving cases. Formal proceedings will now determine whether a judge with a history of alcohol-related arrests can be fair and unbiased in the courtroom.
Officer Troy Giovengo Arrested for Stalking
FORT PIERCE. Fla
Fort Pierce police Officer Troy Giovengo, 42, was arrested by the Port St. Lucie Police Department Friday night and charged with aggravated stalking according to Fort Pierce Police Chief R. Sean Baldwin.
Giovengo has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation and is being held in the St. Lucie County Jail.
Giovengo is a school resource officer assigned to Lincoln Park Academy in Fort Pierce, and has been with the department since 2007, police said.
Fort Pierce police Officer Troy Giovengo, 42, was arrested by the Port St. Lucie Police Department Friday night and charged with aggravated stalking according to Fort Pierce Police Chief R. Sean Baldwin.
Giovengo has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation and is being held in the St. Lucie County Jail.
Giovengo is a school resource officer assigned to Lincoln Park Academy in Fort Pierce, and has been with the department since 2007, police said.
Deputy Jeremy Richardson Arrested for Domestic Violence
A former Clare County sheriff's deputy was in the Isabella County Jail Friday - the second time he spent time behind bars in two days.
Jeremy Brickey Richardson, 31, was arrested Thursday for violating a bond condition. On Wednesday night he was arrested for domestic violence, Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said.
Richardson apparently was fired from his job at the Clare County Sheriff's Department after the first arrest on Wednesday.
Richardson is alleged to have assaulted his wife Wednesday, Mioduszewski said.
Deputies were called to the home in the 2000 block of West Beal City Road in Nottawa Township at 7:48 p.m. Wednesday.
Richardson's wife had left the residence after the alleged assault in the couple's bedroom, calling for help from her parents' home, Mioduszewski said.
"They had gotten into a pretty heated argument prior to the (alleged) assault," Mioduszewski said. "She had no serious injuries; nothing that required medical attention."
After deputies went to the home and interviewed Richardson, they arrested him for domestic violence, a 93-day misdemeanor, Mioduszewski said.
Richardson posted bond and was released from jail, but was arrested again after deputies were called back to the home at 4:16 p.m. Thursday, the sheriff said.
Richardson broke a bond violation by returning to the home; he had been ordered not to go near his wife, Mioduszewski said.
Jeremy Brickey Richardson, 31, was arrested Thursday for violating a bond condition. On Wednesday night he was arrested for domestic violence, Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said.
Richardson apparently was fired from his job at the Clare County Sheriff's Department after the first arrest on Wednesday.
Richardson is alleged to have assaulted his wife Wednesday, Mioduszewski said.
Deputies were called to the home in the 2000 block of West Beal City Road in Nottawa Township at 7:48 p.m. Wednesday.
Richardson's wife had left the residence after the alleged assault in the couple's bedroom, calling for help from her parents' home, Mioduszewski said.
"They had gotten into a pretty heated argument prior to the (alleged) assault," Mioduszewski said. "She had no serious injuries; nothing that required medical attention."
After deputies went to the home and interviewed Richardson, they arrested him for domestic violence, a 93-day misdemeanor, Mioduszewski said.
Richardson posted bond and was released from jail, but was arrested again after deputies were called back to the home at 4:16 p.m. Thursday, the sheriff said.
Richardson broke a bond violation by returning to the home; he had been ordered not to go near his wife, Mioduszewski said.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Judge James Heath Begged Officers Not to Arrest him for Drunk Driving
LEBANON, Ohio
A Warren County judge accused of drunken driving berated the state trooper who pulled him over, according to video footage shot by police.
The arrest took place in October, but recently released videotape showed Common Pleas Court Judge James Heath urging the trooper not to arrest him.
The state trooper said he spotted Heath swerving as he drove on Locust Street in Wilmington, and authorities also said the judge ran a stoplight.
Heath told police that side effects from chemotherapy treatment had killed nerve endings in his hands and impaired his vision.
The trooper asked the judge if the treatments also affected the way he walked and stood.
“Yeah, big time,” Heath said.
The judge admitted to drinking alcohol, but denied that he was intoxicated.
“I had like two glasses of wine, a long time ago, a long time ago,” Heath told the trooper.
The trooper administered a field sobriety test to Heath, who begged the officer not to arrest him.
“I'm a judge,” Heath said. “I don't want to go through with all this. I don't want to go through the whole thing. We work with your court, too.”
Heath continued pleading with the trooper.
“Please don't do this,” Heath said. “Don't do this. It will ruin my career. It will ruin yours.”
The trooper told Heath that he must perform his job duties and asked the judge to be understanding.
“I understand, but I also understand that I work nonstop with you guys,” Heath said. “The highway patrol down there, they come to my house 24-7. I am the judge they always come to. I'm the guy they come to.”
The trooper asked Heath to stop, but the judge cut him off.
“I’m not ‘Mister’ Heath,” he said. “I’m Judge Heath.”
The judge was charged with driving under the influence, but he later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless operation.
Video: http://www.wlwt.com/video/18660345/index.html
A Warren County judge accused of drunken driving berated the state trooper who pulled him over, according to video footage shot by police.
The arrest took place in October, but recently released videotape showed Common Pleas Court Judge James Heath urging the trooper not to arrest him.
The state trooper said he spotted Heath swerving as he drove on Locust Street in Wilmington, and authorities also said the judge ran a stoplight.
Heath told police that side effects from chemotherapy treatment had killed nerve endings in his hands and impaired his vision.
The trooper asked the judge if the treatments also affected the way he walked and stood.
“Yeah, big time,” Heath said.
The judge admitted to drinking alcohol, but denied that he was intoxicated.
“I had like two glasses of wine, a long time ago, a long time ago,” Heath told the trooper.
The trooper administered a field sobriety test to Heath, who begged the officer not to arrest him.
“I'm a judge,” Heath said. “I don't want to go through with all this. I don't want to go through the whole thing. We work with your court, too.”
Heath continued pleading with the trooper.
“Please don't do this,” Heath said. “Don't do this. It will ruin my career. It will ruin yours.”
The trooper told Heath that he must perform his job duties and asked the judge to be understanding.
“I understand, but I also understand that I work nonstop with you guys,” Heath said. “The highway patrol down there, they come to my house 24-7. I am the judge they always come to. I'm the guy they come to.”
The trooper asked Heath to stop, but the judge cut him off.
“I’m not ‘Mister’ Heath,” he said. “I’m Judge Heath.”
The judge was charged with driving under the influence, but he later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless operation.
Video: http://www.wlwt.com/video/18660345/index.html
More Information on Former Deputy Marc Diaz Accused of Rape
Former Riverside County Sheriff's deputy accused of raping a woman in La Quinta on Saturday left the department in 2004 after being arrested on suspicion of hiring a prostitute. Sources say that 35-year old Marc Diaz worked in the Coachella Valley Unified School District - the district had no comment.
According to Indio police, the solicitation took place on June 25, 2004, near Bliss and Oasis streets. At the time, Diaz was a nine-year veteran of the sheriff's department and was working in the Indio courthouse. Diaz is now accused of walking into a business in the 78000 block of Highway 111 and displaying a law enforcement badge. He then ordered a woman into his pickup truck and drove her to a secluded place near Washington and Country Club and raped her. He is being held on one-million dollars bail, and is expected to be arraigned today.
According to Indio police, the solicitation took place on June 25, 2004, near Bliss and Oasis streets. At the time, Diaz was a nine-year veteran of the sheriff's department and was working in the Indio courthouse. Diaz is now accused of walking into a business in the 78000 block of Highway 111 and displaying a law enforcement badge. He then ordered a woman into his pickup truck and drove her to a secluded place near Washington and Country Club and raped her. He is being held on one-million dollars bail, and is expected to be arraigned today.
Sheriff Joe Craig Pleads Guilty to Contributing to Delinquency of Minor
Seminole County Sheriff Joe Craig pleaded guilty today to two misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and transporting an open container of liquor.
According to court documents Craig, 62, in March 2008 allowed a female minor to drink wine coolers and vodka while they rode in his vehicle. Craig also knowingly transported a soda bottle filled with vodka that he and the minor passenger could both reach.
Garvin County District Judge Candace L. Blalock ordered Craig to pay a $1,000 fine and serve 50 hours of community service at a juvenile delinquent and treatment center, court documents state.
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http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=9802845
Officer Patrick Muriel Arrested for Indecent Exposure
San Antonio police officer Patrick Muriel was arrested this week for indecent exposure after two female students at the University of Texas at San Antonio alleged he exposed himself.
Muriel, a five-year veteran patrolman, was placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the UTSA investigation, according to SAPD.
The first report came from a student walking to her car in the parking lot, said David Hernandez, chief of the UTSA police force.
The woman said a man in a dark car called out to her. She thought he needed help, so she walked over. When she looked down, the man’s pants were down, Hernandez said.
The woman jumped back and the car sped off.
Security cameras helped police identify the car’s license plate, which led them to 29-year-old Muriel, an off-duty police officer. Both students identified Muriel from a photo lineup, Hernandez said.
Police were saddened to learn Muriel was an off-duty SAPD officer.
“When you have large number of employees, no matter how hard you screen, you are going to get some that sneak through,” Hernandez said. “There is no way to get inside a person’s heart and see what their deepest darkest secrets are. It is rare and we thank God for that."
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http://www.woai.com/mostpopular/story/San-Antonio-Police-Officer-Arrested-for-Indecent/xV-mzBUCKE2i-_3AaajlLw.cspx
Salinas Police Open Fire on Unarmed Couple for NO Reason
Salinas police are giving little information about a shooting Tuesday night in which two officers fired several shots at a vehicle during a traffic stop.
Cmdr. Dino Bardoni on Thursday gave no details about what led up to the gunfire, only that one of the officers thought he had been shot and the two opened fire.
No weapons were found in the Ford Expedition, which had been pulled over, and no arrests were made, he said.
The sport utility vehicle was stopped by an officer about 11:30p.m. near North Sanborn Road and Freedom Parkway because the license plate light was out, Bardoni said.
"It was just a routine traffic stop," he said.
A second officer arrived to assist and, while the first officer was contacting the female driver and her male passenger, he "perceived a threat" Bardoni said.
"The officer thought he'd been shot, and (the two officers) responded by discharging their firearms," he said. "Fortunately, there were no injuries."
Bardoni would not say where the officers were aiming, where they were standing while shooting or at what point and why the officers stopped shooting.
He would not give any other details, or comment on the officers' judgment or their use of force, because the department is conducting an investigation.
"We are looking at what led up to it and the facts surrounding it," he said.
The officers and the man and woman in the SUV have been interviewed or will be, Bardoni said.
The two officers have been placed on paid administrative leave as is department policy in an officer-involved shooting.
Police have not identified them or said what their law enforcement experience is.
The police investigation could take several weeks to complete, at which time a report will be sent to the District Attorney's Office for a determination of whether there was any criminal conduct by the officers.
It is the second shooting this year involving police officers in Salinas.
Jesse Pinon, a Monterey County sheriff's deputy assigned to the county gang task force, shot Carlos Fletes, 28, in the hand and stomach Jan. 15. Fletes allegedly pointed a gun at Pinon.
Fletes' family and attorney say he was holding a paint spray nozzle.
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office is investigating that shooting.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11643571
Cmdr. Dino Bardoni on Thursday gave no details about what led up to the gunfire, only that one of the officers thought he had been shot and the two opened fire.
No weapons were found in the Ford Expedition, which had been pulled over, and no arrests were made, he said.
The sport utility vehicle was stopped by an officer about 11:30p.m. near North Sanborn Road and Freedom Parkway because the license plate light was out, Bardoni said.
"It was just a routine traffic stop," he said.
A second officer arrived to assist and, while the first officer was contacting the female driver and her male passenger, he "perceived a threat" Bardoni said.
"The officer thought he'd been shot, and (the two officers) responded by discharging their firearms," he said. "Fortunately, there were no injuries."
Bardoni would not say where the officers were aiming, where they were standing while shooting or at what point and why the officers stopped shooting.
He would not give any other details, or comment on the officers' judgment or their use of force, because the department is conducting an investigation.
"We are looking at what led up to it and the facts surrounding it," he said.
The officers and the man and woman in the SUV have been interviewed or will be, Bardoni said.
The two officers have been placed on paid administrative leave as is department policy in an officer-involved shooting.
Police have not identified them or said what their law enforcement experience is.
The police investigation could take several weeks to complete, at which time a report will be sent to the District Attorney's Office for a determination of whether there was any criminal conduct by the officers.
It is the second shooting this year involving police officers in Salinas.
Jesse Pinon, a Monterey County sheriff's deputy assigned to the county gang task force, shot Carlos Fletes, 28, in the hand and stomach Jan. 15. Fletes allegedly pointed a gun at Pinon.
Fletes' family and attorney say he was holding a paint spray nozzle.
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office is investigating that shooting.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11643571
Officer William McConigle Arrested for Drunk Driving
BLOOMINGTON, Ill.
A Bloomington police officer is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation into his arrest on drunken driving charges.
Officer G. William McGonigle, of Normal, was stopped in that city by an Illinois state trooper at 2:21 a.m. Saturday.
State police confirmed Thursday that the 35-year-old McGonigle, a six-year veteran of the department, was charged with speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Interim Bloomington Police Chief Randy McKinley says an investigation is being conducted to see if there were any violations of department policy, rules or regulations.
Information from: The Pantagraph, http://www.pantagraph.com
A Bloomington police officer is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation into his arrest on drunken driving charges.
Officer G. William McGonigle, of Normal, was stopped in that city by an Illinois state trooper at 2:21 a.m. Saturday.
State police confirmed Thursday that the 35-year-old McGonigle, a six-year veteran of the department, was charged with speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Interim Bloomington Police Chief Randy McKinley says an investigation is being conducted to see if there were any violations of department policy, rules or regulations.
Information from: The Pantagraph, http://www.pantagraph.com
Boston Officer Reassigned After using Cruiser to Escort Strippers
A Boston police officer has been reassigned to desk duty pending an internal affairs investigation of reports that he used a police cruiser without authority to escort two celebrity strippers, known as the "Brangelina" of the gay community, to a nightclub in the Theater District.
The officer, whose name was not released, is accused of picking up the two men, Arden and Jordan Jaric of California, from Logan Airport on Oct. 24 last year and taking them to the Roxy nightclub on Tremont Street, which often hosts gay-themed events, according to two police sources with knowledge of the investigation who requested anonymity.
"These are troubling allegations at a time when resources are stretched thin," police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said in a statement. "The department is taking this matter very seriously and it will be fully investigated."
Boston police brass became aware of the escort after the two men came under Providence police attention following a sexually graphic show they performed at Trixx All Male Revue, a male nude club on Allens Avenue in Providence, the sources said. Providence police investigated reports that the two men may have been escorted to the Rhode Island club by a law enforcement officer.
The men took pictures of a police cruiser in one of Boston's tunnels and referred to the escort on a blog, according to the sources, who confirmed a report aired on WJAR-TV in Providence.
The investigation was forwarded to Boston police when Rhode Island investigators determined the origin of the cruiser providing the escort. Boston police said yesterday that the incident is under investigation.
The sources said that investigators believe the escort to the Roxy occurred a day before the show in Rhode Island, was limited to the trip from Logan to Tremont Street, and the officer did not accompany the performers to Providence.
Boston police have varying standards for providing a police escort, but officials said they are primarily concerned with the allegations of inappropriate use of police resources without permission for the escort.
Elaine Driscoll, a spokeswoman for Boston police, could not say yesterday how the officer may have been commissioned to provide a police escort.
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http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1150414
The officer, whose name was not released, is accused of picking up the two men, Arden and Jordan Jaric of California, from Logan Airport on Oct. 24 last year and taking them to the Roxy nightclub on Tremont Street, which often hosts gay-themed events, according to two police sources with knowledge of the investigation who requested anonymity.
"These are troubling allegations at a time when resources are stretched thin," police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said in a statement. "The department is taking this matter very seriously and it will be fully investigated."
Boston police brass became aware of the escort after the two men came under Providence police attention following a sexually graphic show they performed at Trixx All Male Revue, a male nude club on Allens Avenue in Providence, the sources said. Providence police investigated reports that the two men may have been escorted to the Rhode Island club by a law enforcement officer.
The men took pictures of a police cruiser in one of Boston's tunnels and referred to the escort on a blog, according to the sources, who confirmed a report aired on WJAR-TV in Providence.
The investigation was forwarded to Boston police when Rhode Island investigators determined the origin of the cruiser providing the escort. Boston police said yesterday that the incident is under investigation.
The sources said that investigators believe the escort to the Roxy occurred a day before the show in Rhode Island, was limited to the trip from Logan to Tremont Street, and the officer did not accompany the performers to Providence.
Boston police have varying standards for providing a police escort, but officials said they are primarily concerned with the allegations of inappropriate use of police resources without permission for the escort.
Elaine Driscoll, a spokeswoman for Boston police, could not say yesterday how the officer may have been commissioned to provide a police escort.
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http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1150414
Officer Carl Beckman Accused of Stealing $20,000
A 35-year veteran of the Sylvania Police Department has been indicted by a Lucas County grand jury on a charge of theft in office.
Carl Beckman, 58, is accused of stealing more than $20,000 from the department’s property room over a period of several years. Hired on in April, 1973, Mr. Beckman retired from his position Monday, Chief Gerald Sobb said.
According to the indictment filed on Thursday, the thefts occurred between January, 1996, and January, 2009. Because the amount taken was in excess of $5,000, the charge is a third-degree felony and is punishable with up to five years in prison.
As an officer in charge of the property room, Mr. Beckman was responsible for logging all evidence, Chief Sobb said. Included in the property was money confiscated during investigations.
After an investigation is completed, money is then either returned or forfeited to the department through the courts. Chief Sobb said it was when he ordered some of that money that had been forfeited to be brought up for deposit into the law enforcement fund that it was discovered thousands of dollars were missing.
No court dates for the former officer have yet been set.
Carl Beckman, 58, is accused of stealing more than $20,000 from the department’s property room over a period of several years. Hired on in April, 1973, Mr. Beckman retired from his position Monday, Chief Gerald Sobb said.
According to the indictment filed on Thursday, the thefts occurred between January, 1996, and January, 2009. Because the amount taken was in excess of $5,000, the charge is a third-degree felony and is punishable with up to five years in prison.
As an officer in charge of the property room, Mr. Beckman was responsible for logging all evidence, Chief Sobb said. Included in the property was money confiscated during investigations.
After an investigation is completed, money is then either returned or forfeited to the department through the courts. Chief Sobb said it was when he ordered some of that money that had been forfeited to be brought up for deposit into the law enforcement fund that it was discovered thousands of dollars were missing.
No court dates for the former officer have yet been set.
Lawyers Recieves $1.4 Million in Legal Fees for Winning Taser Case
Lawyers who won $183,000 for the family of a man who died in 2005 after being Tasered dozens of times by Salinas, Calif., police have now been awarded $1.4 million in legal fees.
A federal judge yesterday ordered Taser International Inc. to pay the seven-figure amount, acknowledging that the $1,423,000 legal-fees bill is far more than the amount won by the family of Robert Heston. However, he said the award was appropriate because the lawyers took a significant risk in pursuing the case, which provided a significant public benefit, reports the Monterrey Herald.
The Arizona-based company says it will appeal the award to plaintiff attorneys John Burton and Peter Williamson.
"The case marked the first time Taser was found negligent in a death related to the use of its stun guns," the newspaper writes.
Heston's family originally was awarded more than $5 million in a jury verdict last year, for failing to warn Salinas police of the danger of multiple use of a Taser. However, U.S. District Judge James Ware reduced the award to $183,000, eliminating punitive damages, after finding that Heston, who was high on methamphetamine at the time, was 85 percent negligent in the incident.
Although the article does not explain the legal basis for the award of attorney's fees, it appears to have been made under a civil rights statute providing for the defendant to pay a prevailing plaintiff's legal costs.
A federal judge yesterday ordered Taser International Inc. to pay the seven-figure amount, acknowledging that the $1,423,000 legal-fees bill is far more than the amount won by the family of Robert Heston. However, he said the award was appropriate because the lawyers took a significant risk in pursuing the case, which provided a significant public benefit, reports the Monterrey Herald.
The Arizona-based company says it will appeal the award to plaintiff attorneys John Burton and Peter Williamson.
"The case marked the first time Taser was found negligent in a death related to the use of its stun guns," the newspaper writes.
Heston's family originally was awarded more than $5 million in a jury verdict last year, for failing to warn Salinas police of the danger of multiple use of a Taser. However, U.S. District Judge James Ware reduced the award to $183,000, eliminating punitive damages, after finding that Heston, who was high on methamphetamine at the time, was 85 percent negligent in the incident.
Although the article does not explain the legal basis for the award of attorney's fees, it appears to have been made under a civil rights statute providing for the defendant to pay a prevailing plaintiff's legal costs.
Corrections Officer Melanie Madill Accused of Having Sex with Inmate
A Carbon County drug court supervisor is accused of having sex with an offender and tampering with drug tests. Melanie Madill is charged in state court with custodial sexual relations and five counts of evidence tampering. All the counts are felonies punishable by up to five years in prison.
Madill was a jail corrections officer supervising offenders participating in the county's drug court. Carbon County Attorney Gene Strate said Madill developed a romantic relationship with one offender, then began helping him pass drug tests.
"She was tampering with the test to make the test come out favorable to the subjects," Strate said. "It appears on some tests she was substituting clean urine for urine from the subject." Madill then began helping a friend of that offender pass his drug tests, Strate said. In all, Madill may have helped four offenders pass drug screenings, he said.
Utah law forbids sex between law enforcement officers and inmates or people under state supervision. Madill is free on $15,000 bail. Carbon County Sheriff James Cordova on Friday said there also is an administrative investigation into Madill.
Madill was a jail corrections officer supervising offenders participating in the county's drug court. Carbon County Attorney Gene Strate said Madill developed a romantic relationship with one offender, then began helping him pass drug tests.
"She was tampering with the test to make the test come out favorable to the subjects," Strate said. "It appears on some tests she was substituting clean urine for urine from the subject." Madill then began helping a friend of that offender pass his drug tests, Strate said. In all, Madill may have helped four offenders pass drug screenings, he said.
Utah law forbids sex between law enforcement officers and inmates or people under state supervision. Madill is free on $15,000 bail. Carbon County Sheriff James Cordova on Friday said there also is an administrative investigation into Madill.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Former Officer Daniel Huntsinger Pleads Guilty to Having Child Porn
A former Missoula police officer will plead guilty Feb. 12 to a federal charge of receiving sexually explicit photos of children over a computer owned by the police union.
Daniel Jason Huntsinger, who was hired in Missoula in January 2000, is charged with a single count of receipt of obscene material and will appear in U.S. District Court in Missoula.
Documents filed in federal court in Missoula outline the case against Huntsinger and note his agreement to plead guilty to the single federal charge.
Huntsinger, who spent more than a year on administrative leave, resigned from the Missoula Police Department last September. He had been under a cloud of suspicion since Sept. 10, 2007, when federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized his work computer at Missoula City Hall and a laptop computer from the Missoula Police Protective Association.
At the time, police officials repeatedly declined to say why Huntsinger was on leave, citing employment privacy concerns.
According to an offer of proof filed in the case, the investigation got under way in April 2006 when ICE agents began looking at commercial Web sites that offered “pay subscriptions to pornography and erotica depicting persons under the age of 18 years of age.”
In December 2006, Huntsinger used a Sears MasterCard and a PayPal account to buy access to a Web site called “Lolitas on Holiday.” Huntsinger registered with an e-mail address of busyhands264@aol.com and used as his MasterCard address a post office box number registered to a federal drug task force to which he was detailed.
“He used a computer belonging to the Missoula Police Protective Association, of which he was then president, to access the site,” states the offer of proof from Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia Hurd.
A forensic examination of that computer “revealed that Huntsinger had used the computer to access the purchased site, as well as used the computer to search the Internet for various other types of images,” Hurd wrote. “Some of the images found were obscene, in that they were images of persons under the age of 18 years engaged in sexually explicit conduct by the lascivious exhibition of their genital areas.”
The offer of proof said Huntsinger also had visited other Internet pornography sites involving juveniles.
The documents state that Huntsinger has agreed to plead guilty, but there is no reference to a sentencing recommendation.
The crime is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Fehr said the department would have no further comment until Huntsinger appears in court.
Jason Huntsinger was a popular officer who moved quickly up the ranks in Missoula, but his reputation eventually started to unwind on two lines.
Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir was assistant chief when the September 2007 search took place, but he put together bits and pieces of the case as time dragged on and Huntsinger remained on paid leave.
By the time Muir became chief in June 2008, he knew a handful of things.
“I knew that our computer had been taken and been returned, and I knew that the association's computer hadn't,” Muir said. “I knew a credit card had been used, and I knew he used the HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) address. I also knew what ICE investigates, so I had an idea what was in the balance. But I didn't have any other evidence.”
Still, by July, Muir was ready to tell Huntsinger that his paid leave was over.
“I had to decide how long I'd let this go on,” he said. “We'd already been past two deadlines where the feds had told us they'd be done (with the investigation), and I had to make a decision as to whether the taxpayers should keep paying for this guy.”
Muir called Huntsinger in and told him he'd return him to his job if he was cleared, but for now, he was on unpaid leave.
“He told me he'd be back at work one day,” Muir said.
Less than three months later, on Sept. 25, 2008, Huntsinger called Muir and wanted to visit.
“He came in and gave me a one- or two-line resignation and that was it,” Muir said.
Huntsinger's reputation had taken another hit in March, when details of his departure from a previous police job in Downey, Calif., appeared in the Missoulian.
Based on interviews of officers and city officials in Missoula and Downey, the story revealed that Huntsinger lost his job in Downey for two reasons.
First, he had taken pictures of female crime victims for evidence. Those pictures involved intimate areas and would normally have been taken by a female officer or evidence technician.
Worse, the pictures were found in Huntsinger's personal possession rather than an evidence locker, officers aware of Huntsinger's employment told the newspaper. The women later told Downey officers they were uncomfortable with Huntsinger taking the pictures, but didn't say anything because he was a police officer.
Second, another female crime victim became concerned about Huntsinger's solicitous behavior toward her after he investigated the crime committed against her.
“She wasn't clear who the good guys were anymore,” a former Montana law enforcement official said.
Although Downey officers said Huntsinger's employment file revealed precise reasons for his departure, the Missoula Police Department's vetting process failed to find the information when he applied for work here.
Former Missoula Police Chief Pete Lawrenson said last March that he wasn't as thorough as he should have been in the hiring process.
On two subsequent occasions after his hiring, Missoula police were notified about Huntsinger's issues in Downey, but he remained on the force and eventually became a sergeant.
Then came Sept. 10, 2007, when ICE officers entered the police department and seized Huntsinger's computers.
Because Huntsinger resigned from the department last year, the federal charge won't have an effect on day-to-day operations at the police department. However, the case still may affect both the department and the city of Missoula.
Huntsinger is currently a defendant, along with the city, in a federal case filed by Dr. Walt Peschel. Peschel claims his civil rights were violated when he was arrested in 2007 while trying to help a suicidal woman.
Huntsinger was the ranking officer in that case and was also the last person to allegedly view a police video of the incident before the video disappeared.
Peschel's attorneys have argued that it's possible Huntsinger erased the video.
“I think it's fair to say that this is interesting information having to do with one of the principal officers involved in the events that gave rise to our case,” said attorney David Paoli, who represents Peschel. “It really has us looking at the hiring and retention practices at the police department.”
Huntsinger will soon be deposed in the Peschel case, Paoli said.
But first he will appear Feb. 12 in Missoula before U.S. District Judge Don Molloy.
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More Information: http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=9795724&nav=menu227_8
Two Glasgow Officers Threaten Witness
Two high-ranking Glasgow police officers illegally possessed pain pills and threatened a witness, a federal indictment charges.
Johnny Lee Travis, 41, and Maxie Christopher Murray, 36, face up to 21 years in prison if convicted, according to a news release from the office of Candace Hill, acting U.S. Attorney for Western Kentucky.
Police arrested the two Wednesday after they were indicted. They pleaded not guilty Thursday, according to a court document.
U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Robert Goebel ordered the two held until a detention hearing scheduled for Friday. Their attorney was not available for comment Thursday afternoon.
Glasgow Police Chief Gary Bewley said he has put Travis and Murray on paid administrative leave.
Travis and Murray are majors and assistant chiefs — the top two officers under Bewley. Travis has been a Glasgow officer for 16 years and heads the patrol division, while Murray has been with the department for 12 years and heads the criminal investigations division, Bewley said.
The indictment says that the officers conspired with each other and with others between February 2004 and January 2008 to possess hydrocodone, a painkiller, without a valid prescription.
The document also charges that they threatened a witness to try to hinder an investigation of their activities.
In November 2007, for instance, Travis told a person he could kill him if Travis found out the person was giving information to authorities.
The indictment indicates the officers suspected someone in the police department was giving information to outside authorities.
In December 2007, according to the indictment, Travis said to a witness: "When I find out where this is coming from, and I said if it is somebody in our police department, I said the (expletive) is going to pay."
Johnny Lee Travis, 41, and Maxie Christopher Murray, 36, face up to 21 years in prison if convicted, according to a news release from the office of Candace Hill, acting U.S. Attorney for Western Kentucky.
Police arrested the two Wednesday after they were indicted. They pleaded not guilty Thursday, according to a court document.
U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Robert Goebel ordered the two held until a detention hearing scheduled for Friday. Their attorney was not available for comment Thursday afternoon.
Glasgow Police Chief Gary Bewley said he has put Travis and Murray on paid administrative leave.
Travis and Murray are majors and assistant chiefs — the top two officers under Bewley. Travis has been a Glasgow officer for 16 years and heads the patrol division, while Murray has been with the department for 12 years and heads the criminal investigations division, Bewley said.
The indictment says that the officers conspired with each other and with others between February 2004 and January 2008 to possess hydrocodone, a painkiller, without a valid prescription.
The document also charges that they threatened a witness to try to hinder an investigation of their activities.
In November 2007, for instance, Travis told a person he could kill him if Travis found out the person was giving information to authorities.
The indictment indicates the officers suspected someone in the police department was giving information to outside authorities.
In December 2007, according to the indictment, Travis said to a witness: "When I find out where this is coming from, and I said if it is somebody in our police department, I said the (expletive) is going to pay."
Officer Angel Ramirez Arrested for Child Sexual Assault
MIDLAND
The Midland Independent School District has fired the police officer who was arrested and charged with sexual assault on a child and improper student/teacher relationship, according to a news release the district.
Angel Ramirez, 30, arrested Wednesday and fired Thursday.
Ramirez is charged in connection with a 14-year-old female student's complaint that Ramirez had "inappropriate conduct" with her in an incident between September and January at a north Midland home, according to reports.
A release from the Midland Police Department said the MPD is leading the investigation of Ramirez with help from the MISD police and the school district administration.
"We are committed to fully cooperating with the Midland Police Department as they lead this investigation and will assist them in every way possible as they proceed with the next phase," MISD Superintendent Sylvester Perez said in the release.
The release said Ramirez had been with the MISD Police since July 2008. The release said Ramirez, a licensed and state certified police officer, passed his criminal history background check before he was hired.
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More Information:
http://www.newswest9.com/Global/story.asp?S=9797965&nav=menu505_2
Former Officer Jerry Bristow Accused of Stealing Guns will Stand Trial
CLINTON, Ill.
A former police officer accused of taking guns from the Clinton Police Department evidence room has waived his right to a preliminary hearing and will go on trial later this year.
Jerry Bristow, who will tried on eight felony charges and one misdemeanor, is accused of taking a target pistol and shotgun on May 12, 2008; a pistol on July 3, 2008 and a revolver on August 1, 2008.
Because the revolver was valued at less than $300, it carries the misdemeanor charge. He is also charged with six counts of official misconduct.
Bristow entered a not guilty plea during his appearance Wednesday.
Bristow, who supervised the evidence room, left the force Jan. 1. An investigation by the DeWitt County Sheriff's Department led to the discovery of the missing weapons.
Bristow is free after posting $1,000 bond.
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More Information:
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2009/02/04/news/doc4989fa6c526d4042047083.txt
A former police officer accused of taking guns from the Clinton Police Department evidence room has waived his right to a preliminary hearing and will go on trial later this year.
Jerry Bristow, who will tried on eight felony charges and one misdemeanor, is accused of taking a target pistol and shotgun on May 12, 2008; a pistol on July 3, 2008 and a revolver on August 1, 2008.
Because the revolver was valued at less than $300, it carries the misdemeanor charge. He is also charged with six counts of official misconduct.
Bristow entered a not guilty plea during his appearance Wednesday.
Bristow, who supervised the evidence room, left the force Jan. 1. An investigation by the DeWitt County Sheriff's Department led to the discovery of the missing weapons.
Bristow is free after posting $1,000 bond.
____________________
More Information:
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2009/02/04/news/doc4989fa6c526d4042047083.txt
Former Officer Bill Billings Arrested for 3 Felonies
A former Gainesville police officer turned himself in early Wednesday on three felony charges, adding to the three misdemeanors he was charged with last month. All the charges are tied to his work as a police officer.
Bill Billings, 51, turned himself in at the Alachua County jail on 4:30 a.m. on charges of grand theft, scheme to defraud and official misconduct. Bond in his case was set at $15,000. He had previously been charged with three misdemeanor prostitution counts.
The felony charges allege that Billings falsely reported he was working overtime, accepted $5,409 in unearned overtime and falsified records to show he was working overtime while he was not.
Billings' problems became public in November when the police department announced the results of an internal investigation involving Billings. The report was turned over to the State Attorney's Office.
The internal report determined that 14 women reported they had had sex with Billings for money while he was on duty, in uniform and driving marked police vehicles.
The investigation also turned up evidence used to charge Billings with the felonies for which he turned himself in on Wednesday morning.
Billings, who had been a corporal with the agency and handled recruitment for GPD's Personnel Unit, resigned from the Police Department three months before the results of the internal investigation were released.
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More Information:
http://www.alligator.org/articles/2009/02/05/news/local/090205_prostitution.txt
Trooper Sgt. Carrie Rindal Does Questionable PIT Maneuver
Minneapolis, MN
A state trooper stopped a Hudson man and arrested him for evading an officer. But the man says he was simply looking for a safe place to pull stop with his kids in the car.
Sam Salter was packed in his mini-van heading home to Hudson after at family New Year's Eve party in St. Paul.
Salter was headed eastbound at about 10:30 p.m. when a trooper put on her lights and sirens behind him. He was in the far left lane and immediately signaled to move to the right.
He says he got to the far right lane and there was nowhere to pull off because the shoulder was ice and snow and he wanted a safe place to pull over with his kids in the car, and it was dark.
He immediately got on the 61 exit and at the end of the exit takes an immediate right to a road. The trooper, Sgt. Carrie Rindal, thinks he is evading an officer and does a PIT maneuver on him (rams his van) to force him to stop.
He then and jumped out screaming, "What are you doing? I have kids in the car."
With her gun drawn and pointed at Salter, the trooper then pats him down with screaming kids in car and takes him to squad car to inform him he is under arrest and going to jail for the felony of evading an officer.
The kids stayed in van until mom arrives to pick them up.
Salter was taken to jail where he stays for almost two days. His kids ages two, three, six, all saw the altercation with the trooper and are traumatized.
Salter was not charged with the felony by Ramsey County because the county attorney said there was insufficient evidence that he was fleeing.
He was left with $1,500 damage to his van, a ticket for illegal lane change and a $140 towing fee.
Rindal is not on paid administrative leave and has been a trooper for 11 years.
YOUR TAKE: Was the trooper in the wrong?
A state trooper stopped a Hudson man and arrested him for evading an officer. But the man says he was simply looking for a safe place to pull stop with his kids in the car.
Sam Salter was packed in his mini-van heading home to Hudson after at family New Year's Eve party in St. Paul.
Salter was headed eastbound at about 10:30 p.m. when a trooper put on her lights and sirens behind him. He was in the far left lane and immediately signaled to move to the right.
He says he got to the far right lane and there was nowhere to pull off because the shoulder was ice and snow and he wanted a safe place to pull over with his kids in the car, and it was dark.
He immediately got on the 61 exit and at the end of the exit takes an immediate right to a road. The trooper, Sgt. Carrie Rindal, thinks he is evading an officer and does a PIT maneuver on him (rams his van) to force him to stop.
He then and jumped out screaming, "What are you doing? I have kids in the car."
With her gun drawn and pointed at Salter, the trooper then pats him down with screaming kids in car and takes him to squad car to inform him he is under arrest and going to jail for the felony of evading an officer.
The kids stayed in van until mom arrives to pick them up.
Salter was taken to jail where he stays for almost two days. His kids ages two, three, six, all saw the altercation with the trooper and are traumatized.
Salter was not charged with the felony by Ramsey County because the county attorney said there was insufficient evidence that he was fleeing.
He was left with $1,500 damage to his van, a ticket for illegal lane change and a $140 towing fee.
Rindal is not on paid administrative leave and has been a trooper for 11 years.
YOUR TAKE: Was the trooper in the wrong?
Trooper Charles Odom Arrested for Sexual Battery
A Florida Highway Patrol trooper has been arrested on a charge of sexual battery after a woman he pulled over Jan. 28 in Wakulla County reported the alleged assault.
Trooper Charles Odom, 52, is being held at the Leon County Jail on $250,000 bail. He was arrested about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. He has since been fired, said Capt. Mark Welch, a spokesman for the Highway Patrol.
“Incidents like this are a black eye for all of law enforcement,” Welch said.
The woman reported the incident the day after it allegedly occurred to the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office. Odom pulled her over on Shadeville Highway for going 4 miles over the speed limit while crossing the Wakulla River Bridge, according his arrest report. He ran her driver’s license and discovered it was suspended. He asked if she’d been drinking, and she admitted it. The woman said Odom asked her to get out of the car and then fondled her while she was leaning on the hood.
He told her to follow him to the rear parking lot of Savannah’s Restaurant, 968 Woodville Highway, where he took a picture of her breasts with his cell-phone camera and then had her perform oral sex on him, she told deputies. He then told her: “Do not say anything to anybody,” and let her go without a citation or warning, she said.
FHP is conducting an internal investigation. Odom has worked for the Highway Patrol since 2006, said Lt. Ken Ellis, an FHP spokesman for the Tallahassee area. Before that, he worked for the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office as a patrol deputy and in corrections. He’s being housed at the Leon County Jail for his own protection.
“He’s innocent until proven guilty,” said Odom’s lawyer, Don Pumphrey. “We cannot make any comment at this time. It would not be appropriate.”
Another trooper in Jefferson County was arrested in September 2007. Kamau Bell, who was also fired at the time of his arrest, was convicted of unnatural and lascivious acts, a second-degree misdemeanor, and sentenced to 60 days in jail, a $500 fine and six months of probation, Welch said.
Bell had stopped two women who worked at an adult nightclub as dancers, and they accused him of asking them to take their tops off, Ellis said.
State Attorney Willie Meggs said: “That’s one of the reasons this is not a good thing -- You need to have respect for law-enforcement officers, and then when something like this happens, it does cause some anxiety among people, and that can and does create a problem.”
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http://www.fortmilltimes.com/124/story/448483.html
Trooper Charles Odom, 52, is being held at the Leon County Jail on $250,000 bail. He was arrested about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. He has since been fired, said Capt. Mark Welch, a spokesman for the Highway Patrol.
“Incidents like this are a black eye for all of law enforcement,” Welch said.
The woman reported the incident the day after it allegedly occurred to the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office. Odom pulled her over on Shadeville Highway for going 4 miles over the speed limit while crossing the Wakulla River Bridge, according his arrest report. He ran her driver’s license and discovered it was suspended. He asked if she’d been drinking, and she admitted it. The woman said Odom asked her to get out of the car and then fondled her while she was leaning on the hood.
He told her to follow him to the rear parking lot of Savannah’s Restaurant, 968 Woodville Highway, where he took a picture of her breasts with his cell-phone camera and then had her perform oral sex on him, she told deputies. He then told her: “Do not say anything to anybody,” and let her go without a citation or warning, she said.
FHP is conducting an internal investigation. Odom has worked for the Highway Patrol since 2006, said Lt. Ken Ellis, an FHP spokesman for the Tallahassee area. Before that, he worked for the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office as a patrol deputy and in corrections. He’s being housed at the Leon County Jail for his own protection.
“He’s innocent until proven guilty,” said Odom’s lawyer, Don Pumphrey. “We cannot make any comment at this time. It would not be appropriate.”
Another trooper in Jefferson County was arrested in September 2007. Kamau Bell, who was also fired at the time of his arrest, was convicted of unnatural and lascivious acts, a second-degree misdemeanor, and sentenced to 60 days in jail, a $500 fine and six months of probation, Welch said.
Bell had stopped two women who worked at an adult nightclub as dancers, and they accused him of asking them to take their tops off, Ellis said.
State Attorney Willie Meggs said: “That’s one of the reasons this is not a good thing -- You need to have respect for law-enforcement officers, and then when something like this happens, it does cause some anxiety among people, and that can and does create a problem.”
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http://www.fortmilltimes.com/124/story/448483.html
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Officer Lawrence Etsitty Jr Faces Sexual Assault Charges
GALLUP
Crownpoint-based Navajo Police Officer Lawrence Etsitty Jr. may face federal charges after he allegedly sexually assaulted a 26-year-old Gallup woman while transporting her to jail.
The FBI has launched a preliminary civil rights ‘color of law’ inquiry into Etsitty, according to New Mexico FBI spokesman Todd Hulsey.
“Color of law is when any government official is acting with some authority,” Hulsey said.
Additionally, Navajo Police Department has launched its own internal affairs investigation.
Etsitty is accused of stopping en route to Crownpoint jail, pulling the handcuffed woman from the cruiser and fondling her. After about 20 minutes, he turned around and brought her to Gallup, according to the victim, whose name was withheld to protect her identity.
The victim said she and her fiancé went out for dinner and drinks with more than 10 out-of-town relatives, including a designated driver, the evening of Jan. 24. When the bar closed at 1:15 a.m., the caravan continued toward Fire Rock Casino. They arrived around 2 a.m., and everyone went inside. The victim walked in about 30 seconds behind the rest, having lingered at the car to organize her purse.
As she approached the entrance she saw her fiancé and other family members seated near the buffet, but security stopped her at the door and told her she was too drunk to enter. Two security guards escorted the victim to her fiancé and family and everyone agreed to leave, so they walked back toward the exit.
“As we were walking out I noticed a cop at the door,” she said. “The cop stopped us and said ‘I need to arrest her.’”
“For what?”
“Assault.”
She said the officer accused the 5-feet-3-inch, 120 pound victim of assaulting her 6-feet-3-inch, 220 pound fiancé during their walk from the buffet to the exit.
The rest of the family thought she was being charged with public intoxication and pleaded with the officer to let them take her home because they had a designated driver, according to a relative present at the time, whose name is withheld to protect the identity of the victim.
“Usually they just let you take them home if you have a driver,” the relative said. “My first thought was: ‘At least she is safe with a cop.’ You’re supposed to be able to trust them.”
After she was cuffed and placed in the cruiser and headed toward Crownpoint, the victim said Etsitty began mumbling to himself.
“... she could hear the officer talking to himself, saying ‘should I do it, should I do it, or shouldn’t I,” according to a Gallup Police report filed a few hours later.
The victim said that 20 to 30 minutes into the drive, Etsitty stopped near “the dunes.” He pulled to the side of the road and turned off all of the vehicle’s lights. He forcibly pulled the still-handcuffed victim from the back seat of the cruiser and told her to stand against the door. She said Etsitty repeatedly asked about her boyfriend and said he liked her as he kissed her on the mouth and inappropriately touched her. Throughout the ordeal the victim wept and pleaded with Etsitty to stop.
“The whole time I was like don’t do this ... this is wrong. Don’t do this,” she said. “To me it felt like forever ... standing out there, it could have been 15 minutes.”
Afterward Etsitty agreed to bring the victim home. But when they got back into Gallup, she didn’t want him to know where she lived. So she asked him to stop and let her use the bathroom. Etsitty parked beside a Dumpster at an apartment complex and let her out.
The victim said Etsitty wanted to help her get her pants down. She asked him not to help with her pants, but to remove the handcuffs, and Etsitty did. The victim went behind the Dumpster and out of sight, quietly removed her boots and started running. When she got home she called Gallup Police.
She said that same day she was visited by an FBI agent and an Internal Affairs Investigator from Navajo Police Department.
“Internal Affairs said he may get off with a short suspension because he didn’t actually rape me,” she said.
Crownpoint-based Navajo Police Officer Lawrence Etsitty Jr. may face federal charges after he allegedly sexually assaulted a 26-year-old Gallup woman while transporting her to jail.
The FBI has launched a preliminary civil rights ‘color of law’ inquiry into Etsitty, according to New Mexico FBI spokesman Todd Hulsey.
“Color of law is when any government official is acting with some authority,” Hulsey said.
Additionally, Navajo Police Department has launched its own internal affairs investigation.
Etsitty is accused of stopping en route to Crownpoint jail, pulling the handcuffed woman from the cruiser and fondling her. After about 20 minutes, he turned around and brought her to Gallup, according to the victim, whose name was withheld to protect her identity.
The victim said she and her fiancé went out for dinner and drinks with more than 10 out-of-town relatives, including a designated driver, the evening of Jan. 24. When the bar closed at 1:15 a.m., the caravan continued toward Fire Rock Casino. They arrived around 2 a.m., and everyone went inside. The victim walked in about 30 seconds behind the rest, having lingered at the car to organize her purse.
As she approached the entrance she saw her fiancé and other family members seated near the buffet, but security stopped her at the door and told her she was too drunk to enter. Two security guards escorted the victim to her fiancé and family and everyone agreed to leave, so they walked back toward the exit.
“As we were walking out I noticed a cop at the door,” she said. “The cop stopped us and said ‘I need to arrest her.’”
“For what?”
“Assault.”
She said the officer accused the 5-feet-3-inch, 120 pound victim of assaulting her 6-feet-3-inch, 220 pound fiancé during their walk from the buffet to the exit.
The rest of the family thought she was being charged with public intoxication and pleaded with the officer to let them take her home because they had a designated driver, according to a relative present at the time, whose name is withheld to protect the identity of the victim.
“Usually they just let you take them home if you have a driver,” the relative said. “My first thought was: ‘At least she is safe with a cop.’ You’re supposed to be able to trust them.”
After she was cuffed and placed in the cruiser and headed toward Crownpoint, the victim said Etsitty began mumbling to himself.
“... she could hear the officer talking to himself, saying ‘should I do it, should I do it, or shouldn’t I,” according to a Gallup Police report filed a few hours later.
The victim said that 20 to 30 minutes into the drive, Etsitty stopped near “the dunes.” He pulled to the side of the road and turned off all of the vehicle’s lights. He forcibly pulled the still-handcuffed victim from the back seat of the cruiser and told her to stand against the door. She said Etsitty repeatedly asked about her boyfriend and said he liked her as he kissed her on the mouth and inappropriately touched her. Throughout the ordeal the victim wept and pleaded with Etsitty to stop.
“The whole time I was like don’t do this ... this is wrong. Don’t do this,” she said. “To me it felt like forever ... standing out there, it could have been 15 minutes.”
Afterward Etsitty agreed to bring the victim home. But when they got back into Gallup, she didn’t want him to know where she lived. So she asked him to stop and let her use the bathroom. Etsitty parked beside a Dumpster at an apartment complex and let her out.
The victim said Etsitty wanted to help her get her pants down. She asked him not to help with her pants, but to remove the handcuffs, and Etsitty did. The victim went behind the Dumpster and out of sight, quietly removed her boots and started running. When she got home she called Gallup Police.
She said that same day she was visited by an FBI agent and an Internal Affairs Investigator from Navajo Police Department.
“Internal Affairs said he may get off with a short suspension because he didn’t actually rape me,” she said.
Trial for Former Officer Samuel White Continues
Prosecutors this morning are trying to show Samuel Kase White had a pattern of behavior they hope will help prove he sexually assaulted five women in fall 2007.
Fort Collins police Officer Jake Schneider testified he arrested White on Sept. 8, 2007, after a couple reported a prowler at a residence on East Plum Street. Schneider said he initially stopped White, who was on foot, because he was a black man in his 30s, which matched the description of the prowler provided to a police dispatcher.
The arrest was made at about 4:40 a.m. and Schneider said there was no one else walking in the area at the time.
White is not facing charges for the Sept. 8 case, but prosecutors are trying to show White had a pattern of behavior related to the assaults. The jury has been instructed by Larimer District Court Judge Terence Gilmore to consider the testimony and presentation of evidence solely for that purpose.
A Fort Collins police computer forensics analyst is also testifying this morning that he found Internet searches on White’s CSU work computer using Yahoo maps for directions from White’s home to addresses near the campus.
White is accused of sexually assaulting four women at their homes near the CSU campus and another woman in Loveland. Three of the women were CSU students at the time and said they did not know White. Two of the women said they knew White through a friend or relative.
All five women have testified against White. Prosecutors Emily Humphrey and Michelle Brinegar say they expect to wrap up their case by Thursday, while public defenders Erin Richmond and Norm Townsend say they expect to rest their case by Monday.
White is charged with five counts of felony sexual assault, five counts of burglary, one count of trespassing, one count of harassment and one count of unlawful contact.
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http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090203/NEWS01/902030331
See www.coloradoan.com for more.
Fort Collins police Officer Jake Schneider testified he arrested White on Sept. 8, 2007, after a couple reported a prowler at a residence on East Plum Street. Schneider said he initially stopped White, who was on foot, because he was a black man in his 30s, which matched the description of the prowler provided to a police dispatcher.
The arrest was made at about 4:40 a.m. and Schneider said there was no one else walking in the area at the time.
White is not facing charges for the Sept. 8 case, but prosecutors are trying to show White had a pattern of behavior related to the assaults. The jury has been instructed by Larimer District Court Judge Terence Gilmore to consider the testimony and presentation of evidence solely for that purpose.
A Fort Collins police computer forensics analyst is also testifying this morning that he found Internet searches on White’s CSU work computer using Yahoo maps for directions from White’s home to addresses near the campus.
White is accused of sexually assaulting four women at their homes near the CSU campus and another woman in Loveland. Three of the women were CSU students at the time and said they did not know White. Two of the women said they knew White through a friend or relative.
All five women have testified against White. Prosecutors Emily Humphrey and Michelle Brinegar say they expect to wrap up their case by Thursday, while public defenders Erin Richmond and Norm Townsend say they expect to rest their case by Monday.
White is charged with five counts of felony sexual assault, five counts of burglary, one count of trespassing, one count of harassment and one count of unlawful contact.
__________________
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090203/NEWS01/902030331
See www.coloradoan.com for more.
Officer Mark Gore Suspended for Taking Home Patrol Car
A Philadelphia police officer who was the subject of an intense, hour-long search last Wednesday after he failed to return to the station at the end of his shift was suspended for five days without pay.
The officer, Mark Gore, 45, apparently took his patrol car home to the Stallo community because his personal vehicle was broken down, said Police Chief Dickie Sistrunk.
When Gore, a drug enforcement officer, did not return to the station at the end of his shift, police began an all-out search that eventually involved the Sheriff's Office.
Sistrunk said he initially feared for Gore's safety.
Gore went off duty in his patrol car without following proper procedures, Sistrunk said.
Gore was supposed to conclude his shift about 6 p.m. but he never radioed he was going off duty nor did he return his patrol to the station, Sistrunk said.
Others became concerned when Gore could not be reached by radio or his cellular telephone.
"I started calling him myself on his cell phone and then on my radio," Sistrunk said.
As concern for Gore's safety mounted, the police chief called for assistance from the Sheriff and one of his deputies to help search for the officer.
Gore was found along with his patrol car at his home in the Stallo community shortly after 7 p.m.
"His personal car had broken down," Sistrunk said, "so he took the patrol unit home."
The officer, Mark Gore, 45, apparently took his patrol car home to the Stallo community because his personal vehicle was broken down, said Police Chief Dickie Sistrunk.
When Gore, a drug enforcement officer, did not return to the station at the end of his shift, police began an all-out search that eventually involved the Sheriff's Office.
Sistrunk said he initially feared for Gore's safety.
Gore went off duty in his patrol car without following proper procedures, Sistrunk said.
Gore was supposed to conclude his shift about 6 p.m. but he never radioed he was going off duty nor did he return his patrol to the station, Sistrunk said.
Others became concerned when Gore could not be reached by radio or his cellular telephone.
"I started calling him myself on his cell phone and then on my radio," Sistrunk said.
As concern for Gore's safety mounted, the police chief called for assistance from the Sheriff and one of his deputies to help search for the officer.
Gore was found along with his patrol car at his home in the Stallo community shortly after 7 p.m.
"His personal car had broken down," Sistrunk said, "so he took the patrol unit home."
Officer Johnnie T Keyes Charged with Stealing Radar Detector
A Philadelphia police officer was placed on administrative leave last week and resigned Tuesday after he admitted taking a radar detector from a vehicle he pulled over.
Patrolmen Johnnie T. Keyes was charged in an affidavit with taking a Cobra radar detector from the vehicle following a traffic stop on Valley View Drive on Monday, Jan. 26.
Keyes has not been arrested pending a hearing before a circuit judge to establish probable cause, said Police Chief Dickie Sistrunk.
The hearing is set for Friday at 9 a.m.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested on an outstanding warrant for simple assault and taken to jail by another officer while Keyes remained behind waiting for a wrecker, Sistrunk said.
The man realized that the radar detector was missing after he got out of jail and reported the theft to police, Sistrunk said.
The man talked with the wrecker driver and was told there was no radar detector inside when the vehicle was towed.
Sistrunk said police filed a report on the missing radar detector and in the mean time the man, Derrick Henley, signed an affidavit accusing another officer.
After an internal investigation, Keyes admitted to having the radar detector which police later retrieved at his residence, Sistrunk said.
"The law says you cannot arrest a police officer until he has had a hearing before a circuit court judge to establish probably cause," Sistrunk said.
Sistrunk was to bring the incident before the Mayor and Board of Aldermen at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night.
David Brackett, the other officer involved in the traffic stop, was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Keyes was hired as a patrolman with the police department on April 16, 2008.
Sistrunk expressed concern about the officer's actions.
"People entrust my officers to serve and protect them," he said. "This shows that my officers are no better than anybody else. Our department will investigate and take corrective action which something like this occurs."
Another officer resigned last year after he admitted to shoplifting while on duty.
Sgt. Toby Wilson, 59, of 527 John C. Stennis Dr., Louisville, resigned last August after he was caught on surveillance tape taking a can of Pepsi from a convenience store without paying for it.
No charges were filed.
Another officer was suspended for five days without pay for unauthorized use of a patrol car. (SEE Other Post)
Patrolmen Johnnie T. Keyes was charged in an affidavit with taking a Cobra radar detector from the vehicle following a traffic stop on Valley View Drive on Monday, Jan. 26.
Keyes has not been arrested pending a hearing before a circuit judge to establish probable cause, said Police Chief Dickie Sistrunk.
The hearing is set for Friday at 9 a.m.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested on an outstanding warrant for simple assault and taken to jail by another officer while Keyes remained behind waiting for a wrecker, Sistrunk said.
The man realized that the radar detector was missing after he got out of jail and reported the theft to police, Sistrunk said.
The man talked with the wrecker driver and was told there was no radar detector inside when the vehicle was towed.
Sistrunk said police filed a report on the missing radar detector and in the mean time the man, Derrick Henley, signed an affidavit accusing another officer.
After an internal investigation, Keyes admitted to having the radar detector which police later retrieved at his residence, Sistrunk said.
"The law says you cannot arrest a police officer until he has had a hearing before a circuit court judge to establish probably cause," Sistrunk said.
Sistrunk was to bring the incident before the Mayor and Board of Aldermen at its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night.
David Brackett, the other officer involved in the traffic stop, was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Keyes was hired as a patrolman with the police department on April 16, 2008.
Sistrunk expressed concern about the officer's actions.
"People entrust my officers to serve and protect them," he said. "This shows that my officers are no better than anybody else. Our department will investigate and take corrective action which something like this occurs."
Another officer resigned last year after he admitted to shoplifting while on duty.
Sgt. Toby Wilson, 59, of 527 John C. Stennis Dr., Louisville, resigned last August after he was caught on surveillance tape taking a can of Pepsi from a convenience store without paying for it.
No charges were filed.
Another officer was suspended for five days without pay for unauthorized use of a patrol car. (SEE Other Post)
Roney Wilson Dies Aftrer Being Tasered Three Times
TAMPA
A man who was Tasered by deputies three times died due to "delirium with agitation due to schizoaffective disorder," Hillsborough Associate Medical Examiner Leszek Chrostowski said this morning.
Roney Wilson, 46, died Sept. 11 after his family called on deputies to help them. Wilson had become upset, climbed inside his mother's Nissan Frontier, smashed out the windshield with his fist and refused to budge.
Chrostowski said he can't say whether the use of the Taser itself contributed to Wilson's death. But he did determine that one contributing cause was "physical stress" and he called the manner of death "homicide," citing Wilson's "physical resistence to attempted restraint by police."
Wilson, Chrostowski said, was already in state of delirium when deputies arrived. He had a small amount of alcohol in his blood, as well as prescription antidepressants cyclobenzaprine, doxapine and mirtazapine. Chrostowski said one of those three medications was found in a slightly higher amount than would be expected in a clinical dose.
"All of these medications can cause agitation themselves," he said. "If you put stress of apprehension on top of this, this . . . causes physiological collapse and people die. There's nothing completely unusual about that."
Chrostowski explained that the word homicide when used by the medical examiner does nothing to suggest intent to kill, but does indicate that a contributing factor in his death was "the hands of others."
"It doesn't matter how much it is contributory - 1 percent, 50 percent or 90 percent," Chrostowski said. He said there was a lot of discussion at his office about his decision to call the manner of death a homicide. For example, even in the case in which a person dies by lethal injection under order of law, a medical examiner refers to the manner of death as homicide.
"I cannot change how the definition works only because it's a police officer," he said. "I think that for the sake of consistency, we have to call it a homicide. It doesn't mean they intended to kill."
Dick Bailey, public information officer for the medical examiner, said it would be a while before the actual report is made public. For now, Chrostowski's findings will be sent to the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office for review. Bailey said that's a matter of course any time the manner of death is homicide.
Hillsborough Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said a preliminary investigation into the use of force found no fault with the deputies' actions. Deputies Mary Angelo, Jessica Guthrie and Dustin Hartline returned to work shortly after the incident, she said. (Angelo, who used the Taser, is married to St. Petersburg Times researcher John Martin.)
The Sheriff's Office has not seen the report, but will review it with the State Attorney's Office when it becomes available, Carter said.
Click on these links to read more about Wilson's death and Taser International's interest in medical examiner findings.
A man who was Tasered by deputies three times died due to "delirium with agitation due to schizoaffective disorder," Hillsborough Associate Medical Examiner Leszek Chrostowski said this morning.
Roney Wilson, 46, died Sept. 11 after his family called on deputies to help them. Wilson had become upset, climbed inside his mother's Nissan Frontier, smashed out the windshield with his fist and refused to budge.
Chrostowski said he can't say whether the use of the Taser itself contributed to Wilson's death. But he did determine that one contributing cause was "physical stress" and he called the manner of death "homicide," citing Wilson's "physical resistence to attempted restraint by police."
Wilson, Chrostowski said, was already in state of delirium when deputies arrived. He had a small amount of alcohol in his blood, as well as prescription antidepressants cyclobenzaprine, doxapine and mirtazapine. Chrostowski said one of those three medications was found in a slightly higher amount than would be expected in a clinical dose.
"All of these medications can cause agitation themselves," he said. "If you put stress of apprehension on top of this, this . . . causes physiological collapse and people die. There's nothing completely unusual about that."
Chrostowski explained that the word homicide when used by the medical examiner does nothing to suggest intent to kill, but does indicate that a contributing factor in his death was "the hands of others."
"It doesn't matter how much it is contributory - 1 percent, 50 percent or 90 percent," Chrostowski said. He said there was a lot of discussion at his office about his decision to call the manner of death a homicide. For example, even in the case in which a person dies by lethal injection under order of law, a medical examiner refers to the manner of death as homicide.
"I cannot change how the definition works only because it's a police officer," he said. "I think that for the sake of consistency, we have to call it a homicide. It doesn't mean they intended to kill."
Dick Bailey, public information officer for the medical examiner, said it would be a while before the actual report is made public. For now, Chrostowski's findings will be sent to the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office for review. Bailey said that's a matter of course any time the manner of death is homicide.
Hillsborough Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said a preliminary investigation into the use of force found no fault with the deputies' actions. Deputies Mary Angelo, Jessica Guthrie and Dustin Hartline returned to work shortly after the incident, she said. (Angelo, who used the Taser, is married to St. Petersburg Times researcher John Martin.)
The Sheriff's Office has not seen the report, but will review it with the State Attorney's Office when it becomes available, Carter said.
Click on these links to read more about Wilson's death and Taser International's interest in medical examiner findings.
Judge Bill Atchinson Arrested on Drug Charges
GULFPORT, MS
Gulfport Municipal Judge Bill Atchison has been arrested on drug charges.
Atchison is charged with nine counts of prescription drug fraud. He was released on a $90,000 bond.
John Kelly, the city of Gulfport's chief administrative officer and former municipal court administrator, issued the following statement:
"We have been notified by state authorities regarding the accusations involving Municipal Judge Bill Atchison and they are upsetting to all of us. We are keeping Bill and his family in our prayers.
Judge Atchison is on administrative leave and the city has several other judges assigned to municipal court who will continue to hear cases on a daily basis.
In recent years we have made tremendous strides to assure that our court runs smoothly and honorably. The court recently installed a new filing system and doubled the budget for public defenders. The court has also adopted a new set of court rules that are currently being reviewed by the Mississippi Supreme Court as rules that could be used by all municipal courts throughout the state.
The city is building a 65,000-square-foot facility at the corner of 23rd Avenue and 15th Street in downtown. The plan is to relocate the city's police department headquarters, municipal court and other services to the new Rob Curry Municipal Complex sometime next year.
Our court is making significant progress every day and we must continue to move forward.
Again, we wish Judge Atchison and his family all the best in the coming weeks and months.
Sincerely,
John Kelly
Chief Administrative Officer
_________________
http://www.sunherald.com/newsupdates/story/1117395.html
Video Shows Officer Forcefully Punching Woman in Face
A video released as part of a lawsuit against police in Millville, Philadelphia, shows an officer forcefully punching a woman in the face four times after he bungled an attempt to arrest her for riding a bike on the sidewalk.
As reported by NBC news, Sheila Stevenson, 42, has filed a civil suit alleging police used excessive force, after then-Millville Police Officer Carlo Drogo stopped her one year ago on February 3 2008.
The newly released video shows Drogo attempting to use pepper spray on Stevenson while she is still on the bike, but instead spraying himself in the face.
As Stevenson struggles, a reeling Drogo knocks her off the bike and onto the ground.
Two more cops then arrive and haul Stevenson to the curb, one of them seemingly applying the full force of his upper arm onto her neck and head.
The same cop then thrusts his knee into her back twice, with full force, whilst attempting to handcuff her.
“I am not doing nothing,” Stevenson screams.
“Put your hands behind your back,” one of the other officers orders.
“Can you not do this? I’m not doing nothing! I’m not doing nothing,” she wails.
Drogo, clearly in great discomfort from using his own pepper spray on himself, then approaches Stevenson after the other officers have restrained her and aggressively punches her in the face and head four times.
“Why are you hitting me? You’re hitting me! Why are you hitting me?” Stevenson cries out. “Why did you hit me and I’m handcuffed?”
Stevenson was later convicted of resisting arrest.
Watch the raw video: http://www.offensivestuff.com/wordpress/?p=1082
As reported by NBC news, Sheila Stevenson, 42, has filed a civil suit alleging police used excessive force, after then-Millville Police Officer Carlo Drogo stopped her one year ago on February 3 2008.
The newly released video shows Drogo attempting to use pepper spray on Stevenson while she is still on the bike, but instead spraying himself in the face.
As Stevenson struggles, a reeling Drogo knocks her off the bike and onto the ground.
Two more cops then arrive and haul Stevenson to the curb, one of them seemingly applying the full force of his upper arm onto her neck and head.
The same cop then thrusts his knee into her back twice, with full force, whilst attempting to handcuff her.
“I am not doing nothing,” Stevenson screams.
“Put your hands behind your back,” one of the other officers orders.
“Can you not do this? I’m not doing nothing! I’m not doing nothing,” she wails.
Drogo, clearly in great discomfort from using his own pepper spray on himself, then approaches Stevenson after the other officers have restrained her and aggressively punches her in the face and head four times.
“Why are you hitting me? You’re hitting me! Why are you hitting me?” Stevenson cries out. “Why did you hit me and I’m handcuffed?”
Stevenson was later convicted of resisting arrest.
Watch the raw video: http://www.offensivestuff.com/wordpress/?p=1082
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