A high-ranking Seattle police officer who oversaw a team of officers sent to provide security at President Barack Obama's inauguration last month has been charged with drunken driving.
Lt. Donnie Lowe blew a 0.113 on a breath-alcohol test after a traffic stop Nov. 23 on Interstate 5, just north of South Michigan Street, according to a Washington State Patrol report.
The legal limit is 0.08.
Despite the arrest, Lowe was allowed to travel in January with Chief Gil Kerlikowske and a contingent of officers to join other departments in beefing up security for the inauguration. That angered some rank-and-file officers who think Lowe benefited from preferential treatment.
Only 42 officers were selected for inaugural deployment, and some believe that had a rank-and-file officer been accused of similar misconduct, he would have been reassigned or barred from such a prestigious assignment.
Lowe, who is among the highest-ranking African-American officers in the Police Department, has in recent years garnered internal disciplinary records for incidents that include a controversial arrest and striking his own son while the teenager was in a police holding cell. In the latter case, Lowe, who was off duty, was found to have used his authority to gain access to the cell, yet he did not receive harsh discipline.
A police spokesman declined to discuss Lowe's DUI case, but said that because he is in an administrative position and not out patrolling the streets, there was no potential risk to Lowe or the public that needed to be addressed by reassigning him.
"He organized the inauguration deployment, and that is his area of expertise," said police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, a department spokesman. "It is a work product that would ordinarily come from his office. As such, it's absolutely no surprise that he would also participate and assist in overseeing it."
Kerlikowske, who reportedly has been chosen as Obama's new drug czar, was unavailable for comment last week. In 2007, he told the Seattle P-I that he had taken a hard line on officers in his department arrested for driving drunk.
Lowe, 42, who oversees police planning for big events and disaster management, is scheduled for arraignment Feb. 23 in King County District Court. Typically, an internal investigation wouldn't begin until after the criminal case is resolved.
Lowe, when reached by phone Monday, said he didn't want to discuss the case in detail without consulting his attorney.
"But I think there are some things that definitely are inaccurate," he said.
"You can't legitimately point to any special treatment I've received from the department. That just doesn't hold water."
According to a State Patrol report, a trooper heading south on I-5 spotted a black 2003 Land Rover drifting out of its lane just before 2 a.m. on Nov. 23. The vehicle crossed traffic into the adjacent lane at least three times without signaling, straddling two lanes for more than 10 seconds at a time.
When Lowe rolled down his window, his eyes were bloodshot and his breath smelled of alcohol. His pants were unbuckled and unbuttoned, exposing his underwear, according to Trooper Alicia Philips' report. A passenger, who isn't identified in reports reviewed by the P-I, was in the vehicle.
"The defendant stated he was coming from a club and he had gone to the bathroom before he left," the trooper wrote in her report.
The trooper also noticed a glass of dark-colored liquid in the middle console. Lowe told the trooper the glass contained "just pop," police reports say.
The trooper sniffed the glass and "smelled what I observed to be hard alcohol," she wrote in her report.
After field sobriety tests in which Lowe swayed heavily, the trooper asked him to turn around so she could handcuff him. Her report says, "He stated that was not a good thing. I asked the defendant why, and he stated he worked for the Seattle Police Department," court documents say.
Lowe was arrested and taken to the University of Washington Police Department, where a breath-alcohol test that was administered 45 minutes later registered his breath-alcohol content at 0.113, according to the police report.
Lowe was released to a Seattle police captain, who picked him up, according to the State Patrol. It isn't unusual for DUI suspects to be released to someone if they are not named in a warrant and don't face more serious charges.
Prosecutors were unaware that Lowe was a police officer until the P-I inquired about his case last week, said Ian Goodhew, Prosecutor Dan Satterberg's deputy chief of staff.
The case, charged Feb. 11, was among a backlog of DUI reports stretching back several months. When a DUI offender is booked into jail, prosecutors have 72 hours to file charges. But a "vast majority," including Lowe's case, aren't jailed, which gives prosecutors more time, Goodhew said.
In Washington, D.C., Seattle officers were specially commissioned to work security for the inauguration along with officers from departments nationwide.
Typically, a patrol officer accused of drunken driving would be reassigned to a desk job. Lowe's case has added to a sense that the chief treats officers differently based on their rank, said Sgt. Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police Officers' Guild.
"It does appear that what happens to somebody after they have allegations made against them is different depending on their rank," he said.
A year after his promotion to lieutenant, Lowe, a former narcotics detective and patrol supervisor, was reassigned from third watch to an administrative job while he was investigated for striking and pushing his son in a holding cell. The city Attorney's Office reviewed the case but found insufficient evidence to file charges, according to department records.
Lowe was given a written reprimand. Three months later, he was assigned to the department's Homeland Security Bureau.
In addition to criminal penalties, a first-time DUI conviction results in a 90-day suspension by the state Licensing Department, unless the driver appeals. Lowe requested a hearing that was scheduled for Jan. 20, but was postponed, Licensing spokesman Brad Benfield said.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Sheriff Arpaio Under Federal Investigation
The man FOX network dubbed America’s toughest sheriff, and perhaps the last true 20th century style big city political boss, Arizona’s Sheriff Joseph Arpaio according to reliable reports, is the focus of a multi faceted federal investigation.
Till recently “Boss” Arpaio wielded influence in local and state politics comparable to other historical political figures like Chicago’s Richard J. Daley and Missouri’s Tom Prendergast.
The nearly eighty year old Arpaio, ever addicted to limelight and publicity apparently declined to get out of politics while the getting was good. He now faces the music for what critics claim is more than a decade of documented abuse, financial irregularity and in some cases out right murder. A litany of political and criminal villainy ignored by the Bush Justice department and suppressed by State officials and loyalist Judges who were products of the Arpaio political machine.
There was a time in Arizona when even Governors cow towed to sheriff Joe, and politicians who made the mistake of rousing his sore displeasure, found themselves in his jail facing trumped up charges. Their careers destroyed long before their supposed crimes faded from the front page of the Arizona Republic or local fox news affiliate and were dismissed by the courts.
The Sheriff is still beloved by a large majority of neo conservatives who call Phoenix home and use the appropriate code words and political speak to express their pride in being mighty white, but in recent years the influx of people from other parts of the country has made Phoenix the Nation’s 5th largest metropolitan area and changed the balance of power. The Sheriffs grip is no longer absolute and the 2006 midterms saw his handpicked congressional delegation fall apart.
While no single event in particular is responsible for the decline in Sheriff Arpaio’s political fortunes, a multiplicity of bungled publicity stunts attempted by the sheriff to get back on top, combined with the return to a rule of law at the federal level is creating a snowball effect of negative consequence. The snowball first drew national attention when sheriff Arpaio arrested a couple reporters for negative articles. To his surprise the Sheriff discovered he wasn’t actually allowed to put people in jail for writing stories he disliked.
Then the democrats who had won both the Attorney General and Governors office said something to offend him, which resulted in one of his famous press conferences where he announced he had been conducting another of his super double top secret investigations into political corruption and the attorney general was the target. Unlike past publicity stunts where the politician named would eventually be perp walked before the press, the attorney general called his own news conference to more or less chuckle, saying his office would no longer be taking calls from the Sheriff much less responding to his silly behavior.
That event seemed to open the flood gates, other elected officials and Mayors began to openly oppose the sheriff who responded by conducting midnight raids at city halls of mayors who spoke ill of as is Joes habit to refer to himself in the third person, the office of sheriff.
Unfortunately while the image of dozens of black hooded deputies armed to the teeth invading city hall’s across the valley played well to his base and the local fox affiliate, it didn’t go over so well with everyone else. Now the Justice department in democratic control is looking into year’s worth of complaints about abuse, civil rights violations and suspicious “death while in custody incidents.”
In the run up to the Presidential election, sheriff Arpaio gambled he could cultivate the immigration debate into some serious local and National political capitol. He began staging what amounted to massive armed occupations of poor and mostly Spanish neighborhoods in Phoenix and surrounding cities. His army of deputies and “volunteers” he calls the sheriff’s posse, people given uniforms, badges and in some cases guns, now assist him in enforcing immigration policy.
While ample video and first person accounts detail a couple thousand incidents where the civil rights of Americans are being openly violated by the sheriff and his supporters simply because they have brown skin, It has yet to deter Arpaio who claims he is answerable only to the voters who elected him. The raids still play well with the locals he calls on to help keep Phoenix safe from the brown horde, but I speculate by this time next year, the sheriff will be hoping the federal pool from which his jury will be selected, does not have any of the brown looking folks his volunteers profiled and stopped under color of authority to prove they were in this country Legally.
That’s my view yours may be different
Till recently “Boss” Arpaio wielded influence in local and state politics comparable to other historical political figures like Chicago’s Richard J. Daley and Missouri’s Tom Prendergast.
The nearly eighty year old Arpaio, ever addicted to limelight and publicity apparently declined to get out of politics while the getting was good. He now faces the music for what critics claim is more than a decade of documented abuse, financial irregularity and in some cases out right murder. A litany of political and criminal villainy ignored by the Bush Justice department and suppressed by State officials and loyalist Judges who were products of the Arpaio political machine.
There was a time in Arizona when even Governors cow towed to sheriff Joe, and politicians who made the mistake of rousing his sore displeasure, found themselves in his jail facing trumped up charges. Their careers destroyed long before their supposed crimes faded from the front page of the Arizona Republic or local fox news affiliate and were dismissed by the courts.
The Sheriff is still beloved by a large majority of neo conservatives who call Phoenix home and use the appropriate code words and political speak to express their pride in being mighty white, but in recent years the influx of people from other parts of the country has made Phoenix the Nation’s 5th largest metropolitan area and changed the balance of power. The Sheriffs grip is no longer absolute and the 2006 midterms saw his handpicked congressional delegation fall apart.
While no single event in particular is responsible for the decline in Sheriff Arpaio’s political fortunes, a multiplicity of bungled publicity stunts attempted by the sheriff to get back on top, combined with the return to a rule of law at the federal level is creating a snowball effect of negative consequence. The snowball first drew national attention when sheriff Arpaio arrested a couple reporters for negative articles. To his surprise the Sheriff discovered he wasn’t actually allowed to put people in jail for writing stories he disliked.
Then the democrats who had won both the Attorney General and Governors office said something to offend him, which resulted in one of his famous press conferences where he announced he had been conducting another of his super double top secret investigations into political corruption and the attorney general was the target. Unlike past publicity stunts where the politician named would eventually be perp walked before the press, the attorney general called his own news conference to more or less chuckle, saying his office would no longer be taking calls from the Sheriff much less responding to his silly behavior.
That event seemed to open the flood gates, other elected officials and Mayors began to openly oppose the sheriff who responded by conducting midnight raids at city halls of mayors who spoke ill of as is Joes habit to refer to himself in the third person, the office of sheriff.
Unfortunately while the image of dozens of black hooded deputies armed to the teeth invading city hall’s across the valley played well to his base and the local fox affiliate, it didn’t go over so well with everyone else. Now the Justice department in democratic control is looking into year’s worth of complaints about abuse, civil rights violations and suspicious “death while in custody incidents.”
In the run up to the Presidential election, sheriff Arpaio gambled he could cultivate the immigration debate into some serious local and National political capitol. He began staging what amounted to massive armed occupations of poor and mostly Spanish neighborhoods in Phoenix and surrounding cities. His army of deputies and “volunteers” he calls the sheriff’s posse, people given uniforms, badges and in some cases guns, now assist him in enforcing immigration policy.
While ample video and first person accounts detail a couple thousand incidents where the civil rights of Americans are being openly violated by the sheriff and his supporters simply because they have brown skin, It has yet to deter Arpaio who claims he is answerable only to the voters who elected him. The raids still play well with the locals he calls on to help keep Phoenix safe from the brown horde, but I speculate by this time next year, the sheriff will be hoping the federal pool from which his jury will be selected, does not have any of the brown looking folks his volunteers profiled and stopped under color of authority to prove they were in this country Legally.
That’s my view yours may be different
Another Man Dies After Being Tasered
LOS ANGELES
A man running naked in the street has died after he was shocked with a stun gun by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies.
Deputy Keith Ho says deputies answered a disturbance call in suburban Lakewood at about 10:15 p.m. Saturday.
The deputies saw a man running naked in the street and acting irate. Ho says deputies tried to calm the man but he remained belligerent. When he advanced toward the deputies, Ho says they hit him with pepper spray and a taser electric stun gun.
Ho says after the man was handcuffed, deputies realized he wasn't breathing. They began CPR and paramedics were called but the man was pronounced dead at a hospital.
His identity hasn't been released.
The death is under investigation.
_____________
Other Information: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread437282/pg1
A man running naked in the street has died after he was shocked with a stun gun by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies.
Deputy Keith Ho says deputies answered a disturbance call in suburban Lakewood at about 10:15 p.m. Saturday.
The deputies saw a man running naked in the street and acting irate. Ho says deputies tried to calm the man but he remained belligerent. When he advanced toward the deputies, Ho says they hit him with pepper spray and a taser electric stun gun.
Ho says after the man was handcuffed, deputies realized he wasn't breathing. They began CPR and paramedics were called but the man was pronounced dead at a hospital.
His identity hasn't been released.
The death is under investigation.
_____________
Other Information: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread437282/pg1
Sheriff Being Overzealous about Possible Minor Drug Charge Against Phelps
COLUMBIA, S.C.
Even if a South Carolina sheriff is successful in building a marijuana case against swimming superstar Michael Phelps, it might be hard to make the charges stick, defense attorneys say.
The case took a turn Thursday when lawyers for two people said their clients were among eight arrested last week and questioned at length about the November party near the University of South Carolina where Phelps was photographed smoking from a marijuana pipe. At the time, the men were renters at the house.
The effort to prosecute Phelps on what would be at most a minor drug charge seem extreme compared to similar cases, lawyers said, and have led some to question whether the sheriff is being overzealous because he's dealing with a celebrity.
"The efforts that are being made here are unlike anything I've ever seen before," said Jack Swerling, a defense attorney in South Carolina. "I know Leon Lott, I know him to be an honorable guy. I've known him for 30 something years. But the efforts here are extraordinary on simple possession cases."
After the photo was Phelps was published Feb. 1, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said his office would investigate and possibly charge Phelps, though officials have not specified what the offense might be. Since then, authorities have released little information, and the sheriff's department refused to talk again Thursday.
Lott has made fighting drug crimes a central plank of his career. He rose from patrol officer to captain of the narcotics division in the early 1990s and was well-known in the county for wearing stylish suits like the drug agents on "Miami Vice" and driving a Porsche seized from a drug dealer. He was elected sheriff in 1996.
Lawyers for the two men say they were questioned almost exclusively about Phelps and charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession.
Authorities haven't contacted the swimmer, who issued an apology for his behavior earlier this month, one of his agents said.
"Michael has not been contacted and we are not going to speculate," said agent Drew Johnson.
Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian and fellow defense attorney Joseph MuCulloch said deputies searched at least two houses. The men told their lawyers the raids went down like a major drug bust, and 12 deputies burst into the home with guns drawn, pulling small amounts of marijuana from those arrested. Several computers and storage devices were also seized, Harpootlian said.
The lawyers did not release the names of their clients, but Harpootlian said that his client didn't even see Phelps smoke marijuana at the party. McCulloch said his client was out of town, and only lived at the home when the party happened. Both men have since moved.
"After they arrested him, they didn't ask him where did you get the marijuana or who sold it to you. Almost all the questions they asked him were about Michael Phelps," Harpootlian said. He added: "It was like they were busting the biggest heroin distributor in the country."
The investigators appear to be trying to build a case against Phelps from others — a tactic normally used to bring down drug dealers with a large amounts of cocaine or methamphetamine, not someone who smoked marijuana five months ago, said Chip Price, a Greenville attorney who has dealt with drug cases for 33 years.
"Never have I seen anything like this on a simple marijuana case," Price said.
McCulloch, who said his client was out of town at the time, doubted that anything his client told authorities would assist them in the case against Phelps.
"It seems to me that Richland County has a host of its own crime problems much more serious than a kid featured in a photograph with a bong in his hand," he said.
Investigators don't need to have the marijuana Phelps may have had that night to make a case against him, although the lack of physical evidence makes things a lot tougher. They will need several witnesses saying they were at the party, smoked marijuana in that pipe and saw Phelps smoke it too, said Swerling.
There's one more problem with the case, too. Even if Phelps is charged, authorities may not be able to get him back to South Carolina to face a judge. State law only allows extradition for charges that carry more than a year in prison — and possession of one ounce or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor that carries 30 days in jail for first offenders.
Phelps lives and trains in Baltimore, and if Richland County authorities were serious about hauling him in on a misdemeanor drug charge, city police would be willing to help, said Col. John Skinner, chief of patrol for the department.
But if Phelps were arrested in Baltimore, it would be up to South Carolina to extradite him. Prosecutors sometimes decide against bringing defendants in from out of state to face minor charges, Skinner said.
"Is the charge serious enough in that primary jurisdiction for them to spend the time and resources to go and bring that person into custody? That's not a decision I could make on their part," Skinner said.
**********************
Leave this boy alone!! How much more stupid can the laws become? I'm sure smoking a little amount of pot didn't improve his performance, so why the fuck are they talking about taking away his metals? It's been proven that OVER HALF the population has tried marijuana at some time in their lives. We have Presidents that have openly admitted to smoking some bud at some point in their lives... and they haven't been charged with any crime!! It's time to change some of these outdated laws and make minor possession, such as this, a non-arrestable offense.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Officer Richard Hammer Arrested for Hitting Female
NEW WINDSOR
Last year’s police officer of the year in Orange County was arrested Friday night for hitting a female acquaintance, police said.
New Windsor police were dispatched to Anthony’s Pier 9 catering hall on Route 9W just before 11:30 p.m. for a report of an assault. Police said that Richard Hammer had a dispute with a woman and hit her.
Richard Hammer, 38, was charged with misdemeanor assault and will appear in New Windsor court March 19. The woman, whose name was not released, was treated at St. Luke’s Hospital in Newburgh and released. Anthony’s Pier 9 was the site of a party for police recruits following Friday’s police academy graduation.
Hammer was awarded the Police Officer of the Year in 2008 by the Police Chiefs’ Association of Orange County. Last February he was stabbed in the right thigh while trying to help the victim of a gang attack. City of Newburgh police declined to comment on Hammer’s arrest.
____________
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/February09/14/Cop_arrest-14Feb09.htm
Last year’s police officer of the year in Orange County was arrested Friday night for hitting a female acquaintance, police said.
New Windsor police were dispatched to Anthony’s Pier 9 catering hall on Route 9W just before 11:30 p.m. for a report of an assault. Police said that Richard Hammer had a dispute with a woman and hit her.
Richard Hammer, 38, was charged with misdemeanor assault and will appear in New Windsor court March 19. The woman, whose name was not released, was treated at St. Luke’s Hospital in Newburgh and released. Anthony’s Pier 9 was the site of a party for police recruits following Friday’s police academy graduation.
Hammer was awarded the Police Officer of the Year in 2008 by the Police Chiefs’ Association of Orange County. Last February he was stabbed in the right thigh while trying to help the victim of a gang attack. City of Newburgh police declined to comment on Hammer’s arrest.
____________
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2009/February09/14/Cop_arrest-14Feb09.htm
Another Death by Taser
Thomas County Deputies say at about two o'clock Friday morning an officer was driving on Highway 19, south of the 84 bypass when he noticed a Ford pickup truck in the middle of the road with a man inside.
When the man raised his arm, it could be seen that he was bleeding profusely.
Officers say Rudolph Byrd of Quincy, Florida then got out and a struggle began. Byrd was tasered as five officers tried to restrain him.
When EMS arrived, Byrd was put on a gurney and he stopped breathing.
Doctors were later able to revive him, but Byrd died moments later. The GBI is investigating.
___________________
http://www.wctv.tv/news
When the man raised his arm, it could be seen that he was bleeding profusely.
Officers say Rudolph Byrd of Quincy, Florida then got out and a struggle began. Byrd was tasered as five officers tried to restrain him.
When EMS arrived, Byrd was put on a gurney and he stopped breathing.
Doctors were later able to revive him, but Byrd died moments later. The GBI is investigating.
___________________
http://www.wctv.tv/news
Officer Christopher Miner Held Alone in Jail for Sexually Assaulting Woman
A Newport News police officer, accused of sexually assaulting and abducting a female acquaintance in December, is being confined alone at the city jail.
At his arraignment Friday, Officer Christopher E. Miner was ordered held without bail pending a bond hearing. He was placed in a single cell for his protection, according to Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kathleen Carey.
The 37-year-old Central Precinct patrolman is scheduled to return to court for the hearing on Wednesday. He faces charges of rape, forcible sodomy and abduction with intent to defile for an incident that allegedly took place at his home on Dec. 6, police said.
At the time of his arrest Thursday, Miner had been awaiting charges stemming from another incident involving a 27-year-old woman.
In January, he was charged with abduction for immoral purposes after the alleged victim told police that he refused to allow her to leave a residence after they had spent a social evening together, police said.
According to the Daily Press, Miner was accused of restraining her with leather restraints, taking her picture and threatening to post the photograph online if she didn't spend the night with him.
Miner was hired by the Police Department in 2003. He remains on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal and criminal investigation, police said.
At his arraignment Friday, Officer Christopher E. Miner was ordered held without bail pending a bond hearing. He was placed in a single cell for his protection, according to Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kathleen Carey.
The 37-year-old Central Precinct patrolman is scheduled to return to court for the hearing on Wednesday. He faces charges of rape, forcible sodomy and abduction with intent to defile for an incident that allegedly took place at his home on Dec. 6, police said.
At the time of his arrest Thursday, Miner had been awaiting charges stemming from another incident involving a 27-year-old woman.
In January, he was charged with abduction for immoral purposes after the alleged victim told police that he refused to allow her to leave a residence after they had spent a social evening together, police said.
According to the Daily Press, Miner was accused of restraining her with leather restraints, taking her picture and threatening to post the photograph online if she didn't spend the night with him.
Miner was hired by the Police Department in 2003. He remains on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal and criminal investigation, police said.
Investigation Widens into Allegations of Brutality by 2 Fresno Officers
FRESNO
The investigation into allegations of brutality by two Fresno police officers widened Thursday, with Police Chief Jerry Dyer saying that the district attorney's office has launched an independent probe, and that the attorney general's office is set to review the case as well.
At issue is the videotaped arrest on Monday of Glen Beaty, 52, by two uniformed police officers. The video, which aired nationally after it was turned over to KSEE on Tuesday, shows one officer repeatedly punching Beaty in the head while the other struggles to handcuff him.
One task for the district attorney, Dyer said, is to decide whether Beaty will face charges of assault for allegedly hitting the police officers in the minutes before the incident was taped.
Attorney Rick Berman, who said he has been asked to represent Beaty, called it "ludicrous" that police would consider pursuing criminal charges "against the guy they beat up."
The two officers involved "did not follow accepted or proper procedures," he said. "They brutalized a mentally disturbed old man who was just sitting under a tree."
The videotaped arrest has prompted outcries from civil rights organizations and renewed calls for an independent police auditor, an idea that Mayor Ashley Swearengin said she supported in her 2008 mayoral campaign.
Neither officer in the video has been identified.
Both officers were placed on alternative duties after the tape was made publ
The investigation into allegations of brutality by two Fresno police officers widened Thursday, with Police Chief Jerry Dyer saying that the district attorney's office has launched an independent probe, and that the attorney general's office is set to review the case as well.
At issue is the videotaped arrest on Monday of Glen Beaty, 52, by two uniformed police officers. The video, which aired nationally after it was turned over to KSEE on Tuesday, shows one officer repeatedly punching Beaty in the head while the other struggles to handcuff him.
One task for the district attorney, Dyer said, is to decide whether Beaty will face charges of assault for allegedly hitting the police officers in the minutes before the incident was taped.
Attorney Rick Berman, who said he has been asked to represent Beaty, called it "ludicrous" that police would consider pursuing criminal charges "against the guy they beat up."
The two officers involved "did not follow accepted or proper procedures," he said. "They brutalized a mentally disturbed old man who was just sitting under a tree."
The videotaped arrest has prompted outcries from civil rights organizations and renewed calls for an independent police auditor, an idea that Mayor Ashley Swearengin said she supported in her 2008 mayoral campaign.
Neither officer in the video has been identified.
Both officers were placed on alternative duties after the tape was made publ
Deputy Mason Dixon Arrested for Sexually Assaulting Minor
COVINGTON, La.
Authorities said a former Vernon Parish sheriff's deputy has been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain said 31-year-old Mason Dixon, of Leesville, was arrested Wednesday by Vernon Parish sheriff's deputies on seven counts of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile and four counts of oral sexual battery.
Strain said Friday that his office received information from a Slidell woman about several alleged incidents, occurring from September through January, involving Dixon and her daughter. He says Dixon had been in St. Tammany Parish fulfilling Louisiana National Guard training obligations.
Dixon, who had worked for the Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office since 2006, was being held in lieu of $375,000 bond at the St. Tammany Parish Jail. Strain said he's been placed in isolation for his protection.
Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft said Dixon has been fired.
Authorities said a former Vernon Parish sheriff's deputy has been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain said 31-year-old Mason Dixon, of Leesville, was arrested Wednesday by Vernon Parish sheriff's deputies on seven counts of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile and four counts of oral sexual battery.
Strain said Friday that his office received information from a Slidell woman about several alleged incidents, occurring from September through January, involving Dixon and her daughter. He says Dixon had been in St. Tammany Parish fulfilling Louisiana National Guard training obligations.
Dixon, who had worked for the Vernon Parish Sheriff's Office since 2006, was being held in lieu of $375,000 bond at the St. Tammany Parish Jail. Strain said he's been placed in isolation for his protection.
Vernon Parish Sheriff Sam Craft said Dixon has been fired.
Judge Margaret Huddleston Arrested for DUI
Warren Family Court Judge Margaret R. Huddleston was arrested outside her home shortly after midnight Saturday on charges of careless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol.
According to a Bowling Green Police Department report, Huddleston, 59, 1288 Hayes Court, was driving a silver 1999 Mercedes on Main Avenue, traveling well below the speed limit. Police followed her up Main Avenue from Chestnut Street, watching Huddleston sit at a stop sign for several seconds before turning left onto Park Street.
Huddleston then turned right on Fairview Avenue, according to the report, after her car sat at the stop sign at Park Street for about 10 seconds. She then struck the center line five times on Fairview between Park Street and Hayes Lane, the report states, at which point the police officer turned on his emergency lights.
The officer followed Huddleston, who continued driving until she reached her driveway, according to the report. The officer reported that she had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and strongly smelled of alcohol.
According to the arrest report, a breath test indicated that Huddleston had a blood alcohol level of .174 - over twice the state’s legal limit of .08. She was arrested at 12:14 a.m. Saturday and lodged in Warren County Regional Jail, where she was later released on an unsecured bond.
Messages left at Huddleston’s home phone number were not returned; Warren County Attorney Amy Milliken was unavailable for comment.
Huddleston has been a family court judge in Warren County since the court was created in 1998. The division within Warren County Circuit Court handles divorce, child custody, visitation, child support, adoption and termination of parental rights cases. The court has jurisdiction also over cases involving domestic violence and abuse, cases of dependency, neglect and abuse and juvenile status offenses.
According to a Bowling Green Police Department report, Huddleston, 59, 1288 Hayes Court, was driving a silver 1999 Mercedes on Main Avenue, traveling well below the speed limit. Police followed her up Main Avenue from Chestnut Street, watching Huddleston sit at a stop sign for several seconds before turning left onto Park Street.
Huddleston then turned right on Fairview Avenue, according to the report, after her car sat at the stop sign at Park Street for about 10 seconds. She then struck the center line five times on Fairview between Park Street and Hayes Lane, the report states, at which point the police officer turned on his emergency lights.
The officer followed Huddleston, who continued driving until she reached her driveway, according to the report. The officer reported that she had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and strongly smelled of alcohol.
According to the arrest report, a breath test indicated that Huddleston had a blood alcohol level of .174 - over twice the state’s legal limit of .08. She was arrested at 12:14 a.m. Saturday and lodged in Warren County Regional Jail, where she was later released on an unsecured bond.
Messages left at Huddleston’s home phone number were not returned; Warren County Attorney Amy Milliken was unavailable for comment.
Huddleston has been a family court judge in Warren County since the court was created in 1998. The division within Warren County Circuit Court handles divorce, child custody, visitation, child support, adoption and termination of parental rights cases. The court has jurisdiction also over cases involving domestic violence and abuse, cases of dependency, neglect and abuse and juvenile status offenses.
Deputy David Slocum Back on the Job After Domestic Violence Charge
A Pima County Sheriff's deputy arrested for domestic violence has his job back. A review board voted to reinstate Deputy David Slocum but with a suspension for 30 days.
Deputies say Slocum was arrested last November after an altercation with his estranged wife. Investigators say he dragged her down the hallway and fired his gun into the floor of his home.
"He became suicidal, and she was doing various interventions to try to keep him from doing this," says Deputy Mike O'Connor of PCSD. "He had a gun in his hand and was pointing it at himself."
Domestic violence charges are still pending against Deputy Slocum. The incident is also being investigated by the Arizona Peace Officer's Standards and Training Board.
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http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/fromcomments/110075.php
Former Detective Paul Dale Charged with Murder
A FORMER Victoria Police detective, Paul Noel Dale, has been charged with the murder of Terence Hodson, who was a corruption witness when he was shot dead along with his wife, Christine, in May 2004.
The former drug squad officer's arrest yesterday comes after a jailed underworld figure agreed to testify against Dale.
The witness' identity is suppressed, but it is believed he has told police about his relationship with Dale and the former detective's alleged role in commissioning the contract killing of Hodson.
Dale, 39, yesterday represented himself during a brief hearing at the Wangaratta Magistrates Court. "This is going to turn my life upside down. I am anxious to get these matters before the courts to clear my name," he said.
In late 2003, Hodson, Dale and detective David Miechel were charged over an attempt to steal $1.3 million in drugs from an East Oakleigh house.
After Hodson agreed to testify against the police, files identifying him as an informer were leaked to the underworld. Within weeks, Hodson and his wife were killed and the case against Dale collapsed.
Miechel was later sentenced to 12 years' jail.
Force command denied any link between corruption and the gangland killings after the Hodsons' death, despite holding information about Dale's underworld links and his suspected role in leaking the Hodson files.
The murders sparked calls for a royal commission and led to the creation of a new police watchdog, the Office of Police Integrity, which held two inquiries into issues related to the murders.
Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland said yesterday the reliability of the police witness "was obviously an issue" and that he expected evidence to be vigorously contested.
"We have obviously taken advice from the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) in relation to that and we have now got to the point where we believe we have sufficient evidence to charge," he said.
He also defended police handling of the case. "We didn't deny police involvement (at the outset), we just didn't leap to the conclusion that everyone else leapt to."
Police are investigating the hitman suspected of killing the Hodsons.
He is in jail facing unrelated murder charges.
Dale was remanded into custody and will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court in June.
The former drug squad officer's arrest yesterday comes after a jailed underworld figure agreed to testify against Dale.
The witness' identity is suppressed, but it is believed he has told police about his relationship with Dale and the former detective's alleged role in commissioning the contract killing of Hodson.
Dale, 39, yesterday represented himself during a brief hearing at the Wangaratta Magistrates Court. "This is going to turn my life upside down. I am anxious to get these matters before the courts to clear my name," he said.
In late 2003, Hodson, Dale and detective David Miechel were charged over an attempt to steal $1.3 million in drugs from an East Oakleigh house.
After Hodson agreed to testify against the police, files identifying him as an informer were leaked to the underworld. Within weeks, Hodson and his wife were killed and the case against Dale collapsed.
Miechel was later sentenced to 12 years' jail.
Force command denied any link between corruption and the gangland killings after the Hodsons' death, despite holding information about Dale's underworld links and his suspected role in leaking the Hodson files.
The murders sparked calls for a royal commission and led to the creation of a new police watchdog, the Office of Police Integrity, which held two inquiries into issues related to the murders.
Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland said yesterday the reliability of the police witness "was obviously an issue" and that he expected evidence to be vigorously contested.
"We have obviously taken advice from the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) in relation to that and we have now got to the point where we believe we have sufficient evidence to charge," he said.
He also defended police handling of the case. "We didn't deny police involvement (at the outset), we just didn't leap to the conclusion that everyone else leapt to."
Police are investigating the hitman suspected of killing the Hodsons.
He is in jail facing unrelated murder charges.
Dale was remanded into custody and will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court in June.
A FORMER Victoria Police detective, Paul Noel Dale, has been charged with the murder of Terence Hodson, who was a corruption witness when he was shot dead along with his wife, Christine, in May 2004.
The former drug squad officer's arrest yesterday comes after a jailed underworld figure agreed to testify against Dale.
The witness' identity is suppressed, but it is believed he has told police about his relationship with Dale and the former detective's alleged role in commissioning the contract killing of Hodson.
Dale, 39, yesterday represented himself during a brief hearing at the Wangaratta Magistrates Court. "This is going to turn my life upside down. I am anxious to get these matters before the courts to clear my name," he said.
In late 2003, Hodson, Dale and detective David Miechel were charged over an attempt to steal $1.3 million in drugs from an East Oakleigh house.
After Hodson agreed to testify against the police, files identifying him as an informer were leaked to the underworld. Within weeks, Hodson and his wife were killed and the case against Dale collapsed.
Miechel was later sentenced to 12 years' jail.
Force command denied any link between corruption and the gangland killings after the Hodsons' death, despite holding information about Dale's underworld links and his suspected role in leaking the Hodson files.
The murders sparked calls for a royal commission and led to the creation of a new police watchdog, the Office of Police Integrity, which held two inquiries into issues related to the murders.
Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland said yesterday the reliability of the police witness "was obviously an issue" and that he expected evidence to be vigorously contested.
"We have obviously taken advice from the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) in relation to that and we have now got to the point where we believe we have sufficient evidence to charge," he said.
He also defended police handling of the case. "We didn't deny police involvement (at the outset), we just didn't leap to the conclusion that everyone else leapt to."
Police are investigating the hitman suspected of killing the Hodsons.
He is in jail facing unrelated murder charges.
Dale was remanded into custody and will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court in June.
The former drug squad officer's arrest yesterday comes after a jailed underworld figure agreed to testify against Dale.
The witness' identity is suppressed, but it is believed he has told police about his relationship with Dale and the former detective's alleged role in commissioning the contract killing of Hodson.
Dale, 39, yesterday represented himself during a brief hearing at the Wangaratta Magistrates Court. "This is going to turn my life upside down. I am anxious to get these matters before the courts to clear my name," he said.
In late 2003, Hodson, Dale and detective David Miechel were charged over an attempt to steal $1.3 million in drugs from an East Oakleigh house.
After Hodson agreed to testify against the police, files identifying him as an informer were leaked to the underworld. Within weeks, Hodson and his wife were killed and the case against Dale collapsed.
Miechel was later sentenced to 12 years' jail.
Force command denied any link between corruption and the gangland killings after the Hodsons' death, despite holding information about Dale's underworld links and his suspected role in leaking the Hodson files.
The murders sparked calls for a royal commission and led to the creation of a new police watchdog, the Office of Police Integrity, which held two inquiries into issues related to the murders.
Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland said yesterday the reliability of the police witness "was obviously an issue" and that he expected evidence to be vigorously contested.
"We have obviously taken advice from the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) in relation to that and we have now got to the point where we believe we have sufficient evidence to charge," he said.
He also defended police handling of the case. "We didn't deny police involvement (at the outset), we just didn't leap to the conclusion that everyone else leapt to."
Police are investigating the hitman suspected of killing the Hodsons.
He is in jail facing unrelated murder charges.
Dale was remanded into custody and will appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court in June.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Officer Yaniris Balbuena Accused of Laundering Drug Money
A New York City police officer was accused on Friday of conspiring to launder thousands of dollars in drug proceeds in what the authorities said was a large-scale heroin organization in the Bronx that the officer’s companion ran until his death last year.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged that the officer, Yaniris Balbuena, 31, who was arrested on Friday, took deliveries of drug money, sometimes on Jerome Avenue near the station house of the 44th Precinct, where she worked.
The prosecutors, citing an informant’s account, described her as being nervous during one such exchange, as she instructed the informant to drop money on the floor of her private car before driving away.
Officer Balbuena controlled nine bank accounts, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in Federal District Court in Manhattan. It said she deposited more than $230,000 in unexplained cash in her accounts, an amount that “far surpassed her legitimate income.”
The officer, who joined the force in 2000, was suspended after her arrest, a Police Department spokesman said. A federal magistrate judge ordered her released on bond late in the day. She said nothing during the hearing and did not enter a plea, dabbing her eyes and crying as she left. Her lawyer, John Tynan, declined to comment.
The authorities did not identify the officer’s companion in court documents, but said they had lived together and had two children. He was killed, apparently in a drug-related homicide, an official said. Officer Balbuena’s deposits of unexplained cash into her accounts stopped after his death, another official said.
The complaint said that the drug-trafficking operation generated hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that her companion lived luxuriously, driving expensive cars and buying property in the United States and the Dominican Republic.
The complaint is based in part on claims from people described as confidential informants who had been charged with crimes and were now assisting the government.
One of those sources, the complaint said, told the authorities that Officer Balbuena once told her companion that he “needed to change his lifestyle and live an honest life with a normal job.”
He replied that he “enjoyed the criminal lifestyle and did not want to work a regular job,” the complaint said.
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http://www.nytimes.com/
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged that the officer, Yaniris Balbuena, 31, who was arrested on Friday, took deliveries of drug money, sometimes on Jerome Avenue near the station house of the 44th Precinct, where she worked.
The prosecutors, citing an informant’s account, described her as being nervous during one such exchange, as she instructed the informant to drop money on the floor of her private car before driving away.
Officer Balbuena controlled nine bank accounts, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in Federal District Court in Manhattan. It said she deposited more than $230,000 in unexplained cash in her accounts, an amount that “far surpassed her legitimate income.”
The officer, who joined the force in 2000, was suspended after her arrest, a Police Department spokesman said. A federal magistrate judge ordered her released on bond late in the day. She said nothing during the hearing and did not enter a plea, dabbing her eyes and crying as she left. Her lawyer, John Tynan, declined to comment.
The authorities did not identify the officer’s companion in court documents, but said they had lived together and had two children. He was killed, apparently in a drug-related homicide, an official said. Officer Balbuena’s deposits of unexplained cash into her accounts stopped after his death, another official said.
The complaint said that the drug-trafficking operation generated hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that her companion lived luxuriously, driving expensive cars and buying property in the United States and the Dominican Republic.
The complaint is based in part on claims from people described as confidential informants who had been charged with crimes and were now assisting the government.
One of those sources, the complaint said, told the authorities that Officer Balbuena once told her companion that he “needed to change his lifestyle and live an honest life with a normal job.”
He replied that he “enjoyed the criminal lifestyle and did not want to work a regular job,” the complaint said.
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http://www.nytimes.com/
Officer Finess Brown Accused of Assaulting Wife for the Second Time
Complaints about a Murfreesboro Police officer assaulting his wife for the second time in two years are being investigated by detectives, a sergeant reported.
Officer Finess Brown, 36, was accused of assaulting his wife, Catina, during an argument Tuesday. The wife accused him of grabbing her wrist, causing her arm to be pulled behind her, Sgt. Harry Haigh reported. Their 15-year-old son tried to intervene.
“I examined Ms. Brown’s wrist and did not notice any signs of injury and she stated she was not injured,” Haigh reported.
Brown was charged with domestic assault of his wife in June 2007. Court records showed no documentation, indicating his record might have been erased as part of his case.
He has not been charged in this week’s complaint but his wife obtained a document ordering him to stay away from him.
Deputy Police Chief Randy Garrett said Brown has not been served yet with the order to stay away from his family.
“Until the investigation is completed by Detective West, I don’t know if we can answer questions about his status,” Garrett said.
Haigh reported Mrs. Brown told him she and her husband argued again Wednesday until she left the home with their four children.
She accused Brown of stopping her and the children Thursday where he allegedly rocked the car with them inside, the sergeant said. She called 911 and drove to the police department.
West helped Mrs. Brown apply for the order of protection and to Judge Mark Rogers’ office to sign the order of protection.
Brown and his son were not available for questioning about the case, the sergeant reported.
Officer Finess Brown, 36, was accused of assaulting his wife, Catina, during an argument Tuesday. The wife accused him of grabbing her wrist, causing her arm to be pulled behind her, Sgt. Harry Haigh reported. Their 15-year-old son tried to intervene.
“I examined Ms. Brown’s wrist and did not notice any signs of injury and she stated she was not injured,” Haigh reported.
Brown was charged with domestic assault of his wife in June 2007. Court records showed no documentation, indicating his record might have been erased as part of his case.
He has not been charged in this week’s complaint but his wife obtained a document ordering him to stay away from him.
Deputy Police Chief Randy Garrett said Brown has not been served yet with the order to stay away from his family.
“Until the investigation is completed by Detective West, I don’t know if we can answer questions about his status,” Garrett said.
Haigh reported Mrs. Brown told him she and her husband argued again Wednesday until she left the home with their four children.
She accused Brown of stopping her and the children Thursday where he allegedly rocked the car with them inside, the sergeant said. She called 911 and drove to the police department.
West helped Mrs. Brown apply for the order of protection and to Judge Mark Rogers’ office to sign the order of protection.
Brown and his son were not available for questioning about the case, the sergeant reported.
Houston Tasering Death Case Goes to Court
HOUSTON
A woman whose son died after he was Tasered by Precinct 1 deputy constables four years ago appeared in court Friday for her wrongful death suit against Harris County.
“She is here to try to get justice for her son,” Nagel’s attorney, Kent Spence, said.
Four years ago, Nagel called deputies to her home for help.
Her son, Joel Don Casey, a paranoid schizophrenic, had gone off his medication.
Deputies tried to take him to a hospital for evaluation, but they said Casey became violent.
Deputies used their Tasers to subdue him and handcuffed his hands and legs.
“Very unfortunate, but they were just trying to do their job,” Harris County Attorney Frank Sanders said.
Fifteen minutes later, the deputies radioed for help.
“He’s slowing down. We’ve got the suspect in the vehicle at this time. Stand by EMS to this unit ASAP please. Be advised suspect’s not breathing. He’s not being responsive,” deputies said on the radio.
Casey died on his 52nd birthday.
Now, attorneys for Nagel are trying to prove the deputies were aware that placing Casey in restraints could result in death.
When asked on the stand what he would do differently, Deputy Gehring said he “would do it the same.”
Had the question been directed at Nagel, though, the response might be different.
“She doesn’t think she can ever recover,” Spence said of Nagel.
Still, she’ll seek to recover damages from the county.
A woman whose son died after he was Tasered by Precinct 1 deputy constables four years ago appeared in court Friday for her wrongful death suit against Harris County.
“She is here to try to get justice for her son,” Nagel’s attorney, Kent Spence, said.
Four years ago, Nagel called deputies to her home for help.
Her son, Joel Don Casey, a paranoid schizophrenic, had gone off his medication.
Deputies tried to take him to a hospital for evaluation, but they said Casey became violent.
Deputies used their Tasers to subdue him and handcuffed his hands and legs.
“Very unfortunate, but they were just trying to do their job,” Harris County Attorney Frank Sanders said.
Fifteen minutes later, the deputies radioed for help.
“He’s slowing down. We’ve got the suspect in the vehicle at this time. Stand by EMS to this unit ASAP please. Be advised suspect’s not breathing. He’s not being responsive,” deputies said on the radio.
Casey died on his 52nd birthday.
Now, attorneys for Nagel are trying to prove the deputies were aware that placing Casey in restraints could result in death.
When asked on the stand what he would do differently, Deputy Gehring said he “would do it the same.”
Had the question been directed at Nagel, though, the response might be different.
“She doesn’t think she can ever recover,” Spence said of Nagel.
Still, she’ll seek to recover damages from the county.
Rudolph Byrd Dies After Being Tasered
ALBANY, GA
About 2:00AM, a Thomas County deputy sheriff spotted a stalled vehicle on U.S. 19 near the western Inn in Thomasville, and then spotted a man in the vicinity.
He called for backup, and four other deputies soon arrived at the scene. Officers began questioning the man, who appeared to be bleeding from his arm, but the man, Rudolph Byrd, Junior, of Quincy, Florida was incoherent.
Officers say that Byrd began fighting with officers, and they tasered him three times, but say that only two tasers impacted him.
They subdued Byrd, and emergency medical personnel placed him on a stretcher and began to transport him to a hospital, and Byrd stopped breathing.
A cause of death is not immediately available, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
About 2:00AM, a Thomas County deputy sheriff spotted a stalled vehicle on U.S. 19 near the western Inn in Thomasville, and then spotted a man in the vicinity.
He called for backup, and four other deputies soon arrived at the scene. Officers began questioning the man, who appeared to be bleeding from his arm, but the man, Rudolph Byrd, Junior, of Quincy, Florida was incoherent.
Officers say that Byrd began fighting with officers, and they tasered him three times, but say that only two tasers impacted him.
They subdued Byrd, and emergency medical personnel placed him on a stretcher and began to transport him to a hospital, and Byrd stopped breathing.
A cause of death is not immediately available, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Former Deputy Lance Roe Charged with Forgery
A former Anderson County deputy sheriff is accused of forging a commercial driver's license in order to drive a church bus.
Former deputy Lance Roe, along with Michael Sivils were indicted on charges of felony forgery, according to the State Journal. The paper says that Sivils worked with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet handling computer programs for commercial driver's license. Sivils is suspected of changing the information on the Transportation Cabinet's database to make it look like Roe passed a failed test.
Authorities say a circuit court clerk found Roe's certification, and called police.
Former deputy Lance Roe, along with Michael Sivils were indicted on charges of felony forgery, according to the State Journal. The paper says that Sivils worked with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet handling computer programs for commercial driver's license. Sivils is suspected of changing the information on the Transportation Cabinet's database to make it look like Roe passed a failed test.
Authorities say a circuit court clerk found Roe's certification, and called police.
After Anthony Goodrow complained that he had been brutalized by Hawthorne police officers during an arrest nearly three years ago, department officials said they "conducted an in-depth and thorough internal investigation."
Their conclusion: Officers acted appropriately and did not use excessive force.
That finding, however, appears at odds with the city's payment of $1 million in late January to settle Goodrow's lawsuit alleging excessive force.
Evidence in the case included a photograph that Goodrow's attorneys say shows an officer about to kick their client in the face; a police video of officers slapping high-fives while an injured Goodrow was booked into the city's jail; and reports from the officers acknowledging that they punched and kicked Goodrow several times during the arrest.
For the Rest of the story: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hawthorne13-2009feb13,0,7243471.story
Their conclusion: Officers acted appropriately and did not use excessive force.
That finding, however, appears at odds with the city's payment of $1 million in late January to settle Goodrow's lawsuit alleging excessive force.
Evidence in the case included a photograph that Goodrow's attorneys say shows an officer about to kick their client in the face; a police video of officers slapping high-fives while an injured Goodrow was booked into the city's jail; and reports from the officers acknowledging that they punched and kicked Goodrow several times during the arrest.
For the Rest of the story: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hawthorne13-2009feb13,0,7243471.story
City Attorney Jeff Schroeder Arrested for Drunk Driving
A Warren city official was arrested early this morning on suspicion of drunken driving, according to the city's police commissioner.
Jeff Schroeder, 33, of Warren was stopped about 2:30 a.m. near Van Dyke and Toepfer, said Commissioner William Dwyer. A Warren police officer administered a sobriety test and determined that Schroeder was intoxicated.
Schroeder, assistant city attorney for Warren, is immediately suspended for five days without pay and will be reassigned when he returns because his duties now include prosecuting drunken driving cases, Warren Mayor Jim Fouts said.
"I'm sure he's embarrassed by this, as we all are," Fouts said. "He has a very good record with the city. He's a hard worker and a good prosecutor. I'm not aware he's ever had any drinking problems."
Still, Fouts said, the accusation is serious and "there will be no favoritism by this administration."
Two Breathalyzer tests indicated that Schroeder had a blood-alcohol content of .07% and .08%, Dwyer said. The legal limit in Michigan is .08%, though police can arrest someone for impaired driving with lower levels if he or she is determined to be a risk to others.
A sample of Schroeder's blood was sent to the Michigan State Police lab in Sterling Heights to get a more precise level.
Dwyer said the matter is being sent to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office instead of being handled by the city because of Schroeder's position.
"I want to make sure this is handled like we would handle every other case," Dwyer said.
Schroeder has worked for the city for more than five years, said City Attorney David Richards.
Warren officials came under scrutiny early last year when a court magistrate, James Conrad, was arrested for drunken driving and the matter was handled in-house. Conrad refused to take preliminary breath tests or a Breathalyzer exam and was released shortly after his arrest when then-Chief District Judge Walter Jakubowski Jr. set a personal bond for him.
Jakubowski since has been replaced by Judge John Chmura. Dwyer became commissioner in April, three months after Conrad's arrest.
Jeff Schroeder, 33, of Warren was stopped about 2:30 a.m. near Van Dyke and Toepfer, said Commissioner William Dwyer. A Warren police officer administered a sobriety test and determined that Schroeder was intoxicated.
Schroeder, assistant city attorney for Warren, is immediately suspended for five days without pay and will be reassigned when he returns because his duties now include prosecuting drunken driving cases, Warren Mayor Jim Fouts said.
"I'm sure he's embarrassed by this, as we all are," Fouts said. "He has a very good record with the city. He's a hard worker and a good prosecutor. I'm not aware he's ever had any drinking problems."
Still, Fouts said, the accusation is serious and "there will be no favoritism by this administration."
Two Breathalyzer tests indicated that Schroeder had a blood-alcohol content of .07% and .08%, Dwyer said. The legal limit in Michigan is .08%, though police can arrest someone for impaired driving with lower levels if he or she is determined to be a risk to others.
A sample of Schroeder's blood was sent to the Michigan State Police lab in Sterling Heights to get a more precise level.
Dwyer said the matter is being sent to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office instead of being handled by the city because of Schroeder's position.
"I want to make sure this is handled like we would handle every other case," Dwyer said.
Schroeder has worked for the city for more than five years, said City Attorney David Richards.
Warren officials came under scrutiny early last year when a court magistrate, James Conrad, was arrested for drunken driving and the matter was handled in-house. Conrad refused to take preliminary breath tests or a Breathalyzer exam and was released shortly after his arrest when then-Chief District Judge Walter Jakubowski Jr. set a personal bond for him.
Jakubowski since has been replaced by Judge John Chmura. Dwyer became commissioner in April, three months after Conrad's arrest.
Officer Vincent Carr Accused of Corruption & Drug Dealing
Vincent Carr, a St. Louis police officer accused of corruption and drug dealing , is scheduled to be in court this afternoon, and may plead guilty, court documents show.
Carr and his partner, Bobby Lee Garrett, were arrested by the FBI in December.
Carr faces charges of distributing a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit fraud, making false statements and obstruction of justice. Garrett faces those charges as well as theft of government property.
Both officers were suspended without pay following their arrest, which has triggered a review of the cases that they handled.
Garrett and his lawyers have been vigorously fighting the charges. Carr waived his opportunity to try to throw out some of the evidence against him in January.
Both were on the Crime Suppression Unit, created in January 2007 to address a rising crime rate .
The unit's officers were allowed to dress in plain clothes and were issued unmarked cars and were given the freedom to identify crime hot spots and aggressively pursue chronic criminals.
Carr and his partner, Bobby Lee Garrett, were arrested by the FBI in December.
Carr faces charges of distributing a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit fraud, making false statements and obstruction of justice. Garrett faces those charges as well as theft of government property.
Both officers were suspended without pay following their arrest, which has triggered a review of the cases that they handled.
Garrett and his lawyers have been vigorously fighting the charges. Carr waived his opportunity to try to throw out some of the evidence against him in January.
Both were on the Crime Suppression Unit, created in January 2007 to address a rising crime rate .
The unit's officers were allowed to dress in plain clothes and were issued unmarked cars and were given the freedom to identify crime hot spots and aggressively pursue chronic criminals.
Veteran Officer Charged with Domestic Assault
A veteran Winnipeg Police officer has been charged with assault in what the police describe as a domestic incident.
A police service spokesman said this afternoon that the officer was arrested at his home after midnight Thursday morning.
The officer has been released from custody on a promise to appear but is on administrative leave pending an internal hearing to determine his employment status.
The police said the incident happened while the officer was off duty.
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http://www.cjob.com/News/Local/Story.aspx?ID=1063203
A police service spokesman said this afternoon that the officer was arrested at his home after midnight Thursday morning.
The officer has been released from custody on a promise to appear but is on administrative leave pending an internal hearing to determine his employment status.
The police said the incident happened while the officer was off duty.
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http://www.cjob.com/News/Local/Story.aspx?ID=1063203
Officer Noelle Talley Indicted for Fraud
A Sharpsburg police officer was indicted by a grand jury Thursday on a fraud charge.
Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Attorney General’s Office, said Sgt. Frank Richard Griffin Jr., 38, was arrested by agents from the State Bureau of Investigation for obtaining property by false pretense after a grand jury indictment.
Talley said SBI agents launched an investigation at the request of the District Attorney’s Office.
Griffin was placed in Nash County jail on a $10,000 secured bond.
He posted bail and was released, Talley said.
Sharpsburg Town Administrator Robert Masters said Friday that town officials are concerned about the charge against Griffin.
“He’s one of our most experienced officers,” Masters said, adding Griffin has been a long-term member of the department. “Sgt. Griffin has been a valuable asset to the Sharpsburg Police Department.”
Masters said the charge “possibly” involves a few hundred dollars relating to Griffin’s compensation.
“I’m really kind of surprised we are spending this much time and money with the SBI investigation,” Masters said.
Griffin will remain an active member of the department, he added.
“He’s only been charged, and he’s got a right like anyone else to be innocent until proven guilty,” Masters said. “It’s serious, and we’re going to keep an eye on it.”
Noelle Talley, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Attorney General’s Office, said Sgt. Frank Richard Griffin Jr., 38, was arrested by agents from the State Bureau of Investigation for obtaining property by false pretense after a grand jury indictment.
Talley said SBI agents launched an investigation at the request of the District Attorney’s Office.
Griffin was placed in Nash County jail on a $10,000 secured bond.
He posted bail and was released, Talley said.
Sharpsburg Town Administrator Robert Masters said Friday that town officials are concerned about the charge against Griffin.
“He’s one of our most experienced officers,” Masters said, adding Griffin has been a long-term member of the department. “Sgt. Griffin has been a valuable asset to the Sharpsburg Police Department.”
Masters said the charge “possibly” involves a few hundred dollars relating to Griffin’s compensation.
“I’m really kind of surprised we are spending this much time and money with the SBI investigation,” Masters said.
Griffin will remain an active member of the department, he added.
“He’s only been charged, and he’s got a right like anyone else to be innocent until proven guilty,” Masters said. “It’s serious, and we’re going to keep an eye on it.”
Officer Andrew Dodds Arrested for Choking his 11-year-old Daughter
An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department patrolman has been arrested after his 11-year-old daughter accused him of dragging her down a hallway and choking her.
The officer, Andrew M. Dodds, 35, is being held on $100,000 bond, said Lt. Jeff Duhamell, an IMPD spokesman. He has been suspended from the department without pay, and IMPD Chief Michael Spears has recommended he be terminated from the department pending approval from the department's merit board, Duhamell said.
Dodds faces preliminary charges of battery and strangulation.
Dodds, an officer in the city's Northwest District, was sworn in to the department in July 2004. Duhamell said he had received commendation letters for his work from an agent with the U.S. Postal Service in February 2007 and from an IMPD detective in January 2008. He was nominated for Northwest District Officer of the Month in August.
"This is a family incident not involving anything to do with his police work on the street," Duhamell said. "He's a stellar performer out there. Unfortunately he stepped over the line, and now he's going to have to pay the consequences of his actions."
According to a probable cause affidavit, Dodds' daughter told an interviewer at the Child Advocacy Center that she was visiting her father's Northeastside house Tuesday. When she spilled milk on the couch, Dodds told her to go to her room, but she refused because Dodds was saying negative things about her mother and the girl was defending her, she said.
Dodds then grabbed her legs, twisted them and pulled her off the couch, dragging her down the hallway to her bedroom, according to the affidavit. When she came out of the room to use the restroom, she told investigators, Dodds grabbed her by the neck, put her against the wall and started choking her, then he let go, the girl climbed out of her bedroom window and went to the neighbors' house.
Dodds was arrested Wednesday. On Jan. 24, police investigated a domestic disturbance involving Dodds and his wife, Heather. The incident involved an argument in which both Andrew and Heather Dodds alleged physical harm, according to the written report of the incident.
Duhamell said he did not know if the couple was in the midst of a divorce.
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http://www.indystar.com/article/20090213/NEWS02/902130408
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Officer Tony Lawrence Charged with Beating Minor
SHERBURNE
A Sherburne resident who is a part-time police officer for the Hamilton Police Department and a full-time Colgate University safety officer was arrested Tuesday for allegedly beating a minor under the age of 17.
Anthony (Tony) E. Lawrence, 27, was charged with two misdemeanors – third degree assault and endangering the welfare of a minor – after State Troopers responded to a complaint involving the abuse of a young child.
Sgt. Elizabeth R. Wonka said police were not releasing the age of the victim to protect his identity, but said he was “much younger than 17.” She said the victim was a resident of the Sherburne area and that the alleged attack took place during a domestic dispute.
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http://www.evesun.com/news/stories/2009-02-12/6289/Madison-County-police-officer-arrested-in-Sherburne-assault/
A Sherburne resident who is a part-time police officer for the Hamilton Police Department and a full-time Colgate University safety officer was arrested Tuesday for allegedly beating a minor under the age of 17.
Anthony (Tony) E. Lawrence, 27, was charged with two misdemeanors – third degree assault and endangering the welfare of a minor – after State Troopers responded to a complaint involving the abuse of a young child.
Sgt. Elizabeth R. Wonka said police were not releasing the age of the victim to protect his identity, but said he was “much younger than 17.” She said the victim was a resident of the Sherburne area and that the alleged attack took place during a domestic dispute.
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http://www.evesun.com/news/stories/2009-02-12/6289/Madison-County-police-officer-arrested-in-Sherburne-assault/
Officer Troy Giovengo Charged with Stalking Ex-Girlfriend
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
A Fort Pierce police officer charged with stalking his ex-girlfriend last week is facing additional charges for allegedly barging into a birthday party for one of the woman’s sons.
Officer Troy Giovengo stormed into his ex-girlfriend’s home on Dec. 12, according to a St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office report. Witnesses said Giovengo, 42, was in his Fort Pierce Police Department uniform during the incident and told a man at the party he needed to leave the home and never return.
After Giovengo left the party, he used his police laptop computer to run the man’s license plate number, sheriff’s officials said. Upon learning the man’s address, Giovengo drove there and again threatened the man, telling him to stay away from the woman, according to the report. The incident report did not specify a relationship between the man and Giovengo’s ex-girlfriend.
Giovengo was charged Thursday with armed trespassing of a structure and for using a police data base for personal gain.
The ex-girlfriend told authorities this week she did not report the party incident because Giovengo threatened her. But Feb. 6, an argument between the officer and the woman prompted her 15-year-old son to call 911, Port St. Lucie police said.
Officers went to the woman’s home because the son said Giovengo was threatening his mother, police said. While in the woman’s driveway, Giovengo told her she “belonged to him” and threatened to burn down her house, police said.
Officers charged Giovengo with aggravated stalking. The 51-year-old-woman and the officer had dated for nine years before their relationship ended in October, the arrest affidavit said.
Giovengo was being held Thursday at the St. Lucie County Jail in lieu of $7,500 bail for the trespassing and using the database charges. Fort Pierce Police has Giovengo on leave without pay, spokeswoman Audria Moore said.
Previous Post: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2009/02/officer-troy-giovengo-charged-with.html
A Fort Pierce police officer charged with stalking his ex-girlfriend last week is facing additional charges for allegedly barging into a birthday party for one of the woman’s sons.
Officer Troy Giovengo stormed into his ex-girlfriend’s home on Dec. 12, according to a St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office report. Witnesses said Giovengo, 42, was in his Fort Pierce Police Department uniform during the incident and told a man at the party he needed to leave the home and never return.
After Giovengo left the party, he used his police laptop computer to run the man’s license plate number, sheriff’s officials said. Upon learning the man’s address, Giovengo drove there and again threatened the man, telling him to stay away from the woman, according to the report. The incident report did not specify a relationship between the man and Giovengo’s ex-girlfriend.
Giovengo was charged Thursday with armed trespassing of a structure and for using a police data base for personal gain.
The ex-girlfriend told authorities this week she did not report the party incident because Giovengo threatened her. But Feb. 6, an argument between the officer and the woman prompted her 15-year-old son to call 911, Port St. Lucie police said.
Officers went to the woman’s home because the son said Giovengo was threatening his mother, police said. While in the woman’s driveway, Giovengo told her she “belonged to him” and threatened to burn down her house, police said.
Officers charged Giovengo with aggravated stalking. The 51-year-old-woman and the officer had dated for nine years before their relationship ended in October, the arrest affidavit said.
Giovengo was being held Thursday at the St. Lucie County Jail in lieu of $7,500 bail for the trespassing and using the database charges. Fort Pierce Police has Giovengo on leave without pay, spokeswoman Audria Moore said.
Previous Post: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2009/02/officer-troy-giovengo-charged-with.html
Officers Under Investigation for Beating Homeless Man
Dramatic video has been released of two Fresno, California police officers arresting a homeless man.
And, because of that video, the Fresno police chief has now launched an internal investigation.
The man who shot the video did not want to be identified.
The videographer said "I just try to record everything that doesn't make sense. This didn't make any sense."
Monday morning just More..before 10AM, this video was recorded.
The videographer said "why are they socking him like that?"
Tuesday, the person behind the camera handed the tape over to KSEE-24 News and with that, began an internal investigation of the two Fresno police officers seen here.
The videographer said "they grabbed him and threw him to the ground and saw him being brutally beaten cause he didn't want to listen to them."
In a matter of seconds, the man, 52-year-old Glen Beaty, is hit four times in the face.
Even when Beaty appears to be partially restrained, with one hand behind his back, the officer strikes him again. The video then shows what appears to be the last blow. This time, both of beaty's hands are behind his back.
The videographer said "I don't think anyone should be beat like that. They don't beat dogs and let you get away with it."
KSEE-24 News showed police Chief Jerry Dyer the footage.
Fresno Police Department Chief Jerry Dyer said "I think the initial reaction from the people that view this video will be one of disbelief, one that in some cases may shock individuals and one that causes concern, in the level of force being used."
Dyer says what is not on the tape could be most important, the eight or so minutes before the recording began.
Chief Dyer said "The individual was stiff, there was alcohol around him. And, it was very apparent that he had been drinking, uh, excessively. And, when the officers contacted the individual, there was resistance in terms of the line of questioning and his answers to certain questions. And, at some point, an altercation occurred between the suspect and the officers. At one point, one of the officers was punched by the suspect in the arm .. the officer had his badge ripped off of his shirt."
Dyer's account is based on the police report, the report, the two officers involved wrote themselves.
The videographer, who admits to not being on scene when officers first approached Beaty, has a different take.
The videographer said "before the camera went on, I saw him.. he had already pulled his body away from the tree a little bit, trying to keep them from grabbing his arms. And, when they did get hold of his arms, they spun him around, put him on the ground and started socking him."
Even though an ambulance was called and used to take Beaty to the hospital, officers on scene did not gather any witness statements.
Chief Dyer says that will be done now.
Chief Dyer said "what is important to us now is to allow all the evidence to be brought in to this case, any witness statements.. all the actions that led up to the video being taken before an official opinion is formed."
The videographer said "I don't think anybody deserves to be beaten like that even if they are being arrested."
The police department also produced a copy of a Fresno County Sheriff's report from 2004 that showed Beaty, at the time, was involved in a violent confrontation with a sheriff's deputy responding to a disturbance call at his parents' home.
In that incident, the deputy reported that he had to subdue Beaty using a police baton and that Beaty hit him with a flashlight.
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Video: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b20_1234380246
And, because of that video, the Fresno police chief has now launched an internal investigation.
The man who shot the video did not want to be identified.
The videographer said "I just try to record everything that doesn't make sense. This didn't make any sense."
Monday morning just More..before 10AM, this video was recorded.
The videographer said "why are they socking him like that?"
Tuesday, the person behind the camera handed the tape over to KSEE-24 News and with that, began an internal investigation of the two Fresno police officers seen here.
The videographer said "they grabbed him and threw him to the ground and saw him being brutally beaten cause he didn't want to listen to them."
In a matter of seconds, the man, 52-year-old Glen Beaty, is hit four times in the face.
Even when Beaty appears to be partially restrained, with one hand behind his back, the officer strikes him again. The video then shows what appears to be the last blow. This time, both of beaty's hands are behind his back.
The videographer said "I don't think anyone should be beat like that. They don't beat dogs and let you get away with it."
KSEE-24 News showed police Chief Jerry Dyer the footage.
Fresno Police Department Chief Jerry Dyer said "I think the initial reaction from the people that view this video will be one of disbelief, one that in some cases may shock individuals and one that causes concern, in the level of force being used."
Dyer says what is not on the tape could be most important, the eight or so minutes before the recording began.
Chief Dyer said "The individual was stiff, there was alcohol around him. And, it was very apparent that he had been drinking, uh, excessively. And, when the officers contacted the individual, there was resistance in terms of the line of questioning and his answers to certain questions. And, at some point, an altercation occurred between the suspect and the officers. At one point, one of the officers was punched by the suspect in the arm .. the officer had his badge ripped off of his shirt."
Dyer's account is based on the police report, the report, the two officers involved wrote themselves.
The videographer, who admits to not being on scene when officers first approached Beaty, has a different take.
The videographer said "before the camera went on, I saw him.. he had already pulled his body away from the tree a little bit, trying to keep them from grabbing his arms. And, when they did get hold of his arms, they spun him around, put him on the ground and started socking him."
Even though an ambulance was called and used to take Beaty to the hospital, officers on scene did not gather any witness statements.
Chief Dyer says that will be done now.
Chief Dyer said "what is important to us now is to allow all the evidence to be brought in to this case, any witness statements.. all the actions that led up to the video being taken before an official opinion is formed."
The videographer said "I don't think anybody deserves to be beaten like that even if they are being arrested."
The police department also produced a copy of a Fresno County Sheriff's report from 2004 that showed Beaty, at the time, was involved in a violent confrontation with a sheriff's deputy responding to a disturbance call at his parents' home.
In that incident, the deputy reported that he had to subdue Beaty using a police baton and that Beaty hit him with a flashlight.
_________________
Video: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b20_1234380246
Officer Troy Giovengo Charged with Trespassing
FORT PIERCE, Fla.
A Fort Pierce police officer was arrested on Thursday and charged with armed trespassing and unauthorized use of a computer network.
St. Lucie County sheriff’s detectives arrested Officer Troy Giovengo at about 12:15 p.m.
He posted $7,500 bond and was released from the St. Lucie County Jail just before 3 p.m.
Last Friday, the Port St. Lucie Police Department arrested Giovengo on aggravated stalking charges. The next day, he was released after posting $10,000 bond.
Following those events, another woman, interviewed by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, described an encounter in her home with Giovengo on Dec. 12.
The sheriff’s office’s investigation led to the new charges that were the basis for Giovengo’s arrest on Thursday.
Correctional Officer Marco Moniz Arrested for Delivering Contraband
Dartmouth
A Bristol County correctional officer from Fall River was arrested Wednesday while on duty at the House of Correction for allegedly delivering contraband to the penal facility.
Marco Moniz, 20, of 928 Cherry St., Fall River,is also charged with conspiracy to violate drug laws.
Major Nelson DeGouveia of the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office and Lt. John Silva of that office’s Internal Affairs Division made the arrest.
DeGouveia of the Law Enforcement Division of the Sheriff’s Office is assigned to the South Coast Anti-Crime Task Force.
Bernard Sullivan, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said he did not immediately know what kind of contraband was involved as the investigation is ongoing.
Moniz was held overnight for arraignment today in Third District Court, New Bedford.
The arrest was a result of a textbook collaborative effort by Fall River, Fairhaven and New Bedford police, assigned to the Drug Enforcement Agency and District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter’s Office.
Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson expressed pride in the performance of members of the task force, internal affairs units and Sutter’s office.
“While I am deeply saddened when a sworn officer violates the badge he wears and the trust it implies, I am exceptionally pleased that our officers joined in a collaborative that conducted an extensive investigation that will, I hope, result in an end to criminal activity that is a danger to my officers, the inmates and the entire staff of our office,” Hodgson stated.
“Policing our own is not pleasant, but it is necessary to maintain the pride we have in the conduct of the staff of our correctional officers, who perform with pride the most difficult job in law enforcement,” he said.
More Information:http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090212/NEWS/902120399
A Bristol County correctional officer from Fall River was arrested Wednesday while on duty at the House of Correction for allegedly delivering contraband to the penal facility.
Marco Moniz, 20, of 928 Cherry St., Fall River,is also charged with conspiracy to violate drug laws.
Major Nelson DeGouveia of the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office and Lt. John Silva of that office’s Internal Affairs Division made the arrest.
DeGouveia of the Law Enforcement Division of the Sheriff’s Office is assigned to the South Coast Anti-Crime Task Force.
Bernard Sullivan, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said he did not immediately know what kind of contraband was involved as the investigation is ongoing.
Moniz was held overnight for arraignment today in Third District Court, New Bedford.
The arrest was a result of a textbook collaborative effort by Fall River, Fairhaven and New Bedford police, assigned to the Drug Enforcement Agency and District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter’s Office.
Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson expressed pride in the performance of members of the task force, internal affairs units and Sutter’s office.
“While I am deeply saddened when a sworn officer violates the badge he wears and the trust it implies, I am exceptionally pleased that our officers joined in a collaborative that conducted an extensive investigation that will, I hope, result in an end to criminal activity that is a danger to my officers, the inmates and the entire staff of our office,” Hodgson stated.
“Policing our own is not pleasant, but it is necessary to maintain the pride we have in the conduct of the staff of our correctional officers, who perform with pride the most difficult job in law enforcement,” he said.
More Information:http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090212/NEWS/902120399
Officer Eric Hargrove Charged with Having Child Porn
A Chicago police officer has been charged with possessing child pornography after investigators found videos in his home computer allegedly of teenage boys engaging in sex.
Bail was set at $100,000 Wednesday for Eric Hargrove, 27, a patrol officer since joining the department in 2005. He has been relieved of his police powers and placed on administrative duty, a department spokesman said.
Bail was set at $100,000 Wednesday for Eric Hargrove, 27, a patrol officer since joining the department in 2005. He has been relieved of his police powers and placed on administrative duty, a department spokesman said.
Two Officers Argue while Wounded, Handcuffed Suspect Bleeds on the Ground
A YouTube video purportedly showing a wounded, handcuffed suspect bleeding on the ground as two Philadelphia police officers argue nearby has sparked a federal investigation.
The 59-second clip captures an explicit verbal exchange between a female sergeant and a male highway patrol officer shortly after Marcus Henderson was allegedly shot by cops, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.
The Internal Affairs Division, which the paper said announced plans to investigate, has not identified the officers in the video. The clip has been removed from file-sharing Web site YouTube.
The female sergeant, a supervisor, reportedly shouts instructions at the patrol officer about what to do with the suspect.
"Don't tell me what to do! He's f——— shot! He's going to a hospital!" the sergeant screams, according to the News.
The officer yells back that Henderson aimed a gun at his partner.
"I'm not telling you what to do!" he retorts. "I'm telling you what happened!"
Witnesses told MyFOXPhilly.com that the officer resisted her orders because he didn’t want to put the wounded man in his patrol car.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told the News that a primary focus of the investigation isn't the officers' dispute — it's reports from witnesses that the male officer kicked the wounded suspect while he was on the ground bleeding and refused to use his patrol car to drive Henderson, 35, to the hospital.
"It doesn't look good," Ramsey told the paper. "We're concerned about it. It's probably just a misunderstanding, but we’re looking at it."
Henderson, who was eventually taken to the hospital with wounds to the arm and torso, is recovering behind bars until a Feb. 18 preliminary hearing.
He reportedly pointed a 9mm handgun at police twice, according to the News.
"The suspect was writhing around," the YouTube video photographer's brother told the paper. "It looked like he had been shot in his body, but he managed to get up on his knees."
Internal Affairs Chief Inspector Anthony DiLacqua said witnesses will be interviewed this week.
"We’ll get to the bottom of it," he told the News.
The 59-second clip captures an explicit verbal exchange between a female sergeant and a male highway patrol officer shortly after Marcus Henderson was allegedly shot by cops, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.
The Internal Affairs Division, which the paper said announced plans to investigate, has not identified the officers in the video. The clip has been removed from file-sharing Web site YouTube.
The female sergeant, a supervisor, reportedly shouts instructions at the patrol officer about what to do with the suspect.
"Don't tell me what to do! He's f——— shot! He's going to a hospital!" the sergeant screams, according to the News.
The officer yells back that Henderson aimed a gun at his partner.
"I'm not telling you what to do!" he retorts. "I'm telling you what happened!"
Witnesses told MyFOXPhilly.com that the officer resisted her orders because he didn’t want to put the wounded man in his patrol car.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told the News that a primary focus of the investigation isn't the officers' dispute — it's reports from witnesses that the male officer kicked the wounded suspect while he was on the ground bleeding and refused to use his patrol car to drive Henderson, 35, to the hospital.
"It doesn't look good," Ramsey told the paper. "We're concerned about it. It's probably just a misunderstanding, but we’re looking at it."
Henderson, who was eventually taken to the hospital with wounds to the arm and torso, is recovering behind bars until a Feb. 18 preliminary hearing.
He reportedly pointed a 9mm handgun at police twice, according to the News.
"The suspect was writhing around," the YouTube video photographer's brother told the paper. "It looked like he had been shot in his body, but he managed to get up on his knees."
Internal Affairs Chief Inspector Anthony DiLacqua said witnesses will be interviewed this week.
"We’ll get to the bottom of it," he told the News.
Officer Randy Oliver Betts Arrested for Felony Theft
An Austin police officer has been arrested on an active felony warrant out of Pulaski County.
Thursday afternoon, the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office received information on an active arrest warrant for Felony theft by receiving. The initial investigation revealed that the warrant from Pulaski County was for 44-year-old Randy Oliver Betts of Searcy.
Further investigation revealed Betts was a police officer for the Austin Police Department and was currently on-duty. Authorities contacted the Austin Police Department and Betts was relieved of duty and turned himself in at the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office.
Betts was released to the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29167299/
Man Dies After Being Tasered by San Jose Police
A man in his 20s died Wednesday night after being shot with a Taser by a San Jose police officer who was attempting to take him into custody.
It is the sixth instance of someone dying after San Jose police deployed the electric stun gun on them.
The man resisted arrest, tried to grab the officer's gun from its holster and fought with two police officers for several minutes before one of the officers shot him with a Taser, according to police.
After he was shot with a Taser, the man went into medical distress, police spokesman Enrique Garcia said. Officers performed CPR, but the man died at the scene. His name was not immediately released.
The officers, whose names were also not released Thursday, were treated at a hospital for injuries incurred in the struggle; one suffered facial lacerations and the other had a leg injury, Garcia said.
They had been dispatched to Story Road and Adrian Way at 10:24 p.m. and approached the man, who ran away. A resident in the 2200 block of Amador Drive reported someone in the backyard.
Garcia said the officers located the man and tried to take him into custody. He "resisted and got into a violent struggle with our officers," Garcia said.
The officers used their batons during the struggle, which lasted several minutes. One of the officers shot the man with a Taser.
In 2004, the San Jose Police Department armed every officer with stun guns, devices capable of temporarily disabling
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suspects by sending 50,000-volt jolts through their body, as an alternative to deadly force. The move came after San Jose police shot and killed a Vietnamese woman after they mistook her vegetable peeler for a large knife.
In four San Jose incidents where suspects died after being shot with a stun gun, family members filed lawsuits over the deaths. In December, San Jose officials agreed to pay $70,000 to the wife and child of a man who died in 2005 after being shot with a Taser by police, marking the city's first settlement over a fatality linked to the stun guns.
In mid-December, a San Jose man with psychiatric problems died outside of Valley Medical Center when a Campbell police officer fired his Taser while he was helping Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies control the situation.
The San Jose Police Department Homicide Unit is investigating Wednesday night's death, Garcia said. The Santa Clara County medical examiner's office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Investigators from San Jose Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office are also monitoring the case.
It is the sixth instance of someone dying after San Jose police deployed the electric stun gun on them.
The man resisted arrest, tried to grab the officer's gun from its holster and fought with two police officers for several minutes before one of the officers shot him with a Taser, according to police.
After he was shot with a Taser, the man went into medical distress, police spokesman Enrique Garcia said. Officers performed CPR, but the man died at the scene. His name was not immediately released.
The officers, whose names were also not released Thursday, were treated at a hospital for injuries incurred in the struggle; one suffered facial lacerations and the other had a leg injury, Garcia said.
They had been dispatched to Story Road and Adrian Way at 10:24 p.m. and approached the man, who ran away. A resident in the 2200 block of Amador Drive reported someone in the backyard.
Garcia said the officers located the man and tried to take him into custody. He "resisted and got into a violent struggle with our officers," Garcia said.
The officers used their batons during the struggle, which lasted several minutes. One of the officers shot the man with a Taser.
In 2004, the San Jose Police Department armed every officer with stun guns, devices capable of temporarily disabling
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suspects by sending 50,000-volt jolts through their body, as an alternative to deadly force. The move came after San Jose police shot and killed a Vietnamese woman after they mistook her vegetable peeler for a large knife.
In four San Jose incidents where suspects died after being shot with a stun gun, family members filed lawsuits over the deaths. In December, San Jose officials agreed to pay $70,000 to the wife and child of a man who died in 2005 after being shot with a Taser by police, marking the city's first settlement over a fatality linked to the stun guns.
In mid-December, a San Jose man with psychiatric problems died outside of Valley Medical Center when a Campbell police officer fired his Taser while he was helping Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies control the situation.
The San Jose Police Department Homicide Unit is investigating Wednesday night's death, Garcia said. The Santa Clara County medical examiner's office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Investigators from San Jose Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office are also monitoring the case.
Deputy Gregory Todd Bowden Arrested for Enticing a Minor
ATLANTA
The FBI arrested a Bibb County sheriff's deputy Wednesday on a charge of using a computer to entice a minor for sexual activity.
Special Agent Gregory Jones said Gregory Todd Bowden, 42, of Byron, Ga., was arrested Wednesday after he engaged in a series of telephone and Internet conversations with what he believed was the mother of a girl under 10 years of age, and he went to Atlanta to engage in sexual activity with the mother and child.
The FBI says the mother and child were fictional, and that Bowden was arrested upon his arrival at an agreed-upon meeting place.
The FBI arrested a Bibb County sheriff's deputy Wednesday on a charge of using a computer to entice a minor for sexual activity.
Special Agent Gregory Jones said Gregory Todd Bowden, 42, of Byron, Ga., was arrested Wednesday after he engaged in a series of telephone and Internet conversations with what he believed was the mother of a girl under 10 years of age, and he went to Atlanta to engage in sexual activity with the mother and child.
The FBI says the mother and child were fictional, and that Bowden was arrested upon his arrival at an agreed-upon meeting place.
Trooper Charles Odom Accused of Sexually Assaulting Woman Trying to Get Bond Reduced
A trooper accused of sexually assaulting a woman during a traffic stop is trying to get his bond reduced.
Charles Odom is in the Leon County Jail facing a 250-thousand dollar bond.
A hearing was scheduled for this afternoon in Wakulla County, but Judge Sanders Sauls has recused himself from the case and that hearing has been moved to Leon County.
In a motion filed with the court earlier this week, Odom's attorney, Don Pumphrey, said given the Odom family's finances, the 250-thousand dollar bond is tantamount to no bond at all.
Pumphrey argued that Odom has no criminal history, is an 18 year veteran in law enforcement and his entire family and all his property are in Wakulla County so he is not a flight risk.
Judge James Hankinson is scheduled to hear that bond reduction motion at one o'clock this afternoon.
Charles Odom is in the Leon County Jail facing a 250-thousand dollar bond.
A hearing was scheduled for this afternoon in Wakulla County, but Judge Sanders Sauls has recused himself from the case and that hearing has been moved to Leon County.
In a motion filed with the court earlier this week, Odom's attorney, Don Pumphrey, said given the Odom family's finances, the 250-thousand dollar bond is tantamount to no bond at all.
Pumphrey argued that Odom has no criminal history, is an 18 year veteran in law enforcement and his entire family and all his property are in Wakulla County so he is not a flight risk.
Judge James Hankinson is scheduled to hear that bond reduction motion at one o'clock this afternoon.
Officer Duhamel Torres Indicted for Rape, Kidnapping, Assault
CLEVELAND
A Cleveland police officer was indicted Wednesday on charges connected to the rape of a woman while on duty last December.
Duhamel Torres was indicted on several charges, including rape, kidnapping, intimidation of a crime victim, tampering with records and assault.
Prosecutors said Torres stopped a 41-year-old woman near West 43rd Street and Lorain Avenue. He asked her if she had a warrant out for her arrest and ordered her into his patrol car, saying he would give her a ride home, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Torres drove the woman to an area on Scranton Avenue, threatened her with arrest, slapped her in the face and raped her.
When he dropped her off near her home, he threatened her again, prosecutors said.
Authorities said DNA from the rape kit matched Torres'.
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http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1234431036196931.xml&coll=2
A Cleveland police officer was indicted Wednesday on charges connected to the rape of a woman while on duty last December.
Duhamel Torres was indicted on several charges, including rape, kidnapping, intimidation of a crime victim, tampering with records and assault.
Prosecutors said Torres stopped a 41-year-old woman near West 43rd Street and Lorain Avenue. He asked her if she had a warrant out for her arrest and ordered her into his patrol car, saying he would give her a ride home, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Torres drove the woman to an area on Scranton Avenue, threatened her with arrest, slapped her in the face and raped her.
When he dropped her off near her home, he threatened her again, prosecutors said.
Authorities said DNA from the rape kit matched Torres'.
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http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1234431036196931.xml&coll=2
Hearing for Former Officer Jason Huntsinger accused of Child Porn Postponed
Missoula, Mont.
A plea hearing has been postponed for a former Missoula police officer accused of receiving child pornography through a computer owned by the police union.
Jason Huntsinger had agreed to plead guilty Thursday to a federal charge of receipt of obscene material, but his hearing was rescheduled for March 5 at his attorney's request.
Prosecutors say Huntsinger used a credit card and a PayPal account to access a child pornography Web site and used a post office box number assigned to a federal drug task force as the address attached to the credit card. He is accused of using a laptop belonging to the Missoula Police Protective Association to view the site.
Federal agents seized the laptop and Huntsinger's work computer in September 2007. Huntsinger remained on city's payroll for almost a year before he was put on paid leave. He resigned in September.
Information from: Missoulian, http://www.missoulian.com
A plea hearing has been postponed for a former Missoula police officer accused of receiving child pornography through a computer owned by the police union.
Jason Huntsinger had agreed to plead guilty Thursday to a federal charge of receipt of obscene material, but his hearing was rescheduled for March 5 at his attorney's request.
Prosecutors say Huntsinger used a credit card and a PayPal account to access a child pornography Web site and used a post office box number assigned to a federal drug task force as the address attached to the credit card. He is accused of using a laptop belonging to the Missoula Police Protective Association to view the site.
Federal agents seized the laptop and Huntsinger's work computer in September 2007. Huntsinger remained on city's payroll for almost a year before he was put on paid leave. He resigned in September.
Information from: Missoulian, http://www.missoulian.com
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Drunk Driving Deputy Allowed to Go Home Without Being Charged
The Nebraska State Patrol is conducting an internal investigation after one of its troopers is accused of showing preferential treatment to another law enforcement officer.
An off-duty Sarpy County sheriff's deputy was pulled over December 20th suspected of drunk driving. But the man in charge of the State Patrol, Col. Bryan Tuma, confirms the deputy was never given a sobriety test, never arrested and was allowed to get a ride home with a friend.
The allegations come amidst a DWI crackdown by the State Patrol, with a 37-percent increase in arrests last year by Omaha's Troop A alone. It was one of those troopers, Col. Tuma says, who let a suspected drunk driver go. “I believe he acknowledges that he made a mistake."
"The fact that (the party pulled over) was a law enforcement official may have had some bearing, may have had some influence on his decision of how he followed through."
"It's a double standard," says UNO Criminal Justice Professor Sam Walker, "because someones getting a break because he's a law enforcement officer."
The Nebraska State Patrol calls it an isolated incident.
Colonel Tuma says, "We know that there was alcohol involved and that officer allowed the person to be transported from the scene. Clearly out of context of what we normally do."
The stop happened after midnight on southbound Interstate 680 at Highway 75. One trooper noticed a car driving without headlights and pulled the driver over.
The trooper already had a suspect in custody from an earlier stop. “He radioed for assistance, another one of our troopers that was in the area came over and took over the traffic stop," says Col. Tuma.
That second, unnamed trooper approached the suspect’s vehicle. “There was an odor of alcohol in the vehicle. What's concerning is the trooper didn't follow through exactly the way we would prefer they follow through on one of those types of contacts."
"Instead of making an arrest or writing a citation or whatever was appropriate for that particular case, didn't occur and that's out of sync with our protocols."
For all we know -- the deputy who was off-duty and driving without headlights on may have been perfectly sober -- but without a test -- no one really knows.
The incident is disappointing says Mothers Against Drunk Driving Executive Director Simera Reynolds. "What we want to see is equitable treatment of all offenders. I think that this is a particular event that was unfortunate, but I don't think it's common practice."
Col. Tuma says his office was told about the situation immediately and the matter was turned over to Internal Affairs. However, the details of that investigation are not being disclosed.
"The officer will be disciplined here, appropriately, in the not-too-distant future," says Col. Tuma. He calls what happened “an error in judgment,” one which the trooper has admitted to and which is being taken "very seriously."
Sarpy County Sheriff Jeff Davis says a supervisor in his department was contacted when the off-duty deputy was stopped. He says his office understood the State Patrol would follow whatever steps were called for.
Since the sheriff’s department discovered protocol was broken, they conducted their own internal investigation. “Appropriate steps were taken with the deputy,” says Davis. He says just what steps were taken are an internal matter and cannot be released to the public. The same for State Trooper.
"I don't know if this should be a firing offense," says Professor Walker, "but definitely some discipline. There needs to be additional training and a reminder to officers that this isn't acceptable. It's favoritism and 'look the other way' and 'excuse your crime' when we wouldn't do that for somebody else."
Last year, the State Patrol’s drunk driving arrests increased by more than 18 percent over the previous year. The number of road fatalities also decreased, from 91 in 2007 to 60 in 2008.
An off-duty Sarpy County sheriff's deputy was pulled over December 20th suspected of drunk driving. But the man in charge of the State Patrol, Col. Bryan Tuma, confirms the deputy was never given a sobriety test, never arrested and was allowed to get a ride home with a friend.
The allegations come amidst a DWI crackdown by the State Patrol, with a 37-percent increase in arrests last year by Omaha's Troop A alone. It was one of those troopers, Col. Tuma says, who let a suspected drunk driver go. “I believe he acknowledges that he made a mistake."
"The fact that (the party pulled over) was a law enforcement official may have had some bearing, may have had some influence on his decision of how he followed through."
"It's a double standard," says UNO Criminal Justice Professor Sam Walker, "because someones getting a break because he's a law enforcement officer."
The Nebraska State Patrol calls it an isolated incident.
Colonel Tuma says, "We know that there was alcohol involved and that officer allowed the person to be transported from the scene. Clearly out of context of what we normally do."
The stop happened after midnight on southbound Interstate 680 at Highway 75. One trooper noticed a car driving without headlights and pulled the driver over.
The trooper already had a suspect in custody from an earlier stop. “He radioed for assistance, another one of our troopers that was in the area came over and took over the traffic stop," says Col. Tuma.
That second, unnamed trooper approached the suspect’s vehicle. “There was an odor of alcohol in the vehicle. What's concerning is the trooper didn't follow through exactly the way we would prefer they follow through on one of those types of contacts."
"Instead of making an arrest or writing a citation or whatever was appropriate for that particular case, didn't occur and that's out of sync with our protocols."
For all we know -- the deputy who was off-duty and driving without headlights on may have been perfectly sober -- but without a test -- no one really knows.
The incident is disappointing says Mothers Against Drunk Driving Executive Director Simera Reynolds. "What we want to see is equitable treatment of all offenders. I think that this is a particular event that was unfortunate, but I don't think it's common practice."
Col. Tuma says his office was told about the situation immediately and the matter was turned over to Internal Affairs. However, the details of that investigation are not being disclosed.
"The officer will be disciplined here, appropriately, in the not-too-distant future," says Col. Tuma. He calls what happened “an error in judgment,” one which the trooper has admitted to and which is being taken "very seriously."
Sarpy County Sheriff Jeff Davis says a supervisor in his department was contacted when the off-duty deputy was stopped. He says his office understood the State Patrol would follow whatever steps were called for.
Since the sheriff’s department discovered protocol was broken, they conducted their own internal investigation. “Appropriate steps were taken with the deputy,” says Davis. He says just what steps were taken are an internal matter and cannot be released to the public. The same for State Trooper.
"I don't know if this should be a firing offense," says Professor Walker, "but definitely some discipline. There needs to be additional training and a reminder to officers that this isn't acceptable. It's favoritism and 'look the other way' and 'excuse your crime' when we wouldn't do that for somebody else."
Last year, the State Patrol’s drunk driving arrests increased by more than 18 percent over the previous year. The number of road fatalities also decreased, from 91 in 2007 to 60 in 2008.
Two Off-Duty Officers Arrested for Speeding & Reckless Driving
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla.
The man grinning in his mug shot is a Volusia County deputy and he's accused of taking local cops on a high-speed chase with his motorcycle. It all started when Edgewater police tried to pull over deputies Omar Lopez and Austin Littleton.
Police said the deputies were speeding and driving recklessly on their motorcycles, but the officers said they had no idea they were pursuing deputies.
There was an officer posted in a parking lot when he saw two men on motorcycles speeding past him; one was doing a wheelie. As soon as police followed them, they sped up and disappeared into a neighborhood.
Lopez was smiling when he was booked into jail Tuesday, even though the five-year sheriff's veteran is facing a felony charge, accused of running from Edgewater police.
"I think that they really needed to stop and think what they were doing, and especially the one that took off from the scene and kept on going," said Paulette Tubbs, Edgewater Police Department.
Lopez was spotted on US-1 Tuesday with Deputy Austin Littleton. Both were on personal motorcycles when an officer saw them going 60mph in a 35mph zone. They did eventually pull over, but Lopez wasn't about to stay there.
"The other officer stopped and then took off again from that position," Tubbs said.
More officers joined the pursuit and Lopez was spotted again near Oak Hill, where he appeared to be hiding behind a gas station. Again, he sped away.
It wasn't until police checked the ID of the other motorcyclist that they realized they were dealing with off-duty deputies. Police reports said a sheriff lieutenant was called to the scene. He compelled Littleton to give up Lopez and police arrested the 34-year-old in his New Smyrna Beach home.
Police insist, the pair were done no favors.
"No, no, no, 'cause they did not know that they were deputies," Tubbs said.
While Deputy Littleton was stopped and getting three tickets for his part in it, his cell phone rang and it was Deputy Lopez. The sheriff lieutenant who was on scene grabbed the phone and answered it, only to have Lopez hang up on him.
Both men were suspended with pay Wednesday morning while the sheriff's office investigates.
Video: http://www.wftv.com/news/18691350/detail.html#-
The man grinning in his mug shot is a Volusia County deputy and he's accused of taking local cops on a high-speed chase with his motorcycle. It all started when Edgewater police tried to pull over deputies Omar Lopez and Austin Littleton.
Police said the deputies were speeding and driving recklessly on their motorcycles, but the officers said they had no idea they were pursuing deputies.
There was an officer posted in a parking lot when he saw two men on motorcycles speeding past him; one was doing a wheelie. As soon as police followed them, they sped up and disappeared into a neighborhood.
Lopez was smiling when he was booked into jail Tuesday, even though the five-year sheriff's veteran is facing a felony charge, accused of running from Edgewater police.
"I think that they really needed to stop and think what they were doing, and especially the one that took off from the scene and kept on going," said Paulette Tubbs, Edgewater Police Department.
Lopez was spotted on US-1 Tuesday with Deputy Austin Littleton. Both were on personal motorcycles when an officer saw them going 60mph in a 35mph zone. They did eventually pull over, but Lopez wasn't about to stay there.
"The other officer stopped and then took off again from that position," Tubbs said.
More officers joined the pursuit and Lopez was spotted again near Oak Hill, where he appeared to be hiding behind a gas station. Again, he sped away.
It wasn't until police checked the ID of the other motorcyclist that they realized they were dealing with off-duty deputies. Police reports said a sheriff lieutenant was called to the scene. He compelled Littleton to give up Lopez and police arrested the 34-year-old in his New Smyrna Beach home.
Police insist, the pair were done no favors.
"No, no, no, 'cause they did not know that they were deputies," Tubbs said.
While Deputy Littleton was stopped and getting three tickets for his part in it, his cell phone rang and it was Deputy Lopez. The sheriff lieutenant who was on scene grabbed the phone and answered it, only to have Lopez hang up on him.
Both men were suspended with pay Wednesday morning while the sheriff's office investigates.
Video: http://www.wftv.com/news/18691350/detail.html#-
Kansas City Vetern Officer Accused of DWI
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
A 20-year veteran with the Kansas City police department is accused of driving while intoxicated.
The off-duty sergeant was arrested early Saturday on northbound Interstate 29 at 64th Street, according to court documents.
The sergeant has not been charged, so KCTV5 News is not releasing his name.
An official with the department said an internal investigation would not begin until the case gets through the court system. He also said what an officer does off-duty may not affect his on-duty status.
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Video: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/off-duty-officer-arrested-on-highway/3343466504/?icid=VIDLRVNWS04
A 20-year veteran with the Kansas City police department is accused of driving while intoxicated.
The off-duty sergeant was arrested early Saturday on northbound Interstate 29 at 64th Street, according to court documents.
The sergeant has not been charged, so KCTV5 News is not releasing his name.
An official with the department said an internal investigation would not begin until the case gets through the court system. He also said what an officer does off-duty may not affect his on-duty status.
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Video: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/off-duty-officer-arrested-on-highway/3343466504/?icid=VIDLRVNWS04
Officer David Gilliam Arrested for Sexually Attack Woman
ALBANY, GA
A Dougherty County Police Officer assigned to the Albany Dougherty Drug Unit is arrested for a sexual attack on a woman while working an off-duty security job.
Albany Police charged 41-year old David Gilliam with sexual battery, false imprisonment, and violation of oath of office.
Investigators say a 26 year old woman reported Gilliam tried to rape her in one of the rooms at the Superior Creek Lodge on North Slappey Boulevard February 4th. Gilliam worked at that motel as a Security Guard.
Dougherty County Police Chief Don Cheek said "He has been on suspension with pay status since the morning after this incident last week. We place him in a suspension status at that time and he had been relieved of all duties."
Warrants for Gilliam's arrest were signed Wednesday morning.
He turned himself in at the Sheriff's Office and was released on bond.
Dougherty County Police fired him Wednesday.
He worked for D-C-P since October 2005 and was assigned to the drug squad the last two years.
A Dougherty County Police Officer assigned to the Albany Dougherty Drug Unit is arrested for a sexual attack on a woman while working an off-duty security job.
Albany Police charged 41-year old David Gilliam with sexual battery, false imprisonment, and violation of oath of office.
Investigators say a 26 year old woman reported Gilliam tried to rape her in one of the rooms at the Superior Creek Lodge on North Slappey Boulevard February 4th. Gilliam worked at that motel as a Security Guard.
Dougherty County Police Chief Don Cheek said "He has been on suspension with pay status since the morning after this incident last week. We place him in a suspension status at that time and he had been relieved of all duties."
Warrants for Gilliam's arrest were signed Wednesday morning.
He turned himself in at the Sheriff's Office and was released on bond.
Dougherty County Police fired him Wednesday.
He worked for D-C-P since October 2005 and was assigned to the drug squad the last two years.
Two Officers Investigated for Beating Man
FRESNO, Calif.
Police are investigating the arrest of a homeless man after a video showed one officer striking the man as another officer restrained him.
The two officers have been put on desk duty. Police Chief Jerry Dyer said the officers' report said 52-year-old Glen Beaty was combative and intoxicated and he struck one officer in the arm.
The video made Monday by a bystander was shown on KSEE 24 in Fresno. It shows Beaty lying on his side on the ground being punched in the face at least five times.
Dyer says the recording is troubling but it's too early to determine whether the officers' actions were appropriate for the situation.
In another videotape case, a New York City police officer pleaded not guilty Wednesday to using excessive force on a man he was arresting last July.
The video obtained by his supervisors showed 43-year-old David London beating Army veteran Walter Harvin with a baton after he entered a city building without identification. The charge against Harvin was dropped.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_11688754
Police are investigating the arrest of a homeless man after a video showed one officer striking the man as another officer restrained him.
The two officers have been put on desk duty. Police Chief Jerry Dyer said the officers' report said 52-year-old Glen Beaty was combative and intoxicated and he struck one officer in the arm.
The video made Monday by a bystander was shown on KSEE 24 in Fresno. It shows Beaty lying on his side on the ground being punched in the face at least five times.
Dyer says the recording is troubling but it's too early to determine whether the officers' actions were appropriate for the situation.
In another videotape case, a New York City police officer pleaded not guilty Wednesday to using excessive force on a man he was arresting last July.
The video obtained by his supervisors showed 43-year-old David London beating Army veteran Walter Harvin with a baton after he entered a city building without identification. The charge against Harvin was dropped.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_11688754
Former Officer Rolando Balanos Jr Charged with Bank Robbery
The son of Hialeah's former police chief was arrested Wednesday morning, two days after he is accused of robbing a bank, according to detectives.
Rolando A. Bolaños Jr., a former police officer himself, was charged with the strong arm bank robbery of a Bank Atlantic in Hialeah -- a city where he's well known by police, politicians and attorneys.
Police said the former cop walked into the bank with a black baseball cap hanging low over his face, and then he handed the bank teller a note demanding money. He walked out with a stack of cash and rolled away in his black Mercedes Benz.
The married 36-year-old is the son of former Hialeah Police Chief Rolando Bolaños Sr., a man who was famous for single-handedly stopping bank robbers in 1996.
His voluntary arrest comes five years after his last run-in with the law, when the Hialeah police discovered Bolaños failed to disclose a grand theft auto charge when he applied for the department. The officer narrowly escaped misdemeanor charges by surrendering his police certification on Jan. 5, 2004.
A year earlier, the police chief's other son, Daniel Bolaños, resigned from the police department as well. He and his brother were arrested for a 1998 police brutality incident, and Daniel Bolaños later resigned under pressure from Miami-Dade prosecutors, who agreed to drop the two felony official misconduct counts.
After another joint police beating in April 2003, a jury found both brothers violated a man's civil rights when they beat him during an arrest.
Daniel Bolaños' defense attorney at the time, Michael Band, said his client's decision to leave law enforcement took a toll on other family members.
Family members did not say what toll Rolando Bolaños' recent arrest warrant would take on the family.
Daniel Bolaños, who was contacted Wednesday morning, sighed heavily into his phone's receiver as he said he already knew the purpose of the call.
''Right now, I have no comment,'' he said slowly, without changing a single tone in his voice.
He asked to be called later in the day.
According to Hialeah police spokesman Detective Carl Zogby, Bolaños used his own car to drive to and from the bank at 7775 W. 33rd Ave., and police tracked him down by identifying his license plate.
Wednesday morning, detectives got in contact with Bolaños Jr. or someone close to him and arranged an arrest by 10:50 a.m.
However, Hialeah Councilman José Caragol said anyone who would have seen Bolaños would have recognized him.
''He's easy to find. Everyone knows who and where his wife and kids are,'' he said.
Caragol, who served as the city's spokesman for more than two decades while Bolaños' father was police chief, said the chief took great care in raising his kids -- and that the bank robbery charge was a shame.
The former police chief once had an impeccable record with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and during the violent and chaotic 1980s, he ran Hialeah's police department with an iron fist.
Years later, Bolaños Sr. admitted to lying under oath when he told prosecutors he did not know about his son's 1989 arrest for auto theft, which later caused his son trouble when he was accused of lying on his application to the police department.
At the time, the chief told a prosecutor, ``If it came down to saving my son or telling the truth, I would have been happy to lie.''
Bolaños Sr. was Hialeah's first Hispanic police chief, and he briefly gained fame for arresting three bank robbers who happened to rob a Hialeah bank just as he drove by it.
Rolando A. Bolaños Jr., a former police officer himself, was charged with the strong arm bank robbery of a Bank Atlantic in Hialeah -- a city where he's well known by police, politicians and attorneys.
Police said the former cop walked into the bank with a black baseball cap hanging low over his face, and then he handed the bank teller a note demanding money. He walked out with a stack of cash and rolled away in his black Mercedes Benz.
The married 36-year-old is the son of former Hialeah Police Chief Rolando Bolaños Sr., a man who was famous for single-handedly stopping bank robbers in 1996.
His voluntary arrest comes five years after his last run-in with the law, when the Hialeah police discovered Bolaños failed to disclose a grand theft auto charge when he applied for the department. The officer narrowly escaped misdemeanor charges by surrendering his police certification on Jan. 5, 2004.
A year earlier, the police chief's other son, Daniel Bolaños, resigned from the police department as well. He and his brother were arrested for a 1998 police brutality incident, and Daniel Bolaños later resigned under pressure from Miami-Dade prosecutors, who agreed to drop the two felony official misconduct counts.
After another joint police beating in April 2003, a jury found both brothers violated a man's civil rights when they beat him during an arrest.
Daniel Bolaños' defense attorney at the time, Michael Band, said his client's decision to leave law enforcement took a toll on other family members.
Family members did not say what toll Rolando Bolaños' recent arrest warrant would take on the family.
Daniel Bolaños, who was contacted Wednesday morning, sighed heavily into his phone's receiver as he said he already knew the purpose of the call.
''Right now, I have no comment,'' he said slowly, without changing a single tone in his voice.
He asked to be called later in the day.
According to Hialeah police spokesman Detective Carl Zogby, Bolaños used his own car to drive to and from the bank at 7775 W. 33rd Ave., and police tracked him down by identifying his license plate.
Wednesday morning, detectives got in contact with Bolaños Jr. or someone close to him and arranged an arrest by 10:50 a.m.
However, Hialeah Councilman José Caragol said anyone who would have seen Bolaños would have recognized him.
''He's easy to find. Everyone knows who and where his wife and kids are,'' he said.
Caragol, who served as the city's spokesman for more than two decades while Bolaños' father was police chief, said the chief took great care in raising his kids -- and that the bank robbery charge was a shame.
The former police chief once had an impeccable record with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and during the violent and chaotic 1980s, he ran Hialeah's police department with an iron fist.
Years later, Bolaños Sr. admitted to lying under oath when he told prosecutors he did not know about his son's 1989 arrest for auto theft, which later caused his son trouble when he was accused of lying on his application to the police department.
At the time, the chief told a prosecutor, ``If it came down to saving my son or telling the truth, I would have been happy to lie.''
Bolaños Sr. was Hialeah's first Hispanic police chief, and he briefly gained fame for arresting three bank robbers who happened to rob a Hialeah bank just as he drove by it.
Officer David London Accused of Beating Suspect
Last July, Police Officer David London arrested a man in the Upper West Side building where he lived with his mother, accusing him of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
But the building’s surveillance video told a different story, District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau said Wednesday.
It showed Officer London pulling the man out of an elevator, Mr. Morgenthau said, and beating him 18 to 20 times with a baton. The beating continued even after the man, Walter Harvin, fell to the ground, Mr. Morgenthau said. And even after Mr. Harvin was in handcuffs, Officer London delivered another eight to 10 blows, some with his feet, Mr. Morgenthau said.
Officer London, 43, has been indicted on charges of assault and filing false records and pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. He was released without bail. If convicted he faces up to seven years in prison.
Stephen C. Worth, his lawyer, said Officer London “maintains his innocence strenuously.”
Mr. Worth said his client was a 16-year veteran of the force assigned to a housing unit and is married with three children. He also has an exemplary record as a police officer, Mr. Worth added.
Daniel J. Castleman, the chief assistant district attorney, said, “We will dispute that,” but he declined to give details.
Mr. Worth said it was important to put the video of the beating in the context of what happened before and after it was captured.
“Oftentimes the videotape is the beginning of the story, not the end,” Mr. Worth said.
Several officers have been indicted in recent months after videos contradicted their accounts of how they made arrests. In December an officer was indicted on assault and other charges after a video showed him shoving a bicyclist in Times Square. Last month two undercover narcotics officers were charged with lying about a drug sting after a nightclub video showed they had had no contact with four men they arrested. Prosecutors dropped charges against the bicyclist and the four men after the videos came to light.
In Officer London’s case, prosecutors said they could not release the video, which came from surveillance cameras, to the public because it was part of the evidence. But they said it captured the episode in detail.
The confrontation took place on July 28, 2008, when Mr. Harvin, 29, an Iraq war veteran, was trying to get into his apartment building, a public housing project, at 93rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue, Mr. Morgenthau said. Officer London stopped him and asked for his identification. Mr. Harvin did not have any, nor did he have his key to the building, Mr. Morgenthau said, and he got into a shoving match with Officer London.
Mr. Harvin made it to the elevator, where the assault began, Mr. Morgenthau said. Mr. Harvin was arrested on charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, but prosecutors dropped the charges last September after the surveillance video contradicted Officer London’s account.
Mr. Harvin suffered bruises and welts on his arms, back and head, Mr. Morgenthau said. Afterward, Mr. Harvin became homeless and drifted about the country, and prosecutors could not find him, Mr. Morgenthau said. But a lawyer representing Mr. Harvin informed the district attorney’s office Wednesday that he was back in New York.
“He’s a fragile person," said the lawyer, Adam Orlow, who added that Mr. Harvin suffered post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in Iraq. “He became only worse after this incident.”
He said he would file a civil rights lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan within the next two weeks.
Officer London was placed on modified duty shortly after the episode and was suspended without pay because of the indictment.
But the building’s surveillance video told a different story, District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau said Wednesday.
It showed Officer London pulling the man out of an elevator, Mr. Morgenthau said, and beating him 18 to 20 times with a baton. The beating continued even after the man, Walter Harvin, fell to the ground, Mr. Morgenthau said. And even after Mr. Harvin was in handcuffs, Officer London delivered another eight to 10 blows, some with his feet, Mr. Morgenthau said.
Officer London, 43, has been indicted on charges of assault and filing false records and pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. He was released without bail. If convicted he faces up to seven years in prison.
Stephen C. Worth, his lawyer, said Officer London “maintains his innocence strenuously.”
Mr. Worth said his client was a 16-year veteran of the force assigned to a housing unit and is married with three children. He also has an exemplary record as a police officer, Mr. Worth added.
Daniel J. Castleman, the chief assistant district attorney, said, “We will dispute that,” but he declined to give details.
Mr. Worth said it was important to put the video of the beating in the context of what happened before and after it was captured.
“Oftentimes the videotape is the beginning of the story, not the end,” Mr. Worth said.
Several officers have been indicted in recent months after videos contradicted their accounts of how they made arrests. In December an officer was indicted on assault and other charges after a video showed him shoving a bicyclist in Times Square. Last month two undercover narcotics officers were charged with lying about a drug sting after a nightclub video showed they had had no contact with four men they arrested. Prosecutors dropped charges against the bicyclist and the four men after the videos came to light.
In Officer London’s case, prosecutors said they could not release the video, which came from surveillance cameras, to the public because it was part of the evidence. But they said it captured the episode in detail.
The confrontation took place on July 28, 2008, when Mr. Harvin, 29, an Iraq war veteran, was trying to get into his apartment building, a public housing project, at 93rd Street and Amsterdam Avenue, Mr. Morgenthau said. Officer London stopped him and asked for his identification. Mr. Harvin did not have any, nor did he have his key to the building, Mr. Morgenthau said, and he got into a shoving match with Officer London.
Mr. Harvin made it to the elevator, where the assault began, Mr. Morgenthau said. Mr. Harvin was arrested on charges of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, but prosecutors dropped the charges last September after the surveillance video contradicted Officer London’s account.
Mr. Harvin suffered bruises and welts on his arms, back and head, Mr. Morgenthau said. Afterward, Mr. Harvin became homeless and drifted about the country, and prosecutors could not find him, Mr. Morgenthau said. But a lawyer representing Mr. Harvin informed the district attorney’s office Wednesday that he was back in New York.
“He’s a fragile person," said the lawyer, Adam Orlow, who added that Mr. Harvin suffered post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in Iraq. “He became only worse after this incident.”
He said he would file a civil rights lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan within the next two weeks.
Officer London was placed on modified duty shortly after the episode and was suspended without pay because of the indictment.
Officer Melissa Daniels Reprimanded Before Taser Death
The Soddy-Daisy police officer who used a Taser to stun a man who later died was reprimanded by the former police chief for her “inability to perform (her) duties as an officer” before that incident.
The undated letter, contained in Officer Melissa Daniels’ personnel file, states that her attention to detail and job performance had deteriorated to the point that she was inefficient in her job. The letter is signed by Officer Daniels and then-police chief David Loftis.
Officer Daniels’ personnel file contains no further explanation of what prompted Chief Loftis to write the letter.
The officer could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Chief Phillip Hamrick said she took a day off and would not be available.
On Jan. 4, Officer Daniels responded to a disturbance call at 9921 Dayton Pike. The police report stated that 52-year-old Roger Redden would not cooperate with officers and continued to struggle, so he was shot with a stun gun. He went into a coma and died 18 days later.
According to the police department’s policy on Tasers, “trained officers must go through annual retraining courses taught by a certified instructor in order to carry and deploy the Taser Device.” The policy was created June 9, 2008, and expires June 9 this year.
Officer Daniels received Taser training Aug. 13, 2004, through the Cleveland State Police Academy. She was trained again on Jan. 24 and passed the requirement of the Soddy-Daisy Police Department, according to a certificate in her personnel file. Her file does not contain any other Taser training certifications.
Officer Daniels was sworn into the Soddy-Daisy police department March 2, 2007. The reprimand’s letterhead shows that Bob Privett was mayor at the time. Current Mayor Gene Shipley took over in November 2007.
Mr. Privett, now the vice mayor, said he did not know about the reprimand letter in Officer Daniels’ file. He said commission members should have been informed once the reprimand was written.
“I think that all the commission should be made aware once we’ve had and have had complaints on the officer,” he said. “But we shouldn’t be in the decision-making process of the chief’s decision to reprimand.”
Mr. Loftis could not be reached for comment. His resignation as chief took effect Jan. 15.
Officer Daniels previously worked in Red Bank as an officer but quit because she disagreed “with officers being treated bad by ranked officers,” she wrote on her Soddy-Daisy application.
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation into the stun incident.
Chief Hamrick has said Officer Daniels will not be available for comment because of the pending investigation.
The undated letter, contained in Officer Melissa Daniels’ personnel file, states that her attention to detail and job performance had deteriorated to the point that she was inefficient in her job. The letter is signed by Officer Daniels and then-police chief David Loftis.
Officer Daniels’ personnel file contains no further explanation of what prompted Chief Loftis to write the letter.
The officer could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Chief Phillip Hamrick said she took a day off and would not be available.
On Jan. 4, Officer Daniels responded to a disturbance call at 9921 Dayton Pike. The police report stated that 52-year-old Roger Redden would not cooperate with officers and continued to struggle, so he was shot with a stun gun. He went into a coma and died 18 days later.
According to the police department’s policy on Tasers, “trained officers must go through annual retraining courses taught by a certified instructor in order to carry and deploy the Taser Device.” The policy was created June 9, 2008, and expires June 9 this year.
Officer Daniels received Taser training Aug. 13, 2004, through the Cleveland State Police Academy. She was trained again on Jan. 24 and passed the requirement of the Soddy-Daisy Police Department, according to a certificate in her personnel file. Her file does not contain any other Taser training certifications.
Officer Daniels was sworn into the Soddy-Daisy police department March 2, 2007. The reprimand’s letterhead shows that Bob Privett was mayor at the time. Current Mayor Gene Shipley took over in November 2007.
Mr. Privett, now the vice mayor, said he did not know about the reprimand letter in Officer Daniels’ file. He said commission members should have been informed once the reprimand was written.
“I think that all the commission should be made aware once we’ve had and have had complaints on the officer,” he said. “But we shouldn’t be in the decision-making process of the chief’s decision to reprimand.”
Mr. Loftis could not be reached for comment. His resignation as chief took effect Jan. 15.
Officer Daniels previously worked in Red Bank as an officer but quit because she disagreed “with officers being treated bad by ranked officers,” she wrote on her Soddy-Daisy application.
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation into the stun incident.
Chief Hamrick has said Officer Daniels will not be available for comment because of the pending investigation.
Detective Heidi Fischer Accused of Street Racing While on Duty
Ontario Provincial Police officer had her licence pulled and her cruiser impounded after being accused of violating the province's street-racing law while on duty.
Ontario law allows police to speed in the execution of their duties, Inspector Dave Ross said. An officer was pulled over on Jan. 31 along Highway 403, clocked at 165 km/h in a 100 km/h zone, the OPP said yesterday. An investigation determined there was no call or assignment requiring the officer to drive that fast, Insp. Ross said.
Detective Constable Heidi Fischer was charged under the Highway Traffic Act on Friday with driving more than 50 km/h above the posted limit. Her unmarked police cruiser has been impounded for the week.
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More Information: http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/585595
Ontario law allows police to speed in the execution of their duties, Inspector Dave Ross said. An officer was pulled over on Jan. 31 along Highway 403, clocked at 165 km/h in a 100 km/h zone, the OPP said yesterday. An investigation determined there was no call or assignment requiring the officer to drive that fast, Insp. Ross said.
Detective Constable Heidi Fischer was charged under the Highway Traffic Act on Friday with driving more than 50 km/h above the posted limit. Her unmarked police cruiser has been impounded for the week.
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More Information: http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/585595
Strip Searching Inmates for Minor Offenses Ruled Unconstitutional
The policy of strip-searching inmates held for minor offenses at the Burlington and Essex County jails is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled this month.
More than 10,000 people arrested for minor crimes have been strip-searched at the facilities since 2003, a practice that could end up costing the counties millions of dollars, said Susan Chana Lask, a New York lawyer suing the jails.
"They just think the law stops at their doors, and they can do whatever they want," Lask said. "I'm fighting it and winning it to make sure constitutional rights are not stripped away in prison."
Similar lawsuits are pending against other county jails in New Jersey. The Camden County jail agreed in 2007 to pay $7.5 million to as many as 20,000 people strip-searched while held on minor charges.
Lask's case grew out of a lawsuit she filed on behalf of Albert Florence, a New Jersey man arrested while driving on I-295 in Burlington County in 2005.
A police check revealed that he had an outstanding warrant in Essex County for failing to pay a court fine, even though Florence produced documentation to show the fine had been paid.
He was held in the Burlington County jail for six days before being transferred to the Essex County jail. Florence said he was strip-searched at both facilities.
Lask successfully argued to make the case a class action, encompassing anyone strip-searched at either jail since 2003 while held on minor, "non-indictable" charges.
Burlington County jail officials argued that their procedures for inmates held on such offenses amounted to a "visual observation" of their bodies, not the more intrusive strip-search required for serious offenders.
They said the inspection of the nude inmates was necessary to ensure they were not smuggling contraband, to identify gang members through tattoos, and to detect health issues, such as evidence of the MRSA virus.
But District Judge Joseph Rodriguez said subjecting those arrested for minor violations to a strip search was unconstitutional unless there was "reasonable suspicion" they were carrying contraband.
"Thus, a hypothetical priest or minister arrested for allegedly skimming the Sunday collection would be subjected to the same degrading procedure as a gang member arrested on an allegation of drug charges," Rodriguez wrote in his Feb. 4 opinion.
He called that an "unreasonable result" of the jail's policy.
Rodriguez said federal circuit courts had "split" in recent years over whether strip-searches without reasonable suspicions are unconstitutional.
J. Brooks DiDonato, an attorney for Burlington County, said he could not comment at length on the case.
"The county fully intends on appealing and defending the case vigorously," he said.
A spokesman for the county could not be reached yesterday evening.
Lask said typical settlements for plaintiffs in these cases range from $1,500 to $3,000 each. She said she hoped to have a jury trial soon to determine damages.
More than 10,000 people arrested for minor crimes have been strip-searched at the facilities since 2003, a practice that could end up costing the counties millions of dollars, said Susan Chana Lask, a New York lawyer suing the jails.
"They just think the law stops at their doors, and they can do whatever they want," Lask said. "I'm fighting it and winning it to make sure constitutional rights are not stripped away in prison."
Similar lawsuits are pending against other county jails in New Jersey. The Camden County jail agreed in 2007 to pay $7.5 million to as many as 20,000 people strip-searched while held on minor charges.
Lask's case grew out of a lawsuit she filed on behalf of Albert Florence, a New Jersey man arrested while driving on I-295 in Burlington County in 2005.
A police check revealed that he had an outstanding warrant in Essex County for failing to pay a court fine, even though Florence produced documentation to show the fine had been paid.
He was held in the Burlington County jail for six days before being transferred to the Essex County jail. Florence said he was strip-searched at both facilities.
Lask successfully argued to make the case a class action, encompassing anyone strip-searched at either jail since 2003 while held on minor, "non-indictable" charges.
Burlington County jail officials argued that their procedures for inmates held on such offenses amounted to a "visual observation" of their bodies, not the more intrusive strip-search required for serious offenders.
They said the inspection of the nude inmates was necessary to ensure they were not smuggling contraband, to identify gang members through tattoos, and to detect health issues, such as evidence of the MRSA virus.
But District Judge Joseph Rodriguez said subjecting those arrested for minor violations to a strip search was unconstitutional unless there was "reasonable suspicion" they were carrying contraband.
"Thus, a hypothetical priest or minister arrested for allegedly skimming the Sunday collection would be subjected to the same degrading procedure as a gang member arrested on an allegation of drug charges," Rodriguez wrote in his Feb. 4 opinion.
He called that an "unreasonable result" of the jail's policy.
Rodriguez said federal circuit courts had "split" in recent years over whether strip-searches without reasonable suspicions are unconstitutional.
J. Brooks DiDonato, an attorney for Burlington County, said he could not comment at length on the case.
"The county fully intends on appealing and defending the case vigorously," he said.
A spokesman for the county could not be reached yesterday evening.
Lask said typical settlements for plaintiffs in these cases range from $1,500 to $3,000 each. She said she hoped to have a jury trial soon to determine damages.
Sgt Pete Bunch Charged with Resisting Arrest
SPOKANE
Officials with the Spokane Police Department confirm they arrested a sergeant with the Spokane County Sheriff's Office after an incident Friday morning.
Sergeant Pete Bunch has been identified as the person involved in the incident.
It started when a police officer was called to a home in the 3200 block of East Marie Court on Friday by a woman who dialed 911 to report that a suspicious person was in her backyard.
Court documents say the first officer on scene stopped Sgt. Bunch in the street, but Bunch would not look at him and he appeared to be in a daze.
Police say Bunch was uncooperative and wouldn't answer questions, saying only that he was looking for his lost dog.
The report says the officer grabbed Bunch's wrist to arrest him but Bunch tried to wiggle free.
"There was a point the officer felt he couldn't control the situation and needed to bring his tazer out to effect the arrest. It was at that point that other officers arrived and they were able to take him into custody," Officer Jen DeRuwe of the Spokane Police Department said.
Sgt. Bunch was taken to the Spokane County Jail and booked on a count of Resisting Arrest and Obstructing an Officer. It was only after he was taken into custody that he was formally identified as a sergeant with the sheriff's office.
"They didn't know until they checked his pocket after he was arrested," Officer DeRuwe said.
Police said that Bunch probably would not have been arrested had he just cooperated with his fellow law enforcement officers.
Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich says Bunch has been on the force 32 years.
"These charges of all things, I would expect better from a seasoned veteran," Sheriff Knezovich said.
Sheriff Knezovich says that Bunch has been placed on paid administrative leave and that there will be an internal investigation into his conduct once the criminal case is complete.
"The county doesn't have a system where we put people on unpaid status. It's all paid leave. I don't like that system, so I'm going to find a way to plug the sergeant into a position where he can work and the taxpayers can get some benefit for that pay," Sheriff Knezovich said.
The Sheriff also wanted to assure people that no one gets preferential treatment when it comes to the law.
"This agency will hold people accountable. You've seen me hold people accountable and nothing has changed," Sheriff Knezovich said.
Bunch has been in trouble before and was once demoted from lieutenant to sergeant. The sheriff would not comment on past disciplinary actions taken against Bunch.
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http://www.ktvb.com/news/regional/stories/ktvbn-feb1009-sheriff_arrest.27d3288.html
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Ralph Alexander Files Lawsuit Against Officers
A scar on Ralph Alexander's leg is a constant reminder to the 80 year old Liberty Township man of what he says happened to him on November 18, 2006 when two Liberty police officers responded to a burglary call at his home.
According to a federal lawsuit filed by Alexander in 2007, he says the officers violated his constitutional rights by making a false arrest, using excessive force and malicious prosecution. Alexander says he was tasered by police officers, Chad McGarry and George Bednar, when he ran out of his house with a loaded shotgun and refused to put it down. His attorney says Alexander had a live shell in the chamber for the robber, and he was trying to get it out before he put the gun down.
"The upshot was hands were laid on him. He was tasered, and his leg was open up, and he had a kinda nasty injury," said his attorney, Michael Rossi.
Liberty's police chief says he believes his officers handled the matter properly. "There is no question they acted very prudently, more prudently than they really had to. We will have experts testify so we can resolve it once we get there," said Liberty Police Chief Rick Tisone.
Alexander was arrested shortly after the incident and charged with two charges of assault on a police officer. Those felony charges were filed against Ralph Alexander in Girard Municipal Court, but were later reduced to misdemeanors and then dismissed due to speedy trial issues.
The civil case filed by Alexander is expected to go to trial March 3.
According to a federal lawsuit filed by Alexander in 2007, he says the officers violated his constitutional rights by making a false arrest, using excessive force and malicious prosecution. Alexander says he was tasered by police officers, Chad McGarry and George Bednar, when he ran out of his house with a loaded shotgun and refused to put it down. His attorney says Alexander had a live shell in the chamber for the robber, and he was trying to get it out before he put the gun down.
"The upshot was hands were laid on him. He was tasered, and his leg was open up, and he had a kinda nasty injury," said his attorney, Michael Rossi.
Liberty's police chief says he believes his officers handled the matter properly. "There is no question they acted very prudently, more prudently than they really had to. We will have experts testify so we can resolve it once we get there," said Liberty Police Chief Rick Tisone.
Alexander was arrested shortly after the incident and charged with two charges of assault on a police officer. Those felony charges were filed against Ralph Alexander in Girard Municipal Court, but were later reduced to misdemeanors and then dismissed due to speedy trial issues.
The civil case filed by Alexander is expected to go to trial March 3.
Daniel Hackett III Suing Pittsburgh for Officers Using Excessive Force
A Mt. Lebanon man is suing the city of Pittsburgh and one of its police officers, claiming that he was shot with a Taser several times for no reason.
Daniel A. Hackett III, 42, claims that the incident began on March 15 after he received a citation for failing to use a left-turn signal while on the South Side.
After he parked his car, the lawsuit says that Mr. Hackett, an accountant, saw a person urinating on a building and was nearly hit by a vehicle that ran a red light.
"In the immediate vicinity of these events, was a City of Pittsburgh patrol car in which defendant [Edward] Cunningham was a passenger," the lawsuit said. "As Mr. Hackett passed the vehicle he stated words to the effect that 'look ... there's a red light runner and there's a guy [urinating] on a building and I get a ticket for not using my turn signal?' "
Mr. Hackett claims he then walked into a convenience store but that Officer Cunningham grabbed him from behind and demanded his identification. When he complied, the lawsuit said, he was forcibly moved to the front of the store, and Officer Cunningham had his Taser drawn, pointed at Mr. Hackett.
"When he questioned Officer Cunningham why he was writing a citation and requested that his badge number be placed on the citation, [Hackett] was suddenly, without warning, and without any reasonable basis for doing so, Tasered several times causing him to collapse to the sidewalk," the lawsuit said.
Mr. Hackett claims he was shot by the Taser several more times while down on the sidewalk.
During the arrest, the lawsuit alleges, Mr. Hackett heard Officer Cunningham say, "this guy is from Upper St. Clair and he thinks that he is better than us."
Following the incident, Mr. Hackett was transported to UPMC South Side, where he was treated for his injuries. He then was taken to the Allegheny County Jail until about 3 p.m. the next day.
He was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct but was acquitted on Dec. 4.
Mr. Hackett is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.
City attorneys could not be reached yesterday evening.
Daniel A. Hackett III, 42, claims that the incident began on March 15 after he received a citation for failing to use a left-turn signal while on the South Side.
After he parked his car, the lawsuit says that Mr. Hackett, an accountant, saw a person urinating on a building and was nearly hit by a vehicle that ran a red light.
"In the immediate vicinity of these events, was a City of Pittsburgh patrol car in which defendant [Edward] Cunningham was a passenger," the lawsuit said. "As Mr. Hackett passed the vehicle he stated words to the effect that 'look ... there's a red light runner and there's a guy [urinating] on a building and I get a ticket for not using my turn signal?' "
Mr. Hackett claims he then walked into a convenience store but that Officer Cunningham grabbed him from behind and demanded his identification. When he complied, the lawsuit said, he was forcibly moved to the front of the store, and Officer Cunningham had his Taser drawn, pointed at Mr. Hackett.
"When he questioned Officer Cunningham why he was writing a citation and requested that his badge number be placed on the citation, [Hackett] was suddenly, without warning, and without any reasonable basis for doing so, Tasered several times causing him to collapse to the sidewalk," the lawsuit said.
Mr. Hackett claims he was shot by the Taser several more times while down on the sidewalk.
During the arrest, the lawsuit alleges, Mr. Hackett heard Officer Cunningham say, "this guy is from Upper St. Clair and he thinks that he is better than us."
Following the incident, Mr. Hackett was transported to UPMC South Side, where he was treated for his injuries. He then was taken to the Allegheny County Jail until about 3 p.m. the next day.
He was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct but was acquitted on Dec. 4.
Mr. Hackett is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.
City attorneys could not be reached yesterday evening.
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