Larry Wayne Slaven Charged with Assault of 10-year-old

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

A former security guard is facing charges in connection with the assault of a 10-year-old boy.

The man, Larry Wayne Slaven, lost his job over the incident, but there is concern that he could still pose as a guard because he has the security company's uniforms and badges.

Janet Gschwind filed criminal charges against Slaven after what she said he did to her son. Gschwind said on two occasions, Slaven chased her 10-year-old son, Ryan, shooting him with plastic pellets from an airsoft gun.

"He was begging him to stop, telling him it hurt," said Gschwind.

Until recently, Slaven worked as a private security guard at Associated Security and Patrol, until the state licensing board finished its background check.

Slaven had not told the board about his January 2008 domestic violence charge, which was dismissed. His also still has to face the pending assault charge on Gschwind's son. Because of the charges, the guard company fired Slaven.

Ron Crowe of Associated Security and Patrol said his company is concerned that Slaven hasn't returned around six uniform shirts, a badge and patches. They hope he's not impersonating a guard or police officer.

"There's no telling what he might want to do or gain from somebody he might want to stop," said Crowe.

When contacted by Channel 4, Slaven invited reporter Nancy Amons to contact his attorney. He said he plans to return his uniforms to the company Thursday.

Slaven had been a volunteer with the Lakewood Police Department and had applied for a reserve officer's job. The police chief said when the background check on Slaven found the charges, he decided against hiring him.

Officer Meredith Shook Charged with DUI

SEYMOUR

Police officer Meredith Shook, who was in an off-duty accident last month in her personal SUV, was arrested on a warrant today charging her with driving under the influence, police said.

Shook, 33, of 48 Humphrey St. in Seymour also was charged with risk of injury to a minor and failure to drive in the proper lane, police said. She was released on a written promise to appear March 2 at Derby Superior Court.

Shook crashed her SUV on Jan. 15 in the area of the Tri-Town Plaza on Derby Avenue. Police applied for a warrant to arrest Shook after concluding their investigation earlier this month.

The status of Shook's job was not available today.

Officer Tanience Harris Charged with False Imprisonment

ALBANY, GA

An Albany Police Officer was arrested and suspended after a romantic relationship with a co-worker got a little ugly.

Patrol Officer Taniece Harris is charged with criminal damage to property and false imprisonment for two incidents that happened last fall. Investigators just took out warrants Wednesday.

They say Harris damaged two personal vehicles of Patrol Officer Jermaine Lewis then intentionally detained him by standing in the doorway of his patrol car so he couldn't drive away while he was on duty.

Both officers were disciplined... And Harris is now suspended with pay. More charges could be filed against Harris.

Former Officer Dennis Hughes Charged with Statutory Rape

A former Cleveland police officer, already facing charges related to the shooting of another officer last year, now stands charged with three counts of statutory rape, one count of especially aggravated sexual exploitation, one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to District Attorney Steve Bebb.

Former Cleveland Police officer, Dennis Hughes, 33, turned himself in at the Bradley County Jail this morning. His bond was set at $50,000. As of press time, he had not made bond.

A second former officer, Nathan Thomas, 37, is under scrutiny related to the alleged sex offenses a search warrant executed by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation indicates.

The search was conducted at the home of Thomas and on the Hughes' vehicle.

The investigation stemmed from an incident on Jan. 5 when Hughes was arrested on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a 16-year-old girl, who was reported as a runaway.

Hughes was reportedly observed leaving Thomas' home at 152 Winding Glen Drive N.W. at 12:40 a.m. with the 16-year-old girl in his vehicle.

Bradley County deputies initiated a traffic stop at the intersection of Lauderdale Highway and Mouse Creek Road. When deputies searched Hughes' vehicle, they allegedly found numerous empty and full beer bottles and prescription pill bottles. Deputies also detected both Hughes and the girl had a "strong smell of alcohol about their person."

According to the TBI's search warrant, after the girl was apprehended, she was taken to a hospital for a rape examination.

The examination was reportedly conducted at the request of her parents.

During the examination, the girl reportedly admitted that in the past she had sexual intercourse with Hughes; however, the female said there had been no sexual contact at the time of his arrest Jan. 5.

Through the search warrants, agents with the TBI confiscated a cell phone and computer from Hughes' vehicle. According to the TBI's search warrant, agents performed a forensic examination of the cell phone and "found three pictures of an underage and under-developed female in the nude."

During an interview with Cleveland Police Detective Suzanne Jackson on Jan. 12, the girl reportedly told Jackson the cell phone pictures found in Hughes' possession were allegedly taken by Hughes in a bathroom at Thomas' residence on the night of Jan. 4.

According to the TBI's search warrant, during the interview with Jackson, the girl alleged that on Jan. 4 she and a 17-year-old girl were at the Thomas home. The 16-year-old girl reportedly told Jackson she engaged in oral sex with Hughes and the 17-year-old engaged in oral sex with Thomas. The 16-year-old reportedly told Jackson she and the 17-year-old were under the influence of alcohol during the incident.

During the search warrant's execution at Thomas' home, TBI agents photographed Thomas' bathrooms to compare with the background of the nude pictures of the 16-year-old girl.

Hughes and Thomas continue to be investigated by the TBI, Hughes in connection with the shooting of a city police officer and Thomas for selling prescription painkillers.

According to reports, on Nov. 30, 2008, city police officer Chris Mason and former city police officer Jonathan Hammons, 23, -- who were on duty -- were at the home of Hughes, who was off duty, shortly before midnight.

The men were reportedly looking at a .38 caliber revolver which was possibly for sale. During the handling of the firearm the gun discharged and struck Mason in the hand, Cleveland Police Chief Wes Snyder said in a December 2008 statement.

The incident was initially reported as an accidental shooting; however, after further investigation it was determined Hammons and Hughes allegedly gave investigators false information.

Hammons was arrested Dec. 17, 2008, and was charged with aggravated perjury and filing a false report in connection to the shooting.

Hughes was arrested Dec. 18, 2008, and was charged with two counts of reckless endangerment, aggravated perjury and filing a false report in connection to the shooting.

On the night of the shooting, Nov. 30, 2008, officers found a prescription pill bottle with Thomas' name in Hughes' personal vehicle.

As a result of the shooting investigation, Hughes resigned from the Cleveland Police Department in December 2008.

Hammons and Thomas were dismissed from the department in January.

Thomas was arrested Jan. 5, in connection with a two-year investigation by the 10th Judicial Drug Task Force.

As a result of the investigation, Thomas was charged with prescription fraud, possession of Schedule II and III narcotics for resale and simple possession of a Schedule V narcotic.

According to reports, the Drug Task Force's investigation alleges Thomas was a patient of Dr. James Wallace Sego. Thomas was allegedly prescribed 6,000 oxycodones, 1,100 hydrocodones and 790 Xanax within one year's time by Sego.

Thomas is being accused of selling the prescription painkillers.

Sego practices internal medicine and pain management at Bradley Executive Plaza located at 1510 Stuart Road N.E.

Sego was also arrested Dec. 18, 2008, and charged with felony counts of illegally selling prescription painkillers and other drugs.

Agents with the 10th Judicial Drug Task Force served a search warrant for Thomas' residence on Dec. 12, 2008.

According to the inventory on the search warrant, agents found "a large cardboard box with extremely large amounts of various drugs, samples, etc. (too numerous to list individually)," weapons, syringes and cell phones.

"One white plastic snorting device (ink pen) with yellow residue" was found in the master bedroom in a decorative drawer near the top of the dresser, along with several other items, such as "one prescription box w/1 glass vial inside labeled DEPO-Testosterone."

Among the weapons were two .22-caliber Glenfield rifles, one with a serial number and one without, and a Sig Sauer P2229 .40 caliber.

Officer Finess Brown Accused of Assaulting Wife Turns in Badge

Murfreesboro Police decommissioned a police officer accused of assaulting his wife last week.

Officer Finess Brown was decommissioned Friday by Deputy Chief Randy Garrett, said Maj. Clyde Adkison. Chief Glenn Chrisman concurred with the decommission.

Under a decommission, a police officer must turn in his service firearm and badge and is released of his police powers.

Detective Jennifer West is still investigating the allegations made by Brown’s wife, Catina. He has not been charged.

Deputies served an ex parte order on Brown Sunday at the sheriff’s office. The order requires him to stay away from his wife. A hearing on the order is set Tuesday in Circuit Court.

Brown, 36, was accused of assaulting his wife during an argument last 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.

Officer Jose Gomez Given Reprimand for Making Racial Comment

A Fort Myers police officer was given a verbal reprimand and a requirement to attend additional training after an internal review determined he was “rude” and made a racially-charged comment during a traffic stop.

Patrol officer Jose Gomez was found not to have complied with the department’s general rules of conduct during a Dec. 25 traffic stop.

According to the report, prepared by Sgt. Willie James Tellis, Gomez conducted a traffic stop on driver Latonya Leaphart and her passenger, Gerah Leaphart, at the intersection of Eastland and French Streets. Gomez said he stopped the vehicle for loud music.

While accounts differ, Gomez said Latonya Leaphart was swore at him and argued with him throughout the stop. She was upset because Gomez reportedly did not reveal the reason for the stop, though Gomez said that was because she continued to interrupt him.

At this time, another officer responded and was within earshot when Gerah Leaphart reportedly asked Gomez if he was black. Gomez then reportedly responded with the answer, “I’m not black, thank God, I would never wish to be black.”

Ross couldn’t be sure if those were the exact words, but believed they were something along those lines.

Latonya Leaphart later filed a complaint with the police department, which sparked the internal investigation.

Officer Kurtiss Kessler Resigns after Domestic Violence Charge

Minutes after criminal charges were filed Tuesday against a Kenosha police officer accused of domestic violence, he resigned from the police department.

Kurtiss J. Kessler, 35, of Kenosha, was charged with misdemeanors for alleged disorderly conduct and battery, both related to domestic abuse. If convicted, he faces one year in jail. The conviction would be Kessler’s second for a domestic-related incident.

In a sign that he may not challenge the charges, Kessler’s lawyer asked for a plea hearing. Typically, several other hearings are held before a defendant enters pleas.

Kessler is set to enter pleas March 17 before Kenosha County Circuit Judge Wilbur W. Warren III. Sentencing could happen that same day, since no pre-sentence investigation reported is required for misdemeanor cases.

Shortly after his court hearing Tuesday afternoon, Kenosha Police Chief John Morrissey said Kessler turned in his resignation, effective immediately.

“It’s just a simple one-line resignation: that he resigned from the police department, effective (Tuesday), and he is leaving for personal reasons,” Morrissey said.

Kessler, a Kenosha police officer for more than 11 years, was suspended without pay from the police department after he was arrested Feb. 9 for allegedly pushing his girlfriend, pulling her hair and hitting her with a shoe.

Morrissey said Kessler’s resignation was not part of any deal worked out with the city. No internal investigation had been done, and none will be now that Kessler is no longer a city employee, he said. The chief declined to predict whether Kessler and the department might have parted ways.

Kessler is not eligible for any compensation under his resignation; he did not have any accrued vacation, holiday or compensatory time, and officers do not have sick time, Morrissey said.

The criminal complaint filed Tuesday alleges that an argument between Kessler and his girlfriend, the mother of his nearly 2-year-old son, turned violent. Kessler allegedly grabbed her hair and later, the woman told police, threw a shoe at her. Police said there were no visible injuries.

Kessler is out of jail on bond.

Kessler reportedly said he did not want her to leave, but the woman went to the door. Kessler allegedly grabbed the woman by the hair from behind and pulled her to the floor. When she got up and continued toward the door, the woman said Kessler threw a shoe at her.

There were no visible injuries.

The woman told sheriff’s deputies that she wanted to report the incident, but she did not want Kessler to lose his job. Prosecutors said she has considered recanting her statement.

Kessler has a previous conviction for a 2003 domestic-related incident. He was accused of pointing a gun at his then-girlfriend’s head. Kessler pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors. He served three days in jail, paid a fine and had two years probation. He also was suspended from the police department for 55 days without pay, but allowed to return to work.

Officer Shayne Poole Arrested for DUI

CLE ELUM

Cle Elum/Roslyn/South Cle Elum police officer Shayne Poole was arrested Saturday on charges of driving under the influence.

Poole was hired as a Cle Elum police officer in January after resigning from the Kittitas Police Department, where he worked since June 2008. Poole had also worked for the Ellensburg Police Department from June 1999 to November 2005.

Cle Elum Police Chief Scott Ferguson said that Poole is no longer employed with CEPD.

According to Kittitas County Undersheriff Clayton Myers, Poole was driving southbound on Clemens Road when he went off the road and into a ditch on Thrall Road between 2:30 and 3 a.m. Saturday.

Poole, who was alone in the vehicle, was not injured in the collision.

“There was alcohol involved and it is still under investigation,” Myers said.

Poole was booked in Kittitas County Jail around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, and later released on personal recognizance an hour later.

Poole’s court date is scheduled for 9 a.m. March 24 in Kittitas County Lower District Court.

Former Officer Nick Joseph Accused of Hit & Run Back in Court

The case against a suspended Greece Police Officer accused in a hit and run crash is expected to continue in court today. Nick Joseph is accused of the hit and run crash on Route 390 in June that injured a pregnant woman forcing her to deliver her baby girl 15 weeks pre-maturely.

Nick Joseph denies that drugs or alcohol played a role in what happened, but prosecutors say it's one of the factors in the case against him. Sources told News10NBC, cocaine was found in Joseph’s blood that night.

Joseph is scheduled to appear before Judge Affronti in what's called a Frye hearing, which will determine whether DNA evidence can be used at trial.

According to Joseph's deposition, he called Greece Police Sergeant Andrew Elmore about 10 hours after the crash to ask how the woman in the accident was.

"It hurts law enforcement all around to have one of our own on trial, it's very hard, but he's got his day in court,” Retired Greece Police Sergeant Andrew Elmore said.

News 10NBC will be at the Hall of Justice for this hearing and will bring you the latest information as it becomes available.

Related Stories: I-Team 10 updated: Greece cop appears in court
-I-Team 10 follow-up: Video places Greece cop at bar minutes before 390 crash

Arrested Judge Margaret Huddleston Back in Court Judge Others

Family Court Judge Margaret Huddleston was back on the bench Monday, two days after her arrest on charges of careless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol.

What happens next - for her or any other judge who falls foul of the law - is unclear.

Officer Barry Pruitt, spokesman for the Bowling Green Police Department, said Huddleston’s citation has been turned over to Warren County Attorney Amy Milliken’s office for prosecution.

It’s unlikely to stay there, however: Should the case be judged to present a conflict of interest for local authorities, it might be turned over to the Special Prosecutions Unit of the Attorney General’s Office, according to Shelley Catharine Johnson, deputy communications director for Attorney General Jack Conway.

Since Milliken and other lawyers from her office are before Huddleston in family court every day, Milliken said such a conflict certainly exists, and she’s already taking steps to send the case to an impartial figure outside Warren County.

“Yesterday I wrote the Office of the Attorney General a letter requesting that a special prosecutor be appointed,” she said.

Beyond possible prosecution, Kentucky does have a mechanism for dealing with judges’ ethical conflicts.

When judges are charged with crimes, the state’s Judicial Conduct Commission monitors those cases until they’re concluded, said Jim Lawson, the commission’s executive secretary. If a conviction results, the commission then begins considering what action to take, he said.

“In a first offense DUI case, I think it’s generally a public reprimand,” Lawson said.

The commission is the only entity authorized under the state constitution to take disciplinary action against a sitting judge, according to the commission’s Web site.

Possible sanctions range from confidential reprimands - for minor technical violations - to removal for serious misconduct.

“Criminal conduct” is on the list of items that may lead to disciplinary actions.

Huddleston has been a family court judge in Warren County since the court was created in 1998, dealing with divorce, custody and parental rights, domestic violence, neglect and juvenile offenses.

She was arrested outside her house shortly after midnight Saturday. A Bowling Green police officer saw Huddleston driving too slowly, hesitating at stop signs and crossing the center line, according to a city police report. She did not stop when the officer turned on his emergency lights, so the officer followed her to her driveway, the report said.

A breath test registered more than twice the legal limit for blood alcohol content, and Huddleston was lodged in Warren County Regional Jail. She was later released on an unsecured bond, and hasn’t returned several calls seeking comment.

$350,000 Lawsuit to be Paid to Physician who was Tasered and Beaten by Police

SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco officials are poised to pay $350,000 to settle a lawsuit with a Harvard University resident physician who claims he was shocked more than 10 times with a stun gun and beaten by police, including by an officer with a history of brutality complaints.

The proposed settlement would cover Mehrdad Alemozaffar’s legal fees, said Police Commission President Theresa Sparks. The settlement has been approved by the commission, but must be authorized by the Board of Supervisors, whose Rules Committee is slated to cast an initial vote Thursday.

Alemozaffar’s attorney, Jeremy Cloyd, said he has not seen the offer and could not comment on whether his client would accept it.

The 2007 lawsuit stems from a Dec. 17, 2006, incident in North Beach. Alemozaffar, then a UCLA student, claimed officers pinned him against the street and smashed his head multiple times against the asphalt. Officers then tied his hands behind his back in nylon restraints before jolting him with a Taser more than 10 times, the lawsuit claimed.

The lawsuit named The City, the police and sheriff’s departments, and Officers Jesse Serna, Gary Moriyama and James McGrath. Sheriff’s deputies Jurnation Reymundo and George Coviello were also named.

Alemozaffar claimed the trouble began at 2 a.m. after police told weekend revelers to clear the area. Alemozaffar told Serna he was waiting for a friend, and Serna told him to “stop acting like a girl,” according to the complaint. The alleged attack by officers began after Alemozaffar asked for Serna’s badge number.

The lawsuit accused Reymundo of shocking Alemozaffar on his legs, back, side and wrist, leaving burns. Alemozaffar’s shoulder, on which he had recent surgery, was also damaged, the lawsuit said.

Serna, who the lawsuit said has a history of brutality complaints, was sued in 2007 by former mayor’s secretary Esther Hwang, who worked for Willie Brown. Hwang claimed Serna violently pulled her by the hair to the pavement and arrested her on false charges after she joked about jaywalking in North Beach. That case was settled for an undisclosed amount.

By extending the settlement offer to Alemozaffar, The City is not admitting wrongdoing, Sparks said.

Deputy Jonathan Este Charged with Rape of Minor

HARVEY, La.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand admits that this is a "sad day" for the JPSO as he announced the arrest of 25-year old Jonathan Este'.

Until his firing Monday night, Este' was a deputy assigned to the department's Third District Patrol Division.

He's now charged with forcible rape and three counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

"The alleged incidents happened when Este' was 22 years of age and the victim was 13," Normand said.

The incidents happened before Este' joined the JPSO in January 2008.

According to investigators, the relationship between Este' and the young girl lasted from July 2005 through February 2006.

Details came to light Saturday, when deputies investigated a "family disturbance" at the victim's home.

"She described meeting Este' via a chart room and the relationship lasted approximately eight months," said Normand. "She described the first incident of sex with Este' as being a forcible rape and the remaining three incidents as consensual."

The department immediately launched a criminal investigation after hearing the victim's story.

The sheriff says Este' was arrested at the JPSO Detectives Bureau last night after he admitted to having sex with the girl four times.

"The problem is the credibly of the officer is impaired and that may have an effect on other cases," said Normand. "That's why we go after it with much fervor."

Normand says this case is a cautionary tale for parents and teenagers who visit chat rooms online.

"It's a very dangerous tool, the internet," said Normand. "You have to be very wary because it has become the prime medium for individuals that are predators."

Este' faces up to 70-years in prison. He remains in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center. Bond is set at $82,500.

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http://www.nola.com/news/?/base/news-1/1234938148272770.xml&coll=1

District Attorney's Office Reviewing Cases Filed by Officers

The Dallas County district attorney's office is reviewing dozens of cases filed by six Dallas police officers after the officers assisted in an arrest that put a man behind bars for 10 months on what prosecutors say were false charges.

Documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News show prosecutors concluded that Senior Cpl. David Nevitt lied when he said Thomas Hannon had a gun and drugs in his possession when the six officers participated in Hannon's arrest outside a North Dallas hotel in August 2007. Attorney Phil Burleson said Nevitt denies any wrongdoing in this case, as well as any other cases.

"He did not lie to the district attorney's office," Burleson said. "He has no reason to. He believed at the time [of the Hannon arrest] that it was the correct individual."

Hannon, a convicted felon, was jailed until last March, when prosecutors dropped the charges because Hannon's attorney obtained a videotape that showed another man carrying a bag containing the gun and drugs.

The case calls into question the integrity of a police department still recovering from a 2001 scandal in which dozens of false arrests were made after fake drugs were planted on innocent people by police informants.

"I would hope that everybody has learned the lessons of the fake-drug scandal," said Bill Wirskye, who is representing two clients with cases involving officers who participated in the Hannon arrest. "I have serious concerns about their credibility and the possibility of a pattern of illegal searches."

All six officers involved in Hannon's arrest – Nevitt, Lawrence Coddington, Jerry Dodd, David Durica, Frank Poblenz and Randy Sundquist – were named in a federal lawsuit filed last month alleging a violation of his civil rights.

Durica said he had not been notified of any investigation and denied any wrongdoing. "No one has approached or asked me about anything," he said. The other officers did not return calls seeking comment.

None of the officers has been accused of any criminal misconduct, and a timetable for completion of the district attorney's review was not available.

The prosecutors and the district attorney's office declined to publicly discuss the case.

Two prosecutors say in the documents obtained by The News that Nevitt told them he saw Hannon carrying the bag with his own two eyes, but he later changed his account, telling the prosecutors that he actually saw Hannon carrying the bag only on video surveillance footage.

"This is a case that really makes you question the integrity of all of their arrests in any situation," said Scott Palmer, Hannon's attorney. "The probable cause affidavit is absolutely diametrically opposed to reality. So therefore it must be a lie. It can't be a mistake."

Hannon's criminal history includes a three-year sentence for methamphetamine possession and unlawfully carrying a gun while on probation. He was released from prison on parole in 2005.

He said he first met Nevitt in the summer of 2007 when Nevitt and other officers showed up at his apartment asking to search it. Hannon said he refused, and Nevitt became angry but left. Hannon said he was evicted by apartment managers the same day.

More Information and Police Report: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/yahoolatestnews/stories/021709dnmetdpd.4035ff0.html

Police Brutality Must End

There has never been anything good about the use of excessive force by police officers, and law enforcement officials across the United States are fully aware of the disparaging effects these incidents have in our communities.

So how is it that another incident of alleged police brutality is able to surface in our local news as if this caustic phenomenon is some new and endearing trait of law enforcement?

And to make matters worse, the incident in question occurred back in 2006.

On the front page of the Friday, February the 13th edition of the Los Angeles Times, the headline read, “Inquiry into Hawthorne police beating questioned.”

The incident took place on July 21, 2006 in Hawthorne, CA, another city in our great nation that unfortunately has a wretched history of police misconduct. What is even more appalling about this incident is the fact that when it happened, we (the public) had no knowledge that the incident even occurred.

It gets scary for us as citizens when you couple this information with the fact that incidents of police brutality, as well as other forms of misconduct, occur on a daily basis, and most often times (because we don’t always understand what the police are doing), these incidents occur right under our noses.

This particular incident of police brutality has fortunately become an issue almost three years later because the City of Hawthorne (in late January 2009) had to pay the victim Anthony Goodrow the sum of $1 million dollars to settle his lawsuit against the police department for use of excessive force.

Experts who investigated the case, along with a review of the lawsuit by the Times, revealed that the initial investigator(s) from Internal Affairs not only failed to interview Goodrow, they also failed to interview the officers involved (one of which who was the police chief’s son) as well as a number of witnesses who were able to confirm that Goodrow was kicked in his face so hard during his arrest that his jaw was broken.

The officers involved were cleared of any wrong doing based solely on their written reports.

As far as the incident itself, Goodrow, 26 (race unstated), was attending a party with his girlfriend when the police arrived to investigate a noise complaint. Goodrow’s girlfriend protested that the officers had no right to enter the party, and officers responded by taking her into custody. Goodrow verbally protested his girlfriend’s arrest, and upon taking up a defensive stance, was grabbed by police officers, placed in a choke-hold, beaten, kicked, and placed under arrest for felony resisting.

There is not one person alive who would disagree with the fact that brutality and misconduct by police officers has to come to an end. Our government needs to be more aggressive in its approach to insure that law enforcement agencies have the necessary checks and balances in place to prevent injury and/or death from befalling any citizen as a result of police misconduct. Investigations into incidents of police brutality must be thorough, and stiffer penalties need to be put in place to punish those officers who are found in violation of departmental policies and/or laws as they pertain to police misconduct.

Most importantly, recruitment and training standards need to be structured so that prospective employees can gain a true sense of the actual sacrifice that has to be made when they choose to pursue a career in law enforcement.

For example, most recruitment ads for police officer tend to highlight the salary and other benefits of the position such as medical, retirement, etc. – and strategically placed in the background is a shiny, brand new police vehicle with flashing lights, flanked by two or more smiling, neatly dressed, uniformed police officers. This is usually followed by a job description that lists the qualifications, abilities, and working conditions for the position. Very little emphasis, if any, is placed on the fact that when a recruit becomes a police officer, he or she becomes a representative of the government – not of themselves. The laws they enforce are the laws of the government – not their laws.

Incidents of police brutality and misconduct usually occur when police officers take and make their job personal. It is the number one mistake that police officers make, and most people know that when someone takes a situation personal, the outcome is rarely favorable.

Police officers need to understand that when someone breaks the law, and later resist arrest through fighting or running from the scene, the person is not fighting or running away from you – the person is fighting and/or running away from what you represent - the law. With that being said – how can a police officer justify taking an incident personally and using excessive force to subdue a suspect, when the suspect most likely knows nothing personal about the officer, and is incapable of formulating anything against the officer on a personal level?

Answer – there is no justification.

If police departments spent more time during the introduction phase of recruitment for potential candidates highlighting this one crucial aspect of law enforcement, incidents of misconduct and brutality could be significantly reduced, and recruits could make better choices when it comes to deciding whether or not policing is the right profession for them.

Not to mention the amount of money that cities could retain for more viable community-based projects instead of paying out millions of dollars in lawsuits

Sgt Arthur Barksdale Charged with Harassment

Syracuse, NY

A sergeant with the Onondaga County Sheriff's custody division was arrested over the weekend after an incident at Carousel Center, his boss, Chief Richard Carbery said.

Arthur Barksdale, 48, of 321 Barrington Road, Syracuse, allegedly scuffled with city police officers at the mall in an incident that happened shortly before 10 p.m. Friday night, Carbery said.

Barksdale is now on administrative leave and has been charged with harassment, resisting arrest and obstruction of government administration, Carbery said.

Barksdale, who has been with the Sheriff's office for 22 years, would not comment on the charges, saying he wants to consult with his lawyer first. He is scheduled to meet with his attorney this morning .

Syracuse police Sgt. Tom Connellan said police were at the mall, trying to break up fights at the bottom of the escalator near the food court. Detective Anthony Colavita was trying to get to the bottom to help quell the fray. Barksdale, also going down, had his hands on the rails,
blocking the passage of Colavita, who was in uniform, Connellan said.

According to police reports, Colavita tapped Barksdale on the shoulder and tried to get through. Barksdale allegedly swore and shoved Colavita back, Connellan said.

The two then scuffled, wrestling on the tracks of the escalator, said Connellan.

When they reached the bottom, another officer pulled Barksdale away from the crowds and officers tried to handcuff him, but Barksdale struggled and shouted that he was a cop, Connellan read from reports.

After he was in custody, he was taken downtown to be booked and made bail that night, Connellan said.

Barksdale was among African-American deputies who filed racial harassment and discrimination claims in 2000 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to news archives.

Former Officer Charles Staso Arrested for for Child Porn

A former police officer has been charged in a case involving child pornography. Charles Staso was arrested today on three counts of sexual abuse of children. Until his resignation yesterday, Staso had served as a sergeant for the Colebrookdale Township Police Department near Boyertown. State Police say they found pornographic video and pictures on Staso's home computer. He's now free on $50,000 bail. "I first learned of the investigation by PA State Police on January 16, 2009," said Chief Christopher Schott, in a written statement.

"Police officers are and have to be held to a higher standard in conducting their everyday affairs. They cannot be doing drugs, stealing or committing other crimes that we investigate and prosecute people for."

"This sort of thing puts a black mark on law enforcement, particularly Colebrookdale Township. The public should be able to trust its police officers and law enforcement personnel. As in other professions, there are a small percentage of police officers that participate in criminal activity. I ask that not all police officers be judged by the actions of a few.

"The department has been shocked by these happenings. One never knows what goes on in the privacy of another person's home. There is a good group of people working in this department that are doing their jobs in a professional manner. Colebrookdale Township Police Department will continue to serve and protect the citizens of Colebrookdale Township and the Borough of Bechtelsville."

Trial Date set for Former Officer Brian Lawlor Accused of Using Excessive Force

MIDDLETOWN

A judge has set a date of March 18 to begin proceedings in the trial of a former city officer accused of using excessive force during a September 2005 arrest.

Executive Assistant State's Attorney Michael A. Gailor and attorney Norman A. Pattis for former police officer Brian Lawlor met with a judge for a status conference Tuesday at Middletown Superior Court. Gailor said after discussing the case, a judge set a final date of March 18 for the trial to begin.

"The trial will begin on that day and we expect to move forward in presenting evidence," said Gailor, who could not comment further on the pending case.

Messages left for Pattis were not immediately returned Tuesday.

Lawlor, 34, of Meriden, faces charges of second-degree assault with a weapon and tampering with evidence during a 2005 arrest of a Meriden man accused of using excessive force in subduing a suspect who had led police on a chase.

Court records show that Lawlor has appeared on the docket 19 times including having been scheduled to start trial during his last three appearances in January and February. In all three scheduled appearances, a judge had continued the case.

Lawlor was arrested in July 2006 after a nine month investigation into complaints that he had used excessive force against Meriden resident Alexis Hernandez. Police records said Lawlor was fired by the police department in December 2005 after an internal investigation that included a police cruiser video allegedly showing Lawlor using a pistol to strike Hernandez repeatedly.

The Freedom of Information Commission denied a request by the Record-Journal in 2006 to acquire the tapes, saying release of the video could compromise the investigation.

Officer Andrew Barone Arrested for Sex Crimes

WILTON

Information from the state's Superior Court revealed hundreds of naked pictures on the Internet were posted illegally from an IP address belonging to the home and registered e-mail of a Wilton police officer.

The officer, Andrew Barone, 23, of Trumbull, was arrested on Friday by the Connecticut Central State University (CCSU) Police on one count of sexual assault in the second degree, three felony counts of computer crime in the third degree, one count of larceny in the sixth degree and eight breach of peace counts in the second degree.

Barone's girlfriend was notified by a school official on Dec. 3, 2008, there were nude photographs of her online. She said some of them were taken the night before by Barone, and the following morning, she and her roommate were at class, and Barone was alone in their dorm room.

Barone said he left his camera with the photos in the room and does not know how they got online.

A few days later, Barone's ex-girlfriend was notified by the police naked photos of her were also online.

She said in the affidavit she didn't know there were nude pictures of her on the Internet, but she was "100 percent sure" Barone posted them because she had never let anyone else take pictures of her nude.

During more than a month-long investigation, the owner of the Web site, girlfriendshowoff.com, confirmed the photos found on Dec. 3 were posted from an IP address registered to Barone's girlfriend and posted from her computer that morning.

He also confirmed others were posted from a computer with an IP address registered to Barone's Trumbull address.

According to the affidavit, the owner of the Web site said whoever owns the e-mail accounts registered to the IP addresses was "seriously obsessed," and was the fifth most frequent user out of 7,000 accounts.

One IP address was connected to the e-mail address abarone@ccsu.edu, but Barone said in the affidavit he has not used that e-mail address since his freshman year. He also denied posting any pictures of his current girlfriend or ex-girlfriend and said his computer was hacked into in the spring of 2008.

Naked pictures of five girls in connection with this case were found online.

Barone's ex-girlfriend said she never gave Barone permission to post the photos online, and, according to the affidavit, he did "worse things than just post pictures, and one of the two incidents happened at CCSU," but no further information is available.

Mark McLaughlin, associate vice president of marketing and communications at CCSU, said Barone was a student at the university at the time of the sexual assault, which allegedly occurred on April 22, 2006.

McLaughlin also said the girl involved in the alleged sexual assault was not a student. No more information on that charge was available at press time.

Barone was held on $75,000 bond and given a court date of March 13.

Captain Michael Lombardo of the Wilton Police Department said Barone went through the same screening process as all officers, including a psychological screening and an extensive background check by Wilton detectives.

The department is conducting an internal investigation, and Barone is on administrative leave with no power of arrest.

"We've initiated an internal affairs investigation," said Lombardo. "Pending that disposition, we will determine his status. . . As anyone who's accused of any crime, he's entitled to his due process."

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Other Information: http://wiltonvillager.com/story/465162

Judge Margaret Huddleston Arrested for DUI

A Warren County judge is arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, more than twice the legal limit.

Bowling Green Police say Family Court Judge Margaret Huddleston was stopped early Saturday morning in her driveway, after an officer noticed Huddleston's Mercedes hit the center line of the road five times as she was driving home.

Police say the 59 year old Huddleston had blood shot eyes, slurred speech, and blew a point one-seven-four on a field sobriety test, which is more than twice Kentucky's legal limit.

Huddleston was charged with careless driving and first-degree DUI.

She was arrested and lodged in Warren County Regional Jail, where she was later released on an unsecured bond.

For the past decade, Huddleston has been a judge for the court that handles divorce, child custody, visitation, child support, adoption, and termination of parental rights cases.

She's scheduled to appear in Judge John Brown's court on Monday March 10th at 1:30.

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http://www.wztv.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.ky/208f1934-www.fox17.com.shtml

Deputy William Edwards Charged with Burglary has Been Fired

A Lee County Sheriff deputy accused of stealing car parts at an auto mall last month has been fired.

William Edwards, 23, was terminated from his post Tuesday, according to the sheriff’s legal advisor, Barry Hillmyer.

Edwards was arrested Jan. 25 on charges of burglary, possession of burglary tools and larceny. Fort Myers police reported Edwards was caught, alongside another man, taking lug nuts off cars at O’Brien Auto Mall on Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.

Hillmyer said Edwards has until Feb. 26 to appeal his termination.

Edwards has entered a not guilty plea to the charges, and is scheduled for arraignment on Feb. 23.

Lt. Donnie Lowe Charged with Drunk Driving

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.

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

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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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/

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.”

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

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/

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.

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