A Seattle police lieutenant who was allowed to supervise a Seattle Police Department security detail at President Obama's inauguration after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving pleaded not guilty this morning.
Donnie R. Lowe, 42, entered the plea through his attorney, Jeffrey Veitch, in King County District Court in Redmond.
Lowe was cited for driving under the influence Nov. 23 after being stopped on Interstate 5 in South Seattle by a State Patrol trooper.
A blood-alcohol test administered to Lowe about an hour after the stop registered 0.113 percent, above the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent for those over 21, according to a State Patrol report.
Officers convicted of drunken driving can face internal discipline, often a suspension.
A police spokesman previously declined to comment on the arrest.
But the spokesman noted that Lowe began working on the inauguration assignment before the incident and carried out his duty to supervise a 42-member Seattle police detail assisting in the Jan. 20 inaugural in Washington, D.C. Lowe works in the department's Homeland Security Bureau, overseeing planning for special events and disaster management.
Lowe, who was with a passenger, was stopped about 1:45 a.m. after a trooper noticed his car drifting in the lanes, the State Patrol report said.
The trooper recognized an odor of alcohol in the car and saw a glass filled with a dark-colored liquid that smelled of alcohol in the middle drink holder, the report said. Lowe had bloodshot and watery eyes, the trooper wrote.
Lowe's record with the Police Department includes a written reprimand following a June 2006 incident in which he entered a jail cell and made inappropriate physical contact with his son, then 13, who had been arrested for obstructing officers and was handcuffed.
The boy alleged he was punched and pushed against a wall, while Lowe told internal investigators he grabbed the boy by his sweat shirt and pulled him up from a bench in way that was "not gentle," according to police records.
The City Attorney's Office reviewed the case but declined to bring charges, citing proof problems and a parent's right to discipline a child, the records show.
Lowe also received an oral reprimand stemming from a September 2002 incident in which he entered a private home in an attempt to recover nude photographs of a woman he knew from a man who reportedly had been romantically involved with her.
In 2007, a citizen-review-board report cited that case as one of several in which Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske reduced disciplinary findings. The director of the department's Office of Professional Accountability had recommended findings of misuse of authority and violation of rules, regulations and laws, the board said.
Kerlikowske reached a lesser finding, concluding that the officer engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer, the report said.
Kerlikowske has come under scrutiny in recent years for softening officer discipline.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Deputy Flips of Public
HAMLIN, W.Va.
The 2009 edition of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department calendar is the talk of the town after some say one of the deputies was giving the finger to the camera.
It looks like one deputy is sending the wrong message with his finger. The deputy right next to him also appears to be trying to make the same gesture, but he doesn't commit.
"I honestly don't think it was intentional for anyone of the guys. Both of them have been good friends of mine," said Lincoln County Sheriff Jerry Bowman.
But, he ordered both men to collect all of the calendars from the community and cover up the fingers in question with black markers.
"We gathered up all the calendars, we brought (the calendars) back in and these two guys on their time corrected it with the Sharpie," said Bowman. They blacked out part of their fingers and redistributed."
400 calendars were printed and distributed, so it wasn't easy for the deputies to find all of them and make the corrections.
"I guarantee the next picture it will be a little more scrutinized," said Bowman. "I don't think this will happen again."
Sheriff Bowman says he'll look over next year's picture carefully to make sure it's perfect before it goes to print.
Officer Jeffrey Fowler Arrested for Drunk Driving
A Dallas police officer was arrested on Saturday for intoxication assault, police said.
Officer Jeffrey Fowler, who was assigned to the Northwest Patrol Division, was off duty, when he was involved in a two-vehicle accident at Midway Road and Bonham Street.
Investigating officers determined Officer Fowler was drunk and arrested him.
A passenger in the Officer Fowler's vehicle was seriously injured and taken to Parkland Hospital.
No other individuals were injured.
Officer Fowler has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Officer Robert Szoyka Arrested for Domestic Battery Holds his Head in Shame
Wednesday night, police officer Robert Szoyka, was arrested by Indian River County Sheriff's Office for domestic battery on his wife. His wife claimed that he punched her and sat on her head during an argument.
Szoyka, 44, is a law enforcement officer for the North Palm Beach Police Department and was named 'Officer of the Month' last November.
In his mugshot, you can see a gloved hand appearing to be holding his head up.
Szoyka was released on $500 bail.
________________
Other Information:
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/mar/13/north-palm-beach-law-enforcement-officer-accused-p/
Squad-Car Video Shows Different Story then What Officer Joe Parker tells
One night last summer Raymond Bell was pulled over by a Chicago cop and arrested for driving under the influence. Officer Joe D. Parker, a 23-year veteran, reported that upon getting out of his car, Bell was stinking of alcohol, lurching and unable to walk a straight line or stand on one foot.
An officer with his stellar record would normally prevail against a DUI suspect. But in this case, Bell had something on his side: a video camera mounted on the dashboard of Parker's squad car that told a radically different story.
Far from revealing a staggering drunk, reported the Chicago Sun-Times, the video "showed Bell appearing to be perfectly balanced," passing the sobriety tests that Parker administered—and being refused when he asked to take a Breathalyzer. Prosecutors watched the video and promptly dismissed the case. They are now considering charges against Parker.
That episode raises the question: Nine years into the 21st Century, why isn't every squad car in America equipped with a dashboard video camera? Why do we persist in relying on the slippery, self-interested, incomplete and unverified accounts of opposing participants when we have the means to see the truth with our own eyes?
In this instance, the innocent man was lucky to be stopped by a cop driving a video-armed vehicle. The odds are against it, since only 11 percent of the Chicago Police Department's cars have cameras for recording traffic stops. Though the department is planning to use federal stimulus money to double that number and the mayor has said he wants cameras installed in the remaining vehicles "as quickly as possible," no one is radiating a sense of haste.
Why not? The department says the main obstacle is money. Equipping another 300 cars, as the city plans, will require $2.1 million. So making them standard on the rest would cost about $13 million.
But that shouldn't be an insurmountable obstacle. The Illinois State Police, with a fleet of nearly 1,100 vehicles, have managed to install cameras in more than 900.
Spending $13 million looks extravagant only until you compare it to the cost of losing lawsuits over police misconduct. From 2005 through the middle of 2008, says the Chicago Reader, the city paid out $155 million in police cases. Dashboard cameras don't have to prevent many million-dollar judgments to be a bargain.
The cops—at least the good ones, who are presumably the majority—have as much reason to want these recordings as the accused. The best defense against a phony charge of police brutality is a video showing exactly what the officer said and did. A suspect who is visibly inebriated or violent will have a hard time refuting the camera's testimony in court.
Yet Chicago has dragged its feet, and it's not alone. After the 1991 Rodney King beating, a commission recommended that the Los Angeles Police Department mount cameras in its squad cars. It installed some but soon got rid of them.
A federal monitor proposed the idea again in 2005, but the police chief, The Los Angeles Times reported, "said he saw it as a long-term project." Last year—17 years later—the LAPD finally decided to equip some vehicles.
Contrast that with Mayor Richard Daley's enthusiasm for other types of video. Chicago now has some 2,250 surveillance cameras to detect criminal conduct in public places. By 2016, Daley promised last month, Chicago will have one on every corner.
The city has also installed red-light cameras at some 132 intersections, with another 330 planned.
So what exactly is different about those cameras? Well, they are trained on the citizenry, not on the police. What's sauce for the goose seems to be regarded as a dubious liquid substance when proposed for the gander. The city is less eager to capture video evidence if it may expose wrongdoing by its own law enforcement agents.
But the rest of us might want to keep unsleeping electronic eyes on the people with guns and badges. A city with a good police department can gain a lot from squad-car video cameras. A city with a bad one can gain even more.
An officer with his stellar record would normally prevail against a DUI suspect. But in this case, Bell had something on his side: a video camera mounted on the dashboard of Parker's squad car that told a radically different story.
Far from revealing a staggering drunk, reported the Chicago Sun-Times, the video "showed Bell appearing to be perfectly balanced," passing the sobriety tests that Parker administered—and being refused when he asked to take a Breathalyzer. Prosecutors watched the video and promptly dismissed the case. They are now considering charges against Parker.
That episode raises the question: Nine years into the 21st Century, why isn't every squad car in America equipped with a dashboard video camera? Why do we persist in relying on the slippery, self-interested, incomplete and unverified accounts of opposing participants when we have the means to see the truth with our own eyes?
In this instance, the innocent man was lucky to be stopped by a cop driving a video-armed vehicle. The odds are against it, since only 11 percent of the Chicago Police Department's cars have cameras for recording traffic stops. Though the department is planning to use federal stimulus money to double that number and the mayor has said he wants cameras installed in the remaining vehicles "as quickly as possible," no one is radiating a sense of haste.
Why not? The department says the main obstacle is money. Equipping another 300 cars, as the city plans, will require $2.1 million. So making them standard on the rest would cost about $13 million.
But that shouldn't be an insurmountable obstacle. The Illinois State Police, with a fleet of nearly 1,100 vehicles, have managed to install cameras in more than 900.
Spending $13 million looks extravagant only until you compare it to the cost of losing lawsuits over police misconduct. From 2005 through the middle of 2008, says the Chicago Reader, the city paid out $155 million in police cases. Dashboard cameras don't have to prevent many million-dollar judgments to be a bargain.
The cops—at least the good ones, who are presumably the majority—have as much reason to want these recordings as the accused. The best defense against a phony charge of police brutality is a video showing exactly what the officer said and did. A suspect who is visibly inebriated or violent will have a hard time refuting the camera's testimony in court.
Yet Chicago has dragged its feet, and it's not alone. After the 1991 Rodney King beating, a commission recommended that the Los Angeles Police Department mount cameras in its squad cars. It installed some but soon got rid of them.
A federal monitor proposed the idea again in 2005, but the police chief, The Los Angeles Times reported, "said he saw it as a long-term project." Last year—17 years later—the LAPD finally decided to equip some vehicles.
Contrast that with Mayor Richard Daley's enthusiasm for other types of video. Chicago now has some 2,250 surveillance cameras to detect criminal conduct in public places. By 2016, Daley promised last month, Chicago will have one on every corner.
The city has also installed red-light cameras at some 132 intersections, with another 330 planned.
So what exactly is different about those cameras? Well, they are trained on the citizenry, not on the police. What's sauce for the goose seems to be regarded as a dubious liquid substance when proposed for the gander. The city is less eager to capture video evidence if it may expose wrongdoing by its own law enforcement agents.
But the rest of us might want to keep unsleeping electronic eyes on the people with guns and badges. A city with a good police department can gain a lot from squad-car video cameras. A city with a bad one can gain even more.
Taser Death of Robert Welch Being Investigated
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office views Tasers as safe and effective weapons. But Joe Welch Jr., a South County resident, has a very different view.
Welch’s son, Robert Lee Welch, 40, died Feb. 28 after MCSO deputies Tasered him several times when they were called to Joe Welch’s home in the 6500 block of Golden Oaks Drive, south of Texas 242.
Preliminary autopsy results did not determine the cause of death for Robert Welch, whose heart stopped after he was Tasered, Joe Welch said. Toxicology results have not been finalized, MCSO Lt. Bill Bucks said, but results of tests on the data from the Taser used should be in early next week.
Robert Welch, according to a 9-1-1 recording the MCSO released to The Courier Wednesday, was staggering around his home naked and in a daze, his stepmother told a dispatcher on the recording. He also was pushing his father, who has a pacemaker and defibrillator.
Deputies used a Taser on Robert Welch because he was “standoffish and pushing,” Bucks said.
“He was acting pretty much the way he was when the mother made the call,” he said.
But Joe Welch said his son presented no danger.
“No one in this house was in any danger at any time,” he said. “We were trying to get help for Robert, not for us. Their main concern was that Robert was pushing on me.
“We didn’t want the deputies; we called for an ambulance.”
Four deputies arrived at the home, Bucks said, and all four were put on paid administrative leave for three days, which is standard policy. The four deputies are back on regular patrol duty, he said.
Janell Welch, Joe Welch’s wife, made the 9-1-1 call around 7 a.m. She first spoke with an EMS call taker.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “Our son came in around 11 last night. ... He’s been staggering around since 5 this morning. He’s buck naked. I don’t know what he’s on. He won’t talk, and he doesn’t make any sense.”
The call taker asked whether Robert Welch was violent or had a weapon, and Janell Welch said “No” to both questions.
“Is this a suicide attempt?” the call taker asked.
“I have no idea. I wouldn’t doubt it,” Janell Welch said.
The EMS calltaker then got an MCSO call taker on the line, who asked Janell Welch what drugs Robert Welch had taken.
“I have no idea,” she said. “None at all.”
A few seconds later, Janell Welch yelled at Robert Welch.
“Robert, stop! You’re going to hurt your daddy!” she said.
“No, he’s going to hurt me,” Robert Welch said. “Get out of the way!”
Seconds later, Janell Welch called out to her daughter.
“Make sure he doesn’t hurt your dad,” she said. “He’s pushing really hard on him.”
The MCSO call taker then asked Janell Welch why she said it might be a suicide attempt.
“His girlfriend kicked him out last night,” she said. “He’s always threatening to do that.”
Janell Welch then said Robert Welch is diabetic, and also that Joe Welch has Type II diabetes and serious heart trouble.
“With that (unintelligible) going off, no one can touch him,” she said.
When Janell Welch asked why the ambulance hadn’t arrived, the MCSO call taker said EMS would not go to the scene until the MCSO officers arrived.
“With him being violent ...” the calltaker began to say.
“He’s not violent,” Janell Welch said. “He’s walking around in a daze.”
Deputies arrived 15 minutes and 45 seconds after Janell Welch called 9-1-1, and the call ended five seconds later.
MCSO Taser Use
MCSO deputies were involved in 694 use-of-force incidents from the beginning of 2006 through June 30, 2008, according to MCSO statistics provided to The Villager newspaper for a previous story. For the 122 incidents involving Tasers, the devices were considered effective 105 times, an 86 percent success ratio. By comparison, pepper spray was found effective in 76 percent of the incidents, and batons were effective 25 percent of the time.
Tasers were discharged 168 times in the 122 incidents. At least eight incidents involved multiple five-second shock cycles, including one in which a person received nine cycles. More than half of the 92 discharges did not include documentation on how many times a person was shocked.
MCSO also documented nine instances in which a person was reported injured by a Taser. Over the same time period, deputies were injured 43 times during use-of-force incidents, and 29 deputies were taken to the hospital.
About 90 percent of all MCSO deputies carry Tasers, and the department is aiming for 100 percent, said Lt. Ralph Smith, MCSO training coordinator.
Taser Training and Effects
Everyone who carries a Taser is trained to standards from Taser Internation, the stun-gun manufacturer, he said. All deputies get an initial eight-hour training, which includes being Tasered. Deputies must be re-certified every year but aren’t required to be Tasered during recertification.
“We don’t use Taser cartridges; we use training cartridges that shoot alligator clips,” he said. “If we discharged the actual Taser charge, it would cost too much.
“It’s 100 percent the same effect.”
Each five-second Taser charge carries 50,000 volts, which cannot be turned down, Smith said. The charge cannot be reduced to less than five seconds.
“It doesn’t affect you the same way electricity does,” he said.
The advantages of a Taser is that it gives deputies an option other than a lethal weapon, or duty guns, Smith said.
“It’s one of the best weapons you can arm yourself with,” he said. “It’s a very, very good tool, but it does not take the place of the duty weapon. Our thought here is safety first for the deputies and for citizens.
“If you can use a Taser in place of a weapon, you haven’t killed someone.”
Joe Welch’s Take on Tasers
Joe Welch insists his son wasn’t forcefully pushing anyone when he was Tasered.
“He didn’t hurt anybody. He’s 180 pounds, and these guys looked like linebackers from Green Bay,” he said. “They Tasered him six times, and he (a deputy) stood his foot on Robert’s neck.”
When paramedics arrived, Robert Welch had no pulse, and the paramedics were unable to revive him, Joe Welch said. He was taken to St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Joe Welch, who won’t say whether he plans to take legal action against MCSO, believes Tasers should be “taken away” from law enforcement.
“It’s a bad idea to give Tasers to everyone in the force,” he said. “They screwed up and they knew it.
“They Tasered my son to death. When they hear from me, God’s going to come with me.”
To hear the Feb. 28 9-1-1 call by Janell Welch in its entirety, go to www.thecourier-online.com.
911 Tape
Welch’s son, Robert Lee Welch, 40, died Feb. 28 after MCSO deputies Tasered him several times when they were called to Joe Welch’s home in the 6500 block of Golden Oaks Drive, south of Texas 242.
Preliminary autopsy results did not determine the cause of death for Robert Welch, whose heart stopped after he was Tasered, Joe Welch said. Toxicology results have not been finalized, MCSO Lt. Bill Bucks said, but results of tests on the data from the Taser used should be in early next week.
Robert Welch, according to a 9-1-1 recording the MCSO released to The Courier Wednesday, was staggering around his home naked and in a daze, his stepmother told a dispatcher on the recording. He also was pushing his father, who has a pacemaker and defibrillator.
Deputies used a Taser on Robert Welch because he was “standoffish and pushing,” Bucks said.
“He was acting pretty much the way he was when the mother made the call,” he said.
But Joe Welch said his son presented no danger.
“No one in this house was in any danger at any time,” he said. “We were trying to get help for Robert, not for us. Their main concern was that Robert was pushing on me.
“We didn’t want the deputies; we called for an ambulance.”
Four deputies arrived at the home, Bucks said, and all four were put on paid administrative leave for three days, which is standard policy. The four deputies are back on regular patrol duty, he said.
Janell Welch, Joe Welch’s wife, made the 9-1-1 call around 7 a.m. She first spoke with an EMS call taker.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said. “Our son came in around 11 last night. ... He’s been staggering around since 5 this morning. He’s buck naked. I don’t know what he’s on. He won’t talk, and he doesn’t make any sense.”
The call taker asked whether Robert Welch was violent or had a weapon, and Janell Welch said “No” to both questions.
“Is this a suicide attempt?” the call taker asked.
“I have no idea. I wouldn’t doubt it,” Janell Welch said.
The EMS calltaker then got an MCSO call taker on the line, who asked Janell Welch what drugs Robert Welch had taken.
“I have no idea,” she said. “None at all.”
A few seconds later, Janell Welch yelled at Robert Welch.
“Robert, stop! You’re going to hurt your daddy!” she said.
“No, he’s going to hurt me,” Robert Welch said. “Get out of the way!”
Seconds later, Janell Welch called out to her daughter.
“Make sure he doesn’t hurt your dad,” she said. “He’s pushing really hard on him.”
The MCSO call taker then asked Janell Welch why she said it might be a suicide attempt.
“His girlfriend kicked him out last night,” she said. “He’s always threatening to do that.”
Janell Welch then said Robert Welch is diabetic, and also that Joe Welch has Type II diabetes and serious heart trouble.
“With that (unintelligible) going off, no one can touch him,” she said.
When Janell Welch asked why the ambulance hadn’t arrived, the MCSO call taker said EMS would not go to the scene until the MCSO officers arrived.
“With him being violent ...” the calltaker began to say.
“He’s not violent,” Janell Welch said. “He’s walking around in a daze.”
Deputies arrived 15 minutes and 45 seconds after Janell Welch called 9-1-1, and the call ended five seconds later.
MCSO Taser Use
MCSO deputies were involved in 694 use-of-force incidents from the beginning of 2006 through June 30, 2008, according to MCSO statistics provided to The Villager newspaper for a previous story. For the 122 incidents involving Tasers, the devices were considered effective 105 times, an 86 percent success ratio. By comparison, pepper spray was found effective in 76 percent of the incidents, and batons were effective 25 percent of the time.
Tasers were discharged 168 times in the 122 incidents. At least eight incidents involved multiple five-second shock cycles, including one in which a person received nine cycles. More than half of the 92 discharges did not include documentation on how many times a person was shocked.
MCSO also documented nine instances in which a person was reported injured by a Taser. Over the same time period, deputies were injured 43 times during use-of-force incidents, and 29 deputies were taken to the hospital.
About 90 percent of all MCSO deputies carry Tasers, and the department is aiming for 100 percent, said Lt. Ralph Smith, MCSO training coordinator.
Taser Training and Effects
Everyone who carries a Taser is trained to standards from Taser Internation, the stun-gun manufacturer, he said. All deputies get an initial eight-hour training, which includes being Tasered. Deputies must be re-certified every year but aren’t required to be Tasered during recertification.
“We don’t use Taser cartridges; we use training cartridges that shoot alligator clips,” he said. “If we discharged the actual Taser charge, it would cost too much.
“It’s 100 percent the same effect.”
Each five-second Taser charge carries 50,000 volts, which cannot be turned down, Smith said. The charge cannot be reduced to less than five seconds.
“It doesn’t affect you the same way electricity does,” he said.
The advantages of a Taser is that it gives deputies an option other than a lethal weapon, or duty guns, Smith said.
“It’s one of the best weapons you can arm yourself with,” he said. “It’s a very, very good tool, but it does not take the place of the duty weapon. Our thought here is safety first for the deputies and for citizens.
“If you can use a Taser in place of a weapon, you haven’t killed someone.”
Joe Welch’s Take on Tasers
Joe Welch insists his son wasn’t forcefully pushing anyone when he was Tasered.
“He didn’t hurt anybody. He’s 180 pounds, and these guys looked like linebackers from Green Bay,” he said. “They Tasered him six times, and he (a deputy) stood his foot on Robert’s neck.”
When paramedics arrived, Robert Welch had no pulse, and the paramedics were unable to revive him, Joe Welch said. He was taken to St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Joe Welch, who won’t say whether he plans to take legal action against MCSO, believes Tasers should be “taken away” from law enforcement.
“It’s a bad idea to give Tasers to everyone in the force,” he said. “They screwed up and they knew it.
“They Tasered my son to death. When they hear from me, God’s going to come with me.”
To hear the Feb. 28 9-1-1 call by Janell Welch in its entirety, go to www.thecourier-online.com.
911 Tape
Officer Michaelyn Culligan Charged with OWI Still on Duty
MANITOWOC
A Manitowoc police officer who was sitting on the board of directors for the Wisconsin D.A.R.E. Officers Association when she was arrested earlier this month for drunken driving remains on duty, Manitowoc Police Chief Tony Dick said today.
Michaelyn Culligan, 40, was picked up around 9:30 p.m. March 2 in Two Rivers after her car got stuck in a snow bank at Mishicot Road and 44th Street, Manitowoc County Sheriff Rob Hermann said. Because her husband, Timothy Culligan, is a patrol officer with the Two Rivers Police Department, the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Department was called in to handle the arrest.
To avoid any further conflicts of interest, the woman was transported to the Calumet County Jail. Hermann said today that he doesn’t have access to records showing Culligan’s blood alcohol content at the time of her arrest.
“Obviously this is a sad day for Manitowoc — for the citizens and also the other officers,” Dick said. “This is not the conduct that we would expect from one of our officers.”
Culligan works on the second-shift patrol division and was serving as a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer for the Manitowoc Police Department at the time of her arrest. She remains on duty at the department while an internal investigation takes place, Dick said, but has been relieved of her D.A.R.E. duties. She also resigned from her post on the state D.A.R.E. board, he said.
“We’re going to let due process take it’s course, but until that happens there’s just no way that we feel that she could have legitimacy standing up in the front of a classroom teaching D.A.R.E.,” Dick said. “We don’t have any reports that lead us to believe this rises to the level where she shouldn’t be working at this point.”
If Culligan is convicted of drunken driving, Dick said that charge will be taken into consideration along with the results of the internal investigation to determine any disciplinary action. The department doesn’t have specific policies laying out punishment for officers convicted of operating while intoxicated.
“Our policy is more dealing with the general misbehaving,” he said. “We look at a lot of different things in general — more so than the criminal aspect or the violation of an ordinance would look at. In a case like this, we have to look at extenuating circumstances and we also have to look at what is right for the employer and the employee.”
Similar cases around the state have resulted in anything from a few days off work to officers quitting as a result of the investigation, Dick said. He declined to speculate on Culligan’s situation.
“When the internal investigation is done, we’ll take a look at all the factors … and put her on the right track,” he said. “She’ll be offered all the assistance that an employer would give an employee under similar circumstances.”
In the state of Wisconsin, a first-offense OWI conviction does not include jail time, but comes with a $150 to $300 fine, six- to nine-month license suspension and an alcohol assessment. An occupational driver’s license can be issued immediately, meaning Culligan legally could continue working as a patrol officer, even if convicted.
Culligan has been with the department since 1998.
“She’s a good officer — she did a lot to help our community through the years that she’s been here,” Dick said. “It’s just an unfortunate experience for her and also for all the officers. She’s a human being, and people make mistakes. I don’t think anyone feels worse than she does right now for what has happened.”
Officer Jasper White Junior Charged with Domestic Violence
ALLENDALE, S.C.
SLED agents put an Allendale Police Officer in jail and charged him with criminal domestic violence.
Jasper White Junior is accused of criminal domestic violence from an incident that happened on Hay Street between him and the victim, his wife, in September of 2008.
According to SLED, White had a physical fight with his wife where he allegedly hit her in the face with his fist, causing visible injury to her eye. He's also accused of forcibly removing her from his car. The victim says she then pushed him away and removed a gun from his console because she "was fearful he was going to do bodily harm to me or kill me."
White was arrested and released on his own personal recognizance.
SLED agents put an Allendale Police Officer in jail and charged him with criminal domestic violence.
Jasper White Junior is accused of criminal domestic violence from an incident that happened on Hay Street between him and the victim, his wife, in September of 2008.
According to SLED, White had a physical fight with his wife where he allegedly hit her in the face with his fist, causing visible injury to her eye. He's also accused of forcibly removing her from his car. The victim says she then pushed him away and removed a gun from his console because she "was fearful he was going to do bodily harm to me or kill me."
White was arrested and released on his own personal recognizance.
Two Houston Residents Arrested for saying Fuck
Movie actors say it on screen. Some artists put it in their songs.
But using the “F-word” in public places is starting to get Houston-area residents handcuffed or arrested.
For the second time within the past eight months, a person using the word during private conversations in public places — once at a Wal-Mart in La Marque and then at a Mexican restaurant in Galveston — have been taken into custody and cited for disorderly conduct.
While the word is vulgar, disrespectful and in poor taste, constitutional scholars such at T. Gerald Treece, an associate dean at the South Texas College of Law, believe “criminalizing” the word is a violation of free speech.
Such a word has to “excite violence or an immediate disruption, where people feel they are forced to leave or not participate in an activity” before police action would be warranted, he said.
State law says the use of abusive, indecent, profane or vulgar language in a public place, which causes an “immediate breach of peace,” meets the definition of disorderly conduct.
Officer makes the call
Abraham Urquizo, 35, a visitor from Jamaica, N.Y., was arrested this week at Salsa’s Mexican and Seafood Restaurant on Seawall Boulevard in Galveston after twice using the word to berate his girlfriend, officials said.
A Galveston police officer overhead the conversation in which Urquizo was reported to have said, “I can’t believe you’re so (expletive deleted) stupid” which was followed by “what the (expletive deleted) were you thinking.”
The officer, eating his dinner nearby, took Urquizo outside to caution him about his speech , said Galveston police spokesman, Lt. D.J. Alvarez. The restaurant’s manager then stated the use of the word had offended him and asked the officer to do something, Alvarez said.
The officer arrested Urquizo on a charge of disorderly conduct.
Urquizo could not be reached for comment, but he has since pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor offense. The judge assessed his punishment as the hours he had already spent in jail prior to the pleading.
“Rather than arrest the customer, the appropriate response would have been for the manager to ask him to leave the premises. That was within the manager’s rights” said Treece, the law school dean. “But the government should not make the call.”
Out of batteries
However, he said citizens often “want to get on with their lives and don’t fight it,” although the La Marque case is headed for trial on May 1.
In this case, 28-year-old Kathryn “Kristi” Fridge, went to a Wal-Mart on Aug. 4 to buy batteries before Tropical Storm Edouard arrived.
After finding the battery shelf empty, she told the Chronicle that she turned to her mother and remarked, “They’re all (expletive deleted) gone!”
Capt. Alfred Decker, a La Marque assistant fire marshal who also is a certified peace officer, overheard the conversation.
He came from around the corner to tell her, “You need to watch your mouth,” she said.
When she told him it was a private conversation and none of his business, she said he ordered her outside so that he could retrieve his citation book and ticket her for disorderly conduct.
La Marque Fire Chief Todd Zacheri said Fridge had created a scene by cursing the officer and everyone else present, causing a “huge group” to gather.
But using the “F-word” in public places is starting to get Houston-area residents handcuffed or arrested.
For the second time within the past eight months, a person using the word during private conversations in public places — once at a Wal-Mart in La Marque and then at a Mexican restaurant in Galveston — have been taken into custody and cited for disorderly conduct.
While the word is vulgar, disrespectful and in poor taste, constitutional scholars such at T. Gerald Treece, an associate dean at the South Texas College of Law, believe “criminalizing” the word is a violation of free speech.
Such a word has to “excite violence or an immediate disruption, where people feel they are forced to leave or not participate in an activity” before police action would be warranted, he said.
State law says the use of abusive, indecent, profane or vulgar language in a public place, which causes an “immediate breach of peace,” meets the definition of disorderly conduct.
Officer makes the call
Abraham Urquizo, 35, a visitor from Jamaica, N.Y., was arrested this week at Salsa’s Mexican and Seafood Restaurant on Seawall Boulevard in Galveston after twice using the word to berate his girlfriend, officials said.
A Galveston police officer overhead the conversation in which Urquizo was reported to have said, “I can’t believe you’re so (expletive deleted) stupid” which was followed by “what the (expletive deleted) were you thinking.”
The officer, eating his dinner nearby, took Urquizo outside to caution him about his speech , said Galveston police spokesman, Lt. D.J. Alvarez. The restaurant’s manager then stated the use of the word had offended him and asked the officer to do something, Alvarez said.
The officer arrested Urquizo on a charge of disorderly conduct.
Urquizo could not be reached for comment, but he has since pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor offense. The judge assessed his punishment as the hours he had already spent in jail prior to the pleading.
“Rather than arrest the customer, the appropriate response would have been for the manager to ask him to leave the premises. That was within the manager’s rights” said Treece, the law school dean. “But the government should not make the call.”
Out of batteries
However, he said citizens often “want to get on with their lives and don’t fight it,” although the La Marque case is headed for trial on May 1.
In this case, 28-year-old Kathryn “Kristi” Fridge, went to a Wal-Mart on Aug. 4 to buy batteries before Tropical Storm Edouard arrived.
After finding the battery shelf empty, she told the Chronicle that she turned to her mother and remarked, “They’re all (expletive deleted) gone!”
Capt. Alfred Decker, a La Marque assistant fire marshal who also is a certified peace officer, overheard the conversation.
He came from around the corner to tell her, “You need to watch your mouth,” she said.
When she told him it was a private conversation and none of his business, she said he ordered her outside so that he could retrieve his citation book and ticket her for disorderly conduct.
La Marque Fire Chief Todd Zacheri said Fridge had created a scene by cursing the officer and everyone else present, causing a “huge group” to gather.
Former Officer Anthony Doyle Recieves 12 Year Sentence for Racketeering
CHICAGO
A former police officer accused of providing information on gangland investigations to a reputed mob boss and being a "sleeper agent" for organized crime was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in federal prison for racketeering.
"You picked the wrong people to try to help," U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel told Anthony Doyle, who was convicted in 2007 along with three mobsters and an alleged henchman in the landmark Operation Family Secrets trial.
Unlike three of his co-defendants, though, the 64-year-old former officer was not held responsible for any of 18 murders outlined in the indictment. But prosecutors said that even before he joined the force, Doyle collected debts for Frank Calabrese Sr., a convicted loan shark and one of the five men prosecuted in the city's biggest organized crime trial in decades.
The case had focused on an alleged conspiracy spanning decades that included gambling, loan sharking, extortion and a series of gangland murders as the mob brought down real or suspected witnesses.
During the trial, prosecutors showed tapes of Doyle briefing the imprisoned Calabrese on the progress of a homicide investigation. Calabrese was also heard in a recording saying that Doyle would remove evidence in the murder probe.
Doyle testified at the trial that what Calabrese said in their prison conversation struck him as "gibberish" but he pretended to understand and go along because "I don't want to be a chumbalone, an idiot."
Defense attorney Ralph E. Meczyk, in pleading for leniency, said his client "wasn't a chumbalone, but he was a chum." He said Doyle had foolishly befriended Calabrese but now realizes he blundered in helping a man who was "the epitome of evil."
Meczyk also pointed to times as a policeman that Doyle had disarmed dangerous criminals, arrested a cop killer and led six people out of a burning building.
"He was a truly heroic and stellar and exemplary police officer — he took guns off the street," Meczyk told the judge.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Markus Funk told Zagel that such claims were "actually quite difficult to take seriously."
"This man is a disgrace, and to come here and say he was a stellar police officer, a man of good deeds, is an outrage," Funk said.
Only one Family Secrets defendant, Nicholas Calabrese, remains to be sentenced on March 26. Zagel has already sentenced Frank Calabrese to life and reputed mobster Paul Schiro to 20 years. Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo was sentenced to life for serving as the mob leader and for the murder of a government witness in a union pension fraud case.
________________
More Information:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/mob/1473629,w-family-secrets-mob-case-ex-cop-031209.article
A former police officer accused of providing information on gangland investigations to a reputed mob boss and being a "sleeper agent" for organized crime was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in federal prison for racketeering.
"You picked the wrong people to try to help," U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel told Anthony Doyle, who was convicted in 2007 along with three mobsters and an alleged henchman in the landmark Operation Family Secrets trial.
Unlike three of his co-defendants, though, the 64-year-old former officer was not held responsible for any of 18 murders outlined in the indictment. But prosecutors said that even before he joined the force, Doyle collected debts for Frank Calabrese Sr., a convicted loan shark and one of the five men prosecuted in the city's biggest organized crime trial in decades.
The case had focused on an alleged conspiracy spanning decades that included gambling, loan sharking, extortion and a series of gangland murders as the mob brought down real or suspected witnesses.
During the trial, prosecutors showed tapes of Doyle briefing the imprisoned Calabrese on the progress of a homicide investigation. Calabrese was also heard in a recording saying that Doyle would remove evidence in the murder probe.
Doyle testified at the trial that what Calabrese said in their prison conversation struck him as "gibberish" but he pretended to understand and go along because "I don't want to be a chumbalone, an idiot."
Defense attorney Ralph E. Meczyk, in pleading for leniency, said his client "wasn't a chumbalone, but he was a chum." He said Doyle had foolishly befriended Calabrese but now realizes he blundered in helping a man who was "the epitome of evil."
Meczyk also pointed to times as a policeman that Doyle had disarmed dangerous criminals, arrested a cop killer and led six people out of a burning building.
"He was a truly heroic and stellar and exemplary police officer — he took guns off the street," Meczyk told the judge.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Markus Funk told Zagel that such claims were "actually quite difficult to take seriously."
"This man is a disgrace, and to come here and say he was a stellar police officer, a man of good deeds, is an outrage," Funk said.
Only one Family Secrets defendant, Nicholas Calabrese, remains to be sentenced on March 26. Zagel has already sentenced Frank Calabrese to life and reputed mobster Paul Schiro to 20 years. Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo was sentenced to life for serving as the mob leader and for the murder of a government witness in a union pension fraud case.
________________
More Information:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/mob/1473629,w-family-secrets-mob-case-ex-cop-031209.article
Justice Department Launches Investigation into Officer Involved Shootings
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the Inglewood Police Department in the wake of several officer-involved shootings of unarmed suspects and other incidents in which the agency has been accused of using excessive force.
A Justice Department spokeswoman described the investigation as a "pattern or practice" inquiry into the Police Department that is being handled by the federal agency's civil rights division in Washington.
The probe marks the second ongoing investigation into the department, which was the focus of community protests last year when officers shot and killed four people -- three of them unarmed -- in the span of four months. The L.A. County Office of Independent Review, which monitors the Sheriff's Department, began probing the Police Department's tactics last year at the request of the city.
The announcement also comes less than three months after a Times investigation found that Inglewood police officers repeatedly resorted to physical or deadly force in the last several years against suspects who were unarmed or accused of minor offenses.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), who was among several politicians who called for an outside investigation into possible police misconduct, said she was gratified by the Justice Department's decision.
"I have been extremely concerned about the alarming number of police-involved shootings in Inglewood," she said in a statement Thursday.
City officials said federal investigators plan to examine past procedures and tactics involving force used by Inglewood officers.
"We will cooperate completely in all aspects of this investigation," Inglewood Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said in a statement. "We have been at work for months in implementing reforms aimed at improving how our officers go about their jobs."
The Justice Department alerted the city by letter Wednesday afternoon that the agency was beginning a review of the department, Lt. Mike McBride said.
The purpose of such reviews is to ensure proper management and oversight at police departments and, if needed, to bring federal lawsuits to pressure local authorities into reforming their operations.
The L.A. County district attorney's office is also reviewing each of the shootings for possible criminal charges against the officers -- as it does for all police shootings in the county that result in injuries or death.
Since 2003, Inglewood police have shot and killed 11 people, five of them unarmed, according to law enforcement records reviewed by The Times. Among them was Jule Dexter.
Dexter was shot in the back and the head in June 2005 after being detained for drinking in public. The officer who fired the shots said Dexter was slow to obey an order to remove his hands from his pockets and appeared to fumble with what the officer feared was a weapon.
But witnesses said Dexter, 27, was shot as he reached to pull up his slipping pants. The city paid $725,000 to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by Dexter's family. The officer was suspended for 16 days.
That shooting, along with others, prompted some officers to complain about the department's policy on when to shoot and about a lack of training.
In addition, the department has been criticized over its use of electric stun guns. The Times found that two Inglewood officers were involved in shooting unarmed suspects with Tasers four times in five weeks.
Waters called on the Justice Department to intervene after the Aug. 31 killing of Eddie Felix Franco, a 56-year-old homeless man who had a realistic-looking toy gun in his waistband. Authorities said officers fired at least 47 rounds at Franco when he appeared to reach for the gun. A nearby motorist was struck and grazed in the head by one of the bullets.
Franco was the fourth person killed in as many months. The others were:
* Michael Byoune, 19, who was killed on Mother's Day, May 11, after he went to a hamburger stand with friends. Police officials said officers believed they had come under fire when they killed Byoune and wounded his two friends. None of the men were armed.
* Ruben Walton Ortega, 23, an alleged gang member who was shot and killed July 1 by an officer who said Ortega reached into his waistband as he ran from police. He was unarmed. Last week, prosecutors concluded that the officer "honestly believed he was in imminent danger" when he opened fire.
* Kevin Wicks, 38, a postal worker who was killed inside his home July 21 when police said he raised a gun at Officer Brian Ragan, who was responding to a report of a family disturbance in Wicks' apartment complex. Ragan was also one of two officers involved in Byoune's shooting and remains on paid leave, McBride said.
Inglewood Councilman Daniel Tabor said he believed the Justice Department would find that the city had taken swift measures to reform police training after last year's shootings.
About 70% of the agency's 191 officers have been enrolled in a 120-hour training program to improve tactics, according to the department.
Adrianne Sears, chairwoman of the Inglewood Citizen Police Oversight Commission, said she hoped that the Justice Department's investigation would "help to restore the public's trust in our department."
A Justice Department spokeswoman described the investigation as a "pattern or practice" inquiry into the Police Department that is being handled by the federal agency's civil rights division in Washington.
The probe marks the second ongoing investigation into the department, which was the focus of community protests last year when officers shot and killed four people -- three of them unarmed -- in the span of four months. The L.A. County Office of Independent Review, which monitors the Sheriff's Department, began probing the Police Department's tactics last year at the request of the city.
The announcement also comes less than three months after a Times investigation found that Inglewood police officers repeatedly resorted to physical or deadly force in the last several years against suspects who were unarmed or accused of minor offenses.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), who was among several politicians who called for an outside investigation into possible police misconduct, said she was gratified by the Justice Department's decision.
"I have been extremely concerned about the alarming number of police-involved shootings in Inglewood," she said in a statement Thursday.
City officials said federal investigators plan to examine past procedures and tactics involving force used by Inglewood officers.
"We will cooperate completely in all aspects of this investigation," Inglewood Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said in a statement. "We have been at work for months in implementing reforms aimed at improving how our officers go about their jobs."
The Justice Department alerted the city by letter Wednesday afternoon that the agency was beginning a review of the department, Lt. Mike McBride said.
The purpose of such reviews is to ensure proper management and oversight at police departments and, if needed, to bring federal lawsuits to pressure local authorities into reforming their operations.
The L.A. County district attorney's office is also reviewing each of the shootings for possible criminal charges against the officers -- as it does for all police shootings in the county that result in injuries or death.
Since 2003, Inglewood police have shot and killed 11 people, five of them unarmed, according to law enforcement records reviewed by The Times. Among them was Jule Dexter.
Dexter was shot in the back and the head in June 2005 after being detained for drinking in public. The officer who fired the shots said Dexter was slow to obey an order to remove his hands from his pockets and appeared to fumble with what the officer feared was a weapon.
But witnesses said Dexter, 27, was shot as he reached to pull up his slipping pants. The city paid $725,000 to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by Dexter's family. The officer was suspended for 16 days.
That shooting, along with others, prompted some officers to complain about the department's policy on when to shoot and about a lack of training.
In addition, the department has been criticized over its use of electric stun guns. The Times found that two Inglewood officers were involved in shooting unarmed suspects with Tasers four times in five weeks.
Waters called on the Justice Department to intervene after the Aug. 31 killing of Eddie Felix Franco, a 56-year-old homeless man who had a realistic-looking toy gun in his waistband. Authorities said officers fired at least 47 rounds at Franco when he appeared to reach for the gun. A nearby motorist was struck and grazed in the head by one of the bullets.
Franco was the fourth person killed in as many months. The others were:
* Michael Byoune, 19, who was killed on Mother's Day, May 11, after he went to a hamburger stand with friends. Police officials said officers believed they had come under fire when they killed Byoune and wounded his two friends. None of the men were armed.
* Ruben Walton Ortega, 23, an alleged gang member who was shot and killed July 1 by an officer who said Ortega reached into his waistband as he ran from police. He was unarmed. Last week, prosecutors concluded that the officer "honestly believed he was in imminent danger" when he opened fire.
* Kevin Wicks, 38, a postal worker who was killed inside his home July 21 when police said he raised a gun at Officer Brian Ragan, who was responding to a report of a family disturbance in Wicks' apartment complex. Ragan was also one of two officers involved in Byoune's shooting and remains on paid leave, McBride said.
Inglewood Councilman Daniel Tabor said he believed the Justice Department would find that the city had taken swift measures to reform police training after last year's shootings.
About 70% of the agency's 191 officers have been enrolled in a 120-hour training program to improve tactics, according to the department.
Adrianne Sears, chairwoman of the Inglewood Citizen Police Oversight Commission, said she hoped that the Justice Department's investigation would "help to restore the public's trust in our department."
Officer Scott Campbell Pleads Guilty to Filing False Income Tax Return
A Chicago police officer charged in a towing scandal pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to a misdemeanor charge of filing a false income tax return.
Grand Central District Officer Scott Campbell was accused of scheming to have his 1996 Volkswagen Passat towed so he could pretend it had been stolen. Campbell allegedly filed a false insurance claim and was paid about $4,000.
He pleaded guilty to failing to report the $4,000 payout on his 2007 federal income tax return. He faces up to 6 months in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 26.
Campbell has been relieved of his police powers and assigned to desk duty, said Chicago Police Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti.
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Grand Central District Officer Scott Campbell was accused of scheming to have his 1996 Volkswagen Passat towed so he could pretend it had been stolen. Campbell allegedly filed a false insurance claim and was paid about $4,000.
He pleaded guilty to failing to report the $4,000 payout on his 2007 federal income tax return. He faces up to 6 months in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 26.
Campbell has been relieved of his police powers and assigned to desk duty, said Chicago Police Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti.
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Officer John Passman Accused of Battery & Interference
BATON ROUGE, La.
An off-duty Baton Rouge Police officer was issued a misdemeanor summons after a fellow officer accused him of battery and interference.
Sgt. Charles Polozola responded to a call from a bar manager that 28-year-old Officer John Passman, who was off duty and in plain clothes, and two other men were drunk and causing problems early Thursday.
The men agreed to leave, but minutes later Polozola saw one of them entering another bar and when Polozola tried to detain the man, Passman allegedly interfered by grabbing Polozola from behind and pulling him away.
Passman was arrested and issued a summons for battery on a police officer and interfering with a police officer. He has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
An off-duty Baton Rouge Police officer was issued a misdemeanor summons after a fellow officer accused him of battery and interference.
Sgt. Charles Polozola responded to a call from a bar manager that 28-year-old Officer John Passman, who was off duty and in plain clothes, and two other men were drunk and causing problems early Thursday.
The men agreed to leave, but minutes later Polozola saw one of them entering another bar and when Polozola tried to detain the man, Passman allegedly interfered by grabbing Polozola from behind and pulling him away.
Passman was arrested and issued a summons for battery on a police officer and interfering with a police officer. He has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
Corrections Officer James Howard Accused of Sexually Assaulting Prisoners
MILWAUKEE
An officer at the Milwaukee County House of Corrections is accused of sexually assaulting two female prisoners in their cells.
The complaint filed yesterday charges 28-year-old James Howard with two counts of second-degree sexual assault of an inmate by a correctional officer and two counts of third-degree sexual assault.
Both of the women are being held in custody while awaiting trial in felony cases.
They told authorities the assaults happened last Saturday. In both cases, they alleged the officer first approached the cell and slid a suggestive note under the door, then returned a short time later and committed the assault.
A preliminary hearing for Howard is scheduled next Thursday.
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Information and Video:
http://www.wsaw.com/daybreak/headlines/41203672.html
An officer at the Milwaukee County House of Corrections is accused of sexually assaulting two female prisoners in their cells.
The complaint filed yesterday charges 28-year-old James Howard with two counts of second-degree sexual assault of an inmate by a correctional officer and two counts of third-degree sexual assault.
Both of the women are being held in custody while awaiting trial in felony cases.
They told authorities the assaults happened last Saturday. In both cases, they alleged the officer first approached the cell and slid a suggestive note under the door, then returned a short time later and committed the assault.
A preliminary hearing for Howard is scheduled next Thursday.
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Information and Video:
http://www.wsaw.com/daybreak/headlines/41203672.html
Manhattan Man Accuses Police of Beating him Until his Bladder Burst
The Manhattan man who accused Ocean Beach police of beating him so badly his bladder burst didn't contest Friday under cross-examination defense claims that he had a dozen or more drinks that night and hurled profanity at police before he was injured.
The department's former acting chief, George Hesse, 39, of East Islip, has been charged with attacking Sam Gilberd, 36, on Aug. 28, 2005, after the marketing executive kicked a door on his way out of the police station.
Hesse's lawyer, William Keahon of Islandia, cross-examined Gilberd Friday in a Riverhead courtroom and asked him if he had any memory of becoming profanely belligerent with police after he was ticketed, including shouting epithets at an officer.
"I don't recall saying that," Gilberd said after Keahon repeated the quote in question. "I don't really use language like that."
If someone says you did under oath, are they lying? Keahon pressed.
"If there's somebody that says I used language like that, I must have said it," Gilberd replied quietly.
During several hours of cross-examination, Gilberd said there were many details of the evening he did not recall. Among them was the moment he tossed a glass on the ground outside a bar - the event that spurred a bouncer to take Gilberd to the village's police station to receive the littering summons.
After Gilberd pocketed the ticket, both sides say he kicked the police station's front door as he left.
Officers pulled him back inside, where prosecutors said Hesse punched Gilberd in the face, stomped his abdomen with a work boot and left him on the ground unconscious.
Prosecutors said another officer, Arnold Hardman, 53, of St. James, failed to seek medical attention for Gilberd and lied to first responders about the extent of his injuries. Hardman is charged with unlawful imprisonment, conspiracy and other charges. Hesse faces first-degree assault, gang assault and other charges.
Lawyers for both defendants say Gilberd's bladder ruptured because of a fall.
Keahon spent much of yesterday's cross-examination aggressively pursuing a running tally of drinks he said Gilberd consumed that evening, saying evidence indicated the witness must have had "a minimum of 12 to 18 drinks."
"I don't recall, sir," Gilberd replied.
"Are you in a position to deny it?" Keahon said.
Gilberd admitted he was not.
________________
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-licop146068684mar14,0,2404217.story
The department's former acting chief, George Hesse, 39, of East Islip, has been charged with attacking Sam Gilberd, 36, on Aug. 28, 2005, after the marketing executive kicked a door on his way out of the police station.
Hesse's lawyer, William Keahon of Islandia, cross-examined Gilberd Friday in a Riverhead courtroom and asked him if he had any memory of becoming profanely belligerent with police after he was ticketed, including shouting epithets at an officer.
"I don't recall saying that," Gilberd said after Keahon repeated the quote in question. "I don't really use language like that."
If someone says you did under oath, are they lying? Keahon pressed.
"If there's somebody that says I used language like that, I must have said it," Gilberd replied quietly.
During several hours of cross-examination, Gilberd said there were many details of the evening he did not recall. Among them was the moment he tossed a glass on the ground outside a bar - the event that spurred a bouncer to take Gilberd to the village's police station to receive the littering summons.
After Gilberd pocketed the ticket, both sides say he kicked the police station's front door as he left.
Officers pulled him back inside, where prosecutors said Hesse punched Gilberd in the face, stomped his abdomen with a work boot and left him on the ground unconscious.
Prosecutors said another officer, Arnold Hardman, 53, of St. James, failed to seek medical attention for Gilberd and lied to first responders about the extent of his injuries. Hardman is charged with unlawful imprisonment, conspiracy and other charges. Hesse faces first-degree assault, gang assault and other charges.
Lawyers for both defendants say Gilberd's bladder ruptured because of a fall.
Keahon spent much of yesterday's cross-examination aggressively pursuing a running tally of drinks he said Gilberd consumed that evening, saying evidence indicated the witness must have had "a minimum of 12 to 18 drinks."
"I don't recall, sir," Gilberd replied.
"Are you in a position to deny it?" Keahon said.
Gilberd admitted he was not.
________________
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/suffolk/ny-licop146068684mar14,0,2404217.story
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Officer Scott Taylor Fired after being Investigated for Beating Police Dog
Scott Taylor, the University of Nevada, Reno police officer who has been under investigation for claims of police abuse and for allegedly beating his assigned police dog, no longer works at UNR, spokeswoman Jane Tors said today.
“He is no longer an employee,” she said. “He was notified of this (Wednesday).”
Tors said she is prohibited from discussing whether Taylor was fired or why he no longer works at UNR because, by law, it is a confidential personnel matter.
Neither Taylor or his attorney could be reached for comment.
When contacted Wednesday about reports Taylor had been fired, Tors said the university had taken action that dealt with Taylor and that the action was based on “an internal matter and not the dog, which would still be within the purview of the Attorney General’s office.”
UNR Police Chief Adam Garcia had put Taylor on paid leave last month pending an internal investigation after a complaint of police abuse was made against him Feb. 3.
“It was a complaint against his inappropriate conduct with a citizen while on duty,” Garcia had said.
In an earlier complaint filed in January with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA said Taylor had been accused of beating his K-9 patrol dog, a male German shepherd name Niko, to the point that the dog defecated on the floor at the university’s police station.
Garcia turned that investigation over to the Attorney General’s office.
Michael Langton, Taylor’s attorney, has stated that his client maintains he is innocent.
Langton said Taylor had explained that the dog defecated on the floor at the UNR police station not out of fear, but because the animal was ill, and that Taylor took him to a veterinarian after the incident.
Garcia said that after PETA contacted him Jan. 29 about the complaint, he had Niko taken away from Taylor and brought to a Reno veterinarian to be examined and kept, pending the outcome of the Attorney General’s investigation.
University officials have said that the initial assessment by the veterinarian who examined Niko found “no overt signs of abuse or trauma.”
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http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/mar/12/officer-accused-of-beating-dog-no-longer-at-unr/
“He is no longer an employee,” she said. “He was notified of this (Wednesday).”
Tors said she is prohibited from discussing whether Taylor was fired or why he no longer works at UNR because, by law, it is a confidential personnel matter.
Neither Taylor or his attorney could be reached for comment.
When contacted Wednesday about reports Taylor had been fired, Tors said the university had taken action that dealt with Taylor and that the action was based on “an internal matter and not the dog, which would still be within the purview of the Attorney General’s office.”
UNR Police Chief Adam Garcia had put Taylor on paid leave last month pending an internal investigation after a complaint of police abuse was made against him Feb. 3.
“It was a complaint against his inappropriate conduct with a citizen while on duty,” Garcia had said.
In an earlier complaint filed in January with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA said Taylor had been accused of beating his K-9 patrol dog, a male German shepherd name Niko, to the point that the dog defecated on the floor at the university’s police station.
Garcia turned that investigation over to the Attorney General’s office.
Michael Langton, Taylor’s attorney, has stated that his client maintains he is innocent.
Langton said Taylor had explained that the dog defecated on the floor at the UNR police station not out of fear, but because the animal was ill, and that Taylor took him to a veterinarian after the incident.
Garcia said that after PETA contacted him Jan. 29 about the complaint, he had Niko taken away from Taylor and brought to a Reno veterinarian to be examined and kept, pending the outcome of the Attorney General’s investigation.
University officials have said that the initial assessment by the veterinarian who examined Niko found “no overt signs of abuse or trauma.”
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http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/mar/12/officer-accused-of-beating-dog-no-longer-at-unr/
Officer Justin White Charged with Theft by Fraud
A Shreveport police officer is free on $5,184 bond after being booked into Caddo Correctional Center today on a charge of felony theft by fraud.
Officer Justin Matthew White, 27, also is on paid administrative leave from the Police Department, police Cpl. Bill Goodin said.
White is accused of falsely reporting his all-terrain vehicle as stolen to Blanchard police in June and collecting $7,012 from the insurance claim he filed, Cindy Chadwick, a Caddo sheriff’s office spokeswoman, said.
He and a friend, who is wanted by the sheriff’s office, traded the ATV to a Bossier City business for automotive work, according to Chadwick. White blew the ATV’s motor and could not afford to fix it.
“It was really just by accident this was discovered,” she said.
Bossier City police are working a similar case involving an ATV and were checking the ATV for their case Monday and it turned out to be the one that was allegedly stolen from White’s Blanchard property, Chadwick said.
BCPD contacted the Caddo sheriff’s office, and the obtained warrants for both White and his friend’s arrest on a charge of felony theft by fraud. The friend’s name was not release as he has not yet been arrested.
Shreveport police supervisors turned White over to the sheriff’s office Thursday after being notified the parish had a warrant for his arrest, Goodin said.
White was booked into Caddo Correctional at 4:48 p.m. today, according to booking records.
Police Chief Henry Whitehorn has relieved White of all duties pending an internal investigation. “I will not tolerate misconduct on the part of our officers,” the police chief said.
White has been employed by the Police Department for four years.
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http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20090312/NEWS03/90312033
Operation Shattered Innocence Nabs Two Probation Officers
Law enforcement statewide made two more arrests Thursday and seized more computers in the wrap up of a statewide sweep to gather up those who sent and received pornographic images of children.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said 103 computers have now been seized and 25 people arrested over three days, including two private probation officers and at least two juveniles.
On Tuesday, local, state and federal officers spanned out across the state, executing 44 search warrants that were based on the findings of a three-month-long investigation, “Operation Shattered Innocence.”
The GBI, which coordinated the operation, was still gathering information from all the law enforcement agencies involved Thursday but the agency had some information on who was arrested and what has been found so far.
One of the probation officers charged with felony sexual exploitation of children was Christopher Lee Tucker of Hazelhurst, who turned himself in to the Jeff Davis County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday morning.
__________
Information: http://www.ajc.com/gwinnett/content/metro/stories/2009/03/12/child_porn_georgia.html
Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said 103 computers have now been seized and 25 people arrested over three days, including two private probation officers and at least two juveniles.
On Tuesday, local, state and federal officers spanned out across the state, executing 44 search warrants that were based on the findings of a three-month-long investigation, “Operation Shattered Innocence.”
The GBI, which coordinated the operation, was still gathering information from all the law enforcement agencies involved Thursday but the agency had some information on who was arrested and what has been found so far.
One of the probation officers charged with felony sexual exploitation of children was Christopher Lee Tucker of Hazelhurst, who turned himself in to the Jeff Davis County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday morning.
__________
Information: http://www.ajc.com/gwinnett/content/metro/stories/2009/03/12/child_porn_georgia.html
Death by Taser
Millions of people were stunned and outraged by the videos that showed Oakland BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) cop Johannes Mehserle draw his gun and kill Oscar Grant. Mehserle quit his job 7 days after the killing to avoid giving any statement about what happened or why he did it. Now Mehserle’s lawyers are working hard to offer a plausible explanation to exonerate the cop for the killing. They say that contrary to what people might think, Mehserle had “no criminal intent” when he fired his gun into Grant’s back at point-blank range. They back up this outrageous statement by explaining their theory that this cop “may have mistakenly deployed his pistol rather than his taser” and did not mean to kill Oscar. He just meant to tase him.
Meanwhile, a little more than a month after Oscar Grant was killed in Oakland, another young man was killed by police taser, 40 miles away in San Jose. His name was Richard Lua, and police killed him in front of his own garage, during a “routine patrol.” Police murder has become so “routine” that many times an explanation is offered only as an afterthought. Like Oscar Grant, Richard Lua leaves behind a young daughter and a grieving, outraged family.
Taser use is so routine in San Jose that Lua’s is the 6th death by police taser there just since 2005. Death by police taser is on the increase, and in California these deaths are not even counted as part of the state attorney general’s official tally of “police involved homicides,” which numbers over 100 every year. Neither are deaths from police chokeholds or from asphyxiation through being maced or hog-tied. All of these weapons and methods are part of an ugly panorama of police brutality that is entrenched and endemic and an indispensable part of the function of police in this society.
Amnesty International reported in 2004 that the organization was “concerned by the growing number of fatalities involving police tasers. Since 2001, more than 70 people are reported to have died in the USA and Canada after being struck by M26 or X26 tasers, with the numbers rising each year.” In 2005, the ACLU issued a report saying that “Since 1999, at least 148 people in the United States and Canada have died after encounters with police who shocked them with Tasers.” A website put up by family and friends of Richard Bagnell, a Canadian man who died after being tasered, now lists 397 people killed in North America. And at least 8 people have been killed by tasers in only the first two months of 2009.
Ev’ry time I hear the crack of the whip
My blood runs cold
I remember on the slave ship
How they brutalized our very souls
—Bob Marley, “Slave Driver”
Tasers have replaced the slave driver’s whip and the prison guard’s cattle prod as one of the high-tech control device used by more than 12,000 police departments and in prisons worldwide.
Taser International claims that its products are a less lethal weapon than guns or even batons, and that tasers are "changing the world and saving lives everyday." But the new tasers deliver a staggering 50,000 volts of electricity. These electro-shock weapons can be used in “stun mode” or with darts. When in “dart” mode, the shocks cause total “momentary neuro-muscular incapacitation” (source: University of California, San Francisco press release), while the stun mode inflicts intense localized pain. Tasers are used extensively around the world, including in Iraq, most notoriously by the same U.S. military brigade accused of "sadistic, blatant and wanton" abuse in Abu Ghraib.
Along with guns, sticks, pepper spray and the choke-hold, tasers are part of an arsenal of weapons employed against the people to inflict terror and pain and even death. And, unlike firing his gun, in most places a cop needs only the slightest excuse to justify using his taser.
In the U.S., far from being used only on supposedly “violent suspects” the Amnesty International study says that tasers are often used against "passive resisters"—people who refuse to comply with police commands but do not interfere with an officer and pose no physical threat. Police use tasers on people who “mouth off,” or people who are distressed or mentally ill and who are not suspected of a crime. Amnesty reported that “at least 1,000 U.S. jails and prisons have adopted the new generation M26 or X26 Tasers, where they are deployed in both dart projectile and stun mode.” Amnesty documents cases of pregnant women having miscarriages after being tasered.
Children
In 2006 millions of people reacted with shock at a brutal taser attack on a student in the UCLA library, but a less-known outrage is that there are hundreds of reported cases where cops have used taser guns on children. In Arizona a 13 year old was tased for throwing a book in a public library. In another Arizona case, a 9-year-old runaway girl who was sitting in the back of a police car, handcuffed, was tased because she was "screaming, kicking and flailing, and would not listen." Would not listen? The youngest reported victim of police tasing was in Miami, a boy who was only 6 years old. He was in the vice principal’s office where he had broken a picture frame, and was waving a piece of glass around. His outraged mother told CNN, "If there's three officers, it's nothing to tell a 6‑year‑old holding a glass, if you feel threatened, 'Hey, here's a piece of candy, hey, here's a toy. Let the glass go."
Taser Confusion
While some media have jumped on the taser confusion bandwagon and trotted out various “experts” to talk about how stressed out Mehserle must have been to mistake a taser for his gun, others have ridiculed this idea as preposterous and marshalled the cold facts. The X26 taser issued to BART cops is a plastic device that weighs only 7 ounces. The Sig Sauer that Mehserle shot Grant with is made of metal, weighing 30 ounces unloaded—more than 4 times as much as the taser. The taser was holstered on the opposite side as Mehserle’s gun, and looks and feels completely different.
But another question needs to be asked. Before he was shot, Oscar Grant was detained, lying on his stomach, with his hands behind his back and with an officer’s foot on his neck. What excuse was there to even tase the 22 year old? Perhaps Officer Mehserle only meant to torture him?
The ACLU and Amnesty International are not alone in condemning tasers. In 2007 the U.N. Committee Against Torture said the use of tasers could constitute a form of torture. This cruel punishment, a brutality carried out by police for the slightest offense, without charges or trial, is increasingly a part of American injustice and part of an international epidemic of state-sponsored violence and murder.
The outcome of the murder trial of Mehserle has great significance. If the cop happens to “mistake” his gun for a taser and kills that person, and if this cop is then judged in court to be devoid of “criminal intent,” then what is to stop any cop from killing anyone at any time for any reason? If intending to use an electro-shock weapon on a person lying face down with his hands behind his back can be categorized as following correct police procedure, then it will exonerate police brutality. What kind of legal precedent will that set and how much of this can people tolerate? Enough is enough.
Meanwhile, a little more than a month after Oscar Grant was killed in Oakland, another young man was killed by police taser, 40 miles away in San Jose. His name was Richard Lua, and police killed him in front of his own garage, during a “routine patrol.” Police murder has become so “routine” that many times an explanation is offered only as an afterthought. Like Oscar Grant, Richard Lua leaves behind a young daughter and a grieving, outraged family.
Taser use is so routine in San Jose that Lua’s is the 6th death by police taser there just since 2005. Death by police taser is on the increase, and in California these deaths are not even counted as part of the state attorney general’s official tally of “police involved homicides,” which numbers over 100 every year. Neither are deaths from police chokeholds or from asphyxiation through being maced or hog-tied. All of these weapons and methods are part of an ugly panorama of police brutality that is entrenched and endemic and an indispensable part of the function of police in this society.
Amnesty International reported in 2004 that the organization was “concerned by the growing number of fatalities involving police tasers. Since 2001, more than 70 people are reported to have died in the USA and Canada after being struck by M26 or X26 tasers, with the numbers rising each year.” In 2005, the ACLU issued a report saying that “Since 1999, at least 148 people in the United States and Canada have died after encounters with police who shocked them with Tasers.” A website put up by family and friends of Richard Bagnell, a Canadian man who died after being tasered, now lists 397 people killed in North America. And at least 8 people have been killed by tasers in only the first two months of 2009.
Ev’ry time I hear the crack of the whip
My blood runs cold
I remember on the slave ship
How they brutalized our very souls
—Bob Marley, “Slave Driver”
Tasers have replaced the slave driver’s whip and the prison guard’s cattle prod as one of the high-tech control device used by more than 12,000 police departments and in prisons worldwide.
Taser International claims that its products are a less lethal weapon than guns or even batons, and that tasers are "changing the world and saving lives everyday." But the new tasers deliver a staggering 50,000 volts of electricity. These electro-shock weapons can be used in “stun mode” or with darts. When in “dart” mode, the shocks cause total “momentary neuro-muscular incapacitation” (source: University of California, San Francisco press release), while the stun mode inflicts intense localized pain. Tasers are used extensively around the world, including in Iraq, most notoriously by the same U.S. military brigade accused of "sadistic, blatant and wanton" abuse in Abu Ghraib.
Along with guns, sticks, pepper spray and the choke-hold, tasers are part of an arsenal of weapons employed against the people to inflict terror and pain and even death. And, unlike firing his gun, in most places a cop needs only the slightest excuse to justify using his taser.
In the U.S., far from being used only on supposedly “violent suspects” the Amnesty International study says that tasers are often used against "passive resisters"—people who refuse to comply with police commands but do not interfere with an officer and pose no physical threat. Police use tasers on people who “mouth off,” or people who are distressed or mentally ill and who are not suspected of a crime. Amnesty reported that “at least 1,000 U.S. jails and prisons have adopted the new generation M26 or X26 Tasers, where they are deployed in both dart projectile and stun mode.” Amnesty documents cases of pregnant women having miscarriages after being tasered.
Children
In 2006 millions of people reacted with shock at a brutal taser attack on a student in the UCLA library, but a less-known outrage is that there are hundreds of reported cases where cops have used taser guns on children. In Arizona a 13 year old was tased for throwing a book in a public library. In another Arizona case, a 9-year-old runaway girl who was sitting in the back of a police car, handcuffed, was tased because she was "screaming, kicking and flailing, and would not listen." Would not listen? The youngest reported victim of police tasing was in Miami, a boy who was only 6 years old. He was in the vice principal’s office where he had broken a picture frame, and was waving a piece of glass around. His outraged mother told CNN, "If there's three officers, it's nothing to tell a 6‑year‑old holding a glass, if you feel threatened, 'Hey, here's a piece of candy, hey, here's a toy. Let the glass go."
Taser Confusion
While some media have jumped on the taser confusion bandwagon and trotted out various “experts” to talk about how stressed out Mehserle must have been to mistake a taser for his gun, others have ridiculed this idea as preposterous and marshalled the cold facts. The X26 taser issued to BART cops is a plastic device that weighs only 7 ounces. The Sig Sauer that Mehserle shot Grant with is made of metal, weighing 30 ounces unloaded—more than 4 times as much as the taser. The taser was holstered on the opposite side as Mehserle’s gun, and looks and feels completely different.
But another question needs to be asked. Before he was shot, Oscar Grant was detained, lying on his stomach, with his hands behind his back and with an officer’s foot on his neck. What excuse was there to even tase the 22 year old? Perhaps Officer Mehserle only meant to torture him?
The ACLU and Amnesty International are not alone in condemning tasers. In 2007 the U.N. Committee Against Torture said the use of tasers could constitute a form of torture. This cruel punishment, a brutality carried out by police for the slightest offense, without charges or trial, is increasingly a part of American injustice and part of an international epidemic of state-sponsored violence and murder.
The outcome of the murder trial of Mehserle has great significance. If the cop happens to “mistake” his gun for a taser and kills that person, and if this cop is then judged in court to be devoid of “criminal intent,” then what is to stop any cop from killing anyone at any time for any reason? If intending to use an electro-shock weapon on a person lying face down with his hands behind his back can be categorized as following correct police procedure, then it will exonerate police brutality. What kind of legal precedent will that set and how much of this can people tolerate? Enough is enough.
Officer Justin White Charged with Felony Theft
A Shreveport police officer was arrested today on charges he falsely reported an ATV stolen in order to collect insurance on it.
Officer Justin White was suspended from the Police Department after Caddo sheriff's detectives obtained a warrant charging him with felony theft.
Caddo sheriff's detectives said White's four-wheeler blew the motor. Rather than pay to have it fixed, White had a friend get rid of it, then reported it stolen and collected $7,012 in insurance, detectives said.
The four-wheeler was found in Bossier City. Investigators said White's friend swapped it for repair work on his truck.
The friend faces fraud charges, authorities said. He had not been arrested late this afternoon.
_____________________
Seven Detroit Vice Officers Suspended for Falsifying Arrest Reports
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office is reviewing whether to issue criminal charges against seven Detroit police officers who are accused of falsifying arrest records, the office's spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The cops labeled it Operation Ice Breaker, a city-suburban law enforcement effort to bust drug dealers and prostitutes along 8 Mile.
Instead, seven Detroit vice cops have been suspended with pay on allegations of falsifying the arrest reports.
The allegations against the cops are: They couldn't find any prostitutes on 8 Mile, so they went to Harper and Chalmers on the east side and arrested five people for prostitution during three days in mid-February. The officers are accused of writing their report to say the busts happened on 8 Mile to fit the roundup's purpose.
Members of the Board of Police Commissioners last week refused to suspend the cops without pay, despite a recommendation from police executives and Chief James Barren.
Commissioner Adela Rivera, a former Detroit police officer, told the Free Press Wednesday that she believes the cops should be paid until they appear before a departmental trial board to present their cases.
"Look at the economy, people can't afford to be laid off with no income," Rivera said. "I think the city blanketed all seven officers together under one allegation. Sometimes as a police officer you do what your boss tells you and if that's the case, I think they should be allowed to justify why they did what they did."
Police spokesman James Tate said the matter is under investigation by the department's internal affairs division.
"Once the allegations were presented, the department moved swiftly to assure no further allegations would take place," Tate said.
Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, said her office also is investigating.
John Goldpaugh, an attorney for the Detroit Police Officers Association, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer said his department was part of the crackdown in February along with other suburban communities along 8 Mile.
"It was something, quite frankly, that Chief Barren came up with and it was producing good results," Dwyer said. "It's not my place to comment on what happened. I talked to the chief and he indicated there were some problems."
Dwyer said there was supposed to be a news conference announcing the results of the anticrime blitz. He's uncertain whether the allegations against the seven cops led to cancellation of the news conference.
Rivera said she will change her stance if the officers are found guilty at their respective trial boards.
"We don't have any room for lying officers," she said. "But I don't think it's fair to suspend them without pay until they've had their day in court."
The cops labeled it Operation Ice Breaker, a city-suburban law enforcement effort to bust drug dealers and prostitutes along 8 Mile.
Instead, seven Detroit vice cops have been suspended with pay on allegations of falsifying the arrest reports.
The allegations against the cops are: They couldn't find any prostitutes on 8 Mile, so they went to Harper and Chalmers on the east side and arrested five people for prostitution during three days in mid-February. The officers are accused of writing their report to say the busts happened on 8 Mile to fit the roundup's purpose.
Members of the Board of Police Commissioners last week refused to suspend the cops without pay, despite a recommendation from police executives and Chief James Barren.
Commissioner Adela Rivera, a former Detroit police officer, told the Free Press Wednesday that she believes the cops should be paid until they appear before a departmental trial board to present their cases.
"Look at the economy, people can't afford to be laid off with no income," Rivera said. "I think the city blanketed all seven officers together under one allegation. Sometimes as a police officer you do what your boss tells you and if that's the case, I think they should be allowed to justify why they did what they did."
Police spokesman James Tate said the matter is under investigation by the department's internal affairs division.
"Once the allegations were presented, the department moved swiftly to assure no further allegations would take place," Tate said.
Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, said her office also is investigating.
John Goldpaugh, an attorney for the Detroit Police Officers Association, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer said his department was part of the crackdown in February along with other suburban communities along 8 Mile.
"It was something, quite frankly, that Chief Barren came up with and it was producing good results," Dwyer said. "It's not my place to comment on what happened. I talked to the chief and he indicated there were some problems."
Dwyer said there was supposed to be a news conference announcing the results of the anticrime blitz. He's uncertain whether the allegations against the seven cops led to cancellation of the news conference.
Rivera said she will change her stance if the officers are found guilty at their respective trial boards.
"We don't have any room for lying officers," she said. "But I don't think it's fair to suspend them without pay until they've had their day in court."
Lawsuit Being Filed Against Suffolk County for Wrongful Death
A lawsuit will be announced today against Suffolk County, the district attorney's office and five police officers investigated but not charged in the death of a Bay Shore man beaten with flashlights, attorneys for the man's family said yesterday.
Kenny Lazo, 24, died on April 12 after a violent altercation with Suffolk police officers during a traffic stop on the shoulder of the Robert Moses Causeway.
Hempstead attorney Frederick K. Brewington said the lawsuit, which he plans to file in federal court in Central Islip and will announce today at his office, will allege wrongful death, battery and civil rights violations. Lazo's mother, Patricia Gonzalez, and his son's mother, Jennifer Gonzalez, will be the plaintiffs.
A grand jury convened by District Attorney Thomas Spota decided not to indict the officers in November. At the time, Spota's office said police used "necessary force" on Lazo.
A police investigation found Lazo fled on foot, was tackled by an officer and then tried to grab an officer's gun. He was beaten with flashlights and then taken to the 3rd precinct in Bay Shore where he passed out, police said. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
County Attorney Christine Malafi said yesterday: "The county again extends its sympathies to the Lazo family, but we stand behind the actions of our police officers, sergeants and detectives and district attorney's office in connection with this matter."
Spota's office, the police department and the officers - Sgt. James Scimone, Officers William Judge and Joseph Link and Dets. John Newton and Christopher Talt - referred questions to Malafi.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District continues to monitor the case, a spokesman said.
Kenny Lazo, 24, died on April 12 after a violent altercation with Suffolk police officers during a traffic stop on the shoulder of the Robert Moses Causeway.
Hempstead attorney Frederick K. Brewington said the lawsuit, which he plans to file in federal court in Central Islip and will announce today at his office, will allege wrongful death, battery and civil rights violations. Lazo's mother, Patricia Gonzalez, and his son's mother, Jennifer Gonzalez, will be the plaintiffs.
A grand jury convened by District Attorney Thomas Spota decided not to indict the officers in November. At the time, Spota's office said police used "necessary force" on Lazo.
A police investigation found Lazo fled on foot, was tackled by an officer and then tried to grab an officer's gun. He was beaten with flashlights and then taken to the 3rd precinct in Bay Shore where he passed out, police said. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
County Attorney Christine Malafi said yesterday: "The county again extends its sympathies to the Lazo family, but we stand behind the actions of our police officers, sergeants and detectives and district attorney's office in connection with this matter."
Spota's office, the police department and the officers - Sgt. James Scimone, Officers William Judge and Joseph Link and Dets. John Newton and Christopher Talt - referred questions to Malafi.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District continues to monitor the case, a spokesman said.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Deputy Rodney Killian Arrested for Stealing from Evidence Room
CHESTER
A Chester County sheriff's deputy is accused of stealing $300 from the department's evidence room.
Deputy Rodney Killian was arrested today on a charge of misconduct in office, according to a news release from Chester County Sheriff Richard Smith. Killian's arrest came after a State Law Enforcement Division investigation, the release states. The release does not specify what prompted the investigation, other than that Sheriff Richard Smith was told “several things were not right at the sheriff's office” when he took over in January. Contacted this afternoon, Smith declined to elaborate, saying the investigation is ongoing.
“I have known Deputy Killian for approximately 15 years and this was a total shock to me and the men and women of Chester County's Sheriff's Office,” Smith said in the release. “It is reprehensible when a deputy violates the law that he is entrusted to uphold and I will not stand for it.”
The money was taken between Oct. 1, 2007, and Jan. 1 of this year, according to an arrest warrant. The warrant also says Killian disposed of the evidence log book to hide the crime.
A Chester County sheriff's deputy is accused of stealing $300 from the department's evidence room.
Deputy Rodney Killian was arrested today on a charge of misconduct in office, according to a news release from Chester County Sheriff Richard Smith. Killian's arrest came after a State Law Enforcement Division investigation, the release states. The release does not specify what prompted the investigation, other than that Sheriff Richard Smith was told “several things were not right at the sheriff's office” when he took over in January. Contacted this afternoon, Smith declined to elaborate, saying the investigation is ongoing.
“I have known Deputy Killian for approximately 15 years and this was a total shock to me and the men and women of Chester County's Sheriff's Office,” Smith said in the release. “It is reprehensible when a deputy violates the law that he is entrusted to uphold and I will not stand for it.”
The money was taken between Oct. 1, 2007, and Jan. 1 of this year, according to an arrest warrant. The warrant also says Killian disposed of the evidence log book to hide the crime.
Officer Jason Rivers Arrested for Drunk Driving
Keeping drunk drivers off the roads is one of the duties of a local police officer, who now finds himself accused of drinking and driving.
It started last sunday morning when a Geneva police officer clocked an SUV traveling at 63 miles an hour in a 35 zone, and reported that the driver went left of center and nearly hit his cruiser.
He says he smelled alcohol on the driver's breath and was surprised when the man identified himself as an off duty Conneaut police officer.
Jason Rivers, 34, a four year veteran of the Conneaut force, failed a number of field sobriety tests and was arrested.
A breathalyzer test would later reveal his blood alcohol content was .189, more than twice the legal limit.
Rivers has pleaded "not guilty" to the drunk driving charge.
Conneaut police have placed him on administrative leave.
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http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_071223859.html
It started last sunday morning when a Geneva police officer clocked an SUV traveling at 63 miles an hour in a 35 zone, and reported that the driver went left of center and nearly hit his cruiser.
He says he smelled alcohol on the driver's breath and was surprised when the man identified himself as an off duty Conneaut police officer.
Jason Rivers, 34, a four year veteran of the Conneaut force, failed a number of field sobriety tests and was arrested.
A breathalyzer test would later reveal his blood alcohol content was .189, more than twice the legal limit.
Rivers has pleaded "not guilty" to the drunk driving charge.
Conneaut police have placed him on administrative leave.
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http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_071223859.html
Judge Felts Recieves PULBIC REPRIMAND for Pleading Guilty to Drunk Driving
The Indiana Supreme Court has decided a public reprimand is the appropriate disciplinary action for Allen Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Felts who pleaded guilty to drinking and driving last year.
July 18, 2008 Judge Felts was arrested in Marion County for Operating a Motor Vehicle with an alcohol content of at least .15, which is a misdemeanor. He was also arrested for public intoxication, also a misdemeanor.
In August, Judge Felts plead guilty to the OWI charge and the state dropped the public intoxication charge. A judge sentenced Felts to one year in jail and suspended the sentence for the time served. Judge Felts was also ordered to serve one year probation, have his driver's license suspended for 90 days and attend alcohol treatment.
Judge Felts could have faced a suspension or even lost his seat on the bench.
July 18, 2008 Judge Felts was arrested in Marion County for Operating a Motor Vehicle with an alcohol content of at least .15, which is a misdemeanor. He was also arrested for public intoxication, also a misdemeanor.
In August, Judge Felts plead guilty to the OWI charge and the state dropped the public intoxication charge. A judge sentenced Felts to one year in jail and suspended the sentence for the time served. Judge Felts was also ordered to serve one year probation, have his driver's license suspended for 90 days and attend alcohol treatment.
Judge Felts could have faced a suspension or even lost his seat on the bench.
__________________
Sgt William Edwards Arrested on Sexual Charges Against Boy
NEW LONDON, Conn.
New London's police chief says he has fired a sergeant arrested in January on sexual assault charges involving a boy.
The chief says William Edwards, who had been suspended without pay since his arrest, was notified in person late Monday afternoon.
Edwards is accused of sexually assaulting a boy who told authorities he had four or five encounters with the officer when he was between 5 and 7 years old.
The chief says that Edwards was brought up on charges of violating the department's rules and regulations, such as alleged drug use, untruthfulness and conduct unbecoming an officer.
Edwards is charged with third-degree sexual assault, unlawful restraint, tampering with a witness and two counts of risk of injury to a minor.
Prosecutors have moved his case to Windham County.
Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com
New London's police chief says he has fired a sergeant arrested in January on sexual assault charges involving a boy.
The chief says William Edwards, who had been suspended without pay since his arrest, was notified in person late Monday afternoon.
Edwards is accused of sexually assaulting a boy who told authorities he had four or five encounters with the officer when he was between 5 and 7 years old.
The chief says that Edwards was brought up on charges of violating the department's rules and regulations, such as alleged drug use, untruthfulness and conduct unbecoming an officer.
Edwards is charged with third-degree sexual assault, unlawful restraint, tampering with a witness and two counts of risk of injury to a minor.
Prosecutors have moved his case to Windham County.
Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com
Officer 'mywebboys' Being Investigated for Posting Child Porn
Federal agents last week searched the Cottage Grove Police Department and a patrol officer’s Eugene home for evidence that the officer posted child pornography online, newly filed court documents show.
The Cottage Grove officer has not been arrested or charged with any crime in connection with the ongoing FBI investigation.
However, search warrant applications filed by FBI agent Christopher Luh state that investigators have probable cause to believe that the officer has violated federal child pornography laws.
The investigation began last September, when officials with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children informed the FBI that someone with the user name “mywebboys” had posted child pornography on a Web site known as Photobucket, the applications state.
The applications include graphic descriptions of photos posted online from an Internet provider address registered to the officer. All of the photos depict nude, prepubescent boys, some of whom are performing sex acts, the documents state.
FBI agents last Friday served a search warrant at the Cottage Grove Police Department and seized images from three desktop computers and one laptop.
According to a separate warrant served at the officer’s north Eugene home, FBI agents seized five cameras, five computers and other items.
________________
http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story/Cottage-Grove-officer-suspected-in-child-porn/tGJ79FeKPkCO1IkXAFIgJg.cspx
How he was caught>>http://www.kval.com/news/content/41114182.html
The Cottage Grove officer has not been arrested or charged with any crime in connection with the ongoing FBI investigation.
However, search warrant applications filed by FBI agent Christopher Luh state that investigators have probable cause to believe that the officer has violated federal child pornography laws.
The investigation began last September, when officials with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children informed the FBI that someone with the user name “mywebboys” had posted child pornography on a Web site known as Photobucket, the applications state.
The applications include graphic descriptions of photos posted online from an Internet provider address registered to the officer. All of the photos depict nude, prepubescent boys, some of whom are performing sex acts, the documents state.
FBI agents last Friday served a search warrant at the Cottage Grove Police Department and seized images from three desktop computers and one laptop.
According to a separate warrant served at the officer’s north Eugene home, FBI agents seized five cameras, five computers and other items.
________________
http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story/Cottage-Grove-officer-suspected-in-child-porn/tGJ79FeKPkCO1IkXAFIgJg.cspx
How he was caught>>http://www.kval.com/news/content/41114182.html
Woman Accuses Former Officer Joseph Garner of Threatening
BELLEFONTE
A woman has accused a former Penn State police officer of repeatedly threatening and assaulting her, and twice using his master key in February to get into her university office and leave her notes.
Joseph Garner resigned from his job in February around the same time he was suspended as a police officer for 15 days, Assistant Chief Tom Sowerby said Tuesday.
The woman also accuses Garner of threatening to kill her animals, and using his military and law enforcement training to physically restrain her, according to court papers.
She filed a protection from abuse order against Garner on Feb. 4, which makes it illegal for Garner to have contact with her.
In her request for the order, the woman wrote that Garner had strangled, punched, grabbed, slapped, bit and pinched her.
At one point, she said, she received up to 30 harassing calls and text messages from Garner in a half-hour period, court papers say.
Twice between Feb. 2 and 3, she alleged, Garner used his university master key issued to police officers to enter her office and leave notes for her, court papers say.
A hearing scheduled for Tuesday in front of President Judge David E. Grine was continued until next week.
State police Sgt. Jim Emigh at Rockview said an investigation of an officer with Penn State police was referred to him, but no criminal charges have been filed.
The protection order is a civil matter unless it is violated.
“We were asked to look into an incident involving a Penn State police officer for some of his conduct on duty to determine if it rose to the level of a criminal offense,” Emigh said.
“As of now, we are still conducting our investigations.”
As part of the protection order, Garner was required by Judge Pamela Ruest to surrender his weapons. The county Sheriff’s Office said that Garner relinquished his weapons to a third party — something the law permits if the defendant chooses not to have the sheriff hold the weapons.
A woman has accused a former Penn State police officer of repeatedly threatening and assaulting her, and twice using his master key in February to get into her university office and leave her notes.
Joseph Garner resigned from his job in February around the same time he was suspended as a police officer for 15 days, Assistant Chief Tom Sowerby said Tuesday.
The woman also accuses Garner of threatening to kill her animals, and using his military and law enforcement training to physically restrain her, according to court papers.
She filed a protection from abuse order against Garner on Feb. 4, which makes it illegal for Garner to have contact with her.
In her request for the order, the woman wrote that Garner had strangled, punched, grabbed, slapped, bit and pinched her.
At one point, she said, she received up to 30 harassing calls and text messages from Garner in a half-hour period, court papers say.
Twice between Feb. 2 and 3, she alleged, Garner used his university master key issued to police officers to enter her office and leave notes for her, court papers say.
A hearing scheduled for Tuesday in front of President Judge David E. Grine was continued until next week.
State police Sgt. Jim Emigh at Rockview said an investigation of an officer with Penn State police was referred to him, but no criminal charges have been filed.
The protection order is a civil matter unless it is violated.
“We were asked to look into an incident involving a Penn State police officer for some of his conduct on duty to determine if it rose to the level of a criminal offense,” Emigh said.
“As of now, we are still conducting our investigations.”
As part of the protection order, Garner was required by Judge Pamela Ruest to surrender his weapons. The county Sheriff’s Office said that Garner relinquished his weapons to a third party — something the law permits if the defendant chooses not to have the sheriff hold the weapons.
Officer Raphael Lora On Trial for Manslaughter
BRONX
A Bronx cop on trial for manslaughter said he had no choice but to shoot an unarmed man.
Officer Raphael Lora spent three hours on the stand Wednesday. He's a veteran cop and ex-combat Marine, but now he's fighting to stay out of prison.
"It's a very frightening situation to have to take the stand in your own defense. He's been living with this for the last 18 months. I thought he was professional, calm. Shots was fired, and he did hit the cop with the vehicle," said Lora's attorney Stuart London.
Lora called 9-1-1 the night he killed Honduran immigrant Fermin Arzu. Arzu was drunk when he crashed his van outside Lora's home. The off-duty cop grabbed his gun and ran to the vehicle. Lora said Arzu was incoherent, then suddenly Arzu threw something in Lora's face and started driving away.
Lora said his arm was stuck in the door. "My main intention was to extract myself from the car and that's when I fired my weapon," he said.
There were five shots. One hit Arzu in the back, killing him.
Juana Arzu, the victim's sister, said "I feel sick now. Yeah, I feel bad, I don't like nothing." The Arzu family says the cop's story doesn't hang together.
For instance, there's nothing in the EMT report to support Lora's claim that his tooth was chipped when Arzu threw something at his face, and the cop has told different versions of firing, both in order to break free of the moving van, and breaking free then firing.
"Frankly rather than acting like a heroic officer to render aid, he acted with a chicken heart," said Arzu family attorney Michael Hardy.
Lora decided against a jury trial, so a judge will decide if this shooting was justified, or a case of manslaughter.
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http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/95368/officer-accused-of-shooting-bronx-man-takes-the-stand/Default.aspx
A Bronx cop on trial for manslaughter said he had no choice but to shoot an unarmed man.
Officer Raphael Lora spent three hours on the stand Wednesday. He's a veteran cop and ex-combat Marine, but now he's fighting to stay out of prison.
"It's a very frightening situation to have to take the stand in your own defense. He's been living with this for the last 18 months. I thought he was professional, calm. Shots was fired, and he did hit the cop with the vehicle," said Lora's attorney Stuart London.
Lora called 9-1-1 the night he killed Honduran immigrant Fermin Arzu. Arzu was drunk when he crashed his van outside Lora's home. The off-duty cop grabbed his gun and ran to the vehicle. Lora said Arzu was incoherent, then suddenly Arzu threw something in Lora's face and started driving away.
Lora said his arm was stuck in the door. "My main intention was to extract myself from the car and that's when I fired my weapon," he said.
There were five shots. One hit Arzu in the back, killing him.
Juana Arzu, the victim's sister, said "I feel sick now. Yeah, I feel bad, I don't like nothing." The Arzu family says the cop's story doesn't hang together.
For instance, there's nothing in the EMT report to support Lora's claim that his tooth was chipped when Arzu threw something at his face, and the cop has told different versions of firing, both in order to break free of the moving van, and breaking free then firing.
"Frankly rather than acting like a heroic officer to render aid, he acted with a chicken heart," said Arzu family attorney Michael Hardy.
Lora decided against a jury trial, so a judge will decide if this shooting was justified, or a case of manslaughter.
__________
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/95368/officer-accused-of-shooting-bronx-man-takes-the-stand/Default.aspx
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Stephen Pyles of Pasadena Talks of his Experience with Police
Stephen Pyles of Pasadena says he has lingering injuries after police investigated an April burglary at his home.
The day started badly enough for Stephen Pyles when he discovered that the home he shares with his elderly mother had been burglarized. But it only got worse when Pyles attempted to explain to police what had happened — and wound up taken from his home in handcuffs.
The 55-year-old Anne Arundel County man was accused of punching a police officer in the chest. But a paramedic who was there wrote in a report that Pyles, who is deaf and cannot speak clearly, simply pressed a note to the officer's chest and was then "violently wrestled to the ground" by the officer.
Prosecutors recently dropped charges against Pyles, citing a lack of evidence. And Anne Arundel County police say they are reviewing the incident and their policies.
"When the officer was pushing me, I couldn't breathe. I kept trying to mouth the word 'air, air, air' over and over again," Pyles, who says he had neck surgery six days before his arrest, said through a sign-language interpreter. "Every time I see the police, I get chills. If something happens to my mom, who do I call? I can't call the cops."
While it remains unclear exactly what happened at the Pasadena home that morning, the versions told by Pyles and the paramedic illustrate the difficulties that can arise in encounters between police and the hard of hearing.
"When police see someone who is blind, they know he cannot see. When they see someone in a wheelchair, they know he cannot walk. But when they see someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, the assumption is that he is not trying hard enough to hear or that he's unintelligent," says Shannon Smith Peinaldo, a New Mexico-based advocate for the deaf. "American Sign Language is a very visual language, and when you don't know it ... what is an expression of emotion can be viewed as aggression."
Some law enforcement agencies are taking steps to make officers more sensitive to the needs of the hearing impaired. The Maryland Sheriff's Association created visor cards to alert officers at a traffic stop that a driver is deaf. And the Frederick police recently learned basic sign language and took part in role play situations with students of the Maryland School for the Deaf.
"We found through this training that the police now have an understanding of deaf culture," said Frederick police spokesman Lt. Clark Pennington. "That's a big part of empathy."
The Anne Arundel County police dispatchers are equipped with TTY phones to communicate with the deaf, police spokesman Sgt. John Gilmer said. New police officers take part in a workshop on disabilities, he said. But a manual for officers, provided by the department, does not specifically address how police should handle calls involving deaf people.
Pyles says he is traumatized by his interactions with police. He lives with his mother in the same two-story home near Fort Smallwood Park where he grew up. Everyone in the immediate family was born deaf.
The house smells like wood smoke, and the walls are decorated with hand-painted bird feeders, family photos and cards that say "I love Grandma." A television with closed captioning runs in the living room, words scrolling above the heads of faces on screen.
But the tranquillity of the home is deceptive, Pyles said through an interpreter. The house has been burglarized at least six times in the past decade, he said, and he believes thieves target him and his mother because they are deaf.
When mother and son awoke April 16 to find a window smashed and 79-year-old Evelyn Pyles' purse missing, they called 911 on their TTY phone and hung up. As paramedics watched, Stephen Pyles showed police the shattered window and wrote a note expressing his frustration at feeling that his home was unsafe. At this point, the accounts of what occurred diverge.
According to court documents signed by Officer L.A. Facciponti, Pyles pointed his finger in the officer's face, pounded a table and slammed down a pen that ricocheted and nearly struck the officer. Then "he suddenly and without warning used ... his fist to punch me in the chest," the officer wrote. Facciponti, who joined the department in June 2007, tried to arrest Pyles, but the man resisted and the officer used "hand techniques to take him to the ground," according to the documents.
But Ashley Eckhardt, a paramedic with the county Fire Department, wrote a different account. Pyles apparently "frustrated from not being able to communicate with the officers, attempted to get an officer's attention by grabbing the officer's arm and placing a piece of paper with a note for the officer on the officer's chest," she wrote. "It was at this time that the officer began wrestling the patient to the ground." Pyles was "guarding himself from the officer," "pointing to his neck" and "motioning for officer to stop," she wrote.
Pyles said he was terrified and suffering intense pain as he lay on the floor with his hands bound behind his back. "I really thought my throat was going to close up," he said. "I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die."
According to the paramedic's report, Evelyn Pyles wrote a note explaining that her son was recovering from neck surgery and was in pain. A hearing brother-in-law, who had arrived to interpret, asked police to cuff Stephen Pyles' hands in front of him to alleviate the neck pain and to allow him to sign, but the officers refused several times. They also declined Pyles' request to be examined by paramedics before leaving the home, according to the report.
In the officer's account, the first mention of Pyles' medical condition occurs when he is at the police station. Paramedics examined him then and took him to the hospital for treatment.
It was at this time that the officers were "able to ascertain" that a purse had been stolen from Pyles' home. Pyles wrote up a list of things that had been taken. He was charged with second-degree assault and resisting arrest and was released.
Pyles said that he still suffers neck and back pain. And he says there still has not been an arrest in the burglary that started the chain of events.
His emphatic signing might have been interpreted by the officer as aggression, said Leo Yates Jr., the pastor of Magothy United Methodist Church of the Deaf, where Pyles is a member. As people grow more emotional, they sign with larger and more dramatic gestures, he said.
"When you're trying to express yourself, you're going to need to flap your arms and use parts of your body to express yourself," he said.
When the case came to Anne Arundel Circuit Court Feb. 25 assistant state's attorney Karen Anderson-Scott asked that charges be dropped due to lack of evidence.
Heather Tierney, Pyles' attorney from the public defender's office, said after the hearing that the police need more training in dealing with the deaf.
"The public and the police need to be made aware that this can't happen again," she said.
The day started badly enough for Stephen Pyles when he discovered that the home he shares with his elderly mother had been burglarized. But it only got worse when Pyles attempted to explain to police what had happened — and wound up taken from his home in handcuffs.
The 55-year-old Anne Arundel County man was accused of punching a police officer in the chest. But a paramedic who was there wrote in a report that Pyles, who is deaf and cannot speak clearly, simply pressed a note to the officer's chest and was then "violently wrestled to the ground" by the officer.
Prosecutors recently dropped charges against Pyles, citing a lack of evidence. And Anne Arundel County police say they are reviewing the incident and their policies.
"When the officer was pushing me, I couldn't breathe. I kept trying to mouth the word 'air, air, air' over and over again," Pyles, who says he had neck surgery six days before his arrest, said through a sign-language interpreter. "Every time I see the police, I get chills. If something happens to my mom, who do I call? I can't call the cops."
While it remains unclear exactly what happened at the Pasadena home that morning, the versions told by Pyles and the paramedic illustrate the difficulties that can arise in encounters between police and the hard of hearing.
"When police see someone who is blind, they know he cannot see. When they see someone in a wheelchair, they know he cannot walk. But when they see someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, the assumption is that he is not trying hard enough to hear or that he's unintelligent," says Shannon Smith Peinaldo, a New Mexico-based advocate for the deaf. "American Sign Language is a very visual language, and when you don't know it ... what is an expression of emotion can be viewed as aggression."
Some law enforcement agencies are taking steps to make officers more sensitive to the needs of the hearing impaired. The Maryland Sheriff's Association created visor cards to alert officers at a traffic stop that a driver is deaf. And the Frederick police recently learned basic sign language and took part in role play situations with students of the Maryland School for the Deaf.
"We found through this training that the police now have an understanding of deaf culture," said Frederick police spokesman Lt. Clark Pennington. "That's a big part of empathy."
The Anne Arundel County police dispatchers are equipped with TTY phones to communicate with the deaf, police spokesman Sgt. John Gilmer said. New police officers take part in a workshop on disabilities, he said. But a manual for officers, provided by the department, does not specifically address how police should handle calls involving deaf people.
Pyles says he is traumatized by his interactions with police. He lives with his mother in the same two-story home near Fort Smallwood Park where he grew up. Everyone in the immediate family was born deaf.
The house smells like wood smoke, and the walls are decorated with hand-painted bird feeders, family photos and cards that say "I love Grandma." A television with closed captioning runs in the living room, words scrolling above the heads of faces on screen.
But the tranquillity of the home is deceptive, Pyles said through an interpreter. The house has been burglarized at least six times in the past decade, he said, and he believes thieves target him and his mother because they are deaf.
When mother and son awoke April 16 to find a window smashed and 79-year-old Evelyn Pyles' purse missing, they called 911 on their TTY phone and hung up. As paramedics watched, Stephen Pyles showed police the shattered window and wrote a note expressing his frustration at feeling that his home was unsafe. At this point, the accounts of what occurred diverge.
According to court documents signed by Officer L.A. Facciponti, Pyles pointed his finger in the officer's face, pounded a table and slammed down a pen that ricocheted and nearly struck the officer. Then "he suddenly and without warning used ... his fist to punch me in the chest," the officer wrote. Facciponti, who joined the department in June 2007, tried to arrest Pyles, but the man resisted and the officer used "hand techniques to take him to the ground," according to the documents.
But Ashley Eckhardt, a paramedic with the county Fire Department, wrote a different account. Pyles apparently "frustrated from not being able to communicate with the officers, attempted to get an officer's attention by grabbing the officer's arm and placing a piece of paper with a note for the officer on the officer's chest," she wrote. "It was at this time that the officer began wrestling the patient to the ground." Pyles was "guarding himself from the officer," "pointing to his neck" and "motioning for officer to stop," she wrote.
Pyles said he was terrified and suffering intense pain as he lay on the floor with his hands bound behind his back. "I really thought my throat was going to close up," he said. "I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die."
According to the paramedic's report, Evelyn Pyles wrote a note explaining that her son was recovering from neck surgery and was in pain. A hearing brother-in-law, who had arrived to interpret, asked police to cuff Stephen Pyles' hands in front of him to alleviate the neck pain and to allow him to sign, but the officers refused several times. They also declined Pyles' request to be examined by paramedics before leaving the home, according to the report.
In the officer's account, the first mention of Pyles' medical condition occurs when he is at the police station. Paramedics examined him then and took him to the hospital for treatment.
It was at this time that the officers were "able to ascertain" that a purse had been stolen from Pyles' home. Pyles wrote up a list of things that had been taken. He was charged with second-degree assault and resisting arrest and was released.
Pyles said that he still suffers neck and back pain. And he says there still has not been an arrest in the burglary that started the chain of events.
His emphatic signing might have been interpreted by the officer as aggression, said Leo Yates Jr., the pastor of Magothy United Methodist Church of the Deaf, where Pyles is a member. As people grow more emotional, they sign with larger and more dramatic gestures, he said.
"When you're trying to express yourself, you're going to need to flap your arms and use parts of your body to express yourself," he said.
When the case came to Anne Arundel Circuit Court Feb. 25 assistant state's attorney Karen Anderson-Scott asked that charges be dropped due to lack of evidence.
Heather Tierney, Pyles' attorney from the public defender's office, said after the hearing that the police need more training in dealing with the deaf.
"The public and the police need to be made aware that this can't happen again," she said.
Former Officer Charles Coughlin on Trial for Faking Injuries to Get 9/11 Money
WASHINGTON
A former naval commander cited for his service during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is standing trial on charges that he faked injuries to get money from the victims' compensation fund.
In opening arguments Tuesday, a federal prosecutor accused Charles Coughlin and his wife, Sabrina, of stealing $331,000 from the fund by filing a false claim.
Attorneys for the Coughlins said the claim was legitimate. They said Charles Coughlin injured his neck when a plane crashed into the Pentagon about 75 feet from his office and pieces of the ceiling hit his head. They said he was hurt again when he went back into the burning building to rescue others and ran into a door jam.
Prosecutors contend his symptoms are from a 1998 injury that he suffered while doing home repairs.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/10/AR2009031003396.html
A former naval commander cited for his service during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is standing trial on charges that he faked injuries to get money from the victims' compensation fund.
In opening arguments Tuesday, a federal prosecutor accused Charles Coughlin and his wife, Sabrina, of stealing $331,000 from the fund by filing a false claim.
Attorneys for the Coughlins said the claim was legitimate. They said Charles Coughlin injured his neck when a plane crashed into the Pentagon about 75 feet from his office and pieces of the ceiling hit his head. They said he was hurt again when he went back into the burning building to rescue others and ran into a door jam.
Prosecutors contend his symptoms are from a 1998 injury that he suffered while doing home repairs.
_____________
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/10/AR2009031003396.html
Corrections Officer Deandra McNeill Accused of having Sex with Inmate
GRANTS, N.M.
A Cibola County Detention Center corrections officer is accused of having sex with an inmate.
Deandra McNeill, 20, was arrested and charged with one count of criminal sexual penetration, according to a New Mexico State Police news release.
According to the release, McNeill and the inmate had an ongoing sexual relationship since early last month. She was fired on March 4.
McNeill is being held on a no-bond warrant at the McKinley County jail.
Deandra McNeill, 20, was arrested and charged with one count of criminal sexual penetration, according to a New Mexico State Police news release.
According to the release, McNeill and the inmate had an ongoing sexual relationship since early last month. She was fired on March 4.
McNeill is being held on a no-bond warrant at the McKinley County jail.
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Sgt. Michael Marcucilli Accused of Brutalizing 12-year-old
MOUNT VERNON
A city police sergeant who was stripped of his gun and badge after he was accused of brutalizing a 12-year-old burglary suspect has been identified by a spokesman for the boy's family.
Sgt. Michael Marcucilli's name was announced yesterday by Damon K. Jones, executive director of the Westchester County chapter of the National Black Police Association.
Marcucilli is a patrol sergeant with 14 years on the force and an unblemished record.
Police Commissioner David Chong was annoyed that Jones released the sergeant's name - as well as the names of other officers associated with the investigation.
"This is an open investigation," Chong said. "We have been investigating it for one week. We are investigating it with the district attorney's Public Integrity Unit.
"Damon Jones has my telephone number, and I have yet to receive a telephone call from him regarding this incident," added Chong. "We are not going to be forced into making rash accusations."
The case is being investigated by police Capt. Edward Adinaro and Lt. Dante Barrera, along with the county District Attorney's Office.
Jones yesterday called for an outside agency to probe the incident, which involved three boys: a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old from Mount Vernon and a 14-year-old from New Rochelle.
The New Rochelle boy's mother, who is a Mount Vernon teacher, was recently arrested in Mount Vernon after a traffic stop and faces a resisting arrest charge. During that incident, police said she fought with an officer and was struck on the legs with a retractable nightstick as she was subdued.
Police said the three boys either broke into A.B. Davis Middle School at 350 Gramatan Ave. about 8:30 p.m. Feb. 28 or were trespassing. They set off an alarm and police responded, surrounding the school and requesting a Yonkers K-9 unit because they did not have one available.
Jones said the parents of the 12-year-old said he was beaten by two police officers when he ran out of the school. He said Marcucilli hit the boy in the head with a retractable nightstick while he was handcuffed, causing a wound that required 19 stitches to the side of the child's head.
The officers told the boy to tell his parents he fell, Jones said, or they would sic the police dog on him.
The 14-year-old boy was bitten several times by the dog on the left leg, Jones said, and was also choked by a police officer.
His mother has filed a complaint against the officers.
The third boy had not filed a complaint. Jones said that a Mount Vernon detective who knows him has urged him not to.
After the incident, the youngest boy's parents tried to file a complaint, but Jones charged that Officer Neil Rosenberg, who works at the desk window, told them they couldn't without a lawyer.
Detectives Martin Bailey and Wayne Vanderpool later went to their house and brought the family back to file the complaint.
Jones said they were forced to wait 45 minutes before they were allowed to file it.
Jones added that Bailey was called "a whistle blower" by other members of the department for facilitating the family's complaint.
"The lone detective who has stood up and said 'enough is enough' cannot stand alone," Jones said in a statement.
The incident came to light after Bailey reported it to the Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit on March 4.
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http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6702209
A city police sergeant who was stripped of his gun and badge after he was accused of brutalizing a 12-year-old burglary suspect has been identified by a spokesman for the boy's family.
Sgt. Michael Marcucilli's name was announced yesterday by Damon K. Jones, executive director of the Westchester County chapter of the National Black Police Association.
Marcucilli is a patrol sergeant with 14 years on the force and an unblemished record.
Police Commissioner David Chong was annoyed that Jones released the sergeant's name - as well as the names of other officers associated with the investigation.
"This is an open investigation," Chong said. "We have been investigating it for one week. We are investigating it with the district attorney's Public Integrity Unit.
"Damon Jones has my telephone number, and I have yet to receive a telephone call from him regarding this incident," added Chong. "We are not going to be forced into making rash accusations."
The case is being investigated by police Capt. Edward Adinaro and Lt. Dante Barrera, along with the county District Attorney's Office.
Jones yesterday called for an outside agency to probe the incident, which involved three boys: a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old from Mount Vernon and a 14-year-old from New Rochelle.
The New Rochelle boy's mother, who is a Mount Vernon teacher, was recently arrested in Mount Vernon after a traffic stop and faces a resisting arrest charge. During that incident, police said she fought with an officer and was struck on the legs with a retractable nightstick as she was subdued.
Police said the three boys either broke into A.B. Davis Middle School at 350 Gramatan Ave. about 8:30 p.m. Feb. 28 or were trespassing. They set off an alarm and police responded, surrounding the school and requesting a Yonkers K-9 unit because they did not have one available.
Jones said the parents of the 12-year-old said he was beaten by two police officers when he ran out of the school. He said Marcucilli hit the boy in the head with a retractable nightstick while he was handcuffed, causing a wound that required 19 stitches to the side of the child's head.
The officers told the boy to tell his parents he fell, Jones said, or they would sic the police dog on him.
The 14-year-old boy was bitten several times by the dog on the left leg, Jones said, and was also choked by a police officer.
His mother has filed a complaint against the officers.
The third boy had not filed a complaint. Jones said that a Mount Vernon detective who knows him has urged him not to.
After the incident, the youngest boy's parents tried to file a complaint, but Jones charged that Officer Neil Rosenberg, who works at the desk window, told them they couldn't without a lawyer.
Detectives Martin Bailey and Wayne Vanderpool later went to their house and brought the family back to file the complaint.
Jones said they were forced to wait 45 minutes before they were allowed to file it.
Jones added that Bailey was called "a whistle blower" by other members of the department for facilitating the family's complaint.
"The lone detective who has stood up and said 'enough is enough' cannot stand alone," Jones said in a statement.
The incident came to light after Bailey reported it to the Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit on March 4.
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http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6702209
Detective Jerry Saldivar Arrested for Rape
Madera, CA
A Madera County Sheriff's Detective has been arrested for raping a woman and then, trying to keep her from calling for help.
37 year old Jerry Saldivar was booked into jail by Clovis Police on several felony charges. He has since bailed out.
Jerry Saldivar knew the woman who he is accused of raping. According to jail records, she was asleep or unconscious at some point when the crimes took place.
Police responded to a 9-1-1 call at the East Clovis home where Detective Jerry Saldivar lives. Only this time he became the subject of the investigation.
Action News has learned there is a videotape of the rape that has now been turned over to the District Attorney's Office.
Investigators are recommending prosecutors file three felony charges including rape, false imprisonment and a misdemeanor of preventing a 9-1-1 call from being made.
This is not the first time Saldivar has had brushes with the law.
In early 2007, he was charged with domestic violence and ordered to attend Anger Management and Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous.
Once he completed them, the charges were dropped.
The Madera County Sheriff's Department would only say once they heard about the arrest, Saldivar was immediately put on paid administrative leave. He's also now under an Internal Affairs Investigation.
The 37 year old was hired in 2002 initially as a deputy but later promoted to a detective.
The district attorney is reviewing the case. They have up to 30 days to file charges.
Saldivar is out of jail after posting a 161 thousand dollar bail.
A Madera County Sheriff's Detective has been arrested for raping a woman and then, trying to keep her from calling for help.
37 year old Jerry Saldivar was booked into jail by Clovis Police on several felony charges. He has since bailed out.
Jerry Saldivar knew the woman who he is accused of raping. According to jail records, she was asleep or unconscious at some point when the crimes took place.
Police responded to a 9-1-1 call at the East Clovis home where Detective Jerry Saldivar lives. Only this time he became the subject of the investigation.
Action News has learned there is a videotape of the rape that has now been turned over to the District Attorney's Office.
Investigators are recommending prosecutors file three felony charges including rape, false imprisonment and a misdemeanor of preventing a 9-1-1 call from being made.
This is not the first time Saldivar has had brushes with the law.
In early 2007, he was charged with domestic violence and ordered to attend Anger Management and Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous.
Once he completed them, the charges were dropped.
The Madera County Sheriff's Department would only say once they heard about the arrest, Saldivar was immediately put on paid administrative leave. He's also now under an Internal Affairs Investigation.
The 37 year old was hired in 2002 initially as a deputy but later promoted to a detective.
The district attorney is reviewing the case. They have up to 30 days to file charges.
Saldivar is out of jail after posting a 161 thousand dollar bail.
Hot Spring's Deputy Accused of Rape
A Hot Spring County Sheriff's deputy is accused of rape and state police are now investigating.
Most details are under wraps, but we do know the deputy was accused of rape very early Tuesday morning, about 2 am.
Because this is under investigation, we don't know who the deputy is, but we do know he's been placed on administrative leave with pay.
The deputy has been with the sheriff's office for about five years.
Sheriff Ryan Burris says when the rape accusation was made, the deputy was off duty.
At this point, no charges have been filed.
Officials with the sheriff's office say it was important to them to involve state police as quickly as possible.
"It's a departmental issue, I don't want people looking at me like, oh well, he's trying to cover up something. I wanted that completely out of the question, so I turned it over to state police just as soon as possible,” says Sheriff Ryan Burris.
Sheriff Burris says he isn't personally worried about this incident and thinks it will turn out ok.
Burris says during his tenure, the deputy involved hasn't had other disciplinary problems.
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http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news?cid=199391
Most details are under wraps, but we do know the deputy was accused of rape very early Tuesday morning, about 2 am.
Because this is under investigation, we don't know who the deputy is, but we do know he's been placed on administrative leave with pay.
The deputy has been with the sheriff's office for about five years.
Sheriff Ryan Burris says when the rape accusation was made, the deputy was off duty.
At this point, no charges have been filed.
Officials with the sheriff's office say it was important to them to involve state police as quickly as possible.
"It's a departmental issue, I don't want people looking at me like, oh well, he's trying to cover up something. I wanted that completely out of the question, so I turned it over to state police just as soon as possible,” says Sheriff Ryan Burris.
Sheriff Burris says he isn't personally worried about this incident and thinks it will turn out ok.
Burris says during his tenure, the deputy involved hasn't had other disciplinary problems.
____________
http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news?cid=199391
San Francisco Man Suing for Police Brutality
A 26-year-old San Francisco man who says police swooped in while he was in an early-morning argument with his girlfriend has sued the city, alleging that while being handcuffed, an officer smashed him in the face with his baton so fiercely that it shattered the man's jaw and broke his teeth.
Pieces of broken teeth had to be surgically extracted from Chen Ming's gums and mouth after the blows, according to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court.
The lawsuit contends Officer Sean Frost engaged in a racially motivated attack on Ming, who is Asian, allegations an attorney for the city rejected as simply "false."
"The officer did not do anything wrong," Deputy City Attorney Scott Wiener said.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office in August denied a claim that Ming filed seeking more than $25,000 from the city.
The incident began at about 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 27, 2008, when Ming, also know as Xia Li, was walking with his girlfriend and a group of friends in the 800 block of Folsom Street in the South of Market area, according to documents Ming filed with the city.
Ming had been arguing with his girlfriend, and his friends attempted to separate them, according to Ming's account. Police responding to a report of three or four men assaulting a woman tried to detain Ming and his friends.
Ming ran from officers, leading them on a chase for several blocks before being caught, according to his account. While one officer slammed Ming to the ground and tried to handcuff him, Frost hit Ming in the face with his baton, according to the lawsuit.
The blows smashed Ming's jaw and teeth, the lawsuit said. Frost actually struck the other officer at one point, injuring that officer's hand, the suit said.
Wiener declined to discuss specifics, but disputed Ming's account. He also suggested Ming's attorney was "judge shopping." Ming originally sued the city in U.S. District Court on Feb. 10, alleging his federal civil rights were violated.
A week later, Ming filed suit in state court and then dropped the federal case, records show.
"The plaintiff appears to be playing games," Wiener said. "The case was assigned to a federal judge that the plaintiff apparently did not like, so the plaintiff then dismisses the lawsuit and then re-files it in state court. These actions speak volumes about the weakness of their case."
Ming's attorney, John Scott, said the case was about "unnecessary, reckless" police behavior and "gratuitous violence."
"But other than that," Scott said sarcastically, "it's a very weak case."
Pieces of broken teeth had to be surgically extracted from Chen Ming's gums and mouth after the blows, according to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court.
The lawsuit contends Officer Sean Frost engaged in a racially motivated attack on Ming, who is Asian, allegations an attorney for the city rejected as simply "false."
"The officer did not do anything wrong," Deputy City Attorney Scott Wiener said.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office in August denied a claim that Ming filed seeking more than $25,000 from the city.
The incident began at about 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 27, 2008, when Ming, also know as Xia Li, was walking with his girlfriend and a group of friends in the 800 block of Folsom Street in the South of Market area, according to documents Ming filed with the city.
Ming had been arguing with his girlfriend, and his friends attempted to separate them, according to Ming's account. Police responding to a report of three or four men assaulting a woman tried to detain Ming and his friends.
Ming ran from officers, leading them on a chase for several blocks before being caught, according to his account. While one officer slammed Ming to the ground and tried to handcuff him, Frost hit Ming in the face with his baton, according to the lawsuit.
The blows smashed Ming's jaw and teeth, the lawsuit said. Frost actually struck the other officer at one point, injuring that officer's hand, the suit said.
Wiener declined to discuss specifics, but disputed Ming's account. He also suggested Ming's attorney was "judge shopping." Ming originally sued the city in U.S. District Court on Feb. 10, alleging his federal civil rights were violated.
A week later, Ming filed suit in state court and then dropped the federal case, records show.
"The plaintiff appears to be playing games," Wiener said. "The case was assigned to a federal judge that the plaintiff apparently did not like, so the plaintiff then dismisses the lawsuit and then re-files it in state court. These actions speak volumes about the weakness of their case."
Ming's attorney, John Scott, said the case was about "unnecessary, reckless" police behavior and "gratuitous violence."
"But other than that," Scott said sarcastically, "it's a very weak case."
Officer Joseph Gray Charged with DUI & Knocking out Window of Squad Car
PEORIA
A Peoria police officer is on paid leave following charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and knocking out the window of a Metamora squad car Sunday morning.
Joseph Gray, 33, a "patrol-level" officer who was hired by the Peoria Police Department in September 1999, was arrested after a single-vehicle accident on Hickory Point Road near Santa Fe Trail in Metamora.
According to a news release issued by Woodford County State's Attorney Michael Stroh, Gray has been charged with DUI, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and criminal damage to government supported property. The latter charge is a Class 4 felony, according to Stroh's release.
If Gray were to be convicted of a felony, he would be unable to serve as a police officer.
Woodford County Sheriff Jim Pierceall said Stroh was not allowing the accident report to be released to media because the crash remained under investigation Tuesday.
Stroh and Pierceall would not disclose Gray's blood-alcohol content, or confirm if tests had been conducted. They also would not say what Gray's vehicle crashed into.
Gray, who lives in Metamora, is next scheduled to appear in court April 2. According to the Woodford County Jail, Gray was arrested about 6:30 a.m. Sunday and bailed out Monday by posting $1,200 cash.
Peoria Police Chief Steven Settingsgaard said Gray is "on paid leave until we can obtain all the documentation and determine for certain what charges will be pursued."
Settingsgaard said an officer with pending criminal charges typically is placed on paid leave until the case, or the department's related internal investigation, is resolved. Discipline is determined at the conclusion of an internal investigation. An officer charged with a felony is placed on unpaid leave, and a felony conviction prevents employment as an officer.
According to Stroh's release, police found Gray alone in his car after the crash and arrested him for DUI based on their observations.
While being transported to the county jail, an agitated Gray reportedly began hitting and kicking the rear passenger-side window of the Metamora squad car, while also yelling to let him out. Glass in the window broke out, and window trim also was broken.
At that point, other officers assisted in restraining Gray and bringing him to jail, Stroh indicated.
Pierceall said his office provided a report to the state's attorney.
The monetary damage to the police car was not known. Metamora Police Chief Mike Todd did not return a phone call.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Use of Tasers being Reviewed in Missouri
A group calling itself the Coalition to Control Tasers is asking the Columbia, Missouri, police department to review its policy on the use of the weapons.
According to the Columbia Missourian, the coalition wants the police department to adopt a 52-policy guideline outlining how and when its officers should use Tasers. Last July the police department caught flak when they tasered a man who was threatening to commit suicide. Once shot, the man fell off a 15-foot overpass. The city later reached a $500,000 settlement with the man. The Columbia police now prohibit use of the weapons in misdemeanor offenses.
Meanwhile, in Jefferson City, state Sen. Joan Bray (D-St. Louis County) is pushing a bill that would create a statewide task force to review the safety of Tasers. The task force would include doctors, scientists, lawyers, police and two private citizens who've been shot with Tasers.
According to the Columbia Missourian, the coalition wants the police department to adopt a 52-policy guideline outlining how and when its officers should use Tasers. Last July the police department caught flak when they tasered a man who was threatening to commit suicide. Once shot, the man fell off a 15-foot overpass. The city later reached a $500,000 settlement with the man. The Columbia police now prohibit use of the weapons in misdemeanor offenses.
Meanwhile, in Jefferson City, state Sen. Joan Bray (D-St. Louis County) is pushing a bill that would create a statewide task force to review the safety of Tasers. The task force would include doctors, scientists, lawyers, police and two private citizens who've been shot with Tasers.
Officer Henry Knipple Arrested for Meancing
BROOMFIELD
A police officer found himself on the other side of the law last week.
Broomfield Police say Henry Jay Knipple was arrested last week following what they describe as a "traffic altercation" between two men.
Knipple was arrested; the other man does not face charges.
The Adams County District Attorney could file charges later this week. They say he could face a charge of felony menacing.
Knipple works in the Special Operations Division of the Denver Police Department. A spokesman tells 9NEWS he's now working a modified position pending any charges, which could come Wednesday.
_______________
http://cbs4denver.com/local/officer.arrested.menacing.2.954581.html
A police officer found himself on the other side of the law last week.
Broomfield Police say Henry Jay Knipple was arrested last week following what they describe as a "traffic altercation" between two men.
Knipple was arrested; the other man does not face charges.
The Adams County District Attorney could file charges later this week. They say he could face a charge of felony menacing.
Knipple works in the Special Operations Division of the Denver Police Department. A spokesman tells 9NEWS he's now working a modified position pending any charges, which could come Wednesday.
_______________
http://cbs4denver.com/local/officer.arrested.menacing.2.954581.html
Former Officer Jerry Bowens Accused of Shooting two Women
A former New York City police officer who resigned last year after being arrested on corruption charges is suspected of fatally shooting his 28-year-old ex-girlfriend and wounding another woman in Brooklyn on Sunday, the police said.
The police said the shooting happened shortly after 4:30 p.m. inside Apartment 1B of a condominium building at 84 Engert Avenue in Greenpoint.
The ex-girlfriend, identified by a family friend as Catherine D’Onofrio, was shot once in the head and taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The second woman, also 28, who lives in the apartment, suffered graze wounds to the head and arm and was listed in stable condition at Bellevue, the police said.
The police said the women were friends, possibly co-workers at a law firm.
The suspect, Jerry Bowens, 43, was identified by the surviving victim, the police said. Mr. Bowens was not in police custody as of late Sunday night, said Carlos Nieves, a police spokesman.
The police described Mr. Bowens as a former undercover narcotics unit officer who resigned last year after being arrested on corruption charges.
Mr. Bowens and another officer were accused in court papers of taking drugs and cash they had recovered and using the drugs to pay a confidential informant.
Four narcotics officers and a deputy police chief were arrested in the scandal. After the arrests, the Brooklyn district attorney dismissed the charges or vacated convictions in 183 cases that involved the accused officers. The investigation is continuing.
An attempt to reach a lawyer who represented Mr. Bowens in the corruption case was unsuccessful.
Annie Turchiano, who identified herself on Sunday as Ms. D’Onofrio’s godmother, said the woman worked as a legal secretary for a law firm in Manhattan and took care of her parents, both legally blind, at their home on 70th Street in Bensonhurst.
“The parents will never be the same,” Ms. Turchiano said.
Ms. Turchiano said that she met Mr. Bowens about two weeks ago at a dinner celebrating her goddaughter’s birthday. He was introduced by Ms. D’Onofrio as her “friend,” Ms. Turchiano said, adding that she believed the young woman was dating another man.
Later, Ms. Turchiano stood outside her goddaughter’s home, smoking a cigarette, lamenting that the world had lost something more than a young woman’s life.
The last time she saw Ms. D’Onofrio, she said she told her goddaughter that she was going to change the world, “one by one.”
“She would take in a cockroach if it needed her,” she said.
Neighbors gathered on Sunday night in the vestibule of the condominium building where the shooting occurred, discussing how such violence could seep into their complex, nine stories of glass and aluminum enclosing million-dollar penthouses and $700,000 apartments.
Shortly before 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Ms. D’Onofrio’s father, John D’Onofrio, walked his daughter’s dog, a white mutt, up and down her street. He walked quickly, manically, up and down the block.
At one point he turned and said, “There’s nothing to say and nothing to be done.”
_________________
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5877601.ece
The police said the shooting happened shortly after 4:30 p.m. inside Apartment 1B of a condominium building at 84 Engert Avenue in Greenpoint.
The ex-girlfriend, identified by a family friend as Catherine D’Onofrio, was shot once in the head and taken to Bellevue Hospital Center, where she was pronounced dead.
The second woman, also 28, who lives in the apartment, suffered graze wounds to the head and arm and was listed in stable condition at Bellevue, the police said.
The police said the women were friends, possibly co-workers at a law firm.
The suspect, Jerry Bowens, 43, was identified by the surviving victim, the police said. Mr. Bowens was not in police custody as of late Sunday night, said Carlos Nieves, a police spokesman.
The police described Mr. Bowens as a former undercover narcotics unit officer who resigned last year after being arrested on corruption charges.
Mr. Bowens and another officer were accused in court papers of taking drugs and cash they had recovered and using the drugs to pay a confidential informant.
Four narcotics officers and a deputy police chief were arrested in the scandal. After the arrests, the Brooklyn district attorney dismissed the charges or vacated convictions in 183 cases that involved the accused officers. The investigation is continuing.
An attempt to reach a lawyer who represented Mr. Bowens in the corruption case was unsuccessful.
Annie Turchiano, who identified herself on Sunday as Ms. D’Onofrio’s godmother, said the woman worked as a legal secretary for a law firm in Manhattan and took care of her parents, both legally blind, at their home on 70th Street in Bensonhurst.
“The parents will never be the same,” Ms. Turchiano said.
Ms. Turchiano said that she met Mr. Bowens about two weeks ago at a dinner celebrating her goddaughter’s birthday. He was introduced by Ms. D’Onofrio as her “friend,” Ms. Turchiano said, adding that she believed the young woman was dating another man.
Later, Ms. Turchiano stood outside her goddaughter’s home, smoking a cigarette, lamenting that the world had lost something more than a young woman’s life.
The last time she saw Ms. D’Onofrio, she said she told her goddaughter that she was going to change the world, “one by one.”
“She would take in a cockroach if it needed her,” she said.
Neighbors gathered on Sunday night in the vestibule of the condominium building where the shooting occurred, discussing how such violence could seep into their complex, nine stories of glass and aluminum enclosing million-dollar penthouses and $700,000 apartments.
Shortly before 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Ms. D’Onofrio’s father, John D’Onofrio, walked his daughter’s dog, a white mutt, up and down her street. He walked quickly, manically, up and down the block.
At one point he turned and said, “There’s nothing to say and nothing to be done.”
_________________
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5877601.ece
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