Manhunt Continues for Former Deputy Derrick Yancey Wanted for Murder

The manhunt continued Sunday for a former DeKalb County Sheriff’s deputy who had been under home arrest as he awaited trial in the deaths of his wife and a day laborer.

Derrick Yancey, 49, was wearing an electronic ankle monitor and was restricted to the Jonesboro home of his mother and stepfather as he awaited an undetermined trial date. He was last seen there Friday night, authorities said.

DeKalb County news Officials said Yancey got a substantial head start on the law.

The private probation company charged with Yancey’s case did not notify the county that the signal had been lost from Yancey’s bracelet until about 4 p.m. Saturday, 11 hours after a monitoring outfit notified the company, DeKalb Sheriff Thomas Brown said Sunday.

“What happened as to why we got this delay is for another day and another investigation,” Brown said.

Brown said information about Yancey has been submitted to a national crime database. Additionally, authorities were notified in Detroit, where Yancey has relatives, and on the Canadian border, in case he attempts to flee the country, Brown said.

Yancey was indicted and arrested in August for the June shooting death of his wife Linda, 44, and day laborer Marcial Cax Puluc, 20.

The deputy told police he killed Puluc in self-defense after Puluc killed his wife. But authorities said lab tests showed Yancey shot both victims.

Yancey had been released from jail on $150,000 bond with the condition that he remain under house arrest.

Yancey’s attorney, Keith Adams, said Yancey had been “a bit depressed and despondent” over the past few weeks.

“We’re concerned that the sheriff’s department is labeling him armed and dangerous,” Adams said. “We’re hoping that he doesn’t do anything to hurt himself and that law enforcement, if they catch up with him, doesn’t hurt him.”

The court ruling last August by now-retired Judge Anne Workman that allowed Yancey to be released drew a sharp response from his wife’s siblings.

Workman’s order quoted a Georgia law that makes defendants eligible for release on bond if they pose “no significant risk” of fleeing, intimidating witnesses or committing other crimes. Unlike many other states, Workman wrote, Georgia does not further restrict bond for murder defendants unless they have been convicted of a prior violent crime.

In a statement made then, lawyer Loletha Denise Hale, who said she spoke for siblings Eugene Thomas and Gloria Thomas Sanders, accused prosecutors of giving Yancey “preferential treatment as a result of his previous employment with the DeKalb County court system.”

On Sunday, the family was under protective care. Hale said Sanders has custody of the Yanceys’ 8-year-old son.

“The family just wants them to find him as quickly as possible,” Hale said.

Sanders spoke only briefly of Yancey’s escape.

“It’s a shame, isn’t it?” she said. “He should have been behind bars.”

Sheriff’s deputies ask anyone with information to call the DeKalb’s fugitive squad at 404-298-8200.

Dallas Chief Fires 4 Officers

Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle fired four police officers Monday morning, including a lieutenant who internal investigators concluded made a series of heated, profanity-laced calls to Waxahachie school officials.

Kunkle has fired 66 officers since he became chief in June 2004.

Dallas police Lt. Paul Wisdom's troubles began last May when he used a city phone to leave a profane message for David Nix, the principal of Waxahachie High School. Nix told investigators that he had a previous confrontation with Wisdom and that he was concerned about his and his wife's safety.

Wisdom told investigators that he didn't intend the message as a threat but only to express his displeasure.

Internal investigators concluded that he violated department policy when he used a city phone to leave a profane and intimidating message while on duty. In September, Wisdom was told he'd be suspended for three days over the incident.

On the same day that Wisdom received that suspension, he left another series of profane and intimidating messages for Nix and other school officials, police records show.

Wisdom told investigators that he made the second round of calls after his supervisor gave him a copy of the criminal trespass warning that had been issued by the school district. He also said he regretted the profanity he used in the voice mail, but said he felt like he had been baited into making the phone calls.

"I'm very disappointed in Chief Kunkle's lack of judgment and foresight," Wisdom said Monday after he was fired.

His wife, Velmea Wisdom, says her husband is being treated unfairly and that there are other officers, including supervisors, in the department who have done worse things and haven't lost their jobs.

She is a former Dallas police officer who is currently running for the Waxahachie school board.

Also fired:

•Police Officer Daniel Hageman, who was indicted last month after being accused of shooting at a woman's vehicle in Garland in what prosecutors say was a road-rage incident. Hageman, hired in 2001, is charged with deadly conduct in the May 2008 incident, a third-degree felony.

He has denied firing his weapon at the car. "I'm being falsely accused," he said in a brief interview after being fired. "I don't want that job back. I think the chances of me appealing are pretty slim."

•Senior Cpl. James Sims, 45, was fired after internal investigators concluded that he didn't pay his debts and that hot checks were written on his bank accounts. Two landlords obtained civil judgments against him after hot checks were written for his rent, records show.

Sims told internal investigators that he was having financial trouble and that he did not write all of the checks. He also stated that he unknowingly wrote hot checks on a closed account.

Sims said he plans to appeal his firing but declined to comment further. He was hired in 1988.

•Officer Jeffrey Fowler faces a felony charge of intoxication assault for an incident last month in which Fowler hit another car while driving near the intersection of Midway Road and Bonham Street. Takiyan Brown, a passenger in his pickup, was critically injured, suffering fractures to her skull, pelvis, ribs and spine as well as a lacerated kidney and liver, court records state.

When police arrived at the scene of the accident, Fowler smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes, slurred his speech and was unsteady on his feet, records state.

In mid-January, Fowler was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication while he was off duty and riding in a vehicle that was involved in an accident in the Oak Lawn area on his 28th birthday. He was hired in 2007.

Fowler declined to comment.
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http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Dallas-Police-Chief-Fires-Misbehaving-Officers.html

Chief Oly Yahnson Ivy Arrested for Aggravated Assault

The police chief of the Leon County community of Oakwood was arrested early Monday in Palestine on a warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to authorities.

Oly Yahnson Ivy, 30, was taken into custody without incident shortly after 2 a.m. Monday after Anderson County sheriff’s deputies stopped his vehicle near the intersection of Loop 256 and West Oak Street, according to Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor.

Ivy was arrested on an “aggravated assault with a deadly weapon warrant” out of Leon County, according to Taylor. The sheriff said the warrant did not have a pre-set bond amount.

The police chief was booked into the Anderson County Jail and arraigned by Anderson County Justice of the Peace Carl Davis before being released into the custody of Leon County sheriff’s authorities at 3:22 a.m. Monday, according to Taylor.

Taylor said his agency received a teletype around 1:30 a.m. Monday, “advising us that this subject would possibly be traveling through our area (in a tan 2006 four-door Dodge pickup) en route to a jurisdiction outside of our area.”

The sheriff said Ivy was believed to be traveling to Hillsboro.

Also, Taylor said the teletype advised that the wanted individual was a peace officer who was possibly in possession of a badge, police radio and weapons.

Anderson County sheriff’s Sgt. Ronnie Foster and deputy Chris Crowley then traveled to the Westwood area on West Oak Street to await the possible arrival of the suspect.

Ivy was subsequently pulled over by the officers at 2:08 a.m. Monday and arrested without incident, according to the sheriff, who was uncertain whether the suspect was in possession of any weapons or other contraband.

Taylor was also unsure about the specific allegations against Ivy.

“For the record, I don’t know what the warrant was a result of,” Taylor said. “No one’s immune. There are people who make bad choices in all professions.”

Deputy Scott Masterson Arrested for Stealing Farm Equipment

Greenwood County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Masterson was arrested and charged with Misconduct In Office after a SLED investigation.

SLED agents say Masterson possessed stolen farming equipment at his Abbeville County home.

According to a SLED warrant, between September 1, 2008 and April 2, 2009, Masterson acted willfully, intentionally and dishonestly with bad faith and corrupt intentions engage in acts of misconduct in office by committing acts and omissions in breech of his duties of good faith and accountability in violation of South Carolina laws.

They say Masterson turned himself into SLED agents.

“We are always disappointed when we find that someone the public trusts to enforce the laws is breaking the laws themselves,” said Sheriff Tony Davis. “It is a breach of that trust and a slap in the face for honest members of law enforcement. For those who believe that such serious crimes would be overlooked, or punished only by reassignment or termination, today’s action should serve as a wake-up call. Those who engage in such crimes and place themselves above the law should expect to be arrested, as this officer was today. The law enforcement badge has been tarnished. Every proud and honorable member of our profession at the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office is outraged by what we have witnessed in this case, and with good cause. Our badges represent a sacred promise to protect and serve, not a shield behind which rogue officers may hide and abuse their authority. The behavior described in this criminal case is not representative of the hard work and dedication of other employees at the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office.”
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http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20090406/NEWS06/90406029/1069/YOURUPSTATE01

Jury Still Deliberating Police Brutality Case

A Suffolk jury entered its fifth day of deliberations Monday in a case that has featured sharply divided explanations of how a tourist on Fire Island suffered a ruptured bladder in police custody.

Prosecutors say Ocean Beach's former acting police chief, George Hesse, 40, of East Islip, caused the injury when he punched and stomped on the former Manhattan man, Sam Gilberd, 36, on Aug. 28, 2005. Hesse faces first-degree assault, gang assault and other charges.

Prosecutors say another officer, Arnold Hardman, 53, of St. James failed to seek medical attention for Gilberd and concealed the extent of his injuries. Hardman faces reckless endangerment, conspiracy and other charges.

Lawyers for both defendants say Gilberd ruptured his own bladder in a fall. After being ticketed for drunkenly smashing a glass outside a bar, Gilberd became belligerent and struggled with police, the defense lawyers have said. They say that during the scuffle, Gilberd fell on an aluminum scooter parked inside the police station and his bladder, swollen from hard drinking, tore open.

After one day of deliberations, an elderly male juror was hospitalized for a nosebleed and had to be replaced with an alternate.

Upon making the switch, State Supreme Court Justice William Condon instructed the group to begin deliberations anew.

In the days that followed, the group has asked for hours of testimony to be read back, including testimony from two Ocean Beach police officers who said they witnessed the attack and are now cooperating with prosecutors.

Two Des Moines Officers on Paid Leave Accused of Police Brutality

Des Moines police officers left fourteen marks on Octavius Bonds' back with batons after a traffic stop in September. Police say they had no choice but to use force, but Bonds and his passenger claim it was police brutality.

Now the officers responsible have been taken off duty.

The two officers have been put on paid administrative leave as an investigation continues into their conduct at the traffic stop. Last month, Octavius Bonds and Erin Evans were found not guilty of provoking police during the September traffic stop. The officers are off duty after investigators found inconsistencies in their stories.

Defense attorney Peter Berger told Channel 13 that his clients have been cooperative with police during this investigation, and says he is glad to see something is finally being done about an inappropriate use of force.

"Erin Evans did pull over to the left lane, it just wasn't fast enough. So over a suspected traffic violation, these people were hurt permanently and here we are," Berger said.

According to testimony, on September 13, officers John Mailender and Mersed Dautovic hit Bonds with batons fourteen times in the head, back, arms and legs. The department says one reason it has taken over six months to take any sort of action is that Evans and Bonds would not agree to an interview at department headquarters.

Berger says his clients have provided the department with sworn statements and testimony in open court, and that the department had more than enough to take action much earlier.

"We've cooperated, and they've both been diagnosed with emotional injuries, severe emotional injuries from what happened to them and that would be the last place they should go down and be interviewed again by police officers," Berger said.

The Des Moines Police Department told Channel 13 Monday that their internal investigation continues and more departmental action against the officers is possible.

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Other Information: http://www.kcci.com/news/19110374/detail.html

http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-traffic-stop-040609,0,4661006.story

Sgt Jeff Cotton Indicted for Shooting Robbie Tolan

A Bellaire police sergeant has been indicted in the shooting of Robbie Tolan. It happened on December 31 as Tolan, an aspiring baseball player, was returning to his Bellaire home on New Year's Eve.

Saying Monday's indictment of Sergeant Jeff Cotton is one step in a very long legal road, Tolan's attorney commended the Harris County grand jury, while saving harsh criticism for the city of Bellaire.

"The grand jurors are citizens, just like the Tolans and it's obvious the grand jurors, when they heard the facts, wanted to take a stand and decided not to whitewash, not to cover up, like Bellaire has been trying to do since the beginning," said Tolan's attorney, George Gibson.

Noticeably absent was Tolan, the man the epicenter of the case. He testified last week before the grand jury. Tolan was shot New Year's Eve by Cotton. He was stopped in front of his home when, according to Bellaire officials, Cotton mistakenly believed Tolan's care was stolen. Cotton arrived as backup. Bellaire police officer John Edwards made the initial stop.

"The question remains. Why did he pull over Robbie in the first place? We think we know the answer. Robbie was committing the crime of driving while black in Bellaire," said Geoffrey Berg, who's also representing Tolan.

"There is nothing about the indictment or any investigation which even suggests that race played any role in the stop or Sergeant Cotton's actions when he arrived as a backup officer," said Bellaire City Manager Bernie Satterwhie.

City of Bellaire officials did not answer any question Monday, instead reading only from a prepared statement. In the meantime, the grand jury foreman gave little insight for the indictment.

"Well, now it's going to go to trial and the public will know what we know," said grand jury foreman Michael Kubash. "We covet your prayers. That's all we can tell you. We ask you to pray for everyone involved."

Grand jurors decided that Officer Edwards' action didn't warrant indictment.

A trial date for Cotton hasn't been set yet. If convicted, Cotton faces anywhere from five years to life in prison. Meantime, Cotton is on administrative leave with pay with the Bellaire Police Department.
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http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6746571

Deputy Murray Campbell Arrested for Drunk Driving while still in Uniform

A Harris County Sheriff's deputy is accused of driving while intoxicated. Investigators say he was arrested -- still in his uniform and driving a patrol car -- shortly after he got off duty this weekend.

The deputy has been identified as Murray Campbell. He has been with the sheriff's department for 17 years. According to the department, Campbell worked a 16 hour day when he was arrested Saturday night outside the Montgomery Trace subdivision where he lives in Montgomery County.

A sheriff's office spokesman said Campbell reported he had pulled over to help a deputy constable on a traffic stop when an off-duty DPS trooper stopped in her car and told him he had been speeding and weaving. Campbell is said to have refused a Breathalyzer test when another trooper arrived, so he was arrested and a blood sample was taken. For now, Campbell is on desk duty.

HCSO Spokesperson Bob Dogium explained, "Until there's a final determination, which will come from the blood test, I don't think it's inappropriate or out of line to consider fatigue."

A DPS spokesman in Austin says there is nothing in their arrest report to indicate that the deputy had pulled over to help another officer when he was arrested.

Campbell remains on desk duty and his patrol car has been taken away until the blood test results come back and the case is resolved.

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http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6747954

Former Heroin Addict "Sold" By Judge in "Kids for Cash" Scheme

Ann Harris (not her real name), shown here playing with her 7-month-old daughter at Optimist Park Playground, is building a new life for herself in Lebanon after being victimized by Luzerne County Judge Mark A. Ciavarella's "Kids for Cash" scheme.


Ann Harris makes no excuses for her behavior as a teenager.

But she can find no excuse other than greed to explain the behavior of Judge Mark A. Ciavarella — one of two Luzerne County judges who are facing jail time for what has been dubbed the “Kids for Cash” scandal.

Harris (who asked that her real name not be used to protect her privacy) was a 16-year-old, heroin-addicted, ninth-grade dropout in January 2003 when she first appeared in Ciavarella’s courtroom on charges of simple assault that stemmed from a fight with her boyfriend.

It was Harris’ first arrest, and she trusted the judge to be fair in his treatment of her. At the outset, she said, he was.

“At first, I really liked him,” she said.

After she pleaded guilty, Ciavarella sentenced Harris to 90 days at the adolescent drug-treatment center in which she had enrolled shortly after she was arrested. Then, when she violated terms of her probation by using heroin again, he sent her to a youth crisis center in Utah, where she spent the next 14 months before being released to a halfway house in Altoona.

At the halfway house, Harris claims, she was sexually harassed by a male counselor. To escape his abuse, she ran away for one day before returning voluntarily. She had not used any drugs while away, but the infraction was enough to put her before Ciavarella again.

Harris told the judge about the ordeal with the counselor, thinking it would soften his response.

“I remember breaking down into tears and telling him that I was harassed by my counselor. And he told me he would look into it,” she recalled. “But then I was remanded before he even checked into it. ... He was just so cold. He didn’t care.”

Harris was shocked when the judge sentenced her to nine to 12 months at PA Child Care, a prison-like juvenile detention center.

“I thought I might be sent to another, maybe stricter halfway house,” she said.

With no lawyer to defend her, Harris had no choice but to go to the detention center. She ended up serving six months before being released a month before her 18th birthday.

“It was like a jail,” she recalled. “It has cinderblock walls, and you have your own little cell with a metal bed, and metal drawers, and a little metal desk.”

Sentencing kids to PA Child Care was common practice for Ciavarella.

At the urging of the Juvenile Law Center, which noticed his inordinate number of harsh sentences, state authorities eventually investigated Ciavarella and learned that, between 2003-08, he sent hundreds of juveniles to the facility for offenses as minor as presenting false identification when caught driving without a license and conspiracy to shoplift. In many cases, the juveniles had no lawyer, because the judge did not advise them of their right to one.

In February, Ciavarella and a fellow judge, Michael T. Conahan pleaded guilty to accepting $2.6 million in kickbacks from the builder and former owner of PA Child Care detention center for helping them to construct the facility, and a similar one in Butler County, and agreeing to sentence juveniles there. In all, the facilities’ raked in more than $30 million in contracts and detainee charges from the county.

In a plea agreement, the judges agreed to serve 87 months in prison. They are free on bond while a federal court reviews the plea.

The owner of the detention center, Robert Powell, and the builder, Robert Mericle, are cooperating with prosecutors and have not been charged.

Harris is now 22 and lives in Lebanon with her fiancee and their 2-year-old son and 7-month-old daughter. She has earned her high-school diploma and stayed out of trouble since being released from PA Child Care in October 2005. Most importantly, she has not used heroin since 2005, although she does take methadone to stay off it.

Harris said she was a normal girl who loved riding horses and competing in horse shows before starting to use drugs. Her parents were divorced, and her mother worked nights as a pharmacist, often leaving her alone and unsupervised. Craving attention, in eighth grade she started hanging out with the wrong group of friends.

“I was a good kid. I really was,” she said. “I played the clarinet in my church choir. But one thing I was never good at was making friends. And that is what using drugs did — I made friends. I started losing weight and guys started noticing me. I wanted attention and friends that I had never had before. And that is what took me down that path.”

When Harris was arrested, her mother was relieved.

“I saw it as an opportunity to get her help and get her out of that environment,” said Helen Murray (also a fictitious name), who still lives in Luzerne County.

Murray and her daughter have mixed feelings about Ciavarella because Harris’ time spent at Cinnamon Hills Youth Crisis Center in Utah was life-changing — perhaps life-saving.

“It helped me out a lot,” said Harris. “When I went there, I was very unsure of myself. I was a very depressed person and very insecure. They have a really good therapy program, and you get individual help. I came out of there and I didn’t have that low self-esteem anymore.”

Harris and her mother have joined a class-action civil lawsuit filed by the Juvenile Law Center on behalf of about 125 juveniles who were sentenced by Ciavarella.

Although the lawsuit asks for damages, Murray said she just wants to see her daughter’s record expunged.

Recently, the Supreme Court did expunge the records of hundreds of Luzerne County juveniles. Harris was not among them, but hundreds more are being reviewed, and she still holds out hope.

Harris and her mother are not vindictive; they do not feel a need to confront Ciavarella.

“I am able to move along with my life,” said Harris. “I mean, that is what I am doing. I am happy being a mother. That is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love it. It is absolutely a joy.”

Murray said she will leave it to God to judge Ciavarella. She is just grateful that her daughter survived her ordeal with drugs, in part because Ciavarella sent her to the Utah youth center.

“Whatever made these men make these decisions that were so wrong, God has used it for good,” she said. “The most important thing is, it was the power of God, and our faith in God that brought us through and saved my daughter’s life.”

Former Officer Eric Sinderman Charged with Resiting Arrest

GURNEE

Getting locked out of his car has gotten a former Gurnee police officer in hot water with local authorities.

Eric Sindermann, 43, of 5011 Prairie Oak Road, was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing justice for refusing to be taken into custody after it was discovered he was named in a Michigan warrant for failure to appear in court, Gurnee police Cmdr. Jay Patrick said.

On March 26 around 7:25 p.m., Sindermann called police to his home for assistance after locking keys in his 1996 Cadillac.

While gathering background information at the scene, officers discovered Houghton County, Mich., authorities had issued an arrest warrant stemming from a April 2008 missed court date regarding a child custody case. Authorities said the warrant was not extraditable.

After learning that he was being arrested, Sindermann fought with officers before being handcuffed, Patrick said. Sindermann, a Gurnee cop during the 1990s, was taken into custody before posting $1,000 bond.

His arraignment is April 24 in Lake County Circuit Court.

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http://www.wbbm780.com/Ex-Officer-Charged-With-Resisting-Arrest/4144679

Deputy Kevin King Arrested for Domestic Violence

A Buncombe County sheriff’s deputy was arrested on a domestic violence charge early Saturday after a security guard spotted him allegedly smacking around his wife in downtown Greenville, police said.

Kevin King, 38, was charged with criminal domestic violence and hit and run after he reportedly struck a security guard’s car when he attempted to flee the scene at 210 Laurens St., Greenville police Lt. Dean Elliott said.

King’s wife, whose name wasn’t released, suffered scratches and bruises and declined medical treatment at the scene, he said.

Elliott said the guard reportedly saw the incident near a parking deck on Laurens Street and called 911 shortly before 2 a.m. Laurens Street runs adjacent to Main Street in Greenville downtown business district.

He said the couple drove down from North Carolina and apparently got into a quarrel after attending a party, where they may have had too much to drink.

King was being held at the Greenville County Detention Center until he can see a magistrate, Elliott said.

Deputy Wilbert Garcia Arrested for Sexually Abusing Minor

An Orange County sheriff's deputy was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexually abusing a minor, authorities said today.

Wilbert Dale Garcia was taken into custody about 4 p.m. Friday during a traffic stop at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Nutmeg Street in Murrieta, according to a statement from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Orange County Sheriff Department personnel were present during the arrest and have placed the 49-year-old deputy on administrative leave.

Garcia has been under investigation by the Wildomar Police Department, which accused him of raping a child under 14 and of continual sexual abuse of a child. Other details of the accusations were not released.

Updated 4 p.m.: Garcia is a 19-year veteran with the Orange County Sheriff's Department. He was assigned to the south operation, patrolling mostly the Laguna Niguel area.

Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said Garcia was placed on administrative leave. He said the department was cooperating with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and had initiated a personnel investigation today.

"It's disturbing when anyone gets arrested for the crimes alleged, but it's especially more disturbing when that person is a law enforcement officer," Amormino said.


Wildomar police investigators said they were looking for other possible victims. Anyone with information can call (951) 245-3300.

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http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12072486

SCLC Wants to Ban Tasers Use by Police

MARTINSVILLE

It’s been about three months since a 17-year-old died here after being Tasered by a police officer.

The Danville/Pittsylvania County chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and other African-American community leaders are calling for a moratorium on the use of Tasers.

The Rev. Avon Keen, leader of the local SCLC, and other leaders held a meeting Saturday to discuss the issue at the Blue Ridge Regional Library in Martinsville.

The SCLC and other members of a panel plan to push for a ban on their use until there is adequate research on their dangers and how they should be used, Keen said. Keen said they want to approach local enforcement agencies about the idea and take it statewide and national.

The SCLC’s effort comes three months after 17-year-old Derick Jones died when a Martinsville police officer Tasered him when Jones “moved rapidly” toward him, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported on Jan. 9. Police were called on Jan. 8 to a home on Rives Road after receiving a report of a young man using the bathroom in the street and a later call of young men fighting.

Tentative results from a U.S. Department of Justice study finished in June found no conclusive medical evidence that Tasers cause injury or death, even after numerous instances of people dying after the officers Tasered them, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. During Saturday’s meeting, Torrey Dixon, a civil-rights attorney in Durham, N.C., said about 300 people across the U.S. have died after being Tasered. Dixon said there needs to be a push to build large-scale, non-violent resistance to call for ending the use of Tasers.

A Taser is a handheld electroshock weapon that affects control of the central nervous system when used on someone. It’s meant to be a non-lethal alternative to traditional police weapons.

Keen calls for five recommendations to be made to law-enforcement agencies regarding Tasers, including a ban on their use until adequate research on their dangers and proper use; that a federal task force made up of law-enforcement, human-rights organizations, attorneys, law professors and members of the public to establish set standards on how Tasers should be used; that law-enforcement agencies restrict use of Tasers on the elderly, children and pregnant women; law-enforcement agencies restrict use of Tasers in potentially flammable situations, near dangerous heights and not on a person’s face, eyes or head; and law-enforcement agencies require officers have at least 8 hours training per year on the use of Tasers.

Keen also wants to see youth educated in schools about the Taser and how to react when approached by a law-enforcement officer.

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http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/sclc_calls_for_ban_on_taser_use_by_police/10219/

Other Information: http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=18370

Officer Cazinova Reed Arrested for Domestic Violence

A Jackson police officer arrested on a domestic-violence charge is on leave from the Police Department.

The police docket shows Cazinova Reed, 37, was taken into custody at 4:17 p.m. Thursday. A municipal judge set his bond Friday morning at $650.

Reed is accused in an alleged April 1 attack on "a female acquaintance or former acquaintance" with whom he had a "lengthy relationship," JPD spokesman Lt. Jeffery Scott said. Police also are investigating Reed on a sexual-battery complaint filed by the same woman and stemming from the same incident, he said. "He has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of a criminal, as well as internal, investigation," Scott said.

Reed is a five-year veteran of the police force.

Reed's brother, Carlos Reed, was shot and killed in August in his apartment in south Jackson. Stephen Tose, 20, was charged with the homicide.

Corrections Officer Theresa Zook Arrested for Stealing Drugs from Inmates

BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio

A Logan County corrections officer was in court on Friday after she was fired and arrested on suspicion of stealing drugs from inmates.

Theresa Zook waived her right to a preliminary hearing in a Bellefontaine court and was released on her own recognizance.

Authorities said Zook was recently booking an inmate and stole prescription drugs while on the job.

Her case will now go before a grand jury.

Trooper J.D. McGaha Ticketed for Driving 130mph

COLUMBIA, S.C.

A South Carolina trooper is back on the job after being suspended three days when he was ticketed for driving 130 mph in a 70 mph zone.

Public Safety director Mark Keel says Senior Trooper J.D. McGaha was ticketed and immediately suspended without pay on Saturday in Kershaw County after his unmarked car was stopped on Interstate 20 by another trooper.

Keel told The State newspaper that McGaha is assigned in Horry County and was to direct traffic at the Carolina Cup in Camden and was running late.

There was no telephone listing for McGaha in Horry County. Keel says McGaha faces a $355 fine and six points against his license if he's convicted.

McGaha has been with the Highway Patrol since 2005.

Correctional Officer Dondiedra Anderson Arrested for Unlawful Use of Taser on Inmate

The Georgetown County Sheriff's Office said in a release Friday, that investigators arrested 22-year-old Dondiedra Anderson for unlawful use of a Taser on an inmate.

Anderson, a Georgetown County Detention Center Correctional Officer, was arrested as a result of an investigation conducted by Georgetown County Sheriff's Investigators Friday.

The sheriff's office says the investigation began on March 26, 2009 after receiving information from a Georgetown County Sheriff's Office employee who witnessed the incident that occurred during the afternoon hours of March 24, 2009.

The release says an inmate in the booking section of the detention center was beating on the door stating she needed to use the restroom. The sheriff's office says when Anderson asked why the inmate could not use the one in the cell, the inmate said the toilet was broken.

Officials say Anderson opened the cell, removed the inmate and went into the cell to access the situation. While in the cell, the inmate closed the cell door locking Anderson in the cell. When the door was opened by another correctional officer, Anderson exited the cell, grabbed the inmate and tased her.

Anderson has been fired from the Georgetown County Detention Center.

The sheriff's office says their investigation found that the Taser device was not used in accordance to policy and her actions were unlawful.

Anderson was arrested at the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office after turning herself in, and she was taken to the detention center.

She is currently being held at the detention center awaiting a bond hearing.

Correction Officer Steven Lenhart Charged with Harassment

The Delaware Department of Correction says a correctional officer charged with sending harassing e-mails to the governor has been placed on leave with pay.

Department spokesman John Painter says 50-year-old Steven R. Lenhart of Dover was placed on leave Friday pending the outcome of the investigation of the charges.

Painter says Lenhart has been with the department since 1981.

Delaware State Police say Lenhart was arrested Thursday and charged with 10 misdemeanor counts of harassment. He was released on $10,000 secured bail and ordered to have no contact with the governer.

Police say the governor's office alerted troopers on March 22 that "alarming e-mails" were sent to the cost-saving suggestion public mailbox located on www.delaware.gov.

Police say that after getting the Internet protocol address from the e-mail, subscriber information was obtained from Comcast.

On March 28, several more e-mails were sent to the same public mailbox in which additional threats were made, according to police.

On Thursday, detectives armed with a search warrant raided Lenhart's home and seized his computer. Lenhart was then taken into custody.

Judge Manuel Barraza Arrested for Soliciting Bribes & Sexual Favors from Defendants

After being in office for only a few months Manuel J. Barraza, a state district judge in El Paso, TX, has been arrested by the FBI for soliciting cash bribes and sexual favors from criminal defendants, including an undercover agent, in exchange for favorable treatment in his court:

In November 2008, voters elected him as the first judge of Criminal District Court No. 1, created to primarily handle felony drug cases. "I think since I've grown up here, I know the people," Barraza said during an interview before his election. "When someone goes to court, they shouldn't be afraid of the judge. They should feel like they should be treated with courtesy, dignity and respect."

Yesterday's arrest was not the first for Barraza:

Thursday's arrest was not Barraza's first time in handcuffs, or the first time he faced a misconduct charge. He was arrested in 1983 on charges of bribing a deputy probation officer. He allegedly gave the officer $30 to influence a case. That charge against Barraza was dismissed for lack of evidence.

The border town El Paso is just 2 miles from Juarez, Mexico -- ground zero in the cartel drug wars -- and federal agents are all over the place. Local judges assigned to felony drug cases along the border from Texas to California should be on notice that they are being watched, and any corruption better stop.

Barraza's "indictment and arrest are not related to the FBI's larger ongoing public corruption investigation in El Paso" according to an agency spokesperson.

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http://bitterqueen.typepad.com/friends_of_ours/2009/04/newly-elected-texas-judge-arrested.html

Corporal Rex Jones Charged with Child Abuse

DeSoto Police arrested Dallas Police Sr. Corporal Rex Jones on a charge of child abuse.

DeSoto Police say Rex Nathaniel Jones, 41, beat his 13-year-old son with an extension cord, a belt and his fists.

Jones is a Senior Corporal in the Dallas Police Department. He lives in DeSoto, and police there arrested him this morning.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit for Jones, the incident happened in late February. It says the child was asleep in his bed at about 2:00 a.m. when Jones started hitting him with an extension cord. "The victim advised he was asleep on the couch late at night with the TV on, which angered his father," explained Lieutenant Mike Sullivan with the DeSoto Police Department.

The child told police Jones told him to go to the garage and stand still while Jones hit him across the buttocks with a belt.

The boy said he moved while getting hit. When he did, Jones allegedly grabbed him, pinned him to the floor, and started punching him with his fists. "While being pinned down, listed victim stated that the Defendant hit him about the chest, back, and head with the defendant's knuckles," said Sullivan.

The teenager said he broke free from his father and started to run. When he did, the affidavit says Jones struck his son in the face with the belt.

Jones then told his son that he would receive a beating every day for the rest of the week, according to the affidavit.

It goes on to say that when he got home from school at about 3:00 p.m. that same day, Jones met him in the living room, struck him several times with a belt and sent him to his room.

The boy reported the incident to a school counselor the next day; school officials alerted authorities.

The affidavit indicates that Jones has been called to his son's school several times in the past to deal with disciplinary issues involving the boy, and that Jones beat his son in response to some of those incidents.

The DeSoto Police Officer who wrote the affidavit said he photographed several bruises and marks on the son's body, including some that appear to have been made by a belt or extension cord.

Jones is in the DeSoto jail, charged with injury to a child - a third degree felony. A Dallas Police Department spokesman says Jones is assigned to the department's training academy. He has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.

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http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Officer-Accused-of-Beating-Son-Arrested.html

Lawsuit Filed Against Officer Richard Fiorito

Chicago, IL

Four federal lawsuits were filed against a Chicago Police officer accused of targeting gay and lesbian drivers by falsifying DUI charges and other traffic violations, using excessive force and engaging in harassment of the arrested victims.

The suits also claim that Chicago police officer Richard Fiorito allegedly contrived the DUI charges against gays and lesbians to profit from overtime pay for court appearances and that other officers in Fiorito's district suspected the validity of the arrests.

Fiorito, 60, who is assigned to the 23rd District Town Hall police station at Addison and Halsted in the heart of "Boystown", was honored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for making 313 DUI arrests in 2007 and early 2008.

The suits also claim that other officers in the district accused Fiorito of wanting more overtime, claiming it as the reason for Fiorito's issuance of numerous DUI tickets.

The suits ask for an undetermined amount of damages.

Andy Thayer, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Network, told CBS 2 Chicago, "This guy was operating in the heart of the gay entertainment district for years acting on his anti-gay animus and no one in an official [capacity] was calling him out on it."

No departmental action has currently been taken against Fiorito. Officials at the Independent Police Review Authority said complaints are under investigation

Three other people filed lawsuits earlier in February.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-harassment-lawsui,0,1763987.story

UPDATE: Officer Anthony Razo Arrested for Torching his BMW then Filing Insurance Claim

A Los Angeles police officer who said he was shot in an off-duty incident early this year lied to investigators about the attack and, weeks earlier, intentionally set fire to his own luxury sports car in a scheme to collect an insurance payment, according to charges filed by prosecutors late Wednesday.

Anthony Razo, who served 14 years with the Los Angeles Police Department before abruptly resigning Friday, was charged with five felony counts of insurance fraud and arson for allegedly torching his own BMW 745 on Jan. 4 and then filing an insurance claim.

He also faces a misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report concerning a gunshot wound he said he suffered outside his City Terrace home Jan. 31. Razo said that two Latinos with shaved heads, whom he did not know, attacked him as he was leaving for an early morning golf game. During a struggle, Razo said, one of the men grabbed his department-issued handgun and shot him once in the shoulder.

Prosecutors and sheriff's officials declined to comment on the details of their investigation, leaving open the possibility that Razo shot himself or that he knows who shot him.

Razo, 49, refused to answer questions when he was reached at his home late last week by The Times. His attorney, Glen Jonas, refused to discuss details of the case, but acknowledged missteps by Razo.

"Mr. Razo is addressing personal problems while cooperating with the investigators to minimize any additional impact recent events will have on the department and the community," Jonas said. "While we understand some in the community may define him by recent events, we hope the numerous citizens, crime victims and fellow officers he helped . . . will remember him differently."

Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators had already begun to suspect that Razo had burned his own car before the shooting occurred, law enforcement officials with knowledge of the investigation said. Those suspicions led homicide investigators to doubt Razo's version of the attack, the sources said.

In the hours immediately after the shooting, however, the Sheriff's Department nonetheless launched a massive manhunt for the alleged attackers. Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton and Sheriff Lee Baca rallied before a phalanx of TV cameras, vowing that the assailants would be captured. Within days, officers at the Hollenbeck Division station, where Razo was assigned, had raised more than $6,000 to help the wounded officer. Specialized LAPD officers guarded Razo's home around the clock.

Despite an intense investigation, sheriff's investigators found no leads supporting Razo's claims, drawing further suspicion on the officer, who had fallen deeply into debt before the car-burning incident, officials said.

In comments made shortly before the charges were filed, Sheriff's Lt. Duane Harris, who is leading the investigation, indicated that Razo had not confessed, saying he "has not told us anything that contradicts that initial report."

After weeks of rumors and hushed conversations about Razo in police stations, news of the charges brought expressions of anger and disappointment.

Paul M. Weber, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents the department's rank-and-file officers, said the union was "deeply disturbed."

"We are naturally saddened and find it unsettling to learn that the incident . . . may not be the tragedy it was initially portrayed to be," Weber said.

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UPDATED Information: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Chief-Former-Officer-Accused-of-Faking-Shooting-is-Disgrace.html
Other Information: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_12050507

Officer David Yanvary Arrested for Shoplifting

EDISON

An Edison police detective, a 22-year veteran of the force, has been charged with shoplifting from a township supermarket while working there as a security guard, police said Thursday.

David Yanvary, 54, was arrested Wednesday, about two weeks after ShopRite security officials say he stole $42 worth of items during an evening shift at the Route 1 store.

He was formally charged Wednesday at Edison police headquarters and released on his own recognizance, but has been suspended with pay, police said. Prior to the suspension, he had been assigned to the Edison Police Department Juvenile Unit.

Yanvary, whose yearly salary is $113,000, is accused of taking a candle, a DVD, cooking oil and honey while working at the store on March 17, police Lt. Joseph Shannon said. Shop Rite contacted police about the alleged incident, prompting an investigation by the department's Internal Affairs unit.

"Any allegation of illegal conduct by a police officer is a very serious matter,'' Chief Thomas Bryan said in a statement Thursday. He added that the investigation was continuing.

Yanvary's attorney, Timothy Smith, said his client was "overtly falsely accused'' by a "vindictive manager'' at ShopRite. He also said Yanvary has an "impeccable record'' during more than two decades as an officer and eight years as a township employee before that.

"We're relishing the opportunity to have the case adjudicated in court and have him fully vindicated,'' said the South Orange-based attorney, adding that he was "confident that he had all of the receipts'' for the merchandise.

Smith also said his client had filed for retirement before the charges came to light, and said he didn't believe there was a connection.

Township records show that Yanvary filed for a retirement that would be effective April 1.

Brian Collier, a former Drug Enforcement Agency special agent, was appointed police director a year ago after a series of embarrassing episodes involving several Edison police officers. The civilian post was proposed by first-term Mayor Jun Choi, who called for greater accountability in the force.

"Whenever a police officer is accused of a crime, it is a sad day for law enforcement and the community,'' Collier said in a statement to the Home News Tribune. "However, let me very clear, this will not stop our progress in bringing professionalism and accountability to this department."

Former Officer Collin Jacobson Charged with Stalking

A former Wisconsin Dells police officer who was sued in November for allegedly forcing two National Guardsmen to lick urine from the ground was charged Thursday with stalking his former girlfriend.

Collin H. Jacobson, 21, of Lake Delton, is free on a signature bond after appearing in Dane County Circuit Court on Thursday, where he was charged with stalking, false imprisonment and misdemeanor battery.

Jacobson was arrested on March 25 after going to the woman’s home in Sun Prairie a day earlier, purportedly to exchange belongings, but refused to leave and punched her in the arm, according to a criminal complaint.

Jacobson and another former officer, Wayne W. Thomas, 19, allegedly forced the guardsmen in June to lick what was assumed to be urine from the ground after accusing them of urinating in public. Thomas was fired immediately and Jacobson was suspended. A lawsuit against the officers and the city of Wisconsin Dells is pending in federal court.

According to the complaint:

Jacobson and the woman broke up in November, and he took a job with the Albuquerque, N.M., Police Department. He soon quit and returned to Wisconsin, then began contacting the woman’s family, her friends and her current boyfriend, she told police.

Jacobson would see her at parties and threaten to report her for underage drinking if she didn’t do what he wanted, she told police. He also appeared to be watching and following her, she said. When she threatened to call police, she said, he told her to go ahead, because he could talk them out of doing anything. In January police warned him to stop his stalking behavior.

On March 24, he called her at home and asked to exchange belongings, and she reluctantly let him in, she told police. But he refused to leave, and when she tried leave he blocked the door and held her against the wall by her throat. She tried to run for the door again later but he grabbed her from behind and held her to the floor, she told police.

Deputy Cody Fling-Davis Arrested for Misconduct

NASSAU COUNTY, Fla.

A Nassau County Sheriff's Office employee was arrested Friday after an investigation of official misconduct, according to Sheriff Tommy Seagraves.

In March 2009, personnel from the Nassau County Detention Facility told the sheriff's office narcotics unit that a confidential informant had provided information about contraband being smuggled into the detention facility.

According to the sheriff's office, the informant said during the introduction of illegal narcotics into the detention facility, Deputy Cody Wayne Fling-Davis was present and did not act appropriately. The informant also stated that Flint-Davis also personally distributed illicit photographs to the inmates.

Video surveillance revealed that Flint-Davis was in view of inmates as they placed a bag in a mop bucket so that contraband could be brought into the detention facility. The video also showed Flint-Davis watching inmates making hand-to-hand transactions and making no attempt to take enforcement actions.

A release from the sheriff's office states, "prior to a planned mock fire drill that Flint-Davis was aware of, Flint-Davis could be seen huddled up with an inmate having a private conversation as the pod was being evacuated as if he was warning the inmate of an impending 'shake down.'"

The sheriff stated that after an interview, Flint-Davis confessed to informing the inmates of the mock fire drill and that he distributed illicit photographs to the inmates.

Flint-Davis resigned from the sheriff's office during his interview with internal affairs.

He was arrested and booked into Nassau County Detention Facility on charges of official misconduct, disclose or use of confidential criminal justice information, failure to perform duty required by an officer and failure of person to discharge his or her duty.

Baltimore Officers Beat Teen then try to Cover it Up

BALTIMORE

Two Baltimore police officers beat a teenager with a baton and a pool stick while he was handcuffed and shackled, then tried to cover up the attack with their sergeant's help, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.

Officers Gregory Mussmacher and Guy Gerstel and Sgt. Wayne Thompson face charges of civil rights violations in a six-count indictment.

Gerstel and Thompson have retired. Mussmacher, 34, has been suspended with pay since the April 2004 incident, even though he was convicted in February 2005 of second-degree criminal assault, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

Mussmacher remained under suspension because city police were cooperating with the FBI, which was investigating the beating, Guglielmi said. But Guglielmi could not explain why Mussmacher was not kicked off the force immediately after his conviction. Mussmacher received a suspended sentence and probation.

The alleged beating victim, Benjamin R. Rowland, filed a federal lawsuit against Mussmacher and Gerstel in 2007, seeking $6 million in damages. The lawsuit was settled out of court.

Rowland is identified only as "B.R." in the indictment.

According to the indictment, Mussmacher hit Rowland in the face with a baton and Gerstel struck him in the back with a pool stick after he was arrested on April 27, 2004. Rowland was 17 years old at the time.

The indictment says Gerstel obstructed justice by lying under oath in a state proceeding about the presence of two other officers when Rowland was arrested. Gerstel is also accused of making false statements to the FBI about his role in the beating.

Thompson and Mussmacher submitted false police reports about Rowland's arrest and how he was injured, according to the indictment.

Before beating Rowland, Mussmacher removed the teen's handcuffs, set aside his badge and gun and offered to fight Rowland, the indictment says. The teen was never charged with a crime as a result of his arrest.

Gerstel faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted of all three charges against him; Mussmacher faces 15 years, and Thompson faces five years.

No attorneys had entered appearances on the officers' behalf Wednesday, and their initial court appearances had not yet been scheduled, said Marcia Murphy, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Baltimore.

Joseph E. Spicer, who represented Mussmacher in the lawsuit, declined to comment. Rowland's attorney in the lawsuit, Robert L. Smith Jr., did not immediately return a message.

Officer Michael Knutson Awarded $100,000

SAPULPA, Okla.

An arbitrator has ordered that a Sapulpa police officer fired for his contact with a 16-year-old girl be awarded $100,000 and be reinstated to the force.

Police Officer Michael Knutson's employment was terminated in 2006 and he was later charged with three felony counts of sexual battery on his teenage co-worker at a local pizza restaurant.

All three counts were dismissed in April 2008, due to "lack of prosecutable evidence."

According to documents, arbitrator Ed Bankston determined the police department gave the girl wire listening equipment and a cell phone, and told her to use the phone to contact Knutson.

Bankston said the city had no cause for disciplinary action, much less criminal charges, and engaged in a raw abuse of power.

A telephone message left for Sapulpa Police Chief Jim Wall was not immediately returned.

Knutson told the Sapulpa Daily Herald he couldn't comment because of the ongoing litigation.

No Bail for Officer Alhinde Weems Arrested for Selling Drugs

Some startling information has surfaced in a bail hearing for a Philadelphia police officer accused of selling drugs and planning violent robberies.

Officer Alhinde Weems, arrested last week, has been ordered held without bail until his trial, based on some stunning allegations revealed during Thursday's hearing.

Federal prosecutors say Weems is a drug-dealing robber armed with a gun, a police badge, and a uniform, and willing to use all of them to carry out his crimes.

According to authorities, Weems was caught on audio tape and videotape making illegal transactions and planning to force his way into the home of a drug distributor, and confessed when he was arrested.

FBI agent John Dolan testified that Weems sold cocaine to a cooperating informant, transported what he thought was a kilogram of cocaine from one undercover agent to another, and plotted with an undercover agent the armed home-invasion robbery of another supposed supplier.

And Dolan recounted some of the specifics caught on tape:

"He provided possible plans as to how to commit the act, including possibly 'badging' his way into the home. He said he would wear his body armor. He also would provide guns with silencers."

Many of Weems' family members were in the courtroom for his bail hearing to support him. But the judge found probable cause and ruled that Weems is a potential danger to the community, so he will be held without bail pending his trial.

Weems' defense attorneys have suggested that their client was coaxed into some of the illegal activities, and attorney Charles Peruto Jr. says Weems will fight the charges against him in court.

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Other Information: http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20090402_ap_nobailforphillyofficerinviolentdrugplot.html

Previous Information: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2009/03/officer-alhinde-weems-accused-of.html

Judge Manuel Barraza Arrested for Asking for Sex from Defendants

EL PASO, Texas

A state judge accused of taking money and asking for sex from defendants in exchange for help on felony cases in his El Paso court made his first federal court appearance Thursday.

Manuel J. Barraza, 53, did not enter a plea during the brief afternoon hearing. He is scheduled to be arraigned next week.

Outside the federal courthouse, he told reporters that he had faith in the justice system.

He was released after posting $10,000 bail.

The FBI arrested Barraza, who was elected in November and took the bench in January, at his house Thursday morning. He was indicted on four counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud and lying to a federal agent.

The 10-page indictment alleges Barraza took cash bribes and asked for sex from defendants, including an undercover FBI agent, in exchange for his help in felony cases.

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http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_12055167

John J Meier Jr Dies After Being Tasered by Broward Deputies

A Parkland man who was Tasered on Tuesday during a scuffle with Broward sheriff's deputies in front of the Sawgrass Infiniti car dealership in Tamarac has died in the hospital, according to authorities.

The man, identified as John J. Meier Jr., 48, had been running in and out of traffic on West Commercial Boulevard while wearing only a pair of shorts. He was violently resisting arrest when he was Tasered, according to BSO spokesman Jim Leljedal.

Meier, who authorities suspected was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, died in the hospital about five or six hours later, Leljedal said.

Deputies first encountered Meier about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday after he began undressing and running through traffic in the 10500 block of West Commercial Boulevard.

The first deputy to arrive tried to lead Meier away from the road, but he began fighting the deputy and continued to struggle when two backup deputies arrived, Leljedal said.

During the struggle, one of the deputies drew a Taser and pressed it directly to Meier's body, taking him to the ground, where he was handcuffed.

Leljedal could not say how many times Meier was Tasered or how long he was hit with the stun gun.

Paramedics took him to University Hospital, where he was treated for several hours before being pronounced dead at 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Meier's vehicle, a 2007 Dodge pickup truck, was found at a Shell gas station at Hiatus Road and Commercial Boulevard, not far from the site where deputies subdued him.

Leljedal said the deputy was justified in using the Taser, given Meier's extreme behavior.

''One deputy tried to get him out of traffic and off the road, but he fought him,'' Leljedal said. ``At that point, he had to find some sort of tool to manage him, and the most appropriate tool was the Taser.''

The stun gun -- commonly referred to as a Taser -- has been controversial since law enforcement began heavily using the device as a less-lethal weapon several years ago.

Police say there is no better weapon for quashing a tense situation without causing serious harm. Critics, such as Amnesty International, say it is too commonly used and has not been subjected to enough research.

An Amnesty International report released last December listed Broward County as one of the counties in the country where the most Taser-related deaths had occurred between 2001 and 2008.

Tuesday's incident, the third death of a Taser victim in BSO custody since the agency instituted the weapon, may have been fueled by drugs, Leljedal said.

An investigator with the Broward Medical Examiner's Office declined to discuss an autopsy performed Wednesday.

Leljedal said the autopsy showed no trauma or injuries other than minor scratches and Taser marks on Meier's right side.

His death appears to have been caused by cocaine toxicity or excited delirium, though a toxicology test has not been finalized, Leljedal said.

The death is under investigation by BSO homicide, crime scene and internal affairs detectives -- a standard policy, according to Leljedal. The deputy who Tasered Meier remains on active duty.

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More information:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/04/02/0402tasered.html

Deputy Charles Grady Resigns After Being Charged with Battery

A Broward sheriff's deputy has resigned after being charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery, and prosecutors said they are reviewing hundreds of cases in which he was involved.

The charges were filed on Monday against Deputy Charles E. Grady, 39, who has been with BSO for nearly 12 years. Arraignment is scheduled for May 13.

On Wednesday, Grady resigned, according to a statement from the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Court documents say that Grady touched or struck two different women on two different occasions, on Sept. 19 and Dec. 19.

Both incidents are alleged to have happened as part of traffic stops, according to BSO.

Ron Ishoy, spokesman for the state attorney's office, said a preliminary count showed Grady was involved in more than 200 cases. The office estimates that dozens of cases in which Grady was involved have already been changed or dropped.

"Since we were first notified of his suspension and then the criminal investigation against him, we have been reviewing each of those cases to determine their strengths and weaknesses with or without his testimony,'' Ishoy said in a statement.

The Broward Sheriff's Office also is conducting an internal affairs investigation.

Dallas Officers Mock Man While Tasering Him

Two weeks after an officer's traffic stop made national news, CBS 11 News has learned about another incident involving officers who allegedly mocked a man while he was being tasered.

The patrol car video will not be released until department officials determine whether to file criminal charges in the case.

The two sergeants have been taken off the street for an incident that some officers say could become as embarrassing for the department as traffic stop involving Ryan Moats.

It was the early morning hours of March 20 when three men were being arrested for assault along I-45.

Officers at the scene say Eric Delagarza was combative and had to be tasered by one of the officers. But it's what was said during that moment that has set off an investigation.

"Something took place out there that one officer found inappropriate," said Dallas Police Lt. Andy Harvey

The unnamed officer initiated a public integrity investigation, making allegations that while Delagarza was being tasered, one of the officers at the scene reportedly "told the suspect to take it like a man" while another shouted, "Do you want another one?"

During that time, sources say Delagarza was heard screaming on the patrol car video.

Sources say it's unclear on the video which officers were heard on the tape shouting at the suspect.

Two sergeants have been reassigned because they were supervisors and department officials are also investigating the actions of the officer who fired the taser.

It comes while the city is still reeling from the North Dallas traffic stop in which Officer Robert Powell delayed a family from reaching the bedside of a dying relative.

We were referred to an attorney when we tried to speak with the tasered suspect.

One of the two sergeants reassigned has been accused of excessive force before, but the allegations were never proven. Sources in the department say the senior officers are disturbed by what they've seen on the video.

Tasers the New Killer Weapon

As protesters descend upon London's financial district to demonstrate the G-20 summit this week, they are being met by thousands of Metropolitan police officers carrying out what has repeatedly been described as the biggest police operation ever undertaken in the capital. Pre-emptive arrests were made earlier this week and despite the mainly nonviolent protests -- overshadowed by media reports of a "seige" on the Bank of England -- by Wednesday night, more than 60 people had been arrested and one man was dead.

Police in London have been gearing up for these clashes for months, attracting press attention for the “unprecedented” security deployment and the various tools at their disposal. Among them are so-called "non-lethal weapons" of the sort that have become biquitous crowd control devices. "Scotland Yard is to deploy officers armed with 50,000-volt Taser stun guns to deal with violent demonstrators," the Times Online reported earlier this week, noting that police were gearing up for any "anarchist elements" "likely to stir up trouble."

Months after the Republican National Convention in the U.S., such sweeping security measures may seem to be par for the course. But in the UK -- where police forces have traditionally not carried guns -- it was not that long ago that Tasers were new to the streets. Since their arrival in the spring of 2003, however, their popularity has skyrocketed; last fall, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith unveiled a plan to spend £8 million on Tasers and Taser training for 30,000 police officers, providing some 10,000 new Tasers to police across England and Wales. "I am proud that we have one of the few police services around the world that do not regularly carry firearms," Smith said, "and I want to keep it that way." But an arms expert at Amnesty International UK called the move "a dangerous step in British policing," citing "numerous" taser deaths in North America as a cautionary example.

Meanwhile in the U.S., such fatalities continue. Last month, a Michigan teenager died after police tasered him, one day short of his 16th birthday.

It would be preposterous at this point for anyone with access to the news media to claim that Tasers are the safe policing tools they are marketed as. Yet Taser International, the corporation that makes them, continues to market this dangerous -- and lucrative -- myth. On March 31, the company's latest Taser model -- called the Shockwave -- hit the market; according to Taser International website, it "allows for both increased safety and stand-off capability during hostile situations, minimizing risk with a stand-off distance of up to 100 meters." But as Dalia Hashad, director of Amnesty International’s USA Program focusing on domestic human rights, wrote about the product last fall, the Shockwave "belongs in my 'You've Got to Be Kidding' file along with Taser International's leopard-print MP3 player that doubles as a taser and their employment of Playboy Bunnies for promotion." The company's literature shows it to be a powerful crowd-control weapon:

"With the push of a button at a stand-off distance of up to 100 meters, the Shockwave unit deploys multiple standard TASER® cartridges that are oriented across an area arc. Full area coverage is provided to instantaneously incapacitate multiple personnel within that region."

"Development of weapons that allow police to tase en mass is not good news," says Hashad. " ... Would you be willing to go to a protest knowing that police on the scene were armed with Taser Shockwave? I wouldn't bring my daughter, which means that I might have to stay home. Maybe that's the point."

It is not clear what model of Taser London police are using at the G20 summit. But with the UK embracing Taser technology, it is only a matter of time before the kinds of fatalities seen regularly in North America start showing up across the Atlantic. The company doesn’t seem concerned, though. The British version of Taser International's website, www.taser.co.uk, boasts: "0% long term injury. 94% success rate."

Taser use is down in Canada

One place where the Taser trend actually appears to be changing is Canada, where high-profile taser deaths, along with a recent study on the dangers of Tasers, are leading to a serious rethinking of the weapon. Four months after a Canadian report found that the type of Taser model most often used by police officers can significantly raise the risk of cardiac arrest -- prompting Canadian officials to say they were pulling the model from its police ranks -- Taser use in Canada has decreased dramatically. Last week Reuters reported that the "use of Taser stun guns by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) dropped by almost a third last year, possibly because of a high-profile controversy about the weapon's safety and accusations the gun was being over-used."

The official who released the numbers, who heads the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, told reporters in a press conference that Canadian authorities are showing more "self-restraint" when it comes to deploying tasers -- while also suggesting that suspects are less likely to resist police officers for fear of being tasered to death. "People now recognize that the Taser is painful and that Taser -- maybe they're thinking -- may kill me, and they're co-operating too," said Paul Kennedy of the RCMP, a government agency that, according to Reuters, "is expected to issue a more comprehensive report on Taser use" in coming days.

This is pretty unsatisfying for people who would like to see a ban on Tasers -- or at least a moratorium until their safety can be guaranteed (a dubious prospect). More importantly, in the meantime, allowing Tasers to occupy a gray area -- not lethal except when they are -- will make it that much harder for police to be held accountable for excessive force and homicide. Cops already get away with shooting suspects dead with little to no consequences. Arming them with Tasers under the pretense that they are safe will only perpetuate this trend as inevitable deaths occur.

Like "pre-emptive" arrests, the 50,000-volt Tasers that London police are carrying as they stand off with G20 protesters this week may be seen as a necessary precaution. But the past several years have shown the slippery slope governments create in the name of security. Any Taser deaths in London this week will be treated as a tragic accident, to be sure. But they should not be treated as a surprise.

Former Detective Kris Ledford Sentenced to 4 years in Prison

Muskogee

A former Muskogee police detective has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing and selling guns taken from a police evidence room.

Kris Ledford of Broken Arrow was charged last year after an investigation by federal and local authorities. He was accused of stealing and selling at least nine guns between June 2007 and May 2008.

Ledford was also charged with one count of 'Stolen Valor' for claiming to have won a Purple Heart and Bronze Star when he in fact had not. Ledford attempted to claim trauma from combat explained his criminal behavior.

"Police officers are given the public trust by the citizen of their community," U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling said in November after Ledford's guilty plea. "Kris Ledford betrayed that trust and brought dishonor to the Muskogee Police Department by committing crimes against the same citizens and police department that hired him and gave him this trust."

Ledford also faces related charges in Cherokee, Tulsa and Wagoner counties.

In Tulsa County, Ledford is charged with impersonating a police officer and larceny of merchandise from a retailer.

Ledford was a five-year veteran of the Muskogee Police Department.

Police Brutality Continues Unabated

On TV and in the movies, we often see the internal affairs division as no nonsense, hard noses willing to take down even good cops when they cross the line. But unlike TV and movies, in Fort Lauderdale the internal affairs division can look at something like the Joshua Ortiz tape, where after being pushed into a corner, a second cop comes from outside the action with a punch to the face and say this was not excessive force.

In this day and age where many police carry Tasers and or mace, I really don't see a haymaker to a smaller guy that's already pinned to the corner as acceptable. It's completely reprehensible that this type of behavior is not only not punished, it's condoned.

When people see that an innocent person can be savagely beaten by multiple police and then arrested for being beaten, you lead to an environment where people lose respect for the badge or the police officer wearing it.

Too often the rally cry is sent out, "Oh it's a dangerous job" or "They have to deal with crazy people all the time."

Many police departments like to tout themselves as "professionals." I don't see assault as professional behavior, nor do I accept that those that allow it to go unpunished can be called professional, either. I think the easiest way to let the public know what they're really in store for is to change the popular logo "To serve and protect" to something a little more honest like "To harass and batter."

Former Deputy Marc Diaz Must Stand Trial for Kidnapping & Rape

A judge ruled Wednesday that a former Riverside County Sheriff's deputy must stand trial on charges of kidnapping and raping a woman in La Quinta. Marc Javier Diaz, 35, was arrested in February.

The Indio man is charged with kidnapping to commit rape and two counts of rape under the threat of authority of a public official. He could face life without the possibility of parole if convicted on the kidnap- to-rape charge.

Diaz, who is being held in lieu of $1 million bail, was arrested in February during a traffic stop near Avenue 50 and Jackson Street in La Quinta, said sheriff's Deputy Herlinda Valenzuela.

He is accused of walking into Point Happy Massage Therapy at 78370 Highway 111 in La Quinta on Jan. 31, displaying a law enforcement badge and demanding identification from employees and others in the establishment.

He then allegedly ordered a friend of an employee who had no identification into his pickup truck, drove her to a secluded location near Washington Street and Country Club Drive and raped her.

Diaz worked for the Coachella Valley Unified School District for 16 months before his arrest. Officials at the Coachella Valley superintendent's office have refused to comment on his employment history on grounds that it is a "personnel matter."

Diaz was a Riverside County sheriff's deputy for nine years before he resigned in 2004.

He was arrested on June 25, 2004, on suspicion of soliciting and engaging in prostitution in the area of Bliss and Oasis streets in Indio, according to Indio police. At the time, he was working in the Indio courthouse, but the next month he resigned, Valenzuela said.

The District Attorney's Office never filed charges against Diaz for the prostitution allegation because of insufficient evidence, a spokesman for the office has said.

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Dallas Police Investigating Officers for Excessive Force

Dallas police are investigating whether officers used improper force when subduing three suspects and using a Taser on one as he was placed in a police car.

Much of the March 20 incident that followed the arrest of three men on a downtown freeway interchange was captured on dashboard camera video and audio.

"Take it, take it," yells a Dallas police sergeant as another officer jolts a handcuffed suspect with a stun gun, according to senior police officials who reviewed the dash-cam recordings.

The arrested man begs for police to stop even as another officer is heard taunting the suspect by asking him if he's had enough, the officials said.

All three suspects face assault and other charges after police said they attacked a man outside a downtown nightclub. Police declined to release the video pending a review by the district attorney's office which will determine whether criminal charges may be appropriate against the officers.

Dallas police are still reeling from a flood of anger that erupted over a dash-cam video released last week that showed an officer's insensitivity to a national audience when he berated NFL running back Ryan Moats and delayed him for 13 minutes as he tried to get to his mother-in-law's death bed.

After police reviewed the recordings of the March 20 incident, two patrol sergeants, Elisa Martinez and Elliott Forge, were transferred off the streets pending the outcome of an investigation. Senior Cpl. Armando Dominguez, who fired the Taser, remains on patrol.

"This came to our attention by way of one of our officers, and an internal investigation has been initiated, as well as looking into any possible criminal violations," said Lt. Andy Harvey, Dallas police spokesman.

Phil Burleson, who is representing Forge and Dominguez, said his clients deny that they did anything improper. "They don't recall doing anything inappropriate," he said.

Dominguez said he has done nothing wrong. "I have nothing to hide and it will all come out," Dominguez said.

Senior police officials, who asked that their names not be used because of the possible criminal inquiry, said the video captured by in-car cameras on several patrol cars shows what happened shortly after a fight outside a downtown nightclub.

About 2:30 a.m., a man was attacked by three men in the middle of the Pearl Expressway near Commerce Street after he intervened to stop them from harassing women as they left the club, according to police records.

After bystanders intervened and the attackers fled, the beaten man flagged down a police officer and said he saw them leaving in a silver Honda, according to the police report.

As officers approached the Honda, the driver backed up and struck Forge in the legs, nearly knocking him to the ground, according to the arrest report. Forge, who wasn't seriously injured, ran after the car as it sped away at high speeds on the wrong side of the road.

A pursuing squad car stopped the Honda a short distance away on Interstate 45 in South Dallas.

Police officials say dash-cam video captured events a few minutes later as the men were being taken into custody. One officer, whose identity is unclear, dragged one of the men, already handcuffed, across the pavement.

Then Forge and Martinez arrived at the scene.

Forge stormed up, screaming at the suspects, by then all handcuffed, according to what police officials said they saw in the video. Forge yelled profanities at one of the suspects before grabbing him.

One police official said video footage then shows Forge pressing a flashlight to his throat. Forge is also seen putting a knee in a suspect's back, another police official who reviewed the tape said.

Those who viewed the tape said the suspects did not appear to be resisting arrest.

Forge declined to comment, except to say, "The knee thing is brand-new to me. I find that amusing, but I can't say anything."

Burleson, who said he has not yet reviewed the video footage, said Forge wasn't using the flashlight.

"It was just in his hand as he had a hold of the suspect's shirt," he said. "He says he never uses the flashlight as a blunt object to enforce anything."

The Taser incident took place off-camera, but was captured on audio.

"Take it like a man," Martinez yells as Eric De La Garza is stunned by a Taser as he was being placed in a squad car, according to a report filed because the stun gun was used. The report was written by another officer, rookie Officer Mark Dewald, who had arrived after the suspects were handcuffed.

"Everything that was done to me was done while I was in handcuffs," De La Garza told The Dallas Morning News. He declined further comment under advice from his lawyer.

In Dewald's report, he says that his Taser device had fallen off his belt as he and Dominguez tried to put De La Garza in the squad car. He said Dominguez picked up the Taser and used it on De La Garza as Martinez yelled at the suspect.

An officer is also heard on the audio of a dash-cam recording asking the screaming De La Garza if he's had enough, police officials said.

Yet another officer who arrived at the scene wrote the arrest report for De La Garza. In it, Officer Tomas Urena says De La Garza had kicked Dominguez in the leg and began to "kick and thrust violently."

The report describes De La Garza as being "extremely uncooperative" and says that "he would contaminate officers' food when any police ate" at the restaurant where he works.

"This guy was struggling with the cops," Dominguez told The Dallas Morning News. "Hopefully, you guys can see the whole video and what he's saying and commenting to us."

Dewald's report gives no indication that De La Garza struggled with police before being stunned.

Police officials said on the video they could hear the sound of the stun gun being used, and officers yelling and De La Garza screaming. The police investigation will seek to determine whether the Taser was improperly used.

De La Garza, 21, was arrested on suspicion of third-degree felony assault on a public servant, evading arrest and resisting arrest. Alejandro Rivera, 20, was arrested on a public intoxication and assault charges. Morgan Brito, 21, was arrested on an assault charge and for outstanding warrants.

Officer Lance Bennett Resigns After being Accused of Peeping into Womans Window

A Nebraska City police officer accused of peeping into a window to watch a woman take a bath has resigned from the force.

Lance Bennett submitted his resignation last week, days after he entered a written not guilty plea in Otoe County Court to a charge of second-degree criminal trespass, a misdemeanor. According to the criminal complaint, Bennett improperly went onto the property of Erik and Brenda Cunningham sometime around 10 p.m. on Aug. 6, 2008.

That night, Erik Cunningham went outside and found Bennett crouched on his back porch, wearing his police uniform. The officer had parked his police cruiser more than a block from the couple's house.

A next-door neighbor later told the Cunninghams that he had seen a man looking through a lighted window at the back of the couple's house. Brenda Cunningham, 32, was in the couple's bathroom taking a bath at the time.

Attempts to reach Bennett have been unsuccessful. His attorney, John Voelker of Nebraska City, did not return calls seeking comment.

Bennett, 29, had worked as a Nebraska City police officer since 2006.

On March 12, the city put Bennett on unpaid suspension after the Nebraska Attorney General's Office charged him with trespassing. He had spent more five months on paid administrative leave while the matter was under investigation, Police Chief David Lacy said Tuesday.

Baby Dies After Woman Gives Birth At Racine Jail

RACINE, Wis.

A 20-year-old woman gave birth Wednesday morning in the Racine County Jail.

Accusations are flying that calls for help were made but that hours passed before jail staffed arrived to help the woman deliver the child.

WISN 12 News talked with the mother of the cellmate who helped the prisoner deliver the child.

She said that her daughter repeatedly called for help but no one came.

Tamara Povliot said that her daughter told her the woman started bleeding at about 1 a.m. Wednesday morning. She said her daughter pushed the emergency call button four times to no avail.

Povliot said that the pregnant prisoner delivered her baby in the toilet nearly four hours later.

"She took the baby out of the toilet. She let them know over the intercom that the baby was born. And the guards came in. The baby was breathing, but by the time they got the baby to the hospital the baby was dead," Povliot said. "If they would have answered at 1 a.m. and gotten her to the hospital, I believe they could have stopped that or at least done some other preventive measures.”

The Racine County Sheriff's department spokesman said jail staff responded to the woman's cell at about 5:15 a.m. and found her giving birth.

The baby was pronounced dead 39 minutes later at a hospital.

The spokesman said, “The incident is being investigated by Racine County investigators. An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of death."

Trooper Franklin Joseph Ryle Waves Right to Hearing

CASPER, Wyo.

A Wyoming state trooper accused of federal civil rights violations will remain in custody.

Trooper Franklin Joseph Ryle on Tuesday waived his right to a preliminary hearing that would have forced the federal government to lay out its case against him in court. Ryle also waived his right to a detention hearing, meaning that he will remain in custody until he's arraigned later.

Ryle, 41, wore an orange jail jumpsuit and was led into the courtroom in handcuffs by officers during his appearance before U.S. Magistrate R. Michael Shickich.

Shickich told Ryle that he had a right to force the government to present evidence why the case against him should proceed. Ryle declined to do that.

Ryle also declined when Shickich asked him if he wanted a hearing on whether he should stay in custody.

"That being the case, the implication is that Mr. Ryle will remain in the custody of the United States," Shickich said.

Last week, U.S. Justice Department lawyer Edward G. Caspar filed papers in court asking that Ryle be jailed until a detention hearing could be held. Caspar indicated that Ryle faced the possibility of a life sentence in prison if convicted and indicated that there was a serious risk he would flee if allowed out of custody.

Ryle's decision to waive his preliminary and detention hearings means that details of the government's case against him remain secret to the public.

The Justice Department last week charged that Ryle, a 12-year veteran of the Highway Patrol, had violated a person's civil rights in January by kidnapping him at gunpoint and unlawfully arresting him. The complaint states that Ryle was acting "under color of law" during the incident.

In response to a request from the Justice Department, Shickich last week ordered some of the criminal complaint against Ryle and all of an FBI agent's affidavit supporting the complaint to be sealed.

Caspar declined comment on the government's case against Ryle after Tuesday's court hearing. He referred questions to a Justice Department public information officer in Washington. The public information officer said he could give no details of the government's case because the records remain sealed.

Records from the Justice Department Web site show that Caspar has been involved in several civil rights prosecutions around the country in recent years involving claims that police or correctional officers have brutalized people in custody.

Casper lawyer John Robinson represented Ryle in court. However, Robinson told Shickich that Ryle will apply for a public defender. Robinson said that once Ryle gets a public defender, Robinson will no longer be involved in the case.

Robinson declined comment after the court hearing.

State officials, including the governor's office and Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg, have declined comment on the case against Ryle.

Col. Sam Powell, administrator of the Highway Patrol, said last week that Ryle was on paid administrative leave.

Ryle was involved in an on-duty shooting in 2006 that prosecutors later determined was justified. Prosecutors
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Former Officer Patrick Casey Found Guilty on 27 Counts of Sexually Assaulting Child

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.

A Mesa County jury has convicted a former Palisade police officer accused of sexually assaulting two young girls.

Jurors reached their verdict Wednesday in the case of 51-year-old Patrick Casey of Clifton. He was found guilty of 27 counts including sexual assault on a child, sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and in a pattern of abuse.

Casey was accused of sexually assaulting two of his former foster children between January 1997 and April 2008. The abuse allegedly began when the girls were between the ages of 3 and 4.

Casey's attorney had said the girls manufactured the allegations in an attempt to stay out of foster care.

A psychosexual evaluation has been ordered for Casey.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 5.
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