Police behaving badly

[24KT]

Family questions police shooting of dog
By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
5:01 p.m. Sunday, July 26, 2009

A Kirkwood family wants to know why a police officer investigating a home alarm felt compelled to shoot and kill one of their 6-year-old black labs, Ciarra, Saturday morning.

Elizabeth Feichter and her family adopted Ciarra and her sister, Molly, from Georgia Lab Rescue when they were 10 weeks old. According to Feichter, Ciarra was a sweet and docile 65-pounder “who’s never even come close to harming anyone.”

Atlanta police spokeswoman Sgt. Lisa Keyes said the shooting is under investigation, adding, “We emphathize with the homeowner’s loss.” Keyes said she could provide no further information.

Feichter, her husband, and their two sons were visiting family in North Carolina when the shooting happened in the backyard of their Howard Street home. Feichter, 33, who runs a philanthropic consulting firm, said she can’t believe the officer had no choice but to shoot Ciarra.

“He could have said ‘Stop!’, he could have said ‘Wait!’, he could have pulled out Mace, he could have just stepped behind our garden fence, he could have fired into the ground,” she said. “Ciarra would have taken off and sat shivering in a corner. She’s very timid.”

It was about 9 a.m. Saturday when the family got a call from the alarm company saying the alarm was going off. They couldn’t immediately reach their house sitter, who had gone out for breakfast, so they called 911.

Soon they reached the sitter, Hilary Stewart, who returned to find the front and back doors locked. Apparently, it was a false alarm.

“The officer pulled up at that moment, so I said, ‘Let me talk to him,’” Feichter said. “We spent a few moments joking because he was the officer who had come out when our cars got broken into six months ago. He said, ‘No big deal, I don’t mind coming out.’

“Then he said he was just going to take a look around and make sure everything was safe.”

He gave the phone back to Stewart. Feichter heard her say the dogs had gotten out into the backyard.

“Then she said, ‘Oh my God! He just shot her,’” Feichter recalled.

Neighbors rushed over. Ashley Derrick and Alison Grounds picked up Ciarra and drove her to the vet, but it was too late.

In an email to members of the East Lake Neighbors Community Association, Derrick wrote that she arrived to find the officer beside the dog.

“I asked why he had to shoot her,” she wrote. “He could give me no answer.”

Stewart could not immediately be reached; she left Sunday on a scheduled mission trip. And Feichter did not recall the officer’s name.

Feichter said her two sons, 12 and 8, are traumatized. She said she chose to speak out for one main reason.

“We don’t want this to happen to anyone else,” she said.

[24KT]

Waffle House waiter sues over Taser incident
By Andria Simmons

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, July 02, 2009

A Waffle House employee is suing the Gwinnett County Police Department over what he says was an unprovoked encounter with an officer who stunned him with a Taser.

The department’s internal investigation records reveal that the officer used the weapon like a toy with tacit approval from two superior officers.

Gwinnett County Police Department

From left, Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Gary Miles was fired and Sgts. Chris Parry and Joey Parkerson lost their jobs after Miles allegedly stunned a Waffle House employee with a Taser without provocation.

Daniel Wilson, the 22-year-old waiter, spoke publicly about the encounter Wednesday at his attorney’s office in Snellville. The incident has already resulted in the arrest of Cpl. Gary Miles, 33, and the resignations of Sgt. Christopher Parry and Sgt. Joey Parkerson. None of the officers could be reached for comment this week because their phone numbers are unlisted.

Wilson said all three officers were regular customers at the Waffle House at 2725 Grayson Highway in Loganville.

He said the restaurant provided police with free food.

Wilson said the officers often pointed the red laser from their Taser at him playfully. They would do so when Wilson picked a song they didn’t like on the jukebox or when telling him not to mess up their order, Wilson said.

“It was uncomfortable, but they are my customers and they tip pretty well,” Wilson said. “I just thought they were being foolish.”

Then on Feb. 16, Wilson was chatting with Parry and Parkerson when Miles sidled up behind him. Without saying a word, Miles zapped him with the Taser, Wilson said.

“I remember feeling the pulse go through my body,” Wilson said. “It hurt.”

Taser stun guns deliver a 50,000-volt electrical current capable of incapacitating a person. The weapon can fire barbed probes a distance of up to 35 feet, or it can be used in “drive stun mode” when pressed directly against a suspect. Gwinnett police checked the data recording from Miles’ Taser and found it was fired for one second at 2:48 a.m. on Feb. 16.

Miles told investigators that he only “spark tested” the Taser near the employee’s back “just to scare him a little bit,” according to the internal investigation file.

Parry, 41, and Parkerson, 39, witnessed the employee being shocked but did not report it. They laughed along with Miles, Wilson said. The sergeants later told investigators they didn’t realize the Taser made contact with Wilson’s body.

Wilson said he remembers telling Miles in the presence of the other officers, “Hey, you actually tased me.”

Wilson again sought an apology from Miles a few days later for accidentally stunning him. He said Miles replied, “Who says I did it by accident?”

Miles was arrested June 18 on charges of misdemeanor battery and violating his oath as an officer. Parry and Parkerson resigned in lieu of termination June 19. Police are also investigating allegations that a fourth officer pointed a Taser at Wilson’s groin during an earlier incident.

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said he has not ruled out the possibility of charging the two sergeants.

“If the evidence shows there was an unprovoked use of the Taser, and if the evidence shows the sergeants had some criminal responsibility in the case, then they can expect to be prosecuted vigorously,” Porter said.

Michael Puglise, who is representing Wilson in the lawsuit in Gwinnett County State Court, is seeking unspecified punitive damages. He also wants a judge to bar Gwinnett police from carrying Tasers until their policy and training is evaluated.

“What is so concerning to me is the fact that you have a corporal — a ranking officer — zapping a kid with a stun gun and you have two sergeants sitting there watching for their own amusement,” Puglise said. “From their expressions and their actions, it is obvious that this is accepted.”

Gwinnett’s Police Department has had stun guns longer than any other force from the Atlanta area’s largest counties. Currently, 222 of Gwinnett’s 715 sworn officers are certified to carry Tasers, said Cpl. Illana Spellman, a department spokeswoman.

Spellman said using a Taser on innocent civilians is not acceptable. It is also against department policy for officers to accept free food from restaurants.

“It is clearly stated in training that the Taser will only be used to defend the officer or someone else,” Spellman said. “[These officers] were completely wrong.”

Police departments across the state have adopted widely different policies about the use of stun guns. Recently, the director of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police said the state needs to offer standardized training.

[24KT]

Court rips San Carlos cops who broke into home
by Bob Egelko

SF Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, July 17, 2009

(07-16) 13:27 PDT SAN CARLOS -- Police in San Carlos who heard that a man had been in a minor traffic accident and may have been drinking can't justify charging into his home with guns drawn by claiming they feared he was in a diabetic coma, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

Based on the evidence at hand, no reasonable officer could have believed it was necessary to break into Bruce Hopkins' home and rescue him at gunpoint, said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The 3-0 ruling allows Hopkins to sue the two officers and the city of San Carlos over an August 2003 incident that began when he was driving home and got into what he described as a minor accident with another driver. Both got out, looked at their cars, found no damage and left.

The other driver, however, followed Hopkins home, the court said. She accused Hopkins of being drunk and telephoned police, saying she smelled alcohol on his breath.

Two police officers arrived, spoke with the woman, then knocked on the door and announced their presence but got no response. One then cut a hole in the screen door, and the officers entered with guns drawn.

They found Hopkins in his bedroom, handcuffed him and brought him outside, where the woman made a citizen's arrest.

A San Mateo County judge dismissed charges against Hopkins, finding that police had entered his home illegally. Hopkins then sued for damages.

In their defense, the officers said they had learned in police training that a person in the early stages of a diabetic emergency might seem, to an untrained observer, to have liquor on his breath.

The appeals court was not persuaded. The officers took no other steps to learn whether Hopkins needed medical help, the court noted - they did not try to telephone him or ask the other driver whether Hopkins was wearing a medical alert bracelet or showed other signs of distress.

Their explanation "would allow police officers to ignore the Fourth Amendment (ban on unreasonable searches) almost at will," Judge Stephen Reinhardt said in Thursday's ruling.

The court also said police were not entitled to rely on the other driver's unverified complaint to enter Hopkins' home without a warrant and arrest him on suspicion of drunken driving.

Hopkins' lawyer, Anthony Boskovich, said Hopkins had lost his new job with a local school district because of his arrest and had taken years to recover from the trauma of seeing police point guns at him.

A ruling that justified the officers' conduct "would have undermined the liberty of us all," Boskovich said.

A lawyer for the officers and the city declined to comment.

[24KT]

Man is shot to death by Anaheim police officer
By Paloma Esquivel ,

LA Times
October 29, 2008

The man was part of a group of four that ran from police in an early-morning incident. The shooting is under investigation.

A 20-year-old man was shot to death by an Anaheim police officer early today as ran from police, authorities said.

The incident happened shortly after 1:30 a.m.; an officer on patrol at North Muller Street said he saw four men walking down the street, said Anaheim police Sgt. Rick Martinez. The officer said he turned around to catch up with them and they ran from him.

According to Martinez, after the subjects ran from the officer, he radioed to say he believed the subjects might have been involved in a burglary. Seconds later, he said they were jumping over fences. Then, less than a minute later, the officer radioed in the code for an officer-involved shooting, Martinez said.

"At this point we have not confirmed a burglary took place," the sergeant said. "We do not know why they were running from the officers."

The 20-year-old man, whose name has not been released pending notification of relatives, was shot at least once, possibly in the chest, near North Muller Street and Bayport Circle, Martinez said.

Paramedics treated him at the scene before taking him to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The name of the police officer involved in the shooting has not been released, Martinez said. The district attorney's office will investigate the shooting, which is standard procedure.

Two men believed to have been in the group that ran from the officer have been detained and are being questioned.

Esquivel is a Times staff writer

[24KT]

N. Orleans cops shoot man 12 times in the back
By Andrew McLemore
Published: Friday January 9, 2009
 


A young, black man in New Orleans is dead, slain by police officers on New Year's Day, in an incident that has outraged a community and triggered protests over what family members are calling a "murder."

The New Orleans man, 22-year-old Adolph Grimes III, traveled to his grandmother's home near the French Quarter in order to celebrate New Year's Eve with his fiance and their 17-month-old son. Three hours after arrival, around 3 a.m., he was found dead a block from the front door.

The Orleans Parish coroner said Grimes was shot 14 times, including 12 times in the back.

"This violence has to stop. My child's death will not be meaningless. He did not die in vain," said Grimes' mother, Patricia Grimes.

An editorial in The Times-Picayune said the shooting "demands answers."

Despite the fact that the seven officers involved in the incident have been reassigned, Superintendent Warren Riley has refused to answer "fundamental questions" about the shooting and maintains that Grimes fired upon his men first.

Several dozen people protested the New Orleans Police Department on Thursday morning to demand justice for Grimes' death.

A mix of people walked paced in front of a police station carrying signs with slogans like "Down with the government" and shouting to passers-by "You could be next!"

A group of black ministers and advocates has called for the department to be purged of "trigger-happy" officers and the Grimes family's attorney, Richard Jenkins is certain an investigation will show rogue cops and sloppy police work.

"I just think it was some bad officers who were out there and imposing their will on the community," Jenkins said.

The shooting of Grimes by the NOPD marks the third high media incident of an officer or officers shooting a seemingly innocent black male thus far in 2009.

In Oakland, Calif, a BART officer shot a 22-year-old black male in the back on New Year's Eve. The slaying was caught on multiple videos, all of which showed the man unarmed, subdued and helpless. The city is still struggling to contain the public's reaction to what appears to be an execution.

Also, in Houston, a 23-year-old black male was shot in his own home's driveway by a white police officer during the early hours of New Year's Eve. According to published reports, the officer thought the man's vehicle was stolen. An internal investigation is underway. While the department has denied allegations of racial profiling related to the shooting, no effort to explain why the officer suspected the vehicle to be stolen has been offered.

==============

Looks like US cops rang in the New Year by slaughtering Black men in their early 20's. They went for the hat trick!

[24KT]

Pair to settle with city for $100,000
over skirt-lifting incident
By KATU.com Staff
Feb 25, 2009 at 8:38 AM PDT



PORTLAND, Ore. - Two women who claimed former Portland Police Officer John Wood offered to let them out of a ticket if they lifted their skirts are expected to settle with the city Wednesday and receive about $50,000 each.

In July of 2006, investigators say Officer Wood saw the two women outside a southeast Portland bar and later stopped them on Interstate 205 as they were driving home.
     
They said he told them if they didn't show him their underwear, he would arrest the driver for driving under the influence.

Police Chief Rosie Sizer said once the two women came forward, the 31-year-old officer was put on paid administrative leave while the department investigated the incident.

An independent police review division spent three months investigating the allegations.
     
The case led detectives to a third woman who said she went through a similar incident with officer Wood.
     
Wood pleaded guilty to two counts of official misconduct in 2006 and resigned

Video

[24KT]

Hawthorne officers accused of abuse
weren't questioned during internal probe
By Richard Winton and Jack Leonard
LA Times
February 13, 2009

Police personnel, including the chief's son, accused of breaking man's jaw during arrest were never interviewed during the internal affairs query. Victims and witnesses weren't called either.

After Anthony Goodrow complained that he had been brutalized by Hawthorne police officers during an arrest nearly three years ago, department officials said they "conducted an in-depth and thorough internal investigation."

Their conclusion: Officers acted appropriately and did not use excessive force.

That finding, however, appears at odds with the city's payment of $1 million in late January to settle Goodrow's lawsuit alleging excessive force.

Evidence in the case included a photograph that Goodrow's attorneys say shows an officer about to kick their client in the face; a police video of officers slapping high-fives while an injured Goodrow was booked into the city's jail; and reports from the officers acknowledging that they punched and kicked Goodrow several times during the arrest.

A Times review of records in the lawsuit found that internal affairs investigators never interviewed Goodrow nor the officers involved, one of whom was the police chief's son.

Goodrow's attorneys say internal affairs also failed to contact several witnesses who bolstered their client's claim that he was kicked in the face so hard that his jaw was broken.

Experts on police misconduct investigations said Hawthorne's probe fell far short of how other law enforcement agencies handle similar complaints. At many departments, they said, it is standard practice to interview officers accused of misconduct, and agencies will order officers to cooperate if need be.

"There is really no excuse for not doing it," said Merrick Bobb, a Los Angeles-based attorney and national expert on police practices.

Police Chief Michael Heffner declined to talk about his department's investigation or his son's involvement in the case. Officer Thomas Heffner said he punched Goodrow several times during the July 21, 2006, arrest, records show.

Goodrow, 26, was at a house party with his then-girlfriend, Karla Henriquez, when police responded to a noise complaint. Henriquez, 25, complained loudly that the officer had no right to enter the home and insulted Heffner, prompting another officer to take her into custody.

Goodrow said he questioned her arrest and was asked whether he wanted to go with his girlfriend. When he replied yes, the officers grabbed him, he said.

Officers said in police reports and depositions that Goodrow initiated the confrontation by cursing and acting belligerently, taking a "fighting stance" by clenching his fists and puffing out his chest.

[24KT]

SoCal ex-cop pleads guilty in motorist sex assault
The Associated Press
Posted: 07/17/2009 12:59:22 PM PDT


LOS ANGELES-A former officer with the Bell Police Department has admitted sexually assaulting a driver while on duty.

The U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles said Friday that Feliciano Sanchez pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of depriving the motorist of her rights under color of law. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he's sentenced in November.

Prosecutors say Sanchez stopped the woman for a traffic violation in 2007, then drove her in his patrol car to a remote spot where he put a hand on his gun and sexually assaulted her.

Bell is about five miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Sanchez was an officer there for 3 1/2 years but was fired in 2007.

[24KT]

Sunrise man cleared after elevator video shows he did not batter Fort Lauderdale officers
By Tonya Alanez
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
12:00 AM EST, March 5, 2009

Sunrise man had been accused of attacking officers

After a beat down in an elevator, Joshua Daniel Ortiz ended up with his nose broken and facing a charge of battering a Fort Lauderdale police officer.

The 22-year-old Sunrise man was surprised and delighted to learn Wednesday that Broward prosecutors were dropping the case against him after reviewing an elevator surveillance video showing three officers aggressively rush and beat Ortiz to the ground.

Once the Dec. 5 video surfaced, it altered the course of the case. It contradicted police reports that Ortiz provoked and attacked Officers Derek Lade, Stefan Silver and Steve Smith.

"They were just sitting there watching my life go down the drain with those charges," Ortiz said Wednesday. "I've been going crazy thinking my life is over. It's barely started and it's over."

The looming legal charges delayed Ortiz's enrollment in college classes, he said.

Police first charged Ortiz with felony battery on a law enforcement officer.

But after seeing the video obtained by Ortiz's defense attorney, Stephen Melnick, prosecutors downgraded the charge to a misdemeanor resisting charge. Upon further review, prosecutors dropped the case entirely.

"We thought based on the facts and the evidence, including the videotape, that there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction at trial," said Lee Cohen, assistant state attorney in charge of misdemeanor cases.

Fort Lauderdale police internal affairs investigators reviewed the incident more than a month ago and found no violations of policy or procedures, said Sgt. Frank Sousa, the department's spokesman.

"It was not a beating," Sousa said. "The video clearly shows that [Ortiz] made a movement toward the officer."

The 4:10 a.m. incident unfolded in a bank lobby at 200 SW First Ave. as Ortiz, his girlfriend and friends piled into an elevator, heading to a parking garage after a night out.

Acquaintances of Ortiz's started fighting in the lobby, he said, drawing police to the scene.

According to Lade's police report, Ortiz yelled at the officers from the elevator when they tried to break up the disturbance.

Ortiz "walked right up to me hitting his nose to my nose," Lade wrote, adding that he pushed Ortiz.

"As I approached Ortiz to take him into custody, Ortiz spun around to face me and assumed a fighting stance (both left and right hand clenched into fists and body bladed)," he wrote.

Ortiz said he exchanged agitated words with the officers, but the rest is fiction.

"They were on a power trip," Ortiz said. "I don't trust them anymore."

Melnick said the officers embellished their reports to justify their aggression without knowing the videotape existed.

"I think the video speaks for itself," he said.

[24KT]

Authorities: Cop got Breathalyzer after 4 hours
Associated Press
May 25, 2009 11:34 AM ET

CHICAGO (AP) - The Cook County state's attorney's office says an off-duty Chicago police officer charged in a fatal hit & run was not given a Breathalyzer test for almost four hours after his arrest.

The tests showed that Officer Richard Bolling had a blood-alcohol level of 0.079. That's just under the 0.08 legal limit.

A Chicago police spokesman says the department wouldn't comment on the test.

The 39-year-old Bolling is charged with reckless homicide, DUI and hit & run after allegedly striking and killing a 13-year-old boy riding his bicycle on the South Side early Friday.

Relatives of the boy, Trenton Booker, say he sneaked out with friends after going to bed.

Bolling remains jailed on $2 million bond. He's due in court Tuesday.


Information from: Chicago Sun-Times, http://www.suntimes.com/index

[24KT]

15 Yr Police Veteran beats 60 year old man handcuffed and shackled to wheelchair

June 11, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- A Chicago police officer is sentenced for beating a man who was handcuffed and shackled to a wheelchair inside a hospital. The attack was captured on surveillance tape.
Officer William Cozzi was on-duty when the beating occurred. On Thursday, Cozzi was sentenced to more than three years in prison.

A Chicago police officer was caught on tape allegedly beating a man in a wheelchair.
The independent police review authority recommended he should be fired.

The Chicago Sun-Times provided video that allegedly shows Officer William Cozzi striking the man, who was in the hospital with a stab wound. The Sun-Times reported that Cozzi has pleaded guilty to other charges of beating people. The video was used as evidence in his disciplinary hearing.

The Chicago Police board says misconduct occurred but that Cozzi should merely be suspended.

The Chicago Police Department and the independent review authority plan to appeal that decision.

Incoming police superintendent Jody Weis says he supports the decision to terminate the officer and that no officer is above the law.

With three hospital security guards watching, Cozzi handcuffs and shackles a wheelchair-bound patient and then beats the man using some sort of small baton. The incident took place two years ago in the lobby of Norwegian American Hospital in Humboldt Park. The victim was 60-year-old Randle Miles.

The beating was not prosecuted as a felony. Cook County state's attorney candidate Howard Brookins said he believes it should have been. Brockins is blaming two opponents  Bob Milan and Anita Alvarez. Both are top Cook County prosecutors.

"There is no explanation for it. It has continued to be swept under the rug," said Brookins.
Last year, Cozzi pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge. First assistant state's attorney Milan said it was fair based on Cozzi's clean record and that Miles was not injured.
"He had no charges at him at all, no disciplinary record whatsoever," Milan said.
But Alvarez said she pushed for the case as a felony.

"That is a blatant lie. She was involved in the decision-making process," said Milan.
As for Randle Miles, his civil attorney said his client was only concerned about getting a fair settlement from the city.

"I don't think Randle had any opinion whatsoever of what happened with this officer," said the attorney.

Miles received a $125,000 settlement from the city. Officer Cozzi was sentenced to 18 months probation. As far as his job, he was suspended. He is expected to return in April. But the police department wants him fired.


See ABC Video Footage Here:

============================

What I find incredible about this case is, there is videotape showing this cop beating a 660 yr old man who is in a wheelchair and handcuffed, ...but the cops are still screaming that the officer is being punished too severely. He got the charges dialed down to a misdemeanor when he should have had felong assault charges laid against him.

[24KT]

McMenacing? Cop Accused Of Pulling Gun At McD's
Written by Brian Maass

Jun 17, 2009 9:06 pm US/Mountain

DENVER (CBS4) ― A Denver police officer has been suspended after allegedly brandishing his gun at a McDonald's restaurant in Aurora after his order took too long to fill.

Aurora police confirmed the CBS4 investigation saying the incident occurred May 21 at the McDonald's at 18181 East Hampden Avenue.

A spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department said they plan to present the case -- now classified as a felony menacing incident -- to the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office Thursday for possible filing of criminal charges.

Sources familiar with the case, and the fast food worker's account of what happened, say two off-duty Denver police officers placed an order from their car in the early morning hours of May 21. But once at the drive through window, the employee said the men became agitated and angry at how long their food was taking. The men thought they were being ignored, according to contacts familiar with the worker's account. The male clerk then said one of the officer's flashed his police badge and pointed a pistol through the drive through window in a threatening manner, before driving off without paying.

Both officers are assigned to Denver International Airport although only one has been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of the case.

[24KT]

New Jersey police officer pounds man on tape
From Jason Kessler CNN
     


(CNN) -- Surveillance video shows a Passaic, New Jersey, police officer beating a 49-year-old man standing idly on a street corner.

Surveillance tape from Lawrence's Grill and Bar in Passaic on May 29 shows a police car pull up to Ronnie Holloway, who is standing still on the curb outside the restaurant. After a few moments Holloway zips up his sweatshirt -- because the female officer in the car instructed him to do so, Holloway said.

At that point, the other officer in the vehicle, Joseph R. Rios III, exits the car, grabs Holloway and slams him onto the hood of the police car. He then pummels Holloway with his fist and baton.

Holloway said he had exchanged no words with the officer before he pounced on him.

After the incident, police locked Holloway in a holding cell for the night and did not provide treatment for his injuries, according to Holloway's attorney, Nancy Lucianna. Those injuries included a torn cornea and extensive bruising to the left side of his body, she said.

Holloway is schizophrenic, according to his mother, Betty, with whom he has lived for more than 20 years. But Holloway's attorney says that is not the full extent of his mental disabilities and that her client was "mentally challenged on multiple levels."

At the time of the incident, Holloway told CNN, he was in the midst of a walk around the neighborhood. His attorney described such walks as his chief pastime.  Watch the surveillance tape »

The Passaic Police have filed three charges against Holloway: resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and wandering for the purpose of obtaining controlled dangerous substances.

Holloway's attorney maintains her client is innocent of all charges and adds that "nothing that Ronnie Holloway was doing would warrant" the pounding he received.

Betty Holloway said she cannot bear to watch the tape of her son's beating.

"I haven't looked at the tape because I don't want to see it," she said. "I don't want to see that man beating on him like that."

Holloway said the experience has left him with a range of scars spanning the literal and the figurative. "To think about it hurts. And the physical part, yes, he was really whooping me."

The Passaic Police Department and Rios did not respond to calls for comment.

See CNN Video Footage Here

[24KT]

Ex-police officer sentenced for raping teen
 
Associated Press
May 22, 2009 4:04 PM ET

GREENVILLE, Miss. (AP) - A former Greenville police officer has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the sexual battery of a 14-year-old girl who became pregnant.

A Washington County jury convicted 26-year-old Benjamin Roberson of the charge earlier this month. District Attorney Dewayne Richardson said in a release that Roberson was sentenced on Wednesday.

Roberson was arrested in July 2007 after responding to a call from the child's mother that her daughter had run away. Roberson assisted in locating the juvenile and transported the then 14-year-old to the police department where she was booked.

Prosecutors say the sexual act occurred while Roberson was transporting the teenager back home.

[24KT]

14-Year Old Nearly Killed By Police For Loitering?



A Toledo family sits in dismay over the near choking death of their brother and son, Trevor Casey.

According to Karen Casey, the mother of the 14-Year old, he was sitting on the steps of an apartment building when police came and questioned them and asked them to vacate the premises.

She said her son “took his time about it”  then the police attacked him.  His Mom wanted to make sure that the video of the attack was released on YouTube before the police department could cover their tracks. The mother’s interview is here as well as graphic imagery of the attack:

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/js/2.0/video/evp/module.js?loc=dom&vid=/video/bestoftv/2009/05/19/pn.beaten.teens.mom.cnn" type="text/javascript"

[24KT]

Cop Assaults man, then turns and arrests him

And then there's this winner in San Francisco... who assaults a man, then arrests him
His crime, ...he supposedly called the officer a little bitch.

[24KT]

Ex-LAPD officer gets a year in jail for fabricating story
By Richard Winton LA Times
April 08, 2009

A former Los Angeles police officer was sentenced to a year in County Jail on Tuesday after pleading guilty to insurance fraud and falsely reporting to authorities that assailants shot him outside his home when he actually wounded himself.

Anthony Razo, 49, avoided eye contact with some of his former Los Angeles Police Department colleagues as he pleaded guilty in Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Norm Shapiro's courtroom. Razo was immediately sentenced to a year in jail and three years' probation.

As part of a plea agreement, Razo, a 14-year LAPD veteran, admitted that he made up the story that two young Latino males with shaved heads had attacked him outside his City Terrace home, grabbed his department-issued handgun and shot him in the shoulder. Razo told the judge that he was alone when he was wounded and that the men did not exist.

Under the plea deal, Razo agreed to return $5,400 that his fellow officers raised after the Jan. 31 shooting incident to help him pay his medical bills.

Razo also admitted that he intentionally torched his 2005 BMW 745Li and falsely reported that the car was stolen Jan. 4. He then filed fraudulent claims against his auto and homeowners insurance policies.

Sources familiar with the case said Razo was experiencing financial problems at the time of the incidents.

His attorney, Glen T. Jonas, said Razo was accepting responsibility for his actions.

"Unfortunately, there are officers suffering from job stress, family issues, financial difficulties or mental problems who feel they have nowhere to turn," Jonas said. "They don't want to admit weakness. They don't want to admit they need help and the problem becomes worse."

Deputy Dist. Atty. Christian Gullon said in exchange for the guilty plea to the felony fraud count and misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report, he dismissed four additional felony counts, including arson. Razo could have been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for those crimes, Gullon said.

Police Chief William J. Bratton last week called Razo a disgrace to the badge, particularly because he allowed the charity event to defray his medical expenses to go forward.

===============

I wonder how many young hispanic men got the shit kicked out of them by LAPD in the days & weeks following this cops bullshit racial profiling charade?

[24KT]

Student Arrested...for Being honest 
By Chris Riches[
Thursday April 2,2009

AN HONEST student who handed in a mobile phone he found was stunned when police arrested him for theft.

Paul Leicester, 18, played the Good Samaritan when he discovered the handset lying in the street.

He rang the last number dialled and told a friend of the owner he would leave the phone at a nearby police station. But officers arrested him for “theft by finding”, held him for four hours and took a DNA sample.

Yesterday Paul said: “I thought I was doing the right thing and had it thrown back in my face. I wouldn’t go to the police in future. All I was doing was the honest thing. It was a shocking experience.”

The A-level student at Southport College, Merseyside, had been out celebrating his 18th birthday last month when he found the phone.

Paul added: “Being arrested isn’t a good way to celebrate your birthday. What are you supposed to do when you find a phone?”

Merseyside Police dropped the case but Paul’s father Vinnie, 37, of Seaforth, Merseyside, is still angry over his arrest.

He said: “It should never have happened. Paul’s mum and I brought him up the right way. They should give him an apology.”

Chief Superintendent Ian Pilling said: “We are reviewing the circumstances of the arrest.”

[24KT]

Former MPD officer begins jail sentence

June 17, 2009 11:48:00 PM



A former Marysville police officer began serving a 90-day jail sentence Wednesday for ordering a body cavity search of a female drug suspect on a city street.

Joshua Hendrickson was taken into custody and booked into Yuba County Jail following an 11 a.m. appearance before Judge Julia Scrogin.

Despite being a former officer, Hendrickson will serve the sentence in the local jail instead of being transferred to another county, said Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Melanie Oakes.

"He will be segregated from the general population, but I don't have any further information on his housing situation in the jail," said Oakes.

Hendrickson will not serve the sentence at a work release program, said the prosecutor in the case, Deputy District Attorney Shiloh Sorbello.

Scrogin sentenced Hendrickson in October but stayed the sentence while he appealed to a panel of Yuba County judges. The appeal was rejected.

Yuba County jurors found Hendrickson guilty of the misdemeanor offense in July. The search occurred during January 2008.

Hendrickson's attorney during the appeal process, Daniel McNamara of Sacramento, said Scrogin did not address terms of the jail sentence at Wednesday's hearing. It's up to Sheriff Steve Durfor whether Hendrickson will be eligible to perform community service under an alternative work program, or whether he will be eligible for a work furlough program that would have him spending nights in jail, according to McNamara.

Hendrickson ordered Officer Amy Alfred to put on latex gloves and search the suspect, Stacy Michelle May, who did not have any drugs.

Alfred was sentenced to 30 days in jail but has filed an appeal with the same panel of county judges. Both she and Hendrickson were fired from the Police Department.

[24KT]

Chicago cop Abbate convicted of beating female bartender gets probation



A Chicago police officer  seen beating a woman bartender in a video viewed around the world will not spend any time in jail for the crime, despite the fact a new video was released today showing the officer attacking another patron a few hours prior to the attack on the bartender.

The infamous Officer Anthony Abbate was sentenced today to two years probation, community service and anger management sessions.

The Chicago Tribune quotes Judge John Fleming as saying "If I believed that sending Anthony Abbate to prison would stop people from getting drunk and hitting other people, I'd sentence him to the maximum, but I don't believe that is the case."

What?

Sentencing a murderer to the maximum sentence may not stop people from killing other people,  but at least that murderer is off the streets and suffering the consequences of his crime.

The Tribune reports the judge took into consideration the fact Abbate did not have a prior criminal record and the attack did not result in serious injury to the bartender, just bumps and bruises. The bartender, however, told the court she continues to suffer emotional trauma from the beating.

For more Information and to view the new Abbate video in which he goes after a male bar patron, go to www.chicagotribune.com

===============

Remember when that video circulated throughout the world, ...we had people on here going off about how tough they were and how could the patrons just sit there and allow her to be beaten like that? ...well now we have out answer don't we? No one dared to speak up to a fat cop who was clearly out of control and totally in the wrong.

[240 is Back]

There are A-holes on every job.  I have dealt with some serious jerk cops in my day, but also dealt with some really polite and nice ones.

[24KT]

There are A-holes on every job.  I have dealt with some serious jerk cops in my day, but also dealt with some really polite and nice ones.

There are plenty of good, honest, commendable police officers out there. I dated a few, and some are in my family.

This thread isn't about them though, ...it's about the police who behave badly.

[OzmO]

There are plenty of good, honest, commendable police officers out there. I dated a few, and some are in my family.

This thread isn't about them though, ...it's about the police who behave badly.

I wonder how many Harvard Scholars act like fools?

[240 is Back]

I wonder how many Harvard Scholars act like fools?

[24KT]

Record verdict: Former gang member awarded $21 million for wrongful conviction

Man who claimed cop framed him for 1989 murder served 11 years before conviction overturned
By Ben Meyerson | Tribune reporter
June 23, 2009

After spending more than 11 years in prison accused of murder, Juan Johnson won the largest award in Chicago history for a wrongful conviction lawsuit on Friday.

But even though the City of Chicago was ordered to pay him $21 million in compensatory damages, Johnson said he wasn't looking for more money from the police officer he said framed him. All he wanted was an apology.

Johnson didn't get one on Monday, however, and so Reynaldo Guevara, a former Chicago police officer who says he's living paycheck to paycheck, now owes Johnson $15,000 in punitive damages himself.

"He could have picked a side -- protect [himself] or apologize," said Jon Loevy, Johnson's attorney. "If he had expressed remorse, we wouldn't have asked for anything."

In 1989, Johnson, then a member of the Spanish Cobras gang, was arrested by Guevara and accused of murdering a member of rival gang, the Latin Eagles, outside a nightclub near North and Western Avenues.

Johnson was convicted and served 11 1/2 years in prison before he was retried and acquitted in 2004. In that trial, witnesses testified that Guevara intimidated them into saying Johnson was the murderer.

On Friday and Monday, a jury agreed that Johnson was wrongly arrested and that Guevara and the city were at fault.

Though Johnson claimed that from the beginning, all he wanted was an apology, Guevara's legal team objected, saying an apology could taint any chance of getting the decision reversed when they appeal.

Guevara's lawyer, Jim Sotos, said he thinks that witnesses changed their stories during Johnson's retrial in 2004 because of gang intimidation.

"We strongly believe there is an orchestrated effort by gang members that witnesses were told to recant" their testimonies during the retrial, Sotos said.

Johnson maintains justice was served.

"The evidence is there that he framed me," he said. "It's time the city starts taking responsibility for its actions."

In one testimony from the retrial, Samuel Perez, another Cobra, testified that Guevara had intimidated him into identifying Johnson as the killer.

"[Guevara] told me that he knows that the Cobras killed that Eagle. Which Cobra, he didn't care, but he preferred that it was this Cobra" and pointed at a picture of Johnson, Perez said. "I took it as a threat. ... I was going to get hooked up for that murder or Juan Johnson was going to get hooked up for that murder."

The case is far from closed, however.

Guevara and the city could file paperwork as soon as this week for an appeal.