Police State - Official Thread

[Skeletor]

Dad Tells Cops they Need a Warrant to Search Home, So they Kick in his Door & Kill Him

Spring Lake, NC — Three children lost their father Sunday after deputies with the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office, looking for a different man, shot and killed him.

John Livingston, 33, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Sunday as police were conducting an assault investigation. Police were not looking for Livingston, and the entire situation could have been avoided had they come back with a warrant like Livingston requested.

Livingston’s roommate, Clayton Carroll told WNCN that he was shot multiple times during the altercation with officers who had no right to be there in the first place.

According to Carroll, deputies began knocking on the door around 3:30 am as they were looking for someone who no longer lived in the home. When Deputies asked Livingston if they could search his home, Livingston said “not without a search warrant,” according to Carroll.

Livingston then shut the door.

Having a man assert his fourth amendment right to be secure in his property was apparently too much for the deputy to handle.

“The cop kicked in the door, got on top of him, started slinging him around beat him…” Carroll said.

Witnesses explain how deputies began spraying pepper spray and deploying a taser during the assault. They say that Livingston was not fighting back and merely trying to prevent the deputies from inflicting more harm on him.

During the struggle, Livingston attempted to remove the taser from the deputy’s hand which caused the officers to fear for their lives.

“He (Livingston) barely had the Taser in his hand, but he had it where it was constantly going off and the officer I guess that spoke to him rolled over there, says he got the Taser and shot him in this position,” Carroll said.

Livingston died from the multiple gunshot wounds.

“That’s the blanket I kept putting on him and telling him to breathe until he was gone because I knew he wasn’t breathing anymore,” said Bristol Edge, a friend living in the home.

The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, but their names have not been released.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/dad-tells-cops-warrant-search-home-kick-door-kill/

[illuminati]

Dad Tells Cops they Need a Warrant to Search Home, So they Kick in his Door & Kill Him

Spring Lake, NC — Three children lost their father Sunday after deputies with the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office, looking for a different man, shot and killed him.

John Livingston, 33, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Sunday as police were conducting an assault investigation. Police were not looking for Livingston, and the entire situation could have been avoided had they come back with a warrant like Livingston requested.

Livingston’s roommate, Clayton Carroll told WNCN that he was shot multiple times during the altercation with officers who had no right to be there in the first place.

According to Carroll, deputies began knocking on the door around 3:30 am as they were looking for someone who no longer lived in the home. When Deputies asked Livingston if they could search his home, Livingston said “not without a search warrant,” according to Carroll.

Livingston then shut the door.

Having a man assert his fourth amendment right to be secure in his property was apparently too much for the deputy to handle.

“The cop kicked in the door, got on top of him, started slinging him around beat him…” Carroll said.

Witnesses explain how deputies began spraying pepper spray and deploying a taser during the assault. They say that Livingston was not fighting back and merely trying to prevent the deputies from inflicting more harm on him.

During the struggle, Livingston attempted to remove the taser from the deputy’s hand which caused the officers to fear for their lives.

“He (Livingston) barely had the Taser in his hand, but he had it where it was constantly going off and the officer I guess that spoke to him rolled over there, says he got the Taser and shot him in this position,” Carroll said.

Livingston died from the multiple gunshot wounds.

“That’s the blanket I kept putting on him and telling him to breathe until he was gone because I knew he wasn’t breathing anymore,” said Bristol Edge, a friend living in the home.

The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, but their names have not been released.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/dad-tells-cops-warrant-search-home-kick-door-kill/

Fcuk them cops.
Do The same to them Shoot Them.
End of.
Fcuk excuses Fcuk got to wait for inquiry
Fcuk don't no all the facts.
Them Bastards didn't wait for anything.
Scumbag murderers.

[240 is Back]

start releasing the officers' names.

even if they know they'll beat the rap in court and at worse, have to change jobs...

maybe the fear of humiliation will stop them from wasting people when it's not necessary.  When a man is on the ground, maced and tazed after you illegally enter his home, and he 'may have' reached for a taser, he's not a threat you NEED to kill.

They found the LEAST amount of justification to kill a person they really wanted to kill (at least they thought he was the dude).  They were looking for an excuse, just enough legal justification to shoot.  He didn't get ahold of it.  he didn't "taze" anyone.  He just made a move in the middle of a beating, and they killed him because he gave them the small possibly legal loophole to execute him


I love that the police kneepadders have become so silent on this thread.

[Skeletor]

It's funny how when there is an incident, there is often a concerted effort to release any information that can discredit the citizen (for example "the 60 year old suspect had a lengthy record which included being arrested when he was 7 years old for illegally selling unlicensed lemonade and then again at 20 years old for driving on a suspended license") and make them appear like a career criminal but when it comes to cops there is no mention of past incidents or any record they might have, most of the times they won't even release a name or picture of the cops.

The police are all too happy to explain how the citizen was a lethal threat who deserved what he/she got and supposedly had a shady past and how his/her actions were the reason for the consequences but when a question is asked about the actions of the cops, all of a sudden "we cannot comment".

Everyone should be treated equally, cops or citizens. How many instances have there been where a cop abuses his authority in a blatant way and the "backup" arrives only to immediately join in the beating and attack the citizen instead of trying to assess the situation and, if necessary, arrest the cop on the spot, like they would with a citizen.

[Skeletor]

Innocent man who spent 27 years behind bars after he was wrongly convicted of raping and murdering a Georgetown student was FRAMED by homicide detectives, jury finds

• Donald Gates was convicted of slaying Catherine Schilling, 21, in 1981
• Was walking home from work when she was shot in the head five times
• He naked body was retrieved from an embankment in a park the next day
• Gates, then 24, was convicted of the crime, but maintained his innocence
• In 2009, his conviction was overturned as a result of DNA testing
• Jurors concluded that detectives fabricated his confession
• They also used an 'unreliable' informant and hid information from Gates

An innocent man who spent 27 years behind bars for a rape and murder he didn't commit was framed by police, a federal jury has found.

Donald E. Gates was wrongly convicted of assaulting Georgetown University student Catherine Schilling and shooting her in the head five times as she walked through park on June 22, 1981.

The 21-year-old paralegal's naked body was retrieved from an embankment the next day in Washington D.C's Rock Creek Park along a route she used as a shortcut home from work.

Gates, now 64, was released from prison in 2009 after DNA evidence revealed he was not connected to the crime, and a janitor at Schilling's law firm was behind the slaying.

And now Washington D.C. officials have agreed to pay him $16.65million in damages after a jury on Wednesday found homicide detectives fabricated his confession, withheld information and fed his name to an unreliable informant.

That's about $617,000 for every year Donald Eugene Gates spent in prison. Gates has already received more than a million dollars from the federal government for its role in his conviction. The settlement with the city brings his total compensation to $18 million.

According to the Washington Post, the jury took less than seven hours to find retired detectives Ronald S. Taylor and Norman Brooks guilty of misconduct because Gates wasn't given the right to a fair trial.

They also ignored warnings about the identity of the actual killer.

A third, now-retired lieutenant John Harlow, was cleared.

Outside the courtroom, Gates told reporters: 'It feels like the God of the King James Bible is real, and he answered my prayers.

'Justice is on the way to being fulfilled... It's one of the happiest days of my life.'

In October 1982, a  jury convicted a then 24-year-old Gates of the rape and first-degree murder of New Jersey-native Schilling.

At Gates's criminal trial, a D.C. Superior Court jury was told that Gates had confessed to an informant named Gerald Max 'Bear' Smith.

Smith said he was drinking in the park with Gates the night of the murder,

He said Gates wanted to rob Schilling, but when Schilling resisted, Gates killed her.

According to the Innocence Project Smith was paid $50 for the initial tip and $250 for picking out the photograph.

In all, Smith allegedly pocketed around $1,300 for his help on the case.

The police used his information despite a junior homicide investigator telling them that Smith was 'treacherous' and totally unreliable, The Post reported.

There were also questionable reports Gates had been spotted purse-snatching in the same park a week earlier.

A FBI forensic expert also told the jury he had matched hairs to one found on the victim.

However, during Gates's  time behind bars, the Justice Department’s inspector general found problems with the work of the agent who linked Gates’s hair to the crime.

Hair DNA, and their place in criminal trials, in FBI labs has recently come under scrutiny because of problems with testing.

In 2009, Gates's conviction was overturned. He was freed on December 15 and used the $75 he was issued on his release to take a bus and spend Christmas with his family in Akron, Ohio.

He now lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.

In 2012 genetic evidence left at the Schilling scene tied to a culprit, who died a year earlier.

He was a convict and temporary janitor who had worked in the same building as Schilling, prosecutors revealed.

But the U.S. attorney's office has not identified him, arguing that his privacy continues past his death.

Gate's exoneration also prompted the D.C. Public Defenders' Office to look into the cases of four different men who were convicted on flawed DNA evidence. 


A federal law grants innocent prisoners who waive claims against federal officials $50,000 every year they are incarcerated.

In February, a D.C judge awarded $9.2 million, including $350,000 per year of incarceration, to Kirk L. Odom, a District man wrongfully imprisoned for more than 22 years for a 1981 rape and robbery. The city has appealed that award.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3325844/Innocent-man-spent-27-years-bars-wrongly-convicted-raping-murdering-Georgetown-student-FRAMED-homicide-detectives-jury-finds.html

[Agnostic007]

Innocent man who spent 27 years behind bars after he was wrongly convicted of raping and murdering a Georgetown student was FRAMED by homicide detectives, jury finds

• Donald Gates was convicted of slaying Catherine Schilling, 21, in 1981
• Was walking home from work when she was shot in the head five times
• He naked body was retrieved from an embankment in a park the next day
• Gates, then 24, was convicted of the crime, but maintained his innocence
• In 2009, his conviction was overturned as a result of DNA testing
• Jurors concluded that detectives fabricated his confession
• They also used an 'unreliable' informant and hid information from Gates

An innocent man who spent 27 years behind bars for a rape and murder he didn't commit was framed by police, a federal jury has found.

Donald E. Gates was wrongly convicted of assaulting Georgetown University student Catherine Schilling and shooting her in the head five times as she walked through park on June 22, 1981.

The 21-year-old paralegal's naked body was retrieved from an embankment the next day in Washington D.C's Rock Creek Park along a route she used as a shortcut home from work.

Gates, now 64, was released from prison in 2009 after DNA evidence revealed he was not connected to the crime, and a janitor at Schilling's law firm was behind the slaying.

And now Washington D.C. officials have agreed to pay him $16.65million in damages after a jury on Wednesday found homicide detectives fabricated his confession, withheld information and fed his name to an unreliable informant.

That's about $617,000 for every year Donald Eugene Gates spent in prison. Gates has already received more than a million dollars from the federal government for its role in his conviction. The settlement with the city brings his total compensation to $18 million.

According to the Washington Post, the jury took less than seven hours to find retired detectives Ronald S. Taylor and Norman Brooks guilty of misconduct because Gates wasn't given the right to a fair trial.

They also ignored warnings about the identity of the actual killer.

A third, now-retired lieutenant John Harlow, was cleared.

Outside the courtroom, Gates told reporters: 'It feels like the God of the King James Bible is real, and he answered my prayers.

'Justice is on the way to being fulfilled... It's one of the happiest days of my life.'

In October 1982, a  jury convicted a then 24-year-old Gates of the rape and first-degree murder of New Jersey-native Schilling.

At Gates's criminal trial, a D.C. Superior Court jury was told that Gates had confessed to an informant named Gerald Max 'Bear' Smith.

Smith said he was drinking in the park with Gates the night of the murder,

He said Gates wanted to rob Schilling, but when Schilling resisted, Gates killed her.

According to the Innocence Project Smith was paid $50 for the initial tip and $250 for picking out the photograph.

In all, Smith allegedly pocketed around $1,300 for his help on the case.

The police used his information despite a junior homicide investigator telling them that Smith was 'treacherous' and totally unreliable, The Post reported.

There were also questionable reports Gates had been spotted purse-snatching in the same park a week earlier.

A FBI forensic expert also told the jury he had matched hairs to one found on the victim.

However, during Gates's  time behind bars, the Justice Department’s inspector general found problems with the work of the agent who linked Gates’s hair to the crime.

Hair DNA, and their place in criminal trials, in FBI labs has recently come under scrutiny because of problems with testing.

In 2009, Gates's conviction was overturned. He was freed on December 15 and used the $75 he was issued on his release to take a bus and spend Christmas with his family in Akron, Ohio.

He now lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.

In 2012 genetic evidence left at the Schilling scene tied to a culprit, who died a year earlier.

He was a convict and temporary janitor who had worked in the same building as Schilling, prosecutors revealed.

But the U.S. attorney's office has not identified him, arguing that his privacy continues past his death.

Gate's exoneration also prompted the D.C. Public Defenders' Office to look into the cases of four different men who were convicted on flawed DNA evidence. 


A federal law grants innocent prisoners who waive claims against federal officials $50,000 every year they are incarcerated.

In February, a D.C judge awarded $9.2 million, including $350,000 per year of incarceration, to Kirk L. Odom, a District man wrongfully imprisoned for more than 22 years for a 1981 rape and robbery. The city has appealed that award.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3325844/Innocent-man-spent-27-years-bars-wrongly-convicted-raping-murdering-Georgetown-student-FRAMED-homicide-detectives-jury-finds.html

corruption of the noble cause at work. The detectives were likely convinced he was guilty and in the interest of "justice" did whatever it took to get the conviction. Better to cheat and get a killer behind bars than take their chances in court.. however this and many other cases like it underscore just why that is never the best course to take. Police Administrations should be using this case in their Academy classes to make the point.. the system is there for a reason. Sometimes the wrong person is arrested. Let the facts speak for themselves. The 'truth" is what is important, not a conviction.

On a side note, I find it somewhat ironic that he was incarcerated for 27 years for a crime he did not commit, and praises the biblical god for answering his prayers... 27 years later.   

[illuminati]

corruption of the noble cause at work. The detectives were likely convinced he was guilty and in the interest of "justice" did whatever it took to get the conviction. Better to cheat and get a killer behind bars than take their chances in court.. however this and many other cases like it underscore just why that is never the best course to take. Police Administrations should be using this case in their Academy classes to make the point.. the system is there for a reason. Sometimes the wrong person is arrested. Let the facts speak for themselves. The 'truth" is what is important, not a conviction.

On a side note, I find it somewhat ironic that he was incarcerated for 27 years for a crime he did not commit, and praises the biblical god for answering his prayers... 27 years later.   

Yes they probably should use this case as a example.

More importantly.
What about the cops who lied & framed him.
Wouldn't it be fair that they serve 27yrs as punishment
As they clearly have done wrong.
That may help deter other cops from lying & cheating also
If they new they would get similar treatment to those whom
They frame & are innocent.

Or I know lets let the cops off / walk free.

Thoughts..??

[Skeletor]

Yes they probably should use this case as a example.

More importantly.
What about the cops who lied & framed him.
Wouldn't it be fair that they serve 27yrs as punishment
As they clearly have done wrong.
That may help deter other cops from lying & cheating also
If they new they would get similar treatment to those whom
They frame & are innocent.

Or I know lets let the cops off / walk free.

Thoughts..??

The 27 years should be in addition to the punishment they would normally receive for their crimes. And of course the money this man will receive should come out of their pockets, not from the citizens. But we're talking about cops here..

[illuminati]

The 27 years should be in addition to the punishment they would normally receive for their crimes. And of course the money this man will receive should come out of their pockets, not from the citizens. But we're talking about cops here..

Agreed.

Everyone suffers except for them untouchable Scumbags.

[avxo]

On a side note, I find it somewhat ironic that he was incarcerated for 27 years for a crime he did not commit, and praises the biblical god for answering his prayers... 27 years later.

On the other hand, if his statement was sincere and reflects his faith, I can't help but respect him for the strength of his conviction even if I don't share his beliefs.

[Skeletor]

Man who was severely beaten by three Texas cops in a case of 'mistaken identity' left paralyzed from the chest down

•     Roger Carlos, 43, was paralyzed during surgery to repair his spine on November 3 at a San Antonio area hospital
•     He had previously undergone multiple surgeries on his neck and upper spine to relieve the pain from herniated discs
•     Carlos alleges that he was severely beaten by three cops in May 2014 when they mistook him for a suspect
•     His wife Ronnie Carlos blasted the police for their 'carelessness' and said: ['The beating] has physically and mentally disabled him'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3329266/Man-beaten-three-Texas-police-officers-left-paralyzed-surgery.html

[Skeletor]

Cops on a Rampage, Looking for Suspects, Raid Innocent Man’s Home and Kill Him

Morgantown, VA —  David Michael Romanoski, 48, of Morgantown was shot and killed earlier this month by police after they broke into his house in search of two robbery suspects.

Romanoski was not the suspect and was innocent.

Ten deputies arrived at the home, where Isaac Barker and Justin Knisell were believed to be living and instead found Romanoski. When deputies, some of whom were in plain clothes, entered the room where Romanoski was, one of them fired 7 rounds into him. He was then transported to the hospital where he died.

Immediately after killing this innocent man, police quickly attempted to justify the shooting by claiming to have found a handgun – as if owning a handgun is deserving of a death sentence.

The Monongalia County Sheriff’s department was given body cameras earlier in the year, which could’ve shown the confrontation which led to the murder of Romanoski. However, the deputies chose to stop using them.

“The reason they weren’t wearing body cameras is because the ones we had originally purchased, we found out after they were purchased that they are virtually useless in low light or darkness,” Sheriff Al Kisner said, adding that the cameras also had a very short battery life.

David was a graduate of Morgantown High School and Miami University and an upstanding member of the community. In addition to his parents, he is survived by his fiancée, Karen Tackett.

After her fiancée was murdered by police, Tackett told the Dominion post that Romanoski was unarmed and did not deserve to be killed.

The death of Romanoski highlights the disastrous problem of violent and incompetent police in America and sadly no one cares. Because this man was murdered by public servants ‘just doing their jobs,’ the overwhelming majority of Americans will consider his death collateral damage in the officer’s ‘heroic’ duty of providing security.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cops-rampage-suspects-raid-innocent-mans-home-kill/

[Skeletor]

Confused Cops SWAT Raid Innocent Man, Deploy Flashbangs, Assault and Kidnap Him for No Reason

Rutherford Institute Sues Virginia Police for Carrying out a 'Welfare Check' with a 2-Hour, SWAT Team-Style Raid, Flash Grenade, Wrongful Arrest & Detention

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (The Rutherford Institute)— Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have sued Virginia police and other government officials after a request to carry out a “welfare check” on a 58-year-old man resulted in a two-hour, SWAT team-style raid on the man’s truck, a wrongful arrest, and a 72-hour mental health hold.

According to the complaint, police acknowledged that they had no legal basis nor probable cause for detaining Virginia resident Benjamin Burruss, who was preparing to depart on a camping/hunting trip to Montana, given that he had not threatened to harm anyone and was not mentally ill.

Nevertheless, a heavily armed police tactical team confronted Burruss, surrounded his truck, deployed a “stinger” device behind the rear tires, launched a flash grenade, smashed the side window in order to drag him from the truck, handcuffed and searched him, and transported him to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and mental health hold.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, against the County of Albemarle and five Albemarle County Police officers charges government officials with violating the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments as well as state law.

“This is just one more example of how a relatively benign situation (a routine welfare check) gets escalated into something far more violent and dangerous through the use of militarized police, armed to the teeth and trained to react combatively,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. “The unnecessary use of force by police officers in response to a situation that should have—and could have—been handled non-confrontationally did not, in this instance, result in a loss of life, but that is small consolation to those who have learned to tread cautiously in their interactions with police.”

According to the complaint, on Nov. 21, 2013, Albemarle County police officers were contacted by Benjamin Burruss’s employer and asked to conduct a “welfare check” on Burruss, who was reportedly “stressed” over work and marital difficulties. Police confronted Burruss, who was wearing camouflage pants and a bright orange hunting cap, as he was leaving the Comfort Inn and preparing to leave for a hunting trip to Montana.

Burruss informed officers that he was fine, had no plans to hurt anyone, and just needed time to think through things, hence the trip to Montana. For two hours, officers persisted in asking Burruss to exit his truck and speak with them, with Burruss continuing to reiterate that he had no intention of harming himself or others and just wanted to be left alone and allowed to go on his hunting trip. During this time, police deployed a “stinger” device behind Burruss’s truck, which would puncture the truck’s tires and immobilize it if Burruss attempted to drive off. Police also surrounded Burruss’s truck with their squad cars, blocking his exit.

Despite the fact that the officer speaking with Burruss informed the other officers that they had no reason to hold Burruss because he had not threatened to harm anyone and he was not mentally ill, police requested an Emergency Custody Order (ECO).  Once the ECO was obtained, a tactical team of heavily-armed police launched a flash grenade at Burruss’ truck, smashed the driver-side window, dragged Burruss out by his arms, handcuffed, searched and arrested him.

Burruss was then taken to the University of Virginia Hospital to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and locked up under a 72-hour mental health hold. In filing suit on Burruss’ behalf, Rutherford Institute attorneys are alleging that police used excessive force in violation of Burruss’ Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/confused-cops-swat-raid-innocent-man-deploy-flashbangs-assault-kidnap-reason/

http://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/on_the_front_lines/rutherford_institute_sues_virginia_police_for_carrying_out_a_welfare_check

http://rutherford.org/files_images/general/11-19-2015_Burruss-_complaint.pdf

[Skeletor]

Law enforcement took more stuff from people than burglars did last year

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/11/23/cops-took-more-stuff-from-people-than-burglars-did-last-year/


Police Civil Asset Forfeitures Exceed All Burglaries in 2014

http://www.armstrongeconomics.com/archives/39102


Stop and seize
Aggressive police take hundreds of millions of dollars from motorists not charged with crimes

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/09/06/stop-and-seize/

[Agnostic007]

Here in Texas there was a case involving a guy named Michael Morton. We now have the Michael Morton act because of his case. He spent 25 years in prison on death row for the murder of his wife. Problem was, he didn't do it. The prosecutor in the case, who by last year was now a judge.. went to trial for his actions in no revealing evidence and was found guilty.   

"Prosecutorial Misconduct Finding: During the course of the post-conviction DNA litigation, Morton’s attorneys filed a Public Information Act request, and finally obtained the other documents showing Morton’s innocence in the prosecution’s file that had been withheld at trial. The Innocence Project filed a brief on Mr. Morton’s behalf and the Texas Supreme Court ordered an unprecedented Court of Inquiry to determine whether Ken Anderson, the former prosecutor who went on to become a judge, had committed misconduct. The Court of Inquiry ruled there to be probable cause to believe Mr. Anderson had violated criminal laws by concealing evidence and charged him with criminal contempt. The State Bar of Texas also brought ethics charges against Mr. Anderson. In early November 2013, Mr. Anderson entered a plea to criminal contempt and agreed to serve a 10-day jail sentence. He resigned from his position as a district court judge and permanently surrendered his law license.

This is a case where the prosecutor was blatant in his disregard for rules of evidence and it led to a man being convicted for murdering his wife, which he didn't and spending a quarter of a century on death row for a murder he did not do. And all the prosecutor got was a 10 day jail sentence. He should have gotten 25 years.

In a case where it was clear there was misconduct, or blatant negligence that results in a conviction and it is later found that the defendant is unquestionably innocent, I would have no problem with lead investigators and prosecutor doing similar time. This would likely insure integrity in the case.   

[Skeletor]

So he "discovered" he is a violent criminal only after the damning evidence was revealed? Notice how easy it is for cops to slap a citizen with all the typical bogus charges -and what sort of prison time the citizen would be looking at- yet when it's revealed the cop lied and assaulted the man, the cop doesn't go to prison.

After Video Surfaces, Innocent Man is Exonerated for Assault on an Officer, Cop Pleads Guilty

Despite pleading guilty to assault and being seen on video, this officer will not spend a single day in jail.

Boston, MA — A violent cop, who beat an innocent man in front of fellow officers, and then charged him with assault, pleaded guilty to battery last week, but only after video of the incident surfaced.

Officer Felix Rivera, Jr. 34, of the Chelsea police department, responded, along with several officers, to a call about a man with a gun on September 26, 2014. The victim, who was 20-years-old at the time, was not the man with a gun.

When multiple officers showed up at the victim’s location, he is dragged from the doorway, and the supervisor on the scene told his fellow officers to place the man in protective custody as he appeared to be intoxicated. However, the ‘custody’ was anything but ‘protective.’

According to Rivera’s police report, the victim pushed another officer and was taken to the ground, where his multiple injuries would occur. The victim was then arrested and brought to jail.

After three days in jail, the victim was arraigned on Sept. 29, 2014, on charges of assault and battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. He was then released on his own recognizance to face the false charges later that year.

Had an anonymous witness not come forward, this innocent man would have likely been convicted on all charges.

Luckily for the victim, however, the anonymous witness was filming. What the video shows is the exact opposite of what Rivera claimed. The man was placed in handcuffs with no resistance. As he was being escorted from the scene, Rivera began to repeatedly bash in his face and then knocked him to the ground for no reason.

The victim suffered cuts to his face, malalignment of the jaw and still suffers from blurred vision because of this attack.

After the video was shown to prosecutors, all charges were dropped, and Rivera was placed on administrative leave.

An investigation found that none of the other officers hit the victim, and one, in fact, tried to stop Rivera. However, after watching their fellow cop assault an innocent young man and then lie about it, not one of the officers dared to cross the blue line and report their fellow brother.

Their silence in watching an innocent handcuffed man get assaulted and face years in prison for crimes he did not commit, went unpunished.

Rivera, being the upstanding pillar of society that he is, will not see one day in jail either.

According to My Fox Boston:

    The DA’s office recommended three years of probation and asked for a felony conviction for injuring the victim and violating his civil rights, but a judge continued that charge without a finding. Rivera was ordered to stay away from the victim, take part in an anger management program, as well as undergo a mental health evaluation, completing any treatment recommended to him. If he obliges to all of those conditions, the court will dismiss that charge in two years.

    “We maintain that a felony conviction was appropriate to these facts,” the district attorney said. “This wasn’t police work. It was criminal conduct. It was clear throughout our investigation that Chief Kyes and his team shared that perspective and took this case extremely seriously. There’s no room in law enforcement for an officer who would beat a handcuffed suspect or lie in a report.”

In September of this year, Rivera was still not fired, but finally resigned from the department without incident. In two years, after the charge is removed from his record, Rivera could very well become a cop again.

This incident shows us two things, one of which is the utter special treatment granted to those with badges.

Rivera attacked an innocent man and betrayed the public trust by trying to put this innocent man in a cage after beating him. Unfortunately, instead of being held to a higher standard because of his position as a peace officer, Rivera is subject to a much lower standard – as is par for the course that is Police State USA.

The second important aspect that we learn from this incident is the importance of filming police encounters. This simple 22-second video made the difference in saving a man from spending an indefinite amount of time behind bars for a crime he never committed.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/video-surfaces-innocent-man-exonerated-assault-officer-cop-pleads-guilty/

[whork]

This thread should be a wake up call for many people.

I appreciate your work Skeletor.

[avxo]

One good thing about the Internet is that, no matter what DAs and Judges do, the names of these thugs are going to preserved, associated with their actions for everyone to read. It may be a small step towards the kind of accountability that we need and deserve but it is a step.

Say hello to today's thug with a badge, Felix Rivera Jr, formerly of the Chelsea Police Department. Felix Rivera, you abused your power to viciously beat and frame an unarmed man for a crime he didn't commit.

[Skeletor]

VIDEO: Cop Smashes Gun into Innocent Man’s Face to Show Off for His Illegal Ride-Along Audience

A cop has been found guilty of 1st and 2nd-degree assault after showing off for two unauthorized passengers he brought along to watch him wreak terror on innocent men.

Upper Marlboro, MD — William Cunningham and Kennieth Smith were doing nothing wrong, had committed no crime, and were attempting to go about their daily routine when they were nearly killed by a power tripping cop.

On Wednesday, that power tripping cop, Prince George’s County Police officer Jenchesky Santiago, was remarkably found guilty for 1st and 2nd-degree assault, use of a firearm in violence, and misconduct in office – only after cellphone footage survived and was given to prosecutors.

The video remained private until the PGPD police department released it this week. What it shows is nothing short of a lunatic on a rampage threatening innocent people with his gun.

On May 10, 2014, Cunningham and Smith were sitting in a vehicle outside Cunningham’s home as Smith was dropping off his cousin. At this point, Santiago approached the vehicle and told them they were parked illegally, according to prosecutors.

However, the gentlemen were parked completely legally and prosecutors emphasized that fact during the trial by pointing out that the area in front of Cunningham’s home has no signs restricting parking, no fire hydrants nor any curb paint indicating a fire lane.

Santiago later claimed that since there were parking places nearby, this car was illegally parked – but he was still wrong.

As the men attempted to tell the officer that Smith was merely dropping Cunningham off, Santiago told them that they are in a drug-ridden area.

“What does that have to do with us?” Cunningham responded.

That’s when Santiago, who had two unauthorized occupants in his cruiser who apparently wanted to witness this jackboot thug harass innocent people, said, “You guys wanted my attention. You got my attention now.”

Prosecutor Donnell Turner told the judge that Santiago was showing off for two friends sitting in his patrol vehicle, during this unauthorized ride-along.

Having not been legally detained, Cunningham simply tried to walk into his house when all hell broke loose.

Santiago, responding to an innocent man walking into his own home, pulled his gun and pointed it at Cunningham, demanding that he “get back in the car!”

Frightened that he had a madman pressing a gun against his temple ‘so hard that it moved his head,’ Cunningham slowly made his way back to the vehicle. This slow walk was seen as a threat to the tyrant Santiago, which made him even more enraged and more apt to preen for his sadistic audience.

He then pressed the gun directly at the center of Cunningham’s face and mouth, “Go ahead. I dare you to f**king fight me, son.” All of this was captured on video.

After the video was turned off, Cunningham testified in court that Santiago later told them, “Y’all gonna learn about officer Santiago today. I just got back from Iraq. I’m not scared of you all.” He testified that Santiago also said, “You need to watch your attitude because us P.G. cops, we shoot people.”

Cunningham and Smith were then illegal searched without consent. Since Santiago found nothing to charge them with, he made up two counts of disorderly conduct, which would later be thrown out after the video surfaced.

“The actions Officer Santiago chose to take that day are his alone. His behavior is flagrant, appalling and isolated. His actions are among the worst I’ve seen as Chief of Police and that will be taken into account when I make a decision about his employment,” PGPD Chief Mark Magaw said.

“The moment officer Santiago made the decision to act in a reckless, illegal way, he ceased being a police officer,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said. “There is no place for that type of behavior in our county or on our police force. Every citizen should be able to walk across their front yard to their door without fear of being assaulted, especially by a police officer.”

Had Smith made the decision not to pull out his camera and shoot the video you see below, both of these men would likely still be facing the false charges brought against them by this costumed maniac. Let that sink in. Without that cellphone video, two innocent men would be in jail and a maniac cop would still be on the loose.

However, because of that video, a tyrant’s true colors were exposed to the world and he is now facing a minimum of 5-years in prison.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/disturbing-video-shows-cop-terrorize-innocent-men-show-illegal-ride-along-audience/

[Skeletor]

Sadistic Cop on Trial for Tasering Unresponsive Native Man 17 Times Until Bystanders Made Her Stop

Rapid City, SD – In August of 2014, Rebecca M. Sotherland, a police officer formerly employed for the Oglala Sioux Tribe, was videotaped tazering a citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe 17 times while he laid unresponsive on the ground on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Sotherland was indicted by a federal grand jury only days after the brutal incident and charged with violating the constitutional rights of 33-year-old Jeff Eagle Bull, by repeatedly using her Taser on him.

The federal trial for the indicted former officer began earlier this week. If found guilty, Sotherland faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The video footage shows Eagle Bull screaming in pain as he lay on the ground repeatedly being shocked with electricity by the officer. Never during the encounter did the man make any aggressive moves. Throughout the incident, he only lays on the ground writhing in pain screaming as he is being brutalized.

It’s obvious from the video footage that Sotherland wasn’t using the stun gun as a means of defense, as the man can be seen lying helplessly on the ground in handcuffs. She was using it as a means of sadistic punishment in an attempt to motivate him to get into her police cruiser.

Sotherland repeatedly yells at the helpless man to get in the car, eventually threatening that, “It’s gonna get you again,” referring to the 50,000 volts of electricity delivered by the tazer.

The disgraced cop continues screaming, “Hurry up! Get the car before it hits you again! Hurry up!” The brutal electrical assault continues as she keeps commanding the man to, “Get up and get in the car or it’s gonna get you again.”

Sotherland is seen on the now viral video standing over the top of a clearly helpless Eagle Bull. Eagle Bull was already in handcuffs and lying on the ground.

Finally in disgust the bystanders yell at the cop, “Let him go, quit tazing him! Just help him up! Just stop tazing him and help him up. One of these boys will help you.”

Sotherland responds, “You guys gonna help him up?” To which the onlooker says, “Yeah.” After that, a gentleman then can be heard saying, “I dunno, I don’t trust her myself,” referring to the cop after seeing what she has just done to the man on the ground.

At this point, a number of bystanders go over to assist the brutalized man into the police cruiser.

While the quick indictment of Sotherland was certainly a move in the right direction, it remains to be seen whether a South Dakota jury will actually hold the former officer accountable for her actions. Members of the tribe are skeptical that justice will actually be served, as South Dakota has a tenuous history with Native peoples.

[illuminati]

This thread should be a wake up call for many people.

I appreciate your work Skeletor.

Well said, very true.
It Should be A Wake Up Call.
Sadly it Won't Be for So Many.

See No Evil.
Hear No Evil.
Speak No Evil.
When it comes to Cops.

[absfabs]

Dad Tells Cops they Need a Warrant to Search Home, So they Kick in his Door & Kill Him

Spring Lake, NC — Three children lost their father Sunday after deputies with the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office, looking for a different man, shot and killed him.

John Livingston, 33, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Sunday as police were conducting an assault investigation. Police were not looking for Livingston, and the entire situation could have been avoided had they come back with a warrant like Livingston requested.

Livingston’s roommate, Clayton Carroll told WNCN that he was shot multiple times during the altercation with officers who had no right to be there in the first place.

According to Carroll, deputies began knocking on the door around 3:30 am as they were looking for someone who no longer lived in the home. When Deputies asked Livingston if they could search his home, Livingston said “not without a search warrant,” according to Carroll.

Livingston then shut the door.

Having a man assert his fourth amendment right to be secure in his property was apparently too much for the deputy to handle.

“The cop kicked in the door, got on top of him, started slinging him around beat him…” Carroll said.

Witnesses explain how deputies began spraying pepper spray and deploying a taser during the assault. They say that Livingston was not fighting back and merely trying to prevent the deputies from inflicting more harm on him.

During the struggle, Livingston attempted to remove the taser from the deputy’s hand which caused the officers to fear for their lives.

“He (Livingston) barely had the Taser in his hand, but he had it where it was constantly going off and the officer I guess that spoke to him rolled over there, says he got the Taser and shot him in this position,” Carroll said.

Livingston died from the multiple gunshot wounds.

“That’s the blanket I kept putting on him and telling him to breathe until he was gone because I knew he wasn’t breathing anymore,” said Bristol Edge, a friend living in the home.

The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, but their names have not been released.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/dad-tells-cops-warrant-search-home-kick-door-kill/

as socialism grips a nation atrocities become common, as indivdual rights fade and lawyers get to decide fate of citizens and overciminalize everything to make it ok

I myself am victim of the legal system.

this is what the founders of USA designed the constitution against

nothing new

they want to block the problem, but jokers like obama and other demagogues liek liz warren want to undo the restraints  and instead make more restrains on production so they can monopolize

why be a tax payer when you can be a tax spender???

[Skeletor]

Man who lost part of skull in shooting files claim against LAPD



LOS ANGELES –  An unarmed man who lost a quarter of his skull after being shot by a Los Angeles police officer notified the city and police department on Wednesday that he plans to sue, claiming the shooting was part of a broad, disturbing pattern in the police force of the nation's second-largest city.

Attorneys for Walter DeLeon, 49, filed the notice of claim in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The notice, a precursor to a lawsuit, accuses police Officer Cairo Palacios of shooting an unarmed DeLeon without warning on June 19 as he was on his regular evening walk to a popular park.

Palacios' attorney, Gary Fullerton, said the shooting was within departmental policy because Palacios was convinced that a towel wrapped around DeLeon's hand was hiding a gun and that he and his partner were in imminent danger.

"He basically forced their hand to deal with him," Fullerton said. "In the matter of a couple seconds they have to make a choice, and the choice is, 'Do I let him shoot me first and then fire?' or 'Do I shoot first and defend myself?'"

Soon after DeLeon was shot, a police spokesman said Palacios and another officer were driving in stop-and-go traffic when they saw DeLeon walk aggressively toward them on a sidewalk.

Police Cmdr. Andrew Smith, a department spokesman, said DeLeon's hands were clasped together and wrapped in a gray cloth, and that the officers believed he had a gun. Smith said DeLeon was shot after ignoring orders to drop the gun.

DeLeon's attorney, Ben Meiselas, said DeLeon had a towel wrapped around his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow on a hot summer day, and that DeLeon had been flagging down the officers for help, though he said his client can't remember why.

"The next thing he was shot, and the next thing he remembers is he was in the hospital," Meiselas said. "This is the most catastrophic of catastrophic injuries and it affects every aspect of life — physical, economic, family. It's a total destruction of self and self-worth, and the only way to rebuild is through this process we're initiating."

DeLeon lost a quarter of his skull, almost all his eyesight and the ability to walk. He still has his memory and most cognitive functions but has trouble speaking.

He spent five months in the hospital, underwent 10 surgeries and is completely dependent on his family's care.

"My whole life was turned upside-down," DeLeon told The Associated Press through tears.

His sister and primary caregiver, Yovanna DeLeon, said her brother has lost everything most people take for granted.

"We get up, we get ourselves dressed and ready to eat, we go about our day ... My brother will never be able to do that again," she said. "If this had been a normal citizen that had done this to Walter, that person would have never seen the light of day."

The DeLeons are seeking unspecified damages. They also want Palacios to face criminal charges and for the department to make changes to ensure no similar shootings ever happen again.

Palacios' attorney said he was still working at the department but is off the streets pending an internal investigation.

Through mid-November, there had been 45 officer-involved shootings in Los Angeles, double the total through the same time period last year. Nineteen of this year's shootings have been fatal, up from 18 deaths in all of 2014 and 26 in 2011.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/06/man-shot-in-head-files-claim-against-lapd/

[Skeletor]

Instead of Helping a Female Officer Who Was Raped, Dept Covered for the Cop Who Raped Her

Spokane, WA — A young woman was allegedly raped at a party hosted by Spokane resident Doug Strosahl last October. When Spokane Police Sergeant John Gately learned the identity of the alleged rapist, he behaved in harmony with what he perceived to be his highest ethical duty: He contacted the suspect, fellow Spokane Sgt. Gordon Ennis, to warn him that he was the focus of a criminal investigation, and advise him of the contents of a search warrant that was being prepared.

Sgt. Gately, the head of the Spokane Police Guild, was charged last Friday with felony first-degree obstruction and rendering criminal assistance to a suspect, reports the Spokane Spokesman-Review.

“Our major concern is once we started investigating this was that somebody apparently tipped the suspect off as far as the search warrant and the components of the search warrant,” Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich told KXLY News on November 13. “That’s unacceptable.” At the time, Gately’s conduct resulted only in a paid suspension. Criminal charges were filed following a search of the police union official’s phone.

For people not protected by Blue Privilege, felony charges usually result in an arrest, and when this occurs on a Friday the suspect will spend the weekend behind bars. However, “There was no indication in documents available late Friday [as to] when Gately is expected to be booked into the Spokane County jail,” continues the Spokesman-Review report. “His arraignment is scheduled for December 21.”

Ennis was one of several police officers who had gathered at Strosahl’s home for a party. During that get-together, Ennis allegedly assaulted a fellow officer. A woman who attended described passing out after having several drinks. Upon waking up early the following morning in a guest bedroom, she found Ennis sitting next to her, with his hand down her pants. Ennis has been charged with second-degree rape and will be arraigned on December 7.

Ennis remained on paid leave until December 4, the day that charges were filed against Gately.

On October 25, a friend of the victim – who reportedly is also a police officer — called Assistant Chief Selby Smith, who in turn contacted Gately to inform him about the allegation, as well as the identities of both the victim and the suspect. The Assistant Chief reportedly asked Gately to “care for the victim.” The police union official, who belongs to the department’s Personnel Assistance Team, acted on different priorities, placing a brief phone call to the suspect to warn him about the investigation.

“We could have helped the victim,” complains Sheriff Knezovich, pointing out that it wasn’t necessary for the SPD’s Personnel Assistance Team to get involved. “They didn’t have to do anything. It’s just not a good idea to tell anyone about a criminal investigation, especially early on in the process.”

Since this is a case in which both the alleged victim and accused perpetrators are police officers, it would be expected that the Personnel Assistance Team would focus on the needs of the former, rather than on protecting the latter. Gately heads a union notorious for “defending the troublemakers, lawbreakers, and liars among its ranks,” observes the Inlander, an independent Spokane-area journal. The guilt “has come to symbolize the department’s problems, stirring accusations of cronyism, dysfunction and entrenchment. Some critics have even likened the union to the mafia.”

Gately’s reaction to the reported rape of a female colleague would make perfect sense as an application of the blue mafia’s version of omerta – a code of silence under which a sexually exploited woman would be expected to remain silent for the sake of the tribe.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/helping-female-officer-raped-dept-covered-cop-raped/

[Agnostic007]

Instead of Helping a Female Officer Who Was Raped, Dept Covered for the Cop Who Raped Her

Spokane, WA — A young woman was allegedly raped at a party hosted by Spokane resident Doug Strosahl last October. When Spokane Police Sergeant John Gately learned the identity of the alleged rapist, he behaved in harmony with what he perceived to be his highest ethical duty: He contacted the suspect, fellow Spokane Sgt. Gordon Ennis, to warn him that he was the focus of a criminal investigation, and advise him of the contents of a search warrant that was being prepared.

Sgt. Gately, the head of the Spokane Police Guild, was charged last Friday with felony first-degree obstruction and rendering criminal assistance to a suspect, reports the Spokane Spokesman-Review.

“Our major concern is once we started investigating this was that somebody apparently tipped the suspect off as far as the search warrant and the components of the search warrant,” Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich told KXLY News on November 13. “That’s unacceptable.” At the time, Gately’s conduct resulted only in a paid suspension. Criminal charges were filed following a search of the police union official’s phone.

For people not protected by Blue Privilege, felony charges usually result in an arrest, and when this occurs on a Friday the suspect will spend the weekend behind bars. However, “There was no indication in documents available late Friday [as to] when Gately is expected to be booked into the Spokane County jail,” continues the Spokesman-Review report. “His arraignment is scheduled for December 21.”

Ennis was one of several police officers who had gathered at Strosahl’s home for a party. During that get-together, Ennis allegedly assaulted a fellow officer. A woman who attended described passing out after having several drinks. Upon waking up early the following morning in a guest bedroom, she found Ennis sitting next to her, with his hand down her pants. Ennis has been charged with second-degree rape and will be arraigned on December 7.

Ennis remained on paid leave until December 4, the day that charges were filed against Gately.

On October 25, a friend of the victim – who reportedly is also a police officer — called Assistant Chief Selby Smith, who in turn contacted Gately to inform him about the allegation, as well as the identities of both the victim and the suspect. The Assistant Chief reportedly asked Gately to “care for the victim.” The police union official, who belongs to the department’s Personnel Assistance Team, acted on different priorities, placing a brief phone call to the suspect to warn him about the investigation.

“We could have helped the victim,” complains Sheriff Knezovich, pointing out that it wasn’t necessary for the SPD’s Personnel Assistance Team to get involved. “They didn’t have to do anything. It’s just not a good idea to tell anyone about a criminal investigation, especially early on in the process.”

Since this is a case in which both the alleged victim and accused perpetrators are police officers, it would be expected that the Personnel Assistance Team would focus on the needs of the former, rather than on protecting the latter. Gately heads a union notorious for “defending the troublemakers, lawbreakers, and liars among its ranks,” observes the Inlander, an independent Spokane-area journal. The guilt “has come to symbolize the department’s problems, stirring accusations of cronyism, dysfunction and entrenchment. Some critics have even likened the union to the mafia.”

Gately’s reaction to the reported rape of a female colleague would make perfect sense as an application of the blue mafia’s version of omerta – a code of silence under which a sexually exploited woman would be expected to remain silent for the sake of the tribe.

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/helping-female-officer-raped-dept-covered-cop-raped/

Read the entire article and couldn't find where the Department covered for the cop who raped her....