Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 11-17-08

Is the King County NAACP Still Relevant?
Here in Seattle, the Seattle Post Intelligencer questioned the relevancy of the King County chapter of the NAACP in Seattle the other day... They seem to have come to the same conclusion I did, that they could be if they would just learn to communicate with the community better and actually work more with other groups to address common problems.

Heck, I tried to support their efforts when I posted what few details I knew about some public meetings they supposedly had about police misconduct and racial profiling issues, but I never could get a hold of the NAACP to find out where they were holding meetings. Only one was actually announced in the press, the day before the actual meeting, and supposedly there were going to be a dozen or so, all of which were never publicized.

Mind you, I still support their efforts as they at least seem to try and do something constructive about police misconduct here in Seattle, unlike the ACLU of Washington State who's headquarters are also here in the city.

Officer Arrested For Giving Kids Fake IDs
Not too far away from here, a Sandy Oregon police officer arrested for keeping suspended licenses he confiscated from drivers and then giving them to under-aged friends so that they could get into bars. The officer was involved in a well-publicized shooting of an unarmed man in 2005 that an internal investigation cleared him of.

Black Police Officer Subjected To Racial Profiling... In His Own Yard
Over at Five Before Midnight, FBM has been following the case of a black LAPD sergeant who was forced, at gunpoint, to lay on the ground in his own front yard by a Riverside California police officer, apparently based on the officer's opinion that he didn't belong in the upscale neighborhood that he lived in. FBM reports today that the officer has filed a complaint against the city of Riverside as a possible precursor to a lawsuit. I certainly wish him the best of luck.

Police Accused Of Attacking Obama Supporters Celebrating Election Victory
Reminiscent of the story about Chicago cops allegedly driving around and pepper spraying Obama supporters in their cars, it appears as though Arkansas State University students celebrating Obama's election were attacked by police, leaving one student hospitalized.

I have to say though, compared to elsewhere, the Seattle Police really showed a lot of professionalism during the celebrations over Obama's win here in Seattle when thousands took to the streets and not a single arrest or instance of harassment was reported. Thanks, SPD, I knew you guys had it in you to be real professionals when you really put your minds to it.

Female Prison Worker Accused Of Raping Inmates
A Carthage NY woman has been charged with 16 counts each of 3rd degree rape, 3rd degree criminal sexual acts, and official misconduct for allegedly having sex with inmates while working at the Gouverneur Correctional Facility.

Newspaper Speaks Out About Chief Accused Of Police Misconduct Getting A Pension
Op-ed piece about ex-Weymouth police chief who is accused of drinking on duty, driving a cruiser drunk, issuing traffic tickets while under the influence, sexually harassing several female officers and civilians, as well as damaging a cruiser in an accident and then attempting to cover-up the incident.

Officer Accused Of Raping A Woman He Pulled Over Late At Night
A Delcambre Louisiana officer has been arrested on charges that he sexually assaulted a female driver he pulled over late at night in February and it appears that this officer had a history as well. More details on this one are over at What Happened To Protect And Serve.

DARE Officer Found Guilty of Rape and Kidnapping
An ex-DARE officer with the Nogales Arizona Police Department has been found guilty of kidnapping, sexual assault, sexual abuse, obstruction of a criminal investigation and second-degree burglary after a long and contentious trial over charges that he violently raped at least two women in 2005.

Of the case, the Assistant Attorney General Kim Ortiz said: "At no time between the rape allegation and his consequent arrest eight months later, did Borbon tell investigators he returned to the girl’s apartment to have consensual sex. He waited until the DNA results came back, and then he changed his story.”

More Sexual Escapades In Gainsville Florida
Two Gainsville Florida police officers are facing criminal charges after one was accused of paying for sex while on duty and another was accused of forcing a woman to have sex by threatening to arrest her if she didn't.

These arrests follow another case of yet another officer who resigned after being taped by a woman who claimed the officer threatened her into having sex with him. However, no criminal charges were filed in that case.

Shouldn't Dish It Out If You Can't Take It...
The FBI has pressed charges against and is suing the maker of the "flash bang" concussion grenages used by the FBI and local law enforcement agencies saying that the company knowingly sold them defective grenades, citing the story of an FBI agent who's grenade exploded inside of his car while it was attached to his vest. The agent an the three other agents who were in the car at the time complain of headaches and other ongoing medical concerns...

It's odd to hear these tough-guy agents complain of the injuries a concussion grenade can cause while law enforcement agencies still lob these things into the middle of thick crowds of protesters, like at the RNC in St. Louis, and say there is nothing wrong with the practice. Too bad all those injured by concussion grenades can have the officers that lobbed them arrested like the FBI had the people who made them arrested when one went off on them.