This just in via an e-mail from a reader... Press release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. Posting it here since the new site is still in transition and I have something to link to for the news feed...
LAPD Officer pleads to assault while off-duty
LOS ANGELES – A 39-year-old LAPD officer pleaded guilty today to assault with a semiautomatic firearm stemming from a 2008 off-duty encounter with restaurant patrons at the Redondo Beach pier, the District Attorney’s office announced.
David Woon Chong was ordered to undergo a 90-day evaluation by the Department of Corrections by Judge Stephen Marcus. Deputy District Attorney Amy Pellman Pentz with the Justice System Integrity Division said Chong faces up to six years in state prison when he returns on Aug. 14 for sentencing.
On March 15, 2008, Chong pulled out a knife and threatened a restaurant patron after getting into a verbal altercation with two men. A witness interceded and the off-duty officer then walked away. But he returned a short time later, kicked some food out of the victim’s hand and pulled a .45-caliber Glock semiautomatic handgun and pointed at the man’s head. The same witness again interceded and walked Chong out of the restaurant.
Redondo Beach Police, responding to a disturbance call, stopped Chong in his car and arrested him. He allegedly had a .11 blood alcohol level at the time of his arrest.
In exchange for his guilty plea and admitting the gun allegation, two felony counts of making criminal threats and three misdemeanors will be dismissed.
Showing posts with label National News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label National News. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2009
Via Email Tip - LAPD Officer Pleads Guilty to Off-Duty Assault
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Police Misconduct NewsFeed Update - First Week of May
Those cases of police misconduct allegations involved 531 officers and 49 police chiefs. Of those, 156 were convicted, sentenced, fired, disciplined, or successfully sued as a result.
So far in the first 8 days of this month there have been 143 reported cases of police misconduct that involve 146 officers and 9 police chiefs or sheriffs and cost the lives of at least 16 people. If the trend holds, there would be 554 reported cases of police misconduct this month.
As was the last time I contemplated posting some of the worst stories recorded so far, I would be left with too many to fit in a reasonably sized post... so instead I'll show you some of the weirdest ones recorded so far this month:
Just Being Neighborly?
An Arlington Texas police officer is being investigated for allegations that he posted a fake Craigslist ad that offered up his neighbor's tether-ball set for free, telling readers of the site to just stop by and pick it up... all without the neighbor's knowledge or consent.
The problem now, even though they're pretty sure he did it, is that prosecutors have no idea what to charge him with, if anything at all.
Just What Is It With Cops And Sodomy?
Two Baltimore MD drug task force cops are accused of kidnapping an inner-city teenager, repeatedly threatening to sodomize him with a billy club over a 3 hour period in the back of a van in an attempt to get information about one of his alleged friends, and then dropping him off in the middle of a wooded area in the countryside in the rain after forcing him to take off his socks and shoes.
The boy made it to a gas station and called 911. Thankfully county deputies responded instead of Baltimore cops and he was driven home after he gave a statement. The department, in some weird attempt at defending the undercover officers' actions, claims that the task force has been ramping up anti-drug activities in that area.
...After a Story Like That, Maybe This Cop Has A Point.
A different Baltimore MD cop who is facing trial for shooting an unarmed suspect in the back and killing him when he ran away after being searched twice is now trying to get the trial moved out of the city, but not for the usual reason...
This particular case hasn't had any extraordinary coverage, especially with all the other reported cases of police misconduct there... So, instead of claiming that the jury pool is tainted because of press coverage of this case, his lawyers are claiming that Baltimore cops have such a bad reputation that there would be no way for their client to get a fair trial within the city.
Last month Baltimore ranked 6th in the top 10 worst cities for police misconduct with 6 reported cases, so far this month that city has been in the news 4 times for allegations of misconduct.
What Would He Do For A Klondike Bar?
A Chicago IL police officer is accused of stiffing a cab driver of an $8.00 fare. According to a complaint filed by the driver, when the officer got out of the cab without paying the driver asked for his money. In response the cop turned around, told the driver that he didn't owe him anything, then pointed his gun at the driver and challenged him to get out and see what would happen next.
What happened next was that the cabbie decided the fare wasn't worth it and watched quietly as the officer walked away and then passed out face-down in the middle of the street. The cabbie says that when he went to file a complaint, the officers at the station treated him like he was the criminal.
Now, to be fair, I should say that at least this cop didn't drive drunk and kill two people like another Chicago cop did recently. But I'd really hate to see what he would do when he doesn't get his free donut and coffee in the morning.
Drugs Are Bad, Mmkay?
A Twin Falls ID police officer and DARE instructor who visited local schools to tell children about the dangers of drugs is now facing five felony counts of obtaining fraudulent prescriptions of hydrocodone and oxycodone from a nurse while he was still an officer.
Do as I say, kiddies, not as I do.
One of Maricopa County AZ Sheriff Joe Arpaio's own officers was rounded up in a prostitution sting and arrested on several felony and misdemeanor charges...
No word yet on whether he's going to deport her or put her in the tent city and force her to march down the street in pink panties...
Friday, May 1, 2009
National Police Misconduct Reporting Project - April 2009 Statistics
PLEASE NOTE: The National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project and all associated police misconduct statistical reports have been moved to http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com
Monday, April 20, 2009
To Speak Ill Of The Dead Says Something Of The Living
As I progress through the police misconduct tracking project and review each day’s stories of police misconduct, one of the many things I think about as I enter each dismal story of police misconduct that occurs across the US into Twitter and into my tracking database is; “which one of these stories might grow legs and go national this time?”
It’s a difficult thing to figure out, after all, since each story is deserving of equally broad attention to me. Whether it’s a story about several officers being arrested on allegations of raping prostitutes, some of them children, in Memphis or a story about thousands of cases falling into question or being dropped because of multiple allegations against officers of lying on warrant applications for drug raids in St. Louis... all of these stories need to be heard and all of their victims are equally deserving of a loud voice.
When a story of police misconduct does hit the national mainstream media though, I try to figure out what it is about that story that sparked broad interest out of the multitudes of stories put out each day across the US. I do this because it helps me figure out just what the public is willing to hear and what they believe about the issue of police misconduct.
The latest story going national appears to be the story about an Erie Pennsylvania police officer who decided it would be great for laughs at a local bar to denigrate the dead, speak ill of those who mourned that homicide victim, and jest about tasering and clubbing suspects… and who didn’t think it was a problem until the video of his performance ended up on YouTube.
So concerned was he, that he and a fellow officer, the officer put in charge of the investigation into his performance on that video, went down to the workplace of the videographer’s relative to threaten him into a state of crying hysterics, saying if he didn’t do everything he could to make that video go away that there would be consequences for his relative.
Incidentally, it’s also interesting to me why the video itself is still getting all the national interest while the backstory of the subsequent efforts by the police to investigate and punish the person who took the video instead of investigating and disciplining the officer shown on the video.
Most curious to me, though, was why a story about an officer's words, his state of mind, would capture attention more than an officer's actual harmful acts of misconduct? After giving the matter some thought, I think I’ve happened upon an answer.
The video shows what we’ve only guessed at so far in the way it gave us a startling glimpse at how some police officers really think. It affirmed our inner-most fears about the police in this nation, that many really do consider everyone who isn’t a fellow law enforcement brother as an enemy, whether that person is a victim, an innocent bystander, or a suspect… It gave us notice that, to many of them, we are all the same to them and worthy of the same amount of respect, which is very little going by how he talked about the shooting victim and his grieving mother.
It made people pause, I think, to consider that… if this is the way this officer held a shooting victim and his mother in his regard, how might this affect how he treated others throughout his career? After all, if he considers the loss of a life and the grief of a mother in such disregard, how then does he treat the living?
More than this, I think, it makes people wonder how many officers like this might be working for their local police department and how many times their own city’s police officers might have spoken ill about their family or friends who have died or have been victimized in some way... or how they will treat them when they are suffering or how they will be described as they slowly die and officers stand around to watch.
I think that, perhaps, this video gives us the most startling, and frank, insight into the “Us vs Them” mentality many police officers have towards the general public to date… and I suppose that I shouldn’t be shocked that this glimpse was so disturbing as to merit national attention, especially since so many are still so ignorant of that mentality and the capacity for abuse that it nurtures.
Beyond this, though, are his actions after his public commentary in a public place went more public than he anticipated. His attempt to bully and threaten the family of the man who took the video was merely an effort to save his own job, in his own words in fact… which goes to show that not only does he hold others in such low regard as to mock their suffering, but that he holds others in such low regard that his job is more important than their rights and freedom.
So, why did the video make more headlines than the police response to that video? Maybe it's because both of the stories together would be too large a glimpse into an officer’s disturbing psyche when it seems that even this small picture into the mind of a problematic cop in a short video clip may already be too much for the public to stomach.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 04-01-09
Attorney Paul Richmond's Take on "Drug Czar" Kerlikowske
Attorney Paul Richmond is a civil rights attorney working in the Olympic Peninsula area who, among other things, has done a lot of work in the area of protester rights cases as well as teaching courses on how to film the police during protests. So, his perspective on how Kerlikowske has treated the issue of free speech and how he has dealt with criticism comes from experience, and he tells what he knows in an in-depth review of soon-to-be drug czar Kerlikowske's apparent contempt of free speech rights. (a link to Paul Richmond's blog is here since some are having trouble navigating to the linked entry)
While I did a story covering Kerlikowske's disinterest in detainee rights and issues of police abuses, Richmond's review of his frightening record towards first amendment rights is quite possibly much more frightening given the drug czar's supposed role in governance. It's a very interesting read and I highly suggest you go check it out.
The Problem and Solution of The Blue Wall of Silence
The always interesting Karl Mansoor brings his perspective as an ex-police officer and current law enforcement instructor to bear on the issue of the police code of silence in a post that references a comment made in one of my articles on the spate of police chiefs who have been facing allegations of misconduct and corruption.
The comment, specifically, deals with an officer who came forward to report the misconduct of one of the chiefs I mention and suffered for it, which the commentor says is the reason officers don't have any incentive to report abuses. While I do think that's an important point in that it addresses how distorted the civil service laws have become when they allow departments to punish cops who cross the blue wall of silence but makes it impossible for them to fire cops for acts of misconduct and brutality. But Karl has his own take on the issue, and it's pretty good reading.
There's a Crime Wave in Davie Florida!
Carlos Miller over at Photography Is Not A Crime talks about a crime wave in Davie Florida... but it appears to be the police who are committing the crimes, not the criminals. Several officers there have apparently run astray of the law with some accused of rape and one accused of threatening to murder his pregnant wife.
Carlos mentions these stories in response to another local area blogger who asks people to consider how stressful police work is when they read about these criminal offenses committed by police officers... one wonders if that blogger feels the same way about criminal offenses committed by normal citizens feeling stressed out too?
(by the way, police unions in Florida are trying to push through a new law that will make it more difficult for cities to discipline officers there. They say internal affairs is too overzealous when investigating complaints... seems to be the opposite in Davie Florida at least.)
Ft. Wayne Officials Afraid To Release Police Shooting Video
This was a recent story out of Fort Wayne Indiana where an officer has been accused of needlessly shooting a man 18 times. While internal investigations cleared the officer of any wrongdoing, like they always do, and he still has his badge and gun, but officials are refusing requests for the video out of fears that it would go national and disturb a lot of people...
From the article which quotes a lawyer who has seen the video:
As the officer tries to open Lemus-Rodriguez’s door, the car begins to go in reverse, Lee said. Arnold, in front of the car just off the passenger side, immediately fires three shots into the windshield. The officer who tried to open the door recoils with his hands in the air, as if startled by the shots, Lee said.
“It was shocking that even one shot was seen as necessary or warranted under the circumstances,” Lee said.
There’s a pause in the shooting. Arnold then fires more rounds into the windshield, Lee said. Arnold walks methodically toward the car as he fires, Lee said. At some point, the car makes a sharp turn.
There are no officers in the car’s path visible on the videos, Lee said.
“The other thing is there were two police officers behind the car that were in far greater danger of the crossfire from the shots, the 15 total shots by the police officer doing the shooting, than they were by the possibility of being hit by a car in reverse,” Lee said.
So... if the officer was cleared of wrongdoing, I wonder why city officials are so afraid of the national attention releasing the video would cause?
New York State Seeks To Force Cities To Cede Disciplinary Rights
Legislators in New York state are seeking to create a law that would force municipalities to negotiate issues of disciplinary action with their local police unions, effectively giving police officers a say in how, and if, they can be disciplined for acts of misconduct.
They should look to the city of Seattle to see the implications of such a law since Seattle has been forced to do this for years and had to recently bribe the guild with unheard of pay raises to implement a portion of recommended disciplinary reforms... the portions that ended up not being enforceable without the other recommended reforms.
Now, of course, officers who blow the whistle on misconduct need protections from retribution and officers need a barrier to protect them from politically motivated disciplinary actions... but those protections don't work and only protect problematic officers from being fired or disciplined. The solution to fix that isn't by giving the police unions, the groups that defend problematic officers, a say in how they can or can't be disciplined.
That's how they do it now in Seattle, and we all know how horribly it's turned out since officers here have five different levels of appeals that they can try after they've had a sustained misconduct finding, thanks to the union's ability to force the city to cave by threatening to protest in front of city hall each time it's come to negotiating a new contract.
Reader Submitted: Charges Dropped Against Man Who Shot At Cop
This one was sent to me by a reader who thought it was extraordinary that a citizen who shot at a police officer in self defense will not be charged. It is pretty damn rare, I agreed... however, I don't agree with describing the man as "getting off scott free" as they do in most of the news articles...
After all, the man lost his leg in the shooting, spent 13 months in jail waiting for trial, drained his savings hiring investigators, and will now be stuck with legal and medical bills even though he was cleared of any wrongdoing... hardly what I would call "scott free", but at least he has his freedom, huh? By the way, the officer who didn't announce himself got a medal of valor out of the exchange.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Why Do Police Victimize The Victim?
but I still want people to consider what would happen if it wasn't a football star who was stopped... if there wasn't a video... and if the police department didn't care to investigate it... Such a thing happened here in Seattle recently.
I received a letter a few days ago about an incident this year here in Seattle that involved two women, one of them who was viciously beaten and almost raped, only to be further victimized by a Seattle Police Officer.
One of the women, let’s call her M, wrote about how she was assaulted by a man who demanded money. When she said she didn’t have any he backhanded her and began beating her and ripping off her clothes.
It was then that her friend, let’s call her J, jumped out of their nearby car to help when she was also attacked, but after hitting her friend the attacker ran off, perhaps thinking two women were more than he wanted to deal with..
But, the damage was done, M realized that she could no longer see out of her right eye. J looked at M’s eye and realized it was bleeding and damaged, so they got into their car and rushed to the nearest hospital.
As J was driving, M kept blacking out so J, rightly concerned, went against a one-way only turn sign after pausing to make sure nobody was coming, and was immediately stopped by a Seattle Police officer.
J explained to the officer that she was driving her friend to the ER and asked for an escort. But the officer replied. “I can’t do that”. And began to demand J’s license and registration. J became upset: “Look at her, her face, her eye! We need serious medical attention!” she exclaimed, explaining that her friend was just beaten up and almost raped.
When the officer refused to look, M leaned over and looked at the officer, forcing him to see her developing black eyes and damaged right eye… The officer replied with a chuckle and smiled when he turned away to go back to his motorcycle to write the ticket.
When he returned he wrote two tickets, one for the traffic infraction and the other for failure to provide proof of insurance (which was later dropped when J showed the same form to the court that she provided the officer).
J, still in shock from the disbelief she felt at the officer’s reaction to her friend’s injuries, asked the officer “How would you feel if it was your mother, sister, or daughter who was just physically and almost sexually assaulted and a police officer thought it was humorous?”
The officer got irate and shoved his hand in her face, exclaiming “I don’t want to hear it! Move!” and then he shoved her back forcefully, got on his bike and, in her own words:
He laughed, and flippantly said, “Good Luck,” driving off on his motorcycle as if he had done nothing wrong. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I and my friend had already been victimized and this SPD officer had just left both of us feeling degraded, small, used, harassed, assaulted and highly humiliated by someone whose duty it is “to serve and protect.”----------
It takes a certain kind of sadism for officers to have such disregard for the suffering of others, let alone to intentionally act in ways that would make that suffering worse… especially for the victims of crimes whom they are duty-bound to help and protect instead of harm and prosecute.
When they think of their role as officers as a divide between us and them and begin to think of the “them” as less than human, this is ultimately the result…
While it’s good that the Moats case has been aired in the press… J and M’s case will never be heard or read… just another couple of innocent people who have learned that there are officers out there who have become so jaded and rooted in the culture of police isolationism that they treat victim and suspect with equal disregard…
Regretfully, to those officers, we’re all animals... victim and suspect alike.
Some information and details have been removed and altered to protect the victims in this case from retaliation by the police for telling their stories.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 03-15-09
Will Obama's Bailout Plan Encourage More Police Corruption?
While much has been said elsewhere about how Obama's plan is giving $36 million to police departments across the US and how this influx of money could have done a lot more good if it had been tied to mandatory police accountability reforms... which it doesn't. It seems that there was yet another twist that none of us foresaw until the plan went into motion.
For example, last year the King County Sheriff's Department had to choose between cutting more staff or completely cutting the funds for their police accountability reforms and civilian oversight program. Guess what got gutted? That's right, last year all police accountability reforms died in King County for the foreseeable future.
Now that the King County Sheriff's Department stands to gain $4.8 million from the stimulus plan you would think they could implement the needed reforms, especially in the face of worldwide condemnation over the videotaped beating of Malika Calhoun and other recent cases...
You would be wrong... the federal stimulus funds may only be used to fund more hires, more drug and gang task forces, and other SPECIFIED enforcement activities. They cannot be used for police accountability programs.
So while King County can hire a bunch of new cops and give existing cops promotions to violent proactive task force groups like the Anti-Crime Task Force... It can't do anything with that money to keep those officers accountable or they would lose those funds.
So, ultimately, not only does Obama's stimulus plan ignore police brutality and racial profiling, it actually encourages more of it since departments can't use it to fund accountability reforms and civilian oversight programs that were the first to be cut when funding dried up like it was in King County.
So, in addition to forcing police departments all over the US to keep any accountability reforms that they were forced to cut off the table while hiring more recruits, Obama's plan will only bring us...
Many more stories of a failed justice system like this...
In February 2007 Spokane Police officer Jay Olsen, who had been drinking at a bar, shot Sacred Heart Medical Center nurse Shonto Pete in the back of the head.
While Olsen claimed that Pete had stolen his truck and that he feared for his life when he shot Pete, the evidence said otherwise and in a battle of conflicting testimonies Pete, who lived despite having a hollow point bullet lodged in his skull, was cleared of theft charges as prosecutors could not prove he was ever in Olsen's truck...
But on Friday a jury also found Jay Olsen not guilty of first degree assault and reckless endangerment charges despite the evidence contradicting nearly every part of Olsen's testimony and backing up every part of Pete's testimony, and speculation that police investigators coached Olsen when they interviewed him about the shooting incident.
Olsen is still suspended pending the completion of the internal investigation into the shooting, but given the acquittal, it's likely he'll be back on the job soon.
Like I said, yet more stories of a failed justice system like this...
A jury in the criminal trial against a Denver police officer accused of stomping on a teenager's back so hard that he suffered from a ruptured liver, kidney damage, and broken ribs found that, even though there was clearly evidence of police brutality, that they could imagine a scenario where the officer in question might not have been the one who did it... even though two other officers testified that he did. Sound familiar? Seems lawyers specializing in defense of police in criminal trials have hit upon an ultimate defense strategy and it's catching.
More police chiefs covering for sexual predators like this...
Ex-Creston Police Chief Jamie Christensen one of the officers he was in charge of, John Sickels, have been found guilty of sexual abuse in the second degree in a case where the chief walked in on Sickles while he was having sex with a bartender in a local bar but when the bartender reported it as sexual abuse the chief refused to investigate it and said that what he saw that night wasn't sex in order to cover for his officer.
The cross-examination of the chief is telling when he starts to vacillate between admitting that what he saw was a sexual act and then switching back to saying he didn't report or investigate it because he didn't think it was an act of sex that he walked in on that night.
More innocent families attacked and their dogs killed like this...
Imagine finding out that you accidentally locked yourself out of your own home. So, you and your son climb through a window to get in, no problem. Later there's a knock on the door, you open it and are met by police who start shouting at you and beating you and your son in your own home and then they shoot your dog too.
That's what two Washington DC men are charging DC police officers did to them and their pet dog in this disturbing case of being assaulted by the police for doing nothing wrong. This case takes an incriminating twist though. While officers did report that they shot the family dog, they never documented their use of force that night even though the two clearly have numerous bruises and cuts from the beating they allegedly received that night.
More steroid junkies like this
Seems that Brooklyn NY police officer Vaughan Ettienne, who also doubles as a body builder and was also briefly suspended for steroid use, likes to spend his time offering his "sage opinions" on police brutality videos online.
Such insider opinions that included nuggets of wisdom like "If he wanted to tune him up some, he should have delayed cuffing him." came back to haunt him in court when those remarks and others cost prosecutors a case against man who claims that he was framed by Ettienne as a cover for the officer when Ettienne beat him so badly that he broke three ribs. Ettienne faces no disciplinary action for sharing his opinions on how to better commit police brutality with the world on MySpace or costing prosecutors their case.
More corrupt sheriffs like this...
Seems that 74-year-old Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul only spent 16 days at the office this year... and only 74 days last year... and only 46 days the year before... but still rakes in his $110,000 a year salary despite not having a computer at home to telecommute with.
The sheriff's work pattern came to light recently as he was being investigated for hiring and promoting friends and relatives and for instructing a witness on how to avoid a subpoena so she wouldn't testify against him in a sexual-harassment case.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 03-05-09
Trial Against Another King County Deputy Begins Monday
Just days after the world was outraged by video taken of a King County deputy assaulting a 15-year-old girl, another King County Sheriff's Deputy, Don Griffee, is due to face charges in court on Monday for allegedly punching a handcuffed suspect in the back of his cruiser while questioning him over charges that ended up being falsely reported by a woman who felt spurned by him.
The man, Johnny Bradford, was detained on allegations of domestic assault until deputies discovered that the woman who called them had made everything up and ended up charging her for filing a false report. However, deputies had slammed Bradford to the ground when they detained him and deputy Griffee allegedly held him down with his foot on Bradford's neck. Then Griffee took Bradford to his cruiser and, when Bradford denied the allegations against him, Griffee allegedly turned and punched him in the face while he was cuffed.
Officers noticed Bradford bleeding from the mouth after he was taken out of the cruiser but Griffee denied hitting him. Bradford was taken to the hospital to get treatment for a severe cut on his face. Bradford has filed suit against the county so the state's attorney general's office is handling the case against the officer, who is currently on paid leave just as officer Schene is while facing charges for attacking a 15-year-old girl in a Sea-Tac holding cell.
Brutal Police Beating Caught On Tape In New Orleans
Carlos Miller at Photography is Not a Crime posts about a couple who took some disturbing video of New Orleans police officers brutally beating a suspect. While it was too dark out for the video to pick up much discernible visible evidence of the beating, you can hear the person being beaten beg and plead for officers to "Please! Stop! Please stop hitting me! Oh please! Don't hit me no more!"
Officers claim that he brandished a weapon at him and his family admits he's been in trouble with the law before, but they also say he didn't have or carry a gun. Officers were heard laughing and joking about the beating and mocking the man's pleas, then asking the man if he wanted another five minutes of being beaten.
Chicago Woman Wins $261,000 Police Brutality Lawsuit
Robin Petrovic won a $260,000 civil rights judgment against the Chicago police department over a 2005 incident where she had called police to report being attacked and ended up being attacked by the police as well after she refused to sign a blank police report that officers could have filled in with whatever they wanted to later.
One of the officers accused of beating her, James Chevas, had racked up over 50 complaints, including several for brutality, during his career with the CPD. Petrovic claims an officer hit her on the back of the head when she refused to sign and that officer Chevas then repeatedly cussed at her as he kicked her in the head and groin while she was handcuffed. She was then charged with assaulting an officer, which was later dropped.
Speaking of Chicago Cops With Histories Of Abuse
Chicago Police Chief Jody Weis has been found to be in contempt of court and has been given until 8:45am Monday to release the names of Chicago Police officers who have had at least 5 complaints filed in the last 9 years.
Weis refused the judges order to turn over such records in a stunt to gain the support of Chicago's police unions but now might find himself in jail for flaunting the law instead of enforcing it. The list was requested by lawyers for Donna Moore who is suing the department over claims that a Chicago officer, Robert Smith, assaulted and arrested her 11-year-old and 13-year-old sons when they had a dispute with Smiths son at a playground.
In that list are some officers who have racked up an incredulous 60 complaints or more and Moore's attorneys intend to give this as an example of how Chicago's police department protects officers with histories of abuse and, thus, encourages more bad behavior like that exhibited by officer Smith. It's doubtful that Weis faces jail if he continues to refuse the judge's order, though the city may face fines for refusing to release the lists.
Ft. Lauderdale Police Declare It's Legal For Them To Assault Citizens For No Reason
Charges of assaulting an officer against Joshua Ortiz in Ft. Lauderdale Florida have been dropped after a video showing what really happened came to light.
The video, (link here) shows Ortiz standing in an elevator when one officer comes up to him and then slugs him, then other officers flood into the elevator and start punching him several times while bystanders are terrorized by other officers.
Ortiz was left with two black eyes, a broken nose, and several other bruises... Officers were, of course, unscathed and an internal investigation that also reviewed the tape found officers had acted within departmental policy by beating up people who didn't pose any threat.
Two Prince Georges MD Officers Suspended After Brutality Video Clears Latino Man
Rafael Rodreiquez was accused of balling up his fist and punching an officer in the stomach during a traffic stop for illegal running lights in Prince Georges County, MD on October of 2008.
But, after tape of the incident was obtained by an investigator for Rodreiquez's defense, the charges were dropped and now two Prince Georges county officers might be facing charges instead for pepper spraying, repeatedly clubbing, and slamming Rodreiquez against his car during the stop... all without any apparent justification other than that Rodreiquez wanted to talk about the citation since he claimed another officer told him the lights he had were legal.
Groups Hold "Free Carl Eller" Rally in Minneapolis
The Minneapolis-based Communities United Against Police Brutality held a rally in support for ex-NFL player Carl Eller who was convicted of misdemeanor charges of DUI and assaulting an officer over an April 2008 arrest in which he claims officers lied and that he was the victim of excessive force.
His defense attorneys are currently fighting to get the case reheard after they received evidence from the city after the trial which they had requested before the trial. That evidence, they say, proves that officers lied about what happened the night they arrested Eller in his own driveway. That evidence is the GPS record of the officers' location and the route they took that night to arrest Eller, which apparently contradicts their testimony in an number of places.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 03-04-09
Picture taken outside of the US Federal Courthouse in Seattle Washington
LOCAL NEWS:
US Department Of Justice Looking Into Video-Taped Beating of 15-Year-Old Girl In King County
Karl Mansoor at Blue Must Be True reports that justice officials are looking into the videotaped beating of 15-year-old Malika Calhoun by King County Sheriff's Deputy Paul Schene. A spokesperson from the local division of the DOJ told reporters that they first saw the story when the rest of us did on Friday and, that after talking about it over the weekend, they decided to maybe look into the matter... even though they were apparently made aware of the case back in December when charges against Schene were being considered by King County prosecutors...
Given their strange response in this case, their handling of the case against King County Sheriff Deputy Brian Bonnar (which the DOJ lost), and their tepid response to constitutional rights violations in the King County Jail... I'm not inspired with much confidence by this announcement.
Officials Refuse To Investigate Threats Made Against Local Blogger
Tacoma Washington officials have refused to look into complaints that a West Palm Beach Florida police officer sent threats to a Tacoma-area blogger who covers cases and advocates for victims of Officer-Involved Domestic Violence.
So far, FBI, DOJ, West Palm Beach Florida, and Tacoma Washington officials have all refused to investigate the allegations that several different sites reported on late last year, this site included.
Local Crime Victim Starts Blog About Crime Victims Program Issues
An area man has started a blog about his difficulties getting help from the State of Washington's Crime Victim Program which is supposed to help victims of crime who have lost their jobs and need medical care due to crimes they have suffered.
The man, Ric Castellanos, attempted to stop a fleeing shoplifter at a local Fred Meyers after the shoplifter tackled a worker he knew, only to be run over by the shoplifter's get-away vehicle, a large SUV.
He suffered several injuries from the incident, including PTSD and other permanent injuries that require medication and therapy... all of which he cannot afford since the injuries also make it so he can't keep a job.
For trying to do the right thing, he's been rewarded with having to sleep in a shed and suffer his injuries without any assistance from the state program that was supposedly designed to help people just like him.
PEW Research on US Corrections System Released (PDF Download)
PEW's research indicates that 1 in 31 adults in the US are under some sort of correctional control, whether it's probation, parole, jail, or prison. Further tipping the scales, 1 out of every 18 men and 1 in 11 blacks are reportedly in the system. Last year's report cited that a bit more that 1 in 100 Americans were confined in the corrections system.
Washington State does a bit worse that average, ranking 17th in the US with 1 in 30 of it's citizens in the system. Washington state spent $917,000,000 last year on it's prison system, or about 6.3% of it's general fund.
The report suggests that corrections budgets should be the easiest to slash by turning more towards alternatives to jail and prison and doing more preventative and anti-recidivism efforts instead of building more prisons and jails... which is the goal of an effort underway in Seattle with the I-100 initiative.
STORY UPDATE:
Here are two more stories that make us wonder what should we really tell our children about trusting police officers?
Oregon Officer Pleads Guilty To Sexually Abusing Young Child
A Turner Reserve Police officer in Oregon has plead guilty to sexually abusing a girl, now 13, over a period of five years. Brian Livingston plead guilty to charges of unlawful sex with a minor, sexual abuse, and official misconduct in a Marion County Circuit Court and now awaits sentencing.
The reserve officer worked in a department of 3 FT officers and 6 reserve officers and only resigned recently after being on leave since August of 2008 when the allegations were first reported.
Florida Officer Arrested On Charges Of Sexually Abusing Minors
Arcadia Florida police officer Kenneth Bennett was arrested on eight counts of unlawful sexual acts with minors, two counts of official misconduct, and three counts of contributing to delinquency of minors.
The charges stem from an investigation by Florida's Department of Law Enforcement in November of 2008 that revealed the officer had sex with minors, provided them with alcohol and drugs, and altered police department documents.
The officer resigned in the middle of an internal investigation over the allegations and is currently in jail.
NATIONAL NEWS:
Hartwell Georgia Man Speaks About The Police Beating That Cost Him An Eye
Hartwell GA man who lost an eye during a brutal police assault claims the whole thing started when an officer asked for his ID, the officers claim that he was beaten because he verbally threatened the officers.
So, at worst, this man was beaten so badly that he lost his eye just because of something he said, not anything he did. Sound reasonable to you?
New Orleans Attorney's Lawsuit Over Mistreatment During Katrina Dismissed
New Orleans attorney Ashton O'Dwyer was an eccentric lawyer by all accounts. He had a penchant for angering government officials, especially Supreme Court Justice Kitty Kimball who, during the aftermath of Katrina, declared that "Somebody has to shut that guy up; he's giving us all a bad name."
Sure enough, for his boisterous ways that included declaring his home an independent nation and calling his opponents in court "scumbags" and "corrupt" he was taken from his car, in his driveway, to a temporary holding area called "Camp Greyhound" and locked in a metal cage where officers repeatedly fired beanbag rounds at him and peppersprayed him for 16 hours... and then released him without charges.
The injuries he documented appeared to back up his case when he filed a civil rights case against the state and the officials he says were complicit in having those officer abduct him and torture him that night, but a judge disagreed and dismissed his case.
This Is How It Usually Goes...
Broward County Sheriff's Deputy Lazaro Mesa was accused of stomping on a bar patron's head repeatedly while bouncers held him down until the man lost conciousness. Photographs of his injuries taken at the hospital even showed a footprint shapped abrasion on his face... but officer Mesa never filed a use of force report, which meant he claimed he never used force to arrest Anthony Monaco that night.
The Sheriff's department, located in southern Florida, fired Mesa after conducting an investigation that concluded that he falsified reports to cover up his use of excessive force that night...
But an arbitrator has overruled that disciplinary action at the behest of the Broward County Police Benevolent Association and has ordered the department to reinstate him and give him restitution for back pay, benefits, and seniority by saying that the department failed to show just cause in firing him.
Surprised? Well, this is how it usually goes even when police departments do try to fire problematic officers... just like I've told you here.
An Anatomy of How Police Frame Suspects?
Kenneth Hudson was convicted of stabbing Shanna Van Dyn Hoven to death in Outagamie County Wisconsin, but now a new trial may be in the works because of disturbing evidence that police and prosecutors may have conspired to frame Hudson.
Allegations made in Hudson's motion for a new trial include:
- That blood found on Hudson's leg, torso, and hands were found to be animal blood when tested at the state's crime lab, not human blood.
- That prosecutors claimed Hudson had the victim's blood on his hands but no blood was found on the driver's side of his car.
- That two vials of the victim's blood were taken during an autopsy, but only one was turned over to the crime lab and that, on the same day as the autopsy, the knife was taken out of evidence by a police officer.
- That officers claim Hudson tossed the "blood soaked knife" on the floor of his truck, but no blood was found where officers claim the knife was tossed or found on the truck cab floor and that officers made no mention of a knife in the truck in their initial reports.
- That officers said Hudson didn't assert his right to a lawyer even though audio of his interrogation shows he repeatedly demanded one.
Monday, March 2, 2009
What Do We Tell Our Children About Police Brutality
But, more and more, I worry that the strangers we should warn our children to stay away from might include those that wear a police uniform as well.
After all, how do we reconcile the contrasts between the picture of a friendly officer helping a child, like illustrated above, and that of the brutal reality of a child, (now identified as Malika Calhoun) being viciously beaten by a sheriff's deputy on the news as we've all seen recently?
Our children give us questioning looks when seeing this or hearing discussions about it. They are confused, they are told to trust the police but here is a police officer harming a child... or other stories that have also been in the news recently:
- Washington DC officers accused of stealing toys meant for underprivileged kids.
- A Palm Beach Sheriff's Deputy wanted for allegedly raping a child.
- A Police chief in Virginia caught in an online child sexual solicitation sting.
- A police officer from Alabama accused of transporting kids across state lines to rape them.
- A King County Sheriff's Deputy videotaped brutally attacking a 15-year-old girl.
Or, should we be teaching them something else in the light of this brutality, that they should treat the police as they do any other stranger, as unworthy of their trust?
Seattle and King County are prime examples of how difficult it is to honestly tell a child they should trust police when we know our city and county cannot even fire the officers that they know are dangerous and supposedly want to fire.
For just one example take the case of King County Sheriff's Deputy Denny Gulla, who has been accused molesting three different 14-year-old girls but who remained a deputy even on top of other complaints like assaulting prisoners, making a pass at a high school senior, videotaping a gang beating for his training video and pulling over his lover's husband and threatening to shoot him in the "mother-fucking face."
As far as we know, he's still a deputy in the King County Sheriff's department since it was only last year that they finally put him on a brady list, but still couldn't fire him. How do we tell our children to trust the police when the one they trust could be officer Gulla or the officer who beat that young girl?
All these stories, when also tied to one's like officer Gulla, show that some deeply disturbing people can become police officers and remain in authority even after developing a history of alleged abuses against children.
Which leads me to wonder whether I would be a responsible parent for telling my children to trust the police instead of fearing them like they should any potentially dangerous stranger on the street.
After all, it's been proven that even the strangers in uniform can harm our children as much, if not more than, any other stranger who offers candy to children in a dark van could.
Perhaps it would be more responsible for us to instill in our children the cold hard realities that most of us already understand... that the police are not here to protect and serve us...
the police are here to protect and serve themselves.
Until that changes, until a real system of accountability and disciplinary transparency is created, none of us are safe... not even our children.
So, what do you plan on telling your children?
Friday, February 27, 2009
When Testilying Cops Make No Cents
Meanwhile, a witness called police to report seeing a man in the median of a nearby street with a cash register so officers investigated and claimed that they spotted a "trail" of pennies leading to a nearby apartment. The cash register matched the type from the Magnolia Barbershop.
Officers discovered the apartment belonged to a Jay W. Smith who was a Florida A&M University student. Four days after the burglary officers visited Smith and asked for permission to search his apartment. When Smith declined they took his drivers license and refused to let him leave while officers attempted to get a warrant.
However, while attempting to get the warrant, officers received a call that the other register was found and they let Smith go and returned his license after making a copy of it for a photo lineup.
Officers contacted the witnesses who claimed they saw a black man, in his late teens to early twenties, with a cash register that night and had them look at the photo lineup. One picked out Smith and the other couldn't pick anyone out of the lineup.
On March 3rd of 2005 Smith was arrested and held in Leon County Jail in lieu of a $2,500 bond which would never be returned to Smith.
He was charged based on a sworn affidavit by an officer named Rodney Fountain, who claimed that Smith stole one cash register with at least $100 in change in it, that there was a trail of pennies leading to his door, and that at least one witness observed him with the cash register and picked him out of a photo lineup.
Seems like an open and shut case based on solid investigative police work, right?
Yeah, probably isn't if you're reading about it here.
Apparently, a few problems with the case became apparent after Smith's attorney did some investigating and found that:
The "trail" of pennies actually wasn't a trail, it consisted of only five pennies that were near Smith's door and in the nearby parking lot. Both of which weren't really near the location where the cash register was actually found, there was no trail.
Oh, and about that cash register... the owner of that cash register told police that night that she cleaned it out before leaving. There was no money, let alone any change, in that cash register that night. Quite the opposite of the $100 in change the officer claimed was in it.
About that witness identification? It appears as though the officers involved neglected to mention that those witnesses both claimed that they couldn't get a look at the person with the cash register because he was wearing a hoodie.
In fact, to make it worse, it appears as though the one witness who did pick Smith's photo had expressly explained to the officer that he didn't see the man's face and could not pick anyone out. But that officer, the same Rodney Fountain, wouldn't accept no for an answer and told the witness to "just pick one", so the witness felt pressured and did what he was told and picked Smith's photo randomly out of the six that were presented to him.
Now, according to a complaint filed on February 9th (pdf) in the US District Court of Florida by the Law Office of James Cook, the City of Tallahassee and several of its police officers are being sued for deprivation of rights, malicious prosecution, fabrication of evidence, false imprisonment, and a slew of other charges over Smith's arrest.
What might have seemed like good detective work was actually a case of evidence fabrication and testilying, a term used to describe when officers lie in court testimony and sworn statements.
Do you think a case like this is rare?
No, Smith was lucky enough to have a defense attorney, Matt Willard, that took the time to look over the evidence and who spotted the anomalies that made him look deeper. If he had an overworked attorney who urged him to take a plea, we wouldn't have ever heard about this case... just like all the others you never hear about.
So now there will be another robbery, the citizens of Tallahassee will be robbed by the officers who lied in order to arrest someone who was innocent. They won't pay if they lose that lawsuit, the city's taxpayers will... so, what incentive did they have NOT to lie?
None, and ultimately, that's why they did.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 02-25-09
Just a brief note first, I apologize for the infrequent updates lately, I've been exceptionally busy and just haven't had any time to post new articles. There are several new stories in the works, hopefully I'll get a chance to post them soon! Trust me, I would rather be doing something that helps people like this than some of the other things I've had to deal with lately.
Thanks for reading!
Portland Oregon Paying $100,000 To Settle Police Sexual Harassment Cases
Nearby in the city of Portland Oregon, city officials appear ready to settle a misconduct case against their police department over a 2006 traffic stop where a (now fired) Portland officer, John Alexander, had ordered two women to lift their skirts to show him their underwear or risk getting a ticket.
The officer later plead guilty to two charges of official misconduct and agreed to be fired and have his certification revoked in 2006. The city will pay one woman $53,000 and other other $52,000 to settle a suit by the women that claims this wasn't the first time Alexander had done this and that the city should have known he was at risk for doing this again.
Atlanta Cops Who Killed 92 year-old Kathryn Johnston During Illegal Drug Raid Sentenced
US District Court Judge Julie Carnes has sentenced three of the Atlanta Police officers who shot 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston during a drug raid based on an illegally obtained warrant, let her slowly bleed to death, and then attempted to plant drugs in her house when they didn't find any, and then tried to lie about all of it.
Officer Jason Smith faces 10 years with additional sentencing for state charges coming next month.
Officer Gregg Junnier faces six years in prison but also faces sentencing next month for voluntary manslaughter charges.
And Officer Arthur Tesler faces five years.
While the Atlanta Police department claims it is trying to restore trust in the community after the case, this seems counter to their efforts to weaken a newly-created civilian oversight board that was enacted after the case went public. Reporters claimed that the trio cried with regret over the killing... though I'm more inclined to think they they cried over getting caught.
(Simple Justice has a very interesting discussion going on about this case.)
Woman on Trial for Releasing Police Misconduct Files
Butte County CA grand juror charged with leaking confidential documents that detailed excessive force complaints against two officers to a defense attorney involved in another case where allegations of excessive force had been made has agreed to a deferred plea deal that will allow her attorneys to review several pages of investigative documents related to the case.
When asked why she released the documents, the juror said that it seemed like it was the right thing to do...
Our question, of course, is why police misconduct files are kept so secret that cities are willing to prosecute anyone who releases them?
Chicago's Police Chief Ignores Judge So He Can Protect Cops With A History of Misconduct
Chicago's police chief has refused to cooperate with a judge's order to reveal a list of Chicago police officers who have had at least five misconduct complaints since 2000 and a stunning list of 662 officers who have at least 10 misconduct complaints between 2001 and 2006.
The judge's order comes in a case against the department filed by the mother of an 11 year old son and 13 year old daughter who were arrested and beaten by a Chicago police officer over an alleged playground dispute involving that officer's son. The mother's attorney wants the lists to demonstrate the pattern of hiding and tolerating police misconduct that exists in the Chicago PD.
Chicago Man Claims Police Officers Are Targeting Him, But He Doesn't Know Why
Mark Geinosky has a problem. Apparently some Chicago police officers have targeted him for retaliation even though Geinosky isn't sure why. What kind of retaliation?
Over the 16 months he's received 24 parking tickets for various offenses, 13 of which were written by one officer at 10:00pm exactly for a couple different dates and issued in sequential order, meaning that the officer just wrote tickets to Geinosky and nobody else and did so one right after the other. Many of the tickets were for violations at desolate roads where Geinosky has never been and many were written after he sold his car and put his old plates in his garage.
The department claims they are investigating but Geinosky says that, as of yet, no investigators have contacted him.
Navy Veteran On Trial For Resisting Arrest Alleges Police Racism And Brutality
US Navy veteran and bronze star awarded Kuldip Nag's trial on charges of obstruction and aggravated battery of a Joliet Illinois police officer resumed again last week.
Nag claims that the Joliet Police Officer, Ben Grant, peppersprayed him in the face and repeatedly hit him in the head with his baton while calling him an arab after he asked to call the officer's supervisor. The case has sparked outrage all the way out to India as Nag is a Sikh immigrant.
The officer claims he was attacked by an agitated Nag and his wife, but questions have been made by the judge who has asked why the officer was on Nag's property writing a ticket for expired tags when the vehicle being ticketed wasn't even on the street, let alone being driven.
There has still been no word on any progress in the case as the judge awaits word on the ordinance the officer claims to have been enforcing that day.
Ex-Chief With History of Misconduct Gets New Job As Chief In Another City
Remember the article I wrote about all those cases of police chief misconduct lately... Guess we'll be seeing more soon thanks to stories like this:
Fountain City Colorado has picked former Pueblo County Sheriff Dan Corsentino as chief of their police department. Last year Corsentino was suspended for leaving his gun in a restaurant bathroom and in 2004 he was investigated over sexual misconduct allegations from four separate women including allegations from one woman that she was blackmailed into withdrawing her complaint that he tried to get her to have sex with him while her husband was jailed by someone who claimed to have nude photos of her.
The city manager says of their pick "We're very excited about the desire he has to reconnect the department with the community." I'm not sure if the community will want to be connected in that way though.
Detroit Settles Wrongful Death Suit for $2,000,000 After Police Denied Dying Man Medical Treatment
The city of Detroit Michigan has settled a wrongful death lawsuit for a reported $2,000,000 against their police department over the death of 67 year old James Stone. Stone was arrested in August of 2005 and was being held at the department's second precinct while complaining of chest pains for hours.
Officers refused to provide him with medical attention or transport him to the hospital and he died of a heart attack in his holding cell. The judge in the case had berated the city for misconduct in the case when the city's attorney repeatedly refused to give Stone's estate's attorney information related to the case.
Trust me, given the shear volume of messages people have been sending me, it looks like the denial of medical care is the big trend in police abuse. It's much harder to prosecute or result in an official misconduct finding, hence that form of abuse's growing popularity.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Patronage vs Misconduct - A Tale Of Two Cities Part 1
The Vice of Injustice and Virtue of Justicefrescoes at the Arena Chapel in Padua by Giotto
On January 30th, The Dallas Morning News broke a story about how two of four Dallas Police officers fired on 1/29/09 had actually been fired at least one other time previously but were reinstated upon appeal... and that one of those two, officer Fernando Perez, had actually been fired and reinstated twice before this latest disciplinary action.
Officer Perez had a history of misconduct that stretched back to 1991 when his field trainer recommended that he be fired while he was still a probationary officer because of poor performances when he interrogated and interviewed people. Other allegations included using racial epithets, failing to help a fellow officer as he was being beaten outside a bar, conducting illegal searches, excessive force, inappropriately conducting a 114 mph chase for a non-violent suspect, and misuse of police equipment.
But, repeatedly, a civil service review board would reduce the disciplinary findings and force the department to rehire him...
The other officer who was fired and rehired before being fired again, Sr. Cpl. Anthony Williams, was featured again in an article devoted entirely to him on February 22 which detailed a long and tortuous history of allegation after allegation of sexual misconduct that would only be met with minor disciplinary actions, if any at all.
But when Williams was finally fired the first time in 1996 for having sex while on duty, he was reinstated to continue with his 20 year career of abuse. This year he was finally fired... not for sexually abusing someone, but because he failed to respond to an emergency call while he was arguing with a woman who he had been having an affair with amidst allegations that he was doing so while on duty.
Why? Because Williams had the whole sexual misconduct game down pat by always targeting women that investigators would have a hard time taking seriously and women who would be afraid to complain about it. So, he was fired for failing to respond to a call instead of for the allegations that he was, again, having sex while on duty.
So, why has it been so hard for the Dallas police to fire problematic officers? Because of protections put into place to stop the systems of patronage, where politicians would fire public servants and staff offices with friends and supporters, and enforce a public service system based on merit.
However, in many localities, as police unions grew in power with their sought-after endorsements they were able to alter the civil review board memberships and change the rules that govern them in their own favor. This problem is exacerbated when we also add in the legislation police unions have been able to pressure lawmakers into passing in most states that keep misconduct and disciplinary records secret. This combination makes it nearly impossible to know who is ultimately to blame when repeat offender officers remain employed despite a clear history of abusive behavior.
Even so, it's still clear that some sort of system which prevents the political manipulation of civil servants, especially the police, is still necessary even when that system appears to be so easily corrupted into a safe haven for abusive officers. An example of the need for a system that protects officers from political abuses becomes clear when we look at what has been happening in the second city in this series.
To be continued...
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 02-19-09
Manufacturing Guilt: Disturbing Video Evidence Shows Medical Examiner Misconduct In Mississippi
Over at ReasonOnline, Radley Balko closes what we hope is the final chapter on corrupt Mississippi medical examiner Steven Hayne and his supposed bite mark expert Michael West. Radley has doggedly followed their paths of destruction as they have allegedly put person after person behind bars by using faulty bite mark "evidence" and other findings that was later proven untrustworthy.
Some of the people put behind bars by these two have already been proven innocent, but countless people still remain in prison or on death row, put their with the duo's questionable work. In this story Balko slams the lid on these two medical "experts" with stunning video evidence from one of their autopsies that landed Jimmie Duncan on death row.
The video, (be warned, it is graphic), shows how the body of 23 month-old Haley Oliveaux was mutilated by West as he attempted to mark her body with a dental mold taken from Jimmie Duncan's teeth when no such marks were on her body before the examination... showing that this was a case of criminal evidence tampering that sent a potentially innocent man to death row... meaning that the pair essentially conspired to murder Jimmie Duncan.
Even though graphic and disturbing, this story is a must-read for anyone who doubts that innocent people can easily be intentionally convicted of crimes they didn't commit. If you're squeemish about seeing the videos, read a summary of the story at Radley's blog, The Agitator.
Multi-State Chase Ends With Brutal Beating
A cross-border police chase in Kansas City Missouri and Kansas ended when police began repeatedly punching and kicking a suspect after he put his hands behind his head and laid face-down on the ground.
Video of the incident was recorded by a news helicopter following the chase and several witnesses who watched the beating said they had to turn away because the beating was so violent. Both Kansas and Missouri authorities say they are investigating the incident which one ex-FBI agent called a case of "Code 3 Syndrome" where officers stop thinking clearly because of the adrenaline rush they get caused by the chase.
50 Year-Old Man May Be Permanently Blinded After Losing Eye During Police Encounter
Hartwell Georgia police officer Robert Mitchell has been accused of using excessive force during the arrest of 50 year-old Jimmy Lee Blackwell by Blackwell's family members who say that, while Blackwell should have been arrested, the level of force used was inappropriate.
Authorities say that Mitchell used pepperspray before resorting to a baton when Blackwell began to violently resist arrest. They claim that Mitchell was briefly hospitalized with a concussion while Blackwell's left eye had to be removed because facial fractures caused it to dislodge from it's socket and his right eye may also be damaged beyond repair.
Body-Slam Cop Says Video That Indicted Him Was Altered
Yonkers New York police officer Wayne Simoes, who was videotaped slamming Irma Marquez face-first onto the floor of a local bar has filed a motion in US District Court asking that the charges against him in that case be dismissed because he claims the video showing the body slam was sped up to make it look more dramatic.
Even if true, which I can't see as possible upon review of that video, it still doesn't argue against the dramatic injuries suffered by Marquez from the incident which left her with a fractured jaw, two black eyes, and a concussion.
San Fransisco Prepares To Pay Out $350,000 To Doctor Beaten By Police
The city of San Fransisco may have decided to settled a case of brutality brought against them by a Harvard resident physician Mehrdad Alemozaffar for $350,000.
The suit alleges that officers repeatedly smashed Alemozaffar's head against the pavement, injured his shoulder, and shocked him with a taser multiple times on his legs, back, side and wrist after restraining him with nylon ties... all for asking an officer who told him to "stop acting like a little girl" for his badge number.
Criminal Trial Against Connecticut Officer Delayed Almost 20 Times
A trial against Middletown Connecticut police officer Brian Lawlor for assault with a weapon and evidence tampering may finally be close to getting underway after being delayed at least 19 times.
The officer was fired over the incident where dashcam video showed him pistol-whipping a suspect, Alexis Hernandez, who was captured after a police chase. The officer was fired and charged after internal investigators reviewed the tape.
So much for "swift justice"
Top Paid Cop Earns His Pay The... Old Fashioned Way?
Speaking of justice, Scott at Simple Justice talks about the case of the highest paid employee in Schenectady New York who may have been pulling in thousands of dollars worth of overtime while... um... on his back?
You have to read this one to believe it...
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Flowing From The Top - A Disturbing Trend Or More Of The Same
Original Post 02/15/09 - 21:47
Updated 02/18/09 - 10:05
While part of what I do here involves scanning various news outlets for stories of police misconduct and detainee abuse. As such, sometimes I notice certain trends. While it's true that the number of stories of police abuses by officers in general appears to be constantly rising, overwhelmingly so in fact, I noticed another more disturbing trend possibly developing.
Perhaps you noticed it too, if you did then you might know why it is so disturbing. But if you haven't noticed it, here's a list of a few of the stories that make up this potential trend:
.....
Sheriff Mike Carona
Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona was convicted in January of one count of witness tampering out of several other counts that were brought against him in a case where frustrated jurors claimed that, while they though he was not innocent, the feds failed to prosecute their case sufficiently over claims that he participated in a six year scheme to cheat his way into office just to enrich himself and his friends.Police Chief Dexter Yarbrough
In January, ex-Chicago police officer and now suspended chief of the Colorado State University Police Department, Dexter Yarbrough, was under investigation into an undisclosed number of undisclosed complaints, rumored to deal with allegations of harassment, fraud, and threats, when a story in the university's newspaper brought some of the allegations against him to light.
Not only was Yarbrough the chief of police, but he also taught law enforcement classes there where a student recorded some of his lectures that appeared to advise aspiring law enforcement officers that it's ok to bribe informants with drugs, that brutality is normal, and that "they (women) want the dick".
Police Chief Manuel Cachopa
Stoughton Mass Police Chief Manuel Cachopa, who was fired recently after being convicted of being an accessory after the fact in an extortion case where he attempted to coerce a victim of police misconduct into not filing a complaint against one of his officers. He's facing up to seven years of prison for that.Police Chief Sam Granato
Early in February an ex-officer won a $165,000 civil suit against the town for his being fired by the chief in retaliation for his part in the investigation against the chief.
Yakima Washington police chief Sam Granato is now facing allegations of sexual misconduct from a female police officer on top of existing allegations of retaliation against employees and a ruling against him over charges that he discriminated against a female officer by moving her out of the detectives division.Police Chief Willie Fuller
These allegations apparently aren't the first as others now appear to be coming from his previous post in Texas that he threatened a lieutenant there.
In January of this year, Virginia Commonwealth University Police Chief Willie Fuller was arrested for allegedly using his computer to solicit what he believed to be a 14 year-old girl for sex in an online sexual predator sting operation.Acting Police Chief Travis Glass
The former acting chief of Ferndale Washington Police Department has filed a lawsuit against the city in response to the city's lawsuit against him and those cases have passed back and forth between the federal and superior court a number of times now as lawyers continue to battle over what the proper venue might be.Police Chief Kecia Powell
The former acting-chief, Lt Travis Glass, allegedly agreed to resign as a result of an unspecified investigation into misconduct allegations against him in February of 2008 that were rumored to deal with accusations of sexual misconduct, but he never signed any agreement to that effect and sued the city for wrongful termination after he resigned. The city sued him for failing to abide by the agreement he orally agreed to when he resigned but never signed.
The city of Culver Oregon was forced to disband their police department in January in the hopes of saving money by contracting out their police services while their police chief, Kecia Powell, was facing misconduct charges for abusing city-issued credit cards to pay her own bills.Police Chief Jeffery Shaw
As of February 8, Northfield Police Chief Jeffery Shaw is facing decertification of his law enforcement certification, which would make him ineligible to continue on as chief of police in the small Vermont college town.Police Chief Wayne Tucker
The revoking of his certification is the result of an ongoing investigation over possible criminal charges stemming from his signing off on training that allegedly never occurred for himself and his officers when they took over emergency medical services for the city, without completing the training required to be EMTs. He apparently also has enough gaps in his training that make him ineligible to be certified as a police officer.
In late January 2009, Oakland California Police Chief Wayne Tucker resigned after an FBI investigation into allegations against the director of his Internal Affairs department was announced. That officer, Captain Edward Poulson, is accused of ordering subordinates to cover up his involvement in beating a suspect so badly that he died a month later of his injuries... the chief picked him to head the IA department even after his own advisers warned him about the problems with his choice, which means most of the department and the chief were aware of the problem.Police Chief Ricci Prein
Police Chief Ricci Prein of Roberts Wisconsin was fired in July 2008 on five counts of misconduct that included poor conduct towards village officials, making harassing phone calls to off-duty officers, ordering officer not to enforce closing laws agains a bar he frequented, and using his departmental computer to browse porn online.Police Chief Greg Kroeplin
Canby Oregon Police Chief Greg Kroeplin is facing an independet investigation into FBI allegations that he intentionally concealed allegation of steroid abuse by one of his officers. That officer, Jason Deason, was arrested in February of this year on allegations that he illegally bought steroids while on duty and tipping off his dealer to pending busts as a result of that FBI investigation.Police Chief Dave Willoughby
In January, The Police Chief of New Richmond Ohio, Dave Willoughby, is suing the state's bureau of criminal investigations for their treatment of him when they raided his house in search of evidence as part of their investigation of him on charges of menacing, harassment, and voyerism. The embattled chief says being the subject of a police raid was dehumanizing, though has not commented on how many similar raids he may have ordered during his time as chief.Sheriff Greg Bartlett
Morgan County Alabama Sheriff Greg Bartlett was ruled in contempt of court last month when he refused to abide by a court order to feed his prisoners meals that met national standards for nutrition under a state program that let sheriffs take home any extra money that they saved by skimping on prisoner meals.Sheriff Mike Burgess
Custer County Oklahoma Sheriff Mike Burgess was charged with coercing his female prisoners into participating in a sex-slavery operation that was run out of his jail.......
In January he was found guilty of 13 felony counts and the jury recommended that he serve 94 years in prison for his crimes, but now Oklahoma officials don't know where to detain him safely while he awaits his long appeals process.
Yes, if you didn't figure it out, the apparent trend is that there's been an astonishing jump in the number of convictions, cases filed, and investigations into alleged misconduct by top leadership in police departments and sheriff's offices across the United States.
This jump is stunning simply because it forces us to question whether the old assumption that cases of misconduct are caused by "just a few bad apples". After all, when the top leadership of an organization appears to be corrupt, we must question whether or not the entire organization is corrupt, or at least accommodating towards corruption, as well.
The true and most disturbing part of this apparent trend becomes clearer when we examine just how such people rose through the ranks of police leadership and became heads of their respective departments. After all, if police misconduct was just a matter of a few bad apples, how did so many bad apples rise to the top?
One possibility, and the strongest I think, is seen in the way many police chiefs deal with misconduct within their own departments when it becomes difficult to fire officers in municipalities with strong police unions or when government officials put pressure on departments to cover up abuses out of litigation fears.
Instead of wasting energy trying to enforce disciplinary actions against problematic officers when that discipline will only be overturned when the union appeals to a public employment board, chiefs often resort to the tactic of promoting those officers to desk jobs, which get them off the streets and minimizes the potential for those officers to interact in ways with the public that exposes the department to litigation.
That might seem like an ideal solution, until we look at what happens next. Once problematic officers fill out more of the police leadership ranks than officers who advanced through their merits, rank and file learn that the best way to advance is to misbehave, they learn that misconduct is not only tolerated, but rewarded.
Further destroying such departments is that corrupt officers gravitate towards corrupt leaders, and corrupt leaders tend to favor officers who think like they do and they also tend to push away honest officers, which means all those higher ranking officers tend to reward the more aggressive and belligerent officers while punishing the honest cops who would tend to report abuse instead of being quiet about it or even participating in it.
We see examples of this often in cases where entire elite policing units get wrapped up in scandals, many of those caught mention a culture of permissive behavior that encouraged and rewarded abuses.
Worst of all, and what has led to this seemingly expansive list of police chiefs caught in the act of misconduct is that these high ranking officers, who were promoted due to misconduct, do eventually become eligible to be police chiefs due to their supervisory experience that would never have been gained if misconduct had resulted in discipline instead of advancement.
So, what does this mean? That it can't be just one bad apple when a police chief is caught participating in acts of misconduct. It means there is likely a culture of misconduct which raised that person to their position and that this person likely nourished their own culture of misconduct along the way as well.
It means, frighteningly enough, that for every one bad leader, there are likely multiple departments with cultures of misconduct that include the department that the chief or sheriff ended up leading as well... It means that the problem underlying that single leader's corruption is far more expansive than most realize at first glance.
That should give anyone pause whenever they hear of a single case of corrupt police leadership... let alone the striking number of cases that have come to light recently.
What do you think? Leave a comment below to let me know.
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