Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 04-10-09 - Local Edition

Comment we received last year from a Chicago cop.

Before I get to the news...

Last month I made a plea asking people to post and talk about the raid Phoenix PD performed on a blogger who posted information about police misconduct down in Phoenix AZ in order to shut him down. I was really worried that if nobody spoke up about it that other departments elsewhere would be encouraged to try this tactic on other bloggers too.

I have to say that I'm really encouraged that this story took off after Carlos Miller posted a great piece about it over at his site Photography Is Not A Crime. After that it went all over, including Simple Justice, The Agitator, Fresno Criminal Defense, and then it went national just today via AP.

I was really worried that the story was going to just die off but it's got legs now... so hopefully police departments elsewhere will think twice about trying this tactic out on the other sites that talk about police misconduct... like this one.

(for a really great post with tons of information on that story along with some awesome timelines, visit this site here!)

Now for some local police misconduct news...

Can I Get An Employee Discount Too?

Now, if some strange man was wandering around your teenage daughter's window while wearing a hoodie at night, you'd be a bit nervous, right?

Well, in Spokane WA that happened to one family. The police came out to investigate and met with a rather uncooperative individual who began to fight with officers when asked why he was prowling around a teenage girl's window at night.

He was arrested, but then the charges were dropped... because he's a cop.

The Spokane city prosecutor, Jim Bledsoe, decided to not press charges despite ample evidence against now Ex-Spokane County Sheriff's Sergeant Patrick "Pete" Bunch simply because he was a cop, no other reason.

Of his decision, he was quoted by the Sheriff as saying:

"...although what Sgt. Bunch did was a technical violation of the law and at times obviously unprofessional, he felt their job was to go after criminals and not law enforcement officers demonstrating a temporary lapse in judgment,”

“He also told me that they considered Sgt. Bunch’s career in public service as one of the factors in their decision"

Officer Bunch's distinguished career included a 2003 incident that almost cost him his job when he was caught lying about 99 hours of vacation time on his timesheets and a 2004 incident where he tried to influence his way out of a ticket by flashing his badge to an unimpressed officer. And an unspecified confrontation that he had with the son of a former prosecutor for the county.

I wonder if I would get a get out of jail free card from that prosecutor for my years of dedicated service as a systems engineer?

Et Tu, Quid Pro Quo?

A Medina WA police officer was accused of raping a woman he arrested a day after he stopped her and found she was driving on a suspended license and had some pot in her car.

The officer apparently told her "Don't worry, the charges will go away" while she was cuffed in the back of his cruiser after he commented on how cute she was. So, they exchanged numbers and the next day he brought her back to his place where the woman claims that he raped her after she said no to his advances.

...however, she apparently waited to report the crime until after the officer had urged the prosecutor get the charges dropped on her behalf.

They Let The Dogs Out... Woof?

Lawyers representing the city of Kennewick WA have lost a civil rights violation case on appeal that was filed against the city for an incident in 2003.

It appears as though Kennewick police were searching for the the vile criminal who was suspected of the insidious crime of riding a moped without a headlight or helmet when they happened on poor innocent Ken Rogers (not the country star).

Officers, worried deeply about public safety with a criminal like this on the loose, unleashed their attack dog on Rogers who caused severe nerve damage to his left hand... then officers, unsatisfied with that, beat him until he suffered hearing loss from the attack...

The problem was that Rogers wasn't the criminal they were looking for... seems their highly trained attack dog "DEKE" picked up his scent by mistake when officers were trying to find their suspect.

Kennewick has been ordered to pay Rogers the sum of $1.8 Million Dollars.

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 04-01-09

There's a lot of interesting stories going on, so I thought I'd post an assortment of items today with no real theme.

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.

Police Misconduct NewsWatch - Catching Up Local Edition

Hey folks, sorry it's been a while since I posted anything substantive, been busy at work and just now caught a break to give you some updates and newer news...

Speaking of news, catch us on Twitter and get all the latest police misconduct news stories as we see them. Just follow Injust_Seattle and keep up on all the bad stuff going down.

On to it then...

Catching up…

First, there’s been a lot of response to an article I published about how different it is when police officers threaten police accountability activists and writers as opposed to when they reportedly receive threats in response to highly publicized stories of abuse that those police officers committed.

One officer took the time to write in response to that piece after it appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, it was a really positive response and I appreciated it so much that I put it up as a post, if you haven’t yet, go read it… it’ll make you feel better after reading all the other bad stories I have to post here.

Over at Five Before Midnight, the author of that blog responds to the article by going through a brief history detailing some of her more persistent harassers who attack her simply for writing about some of the same issues I write about… Some disturbing incidents there.

But, I wanted to post an addendum to that article I did. I’d like to draw people’s attention to a more recent related development down in Arizona. Apparently the owner of a site devoted to covering corruption and misconduct in the Phoenix Police Department suffered some serious civil rights violations when the police raided his home and confiscated all of his computer equipment and several files related to a civil lawsuit he was filing against the city.

Not only that, but the police also took computers belonging to their children and detained them and a guest who was visiting for three hours while refusing to allow them access to their lawyers while the politically motivated raid was taking place.

Now, I read his site, badphoenixcops.com, and it is peppered with some pretty strong language and strong allegations, but it’s still protected speech and it’s incredibly disturbing if this kind of activity is allowed to stand without any legal recourse. It jeopardizes anyone who writes or speaks out about police misconduct if what’s going on down there isn’t stopped.

About that new chief…

Seattle Mayor Nickels’ appointment of John Diaz as interim police chief raised some serious hackles within the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild, but nobody can figure out exactly why this is. The rumors and innuendos continue to fly out from anonymous sources within the police department about his supposed nickname, “Shotgun Johnny”, as if this was connected to some alleged act of misconduct, but nothing can be substantiated… (so persistent and secretive were these rumors that even local news outlets were reduced to searching this site for info on these allegations, and I know they hate this site with a passion.)

Interestingly, those disgruntled sources can’t reveal why they oppose Diaz because of the union’s own efforts in forcing the city to keep misconduct records secret. So, to reveal why they oppose Diaz, they would need those records to be public, which puts them in the bind of opposing their own opposition to allowing such records to be accessible to the public… so the guild itself yielded and chose to support Diaz instead of fighting against their own fight for secrecy... Funny, isn’t it?

Better Later Than Never…

There was an incredible post put up a few days ago by Karl Mansoor over at Blue Must Be True about how systemic and pervasive police misconduct might really be based on disciplinary statistics already available to us. I really suggest that people go read it and think about exactly what those statistics might really mean when we look at how many people are employed in the law enforcement, corrections, and justice departments in the country. It’s pretty thought provoking.

Also local community radio station KBCS FM is holding their annual fund drive which started a few days ago. They are behind right now and really need everyone’s support to keep delivering their great content to the area. They were the only news outlet in the Seattle area that ever bothered mentioning us (on their news program called One World Report last year in response to the contract between the city and the police guild)… ever. So their commitment to deliver important news about civil rights issues in this area can’t be understated. Go and give what you can, they have some neat gifts too!

And Some Local News too…

Malika Calhoun Arrested Again

The now well-known victim of police brutality at the hands of King County Deputy Paul Schene, 15-year-old Malika Calhoun, was arrested and charged with felonious harassment and trespassing for an altercation she got into with another teenage girl at a local mall. Apparently Malika threatened to come back with a gun and shot the girl in the face for an alleged slight against one of her friends.

Apparently Malika and her friend were banned from that mall the day previous to this encounter, hence the trespassing charge in addition to the felony harassment charge filed against her by the Tukwilla Washington Police. The incident apparently occurred on February 2 of this year, three months after her arrest for allegations of auto theft in November where she was attacked in a holding cell by Deputy Schene and about 10 days before the details about the beating started to go public.

We never said she was an angel, but it does go to show that two wrongs don't make a right and if Deputy Schene thought that beating the snot out of her for kicking off a tennis shoe in his direction was going to teach her a lesson, he was horribly mistaken. However, we should keep in mind that the local PDs have a history of filing retaliatory charges against people who report misconduct as well, so we'll see how this develops.

SPD Officer Arrested for Alleged DV

A Seattle Police Department officer was arrested over the weekend over an alleged early-morning domestic violence incident where he supposedly grabbed his spouse’s arms during an argument and cut her hand with a knife. That officer, Scott Moss, was arrested on Saturday and charged with 2nd degree felonious assault.

Officer Moss is a 15 year veteran of the SPD and previously served as a spokesperson for the department and was most currently assigned to the department’s internal investigation division, the Office of Professional Accountability. This, however, isn’t the first time Moss has been in trouble as he was arrested previously in 2005 for a DUI.

Seattle PD Forced To Rehire Officer Accused of Excessive Force

Ex-SPD officer Don “Diamond Don” George will soon be current SPD officer Don George again after he appealed his termination from the SPD to the department’s Disciplinary Review Board, where it was promptly overturned and the city was forced to hire him back and pay his back-pay, benefits, etc… even though the arbiter in the case found Officer George’s testimony in response to allegations that he bounced the head of a 17-year-old suspect’s head off of a police cruiser’s partition when the boy asked for an attorney.

As you might have guessed, this isn’t the first time officer George has been in trouble, he has a long history of misconduct allegations that include one that earned him the nickname of Diamond Don where he was alleged to have stolen a diamond ring from a suicide victim’s body over 20 years ago. The chief at the time intervened and protected him from disciplinary action in that case, over 20 years ago.

Gig Harbor Police Department Sued In Perjury Case

A convicted drug dealer whose case was overturned when the officer involved in the case, Sgt Matthew Dougil, was accused of perjury for falsifying police reports and now faces trial himself is now suing Gig Harbor because the informant used in his case to buy drugs from him already had drugs on her before she bought anything from him.

The failure of Dougil to account for the drugs the informant already had meant that the suspect served an extra year for selling drugs he never sold. Another man involved in the case has already settled with the city for $45,000 in a similar suit related to Dougil’s perjury allegations.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 02-17-09

Local News

Seattle Officer In Charge Of Inauguration Delegation Arrested for DUI Before Trip to DC
The Seattle Police officer in charge of the contingent of officers sent to Barack Obama's inauguration was allowed to represent Seattle even after he was arrested for driving while drunk. Now, rank and file officers in the SPD are saying it's an example of preferential treatment given to high ranking officers by Chief Kerlikowske as he prepares to be Obama's drug czar.

Per the Seattle PI which quotes the WSP report and court documents:

"A trooper heading south on I-5 spotted a black 2003 Land Rover drifting out of its lane just before 2 a.m. on Nov. 23. The vehicle crossed traffic into the adjacent lane at least three times without signaling, straddling two lanes for more than 10 seconds at a time.

When (Lt. Donnie) Lowe rolled down his window, his eyes were bloodshot and his breath smelled of alcohol. His pants were unbuckled and unbuttoned, exposing his underwear. A passenger, who isn't identified was also in the vehicle.

"The defendant stated he was coming from a club and he had gone to the bathroom before he left," the trooper wrote in her report.

The trooper also noticed a glass of dark-colored liquid in the middle console. Lowe told the trooper the glass contained "just pop," police reports say. The trooper sniffed the glass and smelled what she observed to be hard alcohol.

After field sobriety tests in which Lowe swayed heavily, the trooper asked him to turn around so she could handcuff him. Her report says, "He stated that was not a good thing. I asked the defendant why, and he stated he worked for the Seattle Police Department," court documents say."

This isn't the lieutenant's first problem in the SPD though. One incident resulted in his being reassigned to the department's Homeland Security Bureau when he was investigated for allegedly using his status as an officer to gain entry to a holding cell where his own son was being kept and then striking him. He was also the subject of an unflattering Seattle PI article on how officers use obstruction charges as leverage a year ago.

Spokane City Officers Arrest Spokane County Officer
Spokane Police Officers in Spokane Washington arrested a Spokane County Sheriff's Deputy after receiving a call about a suspicious man lurking around a woman's back yard...

The officers say they didn't know he was a deputy as the man refused to identify himself and became violent when he refused officer's demands to submit to a search for any weapons he might have been carrying. They later discovered he was a deputy when he was taken to jail on charges of obstruction and resisting arrest.



Federal Way Judge Accused Of Retaliation
A Federal Way Washington judge, Michael Morgan, is in the center of controversy after a municipal court supervisor filed a civil suit asserting that she had been fired in January for reporting concerns about Judge Michael Morgan's mental state after she alleged that he threatened to hurt himself or others when he was feeling pressure due to a reprimanded by the Commission on Judicial Conduct for making threatening comments to court employees, making sexual comments to his staff, and swearing at a police chief in December.

National News

"But Look At His Face, We Fucked Him Up!"
Sergio Robles spent two years waiting for the truth to come out, that he had never assaulted the police officers who had pepper-sprayed and beaten him so badly that they were afraid to leave him in a holding cell because they thought he was going to die.

But, in dashcam video taken from one cruiser, the truth was there but was withheld from his defense lawyers for over a year. After it was released, a jury found him innocent of all charges and now the Santa Fe police department is the subject of a civil suit over the beating and subsequent jailing of Sergio Robles.

From the KHOU Channel 11 report:

"In the video, one officer grabs Robles' arm and slams him into the hood of a patrol car.


Robles is then taken to the ground where the officers begin throwing punches. One officer hit him in the face. The other punched him in the stomach and ribs.


He was then maced and handcuffed.


There was more video and audio as Robles was being booked in jail and the officers were bragging about what they'd done.


"It was on man. He's back there right now. He's in the booking area," said one officer. "We can't even put him in a cell. We're afraid he'll die."


"But look at his face," said another officer on the tape. "We [expletive] him up."

Robles says he felt certain he was going to die that night...

Readers, I want you to imagine laying there in agony on a cold concrete police station floor, hardly able to breathe, unable to get up, bleeding everywhere with your arms painfully handcuffed behind your back while officers walking by do nothing for you but laugh at you and make sadistic twisted jokes about you.

Can you imagine how terrifying that is? To think you're about to die and that the last sounds you will ever hear are the sadistic laughs of those who you were supposed to believe were there to protect you?

Trust me... whatever fear you were able to imagine, it's worse than that to live it. I know, I've lived it... and the fear of police an experience like that creates never goes away.

I hope Robles wins his case, what happened to him should not happen to anyone anywhere, let alone here in the US.

New Orleans Officers Who Shot Adolph Grimes Had History Of Complaints
As mentioned previously, Oscar Grant wasn't the only person shot by police under questionable circumstances as we rung in the new year. Several of the New Orleans police officers who shot Adolph Grimes 14 times, 9 of those shots in the back, early on New Years Day are also facing several other allegations of misconduct, including allegations over one other incident that occurred just before they opened fire on Grimes while he was parked outside of his grandmother's house.

The officers, apparently part of an elite police unit consisting of narcotics officers and others, were patrolling in plain clothes and dressed as tourists when they shot Grimes, who has no criminal record. The attorney for the officer's union declared that the high number of complaints against the officers involved in the shooting is a testament to how good a job they've been doing and how professional they are.

Second Trial Against Dymond Milburn Results In Mistrial, Prosecutors Give Up
Apparently there is an update in the case of Dymond Milburn, the 12 year old African American girl who was roughed up by undercover Galveston police officers who claim they mistook her for a white prostitute reportedly in the area and then prosecuted for allegedly assaulting the officers who grabbed her in her own yard and then covered her mouth when she began to scream.

A second jury trial has resulted in a mistrial after the jury in that trial was deadlocked when 5 of the 6 jurors refused to hand down a guilty verdict for allegations that the honors student assaulted officers when they jumped her and arrested in her yard.

Prosecutors say they will not attempt to put her on trial for a third time saying that they doubt they will get a different result. During the trial the prosecutors attempted to suggest that Dymond's injuries, that included bruise marks on her neck, similar to choking marks, and head trauma was caused by a tree she attempted to grab while the unidentified officers tried to drag her away from her yard.

The defense claimed that her injuries were the result of officers bludgeoning her and choking her when they jumped her in her own yard. Oddly, she wasn't arrested for allegedly assaulting officers that night, but weeks later while she was in class at school... supposedly after it became clear a civil suit was in the works. That civil suit is still pending.

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 02-13-09 - Local Edition

A lot of news going on in Seattle so instead of a regular News Watch I'm turning the focus local for this issue... even though I have a lot of catching up to do for some national stories I'm looking into.

Arrested For Standing While Black
Tim Harris at the always intriguing Apesmas Lament tells the tale of a Real Change newspaper vendor named Donald Morehead who was selling copies of the local advocacy weekly paper when a Seattle Police officer allegedly knocked one of his teeth out, slammed his head against a cruiser, and then arrested him...

Morehead's crime?

Apparently nothing more than standing while black one of the city's "drug enforcement zones". The officer arrested Morehead on unspecified charges, though Morehead had no drugs and only a few copies of the paper and $20.00 from the copies that he had already sold.

The money was confiscated as alleged "drug money" and Morehead spent 16 days in the King County Jail until people at the paper raised enough for the $160 bail.

Tim first mentioned the case in a post on the fifth when he first discovered Morehead was in jail from a public defender who was representing him and started collecting money for his release shortly afterward.

This type of racially-based enforcement activity has been becoming more common in Seattle with the NAACP noting the issue towards the end of last year which also sparked allegations of retaliation when officers later charged a witness of a racial profiling incident named Yvonne Gaston who testified for the NAACP's news conference, of assaulting an officer a day after that conference... strangely enough, weeks after the alleged incident occurred.

Harris has recently joined with other community activists in an effort, Initiative 100, to force the city to allow voters to decide whether or not the city should build a new jail to house more prisoners or work on alternative ways to reduce the need for more jail space... like not arresting so many people on questionable charges.

Though now out on bail, Morehead is still facing charges, though no word yet about whether a legal defense fund has been established for him.

King County Deputy Charged For Beating A 15 Year Old Girl
Update: The video has been released
King County sheriff deputy Paul Schene has been charged with 4th degree assault for allegedly kicking, punching, and pulling a 15 year old girl while booking her into jail.

The incident was recorded by security cameras at the jail where the officer and his partner were booking two teenage girls into juvenile jail under suspicion of auto theft in November of last year.

He alleged in charging papers that she had assaulted him when she was removing her shoes and, according to the girl, one slipped off her foot and hit the officer in the shin.

An investigator reviewing the tapes to prepare the case of assaulting an officer against the girl saw the deputy kick the girl, shove her against a wall, take her down to the floor in a hair-hold, and then punch her twice.

Ex-Civilian Review Board Member Running For City Council
Perhaps just as interesting on a local level as was the nomination of SPD Chief Gil Kerlikowske as drug czar was the announcement from ex-OPARB member Pete Holmes that he is running for an unspecified city council seat in the next election, according to The Seattle Weekly "Daily Weekly" blog.

Holmes was one of the then three member civilian review board that sharply criticized Kerlikowske for allegedly working behind the scenes to influence an internal investigation of two officers who were accused of planting drugs and lying on arrest reports. The board then had it's last report to city council censored because of it's criticism of the department's internal investigation process before it was disbanded and all of it's members replaced.

Holmes graduated from Yale University, earned his law degree from the University of Virginia, and currently works at a local law firm specialized in commercial bankruptcy law.

Victim Of Police Excessive Force Forced To File Lawsuit On His Own
Jonah at The Stranger Blog (SLOG) has an update on the case of Mark Hays who was subjected to a barrage of punches to the head and knees to the torso when he was arrested in November of 2007 by undercover SPD "Anti-Crime Team" officers after he and a friend had jaywalked in front of their unmarked SUV. The tail end of the beating he received that night was caught on a dashcam video of a responding SPD officer's cruiser.


An internal investigation into that arrest found that the officer who beat Hays had used excessive force and that he was misleading when interviewed by investigators looking into complaints about that violent arrest, even though Hays himself was found guilty of assaulting an officer for allegedly jumping on one of the officer's backs during the incident.

It appears, according to Jonah, that Hays has now filed a civil suit against the city seeking $750,000 in damages for the beating, for improperly withholding public records, and for conspiring to deny a proper investigation into allegations of misconduct... all without a lawyer to represent him.

I certainly wish him all the best, but worry about why he's going it alone at this point.

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 02-05-09

As misconduct reports climb, more people than ever still trust cops.

Before I get into today's news headlines, I just want to say that it's getting harder and harder to keep up with all the reports of police misconduct that are popping up all over the US and abroad. Given that President Obama has pledged to give billions more to police departments without any accountability reform strings attached, the problem is undoubtedly going to get worse... After all, boys with new toys will always try to find some excuse to play with them.

One of the goals of this site is to make people aware that police misconduct does happen, that it happens to everyday innocent people like them, and that it can happen to them too... But it's an uphill climb to convince people of that given that over 75% of the US population believes police officers are inherently trustworthy according to a 2006 Harris Interactive Poll of Trusted Occupations which placed police as ranked 4th behind doctors, teachers, and scientists in a list of most trusted occupations.

It gets frustrating sometimes... but I do the best I can. So, if I miss a story, please let me know at packratt@injusticeinseattle.org or in the comments and I'll try to put it up.

Thank you...

Pierce County Jail Guard Threatens Family In Road Rage Incident
A Pierce County corrections officer has been charged with assault in the second degree for pointing a gun at another car in an apparent road rage incident. In order to try and cover for the act of threatening a family with a 12 year old girl in the car he called 911 and told the operator that the family was ramming his car and might have seen a gun on his dashboard...

The problem was that the family had also called 911 when the Kent Washington Regional Justice Center corrections officer forced their car to stop and pointed a gun at them while holding his corrections officer ID against their window. When police arrived they noticed the guard's car had no marks that would indicate that it had been rammed by the family in the other car.

The guard, Yury Nijnik, has been placed on leave while facing charges and could be fired since he is still in his first year probationary period... otherwise, it would be as difficult to fire him as it is to fire police officers as it would involve rounds of internal investigations, loudermill hearings, appeals to public employement boards, and then court challenges.


Canby Oregon Cop Faces Charges For Buying Steroids While On Duty
Canby Oregon police officer Jason Deason is now facing charges that he illegally purchased steroids and human growth hormones, allegedly 100 pills at a time every month, while on duty. The FBI claims that one of Deason's suppliers admited that he sold to Deason and even gave investigators an order for pills that Deason filled out on Canby police department stationary.

Canby Police Chief Greg Kroeplin has been on paid vacation since November while the city continues to look into allegations that he refused to investigate previous allegations that Deason was on steroids and that he would tip off his suppliers about any planned drug raids.

Federal Chicago Torture Squad Probe Goes Deeper
Federal investigators have widened their probe into Jon Burge's torture squad to include a few of the officers who were under his command when suspects were tortured into making confessions back in the 1980's. Burge is currently facing charges for providing false testimony to federal authorities during a civil suit over the abuses, but will not face charges for the abuses themselves since the statute of limitations ran out.

Baltimore's Defunct Elite Police Unit Sued Over Public Strip Search
A $210 million civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the city of Baltimore over the actions of the Baltimore police department's now defunct elite "Special Enforcement Team" when they pulled over a Navy veteran, strip-searched him, and then did a body cavity search in the middle of the street in front of a gathering crowd... and then sped away without explaination.

The elite "proactive policing taskforce" was disbanded later in 2006 after a susequent investigation discovered a pattern of abusive behavior which overturned about 100 criminal convictions. We did a special report about the pattern of problems with and tendency towards corruption within proactive policing taskforces that are used all over the US and Canada last year.

Speaking of problematic elite policing units...

Los Angeles Police Department Costing City A Fortune
The city of Los Angeles has agreed to pay out $12.85 million dollars to victims of the May Day attack on immigration demonstrators, reporters, and innocent bystanders by the LAPD's elite Metro Division that used batons and rubber bullets indescriminately on the largely peaceful crowd, attacking protesters and journalists alike.

The city has grown concerned with the level of liability the LAPD has brought on the city when they noted that this was one of many large settlements recently paid out with more on the horizon. One council member noted after voting to approve the settlement that ammount paid out for the May Day assault could have been used to hire 130 new police officers instead, if it weren't for the lack of accountability within the LAPD that allowed the misconduct to occur.

Legal Immigrant Alleges Police Brutality Over Traffic Stop
Manassas Virginia police officers are accused of beating immigrant from El Salvador during a routine traffic stop for a broken headlight when the woman, who barely understands english, refused to sign the ticket. Her brother witnessed the assault and a store manager saw the aftermath while he was leaving his store where officers were carying the barely concious woman to an ambulance after bouncing her head off of a cruiser and the pavement.

Louisiana Residents Protest Persistent Police Mistreatment
Eunice Lousiana residents attended a packed town hall meeting in a local church with Saint Landry sheriff and a representative from the US DOJ to talk about the numerous complaints they've filed against two Eunice officers, all without any response from the Eunice chief of police.

Residents say they're afraid to leave their homes for being harassed by Lieutenant Varden Guillery and officer AJ Frank who they say target local African American residents mercilessly. Ultimately they hope the current chief of police either suspends the two, resigns himself, or that the DOJ will investigate their complaints since the local police refuse to.

Police Misconduct NewsWatch for 02-03-09

Screenshot of fake site created by SPD officers to gather information on police misconduct victims.

LOCAL NEWS

Seattle Police Department's Spy Website Still Active
The fake "Injustice In Seattle" website (click at your own risk), created by some Seattle Police officers in an apparent attempt to trick victims of police misconduct into giving up their personal information, is still operational over a year since it first popped up in response to this site being created.

I was hoping the domain registration they made at the GoDaddy-hosted site would have been allowed to elapse after a year but their host has now given them the domain for free. Sadly, the officers are apparently having some degree of success in gathering information from victims of misconduct for possible retaliation or who knows what reason.

I say it's probably being effective at tricking people into believing it's part of this site because it's recently risen in Google search rankings to just two spots below this site and is actually listed ahead of this site in MSN Search rankings... which means people are being tricked into going there, where they are immediately prompted for their personal contact information, more often.

Not much I can do about it though since it's not like I can call the police to complain about what the police are doing.

The SPOG Guardian Available To Public Again
Also in SPD news, the Seattle Police Officer's Guild has recently made their monthly newsletter, The Guardian, accessible to the public again after they had taken access away while the one of the Guild board members, and editor of The Guardian, was facing charges in relation to a Sturgis bike rally shooting, of which were dropped a few months ago.

The latest, December, edition contains the usual angry rantings against the Office of Professional Accountability (SPD's Internal Affairs department) and insists to members that the latest contract does not affect the existing loopholes in the accountability system that allows officers to get off scott free if they can delay an internal investigation past a 180 day limit and that the new language to fire officers found to have lied in investigations will be impossible for the OPA to actually enforce.

NATIONAL NEWS

Stoughton Police Officer Wins Suit Against Stoughton Police Department
The city of Stoughton lost a $165,000 civil suit that was filed by a Stoughton Police detectives supervisor who was demoted in retaliation for investigating the recently convicted police chief Manuel Cachopa.

Acting police chief Christopher Ciampa demoted Robert Welch in 2005 after he was assigned to assist a special prosecutor with the investigation and when he refused to support a petition to remove council members who were responsible for removing Cachopa as chief of police.

Both Cachopa and the officer he attempted to cover for, David Cohen, were recently convicted on a variety of charges including witness intimidation, attempted extortion, filing false reports, and accessory to attempted extortion over their efforts to discourage someone from filing a misconduct complaint against Cohen.


Michigan Officer Claims She Was Fired For Complaining About Misconduct
A Raisin township police officer in Michigan has filed a lawsuit against her own police department alleging that she was fired for complaining about misconduct within the department in an effort to keep that misconduct, including sexual harassment, under wraps. The department denies the allegations and, predictably, asserts that she was fired for misconduct herself.

In talking with other officers who have won similar suits against their police departments, the former officer's accounting of how she was fired and why strikes a familiar chord with them... as it did with me too.

The Million Dollar High-Five
The city of Hawthorne California has paid out a $1,000,000 settlement in a civil rights suit alleging that Hawthorne police officers brutally beat a man before and after he was handcuffed and then high-fived each other when one officer kicked the handcuffed man in the face so hard that his jaw was broken. All this over a noise complaint.

The suit also alleged that officers denied the man medical care and then arrested his wife only because she witnessed the attack. Criminal charges against the two failed to gain convictions and the couple sued. After their lawyers, Jonas & Driscoll LLP, revealed they had video evidence of the officers congratulating each other for the beating and a picture of one officer kicking the handcuffed victim in the head while he was laying face down on the ground, the city apparently decided to settle. No word on whether the officers were ever disciplined, but I'd bet they weren't.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Indian Police Beat Up Six Year-Old Girl
In a market near Lohamandi in India, two officers have been suspended after two officers assaulted a 6 year old Dalit girl while six other officer looked on silently. Images of the assault have sparked rebukes from human rights organizations and charges may be filed against all officers involved. Charges have also been filed against the girl under allegations that she stole a walled from a woman at the market.