Please post all of the completely insane COPWATCH stories here

[Aoss]

What's wrong with Dallas?  We all know that the police don't go to jail.  Jail is only for, well, everybody else.

[charrington]

This guy lost his eye ---

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/10/01/stuttgart-police-use.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+boingboing/iBag+%28Boing+Boing%29

oops wrong post rofl .. sorry.. just thought I'd up the hate jk...

[charrington]

This guy lost his eye ---

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/10/01/stuttgart-police-use.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+boingboing/iBag+%28Boing+Boing%29

[Kilika]

I'm thinking CO - anywhere but Fla!

Yeah, was born and grew up there. Left years ago. Dry heat is MUCH better!

[charrington]

ABC removed the link --


Former Illinois State trooper Matt Mitchell is asking the state to compensate him for injuries from a crash in which he hit and killed two Collinsville sisters at triple-digit speeds.

Mitchell filed a worker's compensation case on Sept. 13 against the Illinois State Police. The case is pending.

"I wouldn't have filed the case if I thought it was frivolous or didn't have merit," said Kerri O'Sullivan, of the St. Louis firm of Brown and Crouppen, who represents Mitchell. "People get hurt at work all the time. It's our job as lawyers to help people with the difficult and complicated administrative process of worker's compensation."

Three worker's compensation lawyers say they believe Mitchell could receive compensation for the injuries he received in a Nov. 23, 2007, high-speed crash that resulted in the deaths of sisters Kelli and Jessica Uhl and injured Kelly and Christine Marler, of Fayetteville.

Thomas Q. Keefe, a Belleville lawyer who represented the Uhl girls' parents, Kimberly Schlau and Brian Uhl, in a civil lawsuit against the State Police, called Mitchell's claim "outrageous, but predictable."

"This man has no shame. He has no shame when he recanted his plea of guilty. He has no shame when he insisted on the stand that he was not responsible for this crash," Keefe said. "And he has no shame when he files for worker's compensation benefits."

Mitchell was driving 126 mph in busy day-after-Thanksgiving traffic on Interstate 64 near O'Fallon while sending and receiving e-mails and talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone moments before the crash. Mitchell was responding to an accident near Lebanon, but help already was at the scene of the accident where Mitchell was responding, authorities said.

Mitchell crossed over the median and hit the girls' car head-on. He sustained severe leg injuries.

After the accident, Mitchell was suspended with pay for nearly two years, drawing his $68,000 annual salary. He resigned from the Illinois State Police after pleading guilty to the criminal charges.

Mitchell pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and reckless driving in exchange for a sentence of 30 months probation.

Although Mitchell pleaded guilty to causing the accident, he can still receive a worker's compensation award, three la...


http://www.bnd.com/2010/09/21/1408366/trooper-asks-for-help-with-his.html

[agentbluescreen]

This is what they were trying to defend after only one week of peremptory bureaucratic non-consultation. The largest and only single public park in town, this "Schlossgarten" (public property) also features a gorgeous treed pond, the original Carl Zeiss Planetarium and the cities' famous beergarten, left as it was for generations to such use by the noisy train tracks nearby it's entire length...

 
 
 
          

The public's precious age-old park is being sacrificed by corrupt "Christianist" social-fascist politicos to expand and bury the tracks to favor noble-wealthy private developers while there is more than plenty of room and vacant disused land on the other side of the tracks to move the noisy, filthy and sleazy private-socialist transit-mess to.


Look at the map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Am+Neckartor+18,+Stuttgart,+Germany&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=59.597077,97.822266&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Am+Neckartor+18,+Stuttgart+70190+Stuttgart,+Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg,+Germany&ll=48.788672,9.184098&spn=0.012299,0.023882&t=h&z=16

Well perhaps it should be, that the criminal marauding Stasi cop-gods murderously assail and blow people's eyes out to "git her done".

[dustydoggy]

Ahhh, Oakland ... AGAIN! Guy shot in the back by transit cop, same story "afraid for my life" (shot in back) denied until amateur youtube videos surfaced. Capped that poor bastard in the head new years eve and tried to take all cell phones as "evidence". Terminal cameras "down for maintenance" (bull SH*T), guy grabs his camera in may 2010, "Gimme my camera honey, I want to tape the pretty deer in the yard." Shot 6 times!!! Bambie was a threat due to possibly carrying Lyme Diseased ticks. Now this? I only HOPE that the people or one of their neighbors has a security camera showing the officers capped a senior citizen. They tase old ladies, shoot dogs and arrest you for assault if you place your hand on them. Hopefully, one day, these types of men & women will be held accountable for their actions and prosecuted for their crimes against humanity. If I'm doing something wrong ... tell me, if I'm doing something that IS actually illegal ... arrest or ticket me but show me the respect I once had for officers for I do not respect ANY of you as red blooded men, excepting the ones I know personally that I am sure just show up to do their jobs.

[charrington]

Ahhh, Oakland ... AGAIN! Guy shot in the back by transit cop, same story "afraid for my life" (shot in back) denied until amateur youtube videos surfaced. Capped that poor bastard in the head new years eve and tried to take all cell phones as "evidence". Terminal cameras "down for maintenance" (bull SH*T), guy grabs his camera in may 2010, "Gimme my camera honey, I want to tape the pretty deer in the yard." Shot 6 times!!! Bambie was a threat due to possibly carrying Lyme Diseased ticks. Now this? I only HOPE that the people or one of their neighbors has a security camera showing the officers capped a senior citizen. They tase old ladies, shoot dogs and arrest you for assault if you place your hand on them. Hopefully, one day, these types of men & women will be held accountable for their actions and prosecuted for their crimes against humanity. If I'm doing something wrong ... tell me, if I'm doing something that IS actually illegal ... arrest or ticket me but show me the respect I once had for officers for I do not respect ANY of you as red blooded men, excepting the ones I know personally that I am sure just show up to do their jobs.

You need to post that stuff if you can find it. That's very important information.

[charrington]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCBZOdBqMgo

Anyone catch that at the end they said "every single one of the federally required dashboard cameras was inoperable" ?

[charrington]

Authorities say a deputy trainee fired eight times at a liquor store manager after mistaking the man's finger for a gun as he pointed toward fleeing robbers.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker told the Los Angeles Times that all the shots missed early Sunday.

Parker says the manager called 911 from the West Hollywood liquor store then ran outside as deputies arrived and started pointing. The shooting is being investigated by internal affairs and detectives.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/10/03/state/n221938D91.DTL&tsp=1

[charrington]

A federal grand jury indicted two New Orleans police officers today for lying and obstruction of justice in connection with the shooting death of Danny Brumfield Sr., a 45-year-old man shot in the back by police in the days after Katrina.

Police said they fired a single blast from a shotgun at Brumfield after he jumped on the hood of their squad car and made a lunging motion with a "shiny object" through the passenger window. According to the police version, a pair of scissors was found near where Brumfield fell to the ground. The presence of the "shiny object" and the threatening manner with which it was wielded, gave the officers justification to shoot, an NOPD investigation into the shooting found.

But in Thursday's indictments, the grand jury said the officers had perjured themselves when they testified about the shooting in a 2007 civil lawsuit brought by the widow of Brumfield, and that Brumfield had been waving his hands -- not an object -- at the officers immediately before the shooting occurred.

According to the six-count indictment, Brumfield was attempting to flag down the police and then "either jumped on the hood of the car or was hit by the car and landed on the hood."

Officer Ronald Mitchell offered the official version when he testified in 2007 about the shooting. But...

http://www.truth-out.org/two-nopd-officers-charged-post-katrina-death63824

[charrington]

Ten minutes before the Morse-Ezra Stiles college screw was set to end early Saturday morning, more than a dozen New Haven police officers and liquor agents raided the downtown nightclub where the event took place.

Five students were arrested, Dean of Student Affairs Marichal Gentry said in an e-mail to the Yale College community Saturday morning. According to interviews with about a dozen eye witnesses, one student was Tasered. Gentry said one student was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital but has since been released.

Armed with what witnesses said were assault rifles and wearing what appeared to be SWAT gear, the officers stormed into the Crown Street club Elevate at 12:50 a.m., yelling at students to hit the ground, shut up and get out their IDs. By the end of the night, dozens of Morse and Stiles students turned to their residential college deans and masters for answers, asking whether police brutality had occurred.

"This is a serious situation and we do not yet know all the facts," Gentry said. "I have asked Assistant Chief Ronnell Higgins of the Yale Police to assist us in gathering information."

Interviewed at the scene early Saturday morning, New Haven Assistant Chief of Operations Ariel Melendez said the police conducting the raid in no way acted inappropriately and that the operation had been announced ahead of time as part of “Operation Nightlife” — the New Haven Police Department’s recent initiative to curb violence in the downtown entertainment district. Melendez said an “enhanced” police detail of about a dozen officers conducted the raid, and the NHPD arrested about a dozen people across the city Friday night and early Saturday morning as part of the operation.

“We announced we were coming out last weekend, and this weekend,” he said.

The raid comes nearly two weeks after gun violence erupted on Crown Street, leaving two men injured and New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. pledging to crack down on downtown clubs and nightlife venues.

Melendez said the NHPD decided to raid Elevate on Friday evening at about the same time the Crown Street command post received an anonymous tip that a Yale College party was going to be held at the establishment and that were would likely be underage drinking.

http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/oct/02/five-arrested-raid-morse-stiles-screw/

[charrington]

It's a Guardian ST820. It's a GPS tracking unit made by the company Cobham, the product line is called Orion. It is sold like that by Cobham. Sales is restricted to army and law enforcement.


http://i.imgur.com/OM6nE.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/sspLU.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/f4V2T.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/srhrK.jpg

[charrington]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5xbzpvcA_Q

[charrington]

The weapons, long considered not to be deadly force despite infrequent deaths, are now recognized by Minneapolis police as potentially lethal.

David Smith was buried last week, the seventh person in the past seven years to have died in the metro area after being shot with a Taser.

While the investigation into the mid-September confrontation with police that led to Smith's death continues, a leading police research group and a major manufacturer of the devices are rolling out new safety measures nationally in response to the relatively small but troubling number of deaths linked to them.

And on Friday, Minneapolis police unveiled a new Taser policy that for the first time designates the device a potentially lethal weapon.

The manufacturer, Taser International, sent users a bulletin last year suggesting that they avoid shooting people near the heart.

And after lobbying by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), Taser International has agreed to offer by early next year a weapon that shocks for a maximum of five seconds with one trigger pull. Current models deliver voltage as long as the trigger is depressed.

"We think there's a time and a place for them," said Chuck Wexler, PERF's executive director. "They shouldn't be a...
http://www.startribune.com/local/104214288.html?elr=KArks:DCiUMEaPc:UiacyKUHDYaGEP7eyckcUX

[charrington]

PORTLAND, Ore. — The union representing Portland police officers is pushing back against a proposal that would require random drug testing of police officers.

The Oregonian reports the proposal from the city would also require drug tests after use of deadly force, suspects’ deaths in custody and serious traffic crashes.

The city and police union are negotiating a two-year contract, in which the city has offered no cost-of-living increase in the first year but proposes an increase of at least 1 percent for the second year.

Portland Police Association attorney Will Aitchison said the random testing proposal would violate the officers’ right to privacy. The current standard for drug testing is “reasonable suspicion,” and Aitchinson said any tests beyond that would also violate officers’ protection from unreasonable search and seizures.

The proposal would exempt civilian employees of the department from testing, something lead city negotiatior Steve Herron said is fair “because of the duties and gravity of duties associated with being a sworn police officer.”


http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20101002/NEWS03/710039888

[kermitthefrayer]

Please elaborate?

[charrington]

There is a guy, a Muslim in his mid 20's that took his car in to have it serviced and the mechanic found this equipment under his car. I'm assuming it's FED or HS.

Now you know what it looks like .. so if you see it on your car ....

[charrington]

SAN FRANCISCO—A federal jury has awarded $175,000 to a parolee who said an Oakland police officer planted a gun on him.

The San Francisco Chronicle says the San Francisco panel made the award Monday to Lorenzo Hall after a weeklong trial.

Hall spent nearly two years behind bars for illegally possessing a weapon after he was arrested in 2006 while attending a wake for his aunt in East Oakland.

Police said they acted on an informant's tip and found a gun in his waistband.

Hall's attorney, Ben Nisenbaum, says the gun belonged to another man who hidden it in a nearby car.

Hall spent 22 months in jail before the case was dropped in 2008.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16257123?nclick_check=1

[charrington]

Two Philadelphia police officers were arrested Monday evening and charged with robbing an undercover investigator posing as a drug dealer, authorities said today.

Officers Sean Alivera, 31, and Christopher Luciano, 23, allegedly stole 20 pounds of marijuana and $3,000 in cash.

Both officers, who were partners assigned to the 25th District, were arrested at the district headquarters. They were still in custody this morning, after being charged with robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy and other crimes.

A tip that Alivera and Luciano were robbing drug dealers was passed from the state Bureau of Narcotics Investigations to the police department about two weeks ago.

Investigators from the police department and the District Attorney's office set up a sting operation that culminated with Monday's robbery of an undercover Philadelphia police officer, authorities said.

The alleged robbery was captured on video surveillance, said District Attorney Seth Williams. The officers intended to keep the money and redistribute the drugs, authorities said.

"Police corruption will not be tolerated," Williams said. "We will root out bad cops and we will prosecute them for the disgraceful thugs and scum that they are."

The arrests come just months after three other officers were snared in a federal sting and charged with stealing herion from a drug dealer. One of those officers also was from the 25th District, which covers drug-infested areas of North Philadephia and Kensington.

Investigators do not know of any connection between the officers in those two cases.

In a year that also has seen several officers arrested for shootings, sex crimes and theft, police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey has pledged to ....
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/104337559.html?cmpid=15585797

[charrington]

DALLAS - A former Department of Public Safety trooper who was accused of using excessive force during a traffic stop now faces criminal charges.

Trooper Arturo Perez was charged with misdemeanor assault for the incident that happened on the Dallas North Tollway in October 2009.

An attorney for the victim said while she was driving her passenger grabbed the wheel and caused her to crash into the wall near Lemon Avenue.

The 22-year-old suffered very minor injuries when her airbag deployed. But she called 911 and that's when things got worse.

Dash camera video shows Perez handcuff the woman and slam her into a wall.

"As a chief felony prosecutor, a county judge, a state district judge, I've never seen anything like it. It's horrific," said ......
Videos
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/100510-trooper-charged-for-excessive-force

[charrington]

I feel for the kid. He was wronged. But Denver police have made it clear an apology from the officer isn't forthcoming.

Is it really part of the price of good police work that a guy like Matt Bowes, minding his own business, gets ordered out of his car at gunpoint, is forced to his knees in front of his astonished co-workers and left handcuffed on the pavement for 20 minutes?

It happened about 1 p.m. Tuesday. Bowes, 24, was a half-mile from his job as a ramp worker at Denver International Airport when he noticed the first police cruiser.

It is a route he takes everyday to work, so he thought it strange when he saw the cruiser sitting there, where he had never seen one before. He kept driving.

When he turned at the light on Jackson Gap Street, another cruiser appeared. It followed him, and turned on its flashing lights when he got to his parking space.

"You're about one second from getting four bullets in your (expletive) stomach," an officer training his gun at the young man barked."

"Excuse my language," Matt Bowes added, "but that's what he said.

"I was kind of in shock. And I didn't know what to do."

He shouted that he worked at the airport over and over.

"Hands in the air!" an officer shouted, "or I'll shoot!"

What is going on? Matt Bowes asked himself.

No, he had no weapons, he replied to the officers. No, he had no outstanding warrants or criminal record, he told them, adding he couldn't work at the airline if he did.

Lying handcuffed on his belly, he watched them search his car.

"Quiet down. This kind of stuff happens all the time," he hears an officer tell him.

He sees his co-workers standing in the distance watching, their mouths agape.

"I'm so embarrassed," he said.

Twenty minutes later, an officer takes off the handcuffs and picks him up. They had received a tip on a suspect whose description and make of car matched his, an officer told him before handing him a card with a number to call if he had any questions.

"They were standing there shaking each other's hands like nothing happened," Matt Bowes said, adding that they again told him stuff like this happens all the time.

"And then they just disappeared."

Detective John White, a Denver police spokesman, said officers often receive such tips and act on them in good faith.

"Yes, from time to time (what happened to Matt Bowes) does happen. Once we realize they are not the person we are looking for, we make every effort to promptly rectify the situation."

Matt Bowes did call the number on the card. It was a number for the Internal Affairs Division. He told the officer there what happened, that he was too upset to even work that day. He wanted an apology, both verbal and written, from the officer who held him at gunpoint.

That is probably not going to happen, the officer told him, but he would, he said, offer him an apology on behalf of the

http://www.denverpost.com/billjohnson/ci_16244835

[freedom_commonsense]

A shame the individuals responsible won't be paying, the local taxpayers will foot the bill as usual. Individual accountability in large organisations is pretty poor.

[charrington]

The Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review is investigating an incident where a Sheriff’s deputy shot at a man who was pointing a finger towards him.

Authorities say a liquor store clerk in West Hollywood called L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies early Sunday morning after he was robbed at gunpoint. When he came outside to meet them, the clerk pointed in the direction of the deputies to indicate where the robber had headed.

“The gesture was intended to show, 'Hey, the bad guys are going that way,'" said Michael Gennaco of the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review.

But that's not how one of the deputies saw the gesture.

"It was interpreted as an aggressive action with a gun," Gennaco said.

The deputy fired eight shots at the clerk before realizing he was shooting at the wrong man. All of the bullets missed. The deputy is new to streets, after having served as a jail guard for a number of years. A training deputy was with him at the time of the shooting.

Gennaco, who is investigating the incident....

http://www.scpr.org/news/2010/10/05/la-county-sheriffs-deputy-shoots-man-who-points-fi/

[freedom_commonsense]

Just as well the clerk wasn't hit.

[charrington]

PARKER — A Parker police officer did more than commit a crime last week; he betrayed an entire community, city officials said Monday.

“It’s a sad day when a law enforcement officer betrays the trust of the public and switches sides,” Parker Police Chief Charles Sweatt said during a Monday morning news conference.

However, Sweatt refuted the idea that there was anything that could have been done to prevent Officer Mark Bomia, an eight-year veteran with the department and former member of the U.S. Navy, from killing his ex-girlfriend.

“There was no outward sign from this officer prior to this incident that something like this could possibly happen,” Sweatt said.

Bomia, 43, of Southport, shot and strangled 35-year-old Anna Beach on Thursday morning, removed her clothing and dumped her body in the woods behind her house, then left the area in a Parker patrol car, according to an arrest affidavit from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials said they believe Bomia was on duty, in uniform and using a Parker patrol car during the incident. He is currently being held without bond in the Bay County Jail.

Beach’s husband, Jeff Beach, said Bomia had been stalking them both for some time. Jeff Beach and his wife had been separated for several years. At one point, Bomia and Anna Beach lived together in the Arrow Street home where she was killed. However, Anna Beach threw Bomia out earlier this year after a verbal altercation.

Sweatt said officers were called to the residence during that altercation but did not know Monday whether the Parker Police Department had handled it. He said it was customary for another agency to deal with an incident like that and was unsure if a police report had been issued. Sweatt said the altercation was only “verbal” and to his knowledge there had been no physical abuse.

Jeff Beach said he begged his wife to contact the authorities about the stalking, but she refused, saying she did not want Bomia to lose his job.

During the news conference, Sweatt confirmed that Parker officials learned Bomia was a suspect in the disappearance of Anna Beach on Friday and decided to make the Bay County Sheriff’s Office the lead agency on the case.

On Friday, investigators spoke with Bomia but had no evidence that he committed a crime. Then on Saturday, they found Beach’s body in the woods behind her house and obtained a search warrant for Bomia’s Southport residence.

By then, Bomia was gone.

That led to several tense hours where officers searched for one of their own, said Maj. Tommy Ford of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

“They have a lot to lose as an officer, and we know that they are most likely going to be armed, so it does make it a little more serious situation,” Ford said.

Investigators nabbed Bomia at the Panama City Mall buying a cell phone and several other items, said BCSO Capt. Jimmy Stanford. Stanford said it was not clear what Bomia’s intentions were and that he could not say if Bomia was planning to flee.

“That would only be speculation,” Stanford said.

At one point during the news ....
http://www.newsherald.com/news/officer-87460-parker-bomia.html

[charrington]

I think we'd be safer without cops.

[charrington]

I think Denver Cops might be the worst.

[charrington]

A teenager has been jailed for 16 weeks after he refused to give police the password to his computer.

Oliver Drage, 19, of Liverpool, was arrested in May 2009 by police tackling child sexual exploitation.

Police seized his computer but could not access material on it as it had a 50-character encryption password.

Drage was convicted of failing to disclose an encryption key in September. He was sentenced at Preston Crown Court on Monday.

Drage was arrested when he was living in Freckleton, Lancashire, but later moved to Liverpool.

He was formally asked to disclose his password but failed to do so, which is an offence under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, police said.

'Robust message'

Officers are still trying to crack the code on the computer to examine its contents.

Det Sgt Neil Fowler, of Lancashire police, said: "Drage was previously of good character so the immediate custodial sentence handed down by the judge in this case shows just how seriously the courts take this kind of offence.

"Computer systems are constantly advancing and....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11479831

[charrington]

John T. Williams, the woodcarver fatally shot by a Seattle police officer Aug. 30, was struck by four bullets on the right side of his body, indicating he was not facing the officer at the time the shots were fired, the attorney representing the Williams family said Tuesday.

"There's nothing looking like he was facing toward him," Seattle attorney Tim Ford said of Williams' position as the officer fired. "It was all right side."

Ford, in an interview with The Seattle Times, provided a portion of an autopsy report prepared by the King County Medical Examiner's Office relating to the gunshot wounds.

Ford questioned whether the officer needed to shoot if Williams wasn't directly facing him. "... Where is the threat?" he said.

Seattle police have previously said that Officer Ian Birk fired four rounds from a distance of nine to 10 feet. But police officials have not disclosed where Williams was struck, how many times or the precise positions of Birk and Williams.

Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, the department's chief spokesman, said he couldn't comment on autopsy results because of confidentiality rules governing the investigation.

Sgt. Rich O'Neill, the president of the Seattle Police Officers' Guild, said Tuesday that he could not comment on the shooting investigation. But O'Neill said, in general, an armed person who is standing sideways to an officer can still pose a threat.

Birk, 27, shot Williams at Boren Avenue and Howell Street after he stopped his patrol car at a red light and saw Williams carrying a small knife that turned out to be used for carving.

Williams, 50, who was a member of Nuu-Chah-Nulth First Nations in British Columbia, ignored three commands to drop the knife, police officials said. The department originally said Williams advanced on Birk, but later retreated on that statement.

Video from a camera in Birk's patrol car, which hasn't been made public, shows Williams crossing the street in front of Birk and, moments later, the officer crossing in front of his car to the northwest corner of Boren and Howell, Deputy Police Chief Nick Metz said at an Aug. 31 news briefing.

The camera did not capture video of the shooting, but Birk can be heard on an audio recording ordering Williams three times to drop the knife, Metz said at the briefing.

Williams collapsed on the sidewalk along Howell Street, where he was pronounced dead.
Williams had been standing and facing north when he was struck by the shots, Ford said, citing witness accounts. Birk had approached Williams from the side, in an east-to-west direction, stopping just to the east of Williams, Ford said.

Williams was shot once in the right chest, with an exit wound in his left armpit, according to the autopsy report. A second shot entered the right side of ....

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013082467_shooting06m.html

[charrington]

Two Queens men cleared by a security video of bogus drug charges are getting $300,000 settlement from the city - and the two cops accused of setting them up have resigned.

Jose Colon and his brother Maximo lost their grocery store and were plunged into debt as a result of the criminal case fabricated by the NYPD narcotics officers, authorities said Monday.

The circumstances of the case prompted a federal judge overseeing the victims' suit to declare the NYPD is plagued by "widespread falsification" by arresting officers.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown indicted Detective Stephen Anderson and Officer Henry Tavarez last year on a slew of corruption charges after prosecutors viewed the video taken inside the Delicias de Mi Tierra nightclub in Elmhurst the night of the arrests.

The cops claimed that on Jan. 5, 2008, the Colon brothers sold them two bags of cocaine.

The video confirmed that was false.

Later, Anderson told Tavarez to claim he had forgotten the details of the drug buy, according to prosecutors.

"The officers thought they could get away with it," said.....
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/10/05/2010-10-05_city_paying_out_300g_to_queens_brothers_falsely_accused_by_cops_of_selling_drugs.html

[charrington]

ANCHORAGE–It began as an argument last winter between neighbors about dog urine at a Muldoon condominium complex.         

 

“I guess the pee fell through the neighbor's house,” said David Zellmer, the dog owner. “The dog catcher showed up at the door, asking me questions about my dog. I told him I wasn't going to answer any of his questions and I asked him to leave my property.”

 

A short time later, Zellmer said the animal control officer returned with three police officers.

 

Zellmer recorded what happened next:

 

Officer: Got any ID on you?

Zellmer: Uh, no.

Officer: Is your ID inside?

Zellmer: Possibly.

Officer: Then let's go inside and get it.

Zellmer: You guys can stay out here and I'll go and get it.

Officer: Actually, we're going to go inside with you.

Zellmer: No, you're not, unless you have a warrant.

Officer: I don't need a warrant.

Zellmer: Why?

Officer: We were called here because of a problem with an animal, so we're going to check it out.

Zellmer: What problem are you talking about?

Officer: OK, we'll go on inside, get your ID.

Zellmer: No, no. You're not coming in my home.

Officer: OK, then turn around, put your hands behind your back.

Zellmer: No, that's not gonna happen unless you explain to me what's going on.

Officer 2: Very simple, OK. There's a problem with your dog. We're here to check it out.

Zellmer: OK.

Officer 2: We're going to check the dog out, make sure everything's OK.

Zellmer: Everything's OK with my dog.

Officer 2: We're going to look. That's why we're here. Otherwise we wouldn't be here, bothering you. So as soon as we check it out and everything's OK, we'll leave you alone.

Zellmer: OK. Well, you guys stay right here. I'll be right back.

Officer 2: Nope. We're going to go check out your dog.

Zellmer: Nah. I don't... What do you...

Officer: OK. Go ahead. Turn around.

Zellmer: No, no, no. OK, OK, OK. No, no, no. My daughter's in the house.

Officer: You see that red dot? That's a Taser. You don't want that.

Officer 3: Sir, you're not going to go in the house where you have access to a weapon without us going with you. It's that simple.

Officer 2: Where's your ID?

Daughter: Why is everybody in here?

Zellmer: I don't know why they're in here.

 

In the span of a minute, Zellmer said the situation had escalated.       

 

“Man, they totally surprised me,” he said. “It was like they were out to get me, man. That really freaked me out. My daughter, she's young. After they said they were going to Tase me, in my head, I was thinking, ‘If my daughter comes out to the porch and sees me Tasered on the ground of our deck with all these cops standing around, she's gonna freak out.”

 

Jeff Mittman, executive director of American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, said the officers were in the wrong.

 

“The police have the right to search your home if they have a warrant, or they certainly have the right to arrest you if they have a warrant, if they believe you've been involved in criminal activity,” Mittman said. “Otherwise, for them to search your home, for them to detain you, for them to question you, they essentially need your consent.”

 

Consent Zellmer says he did not give.

 

“Basically, they bullied me and after they threatened to Tase me,” Zellmer said. “I ...
http://www.ktva.com/ci_16262572

[charrington]

BASALT — The town of Basalt has introduced court papers claiming that three of its police officers are immune from a lawsuit that alleges they violated a bar patron's constitutional rights.

The town's position, made in response to a Basalt man's federal suit that claims they arrested him after he yelled at them in a bar during an incident in August 2009, also maintains the officers' use of force was “reasonable” and that their actions were “conducted in good faith and without intent to injure or deprive [the] plaintiff of his civil rights.”

The response comes after Basalt resident Ian Gray in July sued the town of Basalt and Police Officers Brian Lemke and Michael Taylor, as well as police Sgt. Stewart Curry. Filed in the U.S. District Court in Denver, Gray's suit alleges that on Aug. 15, 2009, the three officers conducted a “walk-through” at the now-defunct Basalt Bistro, prompting Gray to say, “Don't let the door hit you in the ass,” as the trio left the premises.

Gray's complaint says the officers left the bar but came back a short time later. Lemke allegedly told Gray he needed to come outside, but Gray refused.

“Officer Lemke then forcefully removed [Gray] from the barstool, dropped him to the barroom floor, repeatedly struck the plaintiff's arms, brought [his] arms behind his back and handcuffed him,” Gray's suit says, adding that police violated his constitutional rights by unlawfully arresting him and violating his right to free speech.

Gray's suit alleges he suffered physical injuries, including tendon, ligament and possibly other damage to his right shoulder; lacerations and bruising to his wrists; bruising to his forearms; and bruising to his right lower jaw. He also said he suffered pain and suffering, fear, anxiety, loss of liberty, embarrassment and humiliation, emotional trauma and psychological harm, “some or all of which may be permanent.”

The town, however, contends Gray was intoxicated at the time and that Lemke had “politely” told him he need to come outside because there was probable cause he had committed disorderly conduct.

“Ian Gray refused to follow the lawful order of Officer Lemke, who then used a reasonable amount of force to remove [him] from the Basalt Bistro,” court documents say.

Three ....
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20101005/NEWS/101009912/1077&ParentProfile=1058

[charrington]

Police beat three men handcuffed in back of car, pepper sprays them, closes the doors of the car while it's filled with gas, and then stands outside to listen to them as they scream and cry for help. Video contradicts the officers statements.


MARCO ISLAND — A 22-year-old former East Naples man punched and pepper-sprayed by a Marco Police officer in 2008 has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing him of excessive force and the city of failing to train its officers.

Adrian Polanco, 22, of Texas, is suing the city of Marco Island and Officer Stephen Mariani, 52, who was exonerated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement after being charged with battery and excessive force in the Feb. 18, 2008, incident.

“During the entire time that Mariani was striking him, spraying the pepper spray and sealing the vehicle with the pepper spray inside, Polanco and the other two arrestees were handcuffed and in an otherwise defenseless situation,” the lawsuit alleges, noting none posed a threat and calling the use of force and pepper spray unreasonable and excessive.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, alleges officers had a custom, policy or practice of using excessive force, the city was negligent in supervising, overseeing and training them, and the city breached its duty to ensure officers performed their duties responsibly and didn’t harm the public.

The lawsuit alleges Polanco suffered physical and emotional distress and abuse, physical and emotional injuries, had to pay medical and psychological expenses, experienced shame, humiliation, mental pain and suffering, a loss of a capacity to enjoy life, and other damages.

Chief Thom Carr declined comment. It couldn’t be determined if the city or Mariani had attorneys. Rafael Katz of Hollywood, who represents Polanco with Adam Balkan of Boca Raton, called Mariani’s actions unnecessary.

“One of the effects is a feeling of asphyxiation,” Katz said of pepper spray. “Essentially, he put them in a gas chamber.”

“I take police cases with a heavy heart,” he said. “I typically am on the side of law enforcement, but I hold them to a higher standard and if they cross that line, they deserve everything that’s coming to them. The few civil rights cases that I’ve taken usually are something very excessive, over the top.”

Polanco now lives with his grandmother and plans to go to University of Texas, Katz said, adding that he’s trying to turn his life around after hanging out with the wrong crowd. “But this incident has caused a significant fear of all police interaction,” Katz said.

Police reports from 2008 say that by 11:15 p.m., Polanco, Christopher Caprari, 21, of East Naples, and Anthony Blanco, 18, of Marco Island, had been kicked out of a club with 20 friends who were at a birthday celebration.

The three began a brawl with Mariani and an off-duty officer, prompting a civilian to jump in and help police, reports say. Mariani’s supervisor, Cpl. Jason Nachtrab, told him to drive them to the county jail, to turn on the car’s video camera and direct it at the backseat, where the three sat. The video shows them jostling as they harassed and shouted at Mariani, challenging him to fight.

“Instead of driving directly to the booking facility, within just minutes of leaving the MIPD, Mariani pulled his car off the side of a road, opened the back door to the passenger compartment, where Polanco was sitting handcuffed, and proceeded to punch and strike Polanco several times without justification,” the lawsuit alleges.

Mariani radioed for help, claiming they were combative, trying to escape and kick out windows, according to the lawsuit, which says he then pepper-sprayed them.

“Mariani then shut all doors to the police cruiser and left Polanco and the other prisoners ... sitting in the sealed vehicle, gasping for breath, coughing, with severe eye irritation and crying for help, leaving Polanco fearful that he would not survive,” the lawsuit says.

In the video, Polanco says the Lord’s Prayer, ending: “Amen, Lord. Help us please in this situation, Lord. Please help,” and another officer asks for County Emergency Medical Services’ assistance, treatment for pepper spray.

Mariani later opened the door next to Caprari, who was ....
Videos
http://www.marconews.com/news/2010/oct/05/federal-lawsuit-filed-against-marco-police-claimin/

[charrington]

We all have to deal with the opportunities and challenges presented by widespread video technology. The same is true for police. But law enforcement might prefer that cameras not be a part of their interactions with citizens. Citizens should have the right to record their interactions with police and police should be required to record their most intense interactions with citizens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE8Xom38Rd8

[Lucian Solaris]

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Boy the pigs are gonna be screwed if people start taking justice to their front door instead of a courthouse.  It is inevitable if justice against the "royal guard" cannot be obtained in a courtroom.  Police have privilege much like women in court, they tend to get off easy and with 1/10th of the sentence time (IF sentenced).

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[charrington]

Yesterday, we told you about an officer-involved shooting in Phoenix. Details were limited, so we said to check back later. We got the details and they're pretty nuts.

According to court documents obtained by New Times, Phoenix Police Officer Richard Chrisman has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after fatally shooting 29-year-old Daniel Rodriquez.

Rodriquez's mother called police about noon yesterday to report that she and her son had gotten into an argument and that Rodriquez was breaking things in her trailer home near Baseline Road and Central Avenue.

Officer Chrisman and another officer found Rodriquez's mother at the trailer next to the one where Rodriquez had thrown a fit.

The two officers went next door and tried to talk with Rodriquez, but he didn't answer.

The mother told the officers that the trailer was hers and that they were allowed to enter.

The officers entered the trailer and found Rodriquez standing in the living room.

Rodriquez told the cops they had no right to be in his trailer, and that's when things got wild.


Officer Chrisman pulled out his gun, held it to Rodriquez's head, and said "I don't need no warrant, motherf**ker."

The other officer told detectives later that Rodriquez hadn't threatened the officers, and he saw no reason for Chrisman to pull his gun.

After putting away the gun, Chrisman went "hands on" and tried to detain Rodriquez. The other officer tried to help, but the two were unable to detain him.

Officer Chrisman then pulled out his Taser and deployed it toward Rodriquez. After getting zapped, Rodriguez hit the floor.

When he got up, Officer Chrisman was waiting with pepper spray, which he sprayed in Chrisman's eyes from about a foot away.

Chrisman then pulled his gun again and shot a dog that had been barking in the corner. The other officer told detectives later that the dog had been barking but hadn't attacked or bitten anyone in the trailer.

Rodriquez, having been shocked and blinded by ...
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2010/10/phoenix_cop_fatally_shoots_dom.php

[charrington]

We’re #1, We are Number ONE–the US now has the highest incarceration rate in the world!

September 30, 2010 by prof77

US prison population quadrupled since 1980: 500K to 2.3M. The incarceration rate in the US today is 753 inmates per 100,000 people, compared to 151 inmates per 1000,000 people in the UK, 96 in France and 88 in Germany.

We call it “repression” when other countries put huge numbers of their population into jails –but when we do it it’s different.

We are number ONE because we’re special:
A study (PDF) from the Pew Research Center’s Economic Mobility Project, released Tuesday, reports that the US prison population has more than quadrupled since 1980, from 500,000 to 2.3 million, making the US’s incarceration rate the highest in the world, beating former champions like Russia and South Africa. (Source)

http://prof77.wordpress.com/2010/09/30/were-1-we-are-number-one-highest-incarceration-rate-in-the-world/

[charrington]

JENNINGS, MO (KTVI - FOX2now.com) - Jennings Police dash camera video reveals a reported case of excessive force. However, citizen complaints appear to have led to a cover-up. The woman in the video tried to get the Jennings Police Department to investigate. She said officers repeatedly responded "what video?" Then a DVD copy mysteriously appeared on a City Councilman's door step.

On October 4, the City fired Corporal Paul Bachman after an internal affairs investigation sustained conduct violations. We asked Chief Robert Orr about the attempted cover up.

Chris Hayes asked, "How is it that the dash cam video disappeared for 14 months? Chief Robert Orr responded, "That I don't know how that worked, to be honest with you. I wasn't involved with that. I don't know. All I know is it surfaced 14 months later. It got mixed up with some other I.A.'s. [Hayes] How are you not involved? [Chief] It was the Internal affairs officer, Col. Walsh with Internal Affairs. I don't get that until usually the final product. [Hayes] Were you part of the cover up? [Chief] No, No, no cover up. [Hayes] Then how does it appear on somebody's door step in April? [Chief] That's a good question. [Hayes] Somebody knew where it was. [Chief] That's correct.

Chief Orr said Lt. Shawn Lane was supposed to be working with Internal Affairs on the excessive force investigation. Lane is now on unpaid administrative leave during a State and Federal investigation into embezzled grant money. It was a scandal first exposed by Fox 2.

Chris Hayes followed up, "What kind of an example does it set to say oversight was somebody else's
...
VIDEO
http://www.fox2now.com/news/ktvi-jennings-cover-up100710,0,3982676.story

[charrington]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ba6_1286420697